Author: Stephen Taylor

THREE youths on a rampage from Berwick to Mentone last week stole several cars, burgled houses and were involved in two hit-and-run crashes before being nabbed by Kingston detectives. A young woman driver is in a serious condition in hospital after being involved in a collision with one of the youths in a stolen car. The 15 to 17 year old males, of Bentleigh and Dandenong, are alleged to have stolen a car in Berwick on Thursday evening before filling up and “doing a drive-by” in Clyde without paying for the petrol. The next day (Friday) from 8-10.30am they allegedly…

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A SEAFORD music school keen to give local singers a venue in which to demonstrate their talents started The Voice of Frankston in 2013 and its success has snowballed. “I’m a singer and I wanted to give other singers a go, too,” Fun-key Music director Jenny Wilkinson said. “I wanted to showcase their talent.” The Voice attracted 110 entrants in first year and 125 last year and organisers are hoping for even more this year. Aiming to “give Frankston a boost” and rescue it from its “bad rap”, Ms Wilkinson said: “When we were starting we had singers coming through…

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LONGBEACH RSL members cherish the company of their last surviving World War II prisoner-of-war, Tom Jones. The club, in Thames Promenade, Chelsea, is a home-away-from-home for the former British veteran, who emigrated from England “for the better weather” with his family in 1967. The time since then is in marked contrast to the four years spent in captivity under the Japanese, first in Java and then in Japan. Memories of the last weeks of the war, when he was a labourer in a Fukuoka prison camp tending the commandant’s pigs, are etched deeply in the 93 year old’s memory. Japan…

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AFTER a busy life running hotels, writing for country newspapers, running a farm – and even selling real estate – Frankston author Marjorie Darling Ward has a plethora of topics to write about. Now, after a “career change” into retirement – and aged 93 – she’s earning plaudits as a published author. The role is giving her a great deal of enjoyment, as well as fostering a well-founded sense of achievement. With a new book: Twenty-Six Sheilas on a Bus and Murder Most Foul completed, the writer and member of the Frankston Writers’ Block says the craft keeps her mind…

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AN innovative housing plan run by Melbourne City Mission – and funded by the state government – is helping get young Frankston people into affordable accommodation and breaking what’s termed “the cycle of homelessness”. The Detour program helps those aged 12-24 to deal with problems at home, or when they have recently left home and are having trouble finding a secure, safe place to live. Housing, Disability & Ageing Minister Martin Foley opened the service last week. It aims to support vulnerable young people who are newly homeless or at risk, as well as keeping them from becoming permanently homeless…

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