News

NEW outdoor exercise equipment has been installed at a park in Talbot, thanks to funding from the state government. Minister for Regional Development Mary-Anne Thomas opened the Activating Talbot project last week. It was given a $150,000 investment from the Healthy Heart of Victoria initiative.

VISUAL artists Akiko Nagino and Takahiko Sugawara met in 2006 and they are still together, travelling and making works. Growing up in Tōhoku the remote and scenic north east region of Honshu, Japan's largest island, they both completed studies at Tōhoku University of Art and Design in the city of Yamagata.

MOST people heading out into the bush for a walk or a mountain bike ride don’t have all day, so the Great Dividing Trail Association has produced a new guidebook, consisting of walks and bike rides within the Daylesford region, all short enough to complete in four hours.

The Victorian Government is providing a significant funding boost for youth programs, offering more opportunities for young people to reconnect with their community as pandemic restrictions ease.

The Victorian Government will make sure that not one school student is left behind in the wake of the pandemic, with the state’s extraordinarily successful tutor program to continue until the end of 2022.

The Hepburn Burras Football and Netball Club and Hepburn Cricket Club now have more room to grow, with the completion of their new, female-friendly pavilion at Laurie Sullivan Reserve.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council is calling on residents with and without pets to help shape its new Domestic Animal Management Plan.

The Victorian Government is calling on all developers and landowners in regional Victoria to put forward any developments or vacant land that could be turned into social or affordable housing.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council is encouraging local retailers to sign up for a free visual merchandising workshop during October.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council, in consultation with local CFA brigades, is advising residents to begin clearing their property and burn off any debris in October ahead of the summer fire season.

The Victorian Government is upgrading public sector residential aged care services in Western Victoria, creating new jobs and ensuring hundreds of older Victorians continue to receive the care and comfort they deserve.

The Victorian Government is fast-tracking the road to recovery for agriculture and food supply chain businesses in rural and regional Victoria.

With COVID restrictions easing, this is an opportunity for community groups to apply for Round 2 of Community Grants.

The planning work is continuing on the Creswick Trails Network, a project which will see delivery of 60km of mountain bike paths and a trailhead at Creswick, with council expecting to begin works next year.

Hepburn Shire Council is working with project partners, Mount Alexander Shire Council, North Central Catchment Management Authority and Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation trading as DJAARA, on the proposed renaming of Jim Crow Creek to Larni Barramal Yaluk. 

The Victorian Seniors Festival Reimagined is back in 2021 and to celebrate, Macedon Ranges Shire Council will deliver 'celebration boxes' to 30 older residents who have made significant contributions to the Macedon Ranges community. Council’s Corporate and Community acting director Gina Lyons said this year’s festival theme of ‘keep’n on’ recognised the resilience of older people and the many different ways they contribute to our community.

SANDY Scheltema's Stories of the Storm series is supported by Hepburn Shire Council, Trentham & Districts Community Bank and the Trentham Lions Club. The series aims to showcase stories of courage, tenacity, bravery and resilience within the community from people who experienced the terrifying storm of June 10, 2021.

WHEN the Black Saturday Fires ripped through Kevin and Rhonda Butler’s farm at East Kilmore in 2009, their immediate concern was the safety of their sheep.

The waving line between shore and sea dissolves footprints like friendship and time The way ahead is dark and uncertain A lighthouse on the cliff illumines the black sea where white birds hover as heralds.

HOSPITALITY businesses around the Central Highlands are doing it tough as Melbourne remains closed and inside limits remain at just 10 people per building.

LAST week I hired a post hole digger from the blokes at Kyneton Hire. The reason for the post hole digger procurement was as an easy way to plant a few plants that have grown too big for their pots. The cost was $90 for a 24-hour hire and when you are looking down the barrel of a dozen or so big tree holes, a bargain by anyone’s calculation.

Several new COVID exposure sites have been listed for Ballarat, stemming from one new household, which currently includes two positive cases of unknown acquisition, and one positive case who travelled to Ballarat from metropolitan Melbourne for permitted reasons. 

YOU will find it hard to believe but I get annoyed at times. Yep, kind, placid me. If you really want proof, just ask Kyle. Maybe don't.

HELEN Jenkin joined the Daylesford Lawn Tennis Club as a player in 1967, before becoming secretary the following year, holding the position until 1970. She was also president for two years from 1987 and started running the juniors for 10 years from 1997.