The Great Southern Star - May 29, 2012

TUESDAY, MAY 29, 2012 - $1.20

Theatrical brilliance ANYTHING Goes shining star Sarah Kate Hanley and the magnificent cast wowed the opening night audience in Wonthaggi on Saturday.

Superb acting, glitzy costumes, a dazzling set and memorable music enthralled the crowd at the Wonthaggi Theatre Group’s show, which runs until Saturday, June 9.

Turn to pages 2 and 50 for more theatrical magic.

Storm of the century

By Jane Ross BASS Coast Shire Council engineers are calling Friday’s storm a one in 100 year event.

Already sodden ground couldn’t cope with the downpour, flooding highways and roads and sending aged trees crashing to the ground.

South Gippsland Shire Council received over 70 calls for help, includ-

ing 28 for water over roads and 42 for fallen trees, while Bass Coast Shire Council had 100 from Friday afternoon through to Saturday.

Water washed over about 40 of the roads Bass Coast Council is responsible for, shutting Heslop Road, Wonthaggi and McCraws Road, Wattlebank.

The Bass Highway was closed at Kilcunda.

SES crews rescued people in cars trapped by floodwater on Bass Coast

Page 3.

Highway at Kilcunda and at Lance Creek. No one was hurt.

Two South Gippsland Council roads remain closed; Wooreen Mirboo Road in Berrys Creek – 1km from Strzelecki Hwy on the eastern side to O’Loughlin’s dairy on the west – and Stewart and Dunlops Road in Buffalo, between McRae Road and Breens Road.

South Gippsland Water’s storages remain full to the brim, with Lance Creek recording 62mm of rain in the

past week, Fish Creek’s Battery Creek 67mm, Leongatha’s Ruby Creek 59mm, Korumburra’s Coalition Creek 49mm, Foster’s Deep Creek 74mm and Poowong/Loch/Nyora’s Little Bass 49mm.

For the shire’s arts and leisure coordinator Jenny Churchill, the text said it all: “Bourne Creek’s gone.”

For the first time in the 35 years that she has been driving from her Kilcunda home to local government offic-

Page 21.

Alberton triumphs Page 59.

CFA fights on

Controversial priest

es in Wonthaggi, Ms Churchill said she didn’t know how she’d get home.

“It’s the only time I’ve ever thought what do I do? I’ve never seen water like it.”

Water was coming over the Bass Highway at Dalyston as well as at the Kilcunda Trestle Bridge.

Ms Churchill wound her way along back roads towards home up on Ridge Road, where Bourne Creek starts.

Continued on page 4.

PAGE 2 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Memorable production: the cast of Anything Goes enjoyed the show as much as the audience.

Anything nything Goes sets sail TAP dancing sailors, zesty singing and lots of laughs aboard the glamorous transatlantic steamer, the SS American, gave the audience a bigger kick than the champagne on opening night of Wonthaggi’s latest musical, Anything Goes.

It was all smooth sailing for talented director Karen Milkins-Hendry of Wonthaggi Theatre Group’s Anything Goes, a definite winner with the enthusiastic audience on Saturday.

Combine a little bit of Love Boat, English farce and high jinks on the high seas, and you have the silly story line of mismatched lovers complete with a smattering of corny lines and jokes.

Silly the story may be, but Anything Goes is so much more, featuring a delectable selection of Cole Porter songs including the ever popular I Get a Kick Out of You, It’s De-Lovely, You’re the Top and the show stopper Blow, Gabriel, Blow belted out by glamorous leading lady Sarah Kate Hanley, as the brassy 1930s

nightclub entertainer Reno Sweeney.

Sarah Kate, is an absolute knock out.

The blonde bombshell won the trifecta on opening night in her role with her magnificent singing, energetic dancing and comedy routines. She is “De-Lovely”, has the wow factor and is every bit the shining star.

For Sarah’s brother and leading man Will Hanley, fresh from directing Newhaven College’s magical Seussical musical, it was a big character change from his raunchy lead role in Wonthaggi’s Cabaret last year to the handsome, love interest Billy Crocker. That star quality runs in the Hanley family as Will again won huge applause for his beautiful singing.

Sarah Kate and Will are surrounded by a class crew of passengers and stowaways including Wonthaggi’s own Jay Nelsen as gangster Moonface Martin (he was a real laugh).

Emmi Latham of Inverloch as the raunchy Erma, was terrific and new to the Wonthaggi stage, Kerryn Moren, as the sweet singing, beautiful debutante Hope Harcourt was delightful.

Continued on page 50.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 3

CFA rejects council’s decision

By Brad Lester and Simone Short THE COUNTRY Fire Authority has not given up on building a new fire station in Leongatha’s Bair Street, despite South Gippsland Shire Council refusing permission.

Councillors last Wednesday voted five to three to not grant the CFA a planning permit to erect a new station on the site the CFA owns, between the former Gatha Hardware and the BP service station.

The CFA will now appeal council’s decision at the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal.

Cr David Lewis said senior council staff believed council would lose a VCAT appeal, if that occurred.

David Chugg, CFA acting operations manager for district 9, confirmed late last week the CFA would be fighting council’s decision at VCAT. “We have a very good working relationship with council and understand the pressure they’ve been put under making the decision, from across the whole community,” he said.

“We want to continue to work and maintain a good relationship with council in the future; however at this stage, we’ve made all the assessments on the other properties council and CFA have been working on.

“At this point in time we have no other option; therefore we will be going to VCAT at this stage.

“We’ll be putting our best case forward because

Highway tragedy A WOMAN has died after collapsing on the Bass Highway near Inverloch last week.

She was driving towards Leongatha on Wednesday when she got out of the car and collapsed.

Ambulance Victoria spokesperson John Mullen said the woman suffered from an asthma attack and went into cardiac arrest.

She was treated at the scene before being airlifted to the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne in a critical condition. She later died in hospital.

Believing in Bair Street: the Country Fire Authority’s David Chugg and Leongatha CFA captain Andy Kay after South Gippsland Shire Council’s decision. we believe the Bair Street site is the site for CFA. “We understand the council and the ratepayers and the Chamber of Commerce’s situation, but we believe it is the best site for CFA and our volunteers, and the community at large.”

The CFA said the existing station in Anderson Street, or the South Gippsland Highway, was old and too small to meet the brigade’s demands.

The CFA has owned the Bair Street site for four years.

“We have gone through an extensive process of going through other sites but they do not service the volunteers that live and work in the community,” Mr Chugg said.

Council refused a permit saying a Bair Street station would rob the Leongatha central business district of future retail expansion

opportunities, and would have an adverse effect on traffic and pedestrians.

However, councillors voted to help the CFA identify other suitable sites for a station in Leongatha.

Councillors also rejected a recommendation by council planners that council write to Peter Ryan, Minister for Police and Emergency Services, seeking support to establish an emergency services precinct in Leongatha.

Several councillors commented the decision was one of the most difficult they had been asked to make.

Councillors repeatedly stated they appreciated the CFA and its volunteers, and only opposed the Bair Street proposal.

Mayor Cr Warren Raabe said council had to look to the next 50 years for Leongatha.

“We envisage Bair and McCartin streets to

be vibrant retail strips.

In the next decade, we will have a heavy vehicle alternate route and that will give the next council an opportunity to start work on the streetscape of Leongatha,” he said.

The mayor said additional traffic lights – as VicRoads required if the fire station proceeded – would spoil that streetscape and he imagined angle parking in Bair Street.

“We have all these opportunities before us that would be wiped out if we placed emergency

services in Bair Street,” Cr Raabe said, adding he would ultimately like to see the service station moved out of Bair Street.

Cr Davies said: “The CFA is just a fabulous part of our community...We need to make decisions that are in the best interests of South Gippsland.

“There are two main issues: planning for the next 50 years and traffic on a dangerous corner.”

Cr Lewis proposed a motion calling for the station to be approved for Bair Street, but his motion

only attracted the support of councillors Kennedy and Deane.

Cr Lewis was concerned refusing the Bair Street option would result in Leongatha missing out on a new fire station, implying the State Government could withdraw funding.

He attempted to quote a letter sent by CFA CEO Mick Bourke but was told by mayor Cr Raabe the letter was not for public knowledge. Cr Lewis said Mr Bourke had advised council the Bair Street site was the only suitable location for a new fire station.

Cr Lewis said the prospect of a new police station being co-located on at emergency services precinct was unlikely given a new station was built in Anderson Street in recent years.

“I find it hard to see why the future of Leongatha pivots on whether the CFA goes on this site. If it did, somebody would have bought it (the site) many, many years ago,” he said.

Cr Kennedy said VicRoads agreed with the station being built in Bair Street with warning lights in place and said any retail development on the site would result in more traffic than created by

the CFA. “Ninety-five per cent of submissions to us have been on an emotional basis and had nothing to do with the planning scheme,” he said.

Cr Jackson said Leongatha needed large parcels of land in the main centre for large-scale development.

“It may not be on the radar now, but we can expect that it will be in the future, provided that an underdevelopment of this potential site doesn’t get in the way,” she said.

Cr Newton said former rail land in Long Street owned by the State Government would be a suitable site and called on council to write to the government calling for help.

He said placing a fire station in Bair Street was not proper planning for the next 100 years as retail space would be lost and traffic issues caused.

Cr Harding said council must work with the CFA to find an alternate site, given the “wonderful work” the CFA does for the community.

Cr Jim Fawcett abstained from voting due to a conflict of interest. ► Aldi looks for land, plus more fire station reports, page 13.

PAGE 4 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Storm of the century

Continued from page 1.

The property is at the top of a hill, but her house is down lower.

She saw water running “like a river” down cow tracks and a section of road was washed out so she had to rev her car through.

“It’s the worst I’ve ever experienced and I was wondering how far through the paddocks I’d have to walk!,” Ms Churchill said.

The road at the front of her property was washed out to the gateway, bluestone gouged to a depth of seven inches (17.5cm).

Struggling inside, she found her bathroom flooded.

“Water came through the hot water service and was also on its way into the laundry.”

At the weekend, she went into the paddocks

to check on the cattle and had a bird’s eye view of the surrounding soaked countryside.

“It was ‘a bit damp’ around the desal,” she said with understatement.

The Wonthaggi desalination plant is at Williamsons Beach, right where the Powlett River meets the sea.

Ms Churchill wasn’t the only motorist struggling home at day’s end.

Star staff joined a throng diverted from Bass Highway up TurnbullWoolamai Road between Dalyston and Kilcunda.

Traffic had to take the detour in both directions on a narrow road awash in places with floodwater.

During mid-afternoon, the Phillip Island Road near Anderson where protracted road works are creating a new section of

highway, was under deep floodwater.

Fielding constant calls from worried motorists, Wonthaggi Police were advising people at that stage that it was their decision whether to drive through.

But the water cleared quickly and the road was almost dry by evening.

An integration aide at Kongwak Primary School, Tammy Rowley said the road from Kongwak to Outtrim was covered in water.

She left there at 1.30pm on Friday.

“I had to go around a lot of water on the roads.

There were signs saying ‘water on the road’ and it was deep enough that I didn’t want to drive through it. Last winter there was a bit, but not like this.”

The sodden ground caused one of the old pine trees lining the back of Wonthaggi’s Guide Park to collapse.

Bass Coast Shire

Council infrastructure maintenance manager Jamie Sutherland said shire crews had more than 100 calls for help between Friday afternoon through to Saturday.

Mr Sutherland said McCraws Road is still closed because of road damage and he could not say when it might re-open. Heslop Road is open again.

Crews were out working all weekend and are currently assessing the worst affected areas.

Council engineers said flooding in McKenzie Street, Wonthaggi adjacent to the new Centennial Centre would not have been caused by construction there or at the nearby Bunnings’ site.

Mr Sutherland said flooding often happens in McKenzie Street when there is heavy rain and Friday’s downpour came on top of an already extremely wet May. He said the road is designed so that water drains away.

While acknowledging the area is very wet, Murray Goulburn transport manager Brad Close said Friday’s floods didn’t cause problems for the afternoon milk pick-up.

VicRoads’ acting regional director Sebastian Motta said yesterday afternoon that inspections will be carried out once flood waters recede. Information about roads impacted by floods is available on 13 11 70 or on the VicRoads web site.

SES to the rescue

By Simone Short SES volunteers were kept busy over the weekend, attending 127 requests for assistance across South Gippsland and Bass Coast.

Reports came in of building damage from wind and rain, water on property or in houses, trees down in yards and across roads.

In total, there were 11 requests for assistance considered a priority one category.

SES East Region community resilience coordinator Anna Larkin said the worst affected areas were Phillip Island, San Remo, Wonthaggi, Inverloch, Cowes, Cape Woolamai, Korumburra and Leongatha.

“The Bass Coast Highway was closed at Kilcunda due to flash flooding – it was closed Friday night and re-opened Saturday. Many local roads are still closed from flood damage,” she said, adding people should check the VicRoads website for updates on road closures.

“SES crews in the area rescued people in cars trapped by floodwater on Bass Coast Highway at Kilcunda and at Lance Creek. No one was hurt but both the occupants and the SES crews were put at risk by people driving through floodwaters.”

One vehicle was stuck in floodwaters for around two hours at Lance Creek after a Wonthaggi man attempted to drive his BMW through water on the road.

Police said the water, which was only knee deep, didn’t pose any threat to the driver, and officers had to push the car to safety by hand.

Mirboo North police received four reports of trees over roads and minor flooding, with some motorists pulling up just short and making light contact with two of the trees – fortunately, no one was injured.

Flooding across the Bass Highway in Leongatha South also caused a minor accident on

Suddenly a lake: a flooded paddock just south of Kongwak on Saturday morning, after the Powlett River overflowed.

Friday afternoon.

Ms Larkin said motorists should never drive through floodwater, even if it appears shallow.

“The water is often deeper and faster than it appears. It can build up against your car, stalling the engine or sweeping it off the road into deeper water,” she said.

“The road surface underneath may be damaged or there may be debris.”

Leongatha SES controller Tony Lindhard said they responded to 28 jobs on Friday night, ranging from roof and building damage to flooding and fallen trees.

“In between that we had a road accident and possible entrapment in Leongatha South,” he said.

“Then we had three incidents on Saturday and one on Sunday when a big tree that had fallen over a road was a traffic hazard.”

Another Leongatha SES volunteer reported flooding at the Korumburra Secondary College and a landslip on Wild Dog Valley Road, forc-

ing the road to close.

A call-out to Trida also had to be postponed until the following day due to dark and foggy conditions making driving too dangerous.

With all their resources stretched, Mr Lindhard said the past weekend was yet another reminder the SES are always looking for more volunteers.

“We certainly are looking for younger people. Anyone with any interest at all we’d be delighted to have them as a guest for the evening,” he said.

Ms Larkin said those who were affected by flash flooding over the past weekend are now aware they are at risk of flooding in the future.

“Take the opportunity to be better prepared for next time,” she said.

For information on how to plan for floods and storms, go to www.ses.vic.gov.au or contact Anna Larkin, SES community resilience coordinator, on 0437 241 283 or anna.larkin@ses. vic.gov.au.

Author gains international recognition MIRBOO North author David Arnault has won a major award from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for his novel, The Koan of the Fisherman’s Wife.

More than 5200 entrants were submitted to the US-based organisation where Mr Arnault’s book received the bronze medal in the visionary fiction category.

“It came as a surprise, but it’s also quite an honour to receive this award,” Mr Arnault said.

“It is like having someone you don’t know coming up and giving you a pat on the back. It’s a really nice experience.

“I suppose it’s something of a relief as well. I’ve been writing and publishing for 20 years and while I’m convinced my work is of a high quality and is improving year by year, I’ve had very little acknowledgment of that.

“There were entrants in this competition from all over the United States, and from 11 other English-speaking countries so the award represents a huge vote of

the strength of the human spirit. It is an optimistic story.

The awards ceremony will be held in New York City early in June, however unfortunately Mr Arnault is unable to attend.

“I have family just across the border from New York in Toronto, so it would have been great to be able to attend,” he said.

Mr Arnault is the author of 10 published works, including the popular detective series known as the Kovic Files, which can be found in bookshops across Gippsland.

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confidence in my work.

“I suspected I had something special with this book. I felt inspired right from the first paragraph and it was a joy to write.”

Launched in 1996, the Independent Publisher awards were the first unaffiliated awards program open exclusively to independent publishers, including universities and self-published works.

The Koan of the Fisherman’s Wife has two themes. One is concerned with the environmental degradation of the world’s oceans and the second theme speaks to

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 5

Roads caught in juggling act

By Jacob de Kunder THE State Government does not have money available to keep up with road maintenance, South Gippsland Shire Council CEO Tim Tamlin indicated last week.

He said anecdotally, the lack of road funding was connected with the drought in the 2000s.

“Because we had the drought, road maintenance hadn’t been a focus,” he said.

“If the road asset is going okay and keeping up with people’s requirements, money will come out of that and go to one that has got higher demand; it’s the old supply/demand economic drivers.

“Now the roads have gone feral because of all the wet weather, and the drains have not been maintained perhaps as good as they should’ve been.

Now the roads are falling apart and there’s no money to get in there and fix it up.

“They can’t get the money without having an impact on another service and it’s really tricky.”

Mr Tamlin said this at a truck safety forum in Leongatha last Wednesday.

VicRoads acting regional director Sebastian Motta said funding for the roads sector has remained relatively stable, with a slight increase over the last 10 years.

“You need to manage and prioritise with the funding you have available,” he said.

“Across the state, obviously the government needs to prioritise between hospital, police and so forth, and we need to do what we can with the available funding that we get to maintain our roads.”

Mr Motta said roads focused on by

Guest speakers: Acting Inspector Damian Whitford, VTA CEO Philip Lovel, VicRoads manager of project development Kenn Beer, training and safety co-ordinator for Holcim Tom Wachal and Wayne Clarke from Knorr-Bremse all spoke at the South Gippsland Crash Reduction Strategy Gathering in Leongatha.

VicRoads contractors were considered on a case by case basis.

“What we would do is look at the road and the volume and mix of traffic that it carries, whether it’s commercial vehicles, trucks and that sort of thing.

Depending on the location, we would just prioritise on the basis of that information,” he said.

“Then we would go back and look at what we need to do, like putting an overlay on top of just doing some basic treatments like pothole patching or refreshing up the line marking depending on the location.”

Sometimes VicRoads implements a holding treatment if the road is not a priority.

“What we aim to do is make the road safe; temporarily repair it,” Mr Motta said.

“Then you might find our contractors coming back within weeks or months when they are better able to prioritise and schedule it in with larger works, and do three, four, five more larger patches in that area to make it more cost effective.

Mr Motta said, from a network point of view, some areas are better

than others and VicRoads is concentrating on the worst areas first.

“Making the roads safe for road users is really the objective,” he said.

A heated discussion ended the second annual South Gippsland Crash Reduction Strategy Gathering.

Truck drivers questioned the state of the roads, accusing contractors of not doing their jobs properly and saying money was spent the wrong way.

VicRoads manager of project development Kenn Beer, who spoke to the group, defended how VicRoads spent its money.

“We understand the frustration and you could take me out tomorrow and show me the roads are not great in some areas, but we have to identify and deal with the biggest problems first,” he said.

“Sometimes it may seem like things aren’t getting fixed, but we have to decide between doing minor repairs on a large stretch of road to make it safe or do full repairs on a small section, leaving potholes through the rest of the road.

“You can help by calling 13 11 70 and report hazards.”

Another way of reporting road problems was raised by Tom Wachal, training and safety co-ordinator for Holcim.

Mr Wachal introduced the group to the ‘Near Miss’ reporting system and explained their importance in improving overall driver safety.

A near miss report is a report on an incident that almost or could have happened.

Victorian Transport Association CEO Philip Lovel said he was working on numerous road safety measures.

Acting Inspector for the Bass Coast Police Service Area Damian Whitford spoke about what Victoria Police are doing to crack down on heavy vehicle safety.

The police have introduced a new Heavy Vehicle Unit which will target trucks while other units have been encouraged to intercept heavy vehicles.

“We don’t have a whole lot of data on heavy vehicles at the moment, but when we figure out which companies are doing the right thing you won’t be bothered as much,” he said.

PAGE 6 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Art extravaganza showcases college SOUTH Coast Christian College held its annual open day and art festival on Saturday.

Wendy Watsford, school community relations manager, said the day was a big success.

“It is a celebration of artwork, combined with a school open day which is a fun day out for the community,” she said.

“There were staff and board members on hand to answer any questions about the school, as well as many activities for the kids to enjoy.”

Some of the different activities included knitting, wood work and etching, face painting, scrapbooking with Kaszazz,

badge making and crafty mums.

There was also an artwork display in the hall, displaying work by both students, and local artists.

The Lion’s Club was on hand to supply hot chips and other yummy treats, as well as fairy floss and other sweet treats for the kids.

It was an opportunity for kindergarten students from around the district to enter a colouring competition and there was an art competition for the students of the Christian college in four categories from grades Prep to Year 10.

• More photos in next week’s Star.

TAFE faces wait

By Jane Ross IT will be two weeks before GippsTAFE knows the full impact of State Budget cuts.

Balloon fun: Anton, Toby and Charli have some fun at the South Coast Christian College open day, held at Leongatha on Saturday. The kids had many activities to choose from, such as face painting, badge making and wood etching.

Murray Goulburn still uncertain

By Simone Short ALMOST three weeks after announcing job cuts, it is still unclear exactly how many workers will be laid off at the Murray Goulburn factory in Leongatha.

A release from the National Union for Workers claimed between 21 to 26 employees, of which 10 are skilled casuals, will lose their jobs.

“We can’t comment on the numbers released by the NUW as we have no way of knowing who they relate to,” a spokesperson for Murray Goulburn said.

“We believe they may be calling out NUW members impacted but this is not clear. Murray Goulburn

is working constructively with employees across all sites and with the four different unions representing impacted employees. We stand by the facts contained in our change announcement on May 10.”

Murray Goulburn previously explained the impact would be 10 per cent, or around 40 roles.

NUW industrial officer Adam Portelli said the union was concerned about the selection criteria being used by the company to sack workers.

“In the first instance we would want to see the company call for voluntary redundancies across the sites before making forced redundancies,” he said.

“We also hold serious concerns that a new casual workforce will be brought in at various plants to re-

place the full-time jobs which Murray Goulburn is shedding.”

A spokesperson for Murray Goulburn told The Star last week that part of the reduction in roles would include outsourcing of some functions previously performed by employees.

“For example, we’ve determined that it is more efficient to outsource the transportation of finished goods between Murray Goulburn and the distribution centres,” they said.

“We would like to add that we are working on redeployment options wherever possible for impacted employees, and that we are also considering requests for voluntary redundancies, but clearly we need to balance these requests with our business requirements.”

These have stripped $10 million from the institution.

For the Leongatha campus, that means no more hospitality or business courses.

New ones are planned in order to keep the campus viable.

Some of the 25 Leongatha staff will lose their jobs but GippsTAFE CEO Dr Peter Whitley said he didn’t yet know who’d be made redundant.

Like his colleagues around the state, he’s still angry about the cuts which, he said, came “out of the blue”.

Given those in power are from the region (Deputy Premier Peter Ryan and Higher Education and Skills Minister Peter Hall) Dr Whitley said he’s astonished by their action.

“The impact is immense across our entire community. The bigger knock-on effect is amazing. The opportunity to do a range and diversification of programs will be gone.

“It’s unfathomable.”

He’s disappointed that

in a meeting he had with Mr Hall recently, the minister didn’t in his view, provide any vision for the TAFE of the future.

And Dr Whitley’s bamboozled by the mixed messages coming out of government.

On Friday evening, Mr Hall delivered the state’s response to the Gippsland Tertiary Education Plan report; the function held in the Morwell GippsTAFE training restaurant, where hospitality students learn the finer points of table setting, taking orders, plating and serving food and beverages.

Dr Whitley could only laugh sarcastically at the irony.

The restaurant, regarded as the best of its kind in the state, may well close.

He said that the government’s message that the TAFE cuts were necessary to concentrate instead on apprentices is fine in theory.

“How many apprenticeships are there in Leongatha? How many employers are putting on apprentices?” he asked.

“The drop-out rate is horrendous.”

Dr Whitley said staff at the Leongatha campus are also trying to evaluate whether old courses

will be viable if they carry “a vastly increased fee structure”.

He advised students to enrol quickly before fees rise this July 1.

The manager of Leongatha’s GippsTAFE campus Stuart Cooper said on Friday new courses being considered for next year include Certificate II and III in Animal Studies, Certificate IV in Nursing (Division2/Enrolled Nurse) and a course that prepares participants for work.

“This would be ideal for those in the community who have barriers to learning.”

Mr Cooper said Certificate I in Vocational Preparation is under review.

Meanwhile State Shadow Minister for Skills and Apprenticeships Steve Herbert, said Premier Ted Baillieu doesn’t seem to understand how the cuts are impacting on staff and teachers.

Federal Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills Senator Chris Evans met with Victorian TAFE CEOs last week, saying the Commonwealth was “very concerned and very disappointed” about the funding cuts which he described as retrograde.

Coal gas action THE people of Mirboo North are forming an action group to fight coal seam gas mining.

They’ve called a meeting for Sunday June 17, to be held at the Grain Store.

The group’s first task will be to take a deputation to South Gippsland Shire Council, probably on June 20, seeking support for a ban on coal seam gas extraction.

“We have to stand up for our rights,” resident Brigitte Kat said.

She and fellow anti coal mining activist Phil Piper were among the 50 or so people at the Grain Store on Sunday afternoon, watching a film called Gaslands. The film documents the effects on people’s lives of fracking, a process used to extract gas from coal seams.

As the film shows, fracking employs vast amounts of water and small amounts of toxic chemicals that are pumped under pressure to crack the coal and release its gas.

Aquifers can be contaminated and that impacts on everyone.

Brigitte said she organised the showing of the film because the people of Mirboo North didn’t know what was going on with coal seam gas mining. Most of the town’s

surrounds are the subject of coal mining exploration licences.

“And if you’re not going to be explored, they’re looking into it.”

She stopped the film halfway through to speak about her fears, while Phil Piper spoke about the large local area subject to licence.

He explained he knew nothing of the exploration lease that includes his land until a newspaper rang to ask him how he felt about it.

Objectors are unlikely to draw comfort from a State Government inquiry into greenfields mineral exploration in the state.

A press release about the tabling of the report last week, stated that Victoria’s share of national mineral exploration spending has declined to around two per cent “during one of Australia’s greatest resources booms”.

“The committee received overwhelming evidence that regulation of the Victorian exploration, mining and extractives industries has become increasingly difficult to navigate, costly in both time and money and in need of simplification.”

There are 25 recommendations “addressing important issues to Victoria’s resources sector”.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 7

Supermarket vision gains pace

By Brad Lester KORUMBURRA is closer to having a second supermarket.

South Gippsland Shire Council last Wednesday progressed the proposed rezoning of the former council offices complex by calling on an independent planning panel to consider submissions to the plan.

Council received two objections to the proposal but one was withdrawn.

The only objection standing is that of Mary-Anne Hall, who lives in nearby Victoria Street. She addressed council the previous week.

Also at last Wednesday’s meeting, council voted to refer amendments C70 and C66 to independent panels.

C70 introduces the recommendations of the Korumburra Structure Plan into the Municipal Strategic Statement of the South

Gippsland Planning Scheme by extending the town boundary westwards.

C66 seeks to rezone 73ha from Farming Zone to Residential One Zone around Bena Road.

The mooted residential growth adds strength to the case for a second supermarket in Korumburra.

The former council offices complex also contains the Korumburra library, gallery, historical society, Rotary club, a meeting room and community storage space.

The rezoning will result in a space capable of being developed into a supermarket, in line with the recommendation of the Korumburra Priority Development Panel Report of May 2010.

Council considers the gently sloping site as ideal, given the prevalence of hilly land around Korumburra.

Cr Jennie Deane said the State

Government had ruled out the former saleyards site being developed as a retail precinct and believed the former shire offices would be a logical alternative site.

While she said she sympathised with Ms Hall for not wishing to live near a supermarket, she said council “needs to look at the greater good”.

“We have to think of the older people and the young families that are forced to leave Korumburra to shop.

Another supermarket would offer competitive prices and variety,” Cr Deane said, adding the communities of Loch, Nyora, Bena and Poowong would benefit too.

That view was backed by mayor Cr Warren Raabe.

“We have about 8000 people in the feeder area that would use the supermarket. Those 8000 people are saying bring it on and we have one saying do not,” he said.

“I think our job as councillors and as leaders is to consider the greater good. It seems in my mind that Korumburra is calling out for a better retail offering.”

Cr Bob Newton was the only councillor against the rezoning, saying the plight of residents near the old offices must be respected.

“I do not think people around that area realise how they will be affected,” he said.

Cr Newton believed a new supermarket at that site would result in intersection works, including roundabouts, at four junctions, at a cost of about $250,000 each.

Council received one objection to C70 from a resident of Bena Road whose land has a rural outlook over Farming Zone land on the northern side of Bena Road.

That area is destined for residential development under C66, to which the

objector is opposed.

Bena Road resident Richard Collyer addressed council the previous week on behalf of other Bena Road residents.

He was concerned about drainage on land under the C66 proposal and also further erosion of Foster Creek, into which the drain flows.

Mr Collyer said the established Valley Views Estate had resulted in considerable erosion of Foster Creek.

“Very significant volunteer work is being done to maintain the creek and its surrounds as it flows through properties and the public park downstream of the Valley Views Estate development, and is now an environmental asset to the township,” he told council.

Mr Collyer asked council to address erosion in the creek and also asked who would be responsible for monitoring drainage in any new estate within the C66 site.

Farmers Minister Peter appeal

Walsh to visit

Country welcome: Hallston farmers Mal and Carol Cock of Amberley Park took part in Farm Day last Sunday.

They showed the Woods family from Mount Evelyn, parents Matthew and Nicola and their children Abby and Jack, around their sheep and cattle farm.

VICTORIAN Agriculture Minister Peter Walsh will visit Venus Bay next month to discuss residents’ concerns about pipis.

Venus Bay people have been concerned the harvesting of pipis is unsustainable and Mr Walsh will hear their views as part of formulating policy.

The minister will be in Venus Bay on Friday, June 15.

South Gippsland Shire Councillor Kieran Kennedy announced the minister’s visit at last Wednesday’s council meeting.

“We are a little town on the South Gippsland coast that is certainly going into the corridors of power in Spring Street,” he said.

PAGE 8 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Funding to transform iconic halls

By Sarah Vella

THE Victorian Government will contribute $282,750 towards the redevelopment of three halls in the Corner Inlet region, Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional and Rural Development, Peter Ryan announced on Friday.

Speaking at Mount Best, Mr Ryan said the $377,000 Corner Inlet Halls Network Redevelopment Project would redevelop and upgrade community halls at Toora, Mount Best and Hedley.

“Redeveloping and upgrading the three halls is crucial to improving their condition and ensuring they provide improved accessibility and usability,” he said.

“We come to government to be able to do things like this. It is one thing to talk about it and another thing to follow through and do it.

“This project will deliver improved community infrastructure, activities and services, and will also generate opportunities for new programs and activities.

“The other important feature of this announcement is that these mini communities, as we improve their facilities, are better able to retain the people who are here.

“It will also help to attract new people to the area to come and live with us. That is the importance of not only this project, but the other significant projects that are happening in this area.

“This project and the other investments we are making are not only about now, but about the future.”

The Toora Hall component includes replacing the existing asbestos roof with a functional and safe roof, including the safe removal of the asbestos.

Mary Biemans, president of the Toora Hall committee, said the an-

Happy Meeniyan: Peter Ryan, Ethel Hanks, Richard Powell, Tammy Ball, Brian Hoskins and John Parnell from the Meeniyan Hall committee are planning on getting work started on renovating the outside of their hall very soon. nouncement was exciting.

“It has taken us around five years to get to this point,” she said.

“It got to the stage that

if we didn’t get a grant, we would have had to close the hall. We can’t say enough about the shire and the help that they have

given us.”

The Mount Best Hall component is for a major extension, including a meeting room, toilets,

storage area and upgrade to kitchen facilities.

The Hedley Hall component is for the redevelopment of the existing public amenities to provide accessible and serviceable standards.

South Gippsland Shire Council will contribute a further $34,250.

“The remainder of the project will be funded by the local hall committees, with the Toora Hall Committee contributing $40,000, the Mount Best Hall committee contributing $15,000 and the Hedley Hall committee contributing $5000,” he said.

Mr Ryan also announced an additional $139,650 toward restoration of the Meeniyan Mechanics Institute Hall, which would support the structural longevity of

the popular entertainment venue.

“The Meeniyan Mechanics Institute Hall committee is also providing $26,550 towards this project, as well as $20,000 from the South Gippsland Shire Council,” he said.

South Gippsland Shire Council mayor Cr Warren Raabe welcomed the funding.

“I think it is a reflection of the planning that the shire is doing. This effort is particularly impressive,” Cr Raabe said.

“The five halls got together and three halls bubbled to the top. The communities really worked hard together to get the funding.”

Police taser ’Gatha man POLICE were forced to taser a Leongatha man after he threatened officers with knives during a Boolarra siege on Sunday.

The 22-year-old man led police on a chase across South Gippsland, after fleeing from a house in Leongatha.

The incident began when police were called to a dispute at a Koonwarra Road property around 12.30am.

Senior Sergeant Trevor Teer said the male offender drove away from the scene at a high speed, before performing a number of U-turns up and down the street passing the parked police vehicle.

“This occurred a few times when the offender once again drove past the now stationary police car,” he said.

“As he drove past the police car on this occasion, the offender deliberately sideswiped the po-

lice car.”

Some minor damage was caused to the rear driver’s panel on the car, but fortunately neither officer was injured.

The 22-year-old male then drove to Boolarra, whilst Leongatha Police patrolled the area looking for him.

At about 4am, the man arrived at his girlfriend’s address in Morrows Road in Boolarra, where he allegedly caused major damage to the premises and its

contents.

Detective Senior Constable Peter Brereton from the Latrobe Criminal Investigation Unit said once police attended, the man armed himself with a number of knives and held police at bay.

“He was approaching police on several occasions and threatening police,” he said.

Members of the Critical Incident Response team were called in from Melbourne, along with canine units.

“Once again, he’s approached police and threat-

ened police with knives where he’s been subdued and arrested,” Det S/C Brereton said.

“A taser was deployed.”

