Pepper Springs City Council workers have unexpectedly destroyed a news-kiosk in Mayfair yesterday morning, following a City Planning Department study on the design of news-kiosks in the region.

The newsstand’s distraught owner, Chris Petulas, could not understand why his stand was levelled with jackhammers without explanation.

 “I’ve been here for 12 years trying to make an honest living to support my big family and now those bastards have taken all I have,” said Petulas.

It took five men 15 minutes to strip away the O’Neill  Street workplace of Petulas who could only stand by and watch.

“That’s not a way to get rich. I make enough just to get by week by week, and that’s it,” said Petulas, who migrated to Australia from Italy 40 years ago.

The only remains of the newsstand are some pieces of plank and copies of the Pepper Springs Tribunal newspaper.

 According to the Pepper Springs City Council, the stand was removed for violating the city’s building code.

Breaches of the code include; obstructing pedestrian traffic, being too close to the street corner and not conforming to city health standards.

 News-kiosks are common on the streets of Sydney compared to the Wollongong region, due to the Pepper Springs City Planning Department’s decision to cut down on their numbers, an unnamed source reveals.

 Joe’s career as a newsstand operator in Wollongong is unstable and the Pepper Springs City Council’s Planning Department has not revealed any further plans.

Pepper Springs police said that the 12-year-old child was killed when a tree fell on her house.

Three other people have been injured in the storm so far, but names have not yet been provided.

The Bureau of Meteorology’s prediction follows a series of high winds that knocked out power to the town and a storm surge which flooded roads everywhere.

The evacuation process yesterday morning. Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-05/07/xinsrc_04205050710565002352212.jpg

The abandoned streets are occupied only by police and emergency services and one Innisfail resident, 83-year-old widower Jake Wilson, who has decided to sit out the cyclone.

“I’ve seen cyclones come and go for years and I’ve always survived.  I didn’t move then, and I’m not moving now,” said Wilson from the veranda of his small house.

Dozens of patients have been evacuated from St Marys hospital to St Marks, due to harsh winds that ripped off its roof.

Flattened trees and flying sparks down powerlines were caused by the storm, although cars can still drive through the streets of Kent.

As we are approaching the 3 month anniversary of Newspie, we have decided to expand our horizons to make this site more enjoyable and diverse for our users. The first addition to Newspie News will be Newspe Mus!c. We’re taking a parent-child approach – although Newspie Mus!c will have it’s own website (www.newspiemusic.wordpress.com), it will only be a branch off the Newspie tree.

Newspie Music will give you a full scope on a mixture of independant and record-based artist, with a focus on the Australian music industry. Keep checking the Newspie site for updates on the development and completion of Newspie Music!

Catch ya

Michelle

Hey guys…

Thought I’d drop in and tell you what’s rocking my world right now.

Big Day Out has just announced the 2010 line up and boy, it’s HUUUUUUUUGE. Hugely diverse, international, talented and down-right rockin’.

Muse,  Eskimo Joe, Groove Armada,  Grinspoon, Dizzee Rascal, Karnivool, Midnight Juggernauts, Rise Against, Lisa Mitchell and Calvin Harris are only a few of the talented artists that will be gracing Sydney Showground on 22nd and 23rd January 2010. The fact that two Sydney shows are organised (and are both sold out) shows that the BDO is a lively event for almost everyone.

Event co-producer Ken West showed wit in his response to the sold out event, “well I guess the recession is officially over.”

Maybe the economic downturn isn’t over. Maybe people have realised that living their lives with a $$ backup and saving every penny is not doing them, or the economy for that matter, any good. However, with ticket prices starting from $140, it’s incredible that over 250 000 people rushed to purchase one. 

After missing out on tickets for the first Sydney show, my face lit up when Triple J

Muse will be headlining Big Day Out 2010

 announced that a second Sydney BDO would go ahead. The first thing I thought of was ‘wow, those bands have to tough it out for another day. Good on ‘em!’.

If you missed out on tickets, I’m sure you’ll find the odd scalper or two hanging around Ebay trying to make a quick buck. If you’re going to any of the shows around Australia or New Zealand, I hope you have a great time. If you’re going to the Sydney show, you just may see me in my party gear!

Anyway, I’ll catch ya later folks!

Michelle

Mayor Lorraine Kelly will employ a community safety officer at $110 000 per year to work on new strategies including surveillance cameras, experimenting with new materials and design techniques.

“The council suffered more than 1600 incidents of graffiti last financial year, covering more than 22,000 square metres and costing $250,000 to remove,” Cr Kelly said.

Art or Crime?

Despite community uproar, a positive side of graffiti is promoted by Graften resident Ryan Easton who recently opened a street-art supply shop in Pepper Springs.

“If [graffiti is] done without permission then its vandalism and I understand that,” said 23-year-old Easton.

One of his goals is to push for designated graffiti walls within the Pepper Springs Shire as he believes this will minimise vandalism.

