2016 January NEWSLETTER

Message from The Area Coordinator
I hope that you all had a wonderful time over the Christmas & New Year period & found plenty of events to keep you busy!  Unfortunately the criminals do not seem to have had a holiday & many offences occurred whilst we have been relaxing.  If any of you see anything suspicious please report to the police on POLICE LINK 131 444 or Crimestoppers 1800 333 000. I am afraid that in general the news over the last couple of months has been very disappointing in particular with the senseless acts of violence which have claimed lives.  Remember you can  download an app for smartphones from I Tunes, Google Play or Windows stores which can give you immediate information relating to emergency numbers.  If you need the Police Assistance, Crimestoppers, SES or Health Direct the information on the app can save you ringing the wrong emergency number.  It will also give you the GPS coordinates of your phone location so that the caller can read out to the emergency operator.  This app is free of charge & sounds like a very good addition.  For those who are deaf or hearing impaired the National Relay Service is available too. There has been a lot of burglary offences during the past couple of months which have occurred during the day time & the offenders have often been on foot.  Some of the people of interest have been identified as male aged 15 - 20 and of Pacific Islander appearance & are residents of the area they are offending in.  If you see anyone of this description acting suspiciously please contact Crestmead Police 3803 9555 or Police Link 131444. Even more fires have occurred during the holiday season as well which has prompted us to remind you that photoelectric smoke alarms are the ONLY ones that should be in use ionisation alarms are pretty useless and it is false economy to purchase a cheaper version.  Photoelectric alarms actually can SEE the smoke and start to emit an immediate alarm whereas the ionisation will only emit an alarm when the smoke has reached the position where the alarm is fitted this of course could be in another area of the house & will be too late for you to escape as you are likely to be rendered unconscious by the smoke by then.  A final reminder is to make sure that you have all alarms fitted with batteries an alarm without a working battery is of no use to anyone.  We will be giving away smoke alarm batteries at our  annual Neighbour Day event on March 27th which will tie in with the QFES reminder to change batteries on April 1st - DON’T BE AN APRIL FOOL!! Other events planned during the year will be another road safety expo & we will try and incorporate some day time events for those who cannot or do not wish to venture out to evening meetings. The Crestmead Community Carols at the beginning of December were a great success & those who    attended all agreed it was a very enjoyable evening.  Hopefully we can make it bigger & better in 2016.  Many thanks to all those who helped in the planning & on the day plus thanks to all who attended.  Thanks to those who donated raffle prizes & congratulations to the winners.  Thanks also to all who    attended our November AGM & end of year party a very enjoyable evening. The new committee will work hard to keep our suburb safe & secure. Vehicle registration plates are still being stolen so if you want your rego plates replaced our Volunteers in Policing will be at the Community Centre at 6pm before our next meeting to fit them for you.  If you are unable to attend on January 25th you can contact  Crestmead Police Station to make an appointment.   For those children who have received bikes and scooters for Christmas don’t forget the cycle track at Crestmead Park children can learn to ride their bikes safely without cars nearby.  It is a very good facility to learn to ride & gain experience.  But remember helmets are required by law!
Take care Geoff

Sun Safety
Did you know that in Qld the levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun are high enough to damage your skin all year round. The ‘slip slop slap’ message has been around for many years & this message has been expanded to 5 ways to protect yourself from sun.
SLIP ON A SHIRT - clothes from a cotton weave will allow the skin to breath or when at the beach/pool use a rash vest
SLAP ON SOME SUNSCREEN - water resistant SPF 30 should be applied 20 minutes before  going outside & then every 2 hours
SLAP ON A BROAD BRIMMED HAT - one that shades your neck/face & ears.  Caps or    visors are not recommended
SEEK SHADE - minimise the time you are in direct sun & use an umbrella/shade device when possible
SLIDE ON SOME SUNGLASSES chose some which protect the side of your eyes & fit closely to your face  Some popular myths exposed: Sunscreen provides enough protection– it does not   provide enough sun protection for your skin Skin cancer only affects fair skinned people-skin cancer affects all skin types Skin cancer only affects older people - high sun exposure in first 10 years of life more than doubles your risk of melanoma & can be far advanced when found Skin cancer is caused by sunburn - cell damage from over exposure to UVR is the cause  You only need sun protection on hot sunny days - it does not matter if it is rainy or cloudy, UVR is always there during daylight You only need protection between 10am and 2pm -UVR levels are able to cause damage from 8am!! You need sun exposure for vitamin D - most people get sufficient vitamin D from normal outdoor activities More information from:
https://www.qld.gov.au/health/staying-healthy/environmental/sun/index.html
http://www.sunsmart.com.au

