REGARDING the front page of the Mountain Views (2 May) titled Hooligan Hotspot. Welcome to Hoonsville. Sorry, Healesville.
As a resident living near the Terminus Hotel and Shell Service Station I am appalled at what happens around here, its like a battlefield in Harker Street. Patrons from the Terminus Hotel fighting, screaming, vandalising and leaving beer bottles, cans and glasses everywhere.
Drunks are driving around after 3am, damaging fences and cars at the Toyota dealership, and they even tipped two cars on their roofs in Glenfern Road. This all goes on regularly until 4.30am Saturday and Sunday mornings.
Oh, for a good night’s sleep without the free entertainment. I have complained to the owner of the Terminus about the volume of music that enters our bedroom and all the problems that are created after they close and was told rather abruptly he was not interested in what happens after 3am.
Now management is wanting to offer drinks, smokes and bottled water to slow the migration down to the service station. What, until 5am? No thanks. It’s a pity the service station does not provide a bin for food scraps.
In late 2004 Healesville police collected statements from the local residents concerning the upcoming renewal of the 3am liquor licence and associated problem noise and hoons.
I spoke to Inspector Mick Beattie at the hoons meeting at the Memorial Hall last year and again mentioned all the problems around here. It is still happening.
We need more police around after the station closes at 2am to be able to do something about the above problems and to create a safer environment for the local residents.
I Rogers
Healesville
People have spoken
THE recent survey conducted as part of the Yarra Glen Values and Vision project has enabled the community to clearly express its views about the proposal for a new supermarket.
In answer to the question, which specifically asked “What size supermarket would you like in Yarra Glen?”, only 30 per cent indicated a preference for a supermarket four times larger than the current one.
That is the size of the current proposal.
Thirty-five per cent indicated a preference to retain the current supermarket, while 26 per cent would prefer a supermarket slightly larger than the current one. This indicates that a total of 61 per cent do not support the current proposal.
When asked to provide comments on the supermarket proposal, 54 per cent provided negative comments, while 27 per cent provided positive comments, with 19 per cent providing conditional positive comments, making a total of 46 per cent positive.
Chris O’Connor should recognise that the community has clearly rejected this proposal.
He should withdraw the proposal and engage in a genuine consultation process to develop a proposal that is acceptable to the community.
Barry Sheffield
Yarra Glen
It’s not so hard
THE recent hard garbage collection in the O’Shannassy Ward of the Shire of Yarra Ranges has caused comment about the unsightly nature and negative image, especially to visitors, of piles of rubbish left on nature strips.
Much of this rubbish can be taken to transfer stations like Wesburn where, without cost, materials can be left for re-use or recycling.
Any metals and alloys, like the old fridges and stoves, even discarded plant pots and green garden prunings (which will be composted), old toys and bicycles can be left for people to buy for a small cost. Even smaller rubbish was put out that could have been disposed through the normal collection.
Some people would not have a trailer or ute, but for those that have a little effort would go a long way, making it “not so hard garbage”.
Les Lasham
Warburton East
Home fire burns
OUR family moved to the Gold Coast within three weeks of our initial decision and unfortunately we didn’t get to say goodbye to most of our friends in Warburton.
We haven’t been here long and, although the weather is awesome (no firewood needed here!), we didn’t realise just how much we had come to depend on the local traders in town who had become our friends.
There’s certainly no Jan and Paul to say ‘hi’ to when we fill up our cars or Norm to have a quick chat to when we buy our stamps.
The local real estate agents are in abundance but they’re not as friendly as Chris and Wayne.
There’s lots to do here and heaps to entertain but we’ve yet to find a Dawn or Cindy at the local arts centre to share a bit of goss.
The local IGA seems friendly enough but not like our local team in Warby. To everyone that we didn’t quite get around to saying farewell to, thank you for everything and we miss you all more than we thought.
Thanks again and if ever anyone is up this way, look us up for a cuppa.
Hoegel-Clinch family
Gold Coast
WHILE digging down my back property I dug up some old bones. I’m sure they are my Aussie great granddad’s, so I put a burning barbecue on top, put up a tent with an esky next to it, raised the Aussie flag and declared my property a sacred site.
I will now pay no rates, no bills, and get a government payment every fortnight. And if you enter my property you could be fined $10,000, payable to me. And the big eel in my back creek is now protected too! Bigger fine if you catch him.
