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Police Officers’ Fundraising Event At Padua College A Success

The Padua College at Kedron welcomed police and Police Liaison Officers from the North Brisbane District, the Mounted Unit and the Police Pipes and Drums for ‘Give Brain Cancer the Boot’ on 15 July 2021.

Read: This New Vegan Cafe In Stafford Heights Will Reward Your Eco-friendly Coffee Habit

‘Give Brain Cancer the Boot’ is a shoe-shining fundraising event, which aims to raise awareness and donations for brain cancer and its research. Padua students have their shoes shined by attending police, ARMY, sporting stars, college staff and senior students at the cost of a donation to the cause.

Acting Chief Superintendent Christopher Stream was only required to shine one set of shoes, but he tirelessly continued to polish a number of other students shoes of his volition.

Acting Superintendent Christopher Stream in action (Photo credit: mypolice.qld.gov.au)

Padua Student’s getting ready to play Horsey Soccer (Photo credit: mypolice.qld.gov.au)

During the event, the Police Pipes and Drums played their incredible tunes and provided an uplifting atmosphere to the event. The Police Mounted Officers and their two police horses, Geronimo and Felix, also played soccer with the students.

The event came to fruition through the dedication of Kerri McKinless, who is the wife of serving The Gap Station police officer, Senior Constable Brendan McKinless, who was sadly diagnosed with brain cancer (Oligodendroglioma) approximately three years ago. He went through three separate surgeries, extensive chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

All donations raised during the event will go to Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer Foundation which aims to raise funds towards research into brain cancer. It was founded by journalist and Gold Logie award-winning television and radio presenter Carrie Bickmore, whose husband Greg passed away in 2010 after a decade-long battle with brain cancer.

This New Vegan Cafe In Stafford Heights Will Reward Your Eco-friendly Coffee Habit

Photo credit: Enoki Coffee & Co/Instagram

Enoki Coffee & Co, a new vegetarian and vegan cafe, just opened in Stafford Heights earlier this month. This cafe is worth checking out not just for the food and the coffee, but for its unique initiative on fighting the war on waste.

Read: Triciclo: New, Mobile Coffee Cart at the Popular Kedron Brook Bikeway

At Enoki Coffee & Co, those who will use keep cups will be offered discounts on coffee. This cafe, which focuses on supporting local farmers, growers and producers, will also give a 50 percent off on half-serves – a nice move to help reduce food waste.

Enoki Coffee & Co is the brainchild of Lene Ritter, a nurse and hairdresser and her partner Chris Allen, a professional painter. They are newcomers in the hospitality scene, but they have tried numerous cafes throughout the city. They will have the guidance of friends Jason Cilliers and Tim Duncan, who own the Semi-Pro coffee roastery in North Lakes.

Lene Ritter and Chris Allen (Photo credit: Enoki Coffee & Co/Instagram)

Photo credit: Enoki Coffee & Co/Instagram

Semi-Pro will supply their house variety but the cafe will also have their own coffee menu that will be on rotation. They are planning to focus on cold and batch brews, but milk coffees will also be an option.

As environmentally friendly individuals, the duo are planning to introduce composting at the cafe for all their food scraps and Ms Ritter will also be growing a range of seedlings and selling them onsite.

Read: Puppy Carers from North Brisbane in Demand for Vision Australia

For the food, there will be vegan waffles, garden brito bowl (their version of Korean bibimbap), halloumi bagel, and tempura Enoki with tofu. Desserts, on the other hand, will be supplied by Sweet Nectar whilst baked goodies will be coming from French Tart.

Inside Enoki Coffee & Co (Photo credit: Enoki Coffee & Co/Instagram)

Another interesting fact, this place is dog-friendly! If you want to check out Enoki Coffee & Co, visit them in Stafford Heights from 7:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during weekdays and from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on weekends. (And don’t forget your masks and your keep cups!)

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A post shared by Enoki Coffee & Co (@enokicoffee)

Follow Enoki Coffee & Co on Facebook or on Instagram @enokicoffee for updates.

Plans Lodged for a 24-hour Medical Centre in Busy Stafford Intersection

A car sales yard along the intersection of Stafford and Webster Roads could be replaced by a 24-hour medical centre if a development application from Ethos Urban receives the green light.

The planned site, spanning 3,803 square metres, will become the home of a new two-storey facility that will accommodate tenancies for 15 general practitioners and 78 underground car parking spaces. It will be open to Brisbane north residents 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The development application (DA A005697853), filed with Council in April 2021, seeks to demolish and turn the car yard into a commercial site as well, providing wide-ranging allied health services for the community.

