Raymond Terrace Library vending machine providing free period packs

BY JAMES CARTER

Raymond Terrace Library has installed Port Stephens first 'Share the Dignity" vending machine to provide free period packs at the press of a button.

The vending machine aims to reduce period poverty in the local community and support access to safe, hygienic menstrual products. 

The system dispenses packs of 6 tampons and 2 pads to ensure that community members have access to basic sanitary items during their menstrual cycle. 

Port Stephens Council Library Services Manager Kris Abbott says many people struggle to afford menstrual products each month. 

“[People] shouldn’t have to choose between purchasing food for their family or buying sanitary products and using something else as a substitute," Ms Abbott said

The machine is located in the Raymond Terrace Library women's toilet and can be accessed by pressing the green button. 

A 10-minute delay between dispensing packs prevents misuse of the machine.

Kris Abbott and Library Circulation Coordinator Nada with
 the Share the Dignity vending machine Image: Supplied

Pair Extradited to Hunter Over Alleged Child Sexual Abuse

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

A man and woman have been extradited from Queensland over the alleged historical sexual abuse of a child in the Hunter.

In November 2016, Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives began investigating reports a young girl had been sexually abused by a man and woman known to her.

After almost three years of investigations, the 59-year-old man and 36-year-old woman were arrested at North Lakes, near Brisbane, on Thursday before being escorted to New South Wales where they briefly faced Raymond Terrace Local Court on Friday.

The pair is accused of sexually abusing a young girl, aged between 9 and 10 at the time, on several occasions.

It's also alleged the man abused the girl again fourteen months later in January 2016.

The pair are due to face court again on Tuesday.

Anyone with concerns about suspected child abuse or exploitation is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the online reporting page.

Teen Fatally Struck by School Bus

BY MADELAINE MCNEILL

A teenager has died after being hit by a school bus at Raymond Terrace.

Police say the 17-year-old was riding his bike along Mount Hall Road at about 8:30 Tuesday morning when he was struck by the bus as he crossed the intersection at Clyde Circuit.

Emergency services responded to the scene to find the boy trapped beneath the vehicle, which was carrying students at the time.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, the boy died at the scene.

The 41-year-old male bus driver has been taken for mandatory testing.

Police inquiries into the incident are continuing.

Man Arrested Over Toddler's Death

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

UPDATE:

Police have revealed the man arrested was dating the little girl's mother at the time of the infant's death.

The girl had suffered serious internal injuries to her head and torso.

EARLIER:

Raymond Terrace Police have arrested a man and will charge him with the murder of a toddler at Tarro two months ago.

The 26-year-old man was arrested around 8:30 this morning at a home in Tanilba Bay by Strike Force Nerium officers.

The arrest relates to an incident on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 19 where a 20-month-old girl died after being rushed to the John Hunter Hospital from a house on Burgess Parade, Tarro.

Reports indicated the little girl had gone into cardiac arrest, and doctors failed to save her.

The man is currently at Raymond Terrace Police Station, where police will address the media later today.

Concerns For Missing Raymond Terrace Teenager

BY IAN CROUCH

Police are asking for our help as they search for a teenager missing from Raymond Terrace.

18-year-old Lachlan Maas was last seen at his home on Shearman Avenue on Sunday.

There are serious concerns for Lachlan’s welfare and police are urging anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact them immediately.

Lachlan is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 170cm to 180cm tall, of a slim build, with black hair, and green eyes.

He is believed to be driving a green 1997 Toyota Rav4, NSW registration BW-45-VC.

He is known to frequent the Port Stephens and Maitland areas.

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to contact police immediately.

Police Hold Concerns For Missing Teen Lachlan Maas

Lachlan Could Be Driving A Green Toyota Rav4 Like This One

Tomago Bushfire update Tuesday 16th January

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Fire crews are continuing back burning operations today at the Tomago bushfire in a bid to bring the blaze into containment lines before the hot weather strikes again at the end of the week.

"Crews continue backburning on the northern side of Newcastle airport, between the airport and Richardson Road. Residents will notice an increase in smoke as aerial (so-called fire-bombs) are dropped from helicopters to burn any remaining bush," said RFS Inspector Ben Shepherd.

Richardson Road has now reopened, but there is reportedly a 40km/hr speed limit in place.

Image MJF Productions.

"We are moving to hopefully have the fire contained by today or tomorrow and that's ahead of some potentially warm and windy weather across the weekend where we could start to see temperatures drive towards the 40 degrees mark so we're working to have all of this work done ahead of that potentially increased fire risk," said Inspector Shepherd.

