1. Thursday, May 21, 2015
Trainee
diver
‘is still
critical’
A TRAINEE diver re-
mains in a critical condi-
tion at Albury Hospital
following a near-drown-
ing incident at a prop-
erty west of Albury on
Tuesday night.
The Benora Point man,
50, was taking part in
underwater tradesman
training when he got into
difficulty about 8pm.
The man was given the
task of screwing legs to a
table while under water
at a site west of Wonga
Wetlands known as the
gravel pits, which is regu-
larly used for commercial
diving.
Albury police Inspector
Lynelle Rodwell said the
man had to screw legs
to a table, then turn the
table right side up where
there were two vices.
Insp Rodwell said the
man then had to use the
vices to pull a link from
a chain.
“He was in the process
of doing this when the
incident occurred,” she
said.
The man tugged on a
safety rope to be raised
to the surface and bub-
bles could be seen but
the rope appeared to be
snagged.
Another diver pulled
the unconscious man
from the water.
Paramedics were
called and revived the
man before taking him to
hospital.
A WorkCover NSW
inspector attended the
scene yesterday morning
and began an investiga-
tion.
A spokeswoman said
the focus of the investiga-
tion would be to deter-
mine if there was any
breach of work health
and safety laws.
The trainee had been
taking part in a class
with other students from
the Professional Divers
Training Academy.
Members of the Profes-
sional Divers Training
Academy also attended
the scene to help Work-
Cover with its investiga-
tion and also conduct
their own inquiries.
The company, offering
professional diving serv-
ices, has been operating
in Portland and Mel-
bourne since 1981 and
more recently in Albury.
Director Frank Zeigler,
who was at the scene
yesterday morning, said
he had spoken with the
man’s family who were
travelling to Albury to be
at his bedside.
“Our thoughts, along
with the those of the stu-
dents and staff, are with
this man and his family,”
he said.
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PATRONS fuelling up on alcohol at
home and the prevalence of drug-
taking have been cited as the main
reasons behind a decision to close
Albury’s Groove Saint nightclub.
The club’s owners, Armada Hospital-
ity Group, will close the Dean Street
venue after the June long weekend, with
plans to re-open as a tapas-style bar.
“Nightclubs have been getting
gradually more difficult to operate
with youth pre-fuelling, increased
compliance, security measures, as
well as the rise of prevalent drug use,”
Armada director Craig Shearer said.
“All of these factors eat into our
ability to run a long-term viable
business.
“And, to be honest, I am not sure
most people are really after that style
of venue any more.”
The Armada Hospitality Group
bought the venue in 2010 when it was
operating as Roi Bar.
It was renamed Groove Saint about
six months later.
The venue was trading four nights
a week at its peak and hosting 1000
people though the door in a night.
In 2013, the nightclub was listed as
one of NSW’s most violent venues and
was put on a Level 2 club classifica-
tion (those with 12 to 18 recorded
violent incidents between July 2012
to June 2013).
It meant the nightclub had to take
extra measures including stopping
alcohol service 30 minutes before
closing; not using glass after mid-
night; and providing free water and
food, or alcohol time-outs for every 10
minutes every hour after midnight.
Mr Shearer said the club was proud
to say it had been recently removed
from the classification and no longer
had to take the additional measures.
Construction has started on a
commercial kitchen and a change of
name is in the pipeline.
The focus will be on social dining.
“We are excited to bring something
a little more on trend and unique to
Albury,” Mr Shearer said.
“The hospitality scene is always
changing and while Groove Saint has
been very popular over the past five
years, it is time to evolve.”
Work on refurbishing the interior
with dining tables, chairs and couches
will start once the venue closes.
Mr Shearer hopes to re-open as a
“funky, metro-style bar” in mid-June,
two weeks after closing the doors.
Continued page 4
Editorial — page 12
BY SARAH DEAN
TOOMANY
SINNERSAND NOT ENOUGH SAINTS
● Groove Saint is set to close
its doors after the June long
weekend and re-open as a
tapas-style bar. Owner Craig
Shearer and venue manager
Bart Furst yesterday spoke of
their new plans for the venue.
Picture: JOHN RUSSELL
16ºTODAY
Early fog 18ºTOMORROW
Sunny 17ºSATURDAY
Sunny 18ºSUNDAY
Sunny
WEATHER
Page 14
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