Police attended the address following reports of a man armed with a firearm at about 9am.
Police began calling out to anyone inside after shutting down a portion of the road.
After receiving no response, police entered and cleared the property about 1.20pm, establishing there were no occupants inside.
Lancefield Primary School also reportedly went into lockdown.
The investigation is ongoing.
CFA District 12 Vegetation Management officer Phil Hawkey said the CFA municipal managers from Seymour to Wodonga aren’t being heard.
“It is of concern there is an inconsistency from VicRoads in attendances at meetings,” he said.
“It is more concerning the fact we need to meet and discuss with people who are familiar with the region to try work through the issues, but we aren’t getting that from VicRoads. It is extremely frustrating,” Mr Hawkey added.
“I think we would be able to achieve a result that will be suitable for both CFA and for VicRoads, and more importantly the community, if they come to municipal meetings.”
“We do not dispute the fact these barriers will save lives, it is absolutely true. We just may be creating another hazard and we are the most fire prone state in the world.”
Mr Horkey said VicRoads has been invited to all of the relevant municipal meetings, but ‘more broadly, they haven’t been forthcoming’.
VicRoads Safe System Road Infrastructure Program director Bryan Sherritt said representatives from every district had been consulted about their roll out.
“We’ve been working with CFA district representatives throughout the design and rollout of flexible safety barriers in north central Victoria,” he said.
“We incorporate the CFA’s position on flexible barriers into our road safety designs and we’re continuing to work with them throughout the rollout.”
He received one of council’s Community Achievement Awards for his contribution to the local community.
Mr Mitchell has been active in the historical society, the former Romsey Shire Council, the Romsey Water Trust, the Romsey Sewerage Authority, the Lancefield Cemetery Trust, the Rotary Club, Romsey Primary School, and the scouts.
He was involved with the Romsey Uniting Church’s and the Romsey Primary School’s 150 year celebrations and is a great supporter of local sporting groups, he has helped raise money for new tennis courts and a new sports complex.
Mr Mitchell also contributed significantly to the book When Memory Turns the Key—the history of the Shire of Romsey and followed this with Romsey: a veritable Garden of Eden.
Mr Mitchell served as a Shire of Romsey councillor for three terms in the ‘70s and ‘80s and describes those years as a time of major development in the town.
More recently he served as a member of one of the Romsey Main Street sub committees for the RRBATA township rejuvenation project.
“We had an amazing group of people working on those projects and I know it is through the hard work of our residents that Romsey is the great place that we have today,” Mr Mitchell said.
He added that as the town has grown new residents have brought new life and ideas to the area.
“The drive and ability that has been brought to the town is great. The energy is amazing. It is rewarding to see how people are so involved,” he said.
His book Romsey: a veritable Garden of Eden is something of which Mr Mitchell is extremely proud. While being the author of the book he pays homage to others who worked on the project acknowledging the efforts and teamwork that ensured the success of the publication. He is particularly praiseworthy of the books supporting writers Alan Jackson, Carol Moore and Gavin Smith.
“I spent six years on that book in between work and heart attacks. Some people urged me to give it up for my own sake. But I believe if you commit to a project you see it through to the end,” Mr Mitchell said.
Romsey: a veritable Garden of Eden is a story of the families and rural history of Romsey.
The book is 312 pages and Mr Mitchell penned the entire tome in long hand.
“There was not a computer in sight,” he joked.
Another project in which he takes great pride is the upgrade of the Lancefield cemetery, saying that it was another great achievement for the district and a project the community should be very proud of.
Mr Mitchell is a humble recipient of his award, praising many who worked with him on the projects for which he is recognised. He is extremely proud of Romsey, his town – just as his town is proud of him.
Darren Peters, who worked tirelessly for the Mernda rail extension, was recognised as council’s Citizen of the Year.
Other City of Whittlesea Australia Day Award recipients included a local fire brigade, a youth volunteer and a disability advocate. Mayor Cr Kris Pavlidis congratulated the recipients.
Ms Jolly was described as a dedicated and tireless contributor to the community through her involvement in a wide range of associations and groups.
Over the years she has been extremely active in community organisations including the Whittlesea Court House, Whittlesea Opportunity Shop, Christ Church Whittlesea and the Whittlesea Agricultural Show.
She also assisted the Whittlesea Fire Brigade to organise its 50 year reunion and Whittlesea Football Club’s 100 year reunion.
Darren Peters could best be described as an enthusiastic transport advocate. Recent years have seen him as a tireless community campaigner and the driving force behind the campaign to extend the railway to South Morang and Mernda.
Mr Peters led a group of volunteers in the South Morang and Mernda Rail Alliance to help secure commitments to build the railway. South Morang Rail Station opened in 2010 with the extension to Mernda set to open in 2019.
