Man fatally stabbed; man arrested – Newcastle

A man has been arrested as inquiries continue into the stabbing death of another man near Newcastle overnight.
Just before 11.30pm (Thursday 26 December 2019), emergency services responded to reports of a stabbing on Silsoe Street, near the intersection of Myola Street, in Mayfield.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District attended and located a 50-year-old man critically injured with a wound to his neck.
He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics at the scene before being taken to John Hunter Hospital; however, despite attempts to resuscitate him, he was declared deceased on arrival.
A 36-year old man was arrested nearby and taken to Waratah Police Station.
A crime scene was established on Myola Road, which is being examined by specialist forensic officers.
Detectives from Newcastle City Police District are investigating the circumstances surrounding the man’s death.

Woman stabbed after man breaks into her house – Cardiff

A woman has been hospitalised after a man broke into her house and stabbed her five times at Cardiff in the Lake Macquarie Police District.
About 4.25am (Wednesday 25 December 2019), a 23-year-old woman woke up to get a glass of water at her Cypress Street home when she was grabbed from behind.
The woman struggled with the man and he produced a knife, stabbing her in the back five times.
The man fled the house along Cypress Street and emergency services were notified.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District attended, along with NSW Ambulance paramedics.
The injured woman was taken to John Hunter Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
A crime scene was established, and it appears the man entered the house through a rear window.
The man is described as being of Caucasian appearance with a slim build and closely shaved dark hair. He was wearing a hooded jumper and possibly gloves.
Investigations are continuing, and police are appealing for anyone who noticed anything suspicious in or near Cardiff Street about 4.25am this morning (Wednesday 25 December 2019), to contact Belmont Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 188 333 000.

Man dies following single-vehicle crash near Singleton

A man has died following a single-vehicle crash in the Hunter region this morning.
About 5am today (Saturday 21 December 2019), emergency services were called to Glendonbrook Road, Glendon Brook, following reports a vehicle had crashed over an embankment and rolled.
On arrival, officers from Hunter Valley Police District located a Toyota Hilux utility on its roof.
The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, a 30-year-old Martins Creek man, died at the scene.
A crime scene has been established and investigations into the circumstances surrounding the crash are continuing.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.

Man found suffering serious head injuries after falling from pushbike – Lake Macquarie

Officers from Hunter Crash Investigation Unit have commenced inquiries after a man was found on the roadway suffering serious injuries in Gateshead overnight.
About 12.30am today (Saturday 21 December 2019), emergency services were called to the intersection of Oxford Street and Church Street, Gateshead, after a passer-by located a 36-year-old man suffering serious head injuries. His bicycle was found next to him.
The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital suffering head injuries and remains in a serious condition.
Early investigations suggest the man may have been hit by a car. Officers are now appealing for anyone who may have seen a man riding a bike about 12.30am on, or near, Oxford Street at Gateshead, to contact police.
 

The Drop Festival 2020

Proposed Location: Empire Park, Bar Beach

This event site has been reviewed by all applicable event stakeholders through the Interagency Events Consultative Group, including NSW Police and NSW Ambulance Services, and events of this type have been approved in principle for this location.
A review on the use of the park has been conducted following the public notification period for The Drop Music Festival. The proposed event is a one-day all age music festival on 7 March 2020, that coincides with the final day of Surfest 2020.
Standard events consultation and notification was completed through the Public Lands Notice, with the period held between 28 October and 24 November 2019. In addition, a public information session was conducted on 18 November by the event organiser to assist with the provision of accurate information to residents from the area. City of Newcastle (CN) received 53 submissions in response to the notice. Based on assessment of the submissions received, all raised issues have been addressed through the planning controls proposed for the event.
Key items raised in the submissions includes the noise impacts, public safety, restrictions to access, potential antisocial behaviour, safety as a coastal location, and traffic and transport. All items have been addressed through a comprehensive executive summary prepared by the event organiser.
The assessment of the event will continue as proposed at Empire Park Bar Beach. Final approval will be dependant on the event organisers meeting all requirements of their licence, as per standard CN event licencing process.

Please note, these documents are a work in progress and will be updated periodically as the event planning progresses.