The man has been charged with a number of offences, including causing reckless conduct endangering lives, assaulting police, criminal damage and traffic matters.

He was remanded overnight and appeared at Morwell Magistrates Court yesterday morning, where another remand application was lodged.

POLICE BRIEFS Serious assault

Caltex robbed

A WONTHAGGI man has been charged after leaving another Wonthaggi male seriously injured last Thursday.

BURGLARS targeted the Caltex service station in Cowes on Sunday, May 20.

Police were called to Merrin Crescent in Wonthaggi at around 4.15pm to find two males fighting.

A 23-year-old man was airlifted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious head injuries.

The offender, a 30-year-old man, was arrested at the scene and charged with intentionally causing serious injury.

He has been bailed to appear at the Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on May 29.

Liquor thief A SOUTH Dudley woman was arrested and charged for theft last Friday.

The woman allegedly stole alcohol from Safeway in Wonthaggi at about 7pm last Wednesday and again at about 8.15pm on Friday.

The woman is a banned person under the local Liquor Accord.

She was remanded at Morwell to appear at court.

Offenders smashed a large glass window at the service station in Thompson Avenue, and stole cash and cigarettes from behind the counter.

Anyone with information regarding the incident can contact Wonthaggi Police on 5672 1222.

Gas leak KORUMBURRA residents were instructed to stay indoors after a natural gas pipeline was ruptured on Sunday.

At around 10.45am, a contractor working for SP Ausnet hit the pipe in Victoria Street whilst using an auger.

CFA crews arrived and instructed local residents to stay indoors and shut off any naked flames or points of ignition.

Traffic control was used in controlling a 100 metre exclusion zone.

The pipe was eventually shut off and repairs were made.

No loss of gas to local businesses or residential premises occurred.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 9

School site in limbo

By Matt Dunn THE Dumbalk community will meet tonight (Tuesday) to discuss the future of the town’s former primary school site.

The meeting will be held at the old kindergarten at 7.30pm.

Dumbalk and District Progress Association president Don Cooper wants to save the town’s former primary school, but admits he is “more or less resigned to the fact that it’s going to be sold”.

Deputy Premier Peter Ryan halted the former school site’s sale, with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) seemingly unaware of the decision. Selling agent PBE’s Michael Wrigley was also kept in the dark.

Mr Wrigley is still receiving calls from frustrated potential buyers, who want to know when the sale will proceed.

The auction of the site was scheduled for Friday, April 27.

The main idea being floated is for the school site to be turned into an aged care facility, Mr Cooper said.

Neither government – state or local – is keen on purchasing the site. And there seems to be no one in the community with the money to buy the land and develop it.

South Gippsland Shire Council CEO Tim Tamlin said there was never any plan to buy the site and nothing had changed.

“I’m not aware of any strategic objective council has to purchase the land,” he said.

Mr Tamlin believes that a push within the Dumbalk community showed the “passion of the area and the disappointment that it (the school) is not a going concern

anymore”.

Mr Cooper said the establishment of an aged care facility was “by far the most popular idea”. A park and a men’s shed had also been put on the table.

“Nearly everyone I’ve spoken to agrees that an aged care facility would be the best use for the site, with self-contained cottages like the development at Mirboo North.

They’d be for people who are independent to a certain degree, but need a little bit of care or medical attention,” he said.

Mr Cooper said Dumbalk was “very much a retirement type of area” and the development would fit in well.

“You try the government departments and you get the usual ministers and local members saying: ‘Yes, it’s a very good idea, but the budget’s constrained at the moment,’” he said.

“I can’t think of anyone around here who would have the capital to establish it, because it would be quite expensive.”

Aside from a lack of money, a lack of sewerage was also seen as a stumbling block.

Mr Cooper is also doubtful that the money, or even part of it, could be raised by the local community.

“I’m very doubtful the district could support it. People are very much in favour of the idea, but when it comes to putting up money it becomes difficult. I think you’d probably need several thousand dollars from each family. There’s not too many people who have that sort of money,” he said.

“To put it in a nutshell, it’s a great idea.

If we could get a government department to take it on, it’d be great. But as far as the rest of it goes, I’m more or less resigned to the fact that it’s going to be sold.”

Feeling hungry: Rebecca Lunn and Poppy Noble supported the Biggest Morning Tea held at South Coast Christian College in Leongatha last week, one of many such events held around the region. Turn to page 36 for more coverage.

Garbage is so costly

By Jane Ross OVER the next 10 years, the cost of garbage disposal will increase dramatically.

Cr Gareth Barlow sounded that warning at the May meeting of Bass Coast Shire Council, while speaking to a motion to increase landfill and transfer station fees.

It already costs $2,356,848 to deal with garbage disposal and next year, that’s expected to spike to $3,049,642.

Of that, council overheads are $164,185 for this financial year and an estimated $238,849 for next.

EPA landfill levies are huge -

$715,000 this year and an expected $900,000 the next. The amount of garbage this year is expected to reach 23,700 tonnes, growing to 27,000 in 2012/13.

All that extrapolates to an average cost of $99 per tonne (including GST) with that expected to rise to $113.

Accordingly, councillors agreed the $105 landfill gate price per tonne should go up to $110, the commercial and industrial landfill gate price per tonne from $105 to $130 and fees for disposal of green waste increase from $12 per cubic metre to $14. The transfer station price per cubic metre will remain at $35.

Cr John Duscher said no one liked to see fees go up, but he didn’t think

council had a choice.

“Waste management is one of our greatest expenses. We have to acknowledge the costs are imposed on us.”

The rises agreed to don’t reflect the carbon tax. It’s not yet certain whether council will have to pay a carbon tax on landfill emissions.

Infrastructure director Felicity Sist told councillors the council was under the threshold for paying the tax on its landfill operations “but we need to be mindful of population increases”. With that in mind, ways are being considered for capturing the methane gas emissions.

Cr Peter Paul drew groans as he commented, “It’s all rubbish!”

PAGE 10 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

BASS Valley Primary School had some good fortune in the recent Super Pages Art Competition. Jai Findlater won first prize and Emily Pendlebury, Jasmine Crow, Britney Ames and Luke Hamilton received runner up prizes. Along with his great first prize of an art pack, Jai also won $500 for his school.

Well done to the students and to Sue Brown for organising the entries to the competition.

EVERY year 1000 Australians are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS), the most common neurological condition for young people in the

country. In the lead up to World MS Day on May 30, people around the nation will be taking part in MS Awareness Month.

An incurable disease of the central nervous system, MS strikes people in the prime of their lives. Seventy-five per cent of people with MS are women, the average age of diagnosis is between 20 and 40 and symptoms include walking difficulties, extreme pain, slurring of speech and visual problems.

MS Australia is calling on people across the country to show their support during May so they can make lives better through the right treatment and support and con-

Congratulations: Birgit Senior graduated from the College of Applied Psychology with a Bachelor of Applied Social Science Degree (Counselling) on May 18. Birgit is currently working in the forensic drug and alcohol field.

tinue the search for a cure.

Participate by wearing red lipstick, a red lip sticker on your collar, by wearing red, or by making a donation.

Kiss Goodbye to MS events are being held across the country throughout May. To hold your own event or to get involved, visit www.kissgoodbyetoms.org or like ‘Kiss Goodbye to MS’ on Facebook for more details.

COME and celebrate the launch of the Tarwin Lower/Venus Bay Community Plan and the Transit of Venus, on Wednesday June 6 at the Tarwin Lower Recreation Reserve.

Transit viewing will occur from 8.16am to 2.46pm and the Community Plan launch will be on from 11am to 12pm.

There will be a solar telescope on hand to witness the Transit of Venus, local live music, a free sausage sizzle; an astronomer will be in attendance and the Tarwin Lower Primary School will present the history of Venus Bay and the Transit of Venus. Personalised certificates to mark the historic event can be purchased on the day and there will be a giant screen and television link up showing the Transit of Venus.

LOCH’s Biggest Morning Tea was run by the bowling club ladies for the Loch Community last Wednesday. It was a big success, with $655 raised for the Cancer Council.

The free use of the fire station rooms contributed to the success of the morning. Pam and her assistants did a great job of demonstrating some cooking.

The event was helped by the presence of many Nyora friends and by Roma with her stall.

To all those that helped on the day, the few brave men who attended, the businesses and schools that ordered morning tea and to all of the visitors, the bowling club sends its thanks.

MEMBERS of Bass Coast Regional Health’s Communication Skills Support Group visited Mosaic by the Bay studio garden gallery recently.

The visit was followed up by a mosaic day last Wednesday when gallery owner Heather Fahnle inspired and assisted the group again to create some beautiful pieces of work.

Days like this provide the group with an opportunity for respite from the daily routine,

strengthening of friendships and supports, confidence building, and an introduction or extension of a new leisure activity.

The group would like to acknowledge the support of Latrobe Community Health Service in assisting Bass Coast Regional Health with funding for the respite weekend and carer mosaic day. They would also like to thank Heather for her generosity and support.

Inquiries about the group can be made by calling Janette McNair at Bass Coast Regional Health on 5671 3343.

Heather Fahnle of Mosaics by the Bay can be contacted on 0417 562 625.

R E C O N C I L I AT I O N Australia, the peak body promoting reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians, has chosen for National Reconciliation Week 2012 the theme ‘Let’s Talk Recognition’.

National Reconciliation Week is an ideal time

for everyone to join the reconciliation conversation and reflect on our shared histories, contributions and achievements.

The Bass Coast/South Gippsland Reconciliation Group, with the support of Reconciliation Victoria and the Bass Coast and South Gippsland shires, has arranged an event to celebrate National Reconciliation Week at the Wonthaggi Centennial Information Centre on the corner of McKenzie Street, (Bass Highway) and Bent Street in Wonthaggi.

At 10am, hear “Australia’s First Peoples – The Need for Constitutional Recognition”, A Conversation with Dr Peter Lewis – president of ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation).

THE works on extensions and refurbishment of units at Linton Court at Foster are nearing completion.

Thanks to building contractor Michael McGlead, the works have made quick progress and

the units are expected to be completed in July.

The works have involved major extensions to two units, adding a second bedroom, enlarging the kitchen and lounge area, as well as upgrading the bathrooms.

All appliances have also been replaced, so that the units are really brand new in every respect.

Linton Court Elderly People’s Homes Society Inc. was established in 1970.

It is a charitable body fully run on an honorary basis by volunteers from the community. It provides affordable housing to older members of our community.

At present the waiting list is not long, so anyone interested should contact honorary secretary Clive White on 5682 2211 or honorary treasurer Lloyd McKenzie on 5682 1293. The society is quite happy to receive applications from people looking to the future and seeking to be consulted when any units become available.

Storytime captivates kids

By Sarah Vella YOUNG people gathered at the Leongatha branch of the West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation, to take part in National Simultaneous Storytime on Wednesday.

Every year, a picture book written and illustrated by an Australian author and illustrator, is read simultaneously in libraries, schools, pre-schools, childcare centres, family homes, bookshops and many other places around the country.

Jan Martin from South Gippsland Shire Council read the 2012 story, The Very Cranky Bear by

Nick Bland at Leongatha.

It is a wonderful tale about friendship, sacrifice and learning that appearances aren’t important.

Leonie Parker from the library then took over in the reader’s chair and read several more stories to the children, before engaging them in art and craft.

In its 12th successful year, National Simultaneous Storytime is organised by the Australian Library and Information Association.

The event is held annually as part of Library and Information Week.

National Simultaneous Storytime is an important annual national literacy campaign that guarantees more young Australians will get reading.

Day out: Max Sheahan of Leongatha North with his grandmother, Sue Svenson from Cape Liptrap. Max made a happy bear mask and got to take home his very own book after the story time on Wednesday.

Life membership for Mike Curley MIKE Curley of Leongatha has long been a regular feature at Woorayl Lodge, always popping in to see what he could do to lend a hand.

Twisting, turning: Maris Motu (Latin: sea motion, movement of the sea) was performed at Inverloch on Saturday evening as part of the Creative Gippsland Arts Festival.

The work was presented in the home of sculptor Jordan Crugnale and musician Mark Finsterer, and positively received by a full house.

Accompanied by Finsterer creating a soundscape on guitar, Nancy Sposato combined dance and text which was set within Crugnale’s wire fish sculptures against a backdrop of driftwood.

The collaboration of the three mediums created a visual poem that reflected on the ocean and its shores, and how it affects people consciously and subconsciously.

He’s done so much over the past 14 years, the committee of management has awarded him a life membership.

From washing dishes, chatting with residents, overseeing refurbishment projects, raising money, promoting the lodge, to chairing meetings and working out how best the aged care facility could meet changing standards, Mike has done it all.

Chairman Keith Marshman said Mike joined the committee in 1998, at a time of great change in the aged care inHard worker: no task was too small for Mike Cur- dustry, when Woorayl Lodge ley, past chairman and deputy chairman of Woorayl needed extensive refurbishLodge, of which he is now a life member. ment in order to meet industry

standards.

He was heavily involved in fund raising for, planning and implementation of the upgrading works that were needed.

Over 10 years and in seven separate stages, he represented the committee in this process.

Mr Marshman said Mike was a tireless representative of the lodge in the Leongatha community and filled the position of deputy chairman and chairman over a ten year period.

Recent poor health has meant Mike had to relinquish the position of chairman, but he has remained an active committee member.

Mr Marshman said the life membership recognised Mike’s work over 14 years and his contribution to the elderly residents of the lodge in that time.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 11

PAGE 12 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Pipis doubt

THE title in The Star (“Pipis safe, scientists declare”) last week is misleading.

Mr Lewis was at the Venus Bay Surf Club to present a discussion about the results of his successful presentation for a high distinction award, honours degree in biology 2011, research/ thesis about recreational harvest of the Venus Bay pipi.

At no time did Mr Lewis or anyone else declare the “pipi safe” in the presence of me or my husband.

In response to The Star’s heading, I put the following: • Mr Lewis stated that the report or “current stock count is not available for release” it has not been “peer reviewed”.

• there were others at the meeting with varying degrees of science background, yet no one made any comments which declared the pipi “safe”. How could they?

• the latest stock count report has not been “released”? This unready status was confirmed by Cr. Kennedy.

• a report from the fisheries officer also informed us that there were nine enforcement officers allocated to Venus Bay for the summer season. An outcome of nine per cent non-compliance with that level of fishery officers

(in uniform) does not, it is clear to me, equal “the best (compliance) figures we could get” to quote Cr Kennedy.

The reported breaches of pipi catch: (a) lack of authority (no licence); (b) breaching catch limits; and (c) use of tools.

Mr Lewis in the summary of his thesis (page v) states “These findings are of importance as they highlight that recreational harvest, in the absence of commercial harvest, exerted significant impact on pipi stock structure within Venus Bay… social factors were shown to contribute to this stock decline…it is vital that that management strategies are implemented to ensure the sustainability of this activity.”

One study he cites, has removed previous assumptions regarding recreational harvest as negligible, (LZ p18) recreational harvest is 20 per cent of annual pipi catch in NSW (L Z p 52).

Harvesters at Venus Bay were selecting sexually immature pipis in 93 per cent of cases (L Z p54).

Mr Lewis has resiled from his thesis statements recommending a minimum size limit.

A minimum size limit is used for recreational harvesting and is managed by other Australian state governments. Sexual maturity defined in the Lewis thesis relates to shell length.

Adult pipis possess reproduc-

E D I T O R I A L

Pool positivity WITH plenty of puddles for people to splash in after last week’s deluge, the last thing on South Gippslanders’ minds right now could well be swimming pool figures.

South Gippsland Shire Council last week revealed outdoor swimming pool attendance figures for last summer.

These figures carry particular significance as falling attendances now signal the beginning of the end for outdoor pools, since council adopted its aquatic strategy earlier this year.

Under that strategy, a drop in attendances by 20 per cent for two consecutive seasons based on average attendances from 200506 through to 2010-11 would result in council reviewing a pool’s future.

Pool communities vowed to ensure their pools remained and the uncertainty council cast over pools seems to have inspired the public. All outdoor pools reported attendances higher than 201011: Toora 22,206 (20,882 in 2010-2011), Foster 5871 (4000), Mirboo North 12,401 (8564), Korumburra 13,269 (10,283) and Poowong 5457 (2893).

At first glance, the figures appear encouraging but all pools except Mirboo North reported a lower attendance than in 200910. No doubt the parochialism will continue into next season, but communities will now need to maintain that spirit into future years and beyond if their pools are to remain.

Quarry win A NEW quarry will be developed at Leongatha South, securing the future of the Holcim operation and employing up to 15 staff.

The quarry was the subject of mediation at the Victorian Civil Administration Tribunal (VCAT), after Holcim sought altered permit conditions from South Gippsland Shire Council and an objector also raised concerns.

The parties negotiated successfully and a permit was subsequently issued.

News of this settlement is a win for the broader region, as the quarry supplies quality bluestone, a point raised by council mayor Cr Warren Raabe at last week’s council meeting, providing council and private customers with a local product that in turn reduces cartage costs.

With recent news of Murray Goulburn reducing its workforce and long-term vacant shops in Leongatha, the community needs every business – and source of employment - it can get.

Letters guidelines ALL letters should be kept to 400 words or less.

The Star reserves the right to edit all letters for length and style.

Writer’s details, including full name, address and phone number (not for publication), must be included.

tion ability. Minimum size limits “protect juveniles from harvest pressure and reduces risk of population decline through decreased recruitment”. ZL Table 1.4.

A document, Early, J. Lewis Z, Scarr, M. Scarpaci, C 2012 .Stock Assessment of Venus Bay Pipis (2011) published by DPI 2012. was sent by Peter Walsh MLA Minister Agriculture and Food Security dated May 7 and received by me May 11, 2012.

The period in which the stock count took place was September to October 2011.

It is interesting that the publication date inserted on the inside cover of the document matched the approximate date of release, April 2012, which Deputy Premier Peter Ryan and Minister Peter Walsh had previously advertised.

The gap between the project write up (23 pages) and publication triggered doubts. Six months.

In addition the summer stock count was missing. Information provided at my request by the Victoria University on May 21, 2012, confirmed that a summer count 2011/2012 by a student (I assume Early J.) was yet to be presented for an honours degree in biology (May 2012).

In early et al (2011) states that “the project was part of a presentation for an Honours Degree in Biology”. I was advised to write about my concerns to the DPI by the Victoria University, which I did on May 23, 2012.

The advertised report was expected/anticipated by the community to be a credible, complete and substantial two season report.

Minister Walsh offered a meeting with me and others, for June in Venus Bay. When I receive an authentic report, a meeting with the Minister and the Opposition Spokesperson, John Lenders MLC who offered in February 2012 to come to Venus Bay, will be possible and welcome.

Ring Fisheries at 133 474 with details of any breach.

Beverley Walker, Venus Bay.

Proposal unsustainable WHILST being in complete support for Meeniyan’s development of a community sustainability centre, there appears to be unsupported claims in the business plans for a proposed

farmers’ market.

Have the producers that attend local farmers’ markets in South Gippsland been consulted or has the management of the established markets in the region been asked for their input?

Research would have revealed that there is a significant deficiency of growers and speciality food maker stallholders nearby able to attend additional events.

Local producers would also question any evidence that the proponents have that thousands of farmers’ market food loving tourists would flock to South Gippsland fromMelbourne.

If there was a means of attracting viable tourist numbers, other than public holidays, then no doubt the existing farmers’ markets in country Victoria would be applying them and enjoying the results of their efforts.

Recently Jane Adams, the founding spokesperson of the Australian Farmers Market Association, advised in an interview in Tasmania that it would be a mistake for a rapid expansion of farmers markets without the availability of local producers and an adequate population of supporting food devotees.

The interview can be found at digitalfarmtv.com, Farm-

ers market fan club (May 24).

Rod Faudell, Whitelaw.

Bad report DEAR Mr Ryan, the report card for you as the local member is not looking too good after many months in government, with a litany of broken promises.

Our teachers are not going to be the best paid in Australia, our regional TAFE colleges have been gutted by your recent budget, we endured the whole Overland debacle, employment and economic growth in Victoria is in decline, Victoria’s infrastructure and development is in a vacuum and the state of the South Gippsland Highway is twice as bad as the last time you came down to scoff at the potholes in the road.

Dear oh dear. Perhaps regional Victoria should have thought twice about the benefits of a Coalition Government.

Andrew McFarland, Venus Bay.

Not safe I AM a frequent visitor to Venus Bay and have taken a special interest in the pipi for a number of years.

My partner and I attended the reference committee meeting at Venus Bay on May 15 and at no time did anyone present use the phrase The Star used in its headlines “pipis safe”.

The article refered to a report Stock Assessment of Venus Bay Pipis (2011) by Early, Lewis, Scarr & Scarpaci in a manner that suggested that its findings were presented at the meeting and its findings made public; it was not.

If however this report does call for pipis to be monitored over at least one annual cycle then that is what the community has been asking for over some time.

The prior study Recreational harvest; characteristics and impacts on the pipi, Donax deltiodes, at Venus Bay, Victoria (2010) by Lewis called for size limits, also something the community has been asking for for some time.

It would be hoped that Minister Peter Walsh considers both the science and the communities’ views when formulating policy regarding the pipi of Venus Bay, especially when those views are in simpatico with each other.

Stephen Broady, Korumburra.

Fix drain HOW long do we have to wait for VicRoads to fix the drainage outside the tennis courts in Roughead Street, Leongatha (Strzelecki Highway).

As far as I can remember, the roadside table drain point has been blocked for at least 18 months. This is the second May in a row that signs have had to be erected warning motorists of water over the road. It happens frequently when there is rain.

It’s not even winter yet!

Maybe we should just be grateful. After all, this drain only floods at the first sign of rain and the South Gippsland Highway is falling to bits, but hey we got all those wonderful guard rails erected in places on the highway that nobody had even thought of before.

For all the pollie speak,

written propaganda and just plain bull we have not seen any improvement in VicRoads’ performance in the last couple of years.

Please just fix this damn drain. It cannot be that hard.

Graeme Dell, Leongatha.

Boron worries

IT IS pleasing to note that South Gippsland Water is giving their customers the opportunity to comment on their proposal to close all natural water dams in the north west end of their region with the exception of Lance Creek reservoir.

The towns of Leongatha, Korumburra, Loch, Poowong and Nyora will be supplied via a pipeline from Lance Creek with either water from the reservoir there or water from the desal plant.

Desal water from the desal plant will contain a chemical boron at a level which the World Health organisation states is dangerous to the health of young children and small animals.

The alternative option from South Gippsland Water is to raise dam walls in towns mentioned.

When the plans were first released over a year ago, this option was said to be nine per cent more expensive.

However since then electricity prices have risen 25 per cent and will rise a further 15 per cent with the introduction of the carbon tax. The final cost of the desal plant has also escalated.

At this stage nobody appears to know for certain how much we will pay for water from the desal pipeline.

These factors must now make the second option more attractive. It will also retain our assets and insulates us from any decisions made by Melbourne Water who will control the desalination plant.

I urge all South Gippsland Water customers to either fill in the survey contained in their last account and return in envelope supplied or go to www. sgwater.com.au and fill in the survey which can be accessed there.

John Sullivan, Inverloch.

VOXPOP! VOX Are you concerned about the prospect of another wet winter?

No, not at this stage, but it is something that we manage.

We live in the hills, so it tends to be fairly well draining.

Paul Mumford, Won Wron

Yes, badly. We have a lot of issues with excess water coming on to our property, which is a battle.

Terri Cue, Korumburra

Yes. It will make it such a long winter. If the recent weather is any indication, I can’t see it improving.

Del Hickey, Leongatha.

I work for the shire so it can be quite detrimental for us. It also upsets my avocado tree.

Andrew Church, Dumbalk.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 13

New fire station site urgent ANOTHER site for a new Leongatha fire station must be found, opponents of the Bair Street location say.

That is the view of Alan Steenholdt, who spoke on behalf of the Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry at council’s public presentation session last Wednesday.

He described council’s rejection of the Bair Street site as “common sense” but said the community must now work with the fire authority.

“Common sense has prevailed but we have said we hope that we as a community can find somewhere that is more appropriate to go to. We all support the CFA 100 per cent,” he said.

Mr Steenholdt described the Bair Street site as “the last piece of empty available land in the retail hub of Leongatha”.

“There are still enquiries from people looking at the site for a large retail opportunity. It would be a pity for Leongatha to miss out on that,” he said.

Mr Steenholdt said the CFA should consider using the former Shell service station or former railway land, or even land at the end of Hughes Street.

He said the fire station would increase the already high level of accidents at the intersection of Bair and Church streets, and noted the high number of pedestrian traffic.

“It’s the scariest 100m I could take my kids on their bikes or a walk, and I would hate to think how much more dangerous it would be if the CFA was there,” Mr Steenholdt said.

Cr Jennie Deane said a retail development at the Bair Street location would only increase traffic.

Leongatha businesswoman Shirleyanne Wright said few CFA volunteers worked in the CBD and questioned the CFA’s argument for the station being needed in the CBD. Former real estate agent Murray Holderhead wanted the site to remain available for retail space.

Stuart Evans of Evans Petroleum, which operates the Bair Street service station, did not want the fire station in Bair Street.

He was concerned customers would be delayed by waiting for fire trucks to leave the station and suggested the former Shell service station in Hughes Street as a suitable site.

ALDI looks to Leongatha: Cr Lewis

But he said an Aldi executive told him the company was not interested in acquiring the Bair Street site owned by the Country Fire Authority.

“There is no secret that Aldi has been looking for a site in Leongatha,” he

said at last Wednesday’s council meeting.

Mayor Cr Warren Raabe quickly intervened, saying Cr Lewis was entering into a matter of commercial confidence.

“I think we are prejudicing business because there are confidential discussions they (Aldi) have had with council regarding their business,” he said.

Cr Lewis continued, saying Aldi’s property director had told him the company was not looking at the Bair Street site.

The Star understands Aldi is considering the

former Shell service station in Hughes Street as a possible location.

That site has also been mentioned by objectors to the CFA site in Bair Street as an alternative fire station site.

Aldi did not respond to a call from The Star.

Leongatha Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Darryl McGannon said an Aldi store would benefit the town.

“I would expect Aldi would be good for the town as I believe many people travel to Wonthaggi to shop there,” he said.

Not in Bair Street: objectors to a fire station in Bair Street, Leongatha who spoke at last Wednesday’s South Gippsland Shire Council meeting were: Stuart Evans, Murray Holderhead, Alan Steenholdt and Shirleyanne Wright.

Council advised CFA before sale THE Country Fire Authority was told by South Gippsland Shire Council officers to buy the Bair Street site on the condition of obtaining a planning permit.

Council’s development services director Phil Stone said council staff gave verbal advice to that effect, before he joined council.

The CFA bought the land more

than four years ago.

Just two months ago, council planners proposed to approve the Bair Street site.

That was based on the fact VicRoads then approved the station in principle, based on CFA vehicles entering the station from the left hand lane of Bair Street and also leaving the station via the same lane.

However that did not suit the

CFA, which needed to be able to turn right across two lanes of traffic in an emergency, Mr Stone said.

VicRoads then proposed traffic lights to stop traffic in the event of an emergency and council did not learn of this proposal until February this year.

Mr Stone said the station proposal was a difficult decision that took time.

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CR DAVID Lewis has revealed supermarket chain Aldi has been in discussion with South Gippsland Shire Council about opening a store in Leongatha.

PAGE 14 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Heppell drops in TARWIN Valley Primary School’s uniform was more of a red and black than the usual green on Friday, as local AFL star Dyson Heppell came to visit.

Keen fans: back, from left, Tarwin Valley students Grace and Irene, and front, Bodhi, Zara and Dayne enjoyed the visit from the local Essendon young gun, Dyson Heppell.

It was couch time with last year’s NAB Rising Star as he faced the tough questions from the students.

Most questions were about Heppell’s football career and life as an AFL footballer.

The Essendon backman also faced up for the Tarwin 30 - 30 seconds of random questions including what was his favourite children’s movie.

Photos, autographs and a couple of high-fives followed the couch time interview.

Heppell missed his first game over the weekend since debuting for the Bombers last year, but should be back in the side for the match with Melbourne on Saturday.

Gas exploration worries council

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By Brad Lester COAL seam gas exploration poses a risk to the region’s farming and tourism industries, South Gippsland Shire Council is concerned.

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That sentiment will be shown by council in a submission to Leichardt Resources’ application for an exploration licence in South Gippsland and Bass Coast shires.

Council last Wednesday stated it was worried coal seam gas could result in noise in rural areas, deplete and contaminate the aquifer, cause salt water, use chemicals during exploration and extraction, traffic issues, disrupt farming and negatively impact tourism.

Council called on the Department of Primary Industries to take these issues into consideration when issuing licences.

Council also demanded the DPI ensures Leichardt Resources meets its full obligations to inform and consult with landowners and communities.

Cr Kieran Kennedy said coal seam gas companies do not have a positive reputation and was concerned about the risk of chemical residues in water.

Cr Jennie Deane said council should not come down too hard on the company, as the region

stood to gain economic benefits.

“I do realise there could be economic development if this project goes ahead,” she said.

However Cr Deane said the region’s agricultural land must be protected.

Cr Kennedy has arranged a public meeting at Tarwin Lower this Sunday, June 3.

He has joined with Friends of Venus Bay Peninsula Inc., the Tarwin Lower Venus Bay Association, Tarwin Landcare Group, Friends of Cape Liptrap Peninsula including Bald Hills and Kings Flat Reserves and Walkerville Ratepayers and Residents Association to present the forum.

The public meeting and information session will be held in the Tarwin Lower Hall from 10.30am.

Guest speaker Cam Walker from Friends of the Earth will outline the science of coal seam gas.

Merryn Redenbach from Doctors for the Environment will present on public health and environmental impacts and Michael Power from the Environmental Defenders Office Victoria will present on the legal rights of landowners, mining companies and law reform.

The meeting will be chaired by Cr Kennedy.

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South Gippsland Shire Council deferred making a decision about a 27 lot subdivision at MacQueen Avenue due to an administrative error.

Objectors to the proposal received late notification from council officers that council was to debate the application at last Wednesday’s council meeting.

The matter will be discussed at the next council meeting on June 27.

Korumburra Business Association president David Amor welcomed the subdivision but was concerned about traffic management.

He estimated the subdivision would bring another 60 cars into MacQueen Avenue, which he described as narrow, with cars often parking on the road further restricting passage.

Mr Amor called for another access into Georgina Parade, then Isabella Boulevard and then onto Shellcotts Road.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 15

Explore beautiful Burma ONE of Asia’s most enticing destinations, Burma is a kaleidoscope of cultural and geographic diversity.

Still relatively untouched by tourism, the country offers travellers an experience of yesteryear’s Asia, with all its exotic colours, aromas and friendly peoples.

Intrigued? Drop into Jetset in Leongatha to start planning your next adventure with Cox and Kings tours.

In British colonial time, Cox and Kings had its own offices in Burma, servicing the travel and logistics needs of the expatriate population. Now, decades since independence the world’s longest established travel company has returned to the ‘Golden Land’ with its own carefully-crafted small group journey.

This revealing 11 day journey discovers the highlights of diverse Burma, beginning with the majestic Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon (Yangon).

Travellers will experience first-hand the Burmese people’s deep-rooted belief in Buddhism and spirit worship, marvel at the thousands of pagodas in ancient Pagan (Bagan) and at the monasteries of Mandalay, and spend an overnight in the whimsical former British hill station of Pyin U Lwin.

Your journey will include a tour of Amarapura, including Mahagandayon monastery to see monks receiving food, followed by an afternoon tour of Mandalay, with a spectacular sunset at Mandalay Hill.

A full-day trip to Maymyo, a former British hill station is included, where you’ll get the chance to visit the local market, nearby plantations and village.

The journey finishes at beautiful Inle Lake, famous for its floating villages and gardens, and the leg-rowers of the Intha tribe.

Here, you’ll visit a local Intha family’s restaurant for lunch and a cooking demonstration, and later take a tour of the floating villages, gardens and temples around Inle Lake.

‘The Golden Land of Burma’ departs regularly from October this year, and can also be undertaken on a fully private basis.

Cox and Kings’ tour managers are carefully selected for their travel experience and organisational abilities. You will be met on arrival and your tour manager will escort you throughout the journey (unless otherwise specified).

Cox and Kings uses the services of specially chosen local guides who really know their subject and can bring places to life. In addition to providing relevant background information, as detailed or general as you like, they can also explain the local way of life, customs and issues in a way that guide books never can.

For more information, or to book your trip to one of Asia’s best kept secrets, call into Jetset in Leongatha, or call on 5662 3601.

Retirement living: Scotty Collins from MHB Residential, foreman Kane Stevic and Trevor Davis at the site of Mountain View Leongatha.

Finding out about retirement living THE manager of Mountain View Leongatha, Trevor Davis believes people wanting to move into retirement village living should do so armed with as much information as possible.

So he and project manager Tom Camp are providing as much opportunity as they can for people to explore all the avenues.

Sixteen turned up to their latest information session, held last Thursday at the Leongatha RSL. “That was a good number because it made it a friendly and interactive forum,” Trevor said. “The people there were enthusiastic. Our focus is on providing information and

they were appreciative of that.”

He said the aim is to try to address the market and if some villas are sold as a result, that “would be great” but it’s not the focus of the sessions.

He and his team have also been taking their message to Rotary and other clubs and are happy to be invited to speak anywhere throughout Gippsland.

There were four speakers at Thursday’s event.

Tom addressed the issue of lifestyle living for the over 55s. George Auddino of First National Korumburra, discussed real estate trends to help those who were considering selling their home, while a representative from Centrelink gave a picture of financial

planning and pensions.

Chris Childs spoke about consumer affairs matters.

Trevor told the gathering about Mountain View.

It is being built on Dale Drive at the top of Shingler Street.

Trevor told The Star the village’s community centre is being built first.

“It’s well under way and will be completed by the end of June.”

Forty-five villas are to be constructed in four stages and the slabs for the first 10 will be poured sometime next month.

If you want to know more or would like the Mountain View team to address your club, ring Trevor on 1300 306 255 or 0419 575 700.

Cruisy life: a lake fisherman leads a traditional life in Burma.

PAGE 16 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Narnia is coming to town

By Sarah Vella

REHEARSALS are now in full swing for the next Lyric Theatre musical Narnia, the stage adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first story in the Chronicles of Narnia, by C S Lewis.

