Lane Cove News Week in Review 1st to 7th November 2020

Another week of confusing weather.  Who knew what to wear on their daily walks!!!

Vale Deborah Hutchens

Former Lane Cove Mayor Deborah Hutchens passed away this week.  Her funeral was held on Friday 6th November 2020.

Lane Cove Council released the following statement:

“Council is saddened by the passing of its former Mayor, Councillor Deborah Hutchens who had served on Council since 2012.

Having been a Longueville resident for over 30 years and an active member of local organisations including Neighbourhood Watch, Deborah became a Councillor in 2012 representing Central Ward.

During her time on Council Deborah was involved with a range of new initiatives including International Women’s Day and Lane Cove Night Out events, supporting the Hold My Hand initiative and establishing the Lane Cove Festival by the River which is enjoyed by thousands of locals each November.

During the first Festival by the River, Deborah opened the new Tambourine Bay Picnic Area on the foreshore which helped to provide an alternate use for the previous baths which had been closed. The original baths were built by locals following WW2, and it was important to Deborah that locals who had a strong connection to the original baths were part of the opening event, encouraging them to share stories and anecdotes of this piece of local history.

Deborah was Mayor from 2015 – 2017 and during this time was responsible for one of Council’s most significant milestones in recent history – the signing of the contract to build The Canopy. This visionary project was officially opened in June this year providing the community with brand new open space, playgrounds, a 500 space car park, retail and entertainment space. (Deborah is pictured right at the signing of the contract to construct The Canopy, then known as The Rosenthal Project)

During her tenure as Mayor, Council opened the new Scout Hall and Sports Amenities building at Blackman Park, the new Waterview Community Centre and Hughes Park as well as the Lane Cove Community Hub.

Deborah had a strong history of volunteer and representative roles with a number of Council and community organisations. This included Lane Cove Historical Society, Lane Cove Art Society, Longueville Tennis Club, Longueville Sporting Club, Lane Cove Retirement Units (Board Member) and Sydney Community Services (Director).

A spokesperson for Council has said “Lane Cove was fortunate to have Deborah at the helm as both Councillor and as Mayor. Deborah was a pleasure to work with and was always respectful of the range of views that a single project could bring – her patience and calm demeanour helped lead the way as we navigated the best outcome. Council and the community are most grateful for Deborah’s commitment to Lane Cove; her legacy will live on in a range of projects that came to fruition thanks to Deb”.

Deborah was a current member of Council at the time of her passing in November 2020.

Vale Deborah Hutchens, a respected Councillor, Mayor and member of the Lane Cove community.

Pictured below is Deborah Hutchens, Lane Cove Crier Bill Wallace and David Brooks-Horn. This picture was taken in 2015 at the Lane Cove Rotary Fair.

 

Sad News About the Missing St Ignatius College Riverview Steer

Saint Ignatius’ College Riverview released the following statement:

“Earlier this week the College received the sad news that despite extensive searches and highest hopes, the 12-month-old steer that went missing from the farm was found dead in a closed area in Lane Cove. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the College staff and members of the community who assisted in the recovery of the steer.

The steer was returned to the Riverview property and buried on our land, with a smoking ceremony held by our First Nations Coordinator, Kaleb Taylor.

Kaleb’s own words are worthy of acknowledgement in the context of our deep regard for the traditional owners and First Nations people. “We’re obliged to care for one another on this land and in this community, and this animal is now part of our story. His unnatural passage needs to be righted, so we are preparing him now to go back into the Dreamtime. With permission from the local Elder and the ceremony Elder, we’re asking the Old People to take him away gently and provide what healing they can.”

A review of the security of the farm is being conducted to ensure the safety of all our animal.”

Two New Generation Boarding Houses Approved for Lane Cove North

The Land and Environment Court has given a developer, the green light to construct two next-generation boarding houses in Mindarie Street Lane Cove North. This means even more construction work around Lane Cove North (after an apartment block opposite Mowbray School was recently also given the go-ahead).  Read more here.

