Meg Powell

Man pleads guilty to about 61 pages of charges in magistrates court

The family of a 26-year-old Ulverstone man broke down in tears as a Supreme Court judge announced she would suspend the man’s prison sentence. Jye Dennis Sutton was sentenced in the Burnie Supreme Court on Wednesday by Justice Tamara Jago after pleading guilty to a count of penetrative sexual abuse of a young person. The court heard Sutton had in 2018 had sex with a friend’s daughter, with whom he had been exchanging explicit text messages. Justice Jago described the pair’s relationship, saying…

A coroner has detailed the shocking death of a North-West man who barricaded himself inside his own home before setting himself on fire, traumatising a number of police officers on the scene. Coroner Olivia McTaggart on Friday released her report into the death of Stephen Charles Mawer, a 45-year-old Somerset man who died on February 21, 2020. Mr Mawer died as a result of severe burns caused by setting himself on fire after dousing himself in petrol in his backyard. In her report Ms McTaggart o…

Spencer Clinic, Northside no longer accepting new admissions until further notice

Taking on a beloved 40-year-old venue is a tough gig, but a pair of energetic new owners are ready to tackle the mammoth task of breathing new life into an old favourite. Burnie primary school assistant principal Kerryn Duncan and marketing consultant Mark Vernon are about to officially take over as the owners of the Coast’s only remaining tenpin bowling alley. “We were looking for an investment, but we weren’t really sure what we were looking for,” Ms Duncan said. “Actually it was my son, Brayd…

Westpac’s “disheartening” decision to close another branch in a major Coastal centre has been met with shock and disappointment by members of the community. It follows widespread posts on social media showing an image of a small notice on the door of the Ulverstone Westpac, warning customers it would be shut by 1pm on July 1 this year. The branch will join a growing list of recently closed branches on the Coast, including ANZ branches at Wynyard and Ulverstone, and Commonwealth branches at Somer…

When Camdale’s Jim Lunn started pulling cars apart at his newly opened wrecking yard in 1967, it was normal to cut two old bombs in half, stick them together and create an entirely new car. Vehicles less than 20 years old were always repaired, and mechanical problems could be detected just by listening to the engine. “It’s changed a lot,” the now 83-year-old Mr Lunn admits as he prepares to finally close down his beloved Camdale Auto Wreckers after 55 years of operation. Mr Lunn said he had come…

A 24 hour service station accompanied by two drive-through take away outlets and 24 illuminated signs could soon be lighting up the Bass Highway near Ulverstone. Plans are underway for the mega development on a vacant lot at South Road, West Ulverstone, just off the roundabout and adjacent to the Bass Highway. The Central Coast Council will on Monday night consider a proposal by determine whether or not it can begin the process of rezoning the 1.67 hectare block of land from low density resident…

For the first time in the state’s history, students will be able to study an entire degree in pharmacy right here on the North-West Coast. It comes amid a nationwide shortage in pharmacists, which Tasmanian president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Helen O’Byrne said was placing an even tighter squeeze on rural and regional areas like the North-West. It also follows a mass shift away from careers in pharmacy over the last couple of years, something which Ms O’Bryne said had occurred largely i…

Nearly $70,000 and 20 months in the making, the Elphinstone Foundation has donated yet another state-of-the-art piece of medical equipment that will help North-West Coasters breathe easier. Years ago, Burnie businessman and philanthropist Dale Elphinstone became one of thousands of Coasters who had to travel to Launceston to get crucial tests performed on his lungs. “I thought, why couldn’t we have this in Burnie?” Mr Elphinstone said. It was the birth of his plan to create a respiratory lab in…