Archive for October, 2008

A GREEN sea turtle shell has been seized from a Darwin shop.

NT Parks and Wildlife officers are now believed to be tracing the source of the shell.

The shell was on display in a Parap store.

The owner did not have a permit for it and had bought it from a third party.

Parks and Wildlife was tipped off about the shell by a member of the public and was still talking to the person who sold it yesterday.

The green turtle is listed as vulnerable in the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Under the Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act, it is illegal to take or interfere with protected wildlife. It is also illegal to have protected wildlife under your control unless authorised.

Breaches of the act can attract fines of $55,000 or five years’ imprisonment.

Continued here 

Darwin’s Angela Theodorakopoulos represented the NT at the finals of the 2008 Miss Indy on the Gold Coast.

A timely reminder that this is now jellyfish season and to avoid swimming during the wet season. Five-year-old Callam Carey was stung on the shoulder at a beach near Nhulunbuy and six other people – two adults and four children – have been stung by either the irukandji or box jellyfish in the past fortnight.

NT Centre for Disease Control acting director Dr Steven Skov said children were especially at risk.

“Because they’re smaller and it’s about injecting venom, kids would be much more in danger if they were to get a really large sting,” Dr Skov said.

He said the pain from a box jellyfish sting was like “you’ve suddenly been whipped” – and if the sting was bad enough it could cause heart problems or kill.

He said irukandji jellyfish stings might not be noticed by victims at first, but later a victim might develop pain in the back and muscles.

“Very occasionally they can have troubles with high blood pressure and heart failure,” Dr Skov said.

A six-year-old boy from Milikapiti died from a box jellyfish sting last November.

The last 11 deaths from box jellyfish stings in the Territory have all been children.

Dr Skov said people should douse a sting victim with vinegar on the affected area, and rinse with salt water.

He said CPR might be necessary – but that in all cases the victim should have a medical check-up.

MATT CUNNINGHAM

October 18th, 2008

A block of housing commission flats in Palmerston will be renovated and sold to low-income earners in a bid to ease the Top End’s housing affordability crisis.

Housing Minister Rob Knight announced yesterday the 16 two-storey flats in Emery Ave, Gray, will be sold for between $220,000 and $240,000. But before they go under the hammer they will be given a $1.2 million makeover that will include improved security, shade sails in the car park, painting, tiling and landscaping.

Mr Knight said the complex – just metres from a primary school – had a history of anti-social behaviour and was no longer suitable for public housing.

He said 12 of the units were already vacant, and the four remaining tenants would be placed in alternative housing within two months.

Mr Knight said the sale of the flats would ease the high-density of public housing in Emery Ave and provide affordable homes for low income earners. Singles earning about $40,000 or couples earning about $50,000 will be eligible to go into a ballot for the units.

More here

Now we know why dogs chase cars!

A DARWIN man woke yesterday to discover dogs had eaten his car.

And he says it’s not the first time it has happened.

Clayton Dwyer, 47, of Millner, thought his girlfriend was kidding when she woke him up and told him his work ute had been gnawed by a pack of savage dogs. But when he walked outside his Beetson Place home he discovered this was no joke.

His front bumper had been ripped from the car and chewed to bits by the dogs. They had even tried to munch on the front panels.

“You can see the teeth marks,” he said.

Asked what he thought when he first saw the damage, Mr Dwyer said: “Doggone it! That’s a bit ruff.”

The landscape gardener said the pack of wild dogs had been lurking around his neighbourhood for months.

Full story here

It’s that time of the year again. The Eco-Friendly Kids Festival,  Rapid Creek Revival is on October 18th at  48 Trower Rd Rapid Creek (Rapid Creek Business Village).

Among the attractions are:

• Free Kids sausage sizzle
• Free rock climbing wall
• Free music, dance and shows
• Bicycle decorating competition (bring your decorated bike for a chance to win a prize)
• Free face painting, craft and more

This coincides with the Official launch of Children’s week

MATT CUNNINGHAM

October 14th, 2008

A Darwin school has banned mobile phones after the brutal bashing of a 12-year-old girl was filmed and sent to dozens of students.

The ban could soon be extended to all Territory schools.

Sanderson Middle School has told its students mobile phones are not to be brought on to school grounds.

It is believed to be the first NT school to outlaw mobiles.

Parents can ask for an exemption from the ban if they are concerned about their children’s safety travelling to and from school.

Continued here

The National Ride to Work Day on 15 October aims to encourage commuters from every state and territory in Australia to discover the benefits of riding to work.

This year, there is another reason to get on your bike! By riding to work on National Ride to Work Day and donating the amount you save on car parking, petrol or public transport, you can help to raise funds for Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute. Your donation will provide essential funds for our research into diabetes, heart disease and obesity. A proportion will also be used by event organisers Bicycle Victoria to further develop the National Ride to Work Day Program.

To host your own Workplace or Community Breakfast on National Ride to Work Day, please register here.

Power and Water will be working at over twenty sites in the northern suburbs of Darwin this weekend.

Another seven generators arrived last night including the first of the largest, 1.75 megawatt units.

A further seven generators will arrive today with continuous deliveries of the main generators and ancillary equipment due over the weekend and into Monday.

The majority of generators are being placed at schools today as they arrive, and installation of these units will be carried out over the weekend.

Change over from mains power to generation power will commence after school hours during the week starting 13 October and next weekend as coordinated with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure and School Principals.  School generators will be double fenced.

The change of the power supply at the Tiwi Retirement Village is scheduled for 13 October.

Of the five major generation sites, two of the three sets are now in place in Rapid Creek and three sets are in place at Jingili.

The other three sites are being assessed and design works proceeding for installation of the generation facilities.

There are two planned disruptions to the power supply next week due to scheduled essential maintenance services.  The outages will affect all customers in Brinkin and customers in Leanyer along Lee Point Road, between Tambling Tce and Buffalo Creek.

The outages will take place as follows:

• Brinkin – Tuesday 14 October – 8am to 12noon
• Leanyer – Friday 17 October – 8am to 12noon

Customers in Brinkin and Leanyer will be advised of the outages via letterbox drops and public notices in the NT News.

Power and Water will advise customers of any other planned disruptions to power as the generators are installed and other essential maintenance services are carried out.

Current information on power supply can be obtained from the Power and Water website or by contacting Power and Water on 1800 245 092.

A thorough investigation is being carried out on the substation equipment by Energy Australia as the independent experts investigating the explosion at the Casuarina zone substation.

Replacement equipment has also been ordered for the repairs of the switchboard. Power and Water is working around the clock to install a backup power supply in Darwin’s northern suburbs.

Generators are now being deployed to the five key locations in the affected area which have been identified as being strategically significant in terms of load density and connection to the network.

Installation of the generators will involve connecting the units to the power system and calibrating the protection system of each unit.

Over the next 24 hours Power and Water will consolidate plans for the full installation of the backup equipment and commence a progressive installation process. Full installation of the equipment is expected to be progressively finalised within two to three weeks of all of the equipment arriving in Darwin.

To date six of the generators have arrived in Darwin, another seven are expected tonight with the remaining units and associated equipment due by Monday.

Residents in close proximity to the generators have been advised by letterbox drop of the generator installations.

Smaller generators will also be installed at all 14 schools in the affected area as well as the Tiwi Retirement Village over the coming weekend.

There is nothing to suggest that a widespread failure is imminent. Power and Water believes that it is prudent to take precautions and be suitably prepared.

Power and Water will advise customers of planned short disruptions to power as the generators are installed.

Current information on power supply can be obtained from the Power and Water website or by contacting Power and Water on 1800 245 092.