The Geraldton Crime Survey

/

This survey is for residents in and around Geraldton. 

Submissions are anonymous. 

Results will be published on Everything Geraldton. 

If you can't see the survey below (eg if you are viewing this from the Everything Geraldton app) click here. 

Building site on Polwarth Parade being robbed

/

Just sent in to Everything Geraldton from a resident on Polwarth Pde, Deepdale. 

"A loud car has been doing laps up and down the street for a hour or so. We heard a loud bang and I looked outside and saw tailights a going very slowly down the street. A few minutes later the same loud car, a v8, had stopped outside the front of my house and turned off the car. I went outside to look what was happening and saw a man putting a 6m long timber into the back of a well body utility vehicle. I asked him what was he doing and he ran to his car. It struck me as suspicious so I took the rego of the vehicle and he sped off quite quickly down the street. I yelled after him that I got his rego. The car turned into a driveway a little way down the street, I couldn't see which but it was very close. I could hear people talking and doors closing. I had a look at the place I thought they had been stealing from and saw a spotlight torch on a pile of timber that had some missing. I rang the police and told them what happened. Two patrol cars arrived within minutes and did patrols of the area. I don't know if they found the people stealing or not but they seem to have left the area now. They collected the torch from the building site. We are sure someone on the street will know who has a dark loud v8 that has been out driving tonight. I would sure like to know who the person is who has been stealing tonight. I sure don't want them on my street anymore!"

Do you want to win $1000 for your Sports Club?

/

Do you want to win one of 3 $1000 cash prizes for your Sports Club?

All you have to do is create a short video about your sports club. It can be about your members, the club or how you might spend the $1000 if you win. Get creative and have some fun with your video. Show Rigters Supermarkets what makes your club special.

Once you have put a video together upload it to one of the Rigters Supermarkets Facebook pages – 

Queens Supa IGA
Wonthella Supa IGA
Rigters Supa IGA

The best three videos will be chosen by Rigters Supermarkets and will be awarded $1000 each.

Entries close 30th June and the winners will be announced by the7th July.

Your sports club must be within Geraldton or surrounding catchment and must be a registered sports club (juniors to seniors).

Good luck to everyone who enters.

TV Run Out Deals with Harvey Norman Electrical

/

If you are thinking about upgrading your TV now is the time to do it. Harvey Norman Electrical is having a run out deal on a huge range of TVs including curved TVs, Smart TVs and 3D TVs.

Samsung 65” Series 7 4K Ultra HD LED LCD 3D Ready Smart Curved TV
$3395

Hisense 75” K700 Vidaa Ultra HD LED LCD Smart TV
$3497

LG 65” EG960T 4K Ultra HD OLED 3D Capable Smart Curved TV
$7975

For more great TV specials have a look at Harvey Norman Electrical’s Ultimate Home catalogue 

If you not in need of a new TV you should still come down to Harvey Norman Electrical because when you purchase a home appliance from their latest catalogue you will receive a bonus digital gift card. Current Catalogue Link Here.

And if you thought Harvey Norman Electrical couldn’t possibly have any more great deals going, they also have up to 20% off selected AEG Kitchen Appliances 

With so many great deals happening at Harvey Norman Electrical, your best bet is to get in store and speak to one of their friendly staff. Harvey Norman Electrical are located at 38 Chapman Rd or you can call them on 9964 0111

 

Prepare now for severe weather

/

If you live in an area southwest of a line from Geraldton to Southern Cross to Norseman to Israelite Bay you need to prepare your home and family now for the severe weather coming Saturday. 

This includes people in Perth metropolitan area, Geraldton, Dalwallinu, Jurien Bay, York, Mandurah, Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River, Bridgetown, Albany, Katanning, Narrogin, Southern Cross and Esperance and surrounding areas.

This weather is not unusual for this time of year, but could damage homes and make travel dangerous

WHAT TO DO:

DFES has these tips to help you and your family prepare before the bad weather starts: 

  • Trim branches around your home to prevent them falling on your roof or car. 
  • Clear gutters and downpipes so they do not overflow after heavy rain. 
  • Store or weigh down loose objects around your home or work like outdoor furniture that could be picked up and thrown by strong winds, causing damage or injury. 
  • Prepare an emergency kit with a battery operated radio, torch, spare batteries and first aid kit. 
  • Organise an emergency plan, including a relocation plan for your family and pets in case your home becomes flooded. 

