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Locals fear for their safety as dangerous driving in the shared zone on Raymond Street, Sale escalates, leaving many calling for action. Rhonda Beam and her carer Jill Wood were crossing the road in the shared zone on Raymond Street outside the Commonwealth Bank on Wednesday, June 15, when a man in a dark-coloured BMW, travelling well above the 10-kilometre speed limit, almost didn't stop. Legally blind and reliant on a walker for mobility, Ms Beam began to cross the road behind Cr Wood, no more than a foot length away from one another. "We were crossing the road from Commonwealth Bank, and Jill had started walking ahead a little bit and was saying for me to come," Ms Beam explained. "So I started to cross the road when Jill noticed the man driving a black BMW wasn't going to stop."

Attention thespians of Gippsland, and absolutely everybody else, Melbourne performing arts company, The Dog Theatre, is bringing internationally renowned theatre group Born in a Taxi to our region for the first time, for not one but two shows of The Waiting Room. The contemporary performance, The Waiting Room, is one of East Gippsland Winter Festival’s many incredible events, with two shows on July 1 and 2, from 7.30pm at Iceworks Studio, Lakes Entrance. In collaboration with the theatre group Born in a Taxi and East Gippsland Winter Festival, the Dog Theatre delivers cutting-edge experimental theatre to Gippslanders’ front doors.

Sylvia Van de Velde will be the newest addition to the centenarian club when she celebrates her 100th birthday on Thursday, surrounded by friends and staff at Gippsland Health’s Wilsons Lodge. Sylvia was born in Bairnsdale on June 23, 1922. Spending her childhood years growing up on a farm in Maffra, when Sylvia and her siblings weren’t at school, they spent their days outside under the sun, in the fresh air, with their horses and dogs. Sylvia is the third of her siblings to reach 100 years old, with her two eldest sisters passing away at 100 and 101. The secret to a long life is “outdoor living and living on horses for all your teenage years”, Sylvia said.

After a two-week break, the Sale United Women’s team returned to the field on Sunday to face Tyers Lighting in Tyers. Tyers Lighting tried hard to keep the Swans out of the box in a boggy battle, but the ladies from Sale established their status as one of the ladder’s top three with a strong offensive game. Sale coach Madelaine Breakspear and player Alana Jeffries scored goals, while an own goal from Tyers Lighting saw Sale United come away with a 3-0 win. The Sale United women’s team has another bye this weekend. Also on Sunday, Sale United’s senior men stepped up to the plate, taking on Morwell Pegasus.

Australia’s worst May on record for influenza cases has local doctors pleading for all Victorians aged six months and over to utilise the free flu vaccine scheme before it ends on June 30. The flu season is only just beginning, yet health experts are concerned following the highest number of influenza infections in May on record, with more than 80,000 cases reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS). Despite the state government’s incentive to boost vaccination coverage to help avoid more hospitalisations throughout winter by offering free flu shots between June 1 and June 30, doctors and staff at the Clocktower Medical Centre are concerned by the lack of local uptake.

Last Christmas, Sale discovered it had its very own Secret Santa. Thanks to COVID, all of us have struggled in one way or another, mentally, physically or financially. For many of those who were hit hard financially by the pandemic, the only way to ensure their children would have a gift to open on Christmas Day was by using layby. On the last Saturday of November 2021, almost exactly one month until Christmas, Sale’s own Secret Santa made her way down Raymond Street, stopping into Toyworld Sale and Toys Galore & More. Kerryn, better known as ‘Secret Santa’, approached the counters at Toyworld Sale and Toys Galore & More with a generous gesture of good faith that would change Christmas for many unsuspecting families.

