Treeman committed to continue vigil

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Thornlie man, Richard Pennicuick said he is only getting stronger and fitter as his one man protest to save a gum tree outside his house entered its 12th day today.

Speaking to thewest.com.au, Mr Pennicuick, 57, said there was no end in sight to his protest and he will continue camping in the tree until the Gosnells Council gave him a commitment in writing that the tree would be saved.

"I am feeling great. I am doing more exercise here on the tree than I would normally do in the house. I can definitely keep on going but for how long I don't know. But it does look like I am going to be spending Christmas in the tree," he said.
Mr Pennicuick took up residency in the tree two Monday's ago in a last ditch effort save the tree outside his house - just one of the last two of 22 Gum trees that once stood on Hume Road.

He said that his protest was gaining momentum and in the past few days has been visited by scores of people who have shown their support.

"A couple flew all the way in from Sydney to hello and in the last few days I have had visitors from India and South Africa who video taped me. There is a huge groundswell of support," he said.

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Thornlie Trees to get the chop

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Ordinary Council Meeting Minutes 15 December 2009
9
∗ Ms. Hilda Potschick of 17 Ravensden Street, Thornlie asked the following
questions:
Q 1 Can the Council provide me with the street names and proposed dates
where Council intends to remove more trees?
Q 2 Can Council provide me with copies and the compilers names of all
surveys made/being made by tree specialists commissioned by Council
to recommend all tree removals in the City?
Response: The Mayor advised that the City was not removing all of the
trees, only specifying which ones the City has been advised to take
down. The Mayor further advised that all of Ms.Potshick questions
would be taken on notice and responded to in writing.

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Limb fall underlines City stance

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Limb fall underlines City stance

A 12 metre long limb which fell yesterday from a Eucalyptus Melliadora in Gosnells will be removed tomorrow by City staff.

The tree is the same species as one being occupied by a resident in Hume Road, Thornlie. The safety of Eucalyptus Melliadora was reviewed last year after a limb weighing over a tonne dropped into Hume Road, narrowly missing a car.

This led the City to commence a replacement program which will see 22 trees replaced with 35 new ones in Hume Road as part of a five year process across the City.

City Chief Executive Officer Ian Cowie said the latest limb drop was an example of why the trees were being replaced.

“As the City keeps saying, Eucalyptus Melliadora is unsuitable for street verges because they are dangerous. We are relieved no serious damage was done when this latest limb drop occurred – it is estimated the latest limb weighed in excess of a tonne.”

The City has consistently offered to meet the resident who is occupying the tree once he comes down. The City has also repeatedly said that the tree will not be removed before those discussions are held. The City’s position has been confirmed in writing to the resident but he has not left the tree.

Work in Hume Road has now concluded until the issue of the two occupied trees is resolved.



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Boy partially disembowelled in accident

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ALEISHA PREEDY
December 16, 2009 - 4:49PM
AAP

A four-year-old West Australian boy is recovering after being partially disembowelled when he sat on a swimming pool skimmer box.

The boy was in the pool at his home in Gosnells, in Perth's southeast, when the accident happened on December 5, the WA Department of Consumer Protection division says.

He sat on the skimmer box, a filtering device on the edge of the pool which removes leaves and dirt from the water, and the suction of the pool's filter pump damaged a portion of his small and large intestine.

He spent a week receiving treatment at Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital and is now recovering at home, but will require the use of a colostomy bag for several months while his injuries heal.

The consumer protection department issued a warning about the danger of pool equipment on Wednesday, following an inquiry into the incident.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Anne Driscoll warned owners of older-style swimming pools, installed prior to 1988, to check skimmer boxes cannot be accessed by children.

"In older-style pools these skimmer boxes look like a seat or potty that a child can easily sit in unless there is a physical barrier or the lid is permanently secured down," Ms Driscoll said.

"If children sit in a skimmer box it can cause horrific injuries and even death.

"It's important that skimmer boxes have a safety skirt or lid installed which is a vertical barrier preventing children from sitting on the box and that the lid is securely fixed and can only be removed with tools and not by hand."

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Bushfire flares up in Martin

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UPDATE: Fire crews are on the scene of a bushfire in Martin, that started on the eastern side of Tonkin Highway.

The fire, reported at 3.30pm this afternoon, is burning between Rushton Road and Quarry Road

The fire has now been contained but motorists are asked to avoid the area if possible and reduce speed, drive carefully and be mindful of emergency services crews working in the area.

FESA has issued a bushfire warning for residents in the area.

No homes or lives are currently threatened by the fire.

People living in the area should close all doors and windows, turn off evaporative air-conditioners (but keep water running through the system) and watch for signs of fire.

