Author: David Kavanagh

YOUNG drivers who refrain from drinking before hitting the roads in Denmark this summer could be rewarded as part of a unique anti-drink driving campaign launched last Friday.

The Sober Super Heroes program will see some lucky drivers that blow 0.00 in random breath tests, as well as passengers who choose to travel with sober drivers, rewarded with vouchers from local businesses until January 31.

They will also get the opportunity to answer a couple of questions and go in the draw to win a $400 voucher to be awarded in February.

Denmark Police Sergeant Matt Hartfield said the initiative, now in its third year, was originally drawn up by the Shire of Denmark’s Roadwise Committee.

“People were getting infringements and negative stuff but it wasn’t really changing any factors around serious or fatal crashes,” he said.

“We took it upon ourselves to try something a bit different and I guess the community has embraced it.

“In the last few years there have been no serious or fatal crashes involving young drivers in Denmark, so we’ve either been super lucky or people are starting to think about it.”

Sgt Hartfield said the campaign focused primarily on young people of graduate age and upward.

“There was a bit of a gap where it seemed a lot of fatalities involved younger drivers and that stood out to us,” he explained.

“With social media, this kind of initiative gets out very quickly, especially for that demographic.

“If someone wins a voucher, they post it to their friends and then its shared and people talk about it. They can say the police stopped me and I got a prize … as opposed to the police stopped me and I got a ticket.”

According to the Road Safety Commission, 14.4 per cent of crash crashes that resulted in death or serious injury in the Great Southern between 2013 and 2017 occurred when a driver had a blood alcohol content exceeding 0.05g.

Forty-four people died on the region’s roads during this period.

TWELVE Albany tertiary students were nationally recognised for their computer skills last week at an award ceremony in Canberra.

The annual GovHack competition encourages anyone interested in data to get together and work out innovative ways to share and analyse data for the benefit of the greater community.

Albany TAFE students Ronice Preston, Rajiv Kurryah, Michael Dolphin, Alexis Tresmaria, Jazmin Maher, Emilian Roman, Jayden Scahill, Jack Nostrini, Lance Basa, Tamara Cook, Sarah Madden and Jason Parre received honourable mentions at the state and national levels of GovHack for their efforts in the competition.

Mr Scahill also picked up the Spirit of GovHack Albany award in recognition of his enthusiasm and excellence.

South Regional TAFE IT Lecturer Ramin Majidi said the students performed well.

“We were again very pleased to have such strong student participation from our current IT students and some former graduates too,” he said.

“This was the third time this event was held in Albany, and for the third year in succession, one of our students was awarded the Spirit of GovHack Albany award.”

STUDENTS at Albany Secondary Education Support Centre showed their appreciation for emergency volunteers last Thursday when they donated a year’s worth of raised funds to Albany State Emergency Service.

The cohort raised the money over the course of the last year by selling coffee and homemade shortbread biscuits to their teachers and other staff at the Centre.

ASESC student and chief coordinator of the initiative Braedon Steyl said SES volunteers played an important part in the community.

The 17-year-old has been volunteering at SES units in Denmark and Albany for the last three years and has helped out during vertical rescues.

“The stuff they do is remarkable. They go off Bluff Knoll, the Gap, you don’t see how much they do but the headlines are crazy,” he said.

“It was actually me that decided we donate to SES because I know how much they do and I know how much they need the money.”

The students’ contribution comes several weeks after Albany South Coast Lions Club donated six alpine kits worth thousands of dollars to the group to assist in cold climate operations.

SES volunteer Denise Johnson, who met with the students during a luncheon at Emu Point, told them every little bit helped.

“Knowing you guys have gone to so much effort, that’s actually a really big thing for us,” she said.

“When anybody chooses to donate, it just makes us feel like we’re a valued part of the community.”

ASESC runs enterprise programs like the coffee stall as part of its Certificate I in Business each year.

According to the Centre’s Robyn Sellenger, these help students learn important life skills, prepare them for a real workplace and give them a chance to give back to the community.

THE Albany community will retain unrestricted use of Yakamia’s Worra Park after a recent survey of residents found the park was valued and well used.

The City of Albany undertook consultation about the park to understand how it is used and to inform decisions about its future, including possible use by Bethel Christian School (BCS) as playing fields during school hours.