Lyric Theatre’s Peter McAlpine was thrilled with the number of people who came to audition for the production.

“We had so many come to try-out; around 30 people have missed out on roles,” Mr McAlpine said.

“We chose this production because it has so many great roles for children. We haven’t really done a production for kids since Grease or for really young kids since The Wizard of Oz. “The lead child characters range in age from eight, to 17. Out of 34 cast members, 21 are kids.”

The massive interest in the show by the youth

of the area has led to the selection of an extremely talented cast now quickly learning new songs and movement for the show.

Narnia tells the story of four ordinary children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie who discover a wardrobe in Professor Digory Kirke’s house that leads to the magical land of Narnia.

The four children enter Narnia at a time of high adventure and come away with lessons of courage, selflessness and wisdom that will help them grow.

The children help King Aslan, the great lion of Narnia to save the world from the evil White Witch, who has reigned over the land of Narnia for a century of perpetual winter.

The production team for Narnia includes Scott Miller who is directing his first show with Lyric. He was been involved with Lyric, last year in Jekyll & Hyde and also with Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. Colin Chandler is music director, Cheryl Connor is choral director and Tania Chalmers is the choreographer.

Charles Gruen has been cast as Aslan and

Lauren White will be playing the White Witch.

The lead roles for children are Peter, who is being played by Ayden Westaway who is 16.

Kate Ball, 17, is playing Susan, Tom Barker, who is 12, will play Edmund and Morgan Anthony, who is just eight, has the role of Lucy.

A highly skilled team has been established to manage set construction, costumes, lighting and sound.

The Leongatha Men’s Shed, who Lyric is accommodating until they find a permanent location, is also providing valuable assistance with construction of sets and other works.

If anybody would like to assist Lyric Theatre with set building or costume creation, contact Peter McAlpine on 5662 7222 or info@sginsure. com.au.

The cast is working extremely hard and enthusiastically and the show will be a treat to all, young and old. Tickets will be on sale next month.

The musical will open on Friday, July 13, at Mesley Hall, when a total of 10 shows will be performed over three weekends.

Ready to roar: Lyric committee member, Chris Perrett helps Charles Gruen, who will be playing Aslan, with his lion costume.

$87,600 for disability access BASS Coast Shire Council will be funded to the tune of $87,600 in the 201213 year for providing disability access services.

This means there’ll be another beach day in December for those with disabilities.

Last summer’s beach day at Inverloch was a riotous success, with 175 youngsters being able to visit the beach, swim, kayak, wind surf and feel the sand under their feet.

Nearly 90 per cent had never been to the beach before.

Council community development team leader Kerri Ritchie recently briefed councillors on some of the shire projects that support those who are disabled.

The beach day was one.

And, she added, the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club is setting up a surf school for people with a disability.

“If you live in Bass Coast, you spend time at the beach but there are too many barriers for those with a disability,” Ms Ritchie explained.

But beach matting allowed wheelchair access and an enthusiastic bunch of volunteers meant 175 young people, some from Melbourne and the Latrobe Valley had a day of fun.

“We learned how difficult it must be to have a disability.”

But the eagerness and tenacity of the folk attending prompted smiles and cheers all day.

This year’s event will be held at Cowes.

Ms Ritchie said a beach wheelchair can be hired from the Inverloch Visitor Information Centre on 1300 762 433.

Disability access funding comes to the shire from the State Department of Human Services and pays for the employment

of a part time worker, administration support and projects.

Another one of these in which Bass Coast has been involved is a good access guide for businesses.

As part of this, eateries in Inverloch have provided a list of details about their accessibility, including whether large print menus or assistance with menus are available.

Explaining the business guide to councillors, Ms Ritchie said it is free and offers cost-effective advice about how to attract those with a disability.

“You could be missing out on potential customers,” the guide states.

Those who are older, have low vision, are hard of hearing, have a long term illness, learning or intellectual disabilities, a mental illness, mobility issues, temporary illness or a mental health condition all require access considerations.

The guide points out that “good access” also benefits parents or carers of young children, delivery people, shoppers with heavy bags, employees with a disability and every customer when it’s busy. It goes on to list tips for improving access.

Ms Ritchie said another guide is being developed for tourists to the region.

Part of the shire’s access worker’s job is to constantly check things such as beach ramps because sand shifts, leaving unplanned steps. Beach matting for wheelchairs is expensive and doesn’t work so well on Bass Coast beaches, so ramps are important.

“This is a sensational story,” Cr John Duscher said, “this council has a big responsibility to make sure everyone has access to our wonderful environment.”

Cr Gareth Barlow said he was concerned council was taking its responsibilities seriously, but others might not be.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 17

Children’s centre sites tested A SOLUTION to Korumburra’s early learning centre overloads is nearing, with progress on the planning of the town’s Integrated Children’s Centre.

Two sites are currently in the pipeline for the centre: a vacant block in Mair Crescent and redevelopment of the Victoria Street Kindergarten site.

South Gippsland Shire’s director of community services Jan Martin, said council staff have been working hard behind the scenes.

“We are currently taking soil assessments of both sites and now we’ve worked out the size of the children’s centre that we desire to build and we’re having spatial designs undertaken to see how they’d fit,” she said,

“In Korumburra, there’s always the challenge of the slope so that’s why options are limited.”

Ms Martin also confirmed what was wanted and planned to go in the centre.

“It will be a 120 place children’s centre,” she said.

“It will have childcare, kindergarten, maternal and child health, potentially the toy library, potentially some flexible space for community meetings and also after school care.

“This is as well as some specialist rooms for children’s specialists such as speech therapists and psychologists.”

The council is under a lot of pressure to get the project underway soon due to overflowing kindergar-

ten classes, but want to make sure that they get it right.

“What we want to do is determine whether both sites will work and then put to the council what we believe is the preferred site,” Ms Martin said.

“Then of course we will be seeking community input.”

Ms Martin is hoping this stage of planning will be done in the coming months.

“We expect that by July the spatial design will be completed and that we will be going to council with a report for a briefing for that time,” she said.

This will be followed by public submissions.

Coal Creek open for businesses COAL Creek is aiming to become cost neutral in the coming years due to its overwhelming success in the past few years.

South Gippsland Shire Council is planning for a feasibility study for all types of business and what the investments of third parties may cost.

Director of development services Phil Stone said Coal Creek’s increasing popularity was a good news story.

“Over the past three or four years we’ve gone from 11,000 people per annum in the 07/08 financial year to 51,000 last financial year, and we’re looking to break that record this financial year,” he said.

“We’re trying to find ways to generate additional revenue on the back of the success of Coal Creek.”

Coal Creek currently costs council $300,000 to $400,000.

“We’ll be looking for some State Government funding to help with the feasibility study,” Mr Stone said.

“With this information we will hopefully get some interest from businesses.

“We’re really hopeful to get some innovative use of the buildings, get some third party people in there to generate additional revenue and gain leverage from the additional visitation we’ve had.”

There have been many ideas of what types of businesses could invest at Coal Creek.

“We’re after particularly heritage type businesses like old fashioned pies and food and retail and all sorts of things,” Mr Stone said.

“We could also look at some adventurous activities. Some ideas that have come up have been paintball; not sure what the community would think of that. It’s not a done deal.

“There have also been some dis-

cussions with Camp Rumbug around possible school camp accommodation down there.”

Owner of Camp Rumbug Matt Wallace is excited by the prospect.

“We’ve been talking with Coal Creek for a while about possibly doing something in conjunction with them,” he said.

“We do already use Coal Creek as an excursion stop but we have been talking with the council over the past few years about being closer to Korumburra and teaming up with Coal Creek.

“It is pie in the sky stuff at the moment; it’s just still an idea but we’re absolutely happy to investigate.”

Expressions of interest for the feasibility study are going out this month; then council will have some understanding of costs after that and put in a grant application from there.

Nice and cosy: this hen and chicken themed tea cosy is just a taste of what’s to come in the Heather’s Tea Cosy competition.

Get the needles out IT’s on again!

Heather’s Cafe, Craft and Wool’s Knit and Crochet Competition is back again and this time it’s tea cosies.

Heather Walker from Heather’s Cafe, Craft and Wool said there’s no creative boundaries within the competition.

“People can make them as wacky and out there as they want,” she said.

“The more interesting the better!”

Pretty much as long as your creation can cover a tea pot it will be included in

the competition.

Floral, most colourful and novelty sections are there to be entered in and a people’s choice prize will also be awarded.

Winners in each section will receive a pair of knitting needles, a Cleckheaton Magazine Pattern Book and a $10 Heather’s Yarn voucher.

Entries opened yesterday so get knitting and have your tea cosy in by July 30 to be eligible for the prizes.

Winners will be decided on August 6.

PAGE 18 - “THE STAR�, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Achievement worth celebrating

By Brad Lester AUSTRALIANS are renowned for experiencing Tall Poppy Syndrome, but we stand to beneďŹ t from celebrating achievers.

Switched on: students in a primary school classroom in Finland.

That is the belief of Inverloch Primary School principal Wendy Caple, after touring the Scandinavian country of Finland.

Whereas Australians often tend to look up to sport stars and shun away from academic talent, the Finns take pride in education and celebrate those who succeed in the classroom.

Finland is regarded as having the best education system in the world, featuring highly in the Program for International Student Assessment - a score of literacy and numeracy measures of students - with no variation across schools. Australia was ranked ninth in the study in 2009. “We have to promote our values more and be proud of whatever we do, after seeing how proud the Finns are and how that lifts them to excel.�

She was part of an educational tour of Finland conducted by the Victorian Principals Association and Secondary Schools Principals Association, comprising 22 principals from Victorian schools.

The group visited the Finnish capital Helsinki and the regional city Jyvӓskylӓ, the country’s main university locale, inspecting schools

Finnish experience: Inverloch Primary School principal Wendy Caple. and gaining ideas of how to enhance teaching in Australia. “They have a high regard for education. They are very proud of their country and know that education will help their country.

So if the students do not do their homework, they know they are letting themselves down. It’s about taking responsibility for yourself.�

That passion for education results in well behaved children and the support of parents – every teacher’s dream. “Usually the same teacher stays with the same grade from grade Prep to Grade 6. Their research suggests that every time you change teachers, you lose about a term because new

Outdoor life: a typical summer cottage beside the lakes in Finland.

Right, Historic architecture: a Lutheran church in Helsinki.

teachers spend a lot of the ďŹ rst term testing. “What we did not discover was how these kids manage when they get to Year 7, having had the same teacher for six years. I believe that we do not lose learning time (in Australia).â€?

Education is valued to the extent it is never an election issue and as a result, constant changes are not made to the system, disrupting learning. “Their government believes in equity so the people are really looked after with healthcare and education.

Kids that are identiďŹ ed as having learning difďŹ culties early are given support early. “They pay higher taxes but they do not mind because they know they are getting something in return.â€?

The tour took in specialist vocational schools with modern technology and extensive training facilities, plus sports secondary schools with 70 sports to choose from, including formula one racing. No wonder the Finns excel in the sport.

Students receive an intensive science program from Grade 1 and also study religion, art, physical education and history. From Grade 3, woodwork, textiles and English is added to the curriculum. In Year 7 they learn Swedish and by years 1011, many of them are speaking up to ďŹ ve languages. “They are stringent in their testing but none of it is ever published like the MySchool website (in Australia).

They just use the information to help in schools.�

While Australian students attend school for 32 hours a week, in Finland the hours are shorter. Grades 1 and 2 attend for 20 hours, and hours for grades 3 to 6 children vary from 22-26. By secondary school, attendance is 30 hours. A healthy lunch is provided.

Finnish schools are not bound by fences unless in the city on busy roads and many children aged eight return home to empty houses as both parents work. “In Helsinki, there were trams with little kids travelling on their own. The kids are really independent from a young age and that reects in their learning too.â€?

The experience enabled the principals to delve deep into Finnish culture, exploring natural attractions, visiting places of interest and eating too much reindeer. “It was a Christmas special meat but because we were visitors, we were given it as a treat.�

Business women back the girls THE Southern Business Women’s Network (SBWN) was pleased to announce the inaugural SBWN Scholarship recently.

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Gippsland shires, who are beginning their careers.

Southern Business Women’s Network has partnered with South Gippsland Bass Coast Local Learning and Employment Network to support two local students undertaking a Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VET in School) Hospitality course at GippsTAFE Leongatha.

This scholarship will assist the students with their training fees over the next two years and give them a head start with their hospitality careers.

The students were chosen for their leadership, good communication skills and enthusiasm in their hospitality course.

The recipients were Kirsty Marks from Wonthaggi Secondary College and Sarah Wagstaff from

South Gippsland Secondary College.

The presentation was

made at the monthly networking dinner held at the Silverwater Resort. Kirsty

and Sarah attended the presentation supported by their mothers.

Deserving winners: Wendy Major of the LLEN, Southern Business Women’s Network vice-president Gillian Mertens, Kirsty Marks of Wonthaggi Secondary College, Sarah Wagstaff of South Gippsland Secondary College and network president Kaz Hughes.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 19

PAGE 20 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Be wary of solar sales pressure DON’T be pushed into buying solar panels by high-pressure sales people.

That’s the advice from South Gippsland’s Energy Innovation Co-operative’s chair Susan Davies.

Buying solar panels, she added, is something not to be rushed.

“I particularly urge people to be very wary of listening to pressure sales talk coming via unsolicited phone calls, and be even more wary of any solar company glibly advising you to go into debt to put panels on your roof.”

Susan said she’d recently been asked for assistance by someone on a pension who was encouraged to take out a loan “by an unscrupulous solar company and then not helped to get on the premium feed-in tariff last year.

“That company will be hearing from me soon, but

I hope other householders will just take the advice to be very careful about unsolicited, high-pressure sales phone calls.”

She said Energy Innovation Co-op’s community bulk buy of solar panels was in full swing as householders and businesses try to get in ahead of the reduction in the “multiplier” rebate at the end of June.

But, she added, the end of June date marks only a small change in the rebate, which is likely to be offset by the continuing reduction in solar panel prices.

“The more important date which will come up sooner than wanted, is the end of the Victorian Government’s transitional feed-in tariff which, at last report, is likely to be earlier than the announced end of 2012 deadline.”

So, if you are considering solar, Susan suggests you ask questions and do so soon.

“The co-op will pro-

vide you with factual information and will give you advice suited to your particular circumstances,” she said.

The co-op will lodge a submission with the Victorian Government urging a reinstatement of the standard feed-in tariff for small solar systems.

Susan said the feed-in tariff used to be offered and meant people were paid the same price for the power they generated on their roof, as it costs them to purchase power once the sun goes down. The current State Government has restricted access to this tariff to larger systems.

“A standard feed-in tariff provides fairness and simplicity to the market,” Susan said, adding a recently-released draft recommendation of six cents per kWh as a feed-in tariff was “just absurd”.

“A householder putting solar on their roof should not subsidise the big en-

ergy companies – not the retail power companies or the dirty brown coal power producers and that’s what that ridiculously low tariff would do.”

The co-operative’s

view is that the more solar panels there are on roofs across the country producing most power at peak times in summer, the less demand there is for those “really, really expensive

larger-scale peak power generators”.

“By keeping down the demand for those expensive peak-time generators, solar panels on household roofs are saving all house-

holds from those very high peak power prices.

“Governments need to understand that the community supports solar power and wants more renewable power, not less.”

Renewable power: from left, Susan Davies who chairs the Energy Innovation Co-op, Matthew Wright of Beyond Zero Emissions and Bernie McComb, secretary of Groundswell Bass Coast. Matthew was the presenter at a Wonthaggi climate change forum last week organised by Groundswell.

Consider your wastewater IT’S World Environment Day on June 5 and a timely reminder to think about the impact of our wastewater and the washing powders and detergents we use around the home.

It’s quite easy to pull the plug or flush a button and not think anything of what happens to our wastewater, or where it goes.

But what we do in our homes has a significant

impact on the wastewater that ends up at treatment plants and eventually back into the environment.

We all know that the earth’s water goes in a continuous cycle. Similarly South Gippsland Water’s treatment processes aim to return much of the wastewater that ends up at its wastewater treatment facilities back to the environment and so this cycle continues.

So what can you do to help?

South Gippsland Wa-

ter urges their customers to consider what they put down the drain and into the wastewater system.

One easy change is to consider the phosphorus and salt levels in the washing detergents used.

Salt is used in washing detergents and powders as it helps some of the other components of the detergents work, such as fabric softeners.

But once salt is in the water, it means that this water should not be reused as irrigation water on sports fields or pastures. In addition it is difficult to remove salt from the water, so if treated wastewater is being returned to rivers or creeks, this impacts on the fresh water environment.

Phosphorus is a major ingredient in some detergents and washing powders. Phosphorus is a naturally occurring ingredient found in water, soil and air.

It helps stimulate plant growth and is essential for animal and plant life.

You may recognise it as a common ingredient in fertilisers.

The reasons why it’s so beneficial for pastures is the same reason we don’t want it in our waterways.

Phosphorus provides high levels of nutrients which stimulate plant growth.

Phosphorus is difficult to treat in wastewater and if high levels of phosphorus end up in our waterways and water-bodies it can lead to algal blooms, some of which can be particularly toxic, such as Blue Green Algae.

Australian detergent manufacturers have a voluntary labelling system using the symbols P and NP to denote ‘Low’ or ‘No’ phosphorus content.

A recent study was conducted by CHOICE in co-operation with City West Water and the Water Services Association of Australia. The study compared 49 detergents for wash performance, their impact on gardens when laundry greywater is used and the impact on recycling at waste water treatment plants. This resulted in some recommendations for customers and handy hints.

The top two recommended powder and liquid detergents for top loaders were: Biozet, Omo Small and Mighty 2X concentrate, Seventh Generation, and Omo Small and Mighty 3X active power for top loaders.

For front loaders: Biozet, Omo Small and Mighty 2X concentrate (at half dose) and Omo Small and Mighty 3X active power.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 21

Father Bob to visit Wonthaggi AUSTRALIA’S most controversial and well loved priest is paying a special visit to Wonthaggi next week.

Making progress: construction on the Bunnings Wonthaggi store is nearing completion, with the store expected to open in mid-2012.

Bunnings on track THE Bunnings development in Wonthaggi is currently on schedule, and within budget.

The $10 million development is expected to be open for business in mid-2012, with the main store and the timber trade sales areas completed, and the internal floor slabs already laid.

Completion of building services, including the evaporative cooling system, and the main office and amenities are expected this month.

The car park and driveway are also on track to be completed, and external road works begun in midMay. Bunnings chief operating officer Peter Davis said sustainable practices would be built into the Wonthaggi store.

“In line with Bunnings’ commitment to sustainability, Bunnings Wonthaggi will implement a number of energy and water saving design features,” he said.

“These design features will include skylights to the roof and rainwater harvesting tanks.”

A specially designed 25,000 litre rainwater tank has been installed at the store to support the irrigation

systems in the outdoor nursery and for use in the store’s toilets.

Water from the store’s evaporative cooling system is also recycled for use in the nursery and landscaping irrigation system. Capillary mats have been fitted in the nursery to keep plants moist and reduce the need for watering, and basin tap flow restrictors, half-flush cistern adaptors, and water efficient fixtures and fittings have also been installed in the store.

In order to reduce energy use by about 25 per cent, the new Bunnings has installed energy efficient in-store lighting that will automatically dim when there is maximum natural daylight in the store.

The car park lighting and building façade lighting is controlled by a timer switch that turns these lights off at a predetermined time.

Skylights have also been installed above every aisle to provide maximum natural light within the store. The skylights make up approximately 10 per cent of the total roof area. The store also features a solar boosted gas hot water unit which will further help to reduce energy consumption.

All plastic shopping bags for cus-

tomer use have also been removed from Bunnings stores throughout Australia.

A wide range of products to help customers make their homes more sustainable in reducing their energy and water consumption will be available from the store, including water tanks, shower timers, solar hot water systems and energy efficient light globes.

Also stocked are garden care products, such as water crystals and garden mulch, that reduce the need for watering.

Store manager Kim Isaacs said all of these initiatives would help the store achieve operations which are socially responsible, environmentally sound and economically viable for shoppers.

“It is great to see all our team members working together and appreciating the importance of sustainable schemes and their impact on the community,” she said.

“We are dedicated to offering environmentally aware guidance and support to all our customers, encouraging everyone to learn how even small steps can make a big difference.”

Village, kinder top Tarwin’s dreams list THE Tarwin Lower Retirement Villas, Tarwin Lower Kindergarten, and paths and trails have scored highly in the Tarwin Lower Venus Bay Community Plan.

The plan will be launched on June 6 to coincide with the Transit of Venus, which will be celebrated with a day of fun and entertainment at the Tarwin Lower Recreation Reserve.

On April 15, the Lower Tarwin Valley District Project in partnership with the Tarwin Lower/Venus Bay Community Planning Working Group held a Community Planning Workshop at the Tarwin Lower Mechanics Institute.

Some 35 people joined South Gippsland Shire councillors Mohya Davies and Kieran Kennedy to help plan the future direction for their community.

Council’s manager, planning and environmental health, Brian Sword, said: “Members participated in de-

veloping a shared vision that would help guide priority projects for future development which were indicated through a dot voting system.

“The top five priority projects to come out of the workshop were the Tarwin Lower Retirement Villas, a Tarwin Lower Kindergarten, increased paths and walking trails, a leash-free dog area and rubbish collection.

“Although these five projects were the top priorities on the day, all ideas and suggestions that were put forward during the community planning process by residents are included in the plan as an Idea Bank.”

People can refer to the community plan and choose an idea from the Ideas Bank to develop, said Marzia Maurilli, council’s community facilitator for the Lower Tarwin Valley Districts Project.

“An idea doesn’t necessarily have to be developed through to the end by one particular person or community group,” she said.

A project can be developed to

a certain point and then put back in the Ideas Bank for another group to pick up and develop further at a later stage”.

Since the workshop, residents have formed a project team to investigate opportunities for establishing a kindergarten.

“Currently our youngsters have to travel out of Tarwin Lower and Venus Bay to attend kindergarten,” Ms Maurilli said.

One resident said: “This is detrimental to our community as it inhibits families developing strong community ties.”

The community plan will be available at the launch on June 6 as well as accessible on line. For more information, please contact Ms Maurilli on 5662 9805 or email marziam@southgippsland.vic.gov.

The Lower Tarwin Valley Project is a South Gippsland Shire Council, Gardiner Foundation and GippsDairy project funded through the Gardiner Foundation Strengthening Small Dairy Communities.

Father Bob Maguire will be speaking at the Workmen’s Club as a guest of the Rotary Club of Wonthaggi on June 7.

Best known for his role as a Catholic priest, Father Maguire is also a dedicated community worker and a media personality in his own right.

Father Maguire’s media commitments have included hosting a radio program on Melbourne’s 3AW, co-hosting a program on Triple J with John Safran and many guest appearances on TV. He also runs the Father Bob Maguire Foundation, which runs programs such as Beyond Care, which supports ‘outsiders’ requiring food and shelter and the food van Hopemobile.

Rotarian Dennis Ginn said he invited Father Maguire to speak at an event after hearing him speak at another Rotary function in Melbourne.

“I made myself known to him and asked him if he had an opportunity, would he be able to address a Rotary club meeting in South Gippsland,” he said.

“It’s open to both Rotarians and the general public – and it’s nearly sold out already!”

At the dinner, Father Maguire will share stories of his time in the Catholic Church, his community work, and the controversy surrounding his retirement.

With only 250 seats available, tickets to hear Father Maguire’s story are

running out quickly.

Tickets are $50 per person and include a twocourse meal. Both single

tickets and group bookings can be made by calling the Wonthaggi Workmen’s Club on 5672 1083.

Telling his story: Father Bob Maguire will be speaking at the Wonthaggi Workmen’s Club on June 7 as part of a Rotary Club of Wonthaggi event.

PAGE 22 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Understanding dementia SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council, in conjunction with Alzheimer’s Australia, will host three free information sessions to help people.

The sessions will focus on gaining a better understanding about natural memory changes which often have no relationship to dementia, and dementia itself.

“These sessions are expected to be of particular interest to family and friends of people with dementia, but the information is also extremely valuable for volunteers and all of us to understand as we inevitably age,” said Sara Cox, council’s intake and assessment team leader.

“Knowing the facts helps reduce fears and raises awareness.”

The sessions are as follows:

Friday, June 8, 11am - 12.30pm: Worried about your memory?

Sharing information: signs educating people about the life-cycles of pipis will be installed at Venus Bay beaches.

The signs will be erected by Fisheries Victoria and Parks Victoria at beaches one and five – the most popular pipi collection locations.

The signs also inform harvesters how they can help to ensure the pipi population remains sustainable.

Parks Victoria ranger Bill Gurnett of Foster and fisheries officer Trudy Schmidt displayed one of the signs at Venus Bay recently.

Council backs volunteer drivers A FREE half day seminar about safer driving strategies will be held in the Leongatha Council Chambers.

South Gippsland Shire Council will present the seminar on Thursday, June 7 from 9am to1.30pm.

Council is presenting the seminar to support its volunteers who assist as community transport drivers, Meals on Wheels drivers and L2P mentors working with young people to gain their licences.

Light refreshments will be supplied during the seminar.

“These are strategies that can assist anyone to become safer drivers for life,” said Dana Hughes, council’s volunteers co-ordinator.

“It’s a ‘win–win’ initiative in that we

are supporting our volunteers in a practical way with low risk driving skills that will have a flow-on to the general community as well.

“The strategies are relevant for any driver, in any vehicle, at anytime.

“With the ever changing weather conditions in our part of the world and variable road conditions, these skills can assist drivers to pre-empt and avoid dangerous situations as they arise.”

Places are limited and current volunteers will have priority, but anyone who might be interested in becoming a community driver in the future is also welcome to register.

Bookings are essential and can be made by phoning Dana on 5662 9384 or emailing her on dana.hughes@ southgippsland.vic.gov.au

Mayor’s message Cr Warren Raabe THE good news about grant funding continues, with the Deputy Premier Peter Ryan last Friday announcing $282,750 to redevelop and upgrade the Toora, Mount Best and Hedley halls.

The successful funding under the Regional Growth Fund’s Putting Locals First program can be primarily attributed to the outstanding collaborative effort by the three small communities to prepare the joint application.

The Minister also announced $139,650 for the restoration of the Meeniyan Mechanics’ Institute (Hall) which has proved its worth as an active cultural hub, attracting many visitors to the town with its regular concerts, art shows and tavern nights.

The improved infrastructure will provide more contemporary and comfortable facilities to sustain the social interaction of these communities and we are appreciative of the State Government’s support.

With the significant damage to our roads following last year’s widespread flooding, council has worked hard to restore safe conditions for motorists on its extensive network of roads.

Further to this concern, we were pleased to co-sponsor the Crash Reduction Strategy Forum to support local transport drivers last Wednesday.

Over 80 drivers and industry representatives attended and the commitment to safety by all was clearly evident. My congratulations go to the South Gippsland Road Safety Group who organised this comprehensive and

highly relevant panel of speakers.

Council is also offering a free low risk driving seminar on Thursday, June 7 for its volunteer drivers who assist with community transport, Meals on Wheels and who are our L2P mentors.

Others who are interested in volunteering in this way are welcome to also register by phoning 5662 9384.

Council will also run workshops this week to gather more input for its Leongatha Parking Strategy. On Wednesday there will be a session with residents to further identify the parking issues and explore possible solutions, and another session after business hours to enable local business operators to have their input.

The consultants will also meet with the project reference group.

Information from these sessions plus surveys that have been conducted will then be considered in the development of the strategy.

The organisation’s quarterly performance report was presented to Council last Wednesday. This new format introduced in the current financial year provides a comprehensive barometer of our progress and achievements.

All projects bar two are progressing on target and it’s worth a read to just see what is being accomplished with your hard earned rate dollars. The report can be viewed on www.southgippsland.vic. gov.au or at council reception.

Cr Warren Raabe, mayor.

This session explores how memory works, the common memory changes that occur with ageing, and when memory difficulties need to be investigated.

It will also provide tips on how to improve your memory and look after your brain function. This is not about dementia, simply about natural memory changes for anyone who might be concerned.

Friday, June 8, 1.30 - 4.30pm: Volunteers Communicating with people with dementia.

This session will assist volunteers who may interact with people with dementia in their work, and will provide them with an understanding of the disease such as causes, key symptoms, progressive behaviour changes etc. It will also provide strategies for communicating more effectively with them. Volunteers will have the opportunity to discuss difficult situations and how their interactions might be improved.

Tuesday, June 12, 1.30 - 3pm: Understanding dementia.

This session is open to anyone in the community who would like to better understand dementia and its causes, and how it differs from normal forgetfulness.

Possession of such knowledge and relevant strategies for communication help to build more inclusive communities.

Risk factors, the relationship between the brain and behaviour and the importance of early diagnosis will also be discussed.

All sessions will be held in the Council Chamber (Memorial Hall Complex, Michael Place Leongatha), and bookings can be made by contacting Sara Cox on 5662 9370 or emailing sara.cox@southgippsland.vic. gov.au.

For further information on dementia, call 1800 100 500.

South Gippsland Shire briefs MORE lifestyle blocks locks could be offered in Foster after council voted to rezone land south west of town. The 32ha will be rezoned from Farming Zone to Rural Living Zone, and is to the west of Foster-Promontory Road.

Cr Mohya Davies said: “This will be of economic benefit to Foster and will offer opportunities in Foster that don’t exist at the moment.”

Gippsland-Bass Coast at Monash Bursary University’s awards night recently.

MANY volunteers at an event at Foster to mark National Volunteers Week belonged to more than one organisation, Cr Davies said. The afternoon tea was one of many events held by council to thank volunteers for their service.

CR DAVIES praised the region’s arts community after attending the Great Southern Portrait Prize at Foster and the Mirboo North Arty Gras. She was “blown away” by the quality of the Mirboo North Art Show.

TOURISM in South Gippsland received a boost from the opening of the Grand Strzelecki Trail recently, Cr Davies said.

The track links TarraBulga National Park with the western Strzelecki Ranges, and is already proving successful with bushwalkers.

CR DAVIES congratulated Alexandra Mitchell-Watt of Mirboo North. The nursing student won the South

CR BOB Newton noted the recent passing of former Korumburra Shire Councillor Dan Gregg, late of Poowong,

describing him as “highly regarded” and a longstanding councillor.

THE next edition of the RACV magazine Royal Auto will feature a two page spread about Fish Creek, Cr Kieran Kennedy said, praising council’s customer service manager Christian Stefani for his efforts in securing the publicity.

CR KENNEDY has given $330 from his discretionary fund to the Venus Bay-Tarwin Lower and District Men’s Shed towards hosting a social gathering for the community.

He also gave the same amount to the Tarwin Lower and District Community Health Centre towards buying a new stove.

THE Moyarra Community Group sourced $300 each from

councillors Jennie Dean Deane, Warre Bob Newton and Warren Raabe to buy equipment, including a public address system.

Cr Newton also gave $100 to the Korumburra Red Cross Unit towards general expenses during an emergency.

A KORUMBURRA road will be known as Green Valley Rise. The unnamed road off Patrick Street, Korumburra was originally to be called Coade Street in honour of a former soldier, but residents objected.

Council will spend $20,000 bringing the road up to current standards.

Cr Newton suggested council find another road to be named Coade.

COUNCIL has adopted a new Risk Management Framework, improving council’s ability to reduce risks.

Constitutional move BASS Coast Shire Council is backing a move to have local government recognised in the Australian Constitution.

The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) is pushing the inclusion so the Federal Government can fund local government directly.

The aim is to attract bipartisan support for a referendum by 2013.

Cr John Duscher told his colleagues 78 per cent of councils across Australia have endorsed the motion, including 49 of Victoria’s 79 municipalities.

“We are the closest form of government to the people; that is a unique position. Over 80 per cent of roads are managed by local government,” Cr Duscher said adding nationwide, local government manages $200 billion worth of physical assets.

He said the size and scope of local government had changed in the past 50 years, with more than 150

services now dealt with by the third tier.

“It’s time local government was included in the constitution to give funding security to deliver services the community needs and deserves.”

Cr Gareth Barlow said he looked forward to constitutional recognition “of local government and the first Australians”.

The ALGA supports its cause by saying the first local council in Australia was established in 1840.

When the nation’s colonies were discussing the formation of federation, local government was not represented.

As a result, there is no reference to local government in the Australian Constitution.

A case in the High Court in 2009 brought into question the commonwealth’s legal ability to deal directly with local government because it’s not included in the constitution, thus creating uncertainty about the future funding of local government.

Clean shave: Brett Nagle gets a short cut from Kelly Bordonaro after his staff raised $1675.20 for the Cancer Council.

Cold head, good cause STAFF from Nagel’s Pharmacy in Leongatha looked on with delight as Brett Nagel lost his locks recently.

The pharmacy usually enters a team in for Relay for Life and staff thought shaving Brett’s head would be another good way to raise money for the Cancer Council, as they were unable to participate in the relay this year.

Staff were given four

weeks and a goal of $1000, and if they reached the goal Brett was up for the chop.

The hair was definitely coming off with a grand total of $1675.20 raised.

Kelly Bordonaro did the honours and took Brett’s hairdo to a Mohawk before eventually taking it all off.

Brett was shocked with his new look and said it would take a bit to get used to.

“It’s going to be a cold, cold winter,” he laughed.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 23

Thank you volunteers MORE than 100 volunteers were thanked for their efforts during a morning tea at Archies on the Creek recently.

Bass Coast Shire Council mayor Cr Veronica Dowman hosted the event as a way of highlighting Volunteers Week.

Cr Dowman said volunteers are committed to their respective causes, giving

their time and skills to many committees and groups in the shire. Some help council deliver a wide range of services.

She spoke with those who had been volunteering on a regular basis for up to 20 years and others who did so on an intense basis for particular events.

“The work of all these volunteers is truly valued and benefits so many other people,” Cr Dowman added.

Taking action: Moonya Community Services customers, staff, family and friends took part in the Every Australian Counts Campaign rally in Federation Square, urging politicians to act on the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Thank you: Bass Coast mayor Cr Veronica Dowman hosted morning tea for volunteers. With her (second left) are volunteers from left, Neville Chapman of Glen Alvie, Greg Oakes of Coronet Bay, Frank Garry Garry of Almurta and Barbara Robertson of Wonthaggi.

Moonya rallies for disabled MOONYA Community Services took part in the biggest rally of people with disabilities Australia has ever seen.

