Local man with speed camera warning sign is back at it

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Back in March we heard about young Jake who was warning motorists to slow down by parking himself on the road with a slow down sign, up the road from the speed camera. 

​Jake contacted Everything Geraldton at the time:

"Hello I was wondering if you could make a post if anyone spots the speed camera to post it on your page 😊 I have a slow down sign which I was using today and was working great it was slowing down a lot of motorists"

​But his efforts to slow motorists down didn't last long. 

"I got fined and was told verbal to move on and they took my sign till I dispute it in court. $100 dollars and for obstructing an officer while on duty."

We hadn't heard from Jake until this month...

"Back at it again!" He said. "Took them to court and they dropped the charges."

​

We asked Jake to tell a bit of his story and why he has the sign. 

"I would like to slow down any motorist while driving who might happen to be a few kms over the limit and not pay a hefty fine for that  -  therefore keeping money back in the comunity... makes you think twice about whats going on when i can get fined and my sign taken for slowing down motorist and therefore saving lives."

He also wanted to make clear he doesn't want any money. 

"I'm not doing this for donations so please keep your money in your pockets but thankyou anyway just a simply wave is enough to keep me out there 😊"

Not everyone in the community thinks motorists should be made aware of speed camera locations. Some see it as alowing those who are speeding to get away with it. But others see the cameras as doing little so save lives, and just a money making tool for the government.  

You might notice the 'Revenue Raiser Restance' logo at the bottom of the sign. This Facebook centric group has gained a lot of traction in recent months, supplying their supporters with signage while trying to make more noise about their point of view. They currently have over 35,000 fans and are seeking to rally support for their cause. They claim most Police officers support them, but seem to have many run ins with speed camera operators who get frustrated when a sign is parked down the road from their camera. 

Woman found dead in Beresford after a distubance

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  • A woman was found dead in Beresford last night. 
  • The woman is in her 60's
  • A man known to the deceased is assisting Police

Detectives from the Major Crime Squad and Geraldton Detectives are seeking information regarding the death of a woman at a residence in Beresford last night, Friday 13 November 2015.

About 9:30pm Police were called regarding a disturbance at the front of a unit complex on Simpson Street. Further information was received a short time later that a person was deceased.

Officers from Geraldton Police Station attended the scene and located a deceased woman, who is in her 60’s. A man, who is known to the deceased, was located nearby and is currently assisting with the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding this incident, or who saw or heard anything suspicious in the Simpson Street area between 8:30pm and 9:30pm last night, is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or report the information online at www.crimestopperswa.com.au. 

 

Why Australian's are getting screwed on their electricity prices

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An absolute must read from the ABC - This is why Australian's are getting screwed on their electricity prices. 

Long story short - monopolistic networks are deliberately blowing money on unnecessary infrastructure because they can put a markup on it and charge you... and they convinced politicians energy needs are increasing when in fact our energy use is decreasing and we're switching to solar and batteries. 

"It's as if, at the beginning of the internet age, Australia invested about $45 billion in fax technology," one former federal government advisor observed.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-11-10/hill-the-great-energy-con-that-is-costing-us-billions/6924272

Your say: Geraldton's High Schools

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High school students in Geraldton have been the subject of a strange experiment over the last decade or so. 

There used to be two seperate public high schools in Geraldton, John Willcock and Geraldton Senior College. 

The experiment was to send just years 8 and 9 (and later year 7 as well) to John Willcock, and years 10, 11 and 12 to Geraldton Senior. 

After all this time, no one seems to have been monitoring the success of the experiment, and today the state government finally announced the experiment was over, starting from 2019. 

Have your say on what you think about the decision in the Poll above. (click here if you can't see it.)

The full press release from Ian Blayney's office follows:

Two schools to cater for students from years 7 to 12 from 2019

Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney has welcomed Education Minister Peter Collier’s announcement in relation to the future of John Willcock College and Geraldton Senior College, which will both expand to take students from years 7 to 12 from 2019.

“This is an exciting announcement.

“I’ve listened, the government has listened and the wishes of the community have been met,” said Mr Blayney.

Education Minister Peter Collier said the move followed community consultation last year about public secondary schooling in the key regional centre.

 "It was clear parents want a continuous secondary education for their children, rather than having separate middle and senior schools," Mr Collier said.

Under the changes, both colleges will offer a broad curriculum with Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) options and vocational education and training.

About $20 million will be invested in John Willcock College to provide a new arts facility and medical centre, upgrade design and technology facilities, and provide new staff areas, change rooms, toilets and a cafeteria.

 A new academic extension program for students from years 7 to 10 will start in 2020.

"The extension program will provide students with a clear direction in their studies as they move into years 11 and 12 and on to university," the Minister said.

At Geraldton Senior College, about $5 million will be spent on specialist facilities, classrooms, an upgraded heritage building, along with the refurbishment of former residential college buildings, change rooms and toilets.

New local intake boundaries for each school have been drafted, to ensure a broad mix of students at both schools.

"Each school will provide a high quality education for a cross section of the Geraldton community," Mr Collier said.

Fact File

  • John Willcock College will employ a co-ordinator for the first three years of the academic extension program
  • Each college will be an Independent Public School
  • The changes to each school will be in place for the start of 2019

Video interviews with all Mayoral Candidates for Geraldton

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The team at the ABC Midwest recently interviewed all of the candidates for position of Mayor for the City of Greater Geraldton. 

We think you'll find it helpful to hear from each candidate to get a glimpse into the person behind the name.

Below are the videos of each of the interviews. 

Videos produced by Chris Lewis. Interviews conducted by Glenn Barndon. 

Click here to view videos if they're not displaying for you. 

