At 12.50am, a sledge hammer was used to forcibly gain entry through the glass entry door of the Belmont Road business.

The men, one armed with a handgun, threatened two employees before leaving the scene with a sum of cash, and also a set of car keys from a male staff member.

The pair left the scene in a stolen green Ford Explorer with Queensland registration 844ROT.

No-one was physically injured.

One man is described as Caucasian with a slim build, 170cm tall, and was wearing a black tracksuit top, black tracksuit pants and black gloves.

The second man is described as Caucasian with a solid build, 185cm tall, and was wearing a black balaclava, a black hooded jumper, black pants, sandshoes, and dark coloured gloves.

Investigations are continuing.

Anyone with information which could assist with this matter should contact Crime Stoppers anonymously via 1800 333 000 or crimestoppers.com.au 24hrs a day.

For all non-urgent police reporting or general police inquiries contact Policelink on 131 444 or Policelink.qld.gov.au 24hrs a day.

Source: Queensland Police Service.

The post Armed robbery at Belmont Tavern appeared first on Carindale Connect.

I want to be part of building a safer community in the context of community-building in general. I don’t, however, want to go to meetings to discuss minutes of previous meetings or who should be treasurer etc. This is irrelevant to me and frustrating. However, there are plans in motion to revitalise Neighbourhood Watch.

Carindale Connect was a promotional partner for the Good Neighbour Security Expo held at the lower ground hall of Mount Gravatt Showgrounds last month. This event brought a range of speakers and expo stands together in the one place for an afternoon. It was sponsored by local Neighbourhood Watch. It’s an example of an effective strategy to make neighbourly security and safety more accessible, practical and, let’s face it -  less tedious. There was no need to sign-up to attend, you didn’t need to know the boundary of your local NHW group or be part of one. There were interesting speakers, a sausage sizzle and a coffee cart. Obviously significant planning and resources goes into an event such as this, but as an annual event (if they choose to do it again) organised by multiple NHW groups, it can be a great way to give the NHW brand, issues and related people and businesses a useful boost.

Qld Minister for Police & Community Safety speaking at the Good Neighbour Security Expo, May 19 2013

The Queensland Police Minister, Jack Dempsey attended the expo.  He told the group that $1 million in additional funding, to what is already provided to NHWQ and Crime Stoppers, will be provided to help revitalise the Neighbourhood Watch services.

He says the Queensland Police Service and Neighbourhood Watch Queensland have long worked together to inform the community.

“Technology sees that relationship evolving, yet still remain incredibly vital both to the community and to the QPS,” Mr Dempsey said.

“Expos like the one today are incredibly valuable to a local community as they provide simple tips and information on personal safety and keeping your home secure.”

Not everyone wants to go a meeting, Mr Dempsey said. He says that changes in information technolgy in NHW will make it more powerful.

“So instead of an offence happenign and just going to the police station, the whole of the community will have that advantage to be able to search out that offender,” Mr Dempsey said.

“It also reduces the fear of crime, because once that offender has been located, you’re not second guessing and looking at every person going up your street.”

It’s also a great tool for police, he added, as it frees up a lot of time.

This community interaction is already happening to a great extend with the QPS Facebook page and Twitter as well as various other community uses of social media.

Acting Senior Sergeant & Head of NHWQ Rodney Bell talking to locals at the Good Neighbour Security Expo, May 19 2013

Acting Senior Sergeant and head of NHWQ Rodney Bell also addressed the group to talk about Neighbourhood Watch – what it’s been and what is planned for the future.

It has been difficult to fill NHW committee positions such as area coordinator, secretary and the like.

“If I had a dollar who for every Neighbourhood Watch coordinator who told me they can’t find someone to replace them, I’d be a very rich man,” Sergeant Bell said.

He also said the program is viewed by some parts of the community as a program just for older people, those who just want to know what their neighbours are doing or for vigil antis.

“And while we know that’s not the case, it’s a perception that particularly young people have about the program.”

“Also the Neighbourhood Watch program hasn’t embraced social media like the community has. So we’ve lacked in trying to implement those technologies to improve the program.

Sergeant Bell says it is a result of that and other issues that four years ago there were 640 NHW groups in Queensland has gone from 640 four years ago to now just 330 groups.

“So a drop of about 35%, which is sad to see.”

“I really do believe there are great opportunities to improve the program.”

“The word community has significantly changed from its original meaning. Today’s communities are much more complex, than what they would have been 20 or 30 years ago,  particularly through the modernisation of society.

“Rightly or wrongly our neighbourhoods, our cities, our towns are different from what they used to be. Some would like it to be how it was. The fact is that they are changing and we need to adapt.”

Sergeant Bell explained how people are living in their house for shorter periods, are more transient, have different social values, and commute more than they used to. He said people are taking up online technologies to speak to other people more so than “over the fence” or at meetings.

