A SILVER Nissan Navarra dual-cab ute is the common link between five armed robberies in Dandenong South, Braeside, Carrum Downs, Frankston and Baxter over the past fortnight. The male driver of the stolen vehicle, with false plates ZVA874, has threatened staff – many of them female – with knives and tyre levers in the vicious raids before running off with cash and cigarettes. Victims describe him as 167cm, thin build, wearing a black balaclava, plain black hoodie and light coloured jeans in all the burglaries. Several of his lightening raids are in the early morning; others late in the day.…
Author: Stephen Taylor
THE death of Carrum Downs mother-of-two Andrea Lehane in 2015 focused community attention on the illegal riding of monkey bikes in suburban streets and car parks. Ms Lehane, 34, was knocked six metres when young hoon Caleb Jakobsson ran into her as she walked across a zebra crossing towards Carrum Downs Shopping Centre. He fled the scene leaving her dying on the road. The tragedy played itself out in the courts last month with the 18-year-old being sentenced to seven years’ jail. The judge described his actions as morally reprehensible. Ms Lehane’s death set in train a Frankston Council and police campaign…
THE joys of pony riding are felt even more intensely by the disabled, who experience a special sense of relaxation and deep affinity with their charges. This is understood by members of Riding for the Disabled Victoria – a volunteer organisation established more than 40 years ago. It helps more than 1200 people of various ages and abilities get up into the saddle and have fun. The Moorabbin riding group, which uses land in Barker Rd, off South Rd, Heatherton, is assisted by volunteers who come weekly. “We are always looking for more volunteers,” said Jane Baker, of RDA Moorabbin.…
A SINGLE parent in Frankston working part-time, receiving a Centrelink pension of $40,000 and looking to rent a two-bedroom unit with a child or children would be faced with “severely unaffordable” rent, according to the latest Rental Affordability Index. The index, released by the Council to Homeless Persons in May, shows such a family would pay about 40-60 per cent of their income on rent. A single person on Newstart ($15,000), looking to rent a one-bedroom unit in Frankston, would be faced with “extremely unaffordable” rents – with 60 per cent-plus of their income going on rent – the index…
A CATHOLIC school in Mentone fears families may have to pay higher fees under the federal Coalition government’s new “Gonski 2.0” funding arrangements. ST Patrick’s Primary School principal Tim Noonan met with school representatives and federal Isaacs Labor MP Mark Dreyfus last week to discuss proposed changes to federal government funding for Catholic schools. Mr Noonan fears the current arrangements – based on a system weighted average as recommended by the Gonski Review in 2011 – will change for the worse and that parents will have to pay more than they can afford. Current funding treats all Catholic schools as…