Ian Carpenter

2015 Mayoral candidate Ian Carpenter.

This week on Mornings we're talking to all five of the Mayoral candidates for the City of Greater Geraldton. We're asking them why people should vote for them to be Mayor. This morning we spoke to incumbent Mayor Ian Carpenter which you can watch here.

Posted by ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt on Sunday, 4 October 2015

Rob Jefferies

2015 Mayoral candidate Rob Jefferies.

This week on Mornings we're talking to all five of the Mayoral candidates for the City of Greater Geraldton. We're asking them why people should vote for them to be Mayor. This morning we spoke to Rob Jefferies.

Posted by ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt on Monday, 5 October 2015

Gavin Hirschhausen

2015 Mayoral candidate Gavin Hirschhausen..

All this week on Mornings we're asking the Mayoral candidates for the City of Greater Geraldton why people should vote for them. This morning we spoke to candidate Gavin Hirschhausen.

Posted by ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt on Tuesday, 6 October 2015

Shane Hill

2015 Mayoral candidate Shane Hill.

All this week on Mornings we're asking the Mayoral candidates for the City of Greater Geraldton why people should vote for them. This morning we spoke to candidate Shane Hill.

Posted by ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt on Wednesday, 7 October 2015

Shane Van Styn

2015 Mayoral candidate Shane Van Styn.

All this week on Mornings we asked all five Mayoral candidates for the City of Greater Geraldton why people should vote for them. This morning we spoke to candidate Shane Van Styn.

Posted by ABC Midwest and Wheatbelt on Thursday, 8 October 2015

Woman upset after her pet was dumped at the tip without her being informed

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"Your missing pet might have been dumped at the tip." 

One morning a few weeks ago, a local woman who we'll call Mrs E left her house. While she was out, her pet cat was hit by a car in front of her home. 

The cat had been microchipped and registered as per the new cat laws. The cat cost $800, and was an exotic Persian. 

When the lady got home that afternoon, a neighbour came over and asked if anyone had been in touch. 

"No, no-one has called me," said Mrs E.

"Sorry to tell you your cat has been run over," the neighbour said. 

Mrs E was obviously upset at the news. But what made it even sadder for her was what she discovered next. 

Someone had already taken her pet away. 

Someone had contacted the City of Greater Geraldton regarding the dead cat, and they sent someone to collect the body. 

Mrs E said a friend of her's driving past stopped and begged the woman from the city not to take the dead cat, as it belonged to Mrs E.

But it was no use. The woman from the council said because it had been called in she "had to take it" according to Mrs E's friend. 

So the pet cat was thrown into the car and the car drove off. 

Once Mrs E heard what happened she set about retrieving her dead pet. She hadn't heard from whoever took the body, so she started ringing around. 

She rang the council, who couldn't help. She spoke with the rangers. They couldn't help. She rang all the vets in Geraldton. None of them could help. 

"No one knew anything," says Mrs E. 

So the next morning Mrs E got a description of the woman and vehicle that took her pet away from her friend, and again tried to get some information from the City. 

Then she waited for a call back. 

Later that afternoon she received a call. 

It wasn't good news. 

The woman told Mrs E that she had "already picked up a bunch of other deceased dogs and cats that day and your cat has been taken to the tip."

Mrs E was told there was no way at all she could recover the body of her pet. 

But what was more remarkable to Mrs E was that she wasn't even informed.

"My cat was desexed, microchipped, and registered with the council. I don't know why she wasn't scanned, and why I wasn't contacted."

 

Mrs E's biggest concern is for all the other people around town who have lost a pet, and can't find it anywhere. "Your missing pet might have been dumped at the tip," she says. 

Everything Geraldton contacted the City of Greater Geraldton last week regarding the matter, and we have even followed them up again since, asking if taking people's pets to the tip without scanning them or informing the owners is common practice. 

They have not responded. 

Moora great grandmother named WA's 2015 Rural Community Achiever→

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Karla Arnall for the ABC:

After a lifetime dedicated to community service, Cynthia McMorran has received the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia's 2015 Community Achiever Award.

Click here to read story.  

Video: Rescued yachtsman and his feline friend reunited

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Tammy sent this video in to us. It's of Grant McDonald and his cat Major Tom being reunited.

Grant and Major Tom had to abandon their 13-metre yacht after it began taking on water 200km north of Geraldton last Friday.

They were rescued from their life raft by the Shi Dai 8, a passing container ship. 

Ian Dempsey is the man who helped arrange the reuniting of the pet and his owner. He is the shipping agent for Seacorp, the ship's port representative. Ian is pictured on the left in the photograph with the captain of the Shi Dai 8 on the right, and Grant McDonald and Major Tom centre. 

Check this updated NBN map to see if your home can now get fast internet

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Thanks to Nick Van Namen from Node1 for the heads up on the fact that the NBN map has just been updated. 

Many homes in Mahomets Flats and Mount Tarcoola can now order NBN Fibre connections.

Mr Van Namen also says the rollout map shows that they have commenced building for fibre in Sunset Beach, Waggrakine, Moresby and Drummond Cove. 

Click here to visit the map.

Node1 have been wonderful supporters of Everything Geraldton, and we can vouch for their service as we use them ourselves. If you have any questions regarding the NBN give them a call on 9964 5464.

Cold Chisel concert only for 18+

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Zaccaria Concerts & Touring are advising the public that due to liquor licensing, the Cold Chisel performance at Eadon Clarke Oval in Geraldton is strictly 18 years plus.

They said they apologise for any inconvenience this has caused and understand the recent change in age restrictions may affect people's plans.

They have said the number to call if you have any concerns is 132 849, before the event date.