The Every Australian Counts Campaign hosted the event to urge politicians to make the National Disability Insurance Scheme a reality.

A bus load of Moonya customers, staff, family, friends, members and supporters travelled from Wonthagggi to Federation Square in Melbourne to join with other supporters of the NDIS campaign from across the State.

Around 15,000 people took part in the rally events held simultaneously in six capital cities around Australia.

In a show of political support across the spectrum, the Moonya team was part of the thousands strong crowd addressed at the Melbourne rally by a range of speakers including Federal Attorney General Nicola Roxon, Federal Shadow Minister for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector Senator Mitch Fifield, and the Victorian Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge.

Moonya CEO Barney Hanily said the rally seemed to have been a success.

Congratulations: Cr John Duscher (second right) with volunteers Margaret McCully, Barbara Robertson and Jim McCully.

Poowong commits to sustainability POOWONG Consolidated School is well on the road to sustainability, after committing to complete the ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic (Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative Victoria) Waste Module.

Principal Leonie Anstey said taking part would enable the school to continue on with its sustainable journey.

“The completion of the Core Module will demonstrate our commitment to the environment as a successful ResourceSmart school,” she said.

There is an established student Water

Warriors and staff Green Team, the toilets are water tank fed, solar panels have been installed, and an extensive garden has been developed and composting regime established The school now needs to develop a Sustainability Policy and a School Environmental Management Plan and use an online data tool called School Environment Tracking System to monitor its waste, water, and energy consumption and biodiversity increases.

The ResourceSmart AuSSI Vic Initiative is a state wide initiative to assist all schools both secondary and primary to reduce their resource consumption and increase their biodiversity.

Sustainable bunch: the staff from the Poowong Consolidated School, committed to sustainability.

Spirits raised at Moonya: Helen Macpherson Smith Trust chief executive Andrew Brookes (centre), as well as staff and trustees, are thanked by Moonya Gardening Service manager Barry Clover and staff for the generous donation of a forklift.

Helen gives Moonya a lift MOONYA Community Services in Wonthaggi hosted a morning tea to thank the staff and trustees of the Helen Macpherson Smith Trust for donating funds for the purchase of a $25,000 1.8 tonne road registered forklift.

After a cup of tea and formal welcome and thanks

by Moonya staff, chief executive of the trust, Andrew Brookes was given a tour of the facility and an explanation of the process used for the kindling production.

The Helen Macpherson Smith Trust was established in 1951 in accordance with the terms of Helen’s will, which directed that the income from her estate should be paid in perpetuity (at the discretion of Trustees) to charitable institutions situated in Victoria. Since 1972 the trust has provided more than $90 million in grants to Victorian charities.

Moonya Community Services CEO Barney Hanily said they were “so grateful to the trust for this wonderful gift”.

“The team at Moonya thinks visits like these are criti-

cal so that donors get to see first-hand the difference that the money they give makes in the lives of people with disability,” he said.

Manager of the Moonya Gardening Service Barry Clover said they had previously hired a forklift from local businesses.

“Both Lowe’s Hardware and Dwyer’s Transport had kindly allowed us use of their machines in the past,” he said.

The forklift is part of an overall facility upgrade to increase the output capacity of the site which processes waste wood from the timber industry, and turns it into kindling.

The kindling business itself commenced as a wet weather activity for the gardening service team.

Since then the business has expanded to the point where they now expect to stop over 300 tonnes of timber waste product being sent to land fill this year alone.

The enterprise is already providing steady jobs for people with disability, but there are further expansion plans which could see 1000 tonnes per year processed.

PAGE 24 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Preps check out helpers THE Prep class from Newhaven College headed off into the community as part of their Integrated Studies program to learn about community helpers on May 14.

Open day: from left, the Scott family of Tarwin, Alexandra, Jayne, Eleanor and Fraser, were welcomed to the Newhaven College Year 9 Environmental Centre during Open Day on Saturday.by Student, Tara Storey.

Newhaven College opens the doors THE sun shone for the Newhaven College Open Day on Saturday and teachers and students acting as tour guides were kept busy with a steady stream of families checking out the college senior, Year 9 Environmental Centre and junior campuses.

Now in its seventh year, the Year 9 Environmental Centre has been going from strength to strength, attracting new students each year.

Year 9 head teacher Ric Pearce said they have only recently picked up another nine students. On Open Day a good number of prospective students and their families came to check out the facilities on offer, and chat to students and teachers.

“For many new students Newhaven College offers a fresh start where they can reinvent themselves,” Mr Pearce said.

He said they have 95 students enrolled at the Year 9 Centre, accommodated in four classes and there are five full-time teachers and four part-time.

“We are a small school but in my ex-

perience this is the best Year 9 Centre I have worked at,” he said.

Mr Pearce came to Newhaven after years of experience working in Year 9 campuses at some of the top schools in Melbourne including Methodist Ladies College, Caulfield Grammar and Xavier College to name just a few.

“What we are offering the students is based on sound studies, with 10 key areas identified as a must for this type of program, including a separate site for the centre and we have that, an engaging curriculum, connecting with the community and different uniforms,” he said.

“We have a strong academic emphasis and cover all the main core subjects but in a different approach, all subject areas are linked and we change the curriculum each year to suit the needs of the students while meeting all the 10 key criteria.

“We strive to provide an education that is engaging and appropriate to the students and encourage strong links with the local community through programs run at the centre. The main thing we want is to meet the students’ needs.”

Piggy gets kissed STUDENTS at Wonthaggi North Primary School were keen to donate their silver coins in an attempt to see some of their teachers kiss a pig.

Principal Matt McKittrick, primary welfare officer Susan Gillies and teacher Sean Webb all kissed a pig at a special assembly on Friday afternoon.

Locked up: during a recent tour of the Cowes Police station Prep students Jaelina, Darcy, Zoe, Joshua, Tayla, Tahlia, Anthony, Oliver, Sophie, Neave, Gracie, Amelia, Evie, Luke, Liam, Patrick, Archer, Mackenzie and Heidi checked out the lock-up with their teacher Miss Burell and Senior Constable Nick Carlson.

The Junior School Council members started this fundraiser late in 2011 to help cover the costs of new blinds installed in the Common Learning Area.

As a special surprise, several students were invited to kiss the friendly little pig while classroom teacher Kylie Campbell kissed a goat! The special assembly had children in fits of laughter and the overall total raised was just over $400.

Piggy kiss: primary welfare officer Susan Gillies kisses the pig, much to the delight of the students.

Visits to the local fire, ambulance and police stations were included on the tour and students learned an incredible amount about how important these helpers are in the community.

Preps also learned how to call “000” in an emergency and how to communicate between walkie talkies.

When asked why the children thought the fire trucks had ladders, Gracie Newman said: “They need them to put up trees to rescue all the cats!”

Students learnt about what to do in a fire and about how to “Get down low and go, go, go!”.

At the ambulance station, Tayla Dean was able to experience what it is like to be wheeled into an ambulance.

Children toured the police station where Senior Constable Nick Carlson locked them in jail. The students tried on uniforms and learnt about asking for help if they needed to.

Students walked into Cowes to see what shops and services were offered.

Fire station tour: Cowes fire-fighters Ray Champion and Simon Hartley were happy to take Newhaven College Prep students on a tour of the station. Prep teacher Miss Burell and students from left, back row: Gracie, Evie, Tahlia, Sophie, Luke, Archer, Oliver, Jaelina, Zoe, Mackenzie. Front: Amelia, Patrick, Neave, Joshua, Liam, Darcy, Heidi, Anthony, Tayla enjoyed the tour.

Grandparents come out to play GRANDPARENTS stepped into the modern classrooms of Inverloch and Kongwak primary schools last Monday (May 21).

Welcome to school: Inverloch Primary School student Bethany Scott enjoys the company of her papa Ron Smith.

Held to mark Education Week, Grandparents Day was well supported, with many grandparents and special friends attending for morning tea.

Donations were made to raise money for the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea, and then visitors joined their grandchildren and friends in class.

At Inverloch, they joined in reading, maths, geography and art activities and learned about the skills children need, and the technology we use, in education today.

At Kongwak, grandparents and special friends joined in literacy, music and physical education.

Principal Wendy Caple said: “It is always very special for children to share their learning with someone close to them. As one child said, he would like it to be Grandparents Day every day.

“It was wonderful that so many grandparents and special friends at Inverloch could stay for a picnic lunch in the sunshine in the playground afterwards.

“We really appreciate the efforts grandparents and special friends made to be here on the day, with many having to travel distances and take time off work to join in the special day.”

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 25

Kids taste secondary life A WONDERFUL fun-filled day at Mirboo North Secondary College was enjoyed by the Grade 5 and 6 students from Mirboo North, Boolarra, Thorpdale, Narracan, and Yinnar primary schools on Monday, May 21.

Students were bussed to the college where they enjoyed classes throughout the day.

Students had fun doing art, made slime in science, learnt to say ‘hello’ in German, played instruments in

music, cooked oat and apricot cluster jumbles in home economics, played games in the gym for sport and used iPads in the library.

Peer support students from Year 10 acted as tour guides and cooked a free sausage sizzle at lunchtime.

The weather was glorious, bright and sunny, allowing the Grade 5 and 6 students to take full advantage of the oval to play footy, the multi-purpose court to shoot hoops with senior students, and climb and play on the adolescent playground equipment.

This day was followed by an

information evening at the college with interactive displays in the college library from each faculty.

The Wii on an interactive TV was extremely popular with children and adults alike.

There were robots, electromagnets, touch screen music on iPads and displays of art, woodwork and technology.

This was followed by supper and a chance to view the plans for the new state-of-the-art educational facility to be built at the college over the next year.

Above Art and craft: Chelsea, Emily, Jemma, Sienna, Trevor, Nick, Jack and many other primary students in the art room with secondary students Adam and Amber.

Left Future scientists: Jemma and Sienna had a great time making slime in science class at Mirboo North Secondary College last week.

Avid reader: Ania Todd from Wonthaggi Primary School shows off some of her favourite books after winning the KB Carpet Court Storybook Challenge which includes a prize of $1000 worth of books for her class.

Ania wins books for school

A GRADE 1 class from Wonthaggi Primary School is the proud owner of $1000 worth of new books and a colourful reading mat after student, Ania Todd, won the inaugural KB Carpet Court Storybook Challenge.

Road safety message delivered

By Sarah Vella STUDENTS at Mary MacKillop Catholic Regional College took part in a road safety awareness forum last Tuesday, as part of Education Week.

The forum was attended by Leading Senior Constable Mick Ritchie from Bass Coast Highway Patrol, SES member Tony Lindhard, CFA member Stephen Burns and ambulance officer Gordon Bowman.

Brendan Horrocks, from Roadsafe Victoria facilitated the forum.

The students were given a hypothetical situation revolving around a vehicle accident, where members of the panel discussed what their roles would be and what they would do in an accident situation.

Senior school co-ordinator Richard Muranty said the forum con-

veyed important messages.

“Road safety awareness was obviously the main focus of the forum,” Mr Muranty said.

“Another big issue was the role the public plays during traffic incidents and how they can affect the roles of emergency personnel. The panel members discussed how often their effectiveness at a crash site can be hindered by members of the public.

“It was also reiterated to the students that there are no accidents, they are collisions. There is a cause behind every incident that occurs.”

Mr Muranty said students were engaged by the subject and the speakers and that “you could have heard a pin drop.”

“Brendan Horrocks and the rest of the panel had an awesome presence and effect on our senior students,” he said.

Around 200 senior school stu-

dents, from Years 10, 11 and 12 attended the forum, all of whom are coming into contact with young drivers, are learning to drive themselves or are already driving.

The students also discussed how social media can impact negatively on and complicate, traumatic collisions.

Mr Horrocks gave students real life driving situations and asked them to explain how they would handle themselves in different circumstances.

“He was very engaging,” Mr Muranty said.

“It was a good experience for the students and provided a valuable learning experience, given the limitations of the classroom.

“It was also a good opportunity for students who may be interested in careers as emergency personnel to learn more about their roles.”

Ania submitted a story about what she loves the most in her community, winning the prize for her classroom, as well as a book package worth $250 for herself.

Ania’s story talked about how much she loves swimming at the pools and meeting new people.

“It’s very cool that I won,” six-yearold Ania said.

KB Carpet Court reported an overwhelming response from the local community to the inaugural Storybook Challenge, with wonderfully creative stories and pictures submitted from primary schools in the local area.

The entries were voted for by the com-

munity to establish six finalists, which were then judged by Elise Kennedy of KB Carpet Court, along with local Victorian author George Ivanoff.

Ms Kennedy said: “Ania should be very proud of her creative efforts and it was great to see her take on our community. Congratulations to all the students that entered the Storybook Challenge. There were so many great drawings it was hard to pick just one winner!”

More than 1262 Victorian children entered the Storybook Challenge, describing what they love about their community. The program, which is being run in conjunction with the National Year of Reading, aims to encourage more shared reading and creative writing in classrooms across Australia.

With Australian students’ reading literacy levels on the decline, KB Carpet Court wanted to promote a more literate future for local children.

Reason to smile: winners of the road safety raffle at Mary MacKillop College were Rueben Frith, Brydie Bourke and Kaitlyn Longley.

PAGE 26 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Men’s shed fair dinkum VENUS Bay and Tarwin Lower’s Men’s Shed got a touch manlier recently when V8 Supercar driver Karl Reindler visited.

Grand tour: Lisa and Sean Proctor from Fair Dinkum Sheds and V8 Supercar driver Karl Reindler were shown around the Venus Bay and Tarwin Lower Men’s Shed by president Don Kennedy, Peter Prysten and John Hyett.

He was joined by Sean and Lisa Proctor from Fair Dinkum Sheds who constructed the shed in Venus Bay. Venus Bay and Tarwin Lower Men’s Shed president Don Kennedy was happy to show the guests around.

“It’s fantastic to have people come and see what we’ve got happening down here,” he said.

The shed is much more than just a workshop.

As you walk in you are greeted by a typical work space with tools lining the walls and benches filled with power tools.

Venturing further on through the shed, you find the social area with a meeting room and a full kitchen.

The kitchen, which was mostly built by the men themselves, is just as important as the workshop, according to Mr Kennedy.

“Not everyone comes here to work.

Some guys just come here to have a chat and a cup of coffee,” he said.

“The kitchen is also great for teaching some of the guys without partners to cook healthier food.

“We’re trying to look after all of parts of men’s health.”

Mr Reindler, who races in the Fair Dinkum Sheds supercar, was impressed.

“It’s a great looking facility and the guys have thought of everything,” he said.

“They’re certainly touching on improving many different areas of men’s health.

“I’ve been to many men’s sheds all over

the country and it’s great to see the different ways people take on the project.”

Mr Kennedy assured his guests there was more to come.

“A men’s shed is never finished,” he said.

“We’ve got 12 solar panels coming in next week and we’re planning on a community garden to be set up next to the shed.”

This comes as Victorian Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge announced grants of $30,000 available to men’s sheds.

The grants initiative is part of a $4 million package over four years that will help men’s sheds increase their capacity to attract new members, operate sustainably and continue to make valuable contributions to local communities.

“Men’s sheds give men a place to go where they can meet, talk, get involved in their local community and learn about important health and wellbeing issues,” Ms Wooldridge said.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Peter Tuohey said men’s sheds play a significant role in regional areas.

“Men’s sheds help foster a sense of community for older farmers as well as other men living in regional Victoria,” he said.

“We commend the Minister for Community Services for supporting such a worthwhile program which will benefit farmers and other men in rural and regional areas.”

Men’s sheds in regional areas are encouraged to apply for the funding before the July 13 close-off date.

Successful applicants will need to match their grants two to one.

Art show shines Mayor’s message THE weather may have been bitterly cold, but the Mirboo North Art Show shone once again.

Opening night drew a crowd of around 400 people who came to enjoy the record number of art works.

Winners of the major prizes were announced, with Ken Griffiths taking out the best overall exhibit sponsored by IPR-GDF SUEZ Australia.

During his career as an art teacher Ken taught in Leongatha, Mildura and Daylesford before leaving the profession to pursue his art.

The Melanie Johnston Young Artist Award was won by Jamie Gourlay with a set of black and white photographs.

The category of best portrait of a local identity sponsored by Mirboo North and District Community Bank was awarded to artist Janette Arnold-Collins for her portrait of David Tree, local resident whose passion for wildlife brought world-wide fame in the 2009 bushfires.

The quality of work in this year’s show

was outstanding, with a record number of entries from all over Victoria and many artists exhibiting in the show for the first time.

Children from Mirboo North Primary School created a fine array of artworks under the guidance of art teachers Kath Dunsmuir and Michelle Murden.

Children’s art work was auctioned at opening night with some strong interest from parents keen to purchase their children’s works to enjoy.

Again, the standard of work was quite spectacular and calendars displaying the children’s artwork were available as well.

Live music by The Dirt Floor contributed to a great atmosphere and food was aplenty.

Sale of artwork on opening night was strong, and continued over the weekend, with a portion of all sales going to Mirboo North Primary School.

The art show is the primary school’s major fundraiser and has a 31-year history of making a significant contribution to the school.

Its ongoing success is a credit to the artists, the many volunteers and the wider community who embrace the event each year.

Opening night: from left, Karen Anton, Nat Jones and Tracie McColl enjoyed the gala opening night of the Mirboo North Art Show.

Meals roster (Leongatha) Leongatha Secondary College and Leongatha Primary School (all week), S. Birch (Mon, Thur, Fri), National Bank (Tues), and SG Specialist School (Wed) will be responsible for the delivery of meals on wheels, the week beginning June 4, 2012.

Cr Veronica Dowman

THE Victorian Senior of the Year Awards is again open for nominations up until July 20.

This annual award promotes the achievements of senior community members and highlights the positive contribution made to society by people in this age group.

We have many potential nominees in Bass Coast. If you know someone who is thoroughly involved in the community and is a great inspiration to others, then why not nominate them.

The awards recognise Victorian residents aged over 60 in five different categories. These include contribution to cultural diversity, health and active living, and the Veteran Community Award.

It is worth going to the website to see the full information (www.seniorsonline.vic.gov.au). Or you can call Seniors Information Victoria on 1300 135 090 and ask for a nomination form. The 2012 awards will be presented at a reception at Government House on October 5.

I also wanted to draw your attention to a free workshop that will be of interest to anyone who is involved in a club, committee or community group. Council is holding a governance, board and leadership workshop on June 6 from 7pm to 9pm at the Kilcunda Community Hall.

The workshop will help members of community groups and clubs understand their legal and practical responsibilities as a committee or board member. If you would like to attend please RSVP to Chris Wutzke on 1300 BCOAST (226 278).

I would encourage everyone to tune into my radio show this week where I interview our Planning and Environment Director about the continued actions Council is taking to advocate against coal seam gas exploration in Bass Coast.

The radio show runs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8.30am and 4.30pm, so there is plenty of opportunity to catch it. To check the frequency in your area, log onto www.3mfm.com.au.

In terms of coal seam gas, to date we have lodged a submission objecting to the Leichhardt Resources mining exploration licence; successfully gained support from member councils of the Municipal Association of Victoria to join in our advocacy; and called upon the State Government to put a moratorium on any further coal seam gas exploration or mining in Victoria until more is understood about its impacts.

The impact of coal seam gas exploration and implications for Bass Coast are complex. To help people understand the issues, we have set up a special page on Council’s website. This page is regularly updated as our campaign continues. Visit www.basscoast.vic.gov.au for the latest news.

Cr Veronica Dowman, mayor Bass Coast Shire Council.

“THE STAR�, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 27

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PAGE 28 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Style and substance T

HIS unique brick home in one of Korumburra’s better, established streets exudes a sense of style and substance, and a confidence that here at last is a home that will satisfy for a long time to come.

At first glance the right ingredients are clear. An elevated aspect with the living areas on the north side for sunshine efficiencies; brick construction with minimal maintenance in mind; level access from the double garage to inside and from the house to the rear garden to suit those preferring less steps; and a classy interior that promises stylish entertaining while retaining year-round comfort and practicality for the people who live here.

The impeccable presentation and upkeep promise that you can ‘simply move in’. A large, light-filled lounge, separate dining area, huge hostess kitchen with double pantry, spacious meals/family area, and separate billiard room with stunning built-in wet bar, make up the living rooms.

A main bedroom suite has a gorgeous bathroom and features outlooks through a wall of glass to a garden with flowing water feature, plus a walk-in robe to satisfy owners who love

their clothes. Well proportioned bedrooms are zoned separately from the main, and the study would work equally as a fourth bedroom. The main bathroom is roomy and the laundry has space for drying and ironing.

A storage workshop at the rear of the garage houses the tools and toys. The gardens are a delightful mix of clipped hedges and lawn areas, highlighted by a sheltered rotunda for al fresco dining amidst the plantings that protect your privacy to perfection. A long, paved undercover area extends living options from inside to out.

Korumburra, just 50 minutes to Pakenham and Cranbourne, is fast becoming the escape location for Melbournites moving out – take advantage of this fabulous chance at your own slice of country town living with a home that’s built to last.

KORUMBURRA Location: 9 Valleyview Parade Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2 Car spaces: 2 Price:$525,000 - $560,000 Agent: First National Prom Country Contact: Kaz Hughes on 0417 516 998

Five acres on top of the world! Luxury weekender or happy home

W

HETHER you seek a luxury weekender around two hours from Melbourne and accessible to coastal and country jaunts, or a comfortable, permanent home where you can nurture farm animals and enjoy the best of country living, this special property should be on your short list.

Enjoying one of the best views in the world, both indoors and outdoors look across the Dumbalk Valley to distant hilltops beyond. Not just about the scenery though, this property is a complete surprise package. At the end of a tree-lined driveway, the house opens into an enormous open plan living expanse of polished boards and big picture windows that are chock-a-block full of hills and sky. Sit by the fire and watch the weather roll across this ever-changing landscape.

A stunning new granite and Jarrah kitchen with stainless steel appliances takes command of its sizeable corner, providing the cook with a most stylish work space and the essential window for the view. The ‘meals area’ will accommodate the biggest of dining tables and dinner parties, and flows through to a very generous living space – the one with the wood fired heater and all the windows.

Laundry and bathroom are completely new and gorgeous too, with stone and glass and ceramic counter-top basins.

New carpets in the bedroom zone bring a modern freshness to the three bedrooms, each with robes. There’s a choice of heating, the home is insulated, and all is neat as a pin with a fresh and open décor.

A generous covered outdoor space offers shelter and room for entertaining and outdoor dining. It has a pretty garden outlook, and is easily accessed from the living spaces. Nearby, established vintage fruit trees, orchard,

neat and sweet ‘house paddock’ for the farm pets, and beyond, more paddock space for your horse or other animals, with a dam, and quality fencing.

Other infrastructure includes a three-bay steel vehicle or machinery shed, large hayshed, and a workshop (ideally positioned to be a studio or bungalow conversion possibility). This property has one of the best ‘combos’ for views, quality of fittings and hobby farm land around.

Make sure you inspect this one.

MARDAN Location: 1630 Meeniyan Mirboo North Road Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms:1 Car spaces:3 Land size: 5 Price:$445,000 Agent: First National Prom Country Contact: Allen Barlett on 0417 274 624

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 29

PAGE 30 - “THE STAR�, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

No more to spend T

HIS is a beautifully presented brick veneer home that has been tastefully renovated with a new kitchen, good floor coverings, ducted natural gas heating, reverse cycle air

conditioning, modern bathroom and formal lounge room and dining area or second living space.

The home has a private backyard with access for a large caravan or boat.

A single carport provides direct access inside the home and also into a lock up garage.

All this is within an easy walk to the main street and would make an ideal first home or investment.

LEONGATHA Location: 107 Brown Street Bedrooms:3 Bathrooms:1 Car spaces: 2 Internet ID: 251300 Price: $279,000 Agent: Stockdale and Leggo Leongatha Contact: 56625800

“THE STAR�, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 31

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PAGE 32 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Alerting first home buyers B

UYING your first home can often be a daunting process and a financial strain.

For a limited time a golden opportunity awaits first home owners entering the property market, but you have to be quick or you’ll miss out!

When it comes to the First Home Owners Grant, Lindsay and Robyn Powney from Insight Real Estate in Leongatha can help first time buyers with all their enquiries.

“Until June 30 this year, the First Home Owners Grant provides eligible first home owners with a $7000 grant where contracts are entered into after January 1, 2010 on homes that do not exceed $750, 000,” Mrs Powney said.

“In addition, where contracts are entered into now before June 30, first home buyers eligible for the grant may also be eligible for an additional payment of

$13,000 - for new homes only - known as the First Home Bonus, where the property does not exceed $600,000.”

Mr Powney said the grant is a fantastic opportunity for young people in particular.

“It can really give people a kick up into the market and help them pay for additional costs such as stamp duty,” he said.

“I don’t think people are aware these grants are available, and the opportunity is going to dry up soon.”

Mr Powney said grants of up to $20,000 could be the decision maker between renting a property and purchasing one.

“It may just help someone get across that fine line and enable them to buy their first home,” he said.

With only a month left before the offer expires, make sure you don’t miss out and give Insight Real Estate a call on 5662 2220 for any enquiries about the First Home Owners Grant.

Ideal first home T

HIS brand new home fits the bill for those first home buyers who meet the first home owners criteria, and are in a position to purchase a quality property such as 19 Laura Grove.

Nestled in a quiet street, this sparkling new home of approximately 21 sq is decorated in fresh neutral tones.

A bright entrance hall expands to an

open lounge on one side providing a cosy retreat from the main living zone, a fantastic space incorporating kitchen/meals /family areas.

The kitchen boasts quality stainless steel appliances, walk-in pantry and a generous sized island/breakfast bar. The large, open adjoining meals/family area is tiled and overlooks the back yard which has views of a reserve.

Leading off through glass doors is a covered patio, ideal for a barbe-

cue/ entertaining area and quick access to the garage and rear yard.

All bedrooms have built-in robes, master with en suite.

Ducted gas heating, and solarboosted hot water service, make this home energy efficient. Complete with double garage, this home is ready to move in to.

It has been heavily reduced in price, and is an affordable opportunity, all on a huge 1254sqm (approx.) parcel of land.

LEONGATHA Location: 19 Laura Grove Bedrooms: 3 Bathrooms: 2 Car spaces: 2 Price: $340,000 Agent: Insight Real Estate Contact: 5662 2220

In the know: Lindsay and Robyn Powney from Insight Real Estate in Leongatha believe the First Home Owners Grant and Bonus can be the difference between choosing to rent or purchase your first home – however the grants are only available until June 30 this year.

Here’s a blank canvas T

HE Corinella Peninsula is truly a hidden gem and is Victoria’s best kept secret.

Located just over an hour’s easy drive from Melbourne, this pretty seaside town was first settled in 1826.

A lovely blend of rural grazing and farming land surrounds the Corinella Peninsula with a broad range of agricultural production.

Enter into this idyllic scene, a blank canvas of 59 acres with a five bedroom partially completed home and a valuable 21 mega litre licensed bore and you are presented with a huge opportunity.

Securely fenced on all sides with three metre high steel mesh, three-phase power to several points on the property and kilometres of gravelled laneways, the property has a current permit in place to sell directly to the public.

There is town water connected to the property and the three lake-type dams and licensed bore would allow for any successful commercial-scale horticultural or grazing enterprise to

be established.

This property has internal fencing to approximately six paddocks, with town water connected to stock troughs throughout and over 2500 trees and shrubs have been planted as shade and shelter belts.

With prominent Bass Highway exposure and three road frontages, this magnificent

Corinella holding is waiting for the creative buyer to comlete the picture.

The property is offered for sale by Public Auction on Saturday June 2 at 11am by Garth Lisle Property Consultants in San Remo. For further deatils and to arrange an inspection, please cal John Lisle on 5678 5878 or 0429 000 100.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE STARâ&#x20AC;?, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 33

Live, swim and play!

Q uietly tucked away amongst picturesque trees and overlooking a pleasant combination of undulating green hills and river flats, this is a property sure to tug at the heart strings.

A cottage style home has been recently repainted inside and its current owners have lovingly made improvements to make this a most comfortable family home.

Approximately 28 squares of living, the home boasts four bedrooms with the master bedroom containing a walk-in robe and sizeable en suite with new stepless shower. A large living area with views is well appointed to the country kitchen and meals area and the original living/dining area is also a handy second living space.

There is a large laundry with loads of storage space and the main bathroom is nearby, making for an easy tidy up after a busy day outdoors exploring the grounds.

Two reverse cycle air conditioners plus the option of a wood and pellet heater heat and cool the home, and there is a working open fire place complete with ornate mantle for added ambience.

A superb feature of the property is the heated, ten metre fibreglass pool and entertaining area, complete with tropical garden, ideal for all year use.

Cottage gardens contain over one hundred roses with water systems, a large vegetable garden and orchard and those in need of storage will appreciate the two thousand bale hayshed, disused dairy and four bay machinery shed.

The title comprises 33 acres plus approximately eight acres of river lease and is fenced into four paddocks with good fencing and cattle yards.

This property offers country living at its best.

MEENIYAN Location: 150 Armstrongs Road Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 2 Internet ID: 259349 Land size: 33 acres and approx. 8 acres river lease Price: $715,000 Agent: Stockdale and Leggo, Leongatha Contact: 5662 5800

PAGE 34 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Seaside getaway T

HIS is a beautifully presented two bedroom modern apartment in the centre of town.

This property would be the ideal getaway for anyone who wants to park the car and walk to beaches, shops and cafes.

It is a very popular location for Christmas and holiday rentals and has a great rental history.

There is a small courtyard behind the apartment and a dining area is on the second level with bi-fold doors that open up onto the spacious deck, making this area perfect for summer barbecues or entertaining on the deck.

On the ground floor a very comfortable living area with a feature round window oozes with seaside living.

Complete with a hidden laundry, lovely timber floor boards, dishwasher, pantry and full bathroom, the time is ripe to invest in Inverloch.

INVERLOCH Location: Unit 1/8 Beaton Place Bedrooms: 2 Bathrooms: 1 Price: $350,000 Agent: Alex Scott and Staff, Inverloch Contact: 5674 1111

Renovate or detonate S

CREAMING out with street appeal and period style, but in desperate needd off some serious TLC, i TLC this ‘renovators dream’ is sitting on a near level 904 square metre block less than 500 metres from the main street.

The central hallway gives access to two rooms each side before opening out into the kitchen/dining area.

A semi detached self contained bungalow is attached to the rear of the house.

So beat the bulldozer and capitalise on this golden opportunity in central Leongatha.

LEONGATHA Location: 38 Hassett Street Bedrooms: 4 Bathrooms: 1 Price: $265,000 Agent: Alex Scott and Staff, Leongatha Contact: 5662 0922

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 35

AN UPDATE FROM AQUASURE

Last month, we were delighted to welcome the Honourable Alex Chernov AC QC, Governor of Victoria and Mrs Elizabeth Chernov on site for a tour of the desalination plant. The Governor and Mrs Chernov visited the plant as part of their tour of the Bass Coast Shire hosted by Mayor Veronica Dowman and Council’s CEO Allan Bawden.

The Governor and Mrs Chernov were impressed by the extent and level of technology across the plant, as well as the environmentally sensitive and energy efficient, world-class design.

Work continues apace across the project.

The 87km underground power supply to the plant site has been energised and is being operated by SPI PowerNet. Energisation of the numerous switch rooms on site is now taking place to circulate power to all areas of the plant.

The roads within the desalination plant siteare being constructed and the permanent entry into the plant site is also starting to take shape. Commissioning activities are now well underway in many areas of the plant.

The number of people working on the plant site continues to decline as we near the completion of construction activities. There are approximately 2200 people working on the plant site – a drop of over 1400 since the peak in September 2011.

www.aquasure.com.au

Construction of the surge tank at Kilcunda ridge is now complete, following the lining of the tank with a specialised high density polyethylene liner material, and the installation of the precast concrete roof.

A consistent and even flow of water is required as potable water is transferred to its final destination at Cardinia. The surge tank is a critical component in this regard, as it is designed to maintain a steady and reliable water pressure and accommodate pressure changes in the pipeline.

Along the utilities corridor, pasture has been sown on more than half the properties.

Significant rainfall and the onset of winter have meant that we have had to temporarily suspend our reinstatement works until weather conditions improve. A reduced workforce will continue to operate until works recommence in the spring season. In the meantime, crews are still in place to undertake tasks such as road rectification, corridor maintenance and some rehabilitation planting works.

Works on road crossings and designated haul roads have been progressed as far as possible. As with the reinstatement of the utilities corridor, these works are impacted by weather, and so they are temporarily suspended until the weather improves.

Any roads where the final seal has not been applied, will be completed at that time.

Recently we have received a question about the Environment Management Plan (EMP) for the operation of the plant. In an earlier edition of the CEO Column we explained that as is the case with the Design and Construction EMP, the EMP for the operations and maintenance phase will be publicly available on the AquaSure website, once it has been finalised and approved by the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.

Since September 2009, the project’s Community Information Centre has welcomed over 13,000 visitors. The centre provides a range of comprehensive project information, interpretive and multi-media display, a scale model of the desalination plant and progress updates.

The Community Relations team has interacted with a further 10,000 people through activities such as presentations to community groups and schools and attendance at local shows and events with the mobile Community Information Centre trailer.

Chris Herbert CEO, AquaSure

PAGE 36 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Tools were downed across the region last week to raise money for cancer research. Community groups and businesses took part in the Cancer Council’s annual fundraiser, Biggest Morning Tea. The Star is proud to present pictorial coverage of numerous events.

Right, Community minded: Val Reid gets ready to deliver morning tea to businesses in Inverloch, as part of the morning tea hosted by the Inverloch Uniting Church on Thursday. About 50 people attended, raising $928.40. Many businesses supported the event with donations.

Come to share: Georgia Pressnell, Adam Rockall and Lili Jasmine were well fed at South Coast Christian College’s morning tea.

Right, Yum, yum: Tony Giles, Jacob de Kunder and Joy Morgan enjoy a cuppa and cake at The Star’s Biggest Morning Tea on Friday.

Above, What a feast!: journalist Jacob de Kunder was more than happy to support the Cancer Council whilst checking out the range of delicious plates at the morning tea. The office raised more than $130 for the fantastic cause.

Right, Mingling in the kitchen: Star employees Leonie Smith, Barb Lee and Sarah Vella shared a chat and uring Australia’s Australia s Biggest a coffee during ea on Friday.