Newcastle 500 delivers return for city’s investment

Following a third successful Newcastle 500, City of Newcastle has outlined its costs and the event’s benefits for the region.
City of Newcastle has a $1.6 million annual events budget for the Newcastle 500.
Supercars-(1).jpgThe figure includes the license fee and all operational costs including traffic and waste management, communications, all event works specific to the event, and staff resources. It also includes a program of events, activations, and promotions to encourage patronage to businesses outside the race precinct. There are no ongoing costs for City of Newcastle for storage of event delivery infrastructure for the Newcastle 500 after a lease with UGL ended earlier this year.
The Hunter Research Foundation Centre (HRFC) concluded that the benefit of the 2017 three-day event to the local economy was $30.1 million, confirming the decision of the elected Council in 2016 to secure the event on behalf of the region.
The $30.1 million benefit of the event would be far higher if the direct economic benefit in neighbouring areas including Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Cessnock were included.
The $1.6 million figure represents just 5.3 per cent of the $30.1 million economic injection into the city as calculated by the HRFC’s independent research.
The Hunter Research Foundation Centre’s independent analysis also estimated that up to 124 full-time equivalent jobs have been generated from direct and flow-on impacts of the 2017 Newcastle 500.
Costs associated with the City’s multi-million-dollar East End civil works program were excluded from the economists’ analysis as these were scheduled works brought forward by several years to enable the inaugural Newcastle 500. There have been no requests from Supercars Australia for infrastructure works since the initial civil project.
City of Newcastle is still reviewing the actual cost of vandalism and malicious damage in protest to the event, but the cost is substantial and in the tens of thousands of dollars. This includes poisoning of turf, graffiti on fencing and other infrastructure, and the use of potentially damaging materials such as oil and diesel dumped around the suburb and parks.
City of Newcastle is continuing to complete general maintenance and upgrade works in the domain in line with its ongoing infrastructure management program.
According to Destination NSW’s analysis of the 2017 event, visitors spent $12.5 million during their visit, with about 85 per cent spent in Newcastle and the wider Hunter region.
The results confirm the event is on track to reach the projected visitation and economic impact targets of 81,000 overnight visitors and $57 million in visitor spend over five years.
Newcastle 500 has continued to provide widespread exposure for the city. This year’s event weekend recorded 344 media stories from Friday 22 to Sunday 24 November, reaching a combined domestic audience of more than 14 million people, with an estimated value of over $2 million. According to Supercars Australia the TV audience for Newcastle 500 peaked at more than 1.8 million viewers with an average of 1.3 million people tuning in to the three-day event.
“Three years in, the annual investment for the City to host the Newcastle 500 demonstrates the benefits to Newcastle and the region,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
“The Newcastle 500 is the biggest event on the local calendar with significant benefit to the region.”

Signs signal start of holiday road safety

But with the festive and new year cheer that this time of year brings, comes an added responsibility of maintaining vigilance around roads, cycleways, footpaths and parks.
City of Newcastle has joined forces once again with the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation to spread the importance of child pedestrian road safety leading into the school holiday period.
Inside1.jpgSchool captains Alice Bradley, 12 (Left) and Bella Lewis, 12, with Peta Winney-Baartz
The It’s Holiday Time campaign is the brainchild of Michelle and David McLaughlin, who tragically lost their son Tom at age four to a roadside accident near Macmasters Beach on the Central Coast. Mrs McLaughlin now spends her days proactively partnering with organisations like City of Newcastle to prevent further tragedies from occurring on NSW roads.
“The campaign incorporates brightly coloured signage with simple messaging to instruct and remind drivers to slow down, and for children and families to remain alert and attentive,” Mrs McLaughlin said.
“The signs are positioned in highly visible public spaces, such as beaches and parks, so that we can best maximise our road safety message.”
“Holiday destinations are most often a new and unfamiliar environment for children and their families, and it’s important that parents have a conversation with their children and go through how they’re expected to behave when they’re in this new environment.”
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These conversations are already well and truly being had around the family dinner table and in the school classroom of 12-year-old Alice Bradley, a year six student at Mayfield West Demonstration School.
As part of her school’s PDHPE curriculum, students at Mayfield West Demonstration School learn necessary skills, attitudes and behaviours needed to stay safe as pedestrians, passengers and wheelchair users.
“Holidays are always the best time of the year, but when they come around we need to take extra care when crossing roads and watching for cars,” 12-year-old Alice said.
“These lessons teach us to be extra cautious and careful.”
Newcastle Councillor and Local Traffic Committee member Peta Winney-Baartz knows too well the importance of road safety management across the LGA. Cr Winney-Baartz provides input and advice on several traffic matters that present to the committee once a month.
“In co-operation with local police and state agencies, it is my role on behalf of the City to advocate the best outcomes for the community when it comes to a range of traffic and transport matters.
“These matters are often brought to us by the community. It’s then our duty to review them and ascertain whether there’s a need to implement suitable improvements.
“Any initiative that propagates better outcomes for children and families on our roads is a worthy one, so it’s great to see Michelle and her team at Little Blue Dinosaur championing such a strong cause.”
To read more about Michelle and David’s story, or the Little Blue Dinosaur Foundation, visit http://www.littlebluedinosaur.org

