Featured
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Team Strang steps up
At the beginning of August a group of Kyneton women got their heads together with a common goal of raising money for a cause very close to their hearts. They joined the National Breast Cancer Fund ‘Step Up to Breast Cancer’ challenge where participants set themselves a target of 10,000 steps per day to raise…
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Farm ‘shed house’ rejected
A Malmsbury cattle farmer has been denied a permit to continue living in his shed turned ‘man-cave’. Travis Bruni was seeking to legitimise the new home on his 22.7ha property to farm an Angus and Hereford breeding herd. Macedon Ranges Shire councillors heard the shed, at Youngs Road, evolved into an illegitimate residence over about…
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Timeless Macedon
Tonight’s instalment of ABC TV’s Back to Nature mini-series will feature the Macedon Ranges. When we’re in nature, it sometimes feels like time slows, and becomes elastic. This episode begins at Organ Pipes National Park, on the eastern edge of an ancient lava flow. Hosts Aaron and Holly meet Indi Clarke, who has a strong connection to…
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Market adopts First Nations boundaries
In a Victorian first, the Castlemaine Farmers Market is set to adopt the traditional boundaries of the local First Nations people for sourcing fresh produce for you. Market manager Chris Hain said the market stood on Jaara Country, within the traditional boundaries of the Dja Dja Wurrung people. “This sense of place is now extended…
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World titles beckon
“It’s been a long journey but I’m over the moon to finally be named in my first World Championships.“I can’t thank the people who have helped me get here enough, and I can’t wait to represent the green and gold in Belgium,” Lauretta Hanson said late last week. Growing up on her parents’ farm at…
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Inmate and officer injured
An inmate at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre was taken to hospital after a fight with another inmate on Saturday. A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson said the incident was contained quickly and police were notified. “One young person was transported to hospital for treatment and precautionary checks. He returned to Malmsbury Youth…
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VACCINE ELIGIBILITY EXPANDING FOR ANYONE 16 AND OVER
Every Victorian aged 16 years and over will be eligible to access a COVID-19 vaccine at state-run vaccination centres from tomorrow. The expansion of the state vaccine program will further help Victoria reach its goal of one million doses over five weeks. The change means that from Wednesday August 25, anyone aged 18 to 59…
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‘We can’t take your word for it’
People from lockdown postcodes have been caught flouting restrictions and trying to gain entry to businesses in the Macedon Ranges. State-mandated identity checks for hospitality and retail have revealed an alarming number of rule-breakers, people refusing to cooperate and abuse directed at small business owners.Businesses found serving people who should not be in the regions…
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Rubbish in focus
Mount Alexander Shire Council is investigating the introduction of tip passes and a potential kerbside hard rubbish collection. At last Tuesday’s council meeting Cr Christine Henderson moved a notice of motion that council receive a report outlining the estimated costs of providing tip passes to all residents on an annual basis and an annual hard…
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Vital call to keep market going
Lancefield Farmers Market will go ahead as scheduled on Saturday as lockdown restrictions allow. Stallholders and organisers maintain the open air market with strict COVID-safe measures is one of the safest ways to access fresh, local and nutrient-rich foods. Market manager Isis Jordan said both organisers and stallholders would be enforcing QR check-ins, social distancing,…
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Police conduct roving patrols of region’s borders
Police have been patrolling the region’s borders looking for metropolitan drivers breaching the chief health officer’s stay-at-home directions. Sergeant Mark Stephenson of the Macedon Ranges Highway Patrol said his team was coming across a number of people from Melbourne metro areas. “A large number of people appear to meet the exemption criteria but there has…
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LOCKDOWN HARDSHIP – Small businesses at risk of insolvency or bankruptcy
Kyneton barrister Paul White says state government support has come too late for many small businesses facing hardship in rolling COVID lockdowns. He is giving free legal advice to at least 41 small businesses in the region at risk of insolvency or bankruptcy. Twenty-three of those cases are from the Macedon Ranges. “They are typically…