Morning Tea

Honoured guests: Johanna Haasjes and Grace Burggraaff had a great time when they attended South Coast Christian College’s Biggest Morning Tea last week.

Food everywhere: Levi Boucher was faced with too many choices at the South Coast Christian College morning tea.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 37

PAGE 38 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 39

Artists unite on a limb FOURTEEN artists have combined their talents to present the exhibition Arboreal – Out on a Limb at Fish Creek.

The opening of the show at Gecko Studio Gallery recently showed a wide variety of talent.

Participating artists are: Susan Purdy (Dumbalk), Rosalind Atkins (Melbourne), Malcolm Pettigrove (Canberra), John Sharp (Pheasant Creek), Ben Henry (Mirboo North), Christine Larsen (Melbourne), Andrew McPherson (Fish Creek), Colin

Bennison (Corinella), Rachel Warren (Outtrim), Sian Adnam (Cape Woolamai), Grant Flather (Yanakie), Helen Wilkinson (Yanakie) and Rod Bechaz (Wonthaggi).

The gallery’s Michael Lester said: “We are very pleased with

Flight theme: Helen Wilkinson of Yanakie explored birds in boxes. Photo: Kerry Spokes.

the calibre of work but then we always are pleased with our group exhibitions.

“The hanging of the show was surprisingly straight forward and we had a good turnout today.”

• More photos in Social Scene on page 42.

CALLAN James Stoppa was born at Bass Coast Regional Health on May 10 to Debbie and Brett Stoppa of Cowes. Callan is pictured with his parents and siblings Kailee, 8, Broden, 6, and Tarli, 3.

PIPER Lisa Miller was born on May 8 at Gold Coast Hospital to Hayley and Grant Miller. HayModern work: Yanakie artist Grant Flather. Photo: ley’s maiden name was Giliam, of Leongatha. Piper is a sister for Kody, 2.

Kerry Spokes.

PAGE 40 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Milpara Community House news MILPARA’S cake decorating course has just finished, with all the participants very proud of the cake decorated with the flowers they have made from scratch from icing. This was all made possible under the expert tutelage of Wendy Russell in just six hours over three Monday nights. The class has been extended over a further three Mondays as the ladies are keen to expand their skills. ****** Local psychologist Terry Guildford ran a very informative session on Understanding Teenage Girls last Tuesday

night. Tonight’s session (May 29) will be on Understanding Teenage Boys. These sessions, which have been held at Milpara Community House in Korumburra.

Have been sponsored by the South Gippsland Parenting Network. ****** There is one vacancy in the Photo Editing course to be held over three Wednesdays, May 30 to June 13 from 11am to 2pm. Photographer Glen Wilson will share his tips on how to edit your digital photos to correct any imperfections, and also how to scan and

restore old photographs. ****** The Get to Know your iPad session was fully booked on Monday night and we are taking names for a second session.

Please contact Milpara on 5655 2524 if you are interested in this class. ****** Milpara is holding a Food Safety Level 1 course and a Food Safety Supervisors course on Wednesday, June 6 for people who are working in hospitality, health or community services.

Both courses start at 9.30am and vacancies are available.

****** K o r u m b u r r a Playgroup meets every Friday morning during school terms and this is a great way to make new friends for parents, carers and preschool children. ****** The community information session on the changes to the Associations Incorporation Act set for June 5 has been cancelled as there are still amendments to the act to be passed by parliament.

Milpara will set a date for this information session when all the amendments become law.

Showing flair: cake decorating students Bev Rowe, Caitlyn Hughes and Faye Walker, and right, Caitlyn’s cake.

From pages past Historical snippets from The Star 30 years ago, June 1, 1982 PLANS for $147,000 in alterations and additions to the old Leongatha grandstand were presented to players and officials of the Leongatha Football Club at a social night following training last week. President of the club, Cr Col Handley explained to the members the extent of the development at the recreation reserve.

10 years rs ago, May 28,, 2002 THE South Gippsland Farmer’s Market has been named among the top 10 by the ABC’s Delicious magazine. The Koonwarra-based market was number two on the list and was also one of only two Victorian markets to be recommended

by Bulletin magazine recently.

5 years ago, May 29, 2007 MELBOURNE’S gridlocked freeways could force a major overhaul of South Gippsland public transport. Current bus services to and from Leongatha are unable to keep to timetables and are arriving up to an hour late at their destinations.

The Star believes the current bus system will be scrapped within months.

**** ****

**** THE opening of the Woorayl District Hospital’s continuing care wing may be delayed because of staffing problems. The staff are available but the State Health Commission is yet to approve their employment. The reason is lack of funds and staff ceilings.

THE two most dangerous intersections in Leongatha aren’t being attended to yet, but work on two other problem intersections in the town is due to start next week.

The State Government has funded the construction of roundabouts at the intersections of Bent/ Turner and Jeffrey/Hassett streets.

THE public is losing trust and confidence in the South Gippsland Shire Council over its handling of Coal Creek Historical Village and the Memorial Hall. Cr David Lewis has expressed concern over the way council and staff are dealing with the community regarding public consultation.

1 year ago, May 31, 2011 SOUTH Gippsland continues to remain a popular film location with production companies from Australia and around the world. An Indian director recently met with South Gippsland Shire Council about a movie to be filmed in Foster in September.

Council has also received an enquiry about a horror film that could be made in the region. **** SOUTH Gippsland Shire Council has unveiled a host of exciting projects for the region in its 2011-12 draft budget.

Enhancing Korumburra’s town centre, furthering the Korumburra Children’s Hub, looking for more industrial land in Leongatha and the extension of the Great Southern Rail Trail through to Yarram are among the new initiatives.

Desal reaction

MEMBERS of the Wonthaggi desalination plant community liaison group have viewed the painting commissioned by construction company Thiess Degremont.

They did so last Thursday during their regular monthly meeting.

The painting, by noted South Gippsland artist John Koenders, hangs in the Bass Coast Shire Council offices in Wonthaggi. It was presented recently by Thiess Degremont project director John

Barraclough.

Neville Goodwin, who is the community representative on the liaison group, said there were mixed reactions to the painting.

Neville said he liked some aspects of the work, but confessed he thought paintings should contain

photographic detail. Nevertheless, the seagulls and Thiess helmet tucked into the sand and foreshore grass at the front of the site in the painting, appealed to him.

The community liaison group is likely to continue meeting until this Christmas.

Historic setting: Katrina Timmins and Paul Jones wed at Butleigh Wootton mansion.

Historic day GUESTS travelled ttravel from London and Dubai to attend the wedding of Katrina Timmins and Paul Jones on Sunday, April 22.

Katrina is the second daughter of Brae and Dorothy Timmins of Leongatha, and attended Buffalo Primary School and

Leongatha High School.

The ceremony and reception was held at historic Butleigh Wootton mansion in Kew. The couple honeymooned in Byron Bay before returning to their home in Carnegie.

Teens sail away TWELVE Year 10 Korumburra Secondary College students enjoyed a sailing camp in Geelong recently.

They learnt to sail by developing their knowledge and skills of the coastal environment of Corio Bay. As a class, students also planned,

shopped and prepared healthy, low cost and tasty meals.

The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) program is a hands-on option for students giving practical workrelated experience, and gives students opportunities to build personal life and work skills.

Sea legs: VCAL students Brae Byrne and Jack Pattern cruising on the water.

Inverloch CWA laughs lots LADIES were happy to welcome back their president, who is recovering from a nasty fall.

Highlights of the month included a successful visit from Blumes Fashions, and there are now several very smart ladies in town.

A Dutch auction was held after our May meeting, raising a lot of laughs and a tidy sum for our funds.

Several members are heading off for warmer climes. We wish them safe travel and hope they spare a thought for those of us left behind.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 41

★★★★★★★★ ★★★★★★★★ ARIES - March 21 - April 20

There is a dip in self confidence before the weekend, then you find yourself meeting responsibilities with new determination. Thursday is for teaching, the weekend is for learning..

TAURUS - April 21 - May 22

Distractions put you behind schedule and you may find that you have to cancel weekend plans. Starting Sunday, entertainment is your theme. Look forward to amusing encounters and cultural evenings.

GEMINI - May 23 - June 21

Postponements could make you sulk a bit, but a victory on the weekend snaps you out of any moodiness. Misunderstandings clear up by Thursday and you hear good news about someone you really like.

CANCER - June 22 - July 22

Challenge is your present keyword. Your vitality is inspiring and the week is ideal for achieving a major goal. Romance presents some challenges though some of the challenges are too great even for you.

LEO - July 23 - August 22

There is bright financial news and you begin to feel more secure in your career - but you are also a little bit lonely. Friends look after their own problems and a loved one cancels plans.

VIRGO - August 23 - September 22

A change, rather than a new beginning is the current trend. Important jobs are pressing, but dreamy distractions get in the way as of Saturday.

Play up creative talents all week long.

LIBRA - September 23 - October 22

In romance, you take on the role of advisor to the love-lorn. As for your own aspirations, they can all begin to come true now. Starting Wednesday, the emphasis shifts to education and travel.

SCORPIO - October 23 - November 21

Originality is emphasised in just about every area of your life. Be more spontaneous in showing your affections. Social activities prove surprising fun. If looking for a friend, you should find him/her now.

SAGITTARIUS - November 22 - December 22

Romance takes a secondary role to your career and family matters, but your partner remains supportive. Your sense of humour is in great shape.

CAPRICORN - December 23 - January 20

A loved one seems too easy to please now, but there is no reason to be suspicious. Friends share good news on the weekend. Prepare to deal with friction among relatives starting Friday.

AQUARIUS - January 21 - February 19

Variation is the theme this week, with a change much more thrilling than rest. Intuition is not as potent as you would like to think. Pesty neighbours and overly social workmates could take your time from key projects.

PISCES - February 20 - March 20

Financial gains from Friday on are mixed with occasional feelings of doubt. Share your concerns with your loved one. Healthwise, it’s easy to be accident prone in your home environment. Take a slower approach.

BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK

You are politeness personified and your standards are high. But watch out, you have a habit of imposing them on others. Money making opportunities continue to abound this year, but more important you decide on a long range course of action.

Church Times ANGLICAN: Wednesday, May 30: 11am St Peter’s Mid-Week HC. Friday, June 1: 7.30pm St Andrew’s, Dumbalk HC. Sunday, June 3: 8am St Peter’s HC; 10am St Peter’s Contemporary Worship with HC. ST MARY’S ANGLICAN CHURCH: Mirboo North. Phone 5668 1346. Holy Communion 8.30am: Worship and Sunday School 10am.

ST PAUL’S ANGLICAN CHURCH: Korumburra: Sunday 9.30am and Wednesday 11.30am. Poowong: Second and fourth Sundays, 11am.

ST GEORGE’S ANGLICAN CHURCH: McBride Avenue, Wonthaggi. Sunday, 9.30am Eucharist, 11am Family Service, Wednesday 10am Eucharist.

Anglican Church of the Ascension: The Crescent, Inverloch.

Sunday 9am Eucharist, Tuesday 10am Eucharist.

For details of Community Meal, Youth Group, Bible Studies & Kids Club, contact Rev. Graeme Peters 5672 4590 or visit www. basscoastanglican.org.au AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN CHURCHES (AOG): Prom Coast Community Church Inc. - Foster Community House, Station Street, 10am: Sunday. Sunday School and Creche operates. Pastor Bill Watson 5686 2248.

A.O.G. Inverloch - Cnr Bear and McIntosh Street, Inverloch. Sunday Service 10am; Imagine Christmas Day Service 9am. Contact: Jeff Robertson, 0418 125 832 or Imagine Burwood 9888 7466.

Korumburra Southern Hills A.O.G. - 4 Mine Rd, 10am: Sunday. Also Children’s Church and Creche. Contact: Pastor Rob Davey 5625 3226. Youth: Neville Stuart ph. 0407 343 219.

Equip Church - 17 Michael Place, Leongatha. Sunday service 10am.

Contact: John 0408 305 880.

Wonthaggi A.O.G. - Billson Street, 10am: Sunday. Contact: Pastor Barry Smith 5672 3984.

CHRISTIAN REVIVAL CRUSADE: 40 Hughes Street, Leongatha.

Sunday, Morning Service 10.30 am: Inspirational Service, 6.30pm: Children’s Church 10.30am: Home cells weekly. For all enquiries contact 5664 5455.

THE CHURCH AT ARCHIES CREEK: Every first Sunday of the month. Sunday morning 11am 12.30pm. Fun and games, all ages, all are welcome. Phone: Ps. Chris Chetland 5678 7692, 0447 724 989.

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST: Saturdays, Church service 10am., Leongatha Sabbath School - 11.30am.

CATHOLIC: St Laurence’s Parish Leongatha:

5 pm Mass Saturday, 11am Mass Sunday.

Tarwin Lower: In St Andrew’s Union Church, 5pm winter, 6pm summer Mass Saturday.

Meeniyan: 9.30am Mass, 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays and 11am, 2nd and 4th Sundays.

Mirboo North: 11am Mass, 1st, 3rd, 5th Sundays and 9.30am Mass, 2nd and 4th Sundays.

St. Joseph’s Parish Korumburra: 9.30am Sunday Mass.

Loch: 5pm/6pm Daylight saving Sunday Mass.

Wonthaggi: Saturday evening 6.30pm: Evening Mass; Sunday, 10.30am: Mass. Inverloch: Sunday 9 am: Mass.

KORUMBURRA’S AGLOW: First Monday every month at Korumburra Day Centre, Korumburra Hospital, Bridge St., Korumburra at 7.45pm. Inquiries phone 5657 2214.

GIPPSLAND CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: Strongly family oriented church meets at The Grain Store, Mirboo North, Sundays: 4-5.10pm Communion, 5.15-6pm Bible Studies for Adults, Youth and Children. Friday evenings: Home Fellowships 7.30pm; Youth Activities. Enquiries: 5668 2226 Bob Stevens.

SALVATION ARMY LEONGATHA COMMUNITY CHURCH meets at 52 Anderson Street (South Gippsland Highway) - Sunday: Family Worship at 10am: Sagala - Tuesday, 4 - 5.30pm; mainly music, Thursday 10am. All welcome.

Please contact Captain Martyn and Heather Scrimshaw, ph. 5662 5122.

SALVATION ARMY WONTHAGGI COMMUNITY CHURCH meets at 149 McKenzie Street every Sunday at 11am for Family Worship.

Kids' Club - every Tuesday at 4 pm, Women's Group - Wednesday at 1.30pm, and Playgroup - Friday 9.30am. Evening Ladies' Fellowship - First Monday each month and Youth Groups held monthly. All welcome. Please contact Lt. Robyn and Max Lean. Ph. 5672 1228.

PRESBYTERIAN: Sunday Service 10am, corner Bent and Turner Streets, Leongatha. Moderator Rev. Mark Smith 5625 4112.

CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH: Reformed Church

meeting at the corner of Peart and Brown Streets. Sunday family service at 10.30am. (10am daylight saving time), creche and Sunday School available. All Sunday evening services at 5pm. Fortnightly youth activities. Home Bible Fellowship groups. Contact 5662 2527.

UNITING CHURCH: Leongatha: Sunday, June 3, 10am. Tarwin Lower: 10.30am (HC). Mirboo North: 9.30am. Meeniyan: 10am.

Wonthaggi: Sunday 9.30am, Family Service, all welcome. Inverloch: Sunday 11am: Korumburra: Sunday, 9.30am: Rev. Pastors Gavin and Sue Sharp, 5655 1997. Arawata: 11.30am 1st & 3rd Sundays. Kongwak: 11.30am 4th Sunday.

BAPTIST CHURCH KORUMBURRA: 39 Mine Rd, Korumburra. Service and Sunday School 10.30am. Pastor Ian Wilkinson.

Phone 5658 1366.

BAPTIST CHURCH WONTHAGGI: Cnr McBride & Broome Crescent, Wonthaggi.

Morning Service & Children’s Activities, Sunday 10am. Weekly activities see www. wonbaptist.org.au, Pastor Geoff Pegler 5672 4769.

MEENIYAN CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP: Sunday, 10am: Meeniyan Youth Club Hall.

COMBINED CHURCHES WONTHAGGI / INVERLOCH: 4th Sunday each month at 7pm.

SCOTS PIONEER CHURCH: Mardan South. Pleasant Sunday Afternoons on the last Sunday of each month at 2pm. See occasional ad in this paper for details. For enquiries phone 5664 9306.

FISH CREEK UNION CHURCH: 1st & 3rd Sundays, 9am; 2nd & 4th Sundays, 7pm. Contacts: Fran Grimes 5683 2650, Sue Poletti 5663 6325.

QUICK PUZZLE NO. 8327

6.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

16.

20.

22.

23.

24.

25.

ACROSS Free (2,3,5) Sadly (4) Just (4) Essential (5) Majority (4) Disgusting (9) Sleuth (9) Deficit (4) Name (5) Step (4) Festival(4) Excellent (5,5)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

7.

13.

14.

15.

17.

18.

19.

21.

DOWN Insecure (6) Hire (7) Tool (6) Meat (6) Kingdom (5) Sham (5) Consume (3) Surprise (7) Of the sun (5) Whole (6) Happenings (6) Disappear (6) Employees (5)

CRYPTIC PUZZLE NO. 8327 ACROSS 6. A refutal issued from the home? (4,6). 8. He has a beastly mother (4). 9. She doesn’t have a sou to her name! (4). 10.

It’s sharp, thanks to the man (5). 11. Get kitted up with a funny-looking garment (4). 12.Passes to someone below with no trouble (5,4). 16. Get stale when open, requiring water (9). 20. Jump round, holding the key (4). 22. Gets by return of post (5). 23. Two people who were competitors (4). 24. See as an equal (4). 25. Also being part of the sum (2,8).

DOWN 1. From the valley, a half-daft girl (6). 2. Leaves for the holiday venues (7). 3. Like the argument about whether wine should be mulled? (6). 4. There’s a curl of the lip at the “down cushion.” (6). 5. Intend at the time to get into bed (5). 7. Can the vehicle function with such a load? (5).

13. The person who came out on top, we’re told (3). 14.

Confidential talk in which I figure (7). 15. Cried on finding me married (5). 17. The terribly brave novice having spoken (6). 18. Live in the square Sid Evans moved to (6). 19. No, it’s not where spectators sit to watch the skaters! (6). 21. When the agent retreats, I figure there’s danger (5).

PAGE 42 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

• Gecko Studio Gallery, Fish Creek • Hassett Street Kindergarten picnic • Volunteers celebration at Archies on the Creek

Insightful work: Rod Bechaz of Wonthaggi admires his art on the wall at Gecko Studio Gallery.

Comparing notes: John Sharp and Malcolm Pettigrove discuss their work at Gecko Studio Gallery’s exhibition, Arboreal – Out on a Limb.

Local touch: Fish Creek artist Andrew McPherson is taking part in the latest exhibition at Gecko Studio Gallery.

Closer look: Dumbalk artist Susan Purdy with contemporary art at Gecko Studio Gallery.

Tucking in: a group of volunteers made the most of the fellowship at Bass Coast Shire Council’s morning tea ‘thank you’ during Volunteers Week. The event was held at Archies on the Creek and was hosted by mayor Cr Veronica Dowman.

Leaves tumbling: nothing says autumn like jumping in the fallen autumn leaves, as Max and Rhett from the Hassett Street Kindergarten discovered during the preschool’s recent picnic at Mossvale Park at Berrys Creek.

Enjoying the sunshine: Kelsey, Leo and Ethan took a quick rest whilst visiting Mossvale Park.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 43

Creative place: Hazell Ray-Billington in her Inverloch studio.

Cream of career on show

By Brad Lester AN ARTIST’S life-time of work will be on display at Inverloch next month, in just her second solo exhibition.

Hazell Ray-Billington will present a collection of recent works and pieces dating back to her first show 35 years ago.

Her inaugural exhibition at the Swan Hill Regional Art Gallery in 1977 came after she impressed curators with two pieces entered in another show.

More than three decades on, the Inverloch artist has created a variety of pastel, acrylic and charcoal works exploring landscapes, people and her beloved dogs.

Her style has changed over the years, with people now appearing more frequently in her work.

“I think it’s probably experience and it’s got a lot to do with maturity.

I’m much more interested in people and as far as painting is concerned, I can set them alive.”

Hazell relishes the process of naming her works, as that directs the narrative of her pieces.

Making Plans in the Shallows at the Prom is an example. Two young girls lie in the water talking, adding depth to what could have otherwise been another familiar Prom scene.

“I just love to sit and watch and

listen to what people say they think the story is.”

Hazell’s most recent works have emerged since retiring to Inverloch, allowing her time and the freedom of mind to create. She thins acrylic paint to give a watercolour-like effect and for the past year has explored pastels.

“I like brush strokes and the suggestion of things.”

Backlighting is a preferred technique and animals are added to scenes wherever possible.

A pastel portrait of an aboriginal man reflects her time working with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in Port Augusta, South Australia.

“His hat was his pride and joy and it was just huge. He has marvellous deep furrows and a brow that goes over sparkly eyes.”

Another pastel, of a washing line hanging from a window in Europe, uses modelling glue to give a rendered texture, and an acrylic beach scene was painted over sand to convey sand.

“I like to paint in colours that are not there. It’s just the individual person’s style. In my adulthood, I have been much more aware how important it is to value things: values ourselves and what you do, and your relationships, and I think that probably comes into my paintings.”

“I love to paint something that conveys serenity and love, without being too sentimental.

“It’s a representational style. It takes a subject and not necessarily depicts it as it is, but without going all abstracty.”

Hazell’s exhibition opens at the Inverloch Community Hub this Sunday, June 3 at 2pm and will continue for the month of June, seven days a week.

To enquire, phone Hazell on 5674 2892.

Pastel portrait: Piccaninny.

PAGE 44 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Stud central at Pakenham store sale IT WAS purely by coincidence but purebred cattle of many breeds came forward at last Thursday’s Pakenham store cattle sale.

A dispersal of the Watermill Murray Grey stud saw 30 stud cows and calves go under the hammer, while purebred Limousins account, former AFL footballer Eric Lissenden attracted spirited bidding.

Throughout the sale there were consignments of purebred Poll Herefords, Red Angus and Angus cattle, all of which sold at healthy commercial prices.

A much larger number of cattle came forward prompted by price improvement at the previous sale, a pre-winter sell off, and a weather prediction that very wet weather conditions would hit an already wet South Gippsland.

Of the 1494 cattle yarded, a significant proportion were steers, 955 compared to only 345 heifers. The balance of the yarding were pregnancy tested cows, cows and calves, and bulls.

Nearly five per cent of the yarding failed to sell, showing that vendors have feed and full confidence of a price lift nearer to spring.

Prices proved to be

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erratic and hard to follow.

Smaller best quality steer calves were eagerly sought after and remained firm on recent rates, bigger older steers reflected the cheaper trends of the bullock market, while heifers and secondary cattle were harder to sell.

The general consensus was that amongst some very good sales, all other cattle were $20 to $30 cheaper.

Some representative lots were: A/c J. Roseblade Whittlesea 19 Angus steers 16 mths 395 kg sold to Kernot at $805.

A/c Yangardook Stud Toolern Vale 18 Angus steers 14 mths 410 kg sold to Pakenham at $875.

A/c The Abbey Yarra Glen 12 Red Angus Charolais cross steers 9 mths 320 kg sold to Officer at $670.

A/c G. Ablett Mountain View 20 Ang Fries cross steers 22 mths sold to Korumburra at $650.

A/c Zanthryn Merricks 41 Angus steers 500 kg 22 mths sold to west and south Gippsland at prices up to $880 to ave $870.

A/c J. Wade Cardinia 10 Limousin steers 16 mths 390 kg went to the feedlot at $775.

A/c J. Wade sisters of above sold to east Gippsland 360 kg at $752.

A/c P. and I. Ilic Pak Upper 20 Hereford steers 10 mths 280 kg sold to Yarragon at $670.

A/c Kara-Mia Longwarry North 10 Angus steers 7 to 8 mths 280 kg sold to the feedlot at $595.

A/c R. & S. Boot Drouin Sth 20 pure Red Angus steers 8 to 9 mths sold to Carrum Downs at $620.

A/c Matabbie P/L Nyora 21 Angus steers 315 kg 8 to 9 mths sold to feedlot at $630.

A/c Strathbrae Equity Inv. 72 Angus steers 14 mths 350kg to 388 kg sold from $705 to $645.

A/c E. Lissenden Yarragon Sth 4 pure bred Lim cows 3rd calf at foot, calves 6 to 7 mths sold to Warragul at $2400.

A/c S.Morgan Mia Mia 22 Angus cows calving July on sold to Phillip Island at $1020.

VLE LEONGATHA KOONWARRA

Sale Draw

Ready to restock: Henry Vecter (left) from Phillip Island bought 22 Angus cows for $1020 each. He’s giving delivery instructions to carrier Glen Joyce of Wonthaggi.

• VLE LEONGATHA

Quality, numbers rise NUMBERS lifted, and the quality of the 230 trade cattle was plain with very few prime lots offered.

Heifers made up most of the numbers, 900 mainly good quality bullocks were penned and around 800 cows. All the usual buyers operated in a cheaper market.

The few prime trade cattle sold 5c to 6c dearer and the plainer cattle lost a similar amount with the steer vealers ranging from 170c to 226c, and the heifers 180c to 204c/kg for the medium and heavy weights.

Yearling trade steers sold from 185c to 213c and the heifers 170c to 207c/kg.

Medium weight grown steers were in fewer number and remained firm to 3c stronger, ranging from 185c to 197c/kg, averaging 193c and the heavier bullocks 164c to 194c averaging 182c/kg which was back 4c on average, but some sales were 10c or more cheaper.

Crossbred bullocks eased 8c to 9c ranging from 152c to 166c/kg.

The better covered beef cows eased 4c to 5c and the plainer lines backed off 8c to 9c/kg. The better covered beef cows ranged from 118c to 136c and the 2 scores 107c to 122c/kg.

Dairy cows sold dearer for the medium weights and eased for the heavier run. One score cows ranged from 102c to 125c and 2 scores 112 for Jersey cows to 132c/kg.

Most restocking cows averaged 130c after reaching 160c/kg.

Wednesday, May 23 BULLOCKS 4 O’Loughlin Bros, Meeniyan 11 F. & B. Parini, Korumburra 2 G. & S.A. Cannata, Leongatha 14 T. & J. McRae, Buffalo 14 S.W. Scott, Inverloch 10 N. Fox, Mirboo STEERS 1 L.W. & M.A. Barrett, Korumburra 1 S.J. Richards, Allambee 1 D. & G. Ward, Altona North 2 G.I. & L. Webster, Tarwin 1 B.W. Atkin & L.K. Rippon, Devon Nth 3 J.A. & G.I. Hall, Boolarra COWS 2 D. & P. Whiteley, Mirboo 1 T.A. & J.G. Waters, Dumbalk 4 B.R. & T.J. Thorson, Dumbalk 2 B.R. Beattie Family, Nerrena 1 R. & S. Holt, Mt Eccles South 1 A. & J.M. Hendrie, Welshpool HEIFERS 1 L.W. & M.A. Barrett, Korumburra 1 R.J. & C.M. McGill, Kongwak 1 R.L. & P.J. Olsen, Poowong East 1 L. & B. Jones, Fish Creek 2 Strathbrae Equity P/L, Inverloch 3 S. & D. Stoitse, Toora BULLS 1 Coal Valley Seeds, Narracan 1 T.A. & J.G. Waters, Dumbalk 1 P. Brydon, Koonwarra 1 D. & P. Whiteley, Mirboo 1 M. & M. Stephens, Moe 1 D. Pilkington & F. Toohey, Waratah Nth

577kg 592kg 555kg 587kg 591kg 593kg

199.2 197.2 197.2 196.6 196.6 196.0

$1150 $1168 $1094 $1155 $1162 $1162

335kg 355kg 375kg 312kg 280kg 293kg

225.6 220.0 215.0 212.6 208.6 200.6

$755 $781 $806 $664 $584 $588

635kg 625kg 465kg 462kg 575kg 380kg

160.0 $1016 153.6 $960 145.6 $677 141.6 $654 140.6 $808 140.0 $532

360kg 425kg 495kg 340kg 352kg 370kg

220.0 $792 210.6 $895 207.6 $1027 203.6 $692 201.2 $709 201.2 $744

805kg 890kg 955kg 960kg 610kg 1050kg

173.6 172.6 172.6 166.2 165.6 164.0

$1397 $1536 $1648 $1595 $1010 $1722

May 30 & 31 1. David Phelan & Co 2. Landmark 3. SEJ 4. Elders 5. Rodwells 6. Alex Scott

Upcoming Sales LEONGATHA Prime: May 30 - 8.30am Sheep: May 30 - 12pm Store: May 31 - 10am

PAKENHAM Prime: June 4 - 8am Export: June 5 8.30am Store: June 7 - 10am

Farmers can save energy DAIRY Australia received $1 million in Federal Government funding today to roll out 900 farm energy assessments on dairy farms across the country.

The grant was one of 28 announced as round one of the Energy Efficiency Information Grants program worth $20 million. Dairy Australia will use the funding for the Smarter Energy Use on Australian Dairy Farms project to provide farmers with information and technical support to improve farm energy efficiency.

Dairy Australia’s Catherine Phelps said the secured funding would help deliver energy assessments to all eight dairy regions across Australia, tailoring it to meet local needs.

“There is a high level of interest in energy efficiency in the dairy industry and farmers are increasingly concerned about the cost of energy impacting on their business, so the conditions are right for a very effective national project,” Ms Phelps said.

“It is expected the project will result in supplying farmers with real practical solutions for significant savings in carbon emissions and en-

ergy costs on farm.”

Through on farm assessments, Smarter Energy Use on Australian Dairy Farms will deliver recommendations for dairy farmers to use energy in the smartest, most efficient and cost effective way.

Ms Phelps said recommended options could include changes to management practices, optimisation of current equipment and/or capital investment.

This is one of the many examples of the dairy service levy at work. For more information on this and other levy investments visit www.dairyaustralia.com.au

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 45

Milk prices stay solid MURRAY Goulburn Co-operative has announced a further step-up for the current season, lifting their price to $5.44 per kilogram of milk solids.

Australia’s

farmer-

owned dairy food company, Murray Goulburn advised the company’s dairy farmer shareholders of a fourth increase in farmgate milk prices for the current season on Friday.

In his statement to shareholders, managing director Gary Helou advised of a price increase

of $0.10 per kilogram of protein and $0.04 per kilogram of butterfat for milk supplied across the 201112 season.

“I am pleased to announce that the combination of this step-up, increased milk volumes and improved operating performance increases Mur-

ray Goulburn’s weightedaverage available price to $5.44 per kilogram milk solids,” Mr Helou said.

“We continue to strive to deliver benefits through improved business efficiencies and innovation and we remain committed to passing these benefits on to suppliers and sharehold-

Jersey gold: members of the South Gippsland Jersey Breeders Club, Paul, Chloe and Jess Mumford from Won Wron, with their lot Gelbeado Park Navara Bonita before the Devondale 100 years of Jersey Excellence Sale.

Held at the Stony Creek Racecourse yesterday, this cow was lot number one and sold to the Moscripts of Leongatha South. Just under 40 Jersey cattle went under the hammer at the sale on Monday, with people coming from every state in Australia, as well as from overseas to attend.

ers as soon as possible.

“As previously advised, we are currently completing our budget process for 2012-13 which will determine our opening and forecast milk price for next season.

“The market outlook continues to soften in the face of increased international milk supply although we now see a weakening of the Australian dollar.”

Leongatha South dairy farmer Max Jelbart said the price step-up was fantastic news for Gippsland dairy farmers.

“Every dollar that goes into dairy farmers’ pockets, goes back into the community,” he said.

“It is a good result for dairy farmers; I hope there is more to come.”

Mr Jelbart did conclude it would be difficult to know how the rest of the the season will pan out.

“The weakening of the Australian dollar works in our favour; however Dairy Australia’s opening price predictions for next season are lower than we would have liked,” he said.

“If the Australian dollar falls, it helps to make us more competitive on the export market. It can drive up prices of fuel and grain, but there is usually more strength in the income than there is in the costs.”

Mr Jelbart noted that it was interesting that Murray Goulburn, as the cooperative, had led the last two price step-ups, which were in turn followed by

the other milk companies.

Fonterra Australia has reiterated its strong outlook for the current season and provided a forecast on its prices for next season in a round of meetings with its farmers last week.

Simon Bromell, managing director of Fonterra Ingredients Australia, said their focus was firmly on the final few weeks of the current season.

“We expect to see further upside this season and we anticipate finishing with a strong final farm gate milk price for 201112,” Mr Bromell said.

“Demand remains firm from our customers so our priorities are to keep managing our costs, deliver firmly on our sales schedule and ensure a tight shipping program for the rest of the season.

“Finishing well in 2011-12 is crucial to ensuring our suppliers are set up for next season, when prices will be softer.”

Mr Bromell noted the global supply and demand picture as playing a key role in Fonterra’s market outlook for 2012-13.

“Globally, strong milk production has now run ahead of demand since early this year, which has created a short-term surplus of milk,” he said.

“This has in turn caused commodity prices to soften. Currently demand has eased slightly as the global economy slows, but we expect this to recover into 2013.

“With all that in mind, we are focused on the long-term game for next season. We expect the final farmgate return for 201213 to be 15 cents per kilogram of milk solids either side of $4.75 per kilogram of milk solids.

“As always, we will monitor market dynamics closely through the season and provide regular updates on farmgate prices in our bi-monthly reviews.”

Based on that long-term view, Fonterra has indicated its opening farmgate milk price for 2012-13 will be in the range of $4 to $4.30 per kilogram of milk solids.

“We are of course aiming for the upper end of that band. Currency and commodity prices are moving quickly at the moment and these will be the key factors in determining the opening price,” Mr Bromell said.

“But before we get to that, we must focus on the job at hand which is to finish the current season as strongly as possible.”

PAGE 46 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

public notices

public notices

LEONGATHA COMMUNITY PRE SCHOOL CENTRES INC.

public notices

public notices

CHIROPRACTOR

CHIROPRACTOR NORMAN G. VRADENBURG

Garry Harrison 19 Moonah Street Cape Paterson

Parents of all children attending pre school (3 & 4 year old) in 2013 are invited to an

INFORMATION NIGHT

to discuss the programs offered at our centres in 2013 Wednesday, June 13 - 7.30pm HASSETT STREET PRE SCHOOL 9 Hassett Street, Leongatha All welcome

POOWONG LOCH & NYORA SEWERAGE SCHEME - Opportunity to receive the latest updates on the Poowong, Loch and Nyora Sewerage Scheme.

