CRANBOURNE
cranbournenews.starcommunity.com.au
Thursday, 4 May, 2023
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Funding boost for racecourse
Creating a sustainable future
Eagles too classy
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SPORT
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Community backs Buster
Mobile trouble Claire, Dylan and Alyssa from The Disability Company. 326837 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
Family fun day helping to break down barriers A Family Fun Day packed with entertainment was held at Livingston Reserve in Cranbourne East on Sunday 30 April. Leading disability campaigner Dylan Maliepaard said it was a chance to raise
much needed awareness about supporting inspirational footy players with an intellectual disability. Story page 12
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Clyde locals say they are living in a “black hole” of network reception. Despite Telstra, Optus and Vodafone showing Clyde as covered by 3G and 4G on their interactive maps, locals say the reality is a joke. Tracie Batty says despite living close to a tower, her family is constantly left without service. “We have a Vodafone tower at Casey Fields which has a 30km radius and Clyde North is within a 5km radius and we still have no service unless we are connected to our wifi,” she said. Cameron Rothwell says the reception issues have a serious impact on daily life. Cameron works from home while juggling appointments for one of his children who has autism. “If nothing changes soon it may mean that we have to relocate to an area with a service at very least,” he said. Likewise, Kelz Lunna struggles as she cares for her mother. “My mum has a lot of medical issues,” she said. “I have to run around my whole house to try and have an important medical call in regards to treatments. “If I am driving in the area and happen to receive a call from doctors I also have to try and find a spot where I can have the conversation.” Leanne Russell also says she finds it challenging to stay in contact with her father.
“Calls constantly drop out,” she said. An Optus spokesperson has said the company has received “no reports of outages or customer complaints in the Clyde region”. “If customers have any issues, such as encountering a blackspot, they can report it to Optus through the My Optus App or through the Optus website,” the spokesperson said. “Customers can also see their network performance and explore the locations of towers near them via Network Pulse, accessible through the My Optus App. “Customer input plays an important role in coverage related investigations.” Telstra was contacted but did not respond before deadline. While the company data suggests the problem of reception is under control, many locals commented on how the technology is “backwards” in Clyde. Melissa Thompson has gone back to using a landline phone. “For a newer community you would think we could move away from landline phones,” she said. “We pay good money to be able to call family and friends, it’s very disappointing.” Jackie Bassett said she had “fast internet and great mobile reception ten years ago”. Now, Jackie and others in her community, like Raff Scarfo, rely on wifi-calling to stay in contact with the digital world. Newcomers to the suburb are learning the hard way that living without access to mobile reception is untenable. Continued page 8
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By Emily Chapman Laing