THREE Cranbourne students were part of a winning Murray Marathon kayaking team in the two-person open school relay class.
Arthur Alger, 18, and Eric Alger, 17, both from Cranbourne South, and David Ceddia, 14, from Pearcedale, were part of the seven-person Woodleigh Water Ratz team from Woodleigh School in Baxter.
The Murray Marathon is one of the longest canoe races in the world, encompassing 404 kilometres of the Murray River from Yarrawonga to Swan Hill.
A VALUABLE thoroughbred horse had to be put down after bolting and severely injuring itself on a fence in Pearcedale. The horse, believed to be at stud, panicked when illegal backyard fireworks were detonated in the area and ran through a property fence.
A RAID at the Tooradin Sports Club left the local community feeling the pinch.
Three daring thieves caused $12,000 in damage and escaped with a safe containing the keys to every one of the venue’s 42 gaming machines.
PEARCEDALE resident Scott Walton had ‘a thousand mates’, a thriving football career and had just started his own bricklaying business when his heart suddenly stopped beating.
Scott collapsed while running along Pearcedale Road and, despite the best efforts of passers-by and paramedics, he died at the scene.
The cause of Scott’s sudden heart failure remained a mystery, but his loss left an impact on the community.
A RASH of robberies along Cranbourne’s High Street angered local traders, who have declared enough is enough.Four commercial properties, including one business hit twice, were broken into between 8 and 12 January.
All the burglaries occurred in the same section of High Street, with each business within 10 numbers of one another.
CRANBOURNE’S peak retail body confirmed that residential growth was responsible for greater sales figures recorded by traders over the Christmas holiday period.
Lisa Saint John, president of the Cranbourne Chamber of Commerce, said real estate listings, sales and property management were all very busy.
THE Casey TigerSharks took another step towards being recognised as one of the state’s elite swimming clubs with a masterful display at the Victorian Long Course Swimming Championships at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.
CASEY Council descended into a debacle as three police officers were called after an angry councillor refused to leave council chambers.
The drama unfolded when Cr Rob Wilson attempted to raise a notice of motion outlining the delay involved in the construction of a sports pavilion in Narre Warren North.
Casey mayor Janet Halsall deemed the notice to be potentially defamatory and therefore inadmissible.
The ruling sent Cr Wilson into a tirade of abuse against Cr Halsall, saying the mayor had no right to bully him.
LYNBROOK’S frustrated public transport users could finally purchase Metlink tickets in their own suburb after Lynbrook Village News and Lotto gained accreditation as a Metlink retailer following a 12-month licensing stoush with the Department of Infrastructure.
HUNDREDS of local skaters, bike riders and roller bladers were forced to find a new home after Cranbourne’s popular indoor facility The Shed was closed.
CASEY residents were doing their bit to help save water with more than 2700 showerheads swapped over for a more environmentally friendly model.
The City of Casey, in partnership with South East Water, was offering free water-efficient showerheads.
A MOBILE library service was strongly tipped to be City of Casey’s solution to serving the literacy needs of its coastal townships.
Tooradin, Warneet, Blind Bight, and Cannons Creek, along with the developing areas of Berwick South and Narre Warren South, could all be on the route for a mobile library.
River Gum Ward councillor and mobile library advocate Wayne Smith said he would push for the Casey-Cardinia Library Corporation to consider purchasing Greater Dandenong’s recently retired prime-mover and library trailer, provided the city was happy to sell it.
CRANBOURNE Turf Club passed the winning post in full stride after Racing Victoria Limited announced the club would race exclusively on Sundays under a revamped 2008-2009 event calendar.
But the changes did not please all, with country racing authority Country Racing Victoria concerned at the schedule shake-up.
Cranbourne was set to host 22 fortnightly Sunday meetings in 2008-2009.
THE Cranbourne Blue Light Disco received an honourable mention at the City of Casey Australia Day awards ceremony.
The monthly disco was awarded a highly commended in the Community Event of the Year category.
Debbie Nobbs, president of the Cranbourne Blue Light Committee, said it was great for event volunteers to receive recognition.
A NOBLE Park family was in mourning after the sudden and unexplained death of a teenage footballer during a pre-season training camp near Eildon.
Kass Mercer, 19, collapsed while running up a hill during the final activity of the Cranbourne Football Club’s weekend trip to the town of Jamieson.
Kass was unable to be revived despite the repeated efforts of a club official, a local doctor and attending paramedics.
POLICE were hunting for a drive-by shooter who wounded a woman after firing a slug gun at a crowd of people outside a Berwick restaurant.
The Cranbourne woman was hit in the chin as she wined and dined with friends on Australia Day evening in the al-fresco area of Beno’s restaurant in High Street, Berwick.
THE Cranbourne rodeo attracted more than 10,000 people, making it the best year in the event’s history.
Shaun Mathrick, rodeo organiser said the crowd was a young one and probably the best the rodeo had ever had.
A CRANBOURNE woman was charged after police said she falsely claimed to have been the victim of a roadside armed robbery.
The woman was bailed to appear at the Frankston Magistrates’ Court.
PLANS for dog playgrounds were muzzled – again – after Casey council rejected them. Dog-friendly exercise enclosures remained off limits to residents after a notice of motion to investigate off-leash areas at parks and reserves was canned. It was planned that the off-leash areas would be securely fenced, feature walking and running paths and come complete with doggy drinking fountains and dog bags and bins.
CASEY Fields received its first taste of football action for the year when Essendon ventured out to the Cranbourne East venue for its intra-club practice game. It was the Bombers’ first hit-out of the season.
