A Scary Experience

On Sunday last week, one of our older residents was walking home from Woolies along Elizabeth St. A youngish man with brownish red, scraggly hair walked up to her and laughed. Then he walked behind her and poked a fork into her back, just hard enough to feel. Then he walked up to her and held the fork in front of her laughing. It was a really scary experience and she wanted to share this with the community. 

Fruit Fly Information Session

Queensland Fruit Fly in Darebin & Morland

Queensland Fruit Fly for Home Gardeners, Hosted online, 18th of March | Humanitix

Queensland Fruit Fly for Home Gardeners, Hosted online, 18th of March | ... Queensland Fruit Fly is a devastating horticultural pest which can infest many common fruits and veggies, includ...

Information Evening

Adani Information Night

Action on Climate Change Meeting – the story of Adani's coal mines.

All are welcome to an information night on Monday 1st July on the history and current status of the campaign to stop Adani's plan to initiate six coal mines in Queensland. These mines would pump 7.7 billions of tons of carbon pollution over its life (almost ten times Australia’s current annual pollution), drain the Artesian basin and require 70,000 acres of land to be cleared. 

FLAC (Front Line Against Coal) members will be presenting a talk (with slides) to speak about the many different ways that local communities can continue to support the Adani protests directly and to create positive change in wider contexts. There is still time to stop the mine if public disapproval is vocal, informed and widely expressed. 

FLAC is a long established group which takes its strategic direction from the indigenous leaders effected by the Adani mines and is committed to non-violent means of resistance as espoused by such peace and conflict practitioners as Erica Chenoweth. 

Hopefully the meeting will help to collectivise and activate the widespread opposition felt in our community to the present government's continued support of coal mining as the way forward for Australia's energy production in the following ways; to disseminate first hand accurate information about the current legal situation at the Adani site; to provide strategies to best strengthen positive dialogue between environmentalism and big business in the future to accelerate Australia's uptake of renewable energy solutions and indigenous land rights justice; to provide a warm, safe space for the community to share their insights, anxieties and suggestions about collective climate change action.

The meeting starts at 6.30pm in the lovely garden room of Brunswick Uniting Church, Sydney Road on Monday 1^st July. 

Hearty soup and bread available to all. 

Everyone welcome.

Information

Did you know that there is an Emergency + app for smart phones? It uses GPS so you can give an accurate location to any emergency providers and it has a range of phone numbers on there like SES and police assistance numbers.

A good one for your kids' phones and those that go camping and hiking off the main grid.

http://emergencyapp.triplezero.gov.au/

Tagging

Hi Newlands News, 

Over the last month our front fence on Murray Rd has been the target of taggers (and a ‘liner’ - the person just draws a line along the fence with a marker). We have been quick to paint over the tags and the line, but this usually incites a quick reprisal by the same tagger, as well as a followup by a rival tagger. We have security footage identifying at least one taggers and possibly two of the others, which has been handed to police. Most of the tagging happens in broad daylight, and in the footage witnesses to the tagging can clearly be seen. Although it’s probably unrelated, last night we also had our locked letterbox broken into (it is right above one of the tagging zones). Our mail and parcels have been repeatedly stolen for some time now -  a neighbour caught a mail thief in the act once, but thankfully he dropped the mail and ran away. Just a note to everyone to be vigilant, and if you’ve been tagged, seen it happen, or have any information then we’d like to hear from you.

David

da.stroud@gmail.com

Dubious Knock at the Door

Following Tuesday's burglary report, just giving the heads-up about a strange start to Thursday: 5 a.m. our doorbell rang - Connelly Avenue.  At the door two young men asking - insistently - for jump-leads to start a car.  We don't have jump leads and said we could not help. Bit groggy at that time in the morning and probably foolish to open the door! We have informed the police.  It may have been genuine but there was no sign of a broken down vehicle outside and it could just have been someone planning to make off with our car or worse.....