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Police probe Gosnells party brawl

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Police are investigating a brawl involving about 30 people at a party in Gosnells on the weekend in which a 20-year-old suffered severe facial injuries.

A police spokesman said that officers had been called to a fight between party goers and gate crashers at the party on Nullagine Way near Swingler Way in Gosnells.

When police arrived they had found about 30 drunken revellers spilling out of the party on to the street. A 20 year-old Gosnells man, an invited guest at the party, was injured when he wrestled with another man and was hit on the head with a solid object, possibly a cricket bat.
He was taken to Armadale Hospital and then transferred to Royal Perth Hospital.

He suffered fractures above and below his left eye, a fracture to the right side of his forehead causing bleeding and swelling to his brain, a broken nose and a broken finger.

Anyone with information on the assault is asked to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.


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Knife, scythe used as weapons in violent WA night

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NATASHA POVEY

December 13, 2009

A young Bunbury man has been stabbed and Maddington liquor store clerk was threatened with a scythe overnight, police report.

A man from Bunbury received multiple stab wounds after a verbal and physical confrontation with another person in the early hours of this morning in the south-west town.

His injuries were not described as life threatening.

Police have taken a person of interest into custody following the stabbing and charges are expected to be laid later this morning.

In a separate incident in the metropolitan area a 44-year-old man has been arrested after threatening staff at a Maddington liquor shop with a scythe, police said.

Around 8:30 last night the man entered the BWS liquor store on Albany Highway.

After being refused service several times he pulled the weapon out and began threatening staff, police said.

Police were called and no one was injured.

And in a third violent event a 32-year-old man was brought to hospital in a serious but stable condition after a brawl in the city, police report.

Police claim the man had been part of a group on a charter boat who began fighting and continued the brawl after the boat docked at Barrack Street jetty around 9:30 last night.

Police responded to the call and found the man with serious neck injuries.

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact crime stoppers.

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Thornlie Tree Man

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Thornlie Tree Man 

Finally someone in this state is taking a stand (or a sit) for what they believe in. Sure he sounds nuts, but my sister & friends are all off to see him on thurs, quite possibly dressed as trees and baring cookies.

His son said ”He doesn’t look too brilliant but he’s determined enough to stay up that tree for a bloody long time.” We need more politicians like this :p

Still, we are staying right away from his bucket…

@15 hours ago
#protest, #thornlie tree man #though #news #oddspot #offbeat


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FESA probe Maddington service station fireball

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EMERGENCY services investigating the Maddington petrol tanker explosion have described it as a "lucky escape'' from a potentially fatal disaster.

FESA continue to investigate the cause of yesterday’s fuel tanker explosion, which sent a massive fireball into the sky when a petrol tanker exploded as it was filling an underground tank at a service station on Albany Highway.

Homes had to be evacuated and local roads and shops closed as a massive fireball shot into the air while a tanker was stationed at the Caltex-Woolworths fuel outlet  about 1.45pm on Friday.

Picture Gallery: Amazing images from the petrol blast

FESA operational services officer Paul Ryan said the exact cause of the blaze was yet to be determined.

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“At this stage, we can ascertain that during the driver transferring unleaded petrol from the tanker to the ground tanks, there was some sort of ignition, and the fire commenced,” he said.

Officers from FESA’s Fire Investigation Unit, Arson Squad, and the Dangerous Goods Division of the Department of Minerals and Petroleum were working to determine the cause of the fire.

Mr Ryan said crews from Maddington Fire Service and Welshpool were first on the scene to treat the initial fire, before a massive fireball shot out when the fuel tank ruptured.

“On arrival, the guys found some tyres had started to ignite and some of the fuel areas around the garage had started to burn, so they started to cool the tank,” he said.

“The tank started to bulge a little bit and started pressurising, (and) the guys then backed off from that area.

“The side of the tanker which was facing the service station then ruptured.”

Mr Ryan praised the efforts of the fire crews at the scene in placing water on the side of the tank to keep the strength of the aluminium in place, preventing further damage.

“If they hadn’t have done that, there was a possibility it may have failed, and taken some of our crews… so it was very good fire fighting by our personnel,” he said.

“If they hadn’t done such a good job, we would be looking at something quite different, with the possibility that all the tanks could have ruptured.

“It was very lucky we didn’t have anybody lost.”

The fireball erupted after two of the tanker’s six compartments failed due to the initial fire, affecting 15,000 litres of the 40,000 litres of unleaded petrol on board.

Mr Ryan said the tanker’s driver was “very shocked and upset” but not injured in the blaze.

The fire is estimated to have caused $2 million damage.

