By BEN CAMERON
30 years to 1985:
PAKENHAM Council will investigate claims the area produces the highest blood alcohol reading in accident cases treated at Dandenong Hospital.
The claim was made in a petition signed by 110 residents objecting to any extension of trading hours for the Pakenham Highway Hotel.
Council agreed to advise the Liquor Control Commission it supported the residents, who objected on the grounds of increased noise, vandalism and petty theft, drunkenness, offensive language and littering.
PAKENHAM and Bunyip communities were shocked to hear of the death of Councillor Kel Anderson – the shire’s longest serving councillor.
Cr Anderson, aged 72, died in Dandenong Hospital after a short illness.
He was twice shire president, after being first elected as a councillor in 1965.
Although he suffered bouts of ill health last year, he continued to be an active member of council whose voice was respected around the council table.
He was admitted to hospital with a ruptured ulcer after feeling sick at a council committee meeting.
He was making good progress before suffering from a stroke.
20 years to 1995:
AN APPEAL to rebuild Pakenham’s lovable Mr Yakkerboo has been launched by the Yakkerboo Festival committee.
The committee reacted quickly to the devastating news that Mr Yakkerboo, the symbol of the festival, had been totally destroyed by vandals.
They have vowed to rebuild Mr Yakkerboo in time for next year’s festival, with festival secretary and administrator Graham Treloar urging the estimated 10,000 residents who attended this year’s festival to donate $1 each to the cause.
POLICE are seeking witnesses to a shooting incident at Pakenham’s KFC.
Twelve shots were fire from an air rifle through the western windows of the store, causing approximately $600 worth of damage.
The shots were fire sometime between midnight and 8am.
They were not believed to be shot from a car but from someone on foot standing several metres away from the building.
10 years to 2005:
AN ERA has ended in Kooweerup.
Tears, beers and cheers marked an emotional last day at work for almost 100 people left without jobs after the closure of the town’s PMP Print plant.
A review of PMP Print’s operations led to a decision to consolidate its Victorian business at the nationwide printing giant’s manufacturing facility in Clayton.
The entire staff of the long-running commercial printing business was made redundant, leaving the close-knit community reeling and it being described as a disaster for the town.
FIVE teenagers and a woman have been charged in relation to a drug scare at Pakenham Secondary College.
Pakenham Senior Sergeant Steve Lewis said inquiries in partnership with college staff led to three teenage boys aged 13 and 14, one 15-year-old girl and a 33-year-old woman recently being processed for drug offences.
Police were called to investigate after staff discovered a student had allegedly brought a marijuana joint to school to share with a group of friends.
