Morobe province

A large crowd started gathering at Eriku by 8am but were not allowed to convene at the Eriku Oval due to police presence.

Shops closed their doors while classes were suspended as the crowd size started increasing around the Eriku busstop.

A large crowd soon started marching at around 11am but were held at bay at the St Mary's Primary School gate by Lae metropolitan superintendent, Chris Kunyanban, and his team.

The crowd were armed with placards saying: "My right, my choice" and "Say no to mandatory vaccination".

This is the second attack on Ambulance officers in Lae experienced within the space of two weeks.  A similar incident took place last week when a crew was attending to a case.

Police are currently investigating to resolve this issue. 

 St John Ambulance said that a group of antivax protesters along the road stopped a three-men crew of ambulance officers, after loading the female patient on board to be treated.

With the help of her Australian friend, Yanamlyn Yana has set up a fundraising page on behalf of the major rural hospital in Morobe Province.

Run by Lutheran Health Services, the Etep Rural Hospital in Morobe’s Tewai-Siassi district is on the brink of closure.

The mission run facility serves almost 100,000 catchments of the three districts of Tewai-Siassi, Kabwum and Raicoast in Madang Province.

A drunken brawl on the night of Saturday, October 16^th escalated into an ethnic clash that saw a number of homes and trade stores burnt in retaliation, while a good number of residents suffered injuries.

Police personnel from the Lae Metropolitan Command were brought in on Sunday to contain the situation and look into the matter.

On Friday, October 22^nd, Tewai-Siassi MP, Dr Kobby Bomareo, went to Wasu station to speak with his people, where he urged them to respect the rule of law and embrace development initiatives.

Omili’s head teacher went to the nation’s capital to source their materials using the school’s funds.

For schools that cannot afford to make the trip, Morobe’s government tuition fee subsidy officer, Joseph Tounokon, suggests that they can move collectively to source teaching and learning materials.

The new building consists of two classrooms and a store room built at Labu Tale Primary School as part Bank South Pacific’s Lae commercial branch community project.

BSP Lae commercial branch manager, Robinson Panako, says BSP community projects are undertaken nationwide by each of their branches, strategic business units and subsidiary branches as a way for its staff to contribute meaningfully back to the community.

“While we stand as a corporate organisation, each of our staff is a part of a community,” said Panako.

A village lady had cut the umbilical cord when the little girl was born but the placenta had not been discharged and was still inside the young mother.

Babul said, “It was all a bit of a panic, trying to keep my 22-year-old sister calm since it was her first child, while frantically trying to find a car to take her into Lae.

“I found out that the Wampar ambulance was away at 40-Mile, and we were running out of time, but luckily I thought of St John and called 111. They called back five minutes later saying that an ambulance and escort vehicle were on the way.”

A confrontation started between Balob Teachers College students and Butibam villagers yesterday at around 10pm.

Fighting continued this morning, where traffic was disrupted and classes were suspended.

Chief superintendent Kunyanban addressed Balob staff and students this morning on campus before moving over to Butibam village.

The event is scheduled to start at 10am on Thursday, September 16^th, at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.

120 school leavers from the districts of Morobe will pass out tomorrow after three months of intensive training under the inaugural Morobe Provincial Government’s police reservist intervention program.

Divided into four squads, the recruits had their final rehearsal today at the Sir Ignatius Kilage Stadium.

Members of the Morobe Provincial Education Board and the village of Gabmazung launched the Wampar Junior High School on Thursday, August 26^th.

The village of Gabmazung, located a few minutes away from Gabsongkeg, came alive on Thursday with two different events; the observance of the National Repentance Day and the launching of Wampar LLG’s first-ever junior high school.

The repentance day activities were led by Lutheran women groups within the electorate while Gabmazung Lutheran Primary School facilitated the launching of their high school.