Author: Stephen Taylor

LETTERS will be sent to Frankston residents to reiterate monkey bikes are banned from public roads and parks in the wake of the Carrum Downs fatality in which mother-of-two Andrea Lehane was killed. The letter will outline the fatal collision on Wednesday 23 September and warn of serious consequences for those caught riding monkey bikes on public roads or footpaths. Penalties to be imposed on riders – including the possibility of their bikes being confiscated and crushed for scrap metal – will be listed in the correspondence from council. Ms Lehane was severely injured while walking on a pedestrian crossing…

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A CORONER’S inquest into the death of Tyabb boy Luke Batty – and the circumstances leading up to the tragedy – has found that it could not have been predicted. Judge Ian Gray said in a 111-page finding released on Monday that the 11-year-old’s death “was not reasonably foreseeable by anyone – including his mother, Rosie Batty”. But Mr Gray noted that circumstances leading up to the event were exacerbated by “a failure to engage [his father Greg] Anderson in the family violence system and make him accountable for his actions”. He also stated: “Luke’s death, from the practicable point…

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FOUR teenagers with diabetes received some welcome inspiration from former AFL player Jack Fitzpatrick in Mt Eliza last week. Ben McVea, 15, of Langwarrin, Imogen Price, 12, of Somerville, Caleb Govan, 12, of Pearcedale and Billie Angelone, 14, of Parkdale, were participants in a four-day Diabetes Victoria senior camp at Camp Manyung, Mt Eliza. They are learning how to live well with type 1 diabetes in a fun, safe and supportive environment, and shared a culture of independence through adventure. Billie Angelone was diagnosed in July 2005 when she was four. She used to cry every time she had to…

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THE laying of floral tributes and a public vigil united Carrum Downs residents on Sunday evening to bid a sad farewell to mother-of-two Andrea Lehane. The 34-year-old was tragically killed when run down by one of a group of “monkey-bike” riders as she walked over a pedestrian crossing to the shopping centre at about 5pm last Wednesday (23 September). A Frankston North man, 18-year-old Caleb Jakobsson, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court over her death on Saturday. He faces eight charges, including culpable driving causing death, dangerous driving causing death, failing to stop after an accident, failing to render assistance after…

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POLICE and Kingston Council have downplayed claims that “happy hours” in hotels and other licensed premises in Kingston will be banned. They say Kingston’s first Liquor Accord does not call for the banning of happy hours – and nor are relevant authorities seeking to have them banned. “At no stage will police ban happy hours but we do call on licensees to manage them appropriately to curb overzealous drinking,” Superintendent Bruce Wemyss, of Kingston police, said. “Also, we want the happy hour to run for just an hour, and not four or five hours, when things can get out of…

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