24-hour Medical Centre — Photo Credit: Developmenti/BCC

Ethos Urban outlined in its application that the site is in a prominent location, which will be crucial to running a successful facility. The developers said that based on their research, this local area needs more medical clinics as it’s below the Queensland benchmark for GP providers per 10,000 people.

“The proposal is consistent with the character of the locality and community expectations for the site and is responsive to local community needs. It represents a high-quality architectural design that protects the amenity of nearby residential uses through good design, extensive landscaping and noise mitigation measures,” the planners stated.

Whilst there are at least two medical centres nearby, such as the Stafford City Doctors and the Stafford Rd Medical Practice, there is no 24-hour medical centre in the area.

Council is still assessing the application and is awaiting the submission of the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA) report, which should be ready by September 2021.

Bunnings Toombul To Cease Operations After Five Years

Photo credit: Bunnings Toombul/Google Maps

After five years of operation, Bunnings Warehouse is shuttering its location in Toombul effective 15 August 2021.

The store, located on the ground floor of Toombul Shopping Centre, first opened its doors in 2016. Bunnings Toombul established community group cake stalls instead of the beloved sausage sizzle the brand is known for.

Read: Council Urged to Find New Site for Stafford Skate Centre

Bunnings Regional Operations Manager, Kent Payne, said in a media release: “As our store portfolio evolves and new investments are made, we continually review our network and our needs in the local areas in which we operate and our stores play an important role as part of that.”

“Because our lease expiry was nearing, we’ve made the decision to cease operations at our Toombul smaller format store and service the local community from our nearby stores in Virginia, Newstead and Stafford,” she added.

Ms Payne said both the Virginia and Newstead Bunnings Warehouses opened in 2019 and gave customers a newer, wider and improved offer. Meanwhile, the retail giant has also announced plans for nearby Stafford Warehouse, which will see over 6,000 square metres of additional retail space added for customers, as well as an additional 180 car parks.

Read: Kedron Local Opens a Successful Removalist Company Before His 30s

Ms Payne, who commended the team of Bunnings Toombul for their commitment in serving customers and the local community since 2016, said the staff would be given an option to transfer to nearby Bunnings stores.

Bunnings Warehouse currently operates 290 stores across the country. The brand is committed to participating in the communities by contributing to local, regional and national causes, charities and organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand. During the 2020 financial year, the team supported over 72,000 local community activities helping raise and contribute more than $42.9 million for community groups.

Bunnings Toombul’s trading hours are 9:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday to Sunday.

Deadline Approaching for Lucky Lutwyche Millionaire with Unclaimed Winnings

Did you know that between 2015 to 2021, some 10 individuals in Queensland, including a Lutwyche resident who won $1.3 million five years ago, have not yet come forward to collect their winnings from The Lott?

Spokesperson Lauren Cooney has been urging the public to check old shopping bags, their car’s glove box, or their sock drawers at home for the unclaimed tickets. She added that they’ve had several winners who hid their tickets in some “weird and wonderful places.”

“We’ve had past division one winners come forward months and even years after the draw after finding an old ticket in the back of a drawer, in the central console of their car, and at the bottom of their handbag,” Ms Cooney said.

The Lutwyche millionaire purchased a Saturday Gold Lotto ticket from Lutwyche News & Gifts, which has since permanently closed at the Market Central, and that’s all The Lott knows about the ticket holder.

The rest of the unclaimed winning tickets in Queensland are as follows:

Game	Draw no/Win date*	Selling outlet	Outlet suburb	Division 1 prize
Saturday Gold Lotto	3539 20-Jun-15	Nextra Morayfield Village	Morayfield	$1,000,000.00
Monday Gold Lotto	361819-Dec-16	Cotton Tree News	Maroochydore	$1,000,000.00
Saturday Gold Lotto	37874-Nov-17	Nextra Capalaba Park News	Capalaba	$369,059.13
Saturday Gold Lotto	386711-Aug-18	Golden Lucky News	Helensvale	$671,513.12
Lucky Lotteries Mega Jackpot 1st Prize	124915-Mar-19	Nextra Wynnum Plaza	Wynnum West	$200,000.00
Lucky Lotteries Super Jackpot 1st Prize	10280 1-Apr-19	NewsExtra Springwood Mall	Springwood	$100,000.00
Saturday Gold Lotto	3961 6-Jul-19	Gatton Plaza Newsagency	Gatton	$774,838.34
Saturday Gold Lotto	3967 27-Jul-19	News Worx	Victoria Point	$1,000,000.00
Monday & Wednesday Gold Lotto	4085 9-Apr-21	News Extra Mossman	Mossman	$1,000,000.00

In line with this, Ms Cooney said that it would be best for players to register their entries online so they could do a proper trace in case of the winners.