Information

Just wanting to alert people walking alone around mid-day at Edgar's creek reserve. A guy was seen acting suspiciously with a tinted full face helmet on.  Might be nothing just, be careful.

Proposed Foundry Expansion Newlands Road

Hello, neighbours and community.

There is a proposed expansion of an existing foundry on Newlands Road with Moreland Council.  Objections to this proposal close on August 7th.

Plans for the Foundry can be easily viewed and objected to online. 

View online www.moreland.vic.gov.au/advertised-applications

The application number to select from here is MPS/2016/881.

Residents in Adnette Court, Livingstone Street, Arthur Street and Hopetoun Crescent are most likely to be personally affected by the current plans, as the proposed buildings are very close to the property boundaries.However, there are environmental issues with the site, as the proposed removal of existing trees and the proposed planting on the site are not sufficient for a large area with environmental significance overlay.

Please take the time to have a look at the proposed plans. I did not receive any notice of the proposed construction through Moreland Council, it was through neighbours that I heard of it at all.  Please share this important information with the community before the objections close on Monday, August 7th.

Thanks, Tahti.

Information

Hi there,

I just read Emma's post about the old man with the 2 dogs, and have a little more information. I was out walking with my dog about 5.30 along Corben St and noticed this man being helped by two guys. They were trying to help him walk, and to find his way home, but when I walked back that way 20 minutes later, I noticed an ambulance had been called. I think he was too disoriented to get back home.

So not sure about what was going on there, but at least he was in safe hands at the end of the day, and probably with the services who knew what to do to help. It's unfortunate that Emma had a bad experience.

Cheers,
Anne.

Information

Hi all,

I got bailed up on my walk today (Fri 4.30pm) by an old guy with two white dogs (an old American pit bull, one X) along with a female jogger at the new overlook point. He claimed to have met me many times when he first moved into the area, but said the same thing to the jogger and I don't think either of us knew him.

He was friendly but really overly persistent and smelt strongly of alcohol. He claimed to work at Bunnings and kept saying he was alright, but also ranted persistently about the cost of the new bridges and other dogs and their neglectful owners and wouldn't let us walk away without being rude. As  I walked away with the jogger he demanded group hugs (again still being friendly). When I walked back that way ten minutes later he was waiting at the foot of the stairs yelling at someone across the creek. I felt really uncomfortable being a single female and walked home along the roads.

Regards,

Emma.

Parking in Darebin

Hi Newlanders,

Just a community announcement to warn people not to park on nature strips in Darebin Council. 

My father was hit with a $95 fine for having two wheels up on the nature strip so that his giant 4WD didn't obstruct the bus that runs along our street. He and I were within 4 metres of the car the whole time he was there (we were working on my car and using tools from his) so whoever gave him the ticket saw us, didn't mention a thing and sent the ticket in the mail instead of putting it on the car. 

Also, if you park at Preston Market, you now only get 2 hours free parking across a 24 hour period. So, if you do some market shopping in the morning, but return later because you forgot something or to have tacos for dinner, you have to pay for the second visit. 

I hope that helps someone else avoid some fines.

Information Session

Has your lemon tree got Gall?

Melbourne's lemon trees are under attack, with the native citrus gall wasp who has colonised our lemon trees.

This is reducing productivity and is slowly killing our beautiful trees. 

Come along to a FREE educational talk in Reservoir in July and learn how to prevent the spread of Citrus Gall Wasp in our suburbs. The presentation will cover correct pruning and other control techniques as well as appropriate disposal methods. Coordination is the key with your neighbours who also have lemon trees to eradicate this pest. 

Further info and session details here: 

http://www.saveourcitrusinfo.org/

Gas Appliances...

Re: The gas appliance post - The plumber that checked a heater at our house recommended smoke alarms with CO detection because of the age of the appliance....

If you wanted to speak to Phil who posted the original article his number is 0425 748 328.

Information

A cautionary tale about gas appliances, carbon monoxide, and draughts...

PLEASE READ!!!