WEATHER DETAILS: 

As at 11.35am on Friday 20 May 2016 the Bureau of Meteorology advises the first significant cold front of the year is expected to affect southwest WA during Saturday.

The strong cold front is likely to cause widespread damaging winds to 100 kilometres per hour that could result in damage to homes and property. In isolated areas dangerous gusts in excess of 125 kilometres per hour could cause significant damage or destruction to homes and property.

Damaging winds are expected to develop about the Southwest Capes late Friday evening, extending to reach Perth to Katanning to Albany by 6:00am Saturday and Jurien Bay to Merredin to Hopetoun by late morning.

Higher than normal tides may cause flooding of low-lying coastal areas particularly along the west coast during Saturday morning around the time of high tide. Dangerous surf conditions which could cause some beach erosion are also likely.

Heavy rainfall will occur with the passage of the front with the heaviest falls expected southwest of a line Perth to Albany. Isolated thunderstorms and small hail are possible southwest of a line Perth to Albany, extending along the south coast to Esperance during Saturday afternoon and evening.

People in the southwest of WA experience a front as windy as this about 5 times per year.

Storms may be accompanied by:

  • Damaging winds 
  • Heavy rainfall, which may lead to flash flooding
  • Small hail

IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE: 

  • If your home has been badly damaged by a storm, call the State Emergency Service (SES) on 132 500
  • In a life threatening situation call 000

After a storm SES volunteers make temporary repairs to homes that have been badly damaged, such as roofs that have been ripped off or large fallen trees on homes and cars. Please contact your insurance company to organise permanent repairs. 

KEEP UP TO DATE: 

Visit www.dfes.wa.gov.au, call 13 DFES (13 3337), follow DFES on Twitter @dfes_wa or listen to news bulletins. 

For the latest weather warnings visit www.bom.gov.au/wa/warnings or call 1300 659 213. 

Special General Meeting (Merger of GRCEC with Ngala)

/

Geraldton Regional Community Education Centre invites you to a Special General Meeting (Merger of GRCEC with Ngala) for a vote by Financial Members only on Tuesday, 14th June 2016, 5.30pm in the Function Room of Geraldton Regional Community Education Centre.

RSVP to Grady Smith by Monday 6th June 2016 via grady@edcentre.wa.edu.au or (08) 9921 4477.

Batavia Furniture & Bedding’s Autumn Sale

/

Batavia Furniture and Bedding are having an Autumn Sale with up to 30% off lounges, beds, mattresses, dining tables and more. Come and see them at the Homemaker Centre to grab yourself a great deal on furniture and bedding.

Do you want to win a $500 voucher with Batavia Furniture and Bedding?

Just go to their Facebook page for details on how you could win, competition closes 18th June 2016

 

Movie Review- Captain America: Civil War

/

My kids were super hyped for this one. All their YouTube heroes (they basically watch YouTube instead of TV these days) have been raving about Civil War.

Rotten Tomatoes has a score of 90.

My take: Overrated. Try as I might, I just couldn't bring myself to care about any of the characters.

I've watched and enjoyed all the past Captain America flicks, and Iron Man and even the Avengers.

Maybe it's all gotten too much.

My eight year old's take: Epic!

Spalding Park north-south pathway opens

/

A shared pathway winds its way along the river towards the footbridge.

Cycling, walking and skating between the Chapman Road roundabout on the North West Coastal Highway and Spalding Park is now quicker and easier since the recent opening of a formalised shared pathway.

The 2.5m wide and 850m long asphalt path begins at the entrance to Spalding Park and follows the river before crossing the footbridge and extending north to the Chapman Valley roundabout located on the North West Coastal Highway.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the paved pathway provides an important link between the suburbs located on either side of Chapman River.

“Now that the shared pathway is completed residents living in the areas of Glenfield, Sunset Beach, Waggrakine, Spalding and Bluff Point will be able to enjoy the health benefits this fully accessible pathway provides for cyclists and walkers alike,” he said.

“This also includes children as the Chapman River footbridge is used by a large number of school students every day on their way to and from school on bicycles, skateboards, scooters or on foot.

“The Spalding Park north-south pathway provides the much needed connection to the existing coastal and river path networks, integrating these with the CBD and coastal paths to the southern suburbs.”