South Gippsland Water staff will be in attendance at the locations listed below to speak to community members one to one.

Areas of interest to the community including reticulation designs, rising main designs, site selection and treatment lagoon progress.

When Tuesday June 5th 2012

Where Loch Public Hall

Time 11am – 2pm

Tuesday June 5th 2012

Poowong Public Hall

4pm – 7pm

Wednesday June 6th 2012

Nyora Public Hall

4pm – 7pm

For all enquiries contact SGW 1300 851 636 or 5682 0444 or Email: sgwater@sgwater.com.au

Monday Tuesday Thursday Friday By appointment Ph: 5674 8290

“NON-FORCE PRACTITIONER” 28 Reilly Street, INVERLOCH HOURS - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday by appointment Phone and fax 5674 3666 South Gippsland Chiropractic Services & Adjunctive Therapies P/L

LEONGATHA COMMUNITY PRE SCHOOL CENTRES INC. ENROLMENT APPLICATIONS 2013 ARE NOW OPEN FOR ALL 4 YEAR OLD AND PLAYTIME (3 YEAR OLD) CHILDREN If you have not registered your enrolment application visit our website: leongathapreschools.org.au or contact Kylie 5662 5142 STONY CREEK MECHANICS INSTITUTE Notice is given of a PUBLIC MEETING To be held at Stony Creek Mechanics Institute on Tuesday 5th June 2012 commencing at 7.30pm The purpose of the meeting is to nominate no less than three (3) or more than nine (9) persons as the Committee of Management for the Stony Creek Mechanics Institute for a term of three years. The current committee’s term will expire on 30th June 2012. All positions will be declared open and nominations will be accepted prior to or on the night. Nominations from women are encouraged.

Further information, nomination forms and nominee declaration forms may be obtained by contacting your local Department of Sustainability and Environment office or at the meeting. For further enquiries please contact the Secretary, Val Young on 5664 0045.

RETICULATION SEWER UPGRADES WONTHAGGI

MEENIYAN GOLF CLUB INC wishes to thank the following sponsors who helped make their Goods and Services Auction a resounding success Ahern’s Fruit Market Foster, BJ Network Consulting, Leongatha Photographics and Electronics, Leongatha, Lulu’s Leongatha, Nikolina’s Florist and Gifts Leongatha, South Gippsland Glass Stony Creek, SoMe Leongatha, Buffalo Store, Meeniyan Art Gallery (MAG), Foons Photographics Wonthaggi, Shoex Leongatha, Shieldmaster Leongatha, Bakers Delight Leongatha, Swanlee Crafts Leongatha, Catherine’s Hair Techniques Meeniyan, Brown Wigg Meeniyan, Edneys Leongatha, Rath Pastoral Company, Meeniyan Hotel, John Hermann Griffith NSW, Tony Williams P/L Foster, Action Pumps Leongatha, Fish Creek Quarries, Landmark Foster, Coast ’n’ Country Earthmoving Waratah Bay, Geoff Goldsmith, Meeniyan Hardware and Plants, Whites Treated Pine Fish Creek, The Duck Hut Meeniyan, Bianca Biesuz Stefani Fish Creek, J.J.B. Contracting (Jarrod Byrnes), Kevin Jones, Doug Latham Transport Fish Creek, Leongatha Health Foods, Fish Creek Motors, Meeniyan Service Centre, Kinetic Electrics (Paul Trease), Leongatha Skin Therapy, Bloch’s Pharmacy Meeniyan, Earth Art Studio Inverloch, Paterson’s Securities Ltd, Koonwarra Day Spa, A-Z Kitchens Leongatha, Influence Clothing Leongatha, Hartley Wells Leongatha, RSL Leongatha, Henrietta’s Leongatha, Nagels Pharmacy Leongatha, CSC Bakery Leongatha, Tradelink Leongatha, Michaels IGA Leongatha, Nick’s Clothing Leongatha, Peter Boyle Contracting Stony Creek, The Great Southern Star Leongatha, Stony Creek Football Club, Peter Eddy, Fish Creek Football & Netball Clubs, R. & J. Spokes Leongatha, Jack Thorson Contracting, L.C. Excessorise Leongatha, Tanya Darmanin, Meeniyan Post Office, Capeview Mitre 10 Leongatha, Panthers Mensland Leongatha, SG Hire Leongatha, Bread & Pickles Deli Meeniyan, Stony Creek Go Carts, Terry White Chemist Leongatha, Harvey Norman Wonthaggi, Trevor Hollingsworth PGA Professional, Fish Creek Mount of Olives, Lacy’s Jewellery Meeniyan, Cootamundra Plant Nursery Meeniyan, Stewarts Tyre Service Leongatha, Cliff Mitchell, Pause@ Meeniyan, Organature, Moos at Meeniyan, Southern Golf Club, Hays Leading Edge Jewellers Leongatha, Huntingdale Golf Club, Pomegranate Clothing Leongatha, Warragul Country Club, NewsXpress Leongatha, Garry McCaughan Clockmaker Stony Creek.

Special thanks - Glenn “Jacko” Thorson and Neil Park, Cindy Winkler and Rebecca Browne.

Thanks also to all members who donated goods and/or services.

As part of South Gippsland Water’s (SGW’s) ongoing program of wastewater system improvements, SGW is pleased to advise that upgrade works will commence on the sewer reticulation main located in the laneway that runs parallel and to the north of White Road, between Griffiths Street and Kingston Road, Wonthaggi.

Works will be conducted in the laneway, road reserves and in designated sewer easements. This may require the contractor to enter your property in order to carry out the required works.

Disturbance to residents’ properties and any environmental disturbance will be kept to a minimum. Any disturbed areas will be restored and reinstated to a satisfactory pre-existing condition.

The works are scheduled to commence in the first week of June 2012 and conclude in the first week of September 2012.

For further information contact the Project Engineer, Nathan Lucas on 5682 0443.

INFORMATION EVENING for Wonthaggi Theatrical Group’s next production

“Secret Bridesmaids’ Business” At 7.30 pm on Tuesday, 5th June 2012 At the Town Hall, Baillieu St East, Wonthaggi Any one interested in an on-stage or off-stage role in the production, or just interested in learning more about it, is encouraged to attend.

Auditions will be held on Tuesday, 12th and Thursday, 14th June 2012. Rehearsals will start on Sunday, 17th June.

There are 6 speaking roles in the play: 5 females (one is 50-60, the others 25-35), and one male (30-40).

For more information, or to book an audition time if you are unable to come to the Information Evening, contact the “Secret Bridesmaids’ Business” Production Coordinator, David Wall, on (03) 5672 4289 (AH) or at d.wall@basscoast.vic.gov.au.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 47

situations vacant

situations vacant

situations vacant

EXPERIENCED FARM WORKER

Payroll Officer - .6 Part Time Fixed Term 6 Month Contract

Needed to assist with mixed farming operations at Tarwin Lower and Walkerville.

Person MUST be competent with cattle and sheep husbandry, machinery operation and maintenance, and pasture and weed management.

IMMEDIATE START Phone 0419 397 820

South Gippsland Water is a leading and innovative participant in the Water Industry committed to providing and managing quality water supply and wastewater systems in an ecologically sustainable and cost efficient manner.

Working as part of a small business services team based in Foster and reporting to the HR & Payroll Co-ordinator you will be primarily responsible for the processing of a fortnightly payroll. Additional responsibilities include monthly reconciliations, fleet and database administration, end of year and ad hoc payroll reporting.

The successful applicant will have: • A strong finance background with the associated administration experience • A working knowledge of payroll and EBA/Award interpretation from a similar role • Exceptional interpersonal skills and an ability to communicate across all levels of the organisation • Strong computer skills and be able to produce accurate information in a timely manner Salary is Band 5: $49,420.28 - $57,217.68 pro rata plus superannuation.

The full position description and information regarding South Gippsland Water can be downloaded from our website www.sgwater.com.au To apply send your resumé marked confidential to Paula Smith at South Gippsland Water PO Box 102 Foster Vic 3960.

Telephone enquiries can be made on (03) 5682 0403 or email: psmith@sgwater.com.au Applications close Friday 1st June 2012

Classified advertising closes 12 noon Mondays

public notices FREE CONCERT

‘Iron & Clay’ Movitational Band @ South Coast Christian College Thursday June 7 Free Sausage Sizzle 6pm Show starts 7pm

public notices

public notices

public notices

situations vacant

situations vacant

situations vacant

situations vacant We are seeking a

PART TIME TRADE/RETAIL SALES ASSISTANT

SERVICE MANAGER A very progressive company which is a leader in technology and customer satisfaction and suppliers of market leading franchises is seeking a motivated person as Service Manager.

Responsible for the safe, efficient and profitable operation of the Service Department. Advises and makes recommendations to the Dealer Principal with respect to the best interests of the Service Department.

Responsible for Customer Satisfaction.

We are seeking someone with at least 5 years experience with supervisory or management experience in a related position. The successful applicant will organise the day to day running of the service department, they must have strong computer and organisational skills and have the ability to write and work on routine reports and correspondence.

If you think you could be the right person for this position and would like to know more please call 0427 723 522.

Email cover letter and resumé to Jason.henry@windmillag.com.au Closing date: June 1

3 days per week This unique opportunity will offer on the job training in a practical trade as well as retail sales. To be successful in this role, the candidate will demonstrate: • Previous sales experience • Excellent customer service skills • A strong interest in locksmith/security trade • Trade experience (highly regarded) • Self motivation and willingness to work unsupervised • Attention to detail • Ability to work under pressure • Current driver’s licence Duties include key cutting, security product sales, managing job bookings, ordering and auditing stock and local deliveries.

Interested applicants are invited to submit their resumé to: The Manager Wonthaggi Locksmiths P.O. Box 413 Wonthaggi Victoria 3995 Email: wonlock@bigpond.com Applications close Monday 4th June 2012

POSITIONS VACANT Staff Educator Registered Nurse – Division 1 Grade 4

UnitingCare Gippsland is a quality accredited community service agency. Staff and volunteers provide a range of community services in Gippsland for children, young people, families and individuals. The Agency has a vision of a healthy Gippsland, where disadvantage and inequity are challenged.

UnitingCare Gippsland has the following vacancies at:

Diploma Qualified Child Care Worker (Maternity leave Position) Fulltime The vacancy is located at Prom Coast Centre for Children, Foster.

Family Support Worker – (readvertised) Full time Based in Leongatha South Coast Child FIRST and Integrated Family Services.

Post-secondary qualifications in Social Work, Welfare or related field. Diploma level qualifications will be considered if applicant willing to further their study.

For further information on the above position please phone Marie Jones-French on 5662 5150.

FosterCare Support Worker- Home Based Care Fulltime Based in Bairnsdale The role of the Fostercare Support Worker is to be responsible for the case management of children and young people placed in alternative family based care with volunteer caregivers. The worker is required to work closely with children and young people, their family, caregivers, DHS and other agencies.

Must participate in an on-call roster which operates after business hours including weekends and public holidays.

For further information on the above position please phone Debra Coker on 5144 7777.

QUALIFIED Early Childhood Educators (Child Care) (Diploma in Children’s Services required for Mirboo North) Part Time: 15-37 hours per week This position will be responsible for the planning, organisation and implementation of Children’s programs in accordance with The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. This position will provide leadership, direction and support to immediate co-workers and create as well as maintain a highly valued ‘working together’ culture.

Applications for this position close on Monday 4th June 5pm.

Application forms and position descriptions are available at www.ucgipps.org.au or call Sally Derham on 5152 9600 to have copies emailed/sent to you.

Applications addressing the key selection criteria close: 5pm Friday 8th June and are to be addressed to: Sally Derham, HR UnitingCare Gippsland PO Box 454 BAIRNSDALE VIC 3875 Or email humanresources@ucgipps.org.au UnitingCare Gippsland interviews in the interests of safety and well-being of children and young people.

48 hours per fortnight We are seeking a suitably experienced and qualified Registered Nurse to work with the Education Team at Gippsland Southern Health Service. This position reports to the Director of Nursing and provides support to all sites and areas of the organisation. This is a challenging role that would suit an experienced Registered Nurse who has excellent nursing and communication skills.

Key selection criteria/qualifications: Essential • A broad range of current clinical nursing experience in residential care and acute areas.

• Certificate IV in Workplace Training & Assessment or an undertaking to complete this.

• Ability to be able to communicate effectively at all levels.

• The ability to be able to plan, develop and evaluate education programs to achieve best practice.

• Able to enhance professional growth through the provision of high quality clinical learning and education based practice.

• Evidence of ongoing self development.

• Initiative, personal drive and the ability to work both independently and in a team environment.

• Computer skills – Word, Excel.

• Advanced life support qualifications or an undertaking to complete this.

Desirable • A post graduate education qualification (or working towards same).

-------------------------------------------

Activities Co-ordinator - Diversional Therapist Koorooman House

Permanent part-time - 18 hours per week (6 hours x 3 days a week) An opportunity exists for a highly motivated person to join the staff at Koorooman House in the position of Activities Co-ordinator. Ideally you will be aware of the current trends in Aged/Residential care and be committed to providing a quality diversional therapy program and ongoing self development. Previous experience in this field or the intention to undertake relevant studies will be regarded favorably.

------------------------------------------GSHS offers a comprehensive orientation program on commencement of employment. All staff have access to excellent staff mentoring, education and support programs. Salary Packaging is available to all permanent staff. All applicants will be required to supply a current satisfactory police check.

If you are interested in joining a supportive and progressive team, please contact the Executive Assistant, Dianna Mollica on 5667 5504 to obtain an application kit and position description or download from our website www.gshs.com.au.

Applicants are also encouraged to contact Neil Langstaff on 5667 5507 to discuss the employment opportunities at GSHS. Completed application kits can be forwarded by Friday, 8th June 2012 to: Neil Langstaff Director of Nursing Inpatient/Residential Care Gippsland Southern Health Service Private Bag 13 LEONGATHA 3953

PAGE 48 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

situations vacant

situations vacant

CABINET MAKER A local award winning kitchen company is seeking a full-time qualified cabinet maker or experienced apprentice.

Send written resumé and cover letter to: Leongatha Kitchens & Bathrooms 44 Yarragon Road Leongatha, VIC 3953 Email: info@leongathakitchens.com.au Fax: 03 5662 5880

SPARE PARTS ADMINISTRATOR

situations vacant

CASUAL POSITION AVAILABLE At Leongatha Lunch Shop For more information phone Vicki 5662 2933

MARDAN NEW 4 BEDROOM HOUSE On 7 acres - $375pw Or house only - $350pw Reverse cycle air con Conditions apply Phone 0428 264 231

Shire Council

Management Accountant Permanent Part Time (3 days per week) $43,790 total salary package Join our results driven Finance team to support business units with financial accounting matters and assist in the administration of monthly reporting.

You will be responsible for supporting Accounts Payable and Receivable, assisting in the annual budget processes and ensuring timely advice in relation to management accounting issues.

Intake & Assessment Officer

for rent

for lease

PROFESSIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT MEENIYAN 3 Bdrm house $230 pw Available 25th May MIRBOO NORTH 3 Bdrm house $330 pw Available now 2 Bdrm house $200 pw Available 25th June 2 Bdrm unit $250 pw Available now 3 Bdrm house $260 pw Available now KOONWARRA D 4 Bdrm house ASE$300 pw LEnow Available

Prom Country PHONE: Janine - 5662 3100 www.promcountryre.com.au

situations vacant

for sale

3 B/R HOUSE on 2 acres, central location $250 pw, 2 B/R UNIT 1 block from main street $220 pw. Elders Real Estate, 16 McCartin Street, Leongatha 3953.

5662-3523

house to share LEONGATHA - lovely furnished unit very near shops, courtyard with park views. Ph: 0428-642304.

free

FREE

SPA FOR SALE Portable 4-seater Sapphire Spa, perfect working order, cedar outside, turquoise interior, lights, adjustable temperature settings, suitable for summer or winter, strong massage jets – fantastic when you’re tired or stressed.

Price $4,000 ONO Phone 0409 813957 Will need to organise pick-up and removal.

VACUUM CLEANER Repairs

Pick-up and delivery in Leongatha/Meeniyan areas for MOTOR MOWERS,

DUST BAGS

CHAINSAWS AND STATIONARY ENGINES ETC.

WONTHAGGI SEWING CENTRE

Repairs and services

5672 3127

Phone JOHN GOULD 5664 0012

Sales

FREE

QUOTES

167 Graham Street, Wonthaggi (opp. Ritchies IGA)

situations vacant

Temporary Part Time (2 days per week) $29,197 total salary package The Home and Community Care (HACC) program provides basic support services to people who are frail, aged, people with disabilities and their carers, assisting them to continue to live independently in their community.

FULL TIME SALES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE CONSULTANT

You will be responsible for assessing, allocating and reviewing services for HACC clients, providing referral and linkages to appropriate services and working collaboratively with other agencies and networks to coordinate care for clients with complex and changing needs.

• We are looking for Mr/Ms Personality, Outgoing and Loves to Chat to Customers!

Leading Edge Telecoms – Leongatha & Morwell Are you an enthusiastic customer service and sales professional looking to jump start their career? Do you want to join a high energy team within a fresh new company?

Currently Leading Edge Telecoms is experiencing exciting growth. This has opened up the opportunity to employ two new Sales and Customer Service Consultants to service our customers across both our Leongatha and Morwell stores. This job role is especially suitable for those who are looking to jump start their career and personal development. We are looking for someone who is customer focused, highly enthusiastic and willing to contribute towards improving our customers’ telecommunication queries and services.

The ideal person would be someone who has previous experience in customer service and sales industry, has confidence and excellent presentation with the ability to take on board our core values, products and services.

For more information go to our website or contact us on (03) 5662 9200.

All applicants must submit an Application Form and address the selection criteria outlined in the position description, by Wednesday 13 June 2012.

www.southgippsland.vic.gov.au

Individualised Support Workers Casual Positions

To be successful in this role you will have the following skills: • Self-Motivated, Go Getter, Can Do Attitude • Excellent verbal and written skills • Know how to use a customer CRM Database • Good computer skills – learning our business systems • Understand budgets, company and personal targets and KPIs set out • Experience in Retail & Business to Business selling • Good organisational skills • Able to work in a fast paced and exciting team environment • Punctual, reliable and available to work in both our Leongatha or Morwell stores as rostered

Yooralla is offering casual opportunities throughout the Gippsland Region for Support workers to empower people with disabilities to live the life they choose.

We are seeking passionate, people who are able of offer flexibility of shifts, and share the common goal of providing a fair go for people with a disability The role will require people committed to collaborative relationships with residents, staff, families, and other health professionals to meet the needs of each individual. Tasks will include supporting individuals to achieve the goals they have identified, develop & maintain skills, provide assistance with meals, personal care, transport & community access all within a person centred & positive environment. You will need to be a team player and have an enthusiasm to learn whilst working safely in a busy environment.

Your duties will include but not be limited to: • Maximising store revenue through achieving set sales targets • Recognise every opportunity • Liaising with all new and existing customers • Working in a team • Follow-up courtesy calls to promote, cross sell other products and services • Maintaining an accurate customer database • Responding to phone enquiries • Staying up-to-date with ever changing telecommunications products and services • Opening and closing of the retail store

The Essentials:

• Full Australian Drivers License.

• Current First Aid level 2 certificate • Qualifications and/or experience working with people with a disability will be highly desirable For further information contact the Traralgon Office on 5174 1111

Visit our website www.yooralla.com.au for an extensive copy of the advertisement & copy of the position description.

Apply online or forward your application to jobs@yooralla. com.au or mail to People and Culture at the below address by the closing date Friday 15th June 2012.

Yooralla is an equal opportunities employer and we encourage people of all abilities to apply.

Fast Art 154047_v4

Email applications should be addressed to Greg and emailed to greg@letgippsland.com.

Applications will be accepted until close of business Friday 8th of June.

FOR RENT

South Gippsland

A full time position is available in the spare parts department of our multi-franchise dealership in Leongatha.

Tasks will include invoicing, stock control, parts allocation for the workshop and dealing with the public. Computer skills and a driver’s licence are essential.

Experienced persons are encouraged to apply, as well as those willing to undertake training. Attractive salary and benefits will be commensurate with experience.

Applications to be made in writing by mail or email addressed as follows: Attention: Mr M. Westaway, Westaway Ford 1 Hughes Street, Leongatha 3953 Or email: annew@wide.net.au Phone enquiries welcome on 5662 4144 Applications close Friday, 1st June 2012

Please provide us with your C.V. and a detailed covering letter providing us with 5 reasons why you believe this position is for you.

The successful applicants will be rewarded with a generous base salary plus super and uncapped commissions.

for rent

MILL OPERATOR Meeniyan Stockfeeds is a successful company offering a wide range of feeds to suit most livestock sectors.

They now have an opportunity for a Mill Operator to join their team on an on going casual basis. Meeniyan Stockfeeds pride themselves on their exceptional service and are seeking someone who can offer the same.

The successful applicant for this role will be responsible for blending and crushing of grain mixes and general house keeping tasks. The successful applicant must be a proactive, organised and self-motivated person with attention to detail. Previous stockfeed, milling and/or agricultural sector experience would be an advantage.

If you want to join a growing company which looks after its team in a friendly and supportive environment then we want to hear from you!

Please forward you written application, including 3 referees, to: Meeniyan Stockfeeds 24 Hanily Street Meeniyan VIC 3956

Take the next step and assist with the growth of business in your community

people

Business Banking Officer Enjoy delivering tailored financial solutions?

Located in Leongatha, VIC. Full time 12 month fixed term contract Bendigo Bank’s success has been built on partnering with customers to understand their needs and deliver tailored financial solutions. As a Business Banking Officer you will play a front line role in servicing a portfolio of business customers in an accurate and timely manner.

You will support and be mentored by a Business Banking Manager, to take the next step with your credit and lending skills, to service the needs of Small to Medium Enterprises. You’ll also have the chance to further develop your relationship building, communication and time management skills in servicing the needs of the local business community.

In return you’ll become a key part of a diverse team in a rewarding work environment to continue with the development of your career.

So if you think you’ve got what it takes to be part of the Bendigo team, we want to hear from you. Visit careers.bendigobank.com.au to find out more or to submit your application, quoting reference number VIC818010. Or write to Mark Hoffman, Retail Operations Officer, PO Box 698, Warragul 3820. Applications close on MONDAY, 4 JUNE 2012.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, ABN 11 068 049 178. AFSL 237879. (154221_v9) (22/05/2012)

Yooralla People and Culture PO Box 200, Flinders Lane Melbourne, Victoria 8009 Email jobs@yooralla.com.au

careers.bendigobank.com.au

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 49

for sale ALUM B/BAR to suit 200 Series Landcruiser, $500.

Outback off-road camper trailer. Full annex, s/s kitchen, battery pack and generator, $6,000. Ph: 5662-3079.

BABY GOODS - cot, monitor, car seat and more. 0412-467803, 0438580148.

for sale

for sale

FARM GATES galvanised, mostly 12ft, $50 each.

Round bale feeders with skirts. Ph: 5662-4021.

HAY for sale, Leongatha South, 5x4 netwrapped, this season, $25 each. Ph: 5664-3325.`

FIREWOOD Local wood split. Pick up or delivered.

Ph: 0437-176187.

HAY CLEARANCE 1,000 small square bales, shedded, ex quality, suitable for horses. Must go $7 each. Can deliver 50 or more, conditions apply.

Mardan 5664-1320, 0428999691.

FIREWOOD, redgum & local wood, Ph 0408-980711, A/H 5662-5175.

HORSE 15yo gelding 16.2hh, registered D Grade EFA showjumper. Done PC, CC, trail rides. Good in traffic and handles well, $2,500. 0417-840669.

PUMPKINS Qld blue and grey, 90c/kg. K. & J. Ball, 5664-0086.

SLEEPERS, treated pine, 200x50x2.4 $12.10 each, 200x75x2.4 $16.75 each.

Free delivery for pack lots.

Phone Joe 0417-530662.

TIMBER Kiln dried blackwood, silver wattle, cypress, celery top pine, most sizes for furniture and craft, also slabs and structural pine. Ph: 56812261.

TRAILER 7’ x 4’ H.D. 15 years old, $300. 5664-1276 a/h.

livestock

BULLS FOR HIRE OR SALE Friesian, Jersey, Angus, Hereford and Limo All tested Phone 0447 331 762

training

training

WESSEX SADDLEBACK PIGLETS

FOR SALE Organic and rare breed Born May 19 Select your piglet before sale at weaning time in 6-8 weeks. $100 each Phone 5678 3223 LAYING HENS Isa Brown, laid 12 mths, very healthy birds, excellent layers $8 each. Large lots POA. Ph: 5197-7385.

used motorcycles MOTOR BIKES 1 x DRZ 250, top end rebuild, 2006 model, needs carburettor.

1 x 1996 model KTM 450.

Ph: 0429-581505.

used vehicles

FREE CAR REMOVAL Will pay up to $300 for complete car Buyers of scrap metal All machinery Bins provided

Bass Coast Metal Recyclers 5672 2946 0417 556 593

work wanted FULLY Qualified Painter.

No job too small. Good rates. Call Drew on 56624238 or 0418-517443.

HOUSE CLEANER female.

Efficient service available to Leongatha and Meeniyan areas. Reasonable rate.

Ph: 0438-580148, 0412467803.

wanted WANTED 2 females to share a house and pay little expenses and accommodation. Must be clean and tidy and help with housework. Contact 5662-5686.

wanted to buy OLD FARM four wheelers, ag bikes, machinery, to do up. Call and let me know what you have. Will pay cash. Phone Matt 0401194601.

OLD ride-on lawn mowers.

Ph: 0488-294894.

OLD MOTORBIKES road, trail, motocross, farm, scooters, 4WDs, minis, wrecks or just parts. Cash paid. 5664-8344.

garage sales

GARAGE SALE 39 Blackmore Ave Leongatha

SUNDAY JUNE 3 9am - 2pm No early birds

GARAGE SALE The “STAR” can help you promote your event with our

$25 GARAGE SALE KIT KIT INCLUDES 5cm x S/C advert (valued at $31.90) • 2 x A4 Garage Sale Signs • Garage Sale Tips (dos and don’ts) • Sheet of Price Stickers • Star Carry Bag

Total package valued at $39 ADVERTISE by calling 5662 5555 or emailing classifieds@thestar.com.au or call in to 36 McCartin Street LEONGATHA to pick up your kit when you place your advertisement

Garage Sale 5/10-12 Bellingham St Leongatha Saturday June 2 9am to 2pm No early callers Relocating Furniture & household goods

births

deaths

BROWNLEY (Coulter) - Luke and Katherine welcome with love Isaac Oliver Roy on Wednesday May 23 at the Mercy Women’s Hospital, Heidelberg. Brother for Joshua, grandson for Bev and Geoff, nephew for David and Mark, 6th great grandchild for Marge and Harry Prosser.

marriage celebrant

Jenny Milkins All areas - 5672 3123 jenny_milkins@hotmail.com

CAM ABOOD Leongatha 5662 4191

engagements Barry and Michelle Huitema together with Mark and Yolanda Lawton are absolutely delighted to announce the engagement of

Marni and Dale

on the 21st of May in Hawaii We wish you much love and happiness as you begin your life together.

deaths ANDERSON - Rhonda.

Our deepest sympathy to Briley and family.

thanks

THANK YOU

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all those who managed, contributed and attended my farewell on the 19th May and also to those who sent cards, wishes and apologies.

I was overwhelmed by the gifts and love on the night.

So to all my workmates, friends and patients - thank you for the journey.

Pam Coulston

BURGESS (McKean) - Doreen Generous with your time, Generous with your love, Generous with your chocolate!

A precious reunion when Jesus comes.

Loved aunty of Valma and Kevin Kane, and family.

funerals BURGESS (nee McKean) A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Mrs Doreen Phyllis Burgess will be held at the Seventh Day Adventist Church, cnr of A’Beckett and Hassett Streets, Leongatha on Wednesday, May 30, 2012 commencing at 12.30pm.

The funeral will leave at the conclusion of the service for the Leongatha Cemetery.

From Leongatha Primary School.

AXFORD - Arthur Graham.

Passed away peacefully at home (Leongatha) on Friday, May 25, 2012.

Dearly loved husband of Phyllis (dec). Loving father of Peter (dec) and Mark.

Reunited with his beloved Phyllis and son Peter.

Thanks to all the wonderful staff at Leongatha Hospital.

There will be no funeral service as per Arthur’s wishes, however if you wish to pay your respects to son Mark and the extended family, there will be refreshments at the Leongatha RSL on Wednesday, May 30 at 1pm.

BURGESS (nee McKean) Doreen Phyllis.

21.01.1919 - 25.05.2012.

Loved wife of Keith (dec).

Loved daughter of the late Thomas and Alice Ethel McKean (Wild Dog Valley).

Loved sister of Edwina, Alma, Ron, Doug, Pearl, Mavis, Tom, Arthur (all dec), and Heather (Mrs Underwood.

Dearly loved aunt of 38 nieces and nephews.

A loving, caring sister and aunt who was loved by all.

Sleeping in Jesus.

Classified advertising closes 12 noon Mondays

BURGESS - Doreen (nee McKean).

On May 25, 2012 at Leongatha, aged 93.

Dear and special friend of Lorraine and Murray McCartin and their family.

Sleeping peacefully.

BURGESS - Doreen.

Passed away 25.5.2012.

Aged 92 years.

Forever in our hearts.

Maureen, Peter, Ivan and families.

In God’s care.

BURGESS (nee McKean) Doreen Phyllis.

Died peacefully, aged 92 years, at Koorooman House in Leongatha.

Sister to Mavis and Thomas Moloney (both dec).

Treasured aunty to Noreen and Kevin Williams, Ray and Rene (dec) and Jenny Moloney, Denis (dec), Lyn Moloney, Lois and Robert (dec) Bodley. Great aunt to 15, great great aunt to one.

May the winds of love blow softly, and whisper for you to hear, That we will love and miss you, year after year.

Rest peacefully.

South Gippsland Bridge Club Results Meeniyan – Monday evening: 1st Pat West, Barbara Axten; 2nd Faye Rowlands, Frank Arndt; 3rd Brian and Sally Hoskins, and Kathleen Dowd, John Cocking and Susan Ruffin, Clive Hope.

Tarwin Lower – Tuesday afternoon: North/South: 1st Neville Chapman, Jean Barbour; 2nd Jack Kuiper, John Sutton; 3rd Faye Rowlands, Pat West.

East/West: 1st Frank Arndt, Clive Hope; 2nd John Sullivan, Alan Johnston; 3rd Margaret Bray, Marj Freeman.

Inverloch – Friday afternoon: North/South: 1st Bruce and Anne Gibson; 2nd John Farr, Anne Williams; 3rd Debbie Anglim, Maureen Stiles; 4th Kaye Douglas, Alan Johnston.

East/West: 1st John Sullivan, John Sutton; 2nd Hannah Martin, Margaret Munro; 3rd Jack Kuiper, Jean Barbour.

HIGGINS - The Funeral Service for the late Mr Donald Francis Higgins, late of Inverloch will be held at our Leongatha Chapel (cnr South Gippsland Hwy and Bellingham St) on Friday June 1, 2012 commencing at 11am.

Private cremation.

deaths

deaths

Paul & Margaret Beck proprietors Caring for our Community, personal dignified service to all areas 5662 2717 Pre-need Funeral Plans available Office and Chapel: 24 Anderson Street, Leongatha hfs1@vic.australis.com.au MEMBER OF AUSTRALIAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION

crossword solutions CRYPTIC PUZZLE NO. 8327 - SOLUTIONS Across - 6, Flat denial. 8, A-dam. 9, Anna. 10, Ta-Lon. 11, Tog-a. 12, Hands down. 16, Overt-rain. 20, L-E-ap.

22, Earns. 23, Vi-Ed. 24, Peer. 25, In addition.

Down - 1, Glen-da (ft). 2, Strands. 3, Heated. 4, Pil-low.

5, Plan-t. 7, Car-go. 13, One (won). 14, Pr-I-V-ate. 15, Me-we’d. 17, Verba-L. 18, (squa) Re-Sid-E(vans). 19, Icebox. 21, Per-I-L. QUICK PUZZLE NO. 8327 - SOLUTIONS Across - 6, On the house. 8, Alas. 9, Fair. 10, Vital. 11, Most. 12, Repellent. 16, Detective. 20, Loss. 22, Title. 23, Rung. 24, Gala. 25, First class.

Down - 1, Unsafe. 2, Charter. 3, Shovel. 4, Mutton. 5, Realm. 7, False. 13, Eat. 14, Startle. 15, Solar. 17, Entire.

18, Events. 19, Vanish. 21, Staff.

PAGE 50 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Toe tapping: the Anything Goes mass tap dancing featuring leading lady, Sarah Kate Hanley was just so entertaining.

Shining star: Sarah Kate Hanley as Reno Sweeney, the 1930s nightclub singer, brought the house down on opening night of the Anything Goes musical in Wonthaggi on Saturday, belting out Blow, Gabriel, Blow.

Anything nything Goes sets sail

Continued from page 2.

Hope’s eccentric, socialite mother, Evangaline Harcourt, expertly played by seasoned performer Kerrie Giles of Leongatha, looked the part in her exquisite costumes and gave the audience a good laugh with her onstage antics as she strolled from scene to scene accompanied

by Cheeky, the show’s real life cute canine.

Captain of the SS American Michael Giles seemed to relish this role and did a fine job as did Inverloch’s Tim Gesell as English aristocrat Lord Evelyn Oakleigh.

And hello sailors, the talented troupe was an absolute asset to the show, their singing, dancing and set changes were amazing and Wonthaggi’s Caleb Hooke gets a special mention for his beautiful singing.

There was not a weak link in the

show. The whole cast shone and behind the scenes the production team can take a bow. The show ran so effortlessly and it looked like the cast was having a ball.

This is an uplifting musical the whole family would enjoy.

Talking to The Star after the show, Karen said she could now breathe a sigh of relief.

“They have all done a wonderful job and I am so happy the opening night went so well, there were no mistakes.”