Recently, when a routine house inspection by the real estate agent was scheduled, I decided that the gas appliances in the house I've been renting for 12 years should be checked for safety. There's a gas space heater in the lounge, and an instantaneous gas hot water service in the kitchen. (I'd only had one previous check and that was just for the gas heater some years ago. I'd initiated and paid for that check, and I don't think there was any proper test done for carbon monoxide.)

No action from the agent for a month or so, and because of pressing family matters, I didn't pursue it immediately. I decided to get onto it a few weeks ago, because I'd been feeling particularly tired and getting headaches. So after some persistence on my part, the real estate agent arranged a plumber to come around. What surprised and shocked me was the fact that there were high levels of carbon monoxide throughout the house. The source was eventually traced to the gas hot water service (not the space heater as I might have thought). It seemed that the hot water service was faulty, and producing alarmingly high levels of CO in its immediate vicinity.

Another factor that made matters worse: When the plumber returned to remove the old HWS and replace it with a new one, he found that the flue was effectively blocked by at least 7 bird nests that had either been built in the flue or had fallen down from the top. And this despite the top of the flue having wire netting covering the outlets at the top (obviously the holes in the netting weren't small enough to prevent small birds getting through, or more disturbing, that the bird nests had been there for many years and prior to the netting being placed over the outlets...)

Furthermore, some years ago, in attempting to improve the energy efficiency of the house, I'd closed up many of the high wall vents. In this, I was following advice from Council and other agencies which recommended sealing up vents, so long as there were no un-flued gas appliances. Both the gas space heater and the hot water service were flued, so I assumed (naively) that it would be safe to do so, and help in conserving energy.

The moral to this tale is:

• get your gas appliances checked regularly (Energy Safe Victoria recommends every 2 years at least)  http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/About-ESV/Campaigns/Beware-carbon-monoxide  http://www.healthtranslations.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Gas_heating_health_and_safety_issues. And make sure that the plumber/gas fitter who comes has a carbon monoxide detector.
• get your flues/chimneys checked to ensure that there are no unwelcome bird nests etc inside, and ensure that the outlets at the top are adequately covered with mesh to prevent birds and other critters from entering
• beware of sealing up all the vents if you have internal gas appliances (even if they are flued) lest you unwittingly turn your house into a gas chamber.

Information Evening

Hi Newlands Folk.

My name is Rachael (also of SELF- your local meditation sessions:-)). I am a Victorian representative of the Australian Association of Bush Adventure Therapy (AABAT).   AABAT is a member run professional body for people working with the outdoors and adventure with the intention of a therapeutic outcome.

Friday week we are running a free information session - please see the link below.  So if you are working in a similar field, looking for a career or a career change in the outdoors then register and come along - please feel free to forward this link to anyone you know who might be interested.

http://www.aabat.org.au/event/information-evening

Thanks.

Rachael Millsom.

Regional Representative Australian Association of Bush Adventure Therapy (AABAT).

Information for Save Coburg Group

MONDAY AT 6PM at 90 Bell Street, Newlands Residents should go along to this event.

INFORMATION SENT TO SAVE COBURG BY MORELAND COUNCIL TO BE DISTRIBUTED

OUR NEIGHBOURHOOD – Planning for housing, shops and jobs

Moreland Council is currently consulting on important changes to the planning scheme that may directly affect your property and/or your neighbourhood:

New residential zones – to identify areas for different housing types and densities.

Local shopping areas – to identify Neighbourhood Activity Centres for growth and medium density housing.

Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) – a new local planning policy framework to guide planning decisions.

More information is provided in the attached brochure or website below.
To find out which of the three new residential zones is being investigated for your property, you can go to the website and enter your address.
http://www.morelandplanning.com/

A series of 11 suburb based forums...

When	Mon 16 Sep 2013 18:00 – 19:00 Eastern Time - Hobart
Calendar	albertstreet2020@gmail.com
Who	(Guest list is too large to display)

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