Murder charges
A former Corio vigilante has appeared in court charged with murdering Waurn Ponds’ Maddison Pante, whose body was discovered in a burnt tent at Geelong Showgrounds last week.
Nicholas Cross, 31 and now of no fixed address, was remanded to reappear in court on 10 May alongside alleged accessories to murder Tracy Ann Menzies, 31, of Bell Park, and Colac 34-year-old Todd Daryl Sell.
$65m events
Major events injected almost $65 million into greater Geelong’s economy in the last financial year, according to final figures released this week.
The 24 events, such as Festival of Sails and Cadel Evans Road Race, attracted 500,000 participants and spectators whose combined spending supported up to 517 full-time jobs, a council report said.
Minors confirmed
Two local minor-party candidates have officially won election to state parliament’s Upper House despite each achieving less than three per cent of the vote.
Victorian Electoral Commission this week formally declared Animal Justice Party’s Andy Meddick and Derry Hinch Justice Party representative Stuart Grimley as two of the five MPs who will represent Western Victoria.
Dogs boost
Dogs have 21 new off-leash spaces around greater Geelong but also face new restrictions on how close they can roam to some cricket and playground zones.
Councillors increased off-leash areas to 39 while stipulating that dogs must stay 10 metres from turf wickets and playground equipment under council’s new dog-control policy, which garnered almost 600 public responses during consultations.
Scholes dies
Former federal Member for Corio Gordon Scholes has died, aged 87.
The 35-year Labor MP, who served as speaker during the 1975 constitutional crisis and as a minister in the Hawke Government, died surrounded by family at home in Grovedale on Sunday.
Committee ‘step-up’
Geelong’s council has “stepped up” its campaign for faster trains with a new committee.
City Hall said mayor Bruce Harwood and deputy Peter Murrihy would represent council on the “informal” New Spirit of Progress Committee to push for faster regional trains, including a 32-minute service between Geelong and Melbourne.
Storages hope
Heavy rain could provide a welcome boost to Geelong’s water storages as their levels continue falling after reaching a 2018 high at the end of winter.
The storages were down to 56.4 per cent capacity on Tuesday before rain began sweeping the city on Wednesday afternoon amid warnings of minor flooding along the Barwon River.
Super import
A 183cm import from the US could help Geelong Supercats win another championship banner, according to the club.
Point guard Anthony ‘AJ’ Williams had signed with the Supercats after a “successful high school and collegiate career” including a two-time captaincy of Clark Atlanta University, the club announced this week.
