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Well here I am again penning another article for you, the reader, to enjoy...

Hi there, I am Suki, a kitten brimming with energy and a penchant for playful antics.

Duck duck Is a duck a bird Is a duck a duck

For three generations Davies Dental has looked after dental care in Ballarat, Maryborough and Melton – and from next month they will be in Daylesford too. The clinic excels in prosthetic dental solutions, specialising in full dentures, partial dentures, and implant-retained dentures. It also offers custom-fitted mouthguards for sports and other activities.

Dianne Smith is the new chair of Destination Central Victoria. An experienced non-executive director and former CEO, Dianne brings years of experience working in the visitor economy, water, public land, and local industry capability sectors. With leadership roles at the Victoria Tourism Industry Council, Melbourne Chamber of Commerce, Ballarat Tourism and Industry Capability Network Victoria, and as former Deputy Chair of Puffing Billy Railway, Dianne brings industry experience and a strong commitment to tourism, events and regional growth. In addition to taking on this role with DCV, Dianne is currently a board director at Central Highlands Water, a member of Zo

A Hepburn Shire ratepayer believes last year's rate rise of 10% means that the "one-off" 7% added to the state government's cap of 3%, will continue to compound into future years. The ratepayer, who asked not to be named, wrote to the Department of Local Government earlier this year: "The ESC (Essential Services Commission) permitted a 10% increase over the 2024/5 rates (comprising the government's 3% cap plus an extra 7%). "As per the ESC's website: 'Following a request from Hepburn Shire Council, the Essential Services Commission has approved an application for a higher rate cap of 10 per cent for the 2025-26 financial year, 7 percentage points above the 3 per cent cap set by the Minister for Local Government'. "I now write to you to inquire about the 2026/7 Hepburn Shire rates, noting that the council has gone on the record stating that it will not apply to the ESC for an increase over the (2.75%) government cap.

In the late 1850s, there was no bridge to cross the ford of the Coliban River until J.B. Enders built a bridge. He charged a toll for the use of his bridge, which did not sit well with some in the district. A Kyneton Guardian newspaper report dated June 26, 1869 reads: "The Hon. Treasurer of the Kyneton Ladies' Benevolent Society desires to acknowledge the receipt of 10s (shillings), being the amount of toll charged by Mr J.B. Enders to Councillor Sinclair for the privilege of crossing his (Mr Enders') private bridge over the Coliban."

Now David Bromley is all well and good, pretty commercial now, but good on him for making such a recognisable brand. But I reckon Coles should have opened it up to many more Daylesford and surrounds artists and maybe either shared the walls around, or maybe offered to keep the artwork up for three months and then swap it out. We have so many fantastic artists who we could showcase to all of the visitors who come to our town. We have a regular Artists of the Central Highlands page in The Local and Coles would be welcome to our data base.

Kids are being helped into sports with the applications for Round 10 of Get Active Kids Vouchers now open, with more than 40,000 vouchers up for grabs.  

The Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC) has proposed a range of reforms aimed at making voting more accessible, as part of its submission to the Victorian Parliament’s Electoral Matters Committee inquiry into voting centre accessibility. 

Victoria continues to lead the nation in supporting its livestock producers, offering Australia’s lowest priced National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) ear tags.

But the real problem is now we have Teslas and a lot of other brands coming onboard with 'full self-driving' (supervised, of course) software. Now, I haven’t downloaded it to my car yet because I don’t think the roads are anywhere near up to scratch. However, I have been for a ride from central Melbourne to Port Melbourne and the tech is nothing short of miraculous. Taking on hook-turns, crossing four lanes of oncoming traffic with no arrow and intuitively negotiating traffic, people and bikes. But it relies on GPS speed limits and that’s where things come undone. I drove around a couple of towns in our patch and noticed a few discrepancies between the signed speed limit and the GPS speed limit that my Tesla and that of a visitor would adhere to in full self-driving mode and even if you were in full manual mode looking at the number on the screen.