A Weekend of Art as Lane Cove and Greenwich Show their Creative Side

The Greenwich Village Arts Trail was held this weekend.  Locals and visitors took the opportunity to see the artists in their studios.  Greenwich was buzzing with people walking the streets, and the cafes were packed.  This is an annual event, so put it in your diary for next year if you missed it (always the first Saturday and Sunday in November).  See our cover photo showing some of the artwork ITC saw on our trip around Greenwich.

If you have some spare time over the next couple of weeks, and you would like to get out and about in Lane Cove, why not visit Gallery Lane Cove + Creative Studios? Two new exhibitions opened this week that you can view free of charge.

Dyarra Murrama Guwing – The Sun Setting Red is an intergenerational exhibition as part of NAIDOC week. You will see contemporary, site-specific artworks focusing on land care, the natural environment and healing from a matrilineal Aboriginal perspective.  Read more here.

Crime and Incident Report

Car Break-Ins

A roving reporter has told us that their car was broken into and window smashed. They live in apartments near the Pacific Highway and Gore Hill Freeway/Epping Road.

 

After we posted this photo on In The Cove we were contacted by a resident from a Lane Cove North apartment block who told us they received a notice from their body corporate that 2 men were seen on the apartment’s CCTV in the garage. They were looking for unlocked cars and did take a few things from unlocked cars. A good reminder to always lock your car and remove any valuables. It’s always a good idea to double-check you have locked your car, as some Insurance companies deny claims if they find you have left your car unlocked. If the car is stolen and they eventually locate the car they will do forensic studies on it to see if the car was unlocked.

Burns Bay Road Bus Attack 2019

This week Channel 7 reported the man involved in the bus attack on a school bus on Burns Bay Road last year, was sentenced to a max of 9 months jail. The man appealed the sentence and is now out on bail—details of the attack in November 2019 here.

Hoax Call Arrest

NSW Police have charged a teenager for allegedly making a hoax call/email to North Sydney school. They do not think the teenager was responsible for the original threats. However, details were released about the arrest to show how serious they are taking matters. The Police stated:

“Today’s arrest is indicative of the seriousness of making such threats, with the offence carrying a maximum penalty of up to ten years in prison.

“The NSW Police Force and the Department of Education are committed to the safety of students and staff and will act swiftly to any threat to harm any member of any school community.”

Cybercrime Squad detectives have charged a teenage boy over an alleged copycat threat, as investigations continue into threatening emails received by schools across NSW last week.

On Tuesday (27 October 2020), more than 20 high schools across Sydney received an anonymous email which outlined threats toward the school.

The following day (Wednesday 28 October 2020), more than 10 high schools in regional NSW received a similar email.

On Thursday (29 October 2020), a threat was received by a North Sydney school, which was inconsistent with those received earlier in the week.

Police were contacted, and the schools enacted their emergency response plans, which included evacuations, causing significant disruptions to students and staff members.

Local officers, assisted by specialist police, conducted extensive searches at each of the schools, and no items of interest were located.

Detectives from the Cybercrime Squad established Strike Force Rolum to investigate the circumstances and origins of the emails.

Following extensive inquiries, Cybercrime Squad detectives executed a search warrant at a Southern Sydney home and arrested a teenage boy, about 7 am today (Wednesday 4 November 2020).

During the arrest, the boy allegedly spat on an NSW Police Force civilian employee.

Several electronic devices, including computers and mobile phones, were seized and will undergo further examination.

The teenager was taken to Kogarah Police Station and charged with use carriage service to threaten to kill, use carriage service to make hoax threat and common assault.

Police will allege in court that the boy sent threatening emails and made a threatening phone call to a North Sydney school on Thursday 29 October 2020.

He was granted strict conditional bail to appear at a children’s court on Wednesday 25 November 2020.

Cybercrime Commander, Detective Acting Superintendent Gordon Arbinja, said investigations under Strike Force Rolum are continuing.

“Detectives are continuing to investigate the circumstances, and origins of the other email threats – which we believe are separate and unrelated to the North Sydney incident,” Det A/Supt Arbinja said.