Gippsland Grammar wrote the names Anthony Smith, Billy Osborne, Cameron Rule and Lindsay Hamilton in the history books following the school’s most successful Nationals campaign to date. In April, the four senior school boys won two National titles, and one silver medal at the Australian Rowing Championships held on Lake Nagambie. In less than two weeks, Smith, Osborne, Rule and Hamilton will board their boat on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England and take their place at the starting line in the Men’s Under-19 Coxless Quad Scull at the Henley Royal Regatta; one of the most prestigious regattas in the world. The Henley Royal Regatta, running from June 28 until July 3, is the highlight of the summer rowing calendar and the social season in the UK. To race the world-class event in Aussie style, Smith, Osborne, Rule, and Hamilton have grown out their luscious locks to ensure the best foundation for their pre-race mullet cuts. Following the Henley Royal Regatta, Year 12 students Billy Osborne and Lindsay Hamilton continue to make Gippsland Grammar history as they represent Australia in the under-19 Men’s Quad Scull at the Rowing World Championships in Italy in July. Gippsland Grammar harbours the only rowing team east of Melbourne, which sparks the question of how, in a region dominated by football and netball, did Smith, Osborne, Rule and Hamilton discover rowing? What does it take to win a national rowing title? A quick tip: eating at least three breakfasts and drinking litres upon litres of milk. Who is the person behind the oar and underneath that mullet of hair? And at the age of 17 and 18, with futures abundant in opportunities, what is next for the champion rowers?

On the morning of June 17, another tragic accident on Wellington Shire roads claimed the life of a father from Rosedale. The 55-year-old man from Rosedale had stopped his car on the West bound side of the Princes Highway near Wrights Lane to assist his son with a punctured tyre shortly after 8 am. An approaching car struck the father standing on the Princes Highway roadside between Rosedale and Traralgon at approximately 8:20 am. Sadly, he died at the scene. "Whilst they've been attending to the puncture, the father has been hit by another car passing beside, and unfortunately, he's died," Senior Sergeant Luke Banwell told ABC News. The driver of the car, a 23-year-old Rosedale man, stopped immediately. Following his assistance, police released the man pending further investigations. Later that night, the 23-year-old man was hospitalised, suffering from shock. "This will have ripple effects through the community; it's the most tragic thing that can happen to a community, particularly when all the people are from that community," Sn Sgt Banwell added. The incident in Flynn on Friday morning, June 17, was one of five fatalities on Victorian roads in 48 hours and the second on Wellington Shire roads in four weeks, following the death of 17-year-old Cal Wood on Saturday, May 21. There now have been 114 lives lost on Victorian roads in 2022, 19 more than this time last year. Following a horror 48 hours, and with 18 lives lost in just two weeks at the same time last year, the very concerned Victoria Police issued a critical road safety alert. Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir said, "We are entering a high-risk period on Victorian roads." "Now is not the time to be complacent when getting behind the wheel." Winter weather reduces visibility and creates hazardous driving conditions such as wet roads, heavy rain, hail, sleet, snow, black ice and fog. "Slowing down, remaining alert and being extra cautious when roads are wet or visibility is affected are simple but life-saving measures all motorists can take to protect themselves and other road users," said Assistant Commissioner Weir. "Police will remain highly visible and on the lookout for any risky driver behaviour. We are determined to do everything we can to ensure this period does not become synonymous with road trauma." Investigations by detectives from the Major Collision Investigation Unit continue as the exact circumstances surrounding the fatal collision on Friday, June 17 are yet to be determined. Local police and detectives from MCIU are urging anyone who witnessed the incident, has dash cam footage, or has any information that may be of assistance to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.