NOVEMBER MEETING 2015

AGM and End of Year Social

November 30th at Crestmead PCYC building

 

CRESTMEAD COMMUNITY CAROLS
Pinnington Park Saturday December 5th from 5.30pm all welcome
Please be advised that alcohol is not permitted in Logan City Council Parks
Soft drinks, water and a bbq will be available for purchase on the night plus raffle
Free face painting and a visit from SANTA!
Bring chairs and blankets for your comfort

2015November NEWSLETTER

Message from The Area Coordinator
After two months away in the Northern Hemisphere it is good to be back in the warm (if at times wet) weather of our wonderful state. We all need to make preparations to keep our property & possessions safe with both storm & bush fire seasons current. Please do all you can to minimise the risk of property in your yards from becoming a missile should we get high winds (or even the tail end of a cyclone) & make sure that undergrowth is kept to a minimum with no material which could burn easily in a bushfire emergency. Don’t forget we are surrounded with a lot of trees in our suburb & it would take just the right combination of wind, dry & high temperatures to provide the essence of a catastrophic fire emergency. We need to do our part to help the emergency services do their job in protecting & safeguarding our surroundings. Also make sure that gutters are cleared of dry leaves & other possible debris which can catch alight or block our drains in the event of a heavy storm.
The first weekend of November gave us a clue as to what mother nature may have in store for us this summer.

On another matter with the end of the school year approaching we must be even more vigilant on our roads for youngsters who may not be paying as much attention to their surroundings as they should with the excitement of holidays, parties etc ahead. The 40kph limit is there for a reason & don’t forget that road speeds are limited to 50kph in suburban streets unless otherwise posted it is evident to me since my return, just how many people are NOT adhering to the speed limits.
Police will be out in force over the coming holiday periods to monitor the FATAL FIVE - after distraction & inattention was added to the Road Safety Campaign. Make sure your vehicles are ready for the long trips which may be involved at holiday time as well as personally being ready.
Including: do not drive fatigued, impaired through drink or drugs, do not speed & always wear your seat belt. We all want to be here this time next year, & however safe we may drive remember that there are always those who share the roads with us who are not so diligent, so leave extra room for braking & be aware of your surroundings.

With the recent death of a young girl from Marsden the community rallied round the Marsden School Community. However police still need help in finding the person(s) involved & it is just possible that you may have the missing piece of information needed. Please look in your backyards in case the uniform or backpack has been disposed of over the fence it could be vital evidence.
Also be warned this “silly season” that there will be the usual conmen operating & cyber crime is still on the increase. Do Not open un-solicited emails particularly those advising that you have won a lottery that you have no knowledge of entering. DO NOT open emails saying that your computer has a virus, have an outstanding invoice from Fed Ex or similar. The Australian Cyber On-Line Reporting System ACORN is a secure reporting and referral service for cybercrime & online incidents which may be in breach of Australian law. Common types of cybercrime include: hacking, scams, fraud, identity theft, attacks on computer systems & illegal or prohibited online content. Make sure you have updated firewall & anti virus protection. If yours is not up to date perhaps give hints that you could do with a new version for a Christmas present instead of the usual unwanted items that just go into drawers.

I hope that you will join us at the AGM & end of year social on November 30th or at the Crestmead Community Carols on Saturday December 5th.