Executive Director for Infrastructure, Development and Environment Paul Camins said the feedback showed Worra Park was a much-loved community space, with half of the responses not supporting it being used exclusively by the school.

“It’s a really good result for us as we now know more about what the community like about the park, how they enjoy it and want to see it used, and that will help us manage it better into the future,” he said.

“The feedback shows that Worra Park is highly valued for its remnant bushland and birdlife, its quiet location and as a place to go for a walk with the dog.

“Because of this, the City and Bethel Christian School have agreed not to progress any agreement for the school to exclusively use the park during school hours.”

From the 62 responses, 16 said they used the park daily and another 14 used it weekly, while only eight stated they never used the park.

Manager for City Reserves Jacqui Freeman said the community’s responses would help future planning to enhance the park and provide other features such as seating.

“It’s really great to learn that our public spaces are so well loved and well used. This makes the effort and costs of maintaining the park worthwhile and should translate into some really good outcomes,” she said.

“We’re very keen to work with the local community and the school to undertake some bush care work around the park’s bushland and will be contacting the survey respondents and others for help and to invite them to learn new skills.”

In September, Yakamia residents received a letter and a survey from BCS Principal Mim Butler to canvas the opinions of residents about the park.

“BCS is growing and we are exploring ways to enhance facilities which benefit our students, and which also benefit the community,” she said in the letter.

A FORMER Albany Senior High School student’s career-defining work in the field of experimental psychology has been immortalised and commemorated with a special seat within the school grounds.

Emeritus Professor of Psychology Ross Day was born on March 20, 1927 and attended ASHS from 1941 to 1945.

His family operated Day Brothers Bakery and he was often found helping deliver bread with his siblings in a horse-drawn cart.

Known for his enthusiasm and passion for learning, Prof Day pursued his tertiary education at the University of Western Australia and graduated with honours in 1949.

It was at university that he developed an interest in experimental psychology; he went to England the following year to undertake his PhD and work as an assistant lecturer at Bristol Unversity.

He returned to Australia five years later and worked in the psychology departments of the University of Sydney and Monash University.

It was at Monash that Prof Day established the first psychology department and demanded it be placed within the Faculty of Science, not Art – a first for Australia.

He was awarded fellowships by the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia and the Australian Academy of Science and one year before his death, was awarded a jubilee fellowship by the Academy of Social Sciences.

He earned the title of Emeritus Professor upon his retirement at age 65.

Prof Day passed away on October 22 last year aged 91 and to honour his memory and time at ASHS, his family has donated a wooden bench with a plaque on it to the school.

“He was the best friend I ever had,” his brother, Warren ‘Snow’ Day, said.

“He really loved the high school here – he even helped dig the trenches here during the war.

“He loved learning and we wanted to recognise his efforts.”

FOODBANK Albany and the Weekender are once again calling for donations of non-perishable foodstuff for next month’s annual Can-Do food drive.

Albany copies of the December 5 edition of the Weekender will contain a single white reusable plastic bag which residents are encouraged to fill with the items.

These will be collected from property road verges by volunteers at around 10am on Sunday, December 8 and distributed to people in need during the Christmas period.

Foodbank Albany Branch Manager Rod Pfeiffer said the organisation faced a constant struggle to keep up with demand.

“This year in Western Australia alone, Foodbank will spend more than a million dollars purchasing food to feed families right across the state,” he said.

“We’re seeing demands consistently high and donations unfortunately aren’t keeping up with it.

“This initiative is a critical part of our lead up to Christmas where the community jumps in to help us bolster our stock to help people out that little bit more.”

Mr Pfieffer estimated Foodbank supported at least 350 families in Albany each year and that hundreds more were assisted through related outreach agencies.

He said donations would go to people who are homeless or anyone struggling to make ends meet due to underemployment, illness or other circumstances.

The Can-Do food drive has been running for several years and collected more than three tonnes worth of stock in 2018.

“In all reality we could double that and still not meet that demand. I’d like to get over four or five tonnes this year,” Mr Pfieffer said.

“I’d encourage the community to dig deep, jump in, get their neighbours and friends on board and maybe grab an extra bag and put it out the front.”