May 29, 2020
(Rebecca Hosking) 209105_01
Scrubs create cheer Butterlies, super heroes and Star Wars Stormtroopers adorn the scrubs of aged care workers in Grovedale, thanks to nurse and mother-of-two Melissa Nielsen. The enrolled nurse came up with colourful idea when Alan David Lodge went into lockdown due to COVID-19 restrictions, temporarily halting visits. âWe needed to brighten the place up a bit because the residents seemed a bit down,â the Belmont local said âOriginally, I just made a couple for myself and wore them to work.â But her colleagues were soon requesting their own custom-made scrubs and Melissa has since sewn about 60. âIâm doing super heroes, fruit, lowers, trees ⌠pretty much everything thatâs nice and bright,â she said. âItâs been a talking point.â She is also making pillowcases and other items to cheer up the elderly residents at the Barwon Health facility. One resident was in tears after receiving a butterly-themed pillow, Melissa said. âNow every time I make different scrubs, she wants a different pillow!â CARLEE DARE, MELISSA NIELSEN AND CINDY LOPEZ
Luke Voogt
Council grants under ire By Luke Voogt Two council grants to sporting clubs ailiated with gaming machine venues have come under ire from Ratepayers Geelong. Ratepayers Geelong treasurer Jim Collins labelled the grants âhypocriticalâ given councilâs tough stance on pokies. âRatepayers are rightly incensed that their money is being thrown away,â he said. âWe believe in supporting our clubs and our youth with good facilities. But we donât believe in throwing money at clubs that are already gaining signiicant money out of pokies. Other people deserve a fair bite at the cherry.â
Mr Collins took aim at a $350,000 grant for Lara Football Club to upgrade lighting at Lara Sporting Club. Lara Sporting Club made $935,496 in pokie revenue from July to December in 2019, according to the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation. A $228,000 grant to Bell Park Cricket Club to upgrade training facilities also angered Ratepayers Geelong. he ailiated Bell Park Sport and Recreation Club made $387,066 from pokies between July and December in 2019. Under City Hallâs guidelines for its community infrastructure grants, facilities
designated for pokies are not eligible. he guidelines also state that proposals where the recipient receives revenue from electronic gaming machines will be âgiven a lower priorityâ. But Windermere ward councillor Anthony Aitken said council approved the grants based on the âvery competitiveâ proposalsâ beneit to the local community. âCouncil doesnât have a blanket ban on sporting clubs with pokies applying for grants.â Lara Sporting Clubâs pokies revenue did not translate into a âsigniicant inancial windfallâ, he said. âFor many clubs this seems to be an albatross around their necks now,â Cr Aitken
said. âIâm not going to penalise a club for decisions that were made 30 years ago. âhese sporting clubs provide a far bigger beneit to the sporting community than any detriment associated with their gaming machines.â Council has spent thousands of dollars on legal action opposing bids for more pokies at Geelong venues. Last April, council successfully challenged White Eagle Houseâs bid to double its pokies. Council failed in legal bids to stop Geelong RSL installing an extra 30 pokies in 2018 and Cliton Springs Golf Club increasing its pokies by 10 this year.
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