The blaze has now burnt through more than 2,300 hectares of land.

Due to the strong southerly winds smoke from the fire continues to blow across to the Medowie area.

The RFS is also advising residents in the vicinity of Richardson Road, Grahamstown Road, Harvest Road, Pastures Drive, Medowie Road and Wade Close, Campvale to continue to monitor the situation and take the advice from fire crews on the ground.

The Rural Fire Service is reminding residents not only in the area but across the state that we are in peak fire season and it's pivotal to have your Bush Fire Survival Plan ready or make one if you don't have one.

Man Caught Trying to Carry Machete onto Newcastle Flight

BY JESSICA ROUSE

A Jetstar flight was delayed 32 minutes at Newcastle airport yesterday afternoon after a passenger tried to take a machete on board.

A 500mm machete was found in a 31-year-old Mayfield man's bag when he passed through security at the airport at about 5:50pm.

The flight headed to Melbourne was meant to leave at 6:30pm, and didn't take off until just after 7pm last night.

The man was arrested and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he was charged with a Commonwealth offense of unlawfully carrying a prohibited item.

He was granted bail and will appear in Raymond Terrace court in January, 2018.

AUSGRID Cancels Scheduled Maintenance for Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The very high temperatures around the Hunter today have prompted Ausgrid to cancel planned maintenance works which would have cut power to homes for the day.

The power company has cancelled works which were scheduled for Raymond Terrace, Heddon Greta, Mccullys Gap, Yango Creek and Lambs Valley.

"All of those jobs would've involved interrupting power to customers and some of those would've been extended interruptions and in the very hot conditions we don't want to leave customers unnecessarily without power for long periods," said Jonathon Hall from Ausgrid.

There are some locations where customers have asked for works to still go ahead, as they've been in the planning for weeks or even months.

Ausgrid said they've made sure to contact the most at-risk customers.

"We have been contacting life support and vulnerable customers in areas where we do have planned works just to let them know what's happening and if the works are going ahead. We'll continue to do that today talking to them just to ensure they have all of the information they need in the heat," said Jonathon.

Ausgrid has released some simple tips for everyone to follow ahead of the soaring temperatures today:

• Use natural breezes to stay cool by opening doors and windows on opposite sides of your home.
• Using air conditioners less could save a family of four up to 10% on their electricity bill.
• Use a fan for cooling. A ceiling fan costs about two cents an hour to run, or about $6 over summer. Air conditioning the same space can cost between 30 and 40 cents an hour and add $100-150 to your bill.
• Set your air conditioner between 23 to 26 degrees. Each extra degree of cooling can add up  to 10% to your running costs.
• If you are using air conditioning remember to close doors and windows to keep the cool air in.

Girl Hurt In Gymnastics Accident At Raymond Terrace

BY IAN CROUCH

A 16-year-old girl has been flown to the spinal unit at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital after a gymnastics accident at Raymond Terrace.

Ambulance paramedics were called to a gym in Sturgeon Street at about 7.30pm on Tuesday where it's understood the girl had landed heavily on her back.

She was treated at the scene before being airlifted to Sydney by the Hunter's Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

$8 Million for Health in Nelson Bay

BY MATT JOHNSTON

The state government has announced $100 million in funding to create new HealthOne facilities across the state, and refurbish existing facilities. Eight brand new HealthOne facilities were announced, including one in Nelson Bay.

Credit: Port Stephens Examiner

Eight million dollars is going towards building the facility at the site of Tomaree Community Hospital, says Duty MLC for Port Stephens Catherine Cusack. This will be Port Stephens' second facility after Raymond Terrace, and the fifth full service for the Hunter New England health area.

Ms Cusack says Nelson Bay was chosen because of the expanding population and its growing need for a diverse range of health services. "It was ideally located in terms of additional demand for service and we're very pleased as we constantly seek to expand the amount of health services available that Tomaree Community Hospital was one of those selected".

Funding for the project has already been approved, and preliminary work is underway to determine the exact structure of the new facility. Ms Cusack says quite a bit of design work and consultation is still required. As of yet, there is no timeline in place for the construction of the new services.

"This will bring together general practitioners with community health and other health professionals across multidisciplinary teams. So it's got a lot of homework that has to be done until the actual, physical construction begins. But certainly, that work is already underway."

"It's fantastic to upgrade health services again on the peninsula, having just announced the new X-ray facilities". Ms Cusack says the funding for the project will come in addition to the funding already allocated for the new X-ray machines.

