This year on Australia day Tuesday the 26th we’ll be broadcasting live from the Newcastle 
Leagues Club in National Park street. Join Peter James and Brent Stephens live from the club celebrating Australia day. Starting from 10 am going through until 8 pm.
A man has been charged with a number of offences following a pursuit in a vehicle alleged to have been stolen, and a stand-off which lasted more than six hours, in the Lake Macquarie Local Area Command today.
About 5.40am (Sunday 24 January 2016), police stopped a Ford Explorer at a stationary roadside breath test site on Awaba Road, Toronto.
It will be alleged the male driver spoke to police briefly, before he drove from the scene.
Inquiries led police to believe the driver was a 34-year-old man who previously had his Learner’s Licence suspended for five years.
Just after 8.10am, police attempted to stop the man driving a Hyundai i20, alleged to have been stolen, after he was seen using a hand-held mobile phone while travelling along Hickory Road, Gateshead.
The man allegedly failed to stop, and a pursuit was initiated through Gateshead and Windale, before it was terminated due to safety concerns.
Further inquiries led police to locate the Hyundai in a paddock at the end of Lake Street, Windale.
The man was seen running from the area, and a foot pursuit took place to a home on Swan Street, where the man allegedly entered the premises, damaged the ceiling, and climbed onto the roof.
Officers attached to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command, Traffic and Highway Patrol, Dog Unit, Police Rescue and Police Negotiators attended.
About 3pm, the man climbed down from the roof and was arrested at the scene.
He was taken to Belmont Police Station, where he was charged with:
– Skye’s Law,
– Two counts of disqualified driver,
– Possess prohibited drug,
– Assault,
– Three counts of malicious damage,
– Enter dwelling with intent to commit indictable offence,
– State false name,
– Illegal use of conveyance, and unrelated offences.
The man has been refused bail, to appear at Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Monday 25 January 2016). Further charges are expected to be laid.
Police have charged a man after a police pursuit in Wagga Wagga.
About 2.45am today (Sunday 24 January 2016), police sighted a stolen Nissan utility in Tolland.
A pursuit commenced after the vehicle failed to stop. The stolen vehicle reached speeds of up to 140km/h before entering the Silverlight Reserve at Ashmont, where the occupants fled.
Police arrested an 18-year-old man and two male young persons in Callaghan Street.
They were taken to Wagga Wagga Police Station where the 18-year-old was charged with take and drive conveyance, police pursuit, never licensed person drive vehicle on road and breach bail.
He was refused bail to appear at Wagga Wagga Local Court tomorrow (Monday 25 January 2016).
The two young persons were released pending further inquiries.
A man has been charged following three separate alleged incidents in which objects were thrown from a moving car at another car near Yass this week.
About 4.30pm yesterday (Saturday 23 January 2016), a 25-year-old woman was driving a Honda Civic in a 100km/h zone on the Olympic Highway at Yass.
As she was passing a 4WD utility travelling in the opposite direction, the driver of the utility allegedly threw a can at the Civic, smashing the windscreen. The driver of the utility did not stop.
The woman pulled to the side of the highway following the incident and alerted police. She was not injured during the incident.
Last night (Saturday 23 January 2016), officers from Cootamundra Traffic and Highway Patrol stopped a white Mazda utility in Young and arrested the driver, a 22-year-old man.
He was taken to Young Police Station where he was charged with a number of offences including intentionally throw object at vehicle and risk safety (x3).
He was granted conditional bail and is due to appear at Young Local Court on Tuesday 16 February 2016.
Police will allege that the man threw objects from his vehicle at vehicles in the Yass area on two further occasions on Wednesday 20 January 2016.
24 February – 5 March 2016
“Whipped cream, cherries on top, more notes per second than you’ve ever heard – it was not only tasty but tasteful.” – The Ann Arbor News
Maurice Steger has redefined the recorder with his revolutionary performance style. Maurice’s charisma and dexterity combined with the poetry and nuance he draws from his instruments, has led to an audience response usually reserved for rock stars.
Maurice pushes the recorder to the edge of its physical and expressive limits. With a string of prestigious awards including Diapason D’or, BBC Music Magazine Award, and 2015 ECHO Klassik Instrumentalist of the Year, Maurice has taken the music world by storm. Reviews describe him as “glorious”, “incredible” and “lightning quick”, “spellbinding”, “pathbreaking” and “unfailingly seductive”.
This is recorder as you have never heard it before. Fasten your seatbelts and wait to see which of his myriad of recorders Maurice chooses to thrill us with.
MUSIC
Includes masterpieces from Telemann, Handel and Geminiani and the most challenging virtuosic piece Vivaldi ever wrote, his Concerto in G major for recorder.
Police are appealing for public assistance after a man’s body was located in waters at Wangi Wangi, in Lake Macquarie this morning.
About 11.10am (Saturday 23 January 2016), emergency services were called the shore near Kent Street, following reports of a man in the water.
The man’s body was retrieved from the water and officers attached to Lake Macquarie Local Area Command established a crime scene, which will be forensically examined.
The cause of the man’s death is unknown, and while he is yet to be formally identified, he is believed to be 66-year-old local.
Anyone who may assist police with their investigation is urged to contact Lake Macquarie Police via Crime Stoppers.