Gippsland Grammar’s rowing team are drying their paddles and boarding a plane, first stop the UK, second stop Italy. Year 12 students Lindsay Hamilton, Billy Osborne, Cameron Rule and Anthony Smith are getting their passports ready, headed for Henley-on-Thames in the UK to represent Gippsland Grammar in the Open Men’s Quad at the Henley Royal Regatta from June 28. Making good use of their passports, Hamilton and Osborne will have just three weeks following the Henley Royal Regatta, running from June 28 to July 3, until they set their sights on Varese, Italy. Hamilton and Osborne are among the 40 rowers representing Australia at the World Championships in Italy from July 25-31. While Hamilton and Osborne are flying straight from Henley-on-Thames to Varese; there will be no time for gelato and pizza. Instead, the Gippsland Grammar boys will join Under-19s Men Quad Scull teammates Jonah Nelson and Chad Willett from St Joseph’s Nudgee College for an intensive three-week training camp. Gippsland Grammar rowing coach Nick Bartlett will be joining Hamilton and Osborne at the World Championships in Italy after being selected as the Under-19s Men’s Quad Scull coach. This year Bartlett has undeniably proven himself an irreplaceable asset to Gippsland Grammar rowing, coaching teams in the most successful national campaign in the school’s history at the Australian Rowing Championships in Nagambie. Bartlett took Gippsland Grammar’s rowing teams to the Australian Rowing Championships and bought home two national titles in the Under-19 Men’s Double Scull and the Schoolboys Coxed Quadruple Scull and two silver medals in the Under-17 Women’s Double Scull and Under-19 Men’s Quadruple Scull. Expressing admiration for his rowers, Bartlett said the two upcoming international competitions are an incredibly satisfying achievement for the school’s senior rowers, following years of dedication and early morning training. “To be selected to represent Australia at a World Championships is one of the highest honours that you can achieve in rowing,” Bartlett said.

Winter. Some love it, some hate it, and in the chilly, wet, windy months from June through August, not a day goes by when you don’t say the two words, ‘it’s’ and ‘cold’. The East Gippsland Winter Festival started on Saturday, with the commencement of the F/LAMP Exhibition marking the first of many collaborative events in Gippsland’s east this winter.

For the first time, the Briagolong Mechanics’ Institute committee hosts ‘History at the Hall’ on Sunday, June 19 from 1.30 pm. ‘History at the Hall’ offers the Wellington Shire community the opportunity to immerse themselves in local history as the Briagolong Mechanics’ Institute committee opens the doors to one of the oldest standing buildings in the region.

An aggressive attack from Advance Australia earlier this week may have independent candidate David Pocock reconsidering substituting his jersey for a suit and tie as the political field proves as dirty as the rugby pitch. The lobbying group pitched signs across the nation's capital portraying Pocock as a member of the Greens party. Pocock, who has tenacious political integrity policies, declared the campaign "blatantly deceptive conduct" and "an attack on our democracy". Pocock criticised Senator Seselja for the campaign and lodged a formal complaint with the Australian Electoral Commission over the erroneous placards. Since running for Senate, Pocock's opposition has labelled him a radical Green, despite the continuous repudiation of any association with the Australian Greens Party. Pocock again reiterated independency at the University of Canberra on Tuesday, squishing allegations of affiliation with the Greens. "I think it points to the tragedy, that caring about where we live and this amazing place we call home and actually wanting a plan when it comes to the climate is seen as extreme and radical," Pocock said. "We've seen political candidates who have been against climate action, have been against integrity. So it's no surprise now that they are running a really big smear campaign to try and paint me as an extreme green radical that wants to destroy the economy and everything we love about Canberra," he added. Pocock holds a Masters of Sustainable Agriculture and has a colourful environmental activism history, one never declined or falsified. In an interview with Sydney Morning Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons, Pocock spoke about his arrest in 2014 after participating in a non-violent environmental protest. "I was standing alongside a fifth-generation farmer trying to stop a mine next door to his farm. We should not be mining such a valuable resource. I think we can all see now that we have to actually transition to renewable energy," Pocock told SMH. Pocock has dug his boots into the mud, solidifying his political stance, policies and beliefs, emphasising the importance of listening to the Canberra community. "I am trying to keep things positive and represent Canberrans," Mr Pocock said on Tuesday at the University of Canberra. "Much work needs to be done to repair and improve our democracy, around integrity in politics, truth in political advertising." "There are currently no laws that say that you can't just flat out lie in political ads. I don't think that's good for democracy; it's not creating the kind of future we all want," Pocock added. With less than a month before election day, polls reveal Pocock is fairing a chance to win a seat in the Senate; the next few weeks are crucial for independent and liberal candidates. Tensions are high; it's a tight match. Seselja has turned the ball over, leaving Canberrans eagerly awaiting Pocock's next move.