The $180,000 project, which was identified by the community during the Sunset Beach Precinct Planning workshops, is 50 percent funded by a Regional Bicycle Network grant from the Department of Transport with the City contributing the other half.

 

Cat brutally attacked - owner desperate to find it

/

Sent in to Everything Geraldton today: 

This morning around 8.45am returning home from dropping my children off from school, I was turning into Bayview Street from Newhaven St in Mt Tarcoola when a brown and white bull arab looking dog followed my car home. I was hesitant to open my door as the dog was waiting for me. As i went to open it the dog used its nose to open it further. It seemed friendly enough at the time.

Fast forward 5 minutes when my daughter and I were on the lawn checking the dog's tag, I noticed our black cat was sitting on the garden bed next to the front door. When I went to shoo our cat away, she was sadly mauled by this dog. For 5 minutes this dog shook the shit out of our cat who we have had for 5 years.

The dog took the cat with him up the street while we raced inside to call the ranger.

I just want to ask the public if anyone has seen her as we would like to give our baby a burial and be able to say goodbye.

Thank you

0407063303

The driver of this vehicle fell asleep at the wheel today

/

The driver of this Toyota Landcruiser is lucky to be alive, after falling asleep at the wheel today on Brand Highway, according to Dongara Police.  

Police say the driver was a male.  

A recent study found 11.8% of casualty crashes were the result of a driver falling asleep. 

Drowsy driving puts your own life and the lives of others at risk. 

Police have not yet said whether the driver will be charged. 

 

How to avoid insolvency - with RSM Geraldton

/

Economic downturn, looming insolvency?

Spotting signs of distress in your business

Business insolvency may result from the inability of a business to pay off its debt as they become due or that a business doesn’t have sufficient assets to cover its debts.

The process in which a business becomes insolvent takes time, so it is possible to spot the warning signs if you look at your business objectively.

Here are our five top operational tips to avoid going under:

  • Establish and follow a business plan that includes forecasts
  • Ensure adequate capital reserves are available by having either cash reserves or access to borrowings
  • Impose strict credit control and debt collection procedures
  • Ensure that your accounting system is providing you with real time information
  • Regularly review underused assets and eliminate unnecessary costs

Call RSM today for a free confidential discussion on how they can help you and your business.

Level 1, 12 Bayly St Geraldton
Trevor Lake – Director-Business Advisory
08 9920 7400
trevor.lake@rsm.com.au

rsm.com.au/geraldton

 

Damaged Yacht Rescued in Heavy Seas

/

"He was happy to see us, I'll give you the tip!"

Those were Ian from Geraldton Volunteer Marine Rescue's words after their longest trip they've ever had to do ended well on the weekend. 

From the GVMR FB page:


Geraldton VMR’s Communication Officer was awoken at 0055 on Sunday morning by a phone call from the wife of a yachtsman headed for Cocos island who had run into trouble West of Leeman. Due to the light wind conditions they, that is, the Skipper and his deckhand, had been motoring along in a 3 to 5 m swell when a rope fell overboard and tangled in the propeller. The propeller snapped off and the driveshaft was badly bent. The bent shaft damaged the gland seal and the vessel began taking on water. With little wind and no motor, they were only able to sail very slowly in a north-westerly direction.

The skipper of the yacht, “Angel's Dance”, was able to contact his wife by satellite phone giving his GPS coordinates, whereby she passed on the message to Geraldton VMR. The Geraldton VMR communications officer immediately advised Fremantle Water Police of the situation and they began the process of organising a rescue.

The Geraldton VMR rescue crew were then advised of a possible job, and they then went to prepare the rescue boat Nashira for departure.

At 01:30 the go-ahead was given by the water police to commence heading for the position given, this was some 65.5 nautical miles South by West from Geraldton and 46 nautical miles West by North from Leeman.

Despite the heavy swell conditions, the sea state was relatively calm so the Nashira was able to maintain a speed of around 20 knots. The yacht had also developed a fault in its VHF radio system, the only communication was possible through the satellite network. The shore based operator was able to track the vessel using the AIS system and so was able to continually update the vessels position. Nashira was able to make phone contact with the “Angel's Dance” at around 05:20 and made a course change to intercept her. By this time a heavy fog had descended cutting visibility to a minimum so at around 05:50 the skipper of “Angel's Dance” was asked to set off a parachute flare and then a hand-held red flare. The Nashira arrived on site shortly after at 05:57. Due to the low light and full visibility it was decided that the Nashira would sail with the “Angel's Dance” until full daylight when it would be safer for a tow to commence. By 06:30 conditions had improved so the tow line was attached to the “Angel's Dance” in the long trip to safety began.

