Hurstville Police have responded to our letter regarding vandalism and anti-social behavior in Lugarno.  They indicated that despite the fact that they have very low reportings of crime, they would task police to patrol Lugarno on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings in an effort to curb criminal activity.

It also seems that there have been some incidents in Lugarno, which police did attend but have not been recorded by the Hurstville Command.  We have followed these up with the police, as it is important that these matters are on record.

This month we have not had any reports to our LPA hotline.  Hopefully that means that there was no criminal activity!  However if you are aware of anything happening please report it to us on 9530 7986. Also for future reference if needed, the PAL number is 131444 and Hurstville Police’s number is 9375 8599.  We will record these on the back of each month’s newsletter for easy reference.

In an effort to try and ensure that we, the local community, do all we can to reduce vandalism levels, Senior Sergeant Rick Simpson will attend an upcoming LPA meeting.  We will advertise the date of his presentation in the newsletter and look forward to a good turnout.

This month our guest speaker will be from the Fire Brigade to talk about bushfire issues with summer fast coming upon us.

Rob Clarsen - 9153 5158

Evatt Park

At their meeting of 3rd October 2000, Hurstville Council approved the planned improvements to Evatt Park. The matter was again extensively discussed at our October meeting where concerns about the extension of the roadway plus extra parking were highlighted. This matter has now continued for some months and at this stage there has not been a significant increase in the number of members attending the monthly meetings expressing concern regarding the proposed works in Evatt Park. These include an additional toilet over near the playground, disabled access, sealing and extending of the dirt roadway, some additional walkways and eventually installation of a floating pontoon to facilitate major events in the park.

The LPA has written to Council requesting more consultation, but at present, given Council does not believe they have been overwhelmed with resident responses in the negative, they are intending to proceed with the planned works. If you have looked at the plans and have concerns and have not registered those concerns with Council please proceed to do so. And it would be appreciated if you could provide a copy of your letter to the LPA so we can further gauge resident and member attitudes.

The LPA has recently written to Telstra asking them the timeframe to replace the payphone that they took away some months ago.  Due to the high level of vandalism that seems to affect this particular phone we have also asked for Telstra to suggest some alternative to a public phone such as a gold phone or blue phone (if they still have these programmes) which can be owned by one of the shopkeepers to be suggested.

We have copied our letter to our State and Federal members of Parliament and thank Kevin Green for the letter of support he sent to Telstra.  We look forward to a response from Telstra in the near future.

Georges Riverkeeper Programme

Meredith Cann-Duff our new Georges River riverkeeper made a presentation at our last meeting.  Meredith advised that her role is to protect the health of the Georges River and improve the water quality.  The programme also engages in bush regeneration and is seeking volunteers to assist with its activities.  Activities on a monthly basis involve water testing and analysis, explorations by boat and land, bush regeneration, bush walking, drain stenciling, clean-up, discussion of special issues.

Volunteers meet at 3pm on the first Saturday of every month at The Riverkeeper  Centre, 52 Wyong Street, Oatley.  The phone number is 9586 4288.  Volunteers can invent their own special activities and co-ordinate them from start to finish. The Centre has an office for the use of Volunteers with a video and PC. The web site address for the programme is: www.crosswinds.net/~riverkeeper or you can send them an email on riverkeeper@globalfreeway.com.au

With all the recent happenings of the Olympics, GST introduction etc, the LPA Annual Dinner has not been focused upon! However, it is on for the second year and despite the short notice we're sure another great night can be had.

The venue is Parliament House, where our local member Kevin Greene has kindly offered to host this year's dinner.

• Date Tuesday 21st November

• Time 7.00pm

• Cost $35 p.p. includes drinks
  ($5 be donated to LPA)

• Venue Parliament House Macquarie Street

• Nos. Limit of 40 attendees
  RSVP Tuesday 14th November

If you are interested in going please drop your RSVP and payment into Lugarno Hardware at the Chivers Hill Shopping Centre or Lugarno Estates at the Lime Kiln Road shopping centre or to our PO Box.

Lugarno Lions recently had a very successful evening at Parliament House and we also look forward to having a great evening!

   »  St Stephen's Church Hall (Opposite Allwood Crescent)
   »  Presentation by Fire Brigade on bushfire safety for summer
   »  Tea & coffee available after the meeting
   »  Oatley Flora and Fauna – next meeting November 27th at 7.45 pm - Uniting Church Hall, Cnr Frederick & Letitia Street Oatley

Crime Reporting Telephone Numbers

  LPA Crime Reporting Hotline - 9530 7986

 PAL - 131444

 Hurstville Police - 9375 8599