“So it’s through the update and continual advancement of technology and increase in social media that we need to use within NHW.

“By acknowledging that society and definition of community has changed we need to think about how Neighbourhood Watch can remain and can be relevant into the future and how we can do business online to embrace more people within the program.”

Local police have been working on a new model.

The plan, Sergeant Bell explained, is to use social media and a range of applications to engage a larger proportion of the community. It’s not engaging enough people under 40.

“Current NHW groups will be encouraged to transition from existing model where they require a large number of volunteers to administer their to a process where only 5 or 7 people required to administer the group.

He says that, through the local police blog and NHW Facebook pages, they will then be able to filter information out to communities. This is something that many other individuals and groups do already, but it is better late than never for the Neighbourhood Watch to try and take some leadership in this area.

Sergeant Bell says there will be far easier access to online crime stats. At the moment groups need to contact their local police department and obtaining the data can take weeks. There will also be more flexibility with joining NHW online and less geographical boundary line issues.

The new model, which has been released for feedback, is definitely taking a direction that will make NHW more accessible to the wider community.

Jim Renshaw a local NHW committee member and the coordinator & MC for the Good Neighbour Security Expo believes that NHW needs to move away from being about meetings and committees to something more flexible.

“We recognise that Neighbourhood Watch doesn’t need to be seen with a grey beard. It’s got to be seen as something that belongs to everyone,” Mr Renshaw says.

“I talk about Neighbourhood Watch really being a philosophy. Something people believe in, trying to support police, trying to support neighbours.”

“If we can get our neighbours talking to each other, that will be a great help.”

I welcome Neighbourhood Watch groups and other locals with safety and security information to email me and see how you can get involved with Carindale Connect. You may want to provide content for the site, such as in the Neighbourhood Watch section, list your event on our events page or speak at the monthly community forum.

The residents who comment on our Facebook page may follow our page because they want to find out about dining in the area, or because of an article we wrote, or because they are interested in finding out about various local events, or some other reason. Whatever their reason, they are part of a group united by general geographic location who can quickly and easily be alerted to, or alert others to, local safety and security information.

I will be speaking at a Neighbourhood Watch Networking Event at Belmont Services Bowls Club on Monday 17th June, 7pm. It has been organised by the office of Steve Minnikin the State Member for Chatsworth as is open to all local residents interested in Neighbourhood Watch.

Disclaimer: I received payment from local Neighbourhood Watch to help with the promotion and strategy of the Good Neighbour Security Expo held in May in the lead-up to the event.

The post Neighbourhood Watch – revitalise or die appeared first on Carindale Connect.

In the US many parks, natural areas and sporting facilities are sponsored  by philanthropists and well supported NGOs. In Australia we don’t have this – we have Clive Palmer and Titanic II.

By Wayne Cameron
Bulimba Creek Catchment Coordinating Committee
PO Box 5, Carina, QLD 4152
Admin Office: 287 Pine Mountain Road, Mt Gravatt East
Sustainability Centre: 1358 Old Cleveland Rd (Cnr Wright St) Carindale
E: b4c@bulimbacreek.org.au
Ph: 07 3420 4800

The post State seeking to sell off our school ovals and other land assets appeared first on Carindale Connect.

I feel this is worthy of council intervention, and public awareness.

Below is a link to a recent news article regarding Westfield’s plans to introduce it’s latest paid parking system at Westfield Garden City:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/westfield-pay-parking-hits-garden-city-shoppers-in-the-pocket/story-fn3dxity-1226644488080.

I look forward to hearing Council’s take on Westfield’s paid parking, and what if anything can be done on keeping paid parking out of the suburbs, as well as where the consumer stands in all of this.

Thanking-you
Michael Validakis

The post Council, consumer rights and Westfield’s paid parking appeared first on Carindale Connect.

A house in Turubul Crescent, Carindale was also broken into yesterday afternoon. There have been reports that a number of other houses in the area were broken into yesterday. There was also an attempted break-in in Naretha Street just under three weeks ago on a Saturday night, which we have only now just learned about, where they climbed on to the roof to access windows on the second level.

If you have futher information or incidents to report you should let Crimestoppers know. You can also share incidents and suspicious activity via the comments box below to help inform locals.

The post Break-ins in Carindale appeared first on Carindale Connect.

Dr Matthew Watkinson of Life Chiropractic Centre, Carindale

Over two million Australians have back problems each year. The consequences of back pain are serious – it affects families, lifestyle and productivity. People with back problems report 2.5 times more disorders, such as depression. One in eleven Carindale residents can be expected to have back problems this year.

This means one of the most powerful preventative health steps you can take, is to improve your postural fitness. That’s the message from the Chiropractors Association of Australia (CAA) who is urging residents to Get Back to Your Best this Spinal Health Week (20-26th May).