Hunter Boy Receives Bravery Award For Saving His Friend

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

A 10-year-old Hunter boy is today being honoured for his bravery and a calmness beyond his years after helping to save the life of his best friend.

Ash Wade was mountain climbing in Raymond Terrace back in October when a boulder fell on his friend Josh Ferry.

Ash was quick to act and called 000 to report the incident, helping paramedics narrow down their location whilst reassuring his young pal.

He has now been recognised for his mature and brave actions by the NSW Ambulance Service, with a bravery award. 

Newcastle Councillor Cops Fine after Trying to Dump Asbestos

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Newcastle councillor, Allan Robinson has got off lightly after failing to register a load of asbestos waste to the Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

The EPA fined Councillor Robinson $750 for transporting 640 kilograms of asbestos waste from a demolition site in Elermore Vale to Raymond Terrace - it's a requirement in NSW that any asbestos load weighing more than 100 kilograms is registered on the EPA's WasteLocate system.

The WasteLocate online system enables the EPA to monitor the waste's lawful disposal. It helps the environment watchdog track loads of asbestos that pose potential risks to the community and the environment.

The maximum penalty for not registering asbestos dumps with the EPA is $11,000 for an individual and up to $22,000 for a company.

Newcastle Councillor Allan Robinson Picture smh.com.au

Wild Storms Lash The Hunter And Mid North Coast

BY IAN CROUCH

Volunteers from the State Emergency Service have been kept on their toes across the Hunter as wild storms lashed the region late yesterday and overnight.

Around a 1500 homes in Anna Bay and Raymond Terrace lost power at the height of the storm which caused localised flash flooding.

Glendale recorded 35 millimetres of rain in just 30 minutes.

Phil Campbell from the SES says hail stones the size of golf balls were reported in some areas.

"We've had state-wide some 224 calls for emergency help - many of those have been in the Hunter, in particular around the Maitland and Lake Macquarie areas and up around the lower parts of the mid north coast, particularly around Coopernook," he said.

Residents Disturb Suspected Thieves At Raymond Terrace

BY IAN CROUCH

Two men are under police guard after they allegedly tried to break into a shed at Raymond Terrace early Wednesday morning.

The residents of a property on New Line Road heard a car arrive at about 2.00am and went to investigate, challenging the pair before they fled in a borrowed car.

They didn't get very far, with the car crashing down a small embankment about half a kilometre away.

Both men have been taken to the John Hunter Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

Police say the property owners have been the victims of recent thefts, with a quad bike and motorbike stolen.

Raymond Terrace Man Hides in Roof in a bid to Evade Police

BY JESSICA ROUSE

In a bid to escape police and five outstanding warrants, a Raymond Terrace man has hidden in his roof.

Police went to his home on Osterley Close at about 12:15 last night to arrest the 36-year-old man who failed to turn up to court.

But he slammed the door in the officer's face and ran up to hide in the roof cavity while a woman opened the door to police saying he wasn't home.

Police then entered the property and upon hearing a noise in the roof, found the man. He didn't come quietly though, he then allegedly threw a piece of wood at the officer's who reacted spraying him with capsicum spray.

He was arrested and appeared in Raymond Terrace Court this morning.

The charges the 36-year-old was wanted on included larceny, stealing, and goods in custody.

Man Extradited From Tasmania on Child Sex Offences in the Hunter

BY JESSICA ROUSE

A man will face Raymond Terrace court today after being extradited from Tasmania on child sex offences committed in the Hunter more than five years ago.

The State Crime Command's Child Abuse Squad started investigating reports of a man in 2013 who was allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl who was known to him in on numerous occasions between 2009 and 2012.

It was a long investigation, when extensive inquiries failed to locate the man, an arrest warrant was applied for and granted in 2016.

The 48-year-old was arrested at Georgetown Police Station in Tasmania on Tuesday and was escorted by police to Newcastle Airport yesterday.

He was refused bail and charged with five counts of sexual intercourse with a child between 10 and 14.

Investigations are continuing.

Alleged Head of Hunter Drug Syndicate Facing Trial

BY JESSICA ROUSE

A Raymond Terrace man has been committed to face trial on 35 drug and firearm related offences.

Jason Christopher Gibson, the alleged head of a Hunter drug and firearm syndicate, has been in Cessnock Correctional Centre since he was arrested during a police raid in November last year.

Detectives say he and his associates consorted with outlaw motorcycle gangs including the Nomads and Finks.

It's also alleged the 24-year-old tried to supply drugs and firearms to an undercover officer at a fast food restaurant in Rutherford in August last year.