G Aarons
Launching Place
Well aware of needs
I WRITE in response to the Liberal candidate for Seymour (Mail, 18 April).
I also attended the Kinglake West Primary School 110th anniversary, as I did also for the school’s 100th anniversary in 1998 in my capacity as principal of nearby Flowerdale Primary School.
Kinglake West Primary School and I have been lobbying now for some time for an upgrade and I can assure your readers that the department, the Minister for Education and Training and the Treasurer’s office are all well aware of the school’s needs.
Since 1999 I have successfully lobbied for major upgrades of many other schools in the Seymour electorate, including state primary schools in Healesville, Yarra Glen, Wallan, Kilmore, Tallarook and Heathcote as well as the secondary colleges at Whittlesea and Broadford plus Seymour Special School.
I have also lobbied for minor but important improvements to schools, such as new toilets for Dixons Creek and Pyalong primary schools.
After seven years of Liberal Party neglect, which led to the sacking of teachers, closure of schools and the running down of schools, there is a great deal to be done and only the Bracks Government and I have the runs on the board for delivering in the Seymour electorate.
Despite record investment and capital works the Bracks Government has recognised the needs of schools and recently announced a further $600 million for improvements to schools.
I will continue working hard to deliver for all areas of the Seymour electorate as evidenced by my record for delivering, as opposed to the neglect of the Liberals in government.
Ben Hardman
Seymour MP
THE Commonwealth Games will go down in my notebook as the Commonwaste Games.
Why was the athletics track ripped up and destroyed? Why didn’t they select a track that could have been re-used somewhere else?
That $19 million is a lot of money for a few days of glory for a few elitist athletes.
The State Government’s method of evaluating priorities escapes me. They are now going to spend $190 million by 2009 on a sport stadium and a piddling $15 million for a clinic for Lilydale, with not a mention of the 40,000 waiting on hospital elective surgery lists. How do you select the order of your priority list?
Earl Downing,
Millgrove.
Holiday care void
IT IS disappointing to have witnessed again the loss of the only holiday care program in Healesville.
After spending considerable time and energy in highlighting this issue prior to the last federal election, to now see the program abandoned without having even run for 12 months is difficult to fathom!
Healesville is now again without a holiday program. The UYCH is poised to hand the 35 hard won placements back to the Federal Government of this hard fought for program.
Parents are now left to struggle to balance work and holiday care for their children.
Oddly enough a meeting was recently hastily called with some of the key stakeholders but for some strange reason it was decided that the parents didn’t need to have input into this and as such a one-sided and unbalanced view was given.
The perception given at that meeting was that Healesville parents don’t require a holiday care program and that the numbers simply aren’t there!
I totally disagree on these points. The parents I have spoken to all agree that a program is required.
Their concerns lay with a lack of information in relation to the program and never knowing until the last minute whether the holiday program was going to run or not, hence forcing them into other arrangements for their children. I know that not only is a program required but that with proper management and given time to establish itself, it will become not only an asset but an integral part of Healesville’s childcare expectations.
With the Federal Government now requiring single parents to return to the workforce by the time their youngest child reaches six years of age, childcare can only become one of the biggest obstacles to realistic work and family commitments, if it’s not there!
Justin Renehan
Healesville
AFTER an exhausting day, we decided to order a pizza for tea. At 6.45pm, we ordered a family pizza with battered chips for delivery. I was told it would take 45 minutes.
Eagerly waiting and getting hungry, 7.45pm came and I rang back to find out how much longer the order would take.
“Oh, I’m sorry, we have lost your order,” I was told.
I repeated the order and was told it would take 30 minutes or so minutes and would cost $20.80.
In the meantime, my kids were hungry and it was getting late, so I made toasted sandwiches and put a movie on. I forgot all about the pizza.
At 9.30pm, there was a knock at the door. It was the pizza. “$21,” the delivery man said.
I explained the situation and that I was told it would cost $20.80.
“We’ve been busy and the docket says $21,” the man said.
I paid the money and was very disappointed when we opened the box. The pizza looked like it had been sat on and the chips were so dry, crunchy and awful, we couldn’t eat them. We’ve now been put off take away food for a very long time.
J Malone
Healesville