Karen summed it all up: the opening night was a triumph, the music fabulous thanks to musical director and conductor Kirk Skinner.

The sets, designed by Tad Hendry, were amazing, costumes dazzling. Choreographer Bron Kalos gave the audience a real treat with the wonderful dance routines, espe-

cially the big tap number.

Blissfully entertaining, this buoyantly staged musical is a must see at the Wonthaggi Union Community Arts Centre.

Tickets are selling fast for performances on Thursday, May 31 (8pm), Friday, June 1 (8pm), Saturday, June 2 (2pm and 8pm), Sunday, June 3 (5pm), Thursday, June 7 (8pm), Friday, June 8 (8pm) and Saturday, June 9 (2pm and 8pm). Ticket prices are $35 adult and $30 concession (full time students, and full Centrelink and DVA concession card-holders only), and are available from the Wonthaggi Workmen’s Club, 75 Graham St, Wonthaggi (5672 1083). The club is open seven days a week, and credit card facilities are available. ► More photos online at www. thestar.com.au

Rising stars: from left, Katelyn Adkins, Korumburra, Erin Gin, Wonthaggi and Georgia Riseley, Leongatha had a lot of fun on stage during the premiere of Anything Goes in Wonthaggi on Saturday night.

All smiles: from left Steve Donohue, Richmond, Danny Harland and Darren George, both of Phillip Island, Alison Kingston, formerly of Inverloch congratulated Anything Goes cast member Lindy Waldron, Wonthaggi on a great opening night show on Saturday.

Program sellers: Anything Goes programs were snapped up on opening night last Saturday from Jaz Hendry and Sheona Bugbird.

Top trio: Anything Goes director Karen MilkinsHendry congratulated stars Sarah Kate and Will Hanley during the opening night celebration last Saturday.

Restaurant closes AWARD-winning complex Archies on the Creek closed suddenly on Sunday.

Shocked patrons and staff were told the fine dining restaurant, café and sports bar would shut at the end of that day.

Bass Coast Shire Council mayor Cr Veronica Dowman is devastated.

“We got an email yesterday afternoon,” Cr Dowman said.

“It came as a great shock and wasn’t something I was expecting.”

The mayor recently hosted morning tea at Archies on the Creek, thanking volunteers for their efforts during the year.

Cr Dowman said she thought

plans had been for the facility to be used for functions and events, with a focus on the café.

“But the whole lot has closed,” Cr Dowman lamented.

“It was such a beautiful venue and we were so proud to have it in our shire. It was a place where we were proud to take someone special or for a special occasion.

“It’s a great loss and we have to think of the jobs lost too.”

Owner Vern Rickman invested millions in the venture, transforming the former Bass Shire Council offices into a splendid, elegant setting with fountains, chandeliers and an extraordinarily well-stocked cellar.

Mr Rickman said Archies on the Creek would cease trading for 18 months, citing insufficient local support for the venture.

“Whilst we had a good loyal following from locals and great support from visitors and tourists, there just wasn’t enough local support,” he said.

The high end restaurant catered for weddings, ran successful corporate events, hosted art shows and markets and was renowned for its top quality Black Angus steaks and beautiful presentation of meals.

Mr Rickman said given his time over, he would have added onsite accommodation as part of the business.

Leading lights: brother and sister star-studded duo Will and Sarah Kate Hanley shone on opening night of Wonthaggi’s latest musical Anything Goes on Saturday.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 51

Mary MacKillop Debutante Ball - 2012 MARY MacKillop ddebutantes ebutantes b were presented on Saturday night, May 26 at the Korumburra Indoor Recreation Centre to Mr Edward O’Donohue, Member for Eastern Victoria Region Parliamentary Secretary for Transport and Mrs Jennifer O’Donohue, Mary MacKillop deputy principal Sam Wright and Mrs Kylie Wright, College Board chairperson Mr Martin Keogh and Mrs Kylie Keogh. John McKeown acted as Master of Ceremonies with college captains Clare De Silva and Jarryd Atkinson as comperes. Debutantes were trained by Jenni Pedersen and MarShere, Pakenham.

Leongatha AGAIN not much to report as mother nature continues to take control.

Wednesday May 16 saw a very small number of players on the greens for a pairs social afternoon, with the winners being Graeme Drury (s) and Susan Crouch with two wins plus 25.

Wednesday May 23 saw the Leongatha Bowls Club monthly affiliated triples in action. The winners on the day were the Meeniyan team ably led by skipper Bob Wylie, the only team to score four wins.

The runners-up were the Korumburra team of Andy Anderson (s), Bill Dilge and Kevin Watson.

Best last game went to the Leongatha team of Jeff Pendergast (s), Jo Runciman and Pat Fleming.

Sponsors for the day were South Gippsland Quarries and the club thanks them for their valued support.

The winners of the John O’Connor wines kindly donated by John for the event was won by the Leongatha team of Chris Richardson (s), Brian Turner and Alan Moore.

The club’s next Kitty Club tea will be held on Friday June 1 commencing at 6pm. If you are attending please ensure your names are entered on the list located near the match committee door entrance.

Until next report, good bowling - Jackhigh.

Inverloch Wednesday May 23 - mixed mufti lawn bowls.

Twenty-three players, two games of fours, each of 12 ends.

Winners were Maureen Paynting, Pat Stoneham, Loraine Dowson, Keith Cousens. Raffle winner was Pat Stoneham.

Wednesday May 23 - indoor bowls.

Eight players, two games of pairs, each of 10 ends.

Winners were Robert Huntley with Joan Clark in the first game and Nic Van Grunsven in the second game.

Thanks to Pat Stoneham and Margaret Flett for supper.

Thursday May 24 mufti lawn bowls.

Thirty-six players, three games of twobowl triples, each of 14 ends.

Runners-up with 55 points were Brian Hensley, Ray Gostling, R Huntley.

Winners with 57 points were Mike Yates, Stan Drew, Nic Van Grunsven.

Will intending players please ensure that your name is on the entry sheet in the clubroom by Wednesday evening.

From left, left ft, back row:Dylan Turner, Thomas Basten, Liam Bromley, Josh Carroll, Matthew Dudley, Brok Davidson, Luke Thwaites, Gaven Forrester, James Sorrell, Anthony Taranto, Jack Forrester, Ad S ith Zachary Z h Price, P i Alex Al Sartori.

S t i Adam Smith, Fourth row:Alex Castagna, Ryan Bentvelzen, Daniel Drowley, Nicholas Gartland, Jake O’Loughlin, Hayley Pretty, Stephanie Kolb, Miranda Osman, Camille Thompson, Emily Norton, Brendan Wylie, Luke O’Connor, Andrew Murray, Patrick Ryan, Louis Brailsford.

Third row:Ryan Olden, Josh Hanks, Jarrod Coleman, Kasey Cashin, Rachel O’Loughlin, Madeleine McGarvey, Darcii-Jo Edwards, Holly Monaghan, Grace Keogh, Hayley Maskell, Teagan Matthews, Sarah Gunia, Broderick Mead-Ameri, Rhys Hanks, Joshua Brown.

SGIBBA pennant AT the halfway mark of the competition the leaders are starting to pull away.

This week’s results: Mardan Purple 41 d Fish Creek Red 17, Korumburra White 15 d Mardan Gold 13, Korumburra Blue 27 d Dumbalk Green 16, Buffalo Yellow 18 d Foster Black 18.

Next week: Korumburra White v Dumbalk

Buffalo indoor

Green, Fish Creek Red v Foster Black, Buffalo Yellow v Mardan Purple, Korumburra Blue v Mardan Gold.

Ladder Mardan Purple ...............+60 Korumburra White ..........+3 Mardan Gold ..................+39 Korumburra Blue .............-2 Buffalo Yellow ..................-32 Foster Black ......................-10 Dumbalk Green .................-15 Fish Creek Red..................-43

Second row:Diandra Bravo, Taneisha Knox, Cassandra Marotta, Stacey Fourie, Laura-Jane Sexton, Meaghan Mallia, Chelsea Deenan, Bridget Argento, Mikaela Witherow, Jasmine Hargreaves, JJosie i C il Rhi h Caile, Rhiannan H Hughes.

Front row: Karen Gervasi, Tinotenda Nyamunduru, Mr John McKeown, Mrs Kylie Keogh, Mr Martin Keogh (representing the College Board), Mrs Jennifer O’Donohue, Mr Edward O’Donohue (Member for Eastern Victoria Region Parliamentary Secretary for Transport), Mrs Kylie Wright, Mr Sam Wright (College deputy principal), Mrs Donna Matthews, Mrs Jenni Pedersen (trainer), Isabella Morton-Pedersen, Jasmine Wightman and seated Phoebe Davidson (flowergirl), Luke Sexton (herald) and Jesseme Jarvis (flowergirl).

Photo courtesy of Foons Photographics in Wonthaggi.

16 12 8 8 8 4 4 4

Mardan indoor bias AS I mentioned last week we would be playing the club singles competition this week and what a night it turned out to be. Sadly we only had four ladies playing this year and the numbers were also down a little on the men’s side due to members travelling.

Anyway we had a good early start but still didn’t get the whole thing completed. Suffice to say that the standard of bowls was very high for the most part.

The ladies games were in effect a semi-final and all four players put on a great show, with shot bowls changing almost with each bowl played, however after 13 ends of play there could only be two winners and they were Jeanette Grady who had a win over Theresa Bateman and Lorna Roberts who got through with a win over Jeannie Baker.

In the men’s competition there were some very close games and lots of nerve wracking play with kitty being pushed to the very edge of the mat in more than one game and on many occasions.

The games were highly entertaining for those sitting on the side lines, causing many to gasp and be amazed at some of the shots that resulted from the determination of the players to get through to the next round.

But alas by the end of the night we still have the final to play in the weeks ahead. The two players in the men’s final will be Cliff Smith who won by two shots over a very tight game with Vito Serafino and Sebastian Terranova, who put on a great show to beat Ray Saunders.

The finals will be in the ladies, Jeanette Grady against Lorna Roberts and in the men Cliff Smith against Sebastian Terranova.

Watch this space with bated breath for the results.

ON Wednesday May 23 our pennant team was successful at Foster in a very close encounter for their second win of the season.

Social bowls saw Carolyn and Glenys chosen as skippers and Rod back in action after time out due to injury.

Two teams were selected for two games of 10 ends. First game winners were Glenys Pilkington (s), Ian Benson and Rod McConchie, 11 shots (four ends), to Carolyn Benson (s), Toni and Peter Heldens, 7 shots (6 ends).

Second game Pete had a spell, replaced by Andrew Hanks and leads and seconds swapped. Another close game with Glenys’ team victorious by one shot (10-9), with Carolyn’s team again winning six ends.

Rod pulled up well and declared himself available for next week good to see.

Dumbalk indoor ON Monday night, May 21 there were 12 players.

We had four teams of three players in each game and the winners were Kay, Sebastian and Robert, and the runners-up were Dudley, Mary and Alex.

We had a great game of bowls. We played 10 ends.

Hope to see you all Monday night.

TIDES Here is an easy guide to tides in your area.

To determine tides for a particular area, add or subtract periods of times as shown below.

Earlier Minutes Apollo Bay ...........................25 King Island (Grassy) ...........10 King Island (Surprise Bay)....40 King Island (Franklin) ...........40 Lakes Entrance .................... 170 Lorne ...................................... 20 Mallacoota Inlet.................... 158 Rip Bank ................................ 15 Snowy River Entrance ......... 170 _______________________ Cape Schanck, Flinders, Mornington Ocean Beaches, Seal Rocks, Venus Bay, Waratah Bay, Woolamai ....... nil _________________________ Later Minutes Altona ................................... 195 Barwon Heads Bridge ........... 15 Carrum ................................. 195 Corinella ................................. 68 Cowes Pier............................. 50 Dromana .............................. 195 Frankston ............................. 195 Geelong ............................... 210 Hastings ................................. 66 Hovell Pile ............................ 195 Inverloch Pier ......................... 15 Melbourne ............................ 200 Mornington ........................... 195 Newhaven Jetty ..................... 30 No. 1 West Channel (Annulus)........................... 50 No. 2 South Channel Light .... 70 No. 8 South Channel Light .. 150 Port Albert Pier ...................... 90 Portarlington Pier ................. 190 Portsea Pier ........................... 80 Port Welshpool (Rabbit Island .................... 10 Queenscliffe Pier ................... 30 Rhyll ....................................... 60 Rosebud............................... 195 Rye Pier ............................... 170 St. Leonards Pier ................. 190 Sandringham ....................... 195 Sorrento Pier........................ 130 Stony Point ............................. 40 South Channel Pile Light ..... 190 Swan Island Dock ................ 120 Tooradin ............................... 105 Warneet.................................. 84 Williamstown ........................ 200 Welshpool Pier....................... 90

At Port Phillip Heads

MAY / JUNE Time

30 WED

31 THUR

1 FRI

2 SAT

3 SUN

4 MON

5 TUE

height (metres)

0546 1115 1814 2356

1.37 0.56 1.52 0.56

0645 1205 1859

1.37 0.65 1.48

0045 0753 1301 1949

0.51 1.39 0.75 1.45

0142 0909 1407 2047

0.46 1.44 0.83 1.43

0246 1021 1521 2152

0.40 1.52 0.88 1.43

0356 1129 1637 2300

0.33 1.61 0.87 1.45

0504 1230 1746

0.27 1.69 0.83

All times shown in 24 hour clock 0001 - 1200..................AM 1201 - 2400..................PM

PAGE 52 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Alberton Under 15s win championship ALBERTON Netball Association’s Under 15 team won the Eastern Zone championship in a nailbiter against Gippsland on Sunday.

Alberton will now compete at the Netball Victoria Association Championships on June 24.

Report Traralgon Netball Association hosted the Eastern Zone Championships over the weekend in conjunction with Netball Victoria.

The tournament is one of the most prestigious on the local sporting calendar for Gippsland’s female athletes.

The association championship is a crucial part of the Netball Victoria talent pathway, and a fantastic opportunity for associations to have their talented players recognised. Throughout the day-long tournament talent ID staff work to identify athletes in both the championship and reserve divisions.

Jenni Rohde, Traralgon Netball Association Squad coach said, “This tournament shows the best of the best when it comes to our Gippsland netballers. Players converged on Traralgon on Sunday to demonstrate their skills and play off against each other in the hope of attracting the attention of the talent identification staff from Netball Victoria. This is every junior netballer’s dream.”

“We have had girls

competing in the Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 divisions battling it out in some very cold and blustery weather conditions. Despite the conditions Traralgon Netball Association was thrilled to be hosting this tournament and it is wonderful to see Gippsland’s junior female athletes being provided with this opportunity”, she added.

Much work has been completed at the Traralgon netball courts to prepare the facility for Sunday’s tournament.

Funding has been received from Latrobe City Council, Dahlsens in Traralgon have provided new equipment for players and coaches, Genesis Gym provided new nets on all the goal posts and the Department of Community Corrections have spent many hours painting, repairing and tidying the facility to improve its amenity.

Ms Rohde said, “Traralgon Netball Association was thrilled to have the opportunity to host the Netball Victoria’s Easter Zone Championship and thanks to the help and assistance of some wonderful organisations we have got our facility prepared for this great tournament. We are extremely grateful and thankful to all who have contributed”.

The Netball Victoria Association Championships are open to all Netball Victoria affiliated associations who can enter two representative teams in each of the 13/U, 15/U, 17/U and

Open age groups. The event is now in its 13th year and continues to grow in popularity and prestige, with around 280 teams competing in the qualifying tournaments this year.

The event is conducted over two stages in a round robin format. Stage One is a qualifying tournament conducted by a host association in each of the six zones from around the State. The top two championship teams, in each age division (except for Open), at the end of all qualifying tournaments are invited to finals day held at the State Netball and Hockey Centre on June 24.

“We have some incredibly talented young female athletes in Gippsland, the players competing at this tournament are considered the elite of Gippsland and all hope to be spotted and break into the big time.

Winning teams now go on to compete in Melbourne for the Netball Victoria Association Championships on June 24,” explained Ms Rohde.

In total 37 Gippsland teams competed at the Eastern Zone Association Championships.

Results and grand finalists were: Under 17 championships Sale 17 d Mid Gippsland 10 . Under 15 championships - Alberton 12 d Gippsland 11. Under 15 Reserve – Ellinbank 11 d Traralgon 6. Under 13 Championships – Sale d Traralgon 5 .Under 13 Reserve – Alberton 11 d Sale 5.

Victorious: the winning Alberton Under 15 Eastern Zone champions defeated Gippsland by just one goal.

Left All smiles: Alberton’s Under 13 reserve team defeated Sale 11 goals to 5.

Leongatha & District netball

• LEONGATHA BADMINTON

Tim Bright shines

TIM BRIGHT has been a stalwart on the local badminton scene for many years and again he produced a vintage performance to just give his team the narrowest of victories.

A specialist in the fine art of doubles badminton, Tim combined with Paul Sokhom and Roger Callister to win these doubles sets against very classy opposition, and lift the Bowerbirds into third position.

Their shattered opponents, the Rosellas, will need to lift in coming weeks, and with injury clouds over Neil Langstaff and J.T. Newton, their season is hanging on a knife’s edge.

The Parrots conjured up another hard fought win over Lorikeets, which sees them retain the coveted top position on the ladder.

Keinen Hemming was again the star for the Parrots and he is having a stellar season.

The Lorikeets were best served by ‘the gun’ from Yarram, Steve Turner, and the unassuming Maurice Simpson.

The Honeyeaters are

building momentum at the present time and they easily accounted for Kookaburras.

There were some exceptional singles matches involved in this battle, Steve Johnson’s 15/11 win over club legend Neil Jeremiah a highlight for badminton purists.

Gary McGrath just defeated the unlucky Arthur Grabham, and Brenda Eaton recorded her maiden singles win, edging out Rhonda Newton in an enthralling tie-breaker, 17/16. A top set by these great competitors.

B Grade action produced some mixed results.

Bosch have asserted their authority on the ladder, moving into top position with an effortless win over Ryobi.

Great to see Dianna Neary back in the hall playing.

Glen O’Neill and Tracey Ryan were superb in this match and are looking forward to the finals.

Suriyan Chandrasegaran is still trying his heart out and always gives 100 per cent on the court.

The final match for review was difficult to analyse, a number of singles

matches were played to make the match work.

Guilia Joyce and Emma Smith both having great singles wins for Makita, while Davis Loo has hardly dropped a set all season for GMC A reminder to B Grade players that some notice must be given to organisers to get a fill-in player.

To leave it to the night of play is simply too late.

Let’s hope everything runs smoothly next week.

Results A Grade: Bowerbirds 5/121 d Rosellas 3/120, Parrots 4/124 d Lorikeets 4/98, Honeyeaters 6/145 d Kookaburras 2/97.

B Grade: Bosch 5/112 d Ryobi 1/90, Makita 4/93 d GMC 2/76.

Ladders A Grade Parrots .........................32 Honeyeaters ................30 Bowerbirds..................27 Rosellas........................26 Kookaburras .................24 Lorikeets ......................20 Cockatoos.....................16 B Grade Bosch ...........................27 DeWalt.........................26 Makita .........................22 GMC ............................17 Ryobi ............................11

Results Saturday, May 26

Shoot out: Hayley Phillips from Meeniyan (dark blue) goes up for the ball against the Mount Eccles Aqua goal keeper, Izzy Pruin during the under 13 match at Leongatha on Saturday.

LDNA umpires June 2 11am: Gemma Martin, Charlotte Brew, Elly Egan, Mariah Grant, Tyla Riley, Jess Bickham, Ashlee McDonald, Chelsea Kenny, Beth Forrester, Steph Wylie, Julie Grant, Maria Evison, Anita Gourlay, Erin Baudinette.

12 noon: Amy Smith, Jenny Goss, Kelly Walker, Belinda Dyke, Mariah Grant, Kate Norton, Holly Hurst, Amy Egan, Brittany Tennyenhuis, Anna Patterson, Erin Baudinette, Robyn Kenny.

1pm: Angelique Dunlevie, Rebecca Wylie, Emalie Gordon, Tanya Derrick, Janice Hill, Jamie Gourlay, Narelle Hanily, Kelly Walker, Anita Gourlay, Phil Smith, Kim Lawrence, Barb Challis.

2.15pm: Kim Lawrence, Emma Smith, Kerri Bentvelzen, Maria Evison, Janice Hill, Kate Gourlay, Danielle Jones, Sue Ritchie.

Any enquiries phone Julie Grant 5662 2695 or 0407 076 425.

11/Under: Mt Eccles White 8 d Mt Eccles Navy 3, Mt Eccles Pink 12 d Mt Eccles Aqua 5, Mirboo North Gold 15 d Town Black 5, St Laurence Gold 12 d St Laurence Blue 7, Mirbo North Purple 13 d Town Tangerin 4, Meeniyan & District bye.

13/Under: Mirboo North Gold 11 d Town Black 11, St Laurence Blue 15 d Mt Eccles Pink 6, Town Green 21 d Town Tangerine 7, Meeniyan & District 7 d Mt Eccles Aqua 6, Mirboo North Purple 16 d St Laurence Gold 5.

15/Under: Mt Eccles Aqua 21 d Mt Eccles Purple 19, Town Black 26 d Town Green 9, St Laurence Gold 27 d Town Tangerine 23, Meeniyan and District 35 d Mirboo North 33, St Laurence Blue 42 d Mt Eccles Pink 17.

17/Under / C Grade: Town Black 56 d St Laurence 23, Mirboo North 60 d Town Green 22, Town Tangerine 49 d Mt Eccles 18, Meeniyan & District Yellow 42 d Meeniyan & District Blue 41.

B Grade: Mt Eccles Navy 49 d St Laurence 26, Mt Eccles White 44 d

Mt Eccles Pink 28, Town Black 58 d Mt Eccles Aqua 24.

A Grade: St Laurence 48 d Mt Eccles White 43, Town 56 d Mt Eccles Navy 31.

Ladders 13/Under Town Green.................310.00 10 St Laurence Blue ..........173.17 8 Meeniyan & District ....152.73 8 Mirboo North Gold ......231.82 7 Mirboo North Purple .......92.06 6 Town Black .....................92.86 5 St Laurence Gold ............54.41 2 Town Tangerine...............53.62 2 Mt Eccles Pink ................. 41.11 2 Mt Eccles Aqua ................25.49 0 15/Under Meeniyan & District ...151.16 9 St Laurence Gold ........131.73 8 Town Black ..................163.01 7 St Laurence Blue ..........136.00 6 Mirboo North .................133.33 6 Town Green ....................127.50 6 Mt Eccles Aqua ................65.63 4 Town Tangerine...............78.30 2 Mt Eccles Pink .................58.94 2 Mt Eccles Purple .............39.40 0 C Grade Town Black ................222.31 10 Mirboo North ..............151.80 8 Town Tangerine ............144.44 8 Meen & Dist Yellow........86.85 6 Meen & Dist Blue .........124.29 4 St Laurence .....................68.88 2 Mt Eccles ........................58.80 2 Town Green ......................47.49 0 B Grade Mt Eccles Navy ..........150.00 10 Town ............................172.03 8 Mt Eccles White .......... 118.23 6 Mt Eccles Pink ................87.29 4 Mt Eccles Aqua ................69.37 1 St Laurence .....................51.39 1 A Grade St Laurence ................139.89 10 Mt Eccles Navy ..............93.30 6 Town .............................101.24 4 Mt Eccles White ............75.42 0

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 53

.LEONGATHA LADIES

Reanna Matthews blows course apart REANNA Matthews played some of the best golf you’d ever see to take out the Leongatha Golf Club’s ladies’ title last Wednesday.

Reanna won the title back in 2008 before Rebecca Thomas took out the championship in years 2009-2011. Now the title for 2012 is in Reanna’s hands!

Wednesday, May 23 was the final round of the club championships.

Congratulations to our new club champion Reanna Matthews with a fine 54 hole score of 229 which included a new course record during the second round. Runner-up was Rebecca Thomas with 251.

The field was sent out in reverse order, which gave many members the opportunity to watch some

Leongatha

THE annual H. S. Roberts foursomes event was played on Saturday with a small field. Probably the most demanding event on our golfing calendar, the winners this year were Max Kavanagh and Steve Fisher who scored 92, just one stroke clear of two other pairs.

The handicap event was won convincingly by Geoff McDonald and Dan Malone with 93-19-74.

Pairs to win balls were: T. Bruinewould, R. Burton 78 1/2; C. Sperling, J. Smith 78 1/2, G. Sharrock - B. Hughes 79 1/2.

Many thanks to Broadbeach Resort in Inverloch for sponsoring the day’s event.

Tuesday Fresh from a successful pennant campaign, Doug Clemann maintained his good form to win with 38 points. Mick Oliver was runner - up on 35.

Nearest the pin winners were Grant McRitchie and Merv Stubbs while balls were won by: S. Fisher 34, I. Barlow, J. Eabry, G. McRitchie, P. Wilson 33, R. Williams 32, D. Hanna, P. Hobson 31, G.

Mirboo North ON Thursday May 24, the stableford competition was played. There were 19 starters and the CCR was 71.

The winner was Garry Shandley (19) 43 points.

Down the line: Chris Bracecamp 40 points, Chris Long 35 points.

Saturday May 26 the stableford event/Captains Trophy was played. There were 20 starters and the CCR was 71.

The winner was Nigel Bracecamp (17) 37 points.

Down the line balls: Terry Bradshaw 36 points, Chris Bracecamp 34 points, Ray Matthews 33 points.

Nearest the pins: 4th Graham Watson, 6th Stan Evison, 16th Terry Donnison.

fantastic golf played by the ladies in the leading group.

B Grade champion is Anne Gibson 307 with Nancy Sperling 311 the runner-up.

C Grade champion: Joan Scott 328 with Glenyce McRobert 341 runner-up.

Senior Champion: Marg Berry 273.

D. M. Stubbs 54 hole Best net score: Reanna Matthews 226.

Seniors net: Joan Scott 238 countback Loris Clark.Top four in each grade qualify to play in the match play championship.

If anyone is not available the next qualified player is included. 1st vs 4th and 2nd vs 3rd.

Qualifiers for each grade are: A Grade: 1.

Rebecca Thomas 2. Mary Brewis 3. Marg Berry 4.

Wendy Parker.

Hughes 30.

Thursday It was Publicans Day and thanks go to the connections of the Inlet and Esplanade hotels in Inverloch. A number of visitors created a very good field.

The winning group were Jason Dennerley, Craig Dudek, Bruce Clarke and Ross Tanner who scored an impressive 64-9-55 to win by a wide margin for an ambrose.

Runners-up were Rob Bride, Trevor Steer, Henry Seddelies and Ian Purbrick on 58. Nearest the pin winners were Joe Lowell (7th), Fred de Bondt (4th and 14th) and Bruce Clarke (16th).

Down the line balls: D. Clemann, F. de Bondt, R. Paice 58 1/8; C. Sperling, A. Sperling, D. Symmons, D. Vorwerg 59 3/4; R. Burton, J. Eabry, G. McDonald, P. Hobson 60 1/8; G. Hughes, A. Kuhne, J. Cummins, P. Wilson 60 3/8.

The June monthly medal is on this Saturday.

Organise a partner for the Websters mixed event on Sunday June 10.

Captains Trophy stableford results: Terry Bradshaw two up defeated Ray Matthews. Max Fletcher two up defeated Ron Funnell.

Sunday May 27 the stableford 4BBB mixed (Wedding Bells Plate) was played. There were 26 starters and the CCR was 71.

Married winners: Mick Matthews and Leesa Matthews 67 points on countback.

Runners-up were Tom Traill and Sue Traill 67 points.

Un-married winners: Ian Evision and Marg Dent 64 points.

Runners - up were Garry Shandley and Sandra Hughes 61 points.

B Grade: 1. Joc Howson 2. Loris Clark 3. Marea Maher 4. Marion Bellingham.

C Grade: 1. Joan Scott 2. Glenyce McRobert 3.

Lesley Renwick 4. Marg Danks.

Semi-finals are played on Monday June 25. Finals are played on Wednesday June 27.

Wednesday May 23 2012 - stroke 36 players (including 9 hole comp).

Sponsored by Denis Hawkins.

A Grade: Marg Berry (11 net 77). B Grade: Marion Bellingham (28) net 76. C Grade: Pat West (41) net 82.

Nearest the pin: 14th Joan Scott, 16th: Trish Owen.

Down the line balls: 1. Trish Owen net 78, 2nd Marg Danks net 79, 3rd Anne Gibson net 79, 4th Mary Brewis net 80,

5th Julie Howard net 81, 6th Reanna Matthews net 81, 7th Joan Scott net 81, countback three others.

Nine hole competition winner: Pat Moore 22 points.

Down the line balls: Pam Mullarvey 20 points.

Cashin Trophy singles knockout will be opening this week May 30 and closing next week June 6. Anyone interested can contact Toni or write their name on the list Wednesday May 30. As a trial this year, we are attempting to run the first round on a set day, it will be Wednesday June 13. Players in Cashin trophy will play matchplay and anyone not playing Cashin trophy will be playing stableford. I will explain in full once I have numbers for the Cashin trophy.

Foster

On Saturday May 26 a group of hardy souls played through the water underfoot and overhead on Saturday for trophies donated by Larry Giddy.

A Grade winner was Greg Cox 11 with 35 points, while B Grade was won by rising star Kane Esler 20 with 37 points.

These were excellent scores in the difficult conditions.

Down the line balls were won by Fred Tyers 14 on 34 points and Norm Cooper 8 and Andrew Naylor 19 both on 33 points.

The nearest the pins went to Andrew Naylor (two holes), Larry Giddy and Fred Tyers.

The encouragement award went to George Draegar with 26 points.

Friday night members draw Heather Ray took home the $250 in the members cash draw. The prize will again be $250 this Friday. You need to be in the clubhouse between 7pm and 8pm when the draw is made to be eligible to win the cash.

Coming events: Thursday May 31 - stableford.

Friday June 1 - chicken run - holes 10-18, Saturday June 2 - medal day Pulhams furniture trophy and first round fo the W. E. Tuer Trophy, Tuesday June 5 - stableford.

The happy hooker.

THE course was good all week until heavy rain on Friday again made it very heavy for the weekend.

However after much drainage work in recent years the course dries out quickly, and a day or two with no rain is enough for the course to return to good condition.

Tuesday May 22 the McKenzie brothers made a hit and run visit. Lloyd McKenzie (8) won with 38 points beating brother Geoff (14) and Rhys Ireland (20) who both had 37 points. Great to see Geoff back after a long absence and fully recovered from a double knee operation.

Neville Thompson got the nearest the pin.

Thursday May 24 Phil Schofield (15) continued his recent good form to have 39 points and record a win. Thursday specialist Rhys Ireland (19) again had 37 points to narrowly miss making it three in a row. Lloyd McKenzie (8) got the other down the line ball with 36 points and he also took out the nearest the pin.

On Friday Geoff Nott and Lester Rootsey were the only ones brave enough to take on the weather, but their optimism proved misplaced and their cards were returned with the note “washed out” written theron.

Korumburra TWENTY - EIGHT players attended the par competition on Saturday May 26. The CCR was 70. Trophies went to S. Rose and G. Bull.

A. Grade: R. Ludenia -1, D. Austin -2, T. O’Neill -2, R. Spokes -2.

B Grade: A. Worthy +1 on countback, G. Bull +1, D. Gow -2, D. McIvor -2.

Putting: 1st C. Clements, 7th P. Hopkin, 10th R. Ludenia, 13th R. Spokes.

NAGA: P. Vanagtmaal.

Tueday’s winner was

Ladies champs: from left, Leongatha Golf Club ladies’ champions for 2012 are, Reanna Matthews (club champion and D.M Stubbs Award), Anne Gibson (B Grade), Joan Scott (C Grade) and Marg Berry (Senior champion).

New champion: Leongatha ladies golf new club champion and course record holder is Reanna Matthews, pictured here with the card showing her record (on day two of the championships).

Happy team: Simon Sullivan, Max Wood, Rob Warren and Col James were getting ready to tee off at the Woorayl Golf course on Saturday. The course had copped a substantial downpour the day before, but was in good condition for play on Saturday.

Woorayl MEDAL time again last Saturday. The A Grade winner was Rob Gourlay with a 69 net from Tim Burgess.

Our medal winner and winner of B Grade was Gary Young with a 68 net from Craig Hall.

C Grade went to Ian Smith with a net 72 from Otto Van Der Vorm. Balls went to I. Balfour, T. Hogan, J. Barton, D. Dwyer, M. Grist and Bo Fiek.

Our nearest the pins were won by Ian Balfour and Peter Burgess.

The putting competition went to Danny Dwyer with 25 putts and the Balf Syndicate won the ball

raffle.

Our Thursday event saw Daryl Hunt finish on top with 40 points with balls going to Lance Lancaster, Bo Fiek and Bob Beilby. Lance also won the 17th hole nearest the pin.

Next week we will play a stableford event sponsored by Greg and Jo Fennell.

It is also lefties versus righties day.

On Sunday we will play the deferred mixed Canadian day sponsored

by Ian and John Smith. It is also the qualifying day for the A E Smith trophy so get a partner and put your name on the list.

Ladies

Last week’s 4BBB stableford round, sponsored

by Jenny Riseley, was won

by Ros Blew and Inge Giliam with 40 points.

Runners-up with 39 points were Anne Grist and Barb James. Balls down the line went to Pauline Lancaster and Marg Tuckett, along with Sue Wakefield and Lois Young on a countback with 35 points.

Nearest the pin on the 8th was Janet Thompson with Pauline Lancaster taking out both the 11th and the 17th. Next week we will play the Doris Chambers Foursomes with the day’s event sponsored

by Leongatha Flower Power.

M. Giles 36 points.

Thursday’s winner was P. Vanagtmaal 33 points.

Meeniyan ladies WEDNESDAY, May 23, had 15 ladies playing single stableford.

The winner was Dot Christie 31 points. Runner-up Nereda Scholte 30 points on a countback.

Best nine went to Tanya Thorson 16, nearest the pin on the 14th was Andrea Thorson and down the line balls went to Jan Roberts and Faye LePage.

Ready to play: Graeme Calder, Brian Hogan, Tyler Hogan and Craig Hall were happy to be out on the course at Woorayl on Saturday. Rain had drenched the course the night before, but it held up well for play on the weekend.

