Despite a hitch in negotiations over management, Frankston Council is confident the Frankston City Motorcycle Park will soon reopen. Motorcycling Victoria has decided not to step in and take temporary charge of the motorcycle park and council will now form a temporary committee to oversee the park. The Seaford venue has been closed since of the death of 25-year-old Danny Edlington on Saturday 4 April on the main track at the Frankston Motorcycle Park (‘Fatality closes motorcycle track’, The Times 13/4/15). Deputy mayor Cr Glenn Aitken, chair of a committee tasked with handing over management of the track to Motorcycling Victoria for a 12-month interim period, said…
Author: Neil Walker
FORMER police officer turned business and life coach Ruth Cyster-Stuettgen wants women to know they can have a bright future no matter how dark the present can be. The mother-of-three has turned her life around after leaving an abusive situation and has written a book called From Misery to Mastery: Journey to Freedom and Empowerment as a guide for anyone who has “ever felt lost, helpless or scared of what your life has become”. She hopes the book can find an audience with “women who are suffering in silence behind closed doors” and give women tips and strategies to empower…
WHEN Donna Bauer first felt fatigued she put it down to the relentless workload of being a state MP and working mother. “I was working very long days in Parliament and in the community and by the time I’d get home I’d be so exhausted,” she said. After a battle with bowel cancer, the former Liberal MP for Carrum hopes others may be able to learn to seek early diagnosis and treatment to save lives. The 44-year-old mother of four first noticed “twinges” of pain in her stomach while training to walk the Kokoda track in mid-2013. “When I was…
A NEW way for Kingston Council to seek community feedback is beginning to take shape. Kingston councillors have backed a plan to establish new council advisory committees after the village committees system of consultation was controversially axed last year (‘Village committees canned’, The News 28/5/14). Kingston residents will be able to apply to sit on individual advisory committees focused on arts and culture, access and equity, community safety, festivals and events, public spaces and environment, sports and recreation, business and economic development and a youth advisory committee. A councillor will be appointed chairperson for each of the eight committees. The…
COMMENT IT has taken several months for The Times to obtain further proof that there have indeed been proven cases of bullying at Frankston Council in the recent past. Information obtained under freedom of information laws reveals there were 36 complaints by council staff or councillors in the past two years with five of the matters “either fully or partially substantiated”. Council CEO Dennis Hovenden pointed out “only five (5) allegations of bullying” were proven in full or in part. The use of the word “only” is unfortunate. One of the worst aspects of bullying in the workplace or elsewhere…