“We’re in the business of paying prizes and should you win big, you’ll want us to be able to reach out to you with the winning news.”

The deadline for claiming prizes vary per state but Queensland has the longest — within seven years from the draw date (win date).

Puppy Carers from North Brisbane in Demand for Vision Australia

Would you like to volunteer to take care of a puppy and raise it to become a well-adjusted, future seeing-eye dog? Vision Australia has a program for Kedron families and other North Brisbane residents to become full-time foster carers.

The puppy carers for Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog program will be expected to take care of an eight-week-old pup for the duration of 12 to 15 months or for as short as six months. The carer’s main roles are to interact with the animal, provide them with regular exercises, and facilitate socialisation with other dogs or humans.

The foster dog parents should also spend some time toilet training pup, as well as teaching basic commands like sit or stay and help them learn to walk on the lead. However, the puppy carers will not be expected to train the animals for their future jobs as there are actually development trainers tasked to work with the young dogs.

What’s vital at this stage is for a North Brisbane family to monitor the pup since these animals should not be left alone for more than three hours. Humans have to be committed to the animal because consistency is an important factor in their development as future service dogs.

Aside from the time, puppy carers need to have a secure yard where they can interact and play with the dog. If they are renting the house, they will also need to secure approval from their landlord to have a new animal living with them, albeit temporarily.

According to Vision Australia: “Your puppy can ‘free run’ with your supervision if your property/backyard is safe and secure. The pup should not be left unsupervised as they may learn undesired behaviours such as digging. Letting pups have a ‘free run’ is a fantastic way to burn off some energy and teach them to respond when called.”

To learn more about this program, you can download the FAQs outlining the duties and requirements of a puppy carer. However, do note that your application might take some time to be assessed, depending on the new litters that will need placement in a new home.

Vision Australia’s Seeing Eye Dog has over 200 pups living with carers at a given time. The costs involved to become part of this program will be shouldered by the company, including the crate for the puppy to sleep, retreat or settle in after a long day of training and play.

Kedron Local Opens a Successful Removalist Company Before His 30s

A young Kedron local has managed to launch a successful start-up that has steadily grown in three years. Matt Baker, the owner of Shift Buddies, was only 26 years old when he opened his removalist company, which earned him recognition at the 2019 Moreton Bay Region Business Awards for his excellence as a young entrepreneur.

Shift Buddies, founded in mid-2018, was hatched after Matt realised the challenges of moving houses. His father’s friend had a difficult experience with a provider that not only broke some of her items but also overcharged her for their services.

Matt saw the opportunity to provide a better removalist service and got started by opening a depot in Kedron. His first truck, bought after he sold his ute, was hired for small jobs like furniture pick-ups. Not long after that, he acquired four more trucks and employed 10 other people to help with the business.

The young entrepreneur credits the success of his removalist company to a very simple business model. His trucks are only allowed to book one team and one job per day to avoid a blowout. However, this means that they could lose out on other opportunities to earn more as they have to turn down other enquiries.

“We do local house moves around Brisbane and SEQ and 1-2 long haul trips inter or intrastate a month.”

Matt aims for slow but steady growth for Shift Buddies but he’s set for another expansion with the onslaught of opportunities coming in from families moving interstate to the Sunshine State. The opportunities could mean that this start-up would soon cross the million-dollar profit threshold.

To learn more about their services visit their official site or Facebook page. Shift Buddies is also paying it forward by helping out local charitable organisations.

Kedron Residents Say No to 5th Service Station

Residents of Kedron have come together to oppose a planned 7-Eleven service station on Gympie Road, which will become the fifth service station in the suburb if approved.

Submitted by Wolter Consulting Group Pty Ltd (DA A005697131) and designed by Cottee Parker, the proposed service station will replace the Eagers Holden showrooms on the lot.

The development plans include a canopy with four fuel dispensers next to the convenience store and a potential row of fast food outlets. It also allows for 15 car parking spaces and one PWD parking with the main access on the corner of Kedron and Childers Streets.