PAGE 54 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Ready for a start: the Under 9 and 10 girls get ready for the start in their 2km cross country run.

Clear day for primary cross country THE weather was kind to participants in the primary schools division cross country event last Wednesday at Wonthaggi.

The expected rain held back but conditions for runners were damp, with plenty of mud on shoes and legs.

All runners competed enthusiastically, with some great individual performances.

The Under 9 to Under 11 categories ran for 2kms while the senior students had to battle out 3km events.

Wonthaggi Secondary College’s junior campus at Dudley is thanked for providing the venue.

Inverloch Kongwak took out the primary schools’ title with a combined score of 48 points to win from Foster on 39.

Each student was given points depending on their place in the event and all points were tallied per school: Inverloch Kongwak 48, Foster 39, Leongatha 37, St Joseph’s Wonthaggi 36, Cowes 32, Korumburra 32, St Laurence’s Leongatha 30, Mirboo North 28, Wonthaggi North 21, Fish Creek 18, Newhaven College 16, Bass Valley 13, Tarwin Valley 12, Powlett River 10, Nyora 8, San Remo 8, Loch 5, Poowong 3.

Top three: place getters in the Under 10 boys were Henry Turner (Mirboo North Primary School, second), Zach Reid (St Joseph’s Wonthaggi, first) and Patrick Ryan (Newhaven College Primary School, third).

Great friends: cheering on their school mates were Jess Koolen, Grace McClean and Molly Hopkins from Korumburra Primary School.

Placegetters: first three across the line in the Under 9 and 10 girls event were, from left, Courtney Martin (Korumburra Primary School, third), Lanni Pryor (Inverloch Kongwak, first) and Brigid Johnson (Tarwin Valley-Meeniyan, second).

Under 11: the leading boys in the Under 11 race were Tyson Hanegraaf (Korumburra Primary School, second), Ryan Sparks (St Joseph’s Wonthaggi, first) and Tye Burns (Powlett River Primary School, third).

Warming up: Indi Bow, Paige Gowans, Andrew Healey, Keely Holking and Jack Bennett from Newhaven College Primary School were getting ready to race on Wednesday.

• LEONGATHA CYCLING

Peter Hollins shows the way HAVING his first ride of the season, Peter Hollins timed his ride perfectly to take out the first of the four winter handicaps in wet conditions.

Woolamai was the starting point for the Saturday club cycling, with the senior race being raced over a course which included a run from the Woolamai race track via Glen Forbes to the highway before turning 180 degrees. Riders then rode back through Glen Forbes, up the gorge road and round to Archies Creek before climbing back along Trews Rd and dropping down to the finish at the race track.

Whilst the conditions were reasonable at 1pm at the start assembly time, the cold and wet showers started to blow through right on the 2pm start time. Perhaps as this was race one for the winter handicap series the conditions were apt.

The three rider limit bunch on 15 min was hit with a shower after

rolling 100m. David Bennett was the driving force in this bunch. They were followed by another three riders on eight min followed by four riders on five minutes, three riders on two minutes and a trio on scratch.

The limit bunches split early in the ride but the back bunches were driving hard up the gorge 4.5km climb and making inroads into the balance of the field. The circuit gives some respite on the long down hill run towards Archies Creek but then there are some savage pinches along Trews Rd. David Bennett looked like a winner heading into Trews Rd, but found the scratch and second scratch bunch scythed through the field and picked him up on the last 200m of climb.

Peter Hollins, having his first ride of the season was in great form and doing the hills with ease. Tony Smith and Elliott Gin managed to go with him over the last pinch and these three raced down to the line with a clear break.

Peter Hollins jumped the other two just before the last bend and held off the chase to cross the line with a length to spare and claim the win and fastest time in 68.16min.

Second was Tony Smith just ahead of Elliott. Next home was the third scratch rider Kevin Feely followed

by Chris Rowe, Neil White, David Barker, David Bennett, Morgan Barnes and Brian Cuman rounding out the top ten.

The junior race had just two starters with Will Barker and Austin Timmins fronting up for a cold day at the races. Their race was on a new course for these riders and after a little bit of confusion with the course they made it back to the finish. Will Barker claimed the win with Austin scoring the fastest time.

Next Saturday the race will be the second of the winter handicap series and will be the Kernot race starting at the Kernot Hall and run over 52 km.

Winning group: Elliott Gin leads Tony Smith and Peter Hollins on the final Mills Road climb before the finish at Woolamai.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 55

Mittyak takes cross country LEONGATHA Secondary College held its cross country recently with students giving it their all.

Mittyak house won the day by a narrow four points ahead of Joatoba.

Mittyak also had the highest participation rate of the four houses. The top six in each age group will go on to compete in the South Gippsland Regional Cross Country.

Results

First place: (back from left) Aliesha Wrigley, Kyle Cooper, Tim Sauvarin, Clay Alexander, (front) Mikaela Cornelissen and Louis Riseley.

Under 20 winners: (back from left) Jake Burge, Joel Winderlich, (front) Kate Ball, Molly Kuhne and Holly Gloster.

Under 16 winners: (from left) Olivia Cope, Lachlan Ball, Charlotte Brew, Dean Petersen, and Tom Stone.

On the track: Olivia Cope giving it her all during the run.

Under 13 Male 1st Clay Alexander, 2nd Zayn Clark, 3rd Brett Thorson, 4th Trent Giles, 5th Thomas Brew and 6th Jack Dunn.

Under 13 Female 1st Aliesha Wrigley, 2nd Janine Pearn, 3rd Ally Martin, 4th Te’a Clark, 5th Alice Ball and 6th Sarah Bouquet.

Under 14 Male 1st Kyle Cooper, 2nd Louis Riseley, 3rd Tim Sauvarin, 4th Thomas McFarlane, 5th Harrison McGannon and 6th Jackson Smith Under 14 Female 1st Mikaela Cornelissen, 2nd Chelsea Deering, 3rd Felicity Warren, 4th Tyla Riley, 5th Lauren Redpath and 6th Hannah Thorson.

Under 15 Male 1st Liam Harrington, 2nd Troy Sinclair, 3rd Joel Webb, 4th Thomas Francis, 5th Matt Chalmers and 6th Daniel Tuckett.

Under 15 Female 1st Tyler Ralph, 2nd Jessica Clark, 3rd De’kodah Brewer, 4th Tanya Derrick, 5th Taylah Darmanin and 6th Rebecca Mangiafico.

Under 16 Male 1st Thomas Stone, 2nd Dean Petersen, 3rd Lachlan Ball, 4th Neil Bracecamp, 5th Thomas Rycks and 6th Jesse Zuidema.

Under 16 Female 1st Kelsey Buxton, 2nd Olivia Cope, 3rd Charlotte Brew, 4th Genevieve Scholte, 5th Katerine Waters and 6th Jessica Bell-Weeks.

Under 20 Male 1st Jake Burge, 2nd Matthew Redmond, 3rd Joel Winderlich, 4th Jake McMillan, 5th Jayke Hoy, 6th Tim Harris and 7th Tye McGannon.

Under 20 Female 1st Kate Ball, 2nd Molly Kuhne, 3rd Holly Gloster, 4th Brittany Tennyenhuis, 5th Talyssa Watts and 6th Georgia Findlay.

Under 15 winners: (back from left) Troy Sinclair, Jessica Clark, Joel Webb, Liam Harrington, (front) De’Kodah Brewer and Tyler Ralph.

Under 14 winners: (back from left) Tom McFarlane, Mikaela Cornelissen, Chelsea Deering (front) Harrison McGannon, Kyle Cooper, Tim Sauvarin, Louis Riseley and Felicity Warren.

Above: Under 13 winners: (back from left) Janine Pearn, Aliesha Wrigley (front) Zayn Clark, Brett Thorson, Clay Alexander and Ally Martin.

Pushing the group: Joel Moore and Daniel Campbell keep up a steady pace in the cross country.

Right: Leading: Tyler Ralph certainly worked for first place in the cross country.

PAGE 56 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

• GIPPSLAND INTERLEAGUE

Bendigo overpowers Gippsland THE WorkSafe VCFL Country Championships match between Bendigo Football Netball League and Gippsland League was played at Queen Elizabeth Oval in Bendigo at the weekend.

Leongatha Knights Under 16 soccer Drouin v Leongatha at Drouin Match report

Bendigo Football Netball League defeated Gippsland League 120 to 97.

Bendigo was leading at every break; the biggest margin was 41 points in their favour at three quarter time.

Gippsland clawed their way back in the last quar-

SOCCER is a winter sport and on a fine but cloudy Sunday there was mud aplenty.

The Leongatha boys were victors over the Drouin Dragons. Goal kickers for Gatha were Ryan Hill (3), Ryan Kirkus (2) and Tom Stampton (1).

Drouin scored 3 goals; Caiden Clayton (2) and Justin Hyde (1).

At the end of the match Drouin’s goalie, Marc Wasteney was covered in mud after defending well against a determined Leongatha attack.

Beautiful defence from Dean Petersen, Colin Franklin and Tom Rykes enabled the ball to return to Gatha’s forward time and again.

Great passing and positive team play helped to bring about the win.

ter, kicking four goals to Bendigo’s one, but the deficit was too much to overcome and they were beaten by 23 points.

Jake Best from Leongatha kicked his first goal 11 minutes into the first quarter, and his second 22 minutes in.

Best picked up three goals in total for the match; his last coming 20 minutes into the third quarter.

The best players for the Gippsland team were Clinton Rowe, Ryan Pendlebury, Lee Warnett, Ben Coleman, Tom Long and James Gibbs.

Gippsland’s goal kickers were James Gibbs with four, Jake Best with three,

Adrian Burgiel scored two and Gary Jones, Lee Warnett, Kane Martin, Clinton

SENIORS Bendigo FNL 18.12.120 Gippsland League 15.7.97 Bendigo Goals : Grant Weeks 6, Sam Mildren 5, Travis Baird 2, Lee Coghlan 2, Jonathon Coghlan 1, Simon Rosa 1, Aiden Pratt 1.

Gippsland Goals : James Gibbs 4, Jake Best 3, Adrian Burgiel 2, Gary Jones 1, Lee Warnett 1, Kane Mar-

Rowe, Matthew Ferguson and Tom Crosby all kicked one goal apiece.

tin 1, Clinton Rowe 1, Matthew Ferguson 1, Tom Crosby 1.

Bendigo Best : Clayton Anderson, Grant Weeks, Brady Childs, Simon Rosa, Thomas Waters, Jonathon Coghlan.

Gippsland Best : Clinton Rowe, Ryan Pendlebury, Lee Warnett, Ben Coleman, Tom Long, James Gibbs.

•SOCCER

Korumburra City Soccer Club report Korumburra City v Wonthaggi

In front: Leongatha’s only representative, Jake Best has front position to take this grab for Gippsland against Bendigo. Best booted three goals. Photo courtesy Andrew Perryman of the Bendigo Weekly.

Korumburra Under 13s took on a strong side Wonthaggi with the bare 11 players. Wonthaggi started strongly, scoring the first goal early.

Korumburra started to get into the game after this and a beautiful pass from Noah to Zac Allman saw Korumburra get on the board. Just minutes before half time Wonthaggi got their second, with Korumburra tiring. With Korumburra running out of legs

Wonthaggi came out again strong in the second half and another lapse of concentration from the Korumburra defence Wonthaggi scored their third.

Spirits lifted towards the end of the game and a penalty to Korumburra saw Zac Allman score again. Final score 3-2 to Wonthaggi.

The Under 16s played as the day was getting darker and colder and started very well against Wonthaggi, but it didn’t take long for Wonthaggi to get a hold on the game with their quick play, scoring two goals to Korumburra 0 by half time. Second half saw both teams get some good oppurtunities but it was Wonthaggi who managed to score again to make it 3-0.

Korumburra got the final goal of the game from a corner by Chloe Rodda.

Korumburra Under 19s scored first through Sebastian Peattie but Wonthaggi struck back straight away with a quick reply. Both sides had

scoring opportunities and both added another goal each, going into half time 2-2. The second half started with Korumburra attacking the goals and more goals to Daniel Longden and Sebastian Peattie saw Korumburra up 5-3 with 10 minutes to go. A great goal to Michael Smith for Korumburra looking like winners but two quick goals to Wonthaggi saw the game change again and up for grabs. Korumburra defence under great pressure hung on to the end to win 5-4. A great entertaining game from both teams.

Korumburra women started strongly against Wonthaggi but struggled to get any set plays going on the small field and with small goals it was very difficult to score and play our game. First half saw both teams score and half time was 2-2. Second half saw Wonthaggi score another three to Korumburra’s two.

Well done to Wonthaggi for their first win, 5-4. The only

disappointment for the game was the lack of GSL referees.

For the second time this season a Korumburra game had to kick off without a GSL organised referee. If the game of soccer is to grow in the South Gippsland region we need support from the GSL. The game however was played in a hard but sporting manner which helped the stand-in referees. Wonthaggi dominated play, with their quick passing game and only resolute defending kept the score to 3-0 at half time to Wonthaggi. Five minutes into the second half Wonthaggi were 5-0 up and it looked like a walkover, but Korumburra rallied with some strong work from Scott Rodda, Keanu Miller and Andy Dawson.

Korumburra hit the bar twice in a good spell, but Wonthaggi scored their sixth just before the end. Full time Wonthaggi 6, Korumburra 0.

Up high: Rory Cull of Korumburra City gets the header in over his Wonthaggi United opponents in the seniors.

Stars slog it out in the mud South Coast Stars v Drouin Senior Mens It was a hard afternoon for the South Coast Stars this weekend. Up against the unbeaten league leaders and decimated by injuries which led to only 10 players taking to the sodden pitch, they were always going to be up against it.

Drouin instantly exposed the man advantage and showed their class with a goal within the first five minutes. The game didn’t get any easier for the undermanned Stars as tired legs only got heavier trying to constantly run on what now appeared to be nothing more than a complete paddock of mud. Drouin attacked again and again and hit the back of the net three more times before the end of the first half. Only gallant defending and goal keeping denied Drouin several more goals.

The second half saw Drouin constantly at-

tack and the Stars injury curse struck again as two more players fell victim to the pitch. This left the Stars with eight exhausted players able to do nothing more than fend off a furious Drouin attack. The ball was sent into the back of the net three more times to leave the score a sad but courageous 7 – 0 defeat for the Stars.

The Stars will now look forward to the upcoming derby game against Wonthaggi hoping for a drier pitch and a return from injury for some of the depleted squad.

Womens The Stars faced a mud bath at the match against Drouin. No one had scored at half time and both teams were doing it tough in the muddy conditions. The Stars lost a player to injury at half time and Drouin made the most of the opportunity and scored three goals in the second half to the tiring Stars. Lots of fun was had by both teams.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 57

Fish Creek the team to beat LIKE the fish that sits atop of the town’s pub, Fish Creek sit atop the Alberton ladder eight rounds into the season.

Round 1 they took Tarwin by two, Round 2 they drew to the Tigers and Round 3 the league sat up and listened.

Fish Creek were labelled serious contenders for 2012 after a 17 point victory of the 2011 premiers Kilcunda-Bass and have not been slowing down.

Senior coach Marshall Livingston said the early season success doesn’t confirm a successful season.

“We’re not getting too carried away or anything, it’s still early days,” he said.

“It’s been a good start to the year and we’re at a well earned break.

The road to the top of the ladder hasn’t been an easy one for the Kangaroos according to Livingston.

“We’ve had three come from behind wins, and the game has fallen in our favour a couple of times,” he said.

“And we’ve created a bit of our own good fortune through hard work at times.

Livingston is happy with his team but says that they can always improve.

“We still certainly haven’t put four quarters of football together in any one game which is one thing we’re working on, being able to stay constant and focused,” he said.

“We need to have that concentration for the full four quarters.”

A high maturity level on the field may be what has created this good early form.

“We think we’ve got a really good list of young guys who are playing with more and more maturity,” Livingston said.

“The last couple of years we have thought we’ve certainly been right there about as well but we thought we might not have that maturity to win some close games and put ourselves in the position that we’ve put ourselves in this year.”

The two weeks off are not going to be a break for the Fish Creek boys according to Livingston.

“As with a lot of clubs down here demographically it’s pretty hard because we’ve got a number of our young guys in Melbourne,” he said.

“We’ll get together on a few oc-

casions over the break because we don’t get to do that much and we’ll certainly be stepping up training and going into a heavy training period over the next few weeks.”

Off the field a strong support network is reflecting on the senior’s success.

“Basically we’ve just been getting things in place in the off-season and it’s looking pretty strong. We’ve got some good support,” he said.

“We’re getting a lot of enthusiasm out of our juniors in contrast to when we had a very lean period there for a while but we’re thrilled that they’re going well.”

Fish Creek are certainly not getting ahead of themselves with Livingston noting the close level of competition in the league at the moment.

“It’s turning out to be a very close competition and every week is a big game that’s for sure,” he said.

“It’s very early days and we set out some goals and our number one objective was to improve on last season and we’re putting ourselves in a position to do that.”

Fish Creek has the bye this week.

Leading to victory: senior coach Marshall Livingston with on-field leaders Jason Rouda and Travis Manne.

Left: Ever improving: Livingston addresses the troops at quarter time recently.

MDU and Stony in merger talks Winning team: 17 and Under, Alberton, back row coach, Karen Sorrell, assistant coach Gayle Bloch, Gabby Bloch, Tayla Stahl, Kirra Smith, Beth Pratt, Abbey Shaw, Tayla Smith, and Ellen Sorrell. In the front is Ashlee Cuff, Jacquie Snooks with the cup and Olivia Cope.

Interleague netball

17 & Under: Alberton FNL 37, Mid Gippsland FL 27.

Best on court: AFNL Tayla Stahl, MGFL Louise Rogers.

A Grade: Alberton FNL 42, Mid Gippsland FL 45.

Best on court: AFNL Hannah Bassett, MGFL Jessica Hilliar.

UNDER 11

UNDER 13

LADDER

LADDER W L D

Inv-K’wak..... 6 Corner Inlet .. 5 L’gatha Jnr ... 5 Won Power ... 3 Kor-Bena ..... 3 Dalyston ...... 2 Phillip Is ......... 1 Kil-Bass.......... 1

1 0 2 2 4 4 6 5

0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0

Go team: the winning A Grade team from Mid Gippsland, with their coach, Donna Hoare holding the cup and assistant coach, Leanne Dalton on the left.

It was a tight game, Mid Gippsland held off a late surge from Alberton to win by three goals.

%

Pts

313.37 401.25 116.72 108.93 73.97 84.00 35.34 19.15

24 20 20 14 12 10 4 4

GOALKICKERS Z. Caughey(Inv-K).......... (5) 18 B. Best (Inv-K)................ (0) 13 Z. Van Delft (Leon Jnr) ... (2) 12 B. Rogers (Corner In) .... (3) 11 K. Reid (Inv-K’wak) ........ (0) 11 B. Patterson (Kor-Bena) . (0) 10 C. McKenzie (Inv-K) ....... (2) 10 D. Bronsnan (Won ) ....... (0) 9 J. Barry .............................. 8 J. Roylance (Inv-K) ........ (1) 8

W LD

Inv-K’wak...... 7 L’gatha Jnr .... 6 Won Power .... 5 Dalyston ....... 4 Corner Inlet ... 2 Phillip Is....... 1 Kil-Bass........... 1 Kor-Bena ......... 0

0 1 2 3 4 5 4 7

0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0

%

Pts

902.38 306.98 195.21 94.97 286.73 26.46 18.05 8.20

28 24 20 16 8 6 6 0

GOALKICKERS N. Anderson (Won) ............. (3) 15 L. O’Neill (Leon Jnr) ............ (3) 9 C. McInnes(Inv-K’Wak) ....... (2) 8 C. Scott (Won) .................... (0) 7 J. Thornell (Corner In) ........ (1) 7 L. Gheller(Dalyston) ............ (0) 7 J. Henry ................................... 6 Z. Angwin (Corner In) ......... (0) 6 Z. Reid(Inv K’wak)............... (0) 6 M. Bentvelzen (Leon Jnr) .... (0) 5

FOOTY DRAWS THIS WEEKEND ALBERTON Round 9 - June 2 Toora v Kor-Bena Foster v DWWWW MDU v I-K Stony Creek v Dalyston Tarwin v Phillip Island Kil-Bass v Yarram Fish Creek - bye

MID GIPPSLAND Round 7 - June 2 Boolarra v Thorpdale Morwell East v Hill End Trafalgar v Newborough Mirboo North v Yall-Yall Nth Yinnar v Yarragon

GIPPSLAND Round 7 - June 2 Moe v Warragul Bairnsdale v Leongatha Sale v Maffra (Sunday) Wonthaggi v Morwell Drouin v Traralgon

ELLINBANK Round 8 - June 2 Bunyip v Cora Lynn Ellinbank v Catani Koo Wee Rup v Neerim Sth Lang Lang v Buln Buln Nilma-Darnum v Garfield Poowong v Nar Nar Goon Warragul Ind v Longwarry Nyora - bye

CLOSE town rivals MDU and Stony Creek met last week to discuss the long term futures of both clubs.

The meeting on Monday, May 21 was confirmed by the presidents of both clubs, Stony Creek president Bill Pratt and MDU president Adrian Coulter.

Speaking to The Star Mr Coulter said the meeting was very productive and discussed a number of issues including numbers of junior players, the amount of players travelling from Melbourne to play, the issue of attracting sponsors, the disadvantages of having two clubs so close together, the amount of workers volunteering at each club and the drain of players out of Leongatha.

Attending the meeting were the president, vice-president, secretary and netball president of each club.

“The discussions were very cordial.

Both clubs had a good conversation about where each club sits so we’ll see how it goes from there,” Mr Coulter

said.

Mr Coulter said although the word “merger” was never mentioned, ultimately that’s what the process would lead to he predicted.

Mr Coulter said that the club would have a committee meeting next Monday at which further discussions would take place.

Bill Pratt from Stony Creek told The Star that “MDU approached us about a meeting and we agreed to it happening.”

“The discussions were fruitful but there’s no super plan at this stage,” Mr Pratt said.

“There was nothing concrete except the two clubs won’t survive forever.”

“We’ll discuss it at committee level but I can’t see too much happening until we get this season out of the way.”

The two clubs are both quite financial but decided on the meeting while times were “good” at both clubs.

An attempt at talks some years ago broke down as both clubs decided to “play on”.

Campbell surfs national title A SANDY Point surfer is now competing Alberton juniors OTHER MATCHES UNDER 11 Kilcunda-Bass 1.1.7 drew Phillip Island 1.1.7 Inv-Kongwak 3.10.28 d Dalyston 1.2.8 Wonthaggi Power 4.5.29 d Corner Inlet 1.13.19 UNDER 13 Phillip Island 5.7.37 d Kilcunda-Bass 2.6.18 Inv-Kongwak 13.4.82 d Dalyston 3.8.26

at the Australian Indigenous Surf Titles at Bells Beach.

Jordie Campbell is joined by Steve Parker of Cowes.

Surfing Victoria is hosting the titles until Friday.

The event will see the best male indigenous surfers from across Australia do battle for the coveted title of Australian Indigenous Champion.

Campbell and Parker placed first and third respectively in the recent Woorangalook Victorian Koori Titles held at Point Roadknight.

Prize money for the event is: first, $1000; second, $500; and third, $250 The winner will receive a wildcard entry into the Australian Open Surf Masters at Port Macquarie in August.

PAGE 58 - “THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Winners: the victorious team after receiving their cup on Saturday, just as the rain started to fall.

UNDER 18 Alberton 11.19.85 Mid Gippsland 8.8.56 Alberton Goals - B. Davis 2, B. Doran 2, B. Thomas 2, K. Thomas 2, L. Findlay 1, T. McGannon 1, E. Taylor 1 Mid Gipp Goals - S. Noy 4, J. Giardina 2,

CGJFL ladders UNDER 10 W L D

Trafalgar....... 6 Mor Tigers .... 5 Youth Club .... 4 Leongatha ..... 4 New Reds ..... 4 Moe Blues..... 3 Moe Maroons.. 3 Yinnar ............. 3 Hill & Rovers ... 2 Mirboo North .. 1 New Blues ....... 0 Yallourn Nth .... 0

0 1 1 2 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6

%

0 1086.67 0 162.50 1 281.08 0 271.43 0 209.62 1 166.67 0 126.03 0 83.33 0 88.64 0 49.35 0 20.69 0 0.00

Pts

24 20 18 16 16 14 12 12 8 4 0 0

M. Hamilton 1, S. Mazou 1 Alberton Best - L. Findlay, M. Howell, T. Harris, J. Joyce, D. Crawford, B. Chalmers Mid Gipp Best - S. Noy, M. Stolk, T. Dowe, M. Hinkley, S. Mazou, E. DeCarli

CGJFL UNDER 10 Leongatha 4.3.27 d Mirboo North 2.1.13 UNDER 12 Leongatha 5.9.39 d Mirboo North 0.0.0

Alberton Under 18s win comfortably

By Rover ALBERTON’S 30 scoring shots to Mid Gippsland’s 16 highlighted the former’s overall inside-50 dominance in its comfortable 29-point victory.

Both sides burst out of the blocks in an entertaining first term, where Alberton produced six goals and Mid Gippsland, four.

Alberton held a comfortable 14 point lead at the first break.

Alberton’s multi-pronged forward structure featured seven individual goal kickers, four of whom, Brady Davis, Ben Thomas jnr,

Ben Doran and Kurt Thomas, booted two goals each.

At the major break, the Alberton side had increased their lead to 24 points, leading Mid Gippsland 64 to 40.

Simon Noy, with four majors, was the leading goal scorer on the ground and provided a reliable target up forward for Mid Gippsland.

Skipper Mark Stolk, Tim Dowe and Matt Hinkley were also in good form for Mid Gippsland.

Lachlan Findlay was named best on ground for the Alberton side and Simon Noy earned the medal for Mid Gippsland.

By the end of last quarter, Alberton had pushed their lead out beyond Mid Gippsland’s grasp and won the match, 11.19.85 to 8.8.56.

Leongatha goals: M. McGannon 1, B. Hastings 1, J. Stockdale 2.

Best: A. Wright, M. Wight, J. Stockdale, M. Scrimshaw, B. Hastings.

Kick off: Lachlan Findlay from MDU, who was named best on ground for the Alberton side aims a kick before Matthew Hamilton from Mid Gippsland can get a good hold.

UNDER 14 Leongatha 5.4.34 d Mirboo North 2.4.16 Leongatha goals: O. Maclean 4, N. Matsoukas 1.

Best: H. McGannon, K. Cooper, T. McFarlane, K. Patterson, O. Maclean. J. Van Der Kolk.

UNDER 12 W L D

Leongatha ..... 6 Mirboo North . 6 Moe Maroons . 4 Youth Club .... 4 Yinnar.......... 3 New Reds ..... 3 New Blues ....... 3 Moe Blues ....... 2 Mor Tigers ...... 2 Trafalgar .......... 1 Hill & Rovers ... 1 Yallourn Nth .... 0

0 0 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

%

406.06 231.21 123.96 123.89 135.14 106.88 82.59 125.94 62.14 56.18 46.96 19.54

Pts

24 24 16 16 12 12 12 8 8 4 4 0

UNDER 14 W L D

Leongatha ..... 6 Mirboo North . 6 Moe Maroons . 4 Youth Club .... 4 Yinnar.......... 3 New Reds........ 3 New Blues ....... 3 Moe Blues ....... 2 Mor Tigers ...... 2 Trafalgar .......... 1 Hill & Rovers ... 1 Yallourn Nth .... 0

0 0 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 5 5 6

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

%

406.06 231.21 123.96 123.89 135.14 106.88 82.59 125.94 62.14 56.18 46.96 19.54

Pts

24 24 16 16 12 12 12 8 8 4 4 0

AJFL UNDER 11 Leongatha 7.13.55 d Korumburra-Bena 0.0.0 Leongatha goals: L. O’Neill 3, J. Ryan 1, J. Hume 1, L. Stothart 1, J. Wilson 1.

Best: B. Cantwell, I. Kennedy, T. Boler, J. Wilson, B. Martin, L. O’Neill.

Korumburra-Bena best: T. Hanegraaf, T. Kelly, O. McLean, J. Grabham, C. Koscal, J. Anthony.

UNDER 13 Leongatha 8.3.51 d Korumburra-Bena 6.6.42 Leongatha goals: T. Bernaldo 2, N. Trotto 2, M. McKinnon 1, D. Ginnane 1, N. Battersby 1, Z. Van Delft 1.

Best: C. Olden, C. Alexander, N. Trotto, T. Bernaldo, N. Battersby, J. Dunn.

Korumburra-Bena goals: J. Celebrine 3, J. Wyhoon 1, T. Whiteside 1, K. Waetford 1.

Best: B. Boyd, T. Halliday, R. Dixon, N. Wylie, J. Celebrine, J. Wyhoon.

Good game: Lachlan Findlay accepts his best on ground medal from John Schelling after Alberton won the interleague game against Mid Gippsland on Saturday.

Mirboo North helps Parrot juniors AFTER a disappointing past week having to deal with a break-in and damage to the Leongatha Junior Football Club it was great to see sporting rivalry put aside by the Mirboo North Junior Football Club as their club held raffles to help raise funds at last Saturday’s match.

Thanks a lot: Leongatha Under 14 coach Gary Sauvarin (left) thanks Mirboo North Junior Footy Club president Dean Linforth for their club’s fine gesture.

The efforts by Mirboo North were very much appreciated as work has begun to repair damage done to the LJFC rooms.

The MNJFC raised over $200 which will be a great help to replace

items stolen from the break-in.

LJFC president Darryl McGannon said “It’s great to see clubs helping one another when unfortunate things like this happen and it restores

Speedy: Leongatha showed plenty of flair in the Under 11 contest.

your faith after such senseless vandalism.”

“Thanks to MNJFC and club president Dean Linforth for their efforts, it was a fantastic gesture,” Mr McGannon said.

Dashing: Nathan Trotto gets his kick away in the Under 13 match.

“THE STAR”, Tuesday, May 29, 2012 - PAGE 59

Victors: The winning side on Saturday, the Alberton Football League Seniors are pictured after a slippery, muddy game.

Alberton snares interleague win

By Rover ALBERTON recorded a solid 24-point win over Mid Gippsland in the 2012 VCFL WorkSafe Country Championships inter-

league clash, at a picturesque Meeniyan Recreation Reserve on Saturday.

Alberton won both the senior contest and the Under 18s matches.

Heavy rain during the

Good kick: Chris Terlich lays one off the boot during a cold and wet interleague game, played at Meeniyan on the weekend.

Wet and wild: Joel Sinclair gets on top of the ball in wet and slippery conditions at the Meeniyan Recreation Reserve on Saturday.

preceding 24 hours had substantially softened the oval’s surface, especially around the flanks and in the pockets.

An enthusiastic crowd paid $3700 at the gate to watch arch rivals become teammates as the best available players from each league battled it out in the challenging conditions.

Senior Both sides went in hard from the outset; high quality marking and plenty of ground speed provided swift ball movement and lots of run and carry through the lines.

Mid Gippsland opened well, booting three majors to Alberton’s one in the first term, but also lost skipper and key onballer, Matt Holland, with a hip injury.

Trailing by eight points at quarter-time, Alberton wrestled the lead with a five goals to two second term and went right on with the business in the last half.

Gun Kilcunda-Bass spearhead, Luke James, was the star of the day; he established an imposing presence, lifted team productivity and registered a match-winning seven goals for Alberton.

No matter what methods the Mid Gippsland defenders used to restrict him, the sturdy and highlyskilled James kept standing up in tackles, leading beautifully, marking in front and booting goals from all angles.

Other significant contributors for Alberton were Shem Hawking, Chris Bruns, Cade Maskell, Carson Strobel and captain, Tremaine Tohiariki whose in-and-under roving was equally as impressive as his name.

Mid Gippsland competed hard down back, but it found James’ x-factor attributes difficult to negate and Alberton’s unyielding forward press, no picnic to exit.

Mid Gippsland’s best player was dynamic 2011 Boolarra premiership ruckrover, Matt Dyer, who won many centre clearances and constantly burst through packs, as he tried to bring his teammates into the game.

Others to do well for Mid Gippsland were Chris Weller, Sam McCulloch, Tim Traill with three goals, Chris Hancock, Barrie Burnett and Tom Hutton.

Just before half-time, Hancock, successfully tackled Hawking and scored Mid Gippsland’s fifth goal to bring his side to within seven points of Alberton at the long break.

Two early third term goals by Maskell extended Alberton’s lead to 19 points, as the rain began to fall.

Alberton’s corralling and tenacious tackling in the heavy going forced Mid Gippsland into too many u-turns, detours and fumbles.

These were tough times and player comfort levels were low. The Celsius nose-dived, the Sherrin was as slippery as an eel and Alberton forward, Jamie Cann, ripped a hamstring.

Whenever Mid Gippsland seemed to be on the ropes, it found a way to fight back on the scoreboard, a couple of miraculous snaps returned its deficit to seven points.

However, the everpresent James was lurking dangerously around the goal mouth and he scored Alberton’s next

three majors.

Following the second of these, came a classy conversion from Weller to begin the final quarter.

In the end though, the task for Mid Gippsland was too great. James and Maskell had kicked 11 of their side’s 14 goals.

Alberton had all the answers in the closing stages of the match, ending up with 14.12.96 defeating Mid Gippsland, 10.12.72.

SENIORS Alberton 14.12.96 Mid Gippsland 10.12.72 Alberton Goal kickers: L. James 7, C. Maskell 4, J. Cann 1, B. Hutchinson 1, C. Park 1 Mid Gipp Goals - T. Traill 3, C. Hancock 2,

K. Butler 1, R. Horton 1, T. Hutton 1, S. Mills 1, C. Weller 1 Alberton Best: L. James, S. Hawking, C. Bruns, T. Tohiariki, C. Maskell, C. Strobel Mid Gipp Best - M. Dyer, C. Weller, S. McCulloch, C. Hancock, B. Burnett, T. Hutton

Best man: Alberton’s best on ground, Luke James, is in prime position for the ball during the latter half of the match on Saturday.

Hand shake: Alberton and Mid Gippsland captains Tremaine Tohiariki and Matt Holland shake hands prior to the coin toss for the match on Saturday.

Alberton won the toss.

PAGE 60 - â&#x20AC;&#x153;THE STARâ&#x20AC;?, Tuesday, May 29, 2012

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