It was realised that the Nashira would not have enough fuel to complete the journey so the Port Denison VMR was contacted and it was arranged that their rescue vessel would rendezvous and takeover the tow while Nashira ran into Port Denison to refuel. As there was no unleaded fuel available at Denison the Geraldton VMR fuel ute was dispatched.

Nashira rendezvoused with Denison’s Rescue 1 at 11:20 and then she headed for the Port Denison Marina where she loaded on another 570 litres of fuel. The kind crew at Port Denison VMR provided steak burgers and other refreshments to the Nashira crew so they went out again refuelled and refreshed.

At 14:05 they caught up with Port Denison’s rescue boat and took over the tow again. At 1545 they arrived at the entrance of the Geraldton Fishermen’s harbour where they shortened up the tow and bought the “Angel's Dance” into the harbour and finally alongside the Fuel Wharf, at 16:08 bringing to an end an epic trip that had taken close to 14 hours to complete.

Geraldton Volunteer Marine Rescue currently rescuing yacht offshore

/

The team from Geraldton Volunteer Marine Rescue are currently towing a yacht to shore after receiving a distress call just after midnight.

We've been told the boys have been up all night assisting the two people on board the yacht, which was heading from Fremantle to the Cocos Islands.

The yacht reportedly stuck an object, damaging the propeller, resulting in the vessel taking on water.

The yacht was approximately 65 nautical miles south of Point Moore and 46 miles out to sea.

West End Precinct Café Lease

/

Expressions of Interest - West End Precinct Café Lease

The City of Greater Geraldton is seeking Expressions of Interest from experienced restaurant and café operators interested in the opportunity to lease the café premises in the Foreshore West locality currently known as the Sail Inn Café. This landmark café was refurbished in 2014 by the City and lies adjacent to the iconic Old Railway Building, the newly completed Youth Precinct and Multi User Facility.

A copy of the Expression of Interest can be obtained from the City’s website www.cgg.wa.gov.au or by contacting Amy Eastough on 9956 6954.

Stories of Geraldton: "Ten years ago I was not in a great place"

/

 "Ten years ago I was not in a great place. I could see where I wanted my life to be in ten years time, I just didn’t know how I would get there. I wanted to be a nurse, I wanted to be a Mum and I wanted to be together with someone. Now I’m there. It took going through all of that to have a really empathetic and passionate response to everyone I meet now. As difficult as it was at the time, I wouldn’t change it for the world, because it’s made me the person I am now. It worked out the way it needed to. I never imagined I’d be quite that fortunate to have it all by the time I thought I would. Sometimes you need to just break it down, refocus and put yourself first."

Geraldton has the highest level of air pollution of any city in Australia according to W.H.O. - but what does that mean exactly?

/

Shot of the Geraldton Esplanade from the air
by @jthomas84_

 

According to the recent data released by the World Health Organisation, Geraldton has the highest levels of air pollution of any city in Australia. An article from The Guardian (link) (the UK based publication, not the local newspaper) made the assertion based on the spreadsheet of data put out by the World Health Organisation (WHO) (link).  

But before you start wearing a gas mask full time, we want to go through the data to find out what it all means exactly, and if the assertion that Geraldton really has the highest level of pollution really stacks up. 

How exactly is air pollution measured?

Before we lose you with too many scientific terms, it may pay to explain exactly how air pollution is measured. 

Monitors measure two types of air pollution particles. Larger particles are called PM10. Smaller (invisible) particles are called PM2.5.

Sandeep Chowry, an environmental engineer, explains more on Quora (link)
 

  • Coarse dust particles (PM10) are 2.5 to 10 micrometers in diameter. (i.e. µm which is basically a millionth of a meter.) Sources include crushing or grinding operations and dust stirred up by vehicles on roads. These tiny particles which are about 30 times smaller than the width of a hair on your head are small enough to get inhaled past our defensive nose hairs and into our lungs.
  • Fine particles (PM2.5) are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller, and can only be seen with an electron microscope. Fine particles are produced from all types of combustion, including motor vehicles, power plants, residential wood burning, forest fires, agricultural burning, and some industrial processes. While PM10's story ends at the lungs, PM2.5 can pass from our lungs into our blood supply and be carried throughout our bodies thereby making them "the invisible killer"

The 12 month median PM10 particle rate for Geraldton was 22µg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre), which is worse than Sydney, Perth or even New York. The WHO guidelines for a 12 month median for PM10 is 20µg/m3.