Local Chiropractor Dr Matthew Watkinson from Life Chiropractic Centre, has called upon Carindale residents to take up the challenge of improving their postural fitness. “Postural fitness means optimal spinal alignment. It gives you greater strength and endurance, better coordination and balance”, Dr Watkinson said.

To take control of your postural fitness, you need to think and walk tall and pick an exercise plan that will strengthen your core. Dr Matthew Watkinson suggests exercises such as pilates, yoga or swimming, all of which are good choices. But Dr Watkinson also says we need to pay attention to how we are sitting and how long we are sitting for.

“Spinal Health Week is a great reminder to make an appointment with your local CAA chiropractor to assess your spinal health and discuss how a more active lifestyle will improve your overall wellbeing,” said Dr Watkinson.

Note: Further data on the size of the problem of back pain can be found at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare – www.aihw.gov.au/back-problems

The post Back pain affects one in 11 Carindale residents appeared first on Carindale Connect.

It was a great success and we hope they choose to run the event again. Neighbourhood Watch is going through a period of rejuvenation and events such as this make Neighbourhood Watch much more accessible, relevant and interesting.

The speakers were:

Chairperson: Jim Renshaw (Chair of Planning Committee & Area Coordinator Wishart NHW)
Official Opening by Jack Dempsey MP, QLD Minister for Police (introduced by Ian Walker MP)
Neighbourhood Watch QLD – Acting Senior Sergeant Rodney Bell, State Coordinator NHW QLD.
Older People Speak Out – Val French
Cyber-safety – Detective Sergeant Dave Dunn
Qld Homicide Victims Support Group – “One Punch Can Kill” campaign – Ross Thompson

Sausage sizzle provided by Mt Gravatt Rotary.
Coffee provided by The Mobile Coffee Guy.
Music provided Tricia Lamont.

Exhibitors included:

An ambulance display
(thanks Mt Gravatt Ambulance)

Smoke Alarms Brisbane

The team (Brisbane-based) behind the Guardian Duress Alert App

Vincent Security

Kidsafe QLD

Royal Life Saving Society – Queensland

Micro Fasteners

Brisbane Snake Removal

Biosecurity Queensland (fire ants)

Men’s Shed Mt Gravatt

Sponsored by: NHWQ, Wishart NHW UMG 1,  Wishart NHW UMG 16, Wishart NHW UMG 22

The post Good Neighbour Security Expo [image gallery] appeared first on Carindale Connect.

After receiving a response to my letter to Ian Kaye, member for Greenslopes, and attending the Whites Hill State College P&C meeting to listen to Steve Minnikin, Member for Chatsworth (my electorate), talk about the sale of our much loved and used school oval, I feel that we are just going to keep hearing the same thing until sitting members feel the heat of the locals’ unrest!

There are many reasons why we as a community want to keep our school oval:

• it is used weekly by the Gateway District High Schools and the Lytton District Primary schools for inter-school sport;
• it allows for growth into the future and ensures plenty of room for sports and all children to be able to participate at the same time, unlike at some other local overcapacity schools;
• it is part of a precious Sugar Glider Corridor and regularly has koalas and other native wildlife in the well-established trees that form the surrounds of the playing fields;
• Brisbane is already well behind both Sydney and Melbourne cities with the amount of green space in the inner city areas and the sale of this green space is in contradiction of the Brisbane City Council plan.

As a community we are also concerned about what may be done with the land if it is sold by the State Government:

• There is an overland flow of floodwater across the dead centre of the land. If sold to developers, what impact would this have? Long term locals recall the creeks which used to flow around the grounds of the then-Whites Hill State School and Camp Hill State High School. Nearly all of these are now confined as best they can be to inside storm water drains which cannot cope with the large flow in rain events.
• What will happen to neighbouring properties which already experience flood waters gushing over the roads and sometimes into homes? If the land is developed into town houses or other high to medium density housing as so much of the area is currently, where will the water go? How much would it cost to prevent flooding of the properties?
• Is now a good time to be selling land for profit? Property prices are at record lows.
• How will the traffic on Winstanley Rd be affected by high to medium density housing construction on the block? Already traffic is bumper to bumper at peak times, sometimes backed up through the school crossing. This is a huge safety concern for children who catch the bus or walk to school and to all parents accessing the school from this entrance.
• How will construction noise affect the learning opportunities of our children attending the school? Months of construction could affect a whole year worth of schooling or chances for university entry – imagine nail guns, beeping truck signals, earth moving equipment during year 12 exams, QCS (university entrance) or NAPLAN! Try learning to read in the early years of schooling with banging and crashing from construction work to distract you!
• What will happen when the demographics of the area cycle again to have more young families and enrolments climb? Our area is getting more and more medium and high density residential zoned streets, which can only increase the number of school aged children in the suburbs.