Whilst the project doesn’t require community consultation, as a code assessment location, more than 50 locals, both residents and frequent visitors to Kedron and nearby suburbs, filed submissions with Brisbane City Council citing why they don’t recommend the plan’s approval.

Photo Credit: Developmenti/Brisbane City Council

Among the issues raised were:

traffic, especially near the intersection of Kitchener Road
impact on the surrounding narrow streets, which will be used as a rat run
danger to the students and pedestrians
increase in cars during peak hours
the planned 24/7 use of the site which is near a residential area
increased noise and pollution

Some residents also filed an e-petition with Council which has, so far, raked 134 signatures asking to “give due consideration to the concerns raised.” The residents said that they do not want businesses that will create major traffic near their homes. They also said that there are at least 14 service stations within the four kilometres of the site.

“493 Gympie Road is not a suitable site for any business that creates high volumes of traffic in a local residential street,” one local said in the submissions to Council.

Council has yet to decide on the application nor reply to the petition.

Enjoy Authentic Italian Pizza at the Popular Prova Pizzeria

Eager for a slice of authentic Italian pizza? Prova pizzeria has provided the Stafford Heights community with top-notch pizza for over four years now and its loyal following continues to grow.

Prova is a restaurant that takes great pride in its menu, which includes a selection of authentic Italian pizzas to choose from such as margherita, gamberi, or funghi. The restaurant provides its customers with unique dining experiences weekly through their Pizza Specials, limited-time pizzas that can’t be ordered from their permanent menu.

A popular example of these specials is a pizza made with white base, mozzarella cheese, rocket pesto, six-hours slow-cooked beef short rib, and walnut salsa.

Where It All Began

Prova Pizzeria, one of the busiest and most beloved pizza joints in Stafford Heights, was founded by Joseph Vecchio and Caterina Sullivan over four years ago. The duo remarked that witnessing the community grow up along their restaurant has been a heartening experience, as they got to see the students who dined at the restaurants with their families start to pay for their own bills after becoming young adults.

The restaurant first came about as a side-job as Mr Vecchio was working on building projects at the time. Soon after, their pizzeria became the focus of their lives, with Mr Vecchio working the kitchen and Ms Sullivan running the front-of-house.

Great Reviews

Satisfied customers have generally left positive reviews, lauding the restaurant’s excellent staff and service, as well as their delicious pizza.

One customer had even remarked that “Prova Pizzeria will never disappoint you,” and that it was a “fabulous local restaurant.” Another described their meals as “…food as if straight from Nonna’s kitchen to your plate…” which brings the restaurant’s comforting flavours to light.

Prova can be found at 61 Wilgarning St, Stafford Heights, open Tuesday to Sunday from 5:30 p.m. onwards. For more information, visit their website here. Check their social media pages on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates on meals, deals, dates, and other special announcements concerning the restaurant.

Council Urged to Find New Site for Stafford Skate Centre

Brisbane’s roller-skating community is calling on Council to find a new site for the Stafford Skate Centre after the lease for the privately-owned building, which has been the home of the rink for over four decades, was not renewed.

In a statement on Facebook, the former operator Rob Carter said that it was time for his family to “hang up the skates” as he looks forward to his retirement. Reports cited that the building owners are looking to turn the building into a World Gym, targetting a redevelopment date for September 2021.

Following the announcement, locals have expressed devastation as one of the last skating rinks in Brisbane could displace a growing skating community. Children between the ages of five to 15, who play inline hockey, speed skating, artistic skating, and roller hockey, will no longer have a safe indoor rink that protects them from the sun and road traffic.

The closest skating rinks, found in Albany Creek and Browns Plains, might not also be able to accommodate the number of skaters that frequent the Stafford Skate Centre. Meanwhile, Stafford has an abundance of gym facilities.

Stafford locals have set up a petition to save the skating rink and nearly 4,000 have signed their support, as of press time. Councillor Fiona Hammond also opened her office for the community to discuss potential new locations with her.

Some residents suggested that Council must consider an outdoor park with more undercover areas so people can still skate and exercise when it’s hot or raining.

The skating centre first opened its doors in 1972 and Mr Carter used to work as a skating coach before he took over the lease in 1981. Mr Carter said he’s the first to be devastated by the closure but he understood the business decision made by the building owners. As per his lease agreement, the Stafford Skate Centre will close after 12 Sept 2021.