By Derek Schlennstedt
Snow joke
Olinda residents woke up to snow on Saturday and Sunday mornings as the state shivered through a cold spell.
Emerald SES was kept busy attending 43 incidents on Friday 9 August, and then another 20 over the weekend.
Unit controller Ben Owen said there were no major disasters, apart from a tree that fell onto a house and “tore it to bits”.
“The family arrived after the incident and we supported them and helped with finding alternative accommodation,” he said.
On Friday, the unit also received assistance from Whittlesea SES.
“Whittlesea came up to help, which was good as being a work-day on Friday we were a bit under the pump,” Mr Owen said.
With snow falling in Olinda and Sassafras the SES was also assisting vehicles that got stuck in the slush.
“We had crews up there assessing it in case we got some calls, but mainly had minor vehicle incidents with cars sliding into other cars or getting stuck in snow,” Mr Owen said.
He said the state was now coming into the windy season, and reminded residents to drive with lights on in snowy and foggy conditions and to maintain caution around trees.
“Trees are still falling down, so be mindful of that,” he said.
Anyone interested in joining SES can contact the unit on Facebook at Emerald SES Unit.
Stolen goods
Police charged a Silvan man in his twenties with handling stolen goods, weapons possession and a petrol drive-off.
They intercepted the man driving in Silvan on 5 August.
Inside the vehicle they allegedly found a stolen leafblower and knives.