In her presentation speech, Cr Pavlidis said there were many worthy recipients among the nominees.
“We are fortunate to have so many people in our community who give so generously of their time to make the City of Whittlesea an even better place,” she said.
“Volunteers play a very important role in our community, expecting so little in return for their selfless contributions. “It was a challenge for our Australia Day Committee to separate them but we had to choose a winner from each category,” she added.
Thomas Marcus received the award for Young Citizen of the Year. As a Youth Member of the St John’s Ambulance since 2012, Thomas has volunteered more than 800 hours at public events. He is also involved in the Youth Equity Strategy program with Baseline for Young People, the Mayor’s Youth Cabinet and the YARD program focusing on responsible drinking in the City of Whittlesea.
The Access and Inclusion Citizen of the Year is Kylie Carlson. Kylie has been recognised for her ongoing work as an advocate for people with a disability. She has worked with Yarra Plenty Regional Libraries to make our libraries more inclusive places, introducing a range of successful programs and events for people with disabilities.
Wollert Fire Brigade is the 2018 Community Group of the Year as a result of its providing the Wollert community and surrounding areas with a vital service for over 75 years. It is the oldest continuing volunteer operated group in Wollert and is comprised of a highly respected and dedicated group of volunteers.
The Interface Councils Human Service Gap Analysis Report revealed that significant gaps in health and human service provision continue to affect 1.6 million residents in interface municipalities.
The report shows that mental health support, housing and homelessness support, family violence support, allied health services, alcohol and other drugs services, child protection and disability support all fall short in Melbourne’s interface region.
City of Whittlesea Mayor, Cr Kris Pavlidis told the Whittlesea Review that as the population continues to grow at a rapid rate the municipality not only faces gaps in infrastructure, such as roads, but also in human services.
“The recently released Interface Councils Human Services Gap Analysis Report has revealed there are significant gaps in mental health support, housing and homelessness support, family violence support, allied health services, alcohol and other drugs services, education (ie schools), and disability support in the outer suburbs,” she said.
“We will continue to lobby the state government for increased funding for these services in the City of Whittlesea.”
“We have one of the highest levels of family violence in our city with statistics showing local police attend an average of 55 family violence incidents each week. This is an area where we particularly need extra support.”
“We are joining the Interface Councils group to request an immediate injection of funding to bridge critical health and human service gaps in the outer suburbs.”
The report confirms that families in interface areas face a total estimated funding gap of $175 million per annum across various service areas that directly impact daily life.
“The report tells a tale of numbers. But in reality, it’s the quality of people’s lives that are being compromised by an inability to access health and wellbeing support where they need it,” an interface councils spokesperson said.
“Notably, the numbers in this report represent the many people – women in particular – experiencing the hardships of family violence and who don’t know where to go for safety and support in times of crisis,” he added.
The report recommends that interface councils request an immediate injection of funding to bridge critical health and human service gaps in the impacted municipalities.
“Going forward, reform of the service delivery system is required to make sure it can respond to constant population growth and changing demographics as well as enable long-term and localised solutions to the service disparity that currently exists,” the report adds.
Interface councils will be working with the Victorian Government to trial a new approach to service delivery to start moving towards a more positive reality where residents can access the health and human support they need, regardless of where they live.
The Human Service Gap Analysis Report was commissioned by Melbourne’s interface councils to understand the significant service provision gap in and to indicate reasons for geographical service distribution.
By Joshua Wells
The Too Many Mirandas Flash Mob will take place on February 24 at the famed rock which entered popular culture folklore through Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.
The celebration of the famous story will be brought to life by Asking For Trouble’s Christy Flaws and Luke O’Conner.
The duo had been approached by the Macedon Ranges Shire Council to organise and choreograph the day, and Ms Flaws said she could not wait to see as many Mirandas as possible.
“The council contacted us about this community project… our background is circus and physical theatre so we have hammed up the physical theatre up,” she said.
“There is something fun about doing this where the community is excited and was created in response to that.”
“It is about inviting people to move their body and make some friends.”
The duo – along with their son Tully – has been hard at work to create the council’s vision.
Mr O’Conner said he had been part of flash mobs before and wanted to take the best bits from those events to include at Hanging Rock.
“We are very excited for this, it is different from what we have done before… we have never worked on one but been a part of a few,” he said.
“We have done our researched which we enjoyed… I have been breaking down other flash mobs and trying to make the best one we can.”
“We want it to be easy to learn but challenging enough to make sure people are inspired enough to perform it.”
People are encouraged to dress up in their pink ribbon, white frock and straw boater hat attire for the filming of the flash mob video.
Workshops are being held around the community for people to learn before the day. A final workshop will be run on the day.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council Arts and Culture coordinator Robyn Till said the event was for everyone across the region.