Festive season a time to celebrate 2019’s achievements

City of Newcastle is praising its staff and thanking the local community for a hugely successful year that has seen town centres revitalised, environmental milestones achieved, and millions of dollars invested in the city.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said 2019 was a year marked by investment in the city’s outer suburbs, sustainability initiatives and unprecedented community engagement.
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“With the festive season upon us and most locals including our hard-working employees looking forward to a well-earned break, it’s important to celebrate our collective achievements over 2019.”
“We continued delivering improved public spaces for our community, including the $2 million Stockton Active Hub, new playgrounds at Wallsend, Adamstown and Rankin Park, and the City’s first fenced dog park in North Lambton.
“We added new parkland in the City centre. Reinvigorated town centres were opened in Beresfield and Carrington, with the multi-million projects including new roads, footpaths, drainage and landscaping.
“City staff moved to new offices in the West End where they’re now under one roof for the first time. The modern space and new way of working has fostered greater communication and collaboration within our large team and paved the way for the start of construction of the City’s first 5-Star hotel in the former ‘Roundhouse’ building.
“Our investment in sustainability means from 1 January 2020 we will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy, including power sourced from wind in addition to our five-megawatt solar farm on former landfill at Summerhill.
“Our efforts to become a smart, liveable and sustainable global city were recognised with three prestigious smart city awards that saw us eclipse Singapore and other major international cities.
“Meanwhile, we continued to grow our reputation as one of the country’s leading event destinations with the Newcastle 500 attracting more than 154,000 attendees and our beautiful city beamed to a national TV audience of 1.8 million people.
“These achievements only scratch the surface of what was delivered this year and is testament to our employees who have put in a mammoth effort to deliver a record amount of work in improving the city.”
City of Newcastle’s offices and Customer Contact Centre will be closed from noon Friday 20 December 2019 and will re-open 8.30am Thursday 2 January 2020. Emergency calls will be answered by our after-hours service provider. More information about City of Newcastle services is available at our website www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au.

Man charged in connection to murder of Danielle Easey

Homicide Squad detectives have charged a man following ongoing investigations into the murder of Danielle Easey, after her body was discovered in a creek near Newcastle earlier this year.
About 10.30am on Saturday 31 August 2019, police were called to Cockle Creek, near Wakefield Road, Killingworth, after members of the public saw an item wrapped in plastic floating in the water.
The plastic, containing a woman’s body, was removed from the water by officers.
The woman was formally identified as 29-year-old, Danielle Easey, who lived in Booragul with family, but had more recently been staying at multiple locations around the area.
A post mortem examination revealed Danielle had been seriously assaulted and stabbed.
Detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad and Lake Macquarie Police District established Strike Force Furzer to investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
Inquiries have revealed Danielle was murdered at a home at Narara on or around Saturday 17 August 2019, before being transported and dumped at Cockle Creek.
As part of ongoing investigations, strike force detectives charged a 33-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman in September. They remain before the courts.
Following further inquiries, detectives arrested a 37-year-old man at a home on Mereweather Street, Cardiff, about 7am today (Friday 20 December 2019).
He was taken to Belmont Police Station and charged with conceal serious indictable offence of other.
The man was granted strict conditional bail to appear at Belmont Local Court on Wednesday 8 January 2019.

Police charge two men for break and enter offences at Scone

Police attached to the Hunter Valley Police District have arrested two men following an investigation into multiple break and enters in the Scone area.
About 5.15am (Wednesday 18 December 2019) police attended a business in Kelly Street following reports of an alarm sounding.
Police noticed a man nearby and he was searched and arrested after police allegedly located items in his backpack.
The man, aged 58, was taken to Scone Police Station and charged with a 15 break and enters, which allegedly occurred at various businesses and houses in the Scone area during the past two months.
He was refused bail and will appear in Muswellbrook Local Court tomorrow (Thursday 19 December 2019).
A second man, aged 34, was also arrested today in Bingle Street, Scone, following investigations into a break and enter at a unit in Birrell Street, Scone.
Police will allege the man forced entry to the residence and damage property inside.
He was taken to Muswellbrook Police Station where he was charged with break and enter (with intent) and malicious damage.
He was also refused bail and will appear in the same court tomorrow.
The men are not known to each other.