Road blitz
“Numerous complaints” from road workers have prompted a blitz on drivers speeding along Bacchus Marsh Rd, police have revealed.
“Irresponsible drivers” disobeying reduced speed limits in the road’s works zones were putting lives at risk, police said as they launched a joint safety crackdown with VicRoads.
Carer cups
Coffee cups will alert drinkers to a “chronic shortage” of local foster carers as part of a national awareness campaign, a Geelong charity has announced.
MacKillop Family Services said its branding would appear on cups at six cafes in Geelong to raise the shortfall as the agency struggled with growing demand for carers.
Vandals’ admission
Three teenage boys have admitted to a graffiti rampage at Leopold, according to police.
Residents had grown increasingly “upset” about the spreading presence of tags ‘Slasher’, ‘SOTOS’ and ‘FOGS’ in public areas before Operation Satellite investigators interviewed the boys, police said.
Storages filling
The region’s water storages have returned to levels above half full for the first time in six months, according to latest measurements.
Barwon Water recorded overall capacity level at 51 per cent on Wednesday after 11mm of rain in seven days left the storages with 2.5 billion litres more than at the same time last week.
Friendly Winchelsea
Travellers will keep a free camping site on the Barwon River at Winchelsea after Surf Coast councillors agreed to maintain the town as “RV friendly”.
Visitors would continue sleeping in self-contained RVs, caravans or motorhomes on the site for 48 hours after reviews found that the facility had no “significant positive of negative impact” on the town, Surf Coast Shire said.
Green dream
City Hall has bought its first electric and hybrid vehicles as part of a strategy to achieve “zero carbon emissions”.
The hybrid Toyota Camry and electric John Deere Gator utility vehicle were among $7 million of trucks, light vehicles and associated machinery purchased for council purposes last financial year, City Hall said.
Jobs boost
Eighty extra jobs are on the way to a surf company’s North Geelong distribution centre after it sold for $23 million this week, the selling agent has announced.
Quiksilver and sister company Billabong would remain tenants in the Corio Quay Rd building and increase turnover from 4.5 million to 10 million units, requiring an additional 30 full-time and 50 part-time staff, the agent said.
