ROADwhyz 10th Anniversary

By MATT JOHNSTON

Local road safety initiative ROADwhyz is celebrating its 10^th anniversary.

Co-creator Michelle Davis is one of the driving forces behind ROADwhyz, and is proud of having reached approximately 40,000 students. “We target teenagers in year 11 and 12, and other at-risk [drivers] – those between the ages of 18 and 25.”

The approach behind ROADwhyz is to make younger drivers think about the consequences of their choices behind the wheel. “We don’t teach them how to drive… we don’t tell them what they should do or how they should do it.

“We just simply say ‘choice and consequence- it’s in your hands. All you have to do is follow the road rules.”

Michelle’s faced her own struggles with the consequences of traffic accidents, having lost her two teenaged sons in 2005. It’s inspired another element of ROADwhyz, where they talk about the consequences for everyone who isn’t in the car when there’s a crash.

“I, as a mother, I try to get them to understand how important their lives are and how much their mother will miss them if they don’t come home.”

ROADwhyz’s message has been impacting on the community, with Michelle being recognised by students four years after workshops. A frequent comment is that the workshops are tough, but they’re important.

Other speakers at the workshops include emergency responders such as paramedics and police officers. While students are often lectured about how to drive on the roads, these first-hand accounts drive home the consequences of drivers’ choices.

Michelle says the workshops are “hard hitting, it’s factual, it’s real. Everybody should watch it.”

Their 10^th anniversary is a chance for ROADwhyz to celebrate the significant mile-stone, and reflect on their hopes to remove the over-representation of younger drivers in crash statistics.

ROADwhyz Co-creator Michelle Davis, roadwhyz.com

Learn 2 Swim Week Kicks Off With Free Swimming Lessons, Water Safety App

BY NIKOLA JOKANOVIC

Learn2Swim Week has begun, running from the 23rd of September to the 2nd of October, and Hunter families are being offered free swimming lessons for their young kids.

Free lessons are being held at Maitland Aquatic Centre, West Wallsend Swim Centre, Lane 4 Aquatics at Lambton and many more venues across the region.

New statistics have shown that 1 in 3 parents with children under five aren't taking their children to lessons, and 1 in 4 admit they've experienced a near-drowning event.

With children under five being four times more likely to drown than older children, Learn2Swim Week Ambassador Laurie Lawrence is encouraging parents to make use of the free lessons.

"We're trying to do something about it, and we think swimming lessons can save lives, so we've banded together with swim schools all over Australia to give free swimming lessons this week. We urge parents to get their kids down to the pool and start lessons early."

The week-long initiative comes two weeks after the launch of the Kids Alive - Do The Five water safety application, a Turnbull Government initiative for which Lawrence was also an ambassador.

The application comes as part of the Government's Australian Water Safety Strategy, which aims to reduce the overall number of drowning deaths by 50 per-cent by 2020.

Water safety at home and in the family is an area of emphasis for the application as this is a critical area for safety, says Lawrence.

"Most of the drownings occur in backyard pools, so the biggest thing for parents now is to make sure, if you've got a backyard pool, and a big majority of Australians do, the gate is the weakest link. Make sure you've got a magnetic latch that automatically closes."

The application is free on the Apple and Google Play stores, aimed at parents and young children.

Families can register their young children for free swimming lessons over Learn2Swim Week at their website: http://www.learn2swimweek.com/.

Laurie Lawrence is an Ambassador for Learn2Swim Week.
Image from: https://laurielawrenceswimschool.com.au/ 

CCTV Cameras Could be an Australian First in Metford

BY JESSICA ROUSE

In what could be an Australian first, Metford Neighbourhood Watch are lending CCTV cameras to residents for free.

The group applied for a grant from Neighbourhood Watch Australasia as a part of their Safe Community Grants program and received $900 worth of CCTV cameras.

Hunter region coordinator Bill Hackney says the group have applied for a few grants, making the neighbourhood a bigger part of the community.

"We have been applying for neighbourhood watch grants for the last few years and have been successful for similar small projects."

If you're concerned for your safety, on the fourth Monday of each month you can go along to the group's monthly meeting, state your case and get access to one of the cameras for a month.

"Come along to our monthly meetings, sit down and express the situation, we'll be offering them on a one-month loan, obviously the community comes, show some identification and agree to some simple terms of damage and responsibility," said Bill Hackney.

The camera footage will provide evidence-based material to give to police which residents can do themselves, or the Neighbourhood Watch can do on their behalf.