Wishing you a peaceful holiday season, take care
Geoff

AUGUST MEETING 2015

NEXT NHW MEETINGS 6.30PM
Crestmead Community Centre

Café area right side of building

MONDAY August 31st
speaker from

Crestmead Police

regarding

ICE

Following meetings September 28th/October 26th

AGM and end of year social November 30th

2015 August NEWSLETTER

Message from The Area Coordinator
Welcome to the new Officer in Charge of Crest-mead Police Station Acting Senior Sgt Warren Parker and we wish you well with your work in our community. Thanks go out to all staff at Crestmead Station including the Volunteers for all they do you are very much appreciated. I am pleased to say that our group is now officially In-corporated which makes life a little easier for grant applications etc and this will help us with our events in the community. Our grateful thanks to Veal and Prasad for their assistance with auditing our accounts. There may be a gap in newsletters for the next couple of months so I will draw your attention to the dates included here and most im-portantly the AGM & end of year social which is at the end of November. The first Saturday in December we will be holding the Crestmead Com-munity Carols in Pinnington Park & once again hope for a great turnout (but no rain!!) The November newsletter will have details of the event & look out for posters in the suburb. You will also see the events taking place at the community cen-tre which are noted—there is a lot going on so please take advantage of all the hard work that is organised for us in the suburb. There are so many more motorbike riders amongst the road toll this year we will be targeting many of these subjects at the Road Safety Expo to be held during Road Safety Week in August 2016, but for this year don’t forget there are lots of events on to educate & inform during the period 17th - 21st August. Not to say that we should just take care on Fatality Free Friday or Road Safety Week we should be conscious of the decisions we make when out on the roads bike riders are not always to blame so just give a bit more room when overtaking. Please see the note from Crestmead State School Adopt A Cop regarding children around schools & bike (scooter/skateboard) riding too.
Take care Geoff

NEWS FROM THE CRESTMEAD STATE SCHOOL “ADOPT A COP”
“Police would like to remind parents that before and after school are very busy times and can be peak traffic hazard times for children outside the school gate. Drivers are re-minded that the 2 minute parking restrictions and the school car parks will be monitored and infringements issued to those found committing parking offences or any offence likely to cause danger to other drivers or students at the school. We encourage children and parents to use the safe crossing zone outside the school and remember to stop, look and listen before crossing the street. Finally, if you like to ride your bicycle in the community please remember to wear your bi-cycle helmet on your head. Keep safe and look out for each other.”

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WHAT’S ON IN CRESTMEAD
Upcoming events which may be of interest to you

EATS AND BEATS
Berrinba Wetlands Wayne Goss Drive Friday 28th August 5pm - 9pm

BLUE LIGHT DISCO’s
Friday September 11th, October 9th, November 13th, December 11th. Held between 6pm - 8pm at Crestmead Community Centre. Primary school age children $4 PCYC members $5 non members.
Friday September 4th, October 2nd, November 6th, December 4th. Held between 6.30pm - 8.30pm at Logan West Community Centre, Wineglass Drive Hillcrest. Children aged 6 - 14 welcome admission $5.00

CENT SALES AT COMMUNITY CENTRE
Fathers Day theme September 5th
Spring Items theme October 24th doors open for both events at 12.45 start time 1.30pm. Enquiries to Rosie: 0407 649 789

BRAKING THE CYCLE
This scheme is just going from strength to strength & we have to congratulate Tracee & her team of mentors & volunteers for the hard work they put in to get the wonderful results of youngsters achieving their licence & in turn obtaining employment from being mobile but also with the assistance of the resume/interview skills gained.

PCYC
Lots of programs from Tiny Tots to Muay Thai, Aikido to Craft, Choir to Junior & Senior Dance, Playgroup to Duke of Edinburgh award. Contact 3805 4100 or email crestmead@pcyc.org.au for more details.

JULY MEETING 2015

NEXT NHW MEETINGS 6.30PM
Crestmead Community Centre

Café area right side of building

MONDAY July 27th
Speaker from Crestmead Police

Regarding ICE
 

Following meeting August 31st

Speaker to be arranged

CRESTMEAD PCYC BLUE LIGHT DISCO
Friday August 14th 6pm—8pm
Crestmead Community Centre

BROWNS PLAINS BLUE LIGHT DISCO
Friday August 7th 6.30pm—8.30pm
Logan West Community Centre
Wineglass Dr. Hillcrest

