Community News
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Preschool under pressure
Pressure to find a new home is building for Harcourt preschool with the lifestyle location in the grip of a baby boom and the preschool told it must vacate its current premises in two years. The preschool has operated from its current site on Uniting Church land for almost 70 years and, responding to growth,…
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Jarrah’s fight for sight
Jarrah is a typical nine-year-old boy. He’s bright, funny and kind and has a wonderful group of friends at his local school – Campbells Creek Primary School. What makes Jarrah extraordinary is his resilience and the wonderful sense of humour he has maintained while becoming blind. At the age of two, Jarrah was diagnosed with…
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Postie pilgrimage to make tracks
A pilgrimage of old iconic Australian ‘postie bikes’ led by locals will make tracks this September to raise funds and awareness for ‘low survival’ cancers. The Postie Bike Pilgrimage of 12 new and experienced riders will travel about 500kms from Mount Wallace, Victoria, to the Homebush Hotel in Penarie, outback NSW. One of the ride’s…
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Centre performs swimmingly
Kyneton Toyota Sports and Aquatic Centre’s learn to swim program has been recognised for its excellence by Life Saving Victoria with a major award. The centre was named Swim and Survive Licensee of the Year at Life Saving Victoria’s 15th annual Awards of Excellence in Melbourne. Judges said KTSAC staff were dedicated to delivering a…
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The simple joy of walking
Marita Brown is one of the original Lancefield ‘Movers and Shakers’. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease 18 years ago but it hasn’t stopped her from forming a local walking group, and now signing on for Parkinson’s Victoria’s A Walk in the Park for the eighth time. The Melbourne walk raises funds to improve the…
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Chicken art hatches enterprise
There’s something about chicken art. People seem to go just a bit clucking mad about it. “It’s just egg-cellent really,” said artist Linda Newton, almost deadpan, as she showed the Express around some of the inclusions in Manu Feto Chicken Art Show that opened at Castlemaine’s Drying Shed Art Space on the weekend. Linda is…
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Parma charmer
When Castlemaine youngsters Kate Hemphill and Ainsley Nash heard about the impacts of the drought in NSW they decided they’d do something to help. The two junior students at Castlemaine Primary School went direct to their principal Peter McConnell with a letter they’d penned outlining their proposal to help the drought-ravaged farmers. “We wrote a…
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Pick up a Perry’s pupcake
The team at Perry’s Stockfeed and Saddlery in Kyneton are unsurprising all avid animal lovers. That’s why it’s no surprise they are excited to be taking part in the RSPCA’s Cupcake Day. The day is a fundraiser to help the RSPCA end animal cruelty in the sweetest way possible. Perry’s team and their supporters are…
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Parma night for the farmers’ fight
Local pubs, clubs and restaurants are serving up parmas with added incentive. They have backed the widespread ‘Parma for a Farmer’ campaign that sees participating venues donate $1 towards drought recovery in NSW for every parma sold during the month of August. Kyneton RSL general manager Rebecca Hemphill said people in Kyneton had thrown their…
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Gisborne SES wants you
Gisborne SES is calling for daytime responders to keep up with demand across the region. Gisborne SES deputy controller of operations Di Dale said the unit was seeking to grow its member base to improve responses and would host a recruitment evening next week. “We are targeting people from all walks of life in around…
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Foundry’s first grads
One of Kyneton’s newest foodie hotspots, the Social Foundry on the corner of High and Mollison Streets, is celebrating the first round of graduates from its successful Skills for Life program. Together with the Kyneton Community and Learning Centre, the Social Foundry has the united goal of training and assisting young people who need to…
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Cash windfall boosts budget
Public submissions and an unexpected cash windfall of $465,000 in federal government grants has changed the shape of Macedon Ranges Shire Council’s 2018/19 Budget Report. Council adopted the budget, Strategic Resource Plan and Council Plan at its ordinary meeting last Wednesday with minor changes including distribution of additional government funds. Projects to benefit from the…