Bill Hackney Image Hunter Independent

Fire Crews Busy on Hunter Blazes

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

UPDATE: 2:15pm

The fire at Main Creek Dungog has been downgraded back to ADVICE.

Crews are working to keep the blaze within containment lines.

UPDATE: 2pm

RFS crews are attending to a fire at Main Creek Dungog which is currently at WATCH and ACT level.

It's burnt through around 14 hectares on Main Creek Road and is yet to be controlled.

Fire crews are on the ground trying to control the blaze as there are isolated properties in the area.

James Morrison from the RFS says at this stage no properties are directly under threat, but the situation could change in an instant - if you live along Killarney Road or Skimmings Gap Road the advice is to implement your bush fire survival plan now.

Meanwhile,

There is still a small bushfire on Old Maitland Road at Abermain and another on the Abermain Fire Trail which has burnt through around 2 hectares.

EARLIER:

Firefighters are working to contain a number of bush fires across the Hunter.

RFS crews have been called to a 1 hectare fire on Old Maitland Road at Abermain.

Water bombers have been called in to assist with a 14 hectare fire at MAIN CREEK north east of Dungog and another 14 hectare blaze at Chichester Dam.

And, a fire on the Golden Highway at Denman is now under control after burning through 5 hectares.

Electoral Commission Withdraws Charge Against Wallsend MP

BY IAN CROUCH

The NSW Electoral Commission has withdrawn a charge against Wallsend MP, Sonia Hornery over improper use of the electoral roll.

Ms Hornery was accused of using her position as an MP to access enrollment information about an elector who did not reside in her electorate.

It was alleged the Member for Wallsend used the information to write to a woman in the Charlestown electorate after the pair had argued on social media about the ban on greyhound racing.

In a statement issued on Monday morning, Sonia Hornery said she was pleased that the charge had been withdrawn by the Commission and dismissed by the Court.

"I have always considered that the charge against me to have no substance and that I had done nothing wrong," she said.

Ms Hornery also thanked the community of Wallsend for its support.

"I'm a defender of my community against the injustices and this process has sharpened my motivation to continue defending the battlers," she said.

Charge Withdrawn and Dismissed: Wallsend Mp Sonia Hornery

Police on the Hunt for Hooded Thief in Charlestown

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Police are on the hunt for a man who threatened a group of people in Charlestown over the weekend.

At about 12:40am on Saturday night a man armed with a knife allegedly threatened a woman and five men on a sporting oval on the Pacific Highway and stole three wallets.

He's being described as in his 20s, about 168cm tall and wearing a grey hooded jumper and a grey or navy balaclava. He was last seen heading towards a club on Lincoln Street.

No one was injured during the incident.

An investigation is underway- anyone with any information is urged to come forward.

The Newcastle Study Aiming to Prove Fruit and Vegetables are Better than You Think

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Researchers at The University of Newcastle are hoping their study turns out to be more fruitful than they expect.

The joint university and Hunter Medical Research Institute study is examining how a diet rich in fruit-and-veg can contribute to weight loss, and how it relates to protecting the body from exercise-induced inflammation.

Researcher and PhD student Erin Clarke says as a dietician she advises everyone to eat more of the good stuff, but now there could be even more benefits.

Researcher Erin Clarke Image supplied.

"The main aim of this study is to see how increasing fruit and vegetables affects weight and exercise-induced inflammation. We're providing more evidence to why people should be doing it, so many people want to lose weight and this could be an effective way to do it," said Erin.

Participants in the study will receive a week's worth of fruit-and-veg for free which includes bananas, oranges, frozen berries, fresh and tinned tomatoes, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potatoes, lettuce, zucchini, cucumber and frozen peas and corn.

In addition, you'll have to visit Callaghan campus for two exercise sessions involving a VO2 Max test of aerobic capacity on a treadmill plus other tests on subsequent visits.

It's a common thought buying fresh food can be more expensive so the study also wants to prove that really it isn't and it's quite easy to slip it into your weekly budget.

"So we wanted to give them assistance in showing them how they can increase it and its not going to put a big hole in their budget. I've got some tips that I'll give them for increasing their intake on a budget. Everyone knows they should be eating fruit and veg, but they don't know how to incorporate it so much into their diet," said Erin.

The study is looking for males and females aged 18-45 years with a Body Mass Index of 25-35 (overweight or obese) and no health issues which could affect doing high-intensity exercise.

For details contact Erin on 4985 4316 or Erin.Clarke@uon.edu.au