“This isn’t just for people who dance every week, it is for the novices as well and people who want to have fun,” she said.
“We engaged Luke and Christy to choreograph… and also an artist to create the soundtrack for the video.”
A workshop will be held in Lancefield on Sunday, February 11 between 9.30am – 10.30am and 11am – 12pm.
By Joshua Wells
Residents in the North Central region have left a barrage of complaints about the maintenance works VicRoads are undertaking on the Wallan exit along the Hume Freeway and the Kilmore-Lancefield Road.
Community members like Donna Lawrence have expressed their disappointment at everything from tar on their cars to the condition of the roads people drive on every day.
“I am not happy with tar on my car,” Wallan’s Ms Lawrence said.
“It is disgusting. They do little patch up jobs and now they are going back over the works. They have definitely done a poor job in the past.”
“We need to fix the infrastructure properly before someone gets seriously injured that is what it boils down to… they need to pour more funding into it and it isn’t good enough at the moment.”
While community members vent their frustrations about tar, delays and potholes, VicRoads Northern Regional director Brian Westley said country Victorians were being listened to.
“Last year, we spoke to more than 11,000 country Victorians right across the state and we’re now rolling out a number of programs to make country roads safer,” he said.
“A $260 million maintenance boost from the Victorian Government will help us to rebuild more than 850 kilometres of deteriorating roads in regional areas.
“Work is ramping up in every region, from major highway duplications to improved signage and road safety treatments that will significantly reduce run off road or head-on crashes on major rural highways.”
“We’ll also be modernising our regional road network with a new approach to prioritising road upgrades that considers economic benefits and regional priorities, as well as a review of road signage across the state.”
A PARLIMENTARY inquiry has been launched to understand just how VicRoads has managed country roads.
The roads have become a focal point for residents across the region in recent times.
Victoria Police also released data confirming country roads was recording higher numbers of road deaths when compared to the city.
The Law Reform, Road and Community Safety Committee are currently examining a number of issues which will form part of the VicRoads inquiry, including how effect the organisation is, the existing funding model and how regional residents are consulted.
Committee chair Geoff Howard said this was an important step toward helping reduce the deterioration of Victorian roads.
“This is an important inquiry for communities across Victoria who relies on well-maintained country roads in the conduct of their daily lives,” he said.
“As part of the inquiry’s terms of reference, the Committee is looking into the option of creating a specific Country Roads organisation and a separate Metropolitan Roads body.
“The Committee will be considering how country roads should be managed into the future, to ensure that the needs of people throughout regional Victoria are being met.
“Through the submissions we receive and the public hearings we hold, the Committee will be collecting evidence from people across Victoria.”
VicRoads last year launched the Pavement Management Strategic Plan to try plan a coordinated response to deteriorating roads.
With a population growth by more than 2 per cent each year, adding more cars than ever before, the plan is hoping to identify critical, needed and desired works.
While some are concerned about the state of the roads, Member for Northern Victoria Jaclyn Symes said she is satisfied with VicRoads’ approach to communicating with the region about their approach to roadworks.
“Across the board, VicRoads have been getting out and about listening to the people,” she said.”
“They explained to me that by doing this they are given a great understanding of the more important roads and what people think.”
“But they understand it is important for the community to understand what is happening and why.”
VicRoads attended workshops regularly around the state last year, taking them as far north as the Mallee.
But while the management of VicRoads were able to speak to some people, Member for Euroa Steph Ryan said members of her community are still raising concerns with her regularly.
“The issues are significant and are brought up to me right across the region,” she said.
“In fact, people’s concern about the deteriorating roads is the most common thing people contact me about, so it is huge.
“For a long time we have been saying fixing the roads will save country lives… county Victorians are over represented in the road toll.”
By Brooke Haffenden
The latest data, from the September quarter, revealed that the municipality had a significant decrease in public order and security offences.
There was a 17 per cent reduction in burglaries with 1554 burglaries compared to 1877 during the same period last year.
In the last 12 months, the number of drug (by 15 per cent) and property and deception offences (by 7.2 per cent) were down year on year.
Whittlesea Police Service Area Inspector Andrew Falconer welcomed the data.
Inspector Falconer told the Whittlesea Review police had focused on burglaries and robberies and acknowledged these crimes created the most fear in the community.
“We were really happy with the decrease in burglaries,” he said.
“We focused on recidivist offenders, who are repeat offenders… and getting them before the courts.
“We’re holding offenders to account.
“Burglary is a more sophisticate crime and a more sophisticated investigation. We’re really happy with the work we’ve put in. The crime statistics are reflective of the stations.
“From our perspective the members have been working hard and it’s great to see that.”