Deputy Mayor and Councillor for the Chandler Ward Adrian Schrinner has said in correspondence that he ‘would be very disappointed to see the sports fields lost’, and that he hopes the State Government ‘have a change of heart’ in regards to the sale of the oval, while Steve Minnikin MP for Chatsworth has said he cannot support that view.

A group of almost 70 locals met last Friday night to find out more about the sale and express their concerns. From this meeting the Save Whites Hill State College Oval community action group has emerged. If you are interested in joining us in the fight to keep our school oval, please contact me at kerryncommunityaction@gmail.com, visit our blog and you can also find us on Facebook ‘Save Whites Hill State College Oval’ group.

Most importantly please sign our petition and contact your local member to let them know how you feel about our school land being sold!

Author: Kerryn Loose-Jones
Kerryn is a mum to a current Whites Hill State College student and two future WHSC students, sister of a past Camp Hill State High School student and daughter of a foundation year 1 student of Whites Hill Primary School.

Add your comments and questions below!

The post We want to keep our school oval: local resident appeared first on Carindale Connect.

Dear Kerryn,

Thank you for your email regarding the Whites Hill College oval on the southern side of Samuel Street. The information provided by the Education Department at this time is included below.

• The total areas of Whites Hill State College is 16.187 Ha, the portion of the site to be sold is 4.854 Ha (leaving 11.336 Ha).
• Typical planning profile for a new high school is 12Ha to accommodate 1100 student enrolments.
• Whites Hill SC currently has 700 students enrolled.
• The Region (Education QLD) has begun consultation with the school, and a response and update should be available shortly.
• As you are aware the area for disposal is separate from the main site of the school, there is a QBuild depot that is located on one corner of the site that would need to be relocated.
• There are a number of factors that will need to be taken into account during this process including wildlife issues. With regard to that I have requested a briefing from the Minister for the Environment.
• In terms of other ovals, the only other oval that I am aware of locally is the Balmoral State High School in which one of the three ovals Balmoral has been put forward.

The Education Department manages its asset register however I note that the Minister for Education has publicly stated that proceeds from such disposals will go directly back into education. Unfortunately due to the large number of aging schools the maintenance backlog had blown out to $300 million by the time the current government took office. One local Southside school alone has a maintenance backlog in excess of $1 million.

Whilst the Whites Hill State College is within the Chatsworth Electorate the oval in question is in my electorate of Greenslopes and as such I am taking an active role in the process. Unfortunately due to timing I have not been able to attend P&C meetings at this stage. Steve Minnikin (Chatsworth) did attend the P&C meeting last night. As a local member it will be my job to take the communities views back to the Minister which I will be only too pleased to do. If the oval is sold Steve and I will work together to tray and achieve the best outcome for the school.

I am sorry that I do not have any more information at this time however more will be known as the consultation continues and results of other inquiries come back.

Please do not hesitate to contact me further if you have further questions. I did also notice that you did not appear on the electoral role for Greenslopes. If you do reside in another electorate I would also encourage you to make contact with your local member as well about this issue.

Kind regards
Ian

ENDS LETTER

We welcome you to add your comments below.

Local resident and the recipient of this letter, Kerryn Loose-Jones has written about the campaign to save the school oval here.

The post Letter from Ian Kaye re Whites Hill State College oval appeared first on Carindale Connect.

Reading: A selection of various reading comprehension tests. (Including stories, poems, factual and instructional texts)
Writing: Students will write a persuasive text.
Language Conventions: Spelling, punctuation and grammar.
Numeracy: A wide range of mathematical concepts are tested. (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry and Statistics and Probability)

Love it or hate it, NAPLAN is happening in every school, in every state at the same time around the nation. While some Secondary schools place high importance on NAPLAN results as part of their application requirements, most schools see it for what it really is: a “moment in time” test. Students who participate receive individual reports on their results as well as information about how well they performed compared to other students in their year group.

The most important focus this week should be not on your child’s performance but on their readiness for the tests. By this I mean monitoring their organisational skills, stress levels, sleep and eating habits.

You can maximise their performance and minimise their stress levels by ensuring they arrive at school early with all their tools for learning (pencils, rubber, ruler etc).

Students will also handle stress and perform better if they have had a balanced diet and 8-10 hours sleep.

Formal testing conditions can be quite daunting for some students (sitting in straight rows, no talking and strict time constraints). Alleviate their worries by telling them that school will carry on as normal on Friday. Keep the lines of communication open at home but don’t make NAPLAN the focus of family discussions.

The best advice I can give is to tell your children that you love them and the results of NAPLAN aren’t going to change that.

Best of luck to all the students participating!

By Debbie McDonald (B.Teach)
Reasonable Management Action Tutoring Service

Add your comments below!

The post NAPLAN time appeared first on Carindale Connect.