“[I want to] show people that there is a good side to it and a lot can come from graffiti,” said Mr Easton.

Easton understands why the Council is against graffiti, but he believes more practical measures must be taken to stop property vandalism.

“They’re doing the same thing over and over to get rid of it and it’s obviously not working… If there are places that people can take their time [and graffiti] it will minimise all of this crap,” said Mr Easton.

'Tha Bomb'

The Vandalism Reward Scheme (VRS) is a Pepper Springs Community Services initiative that encourages residents to report  graffiti and vandalism on community property to the police.

A reward of up to $5000 will be eligible to the person who reported it, according to the Pepper Springs Council website.

Property vandalism was perceived as a nuisance to 26% of residents, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime and Safety Survey, NSW 2008.

17-year-old resident Zahia Davis recently left a crowd of serial property vandals.

“It is a sign of someone who has a really low self esteem or really big head… They do it so people would think they’re cool.”

 “The higher the risk, the better it is. You get a big name if you do a decent train panel,” Ms Davis said.  

A solution to property vandalism is possible if the Pepper Springs Council recognises graffiti as a form of art, according to Mr Easton.

“Get some walls around… where people can go out and express themselves,” he said.

“I used to deface property. Once I grew up and matured a bit, I was still going to do it, so I found places like Wollongong PCYC and Casula, the art gallery there. That is the only thing that stopped me from doing it illegally. I feel that if it worked for me then it can work for other people.”

Ms Davis believes that making property vandals clean up graffiti is the most powerful measure to prevent further damage.

The Pepper Springs Council is joining forces with five other councils – Manly, Pittwater, Randwick, Warringah and Waverley – and putting forward a proposal for change to the State Government, which includes tougher penalties for vandalism and graffiti.

Questions? Comments? Queries?

–> michelle.newspie@gmail.com

The evolving partnership will give students unprecedented access to tertiary education and the opportunity to complete courses in areas as diverse as business, communication, computing and humanities.

A tutorial program is already in place where UTS undergraduate students provide free tuition to students at the Blackwattle Bay campus

NSW Education and Training Minister John Della Bosca believes students will be advantaged by this link.

“It means [high school] students can begin university courses and become familiar with the way a university works,” said Della Bosca.

Benefits to local students include; extra credit points towards these courses, UTS lecture sit-ins and training delivered by the university’s teachers.

Gifted and talented students will also be extended and stretched to the limit.

Sydney Secondary College will join UTS in research on education topics such as improving boy’s performance, aiding Aboriginal groups and promoting literacy.

Sydney Secondary College operate from diverse campuses at Pepper Springs, Bonden and Lershect.

Helen Starr is the latest Pepper Springs resident to make an international debut following two modelling contracts the twenty three year-old glamour signed with Calvin Klein and Esprit two weeks ago.

Formally a cheerleader for the Pilmby Pitbulls, Ms Starr chose to hang up her pom-poms and pursue modelling as a full-time career.

“It feels surreal, seeing my face on billboards. I’ll definitely miss the cheerleading but I have other goals I want to achieve,” said Ms Starr.

A Cloud9 model scout approached Ms Starr after last month’s rugby league game where the Pitbulls secured their win against the Drysden Eagles.

Although she was unsure at first, Starr believes she made the right choice by signing the $1.2 million contract with the agency.

Other  Pepper Springs residents who have made their international debut include Hollywood sensations Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who attended Drysden High School before graduating from NIDA.

Starr fly’s off to London tomorrow where she will be based for the next year, shooting commercials and appearing in billboard and print advertisements. She has already appeared in numerous advertisements based in Sydney last week.

“We are very proud of Helen and wish her the best of luck in tinsel town,” said Pepper Springs mayor Brett Squires said today.

Questions? Comments? Queries?

–> michelle.newspie@gmail.com

A drive-by shooting, numerous washing machine thefts, tyre slashings and drunken brawls are just some of the events that have unfolded in Meaton within the past month.

“It’s absolutely out of hand. I got a knock on my door yesterday morning from my neighbour telling me to watch out because her brand new washing machine was snatched,” said 25 year-old Jannali resident Lauren, whose tyres were slashed last week.

Senior Constable Sydney Davis has sent a communal message to residents advising them to carry precautionary weapons to prevent victimisation.

“An automatic 12-gage shotgun is your best bet. There’s no guessing what these thugs will do so be on your best guard,” said Mr Davis.

The incidents have sparked controversy amongst many residents who are reconsidering their position in the suburb.

85 year-old retiree Gregg Stoddart has had many sleepless nights following a drive-by shooting in Oxley Avenue which claimed the lives of his neighbours, 23 year-old Sandra Thomas and 18 month old son Robert.

The pair were killed when a stolen vehicle fired five bullets through their lounge room window at 2am last Sunday. The offenders are yet to be found during a state-wide man hunt that is currently being undertaken.

According to a Newspie poll 86 percent of Meaton residents feel unsafe within their own homes.

Oxley Ave: crime scene