Inspector Falconer also thanked City of Whittlesea Neighbourhood Watch for their work.
City of Whittlesea Mayor Kris Pavlidis said it was pleasing to see the overall crime statistics in the City of Whittlesea had dropped in the past 12 months.
“In the City of Whittlesea we are determined to play our role in preventing crime and helping our community feel safe where they live,” Cr Pavlidis said.
“In 2016 we launched our Community Safety and Crime Prevention Strategy, an important document in our fight against crime in our community. It reflects a partnership approach to preventing crime and improving community safety.
“We continue to work closely with Victoria Police, Neighbourhood Watch and other key stakeholders to address community safety issues.”
Member for Yan Yean Danielle Green said while the statistics are encouraging, the work is not over.
“The state government is investing more than ever in community safety and we are seeing that in Melbourne’s north with the new Mernda Police Station and the extra 45 police officers on the beat,” Ms Green said.
Inspector Falconer explained the opening of the new Mernda Police Station late last year is not yet reflective in the crime statistics but police are hopeful to see a further reduction in crime next year.
He also said that police have been slowly filling vacancies in the area over the past 12 months. Police also started a Whittlesea Police Service Area targeted response team, focusing on high volume crimes, and invested in an investigation response task force which focused on serious crime.
While Inspector Falconer said there was an increase in breaches of orders and justice procedures, police had put more resources towards family violence and this was reflective in the statistics.
With the first month of the year nearly over, there has been an increase in thefts and Inspector Falconer reminded residents to lock their cars and front doors, and to not leave valuables lying around in the open.
He also said there has been an increase in number plate thefts and advised residents to use reversible screws. These one-way screws can be obtained from police stations, Neighbourhood Watch or your local hardware store.
By Brooke Haffenden
The 13-year-old from Wallan is among 350 kids in this year’s squad. It will be the first time for Cooper, who’s looking forward to representing Australia on the big stage.
The squad includes 304 Victorians, 18 from interstate and 28 international ballkids from France, China and Korea.
Having played competition tennis for the last three years, Cooper is most excited about the prospect of potentially meeting his favourite tennis player Roger Federer.
Cooper said he was thrilled to be named in the final ballkid squad for this year’s Australian Open.
“I can’t wait, I’m really excited,” Cooper said
“My favourite player is Roger Federer. It would be awesome (to meet him) and it would probably be the best experience ever.
“I like tennis and I want to see all the big players.”
Cooper was selected from more than 2500 applicants around Australia and the Asia-Pacific following months of extensive training.
Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said the Australian Open ballkid program is one of the most highly regarded in the world.
“Our ballkids are an integral part of the Australian Open and are vital to ensuring the matches run smoothly,” Tiley said.
“We receive more than 2500 applications and the desire to be involved in one of the world’s best ballkid programs increases year-on-year.
“It’s an incredible opportunity for the kids. Not only do they have the chance to be on court alongside the world’s best tennis players, they develop great teamwork and communication skills. It’s an extraordinary experience for them and something they will remember for a lifetime.”
Some of the world’s best tennis players, including Roger Federer, and Australia’s own Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt, were ballkids before joining the professional ranks.
Applications for the Australian Open 2019 ballkids program are now open at www.tennis.com.au/ballkids.
By Joshua Wells
The man himself helped shape some of the greatest footballers, cricketers and people the world has ever seen.
Mr Carroll, as he is known around Assumption College, has grown to watch his players usher in 45 AFL and first class cricket premierships.
He has written books and still writes a column for the North Central Review – he embodies what it means to live in Kilmore.
Mr Carroll himself was a good footballer and cricketer when he was young. He captained Terang High School and eventually became a Country Week cricketer.
He has taught and played in the United Kingdom and he eventually landed at Assumption College in the late sixties as the First XI coach.
Mr Carroll went on to become the sports coordinator in 1973 until 2007, dormitory supervisor from 1976 until 1996 and taught English, History, Religion, Sports and Science.
He worked virtually all day, every day during his coaching days – he wouldn’t change a thing.
He has many awards to his name, including an Order of Australia medal in 1993, and people know him anywhere he goes.
Mr Carroll, however, is always humble.
“It was a fantastic experience to coach here for so long, I was involved with some tremendous lads,” he said.
“A lot of them became legends of the game in football and cricket. It was a privilege to be involved.
“Across the two sports there were 45 premierships. It does not make me the greatest coach… I was lucky.
“I still come back and watch Assumption play. The best thing I got out of it all was fantastic friendships with families and students.”
Mr Carroll has had a hand in players like Billy Brownless and Neale Daniher, but when it comes to the coach himself, these players give him a lot of credit.
As another year in 2018 rolls around, Mr Carroll is all set to keep following what the new generation of Assumption students have to offer.