The PM2.5 particle rate for Geraldton was 10µg/m3. The WHO guidelines for a 12 month median for PM2.5 is 10µg/m3.

To put that in comparison, Perth, with 2 million people, measured 17µg/m3 for PM10 particles, and 8µg/m3 for PM2.5 particles, slightly better than Geraldton.

But here's where it gets interesting. 

Geraldton doesn't have a monitoring station for PM2.5 particles. We only measure PM10. So the World Health Organisation used a formula to essentially guess what the PM2.5 particles are for Geraldton. 

Here's what the Mayor of Geraldton had to say

We asked Mayor Shane Van Styn, who had seen the WHO data, what he thought about the assertion that Geraldton was the most polluted city in Australia. 

"Geraldton is a windy city on the coast," said Mr Van Styn. "The majority of PM10 pollution in Geraldton would be background, natural dust and sea salt, not man made toxic fumes like in a city. And the WHO data doesn't include places like Port Hedland or Karratha. The level of 22 µg/m3 is what you would expect for a windy, coastal city in Australia with higher than usual background crustal dust levels.

"Finer fraction PM2.5 is typically more from products of combustion, but importantly, PM2.5 for Geraldton was converted from PM10 measurement, not measured. So this number is likely going to over-estimate the actual PM2.5 levels for Geraldton.

"I would challenge that you cannot call any city which only just exceeds the WHO guidelines and mostly based on background levels, a “polluted city”, which conjures up images of smoke laden air, which is chokingly hard to breathe in.

"When looking at other pollutants such as NO2, SO2 and ozone, Gero would not even rate a mention, compared to large cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Perth."

So what's causing the high PM10 pollution levels exactly? 

According to historical data from the Dept of Environment Regulation (link), the days on which Geraldton's PM10 levels spiked dramatically were largely due to dust. Given Geraldton is directly downwind from Southgates sand dunes, surrounded by broadacre farming, and has a busy port in the middle of town, dust is an obvious culprit. Moreover, Geraldton is right on the coast and is so windy the trees grow sideways, so a decent percentage of the particles in the air are sea salt. 

Is that all?

A report on heavy metals in the air in Geraldton from 2011 (link) stated that "Air monitoring data during ship loading have indicated that dust levels up to 430 µg/m3 TSP and 150 µg/m3 PM10 have been detected within the Port. If ship loading is allowed to occur during on-shore winds then there is potential for dust to reach nearby residences."

Why doesn't Geraldton monitor PM2.5 ?

Great question. Geraldton suffers for several months each year when nearby farmers burn off stubble, blanketing the town in smoke, and Iluka's refinery is directly south (upwind) of the town. But the Department of Environment Regulation doesn't monitor pollution levels for PM2.5 in Geraldton yet. 

We asked Mayor Van Styn if he supported the idea of setting up facilities to measure PM2.5 in Geraldton, to put people's minds at rest, and to find out exactly what our PM2.5 is. 

"Absolutely. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t. We’re already doing the work to measure PM10, surely we can do the same for PM2.5.

"The issue of pollution has been raised fair and square by the World Health Organisation. Let's make a call to the Department of Environment Regulation to measure the air quality for PM2.5 in Geraldton and find out exactly what the levels are."

NACC (Northen Agricultural Catchment Council) CEO Richard McLellan said air pollution is something to be taken seriously. "Of all the forms of pollution, air quality is the one that most that affects human health," he said. "With water you generally know if you're drinking polluted water. But when it comes to air quality, most people don't know if they're breathing polluted air."

Mr McLellan also spoke to the indirect implications of air pollution. "There's social implications, but there's also economic. It affects tourism and people wanting to visit a place. This issue needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible."

Everything Geraldton has contacted the Department of Environment Regulation for comment, and at time of publication has not had a response. We will publish their response to the matter when we receive it. 

Setting up a PM2.5 monitoring station in Geraldton would go a long way toward nipping the issue in the bud, as Geraldton would know with certainty if the WHO figure of 10µg/m3 is accurate or not.