Detectives from Strike Force Wilwendam swooped on homes in Gillieston Heights, Rutherford, Telarah and Raymond Terrace last November, arresting five people including Jason Christopher Gibson, and allegedly seized a shotgun, ammunition and a quantity of drugs.

The 24-year-old heads back to Newcastle District Court next month to formally enter his pleas.

Image abc.net.au

Firefighters Kept On Their Toes As Bushfires Break Out Across The Hunter

BY IAN CROUCH

Around 45 firefighters have worked through the night to contain a bushfire at Wyee.

Crews were called to Wyee Road just before 4pm yesterday - the blaze burnt through 76 hectares before being brought under control at about 2.30 this morning.

No property was under threat at any stage.

The fire is being treated as suspicious with reports a car may have been set alight in the bush.

Meanwhile, crews have contained a fire which forced the closure of the Pacific Highway north of Raymond Terrace yesterday afternoon.

And crews from Fire and Rescue NSW have been kept busy putting out grass fires at Gateshead, Bennetts Green and Windale which they say were deliberately lit.

UPDATE: Port Stephens fire fighter charged with making false calls to Triple Zero

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Following investigations by Port Stephens Local Area Command detectives and the State Crime Command's Arson Unit, a fire fighter from Port Stephens has been arrested and charged with allegedly making more than 40 fake phone calls to emergency services.

The 20-year-old man, a probationary member of the Rural Fire Service, was arrested at his home yesterday and charged with three counts of make false call to emergency services number, eleven counts of making vexatious calls to an emergency services number, and assault with act of indecency.

There are no specifics on the circumstances surrounding the phonecalls, but police say after a lot of analysis of telecommunication records they will allege the phone calls were made throughout August.

"As a result of information received from the RFS we were very concerned about up to 48 telephone calls which were hoax calls surrounding predominantly house fires in the Medowie area," said Acting Superintendent Wayne Humphrey at a media conference outside Raymond Terrace Police Station today.

"I believe there was a number of car accidents as well. it will be alleged there was some following of police vehicles as well but predominantly around Rural Fire Service issues if I can put it that way,"

Acting Superintendent Wayne Humphrey at
Raymond Terrace Police Station.

"There will also be an allegation in relation to committing an act of indecency against a female member of the Rural Fire Service."

The man was released on conditional bail and will front Raymond Terrace Local Court on September 19.

Police are unable to comment on the motives behind the man's actions.

Superintendent Humphrey says he has no sympathy for people who make these fake phonecalls, they take police and Rural Fire Service away from where they need to be.

"Right now I have police and Rural Fire Service members on the highway at Medowie fighting an actual bushfire. The impact of having to call those emergency services to false events is a just horrendous," said Superintendent Humphrey.


EARLIER:

BY JARROD MELMETH

Police will address the media this afternoon after a Port Stephens fire fighter was arrested on Monday for allegedly making a number of false calls to Triple Zero.

Investigations from Strike Force Wenske led investigators to a Port Stephens home where a 20-year-old probationary member of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service was arrested.

Strike Force Wenske was established in August 2017 by officers from Port Stephens Local Area Command assisted by the State Crime Command, Property Crime Squad, Arson Unit, to investigate hoax reports of fire and motor vehicle accident.

He was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station and charged with three counts of make false call to emergency services number, eleven counts of make vexatious calls to an emergency services number, and assault with act of indecency.

It will be alleged in excess of forty calls were made from pay phones and a mobile phone to contact Triple Zero and report fictitious bush fires and motor vehicle accidents.

The man was granted conditional bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Friday 20 October 2017.

Image nbnnews.com

Port Stephens fire fighter charged

BY JARROD MELMETH

Police will address the media this afternoon after a Port Stephens fire fighter was arrested on Monday for allegedly making a number of false calls to Triple Zero.

Investigations from Strike Force Wenske led investigators to a Port Stephens home where a 20-year-old probationary member of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service was arrested.

Strike Force Wenske was established in August 2017 by officers from Port Stephens Local Area Command assisted by the State Crime Command, Property Crime Squad, Arson Unit, to investigate hoax reports of fire and motor vehicle accident.

He was taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station and charged with three counts of make false call to emergency services number, eleven counts of make vexatious calls to an emergency services number, and assault with act of indecency.

It will be alleged in excess of forty calls were made from pay phones and a mobile phone to contact Triple Zero and report fictitious bush fires and motor vehicle accidents.

The man was granted conditional bail to appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Friday 20 October 2017.