Despite initial fears affected wastewater would seep into nearby rivers, Mr Ryan said environmental teams had set up a small dam soaking system to ensure the Canning River would not be affected.

The environmental cleanup will continue throughout Saturday.


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Tree man ready for Christmas Day vigil

LEE RONDGANGER, The West AustralianDecember 15, 2009, 7:15 am

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WA NEWS / Astrid Volzke ©

Thornlie man Richard Pennicuik, who has been living in a gum tree outside his home as part of a one-man protest to stop the council from cutting it down, said he planned to spend Christmas in the tree.

"It is not something I want to do, but I will if I have to," a defiant Mr Pennicuik said yesterday.

Mr Pennicuik, 57, who was preparing to spend his eighth night in the tree, turned down another offer by the City of Gosnells for a private meeting to end the feud yesterday.

"I don't want a private meeting with them," he said. "This is not the Dark Ages, if they want to talk they can come right here and we can have a chat. I am not going to be bought."

Mr Pennicuik took up residency in the tree last Monday in a last-ditch effort to save the tree.

Bill Beckenham, who lives in the area, said he was concerned for people's safety if the tree was not cut down.

"If a car passed by and a tree fell on it, people could be seriously injured," he said. "I don't support what he is doing."

Therese Keeley, 21, and her sisters Laura and Elise travelled from Mt Claremont to deliver a plate of cupcakes to show their support.

Mr Pennicuik said he would only come down the tree if the council gave him a commitment in writing that it would be saved.

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Gosnells tree drops one-tonne limb

15/Dec/2009

By Jaime Shurmer, Comment News

Comments:

FEARS for public safety have been reignited after a 12m branch fell from a eucalyptus melliadora in a Gosnells street on Sunday.

The tree is the same species of gum that Thornlie man Richard Pennicuik has been seeking to protect for the past week.

Mr Pennicuik climbed into the gum tree in Hume Road last Monday, while contractors moved in to cut down 20 other gums along the street as part of a five-year strategy to rid the city of dangerous or damaged trees.

The strategy was finalised after a branch weighing over a tonne fell onto Hume Road in February last year.

The 12m branch is expected to be removed by the council's staff today.

City chief executive Ian Cowie said the latest incident was an example of why the trees were being replaced.

“As the City keeps saying, eucalyptus melliadora are unsuitable for street verges because they are dangerous,” he said.

“We are relieved no serious damage was done when this latest limb drop occurred. It is estimated the latest limb weighed in excess of a tonne.”

Mr Pennicuik has refused to get down from the tree, despite the council offering him a private meeting with the chief executive and a mediator.

He is seeking a guarantee that the tree will be retained.

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Woman admits killing dog

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A 22-year-old Gosnells woman has pleaded guilty to stabbing a dog to death.

The woman was charged with stabbing the German Shepherd five times in the torso in June last year.

The RSPCA argued in the Armadale Magistrates Court that the injuries would have caused the dog to suffer pain for at least 10 minutes before it died.

It's expected the woman will be sentenced in January.

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Knife held to man's throat in robbery

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A 39-year-old man had a knife held to his throat during a robbery in Maddington last night.

Police allege the victim was walking along Albany Highway near the Strand in Maddington after leaving MacDonald's to go to work about 9.15pm. He walked past two males on his way to Pratt Court when the men confronted him and blocked his path, demanding money.

When the man ignored them and kept on walking, the males allegedly discussed robbing the man before running after the victim and again demanding money.

It is alleged one of the males produced a metal object between 15 to 20cm long - which the victim believed to be a knife -and held it to the 32-year-old's throat.

The males, a 14-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man, were later arrested by police. They have been charged and bailed to appear in court.

A 14-year-old boy will appear in Armadale Children's Court on January 11 and a 21-year-old man will appear in Armadale Magistrate's Court today.

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Tree man defies heat, hecklers

FLIP PRIOR, The West AustralianDecember 14, 2009, 7:30 am

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Despite soaring temperatures, a steady stream of drive-by hecklers and the threat of axe-wielding "ninjas" rumoured to be showing up, Richard Pennicuik still refused yesterday to abandon his one-man mission to save the tree in his front yard.

Looking battle-weary but determined, Mr Pennicuik, 57, was preparing to spend his seventh night sleeping in his eucalyptus melliodora tree, one of just two left on Hume Street in Thornlie.

He had not yet decided whether to climb down today to speak to City of Gosnells staff, fearing that the tree would be chopped down.

Only a commitment in writing that the tree would be saved would convince him, he said.

"I won't say anything more about this if (the City of Gosnells) just do the right thing by me and this tree," he said.

The "tree man" has won plenty of community support and nearly 2500 fans on Facebook.

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