2015 July NEWSLETTER

Message from The Area Coordinator
All those who attended the talk at the last meeting from the Logan House Fire Support Network were agreed what an informative evening it was Louie & Christine deserve many thanks for their dedicated hard work in the face of such tragedies which are becoming too numerous. They have a wide range of smoke alarms, blankets etc which can be purchased from them at less than you would pay at the large retailers. So when you need to replace an item please consider contacting them for these necessary items and in doing so help pre-vent a possible fire. As suggested at the meeting when you are going to buy a birthday/Christmas present for someone why not think of getting something that is both necessary & life saving? Much better than a bunch of flowers or bottle of after shave & will last much longer!! This news-letter has many of the tips given at the meeting but for further details please contact louie@lhfsn.com 0411 826 114 or Christine@lhfsn.com 0407 645 531 more information & items mentioned from www.loganhousefiresupportnetwork.com
We are about to start planning the next Road Safety Expo to be held in August 2016 in line with the QPS road safety week. Date & venue to be arranged, but will keep you updated with plans as they develop. Our next meeting has an officer from Crestmead Police Station talking about the drug Ice epidemic. This will be very important for all since it is such a growing & destructive crime. Our next few meetings may not have speakers ar-ranged but we hope to welcome the new officer in charge to Crestmead Station at our August meet-ing. Crestmead Community Carols this year will be held on Saturday December 5th at Pinnington Park so please mark your calendars for this family event hopefully the rain will not affect us this year! Take care Geoff


LOGAN HOUSE FIRE SUPPORT NETWORK
Following Australia’s worst ever house fire at Slacks Creek in August 2011, Louie & Christine visited the scene & offered what condolences they could. How-ever with continuing events, they could see the need for some form of support help & in June 2014 they registered the LHFSN. Since July 1st 2014 there have been 41 house fires in Logan with 16 of those as a total loss. Recently they have linked with the Qld Fire & Emergency Services to promote the “GET OUT - FIRE ABOUT” slogan where you are encouraged to plan an escape route in the event of a fire would you know how to get out of your home in pitch black (could happen at night & don’t forget the electricity will be cut), with choking, acrid smoke affecting your breathing & vision? Get into the habit of your family knowing where to assemble if they need to evacuate, how quickly they can get out & what alternative methods there are of leaving the house should the doorways be blocked.
Of course a priority would be to have smoke alarms fitted throughout your home not just in the kitchen but at exit points for all bedrooms & if you live in a 2 storey home there should be alarms on each floor.
IONISATION SMOKE ALARMS are useless unless you want one to go off when the toast burns! It “smells” the burning whereas a PHOTOELECTRIC SMOKE ALARM actually “sees the smoke. So if a fire has smoldered for say 3 hours, you would be ren-dered in a deep sleep from the toxic smell of the fire obvious which alarm would work. The North-ern Territory government mandated in 2011 to only allow photoelectric alarms & it is actually illegal for commercial buildings to have an ionization alarm. It can take up to 3 - 4 hours for an ionization alarm to activate with toxic smoke too late for many people.
With the cost of photoelectric alarms around $20 & $40 for a 10 year lithium battery alarm how much do you value the life of your family, pets & yourself?
Many rental properties have ionization alarms (up to 70% in housing commission homes) so it worth ask-ing the landlord or rental agent to change it. You need to check the alarm batteries on an annual basis.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

• Heaters are put away for 6 months or more so you need to have it plugged into a surge pro-tector if possible if there is a problem then it will cut in. It is not normally worthwhile to get them repaired so throw out rather than take a chance.

• Electric blankets should not be left on over-night try & avoid buying second hand elec-trical items if possible.

• Recharge devices do not leave on overnight, just use during the day since it can overheat.

• Do not leave I Pads & phones under pillows since this raises the likelihood of fire.

• Check your alarm once a month by pushing the check button (with a broom handle or you can buy a special probe from LHFSN)

• If you have Crimsafe as your security screen-ing it can be kicked out but cannot be kicked in worth noting if you are thinking of updat-ing. Should also have one window that can be opened from inside in case of an emergency.

• Insurance if you cannot afford both at least insure your home if not the contents. This will allow you to have some property to start over again in the worst case—many people who are uninsured have only the clothes they escaped in & no chance of owning their home again.

• Fire blankets should be in the kitchen size 1.8 x 1.2 are recommended whereas a 1.1 size would not cover your arms if you are trying to smother a fire. Also have one at the BBQ.

• Extinguishers—have a small one in the car ($15) & a larger one in the kitchen ($70).