A man has been charged following an alleged attempted robbery in Adamstown yesterday afternoon.
About 5.30pm (Thursday 21st January, 2016) a man entered a service station on Glebe Road and allegedly threatened a woman with a knife.
The 28-year-old woman ran from the scene and alerted police, as the man fled.
Officers from Newcastle City Local Area Command arrived a short time later and arrested a 31-year-old man on Glebe Road.
During the arrest, the man allegedly assaulted an officer and fled before he was re-arrested.
Officers searched the man and allegedly located a small tomahawk and sheath on him as well as an amount of drugs. A knife was located a short distance away.
All items were seized and will undergo forensic examination.
The man was taken to Newcastle City Police Station where he was charged with armed with intent to commit indictable offence, assault police, resist arrest, wield a knife in a public place, possess amphetamine and escape police custody.
He was refused bail and is due to appear at Newcastle Local Court today (Friday 22nd January 2016).
Police are appealing for witnesses after a naked man approached a teenage girl near Port Stephens yesterday.
About 2.30pm (Thursday 21 January 2016), two 15-year-old girls were at Boat Harbour beach, 15km south of Port Stephens, when one of the teens went for a swim.
A short time later she got out of the water onto the rocks, when a naked man approached her.
He sat down beside her, before the other girl approached them and the man walked away.
As the girls left the area they saw the man committing a lewd act.
The pair walked home and informed one of their fathers, who contacted police.
Officers from Port Stephens Local Area Command attended and commenced an investigation.
Police patrolled the area but could not locate the man.
He has been described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged between 50 and 60, with grey hair, solid build and wearing a black baseball cap.
Investigators are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident, or anyone who may have information that will assist with their inquiries, to come forward.
Rural homes near Gunning came close to being engulfed in a grass fire on Wednesday that burnt 630 hectares and threatened to close part of the Hume Highway.
Up to 100 sheep were lost in the fire and other livestock had been badly burnt and would probably need to be put down.
Paul Best from the NSW Rural Fire Service said he was notified of the fire shortly before 2pm, it had been contained by 5.20pm and was brought under control by 8pm.
The dynamic and fast moving blaze came within 200 metres to 300 metres of Gunning homes, but crews were able to protect them.
Mr Best said 185 firefighters in 56 vehicles from Rural Fire Service and Fire & Rescue NSW battled the blaze.
“They will continue to work on it overnight, but as the situation starts to resolve a lot of those firefighters will be released,” he said.
Three water bombing aircraft from Goulburn, Orange and Bathurst and a VLAT DC10 air tanker from Sydney – “the Southern Belle” – also tackled the fire.
Throughout the afternoon, thick smoke restricted visibility on the Hume Highway, 30 kilometres east of Yass. It had mostly cleared by 7.30pm.
Mr Best said a number of livestock were destroyed by the fire. “The Rural Fire Service have been in contact with the Department of Primary Industries in NSW in relation to that,” he said.
“It was a very fast moving grass fire … and as you can tell by the size of the fire, it certainly was of concern there for a while.”
Local resident Greg McGrath was in Yass when he heard the news that a fire was at the border of his property on the Lerida Fish River, approximately two kilometres from Gunning.
“I was able to rush home and found it was just at the borderline, we were able to get all our sheep out of the line of fire,” he said.
“There was a heap of country burnt all around us, you can see there is around 800 hectares burnt.”
Although Mr McGrath was spared the worst, many of his neighbours weren’t as fortunate.
“There are a few hundred sheep that have died on neighbouring properties, they have just called in the district vet to, I suppose, put down the rest.”
“Excavators have been called in, as it has just burnt through the hollows of the trees. At this point the fire is under control but that can change at any time. There’s a lot of work that is needed to be done.”
Despite the slight spattering of rain, more than 20 RFS units will stay at the site of the fire overnight to keep it contained.
“We were so lucky we didn’t lose any stock or fencing,” Mr McGrath said.
“I have to say when they started dropping the water from those planes it was amazing, I have never seen anything like it.”
Despite the devastating loss of farmland and livestock for the small community of Gunning, Mr McGrath is certain that, with a bit of work, they can rebuild what was once there.
“No one likes a fire … What else do you do but pick up the pieces,” he continued.
“Tomorrow will be a bit of work and the mop up will take days if not the week, then we just get up and do it all again.
Police are appealing for witnesses to an incident in public toilets at Tamworth at the weekend to come forward.
Officers from Oxley Local Area Command were called to the public toilet block near Kable Avenue about 12.20pm on Sunday (17 January 2016), after multiple complaints.
Investigators have been told that two members of the public confronted a man who was allegedly filming in the toilet block which is located between Tamworth #1 Oval and Bicentennial Park.
The witnesses allegedly interrupted the man as he filmed a person using the facilities. During the confrontation the man’s mobile phone was snapped in half and the offender fled from the area prior to police arrival.
Police spoke with several witnesses and, after reviewing CCTV images, were able to identify a 58-year-old man.
The man from Victoria was arrested in Tamworth on Tuesday 20 January 2016, and taken to the local police station.
He was charged in relation to the incident and has been refused bail to reappear at Tamworth Local Court on Monday 25 January 2016.
Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the incident and not yet spoken to police to come forward.