News
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Residents fight Campaspe River discharge plan
Landowners along the Campaspe River are fighting a plan by Coliban Water to amend its EPA licence to allow it to continue releasing wastewater from the Kyneton Water Reclamation Plant to the river, but at a reduced dilution ratio. Coliban Water project director Tony Kelly confirmed that Coliban Water had formally requested the EPA approve…
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Cuts to home support services in Macedon Ranges
Macedon Ranges Shire Council will scrap at least three home support services in response to ongoing Commonwealth reforms across the aged care and disability services sector. Meals on Wheels and the Home and Community Care Program for Young People will cease by mid-2020, and supported home maintenance and home modifications will end by July 2021.…
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Northern exposure – Take a tour of dream eco home at Woodend
Having spent 30 years looking after a very old weatherboard house in Rosanna, Lindsay and Geoff Cumming knew exactly what they wanted in building their dream home in Woodend – an energy efficient design that would also allow them to “age in place”. Four years ago the retired couple found an unusual axehead-shaped block and…
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Top axemen head to Metcalfe
Many of the state’s top axemen are headed to Metcalfe this Sunday as the normally sleepy locale springs to life for the annual Vintage Tractor Pull and Wood Chop. Serving as a popular precursor to the Melbourne Show, the wood chop draws some high-profile competition with the state Under 18 Championship event and the Ginger…
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Happy Birthday! – Woodend Repair Café turns one
Woodend Repair Café is celebrating its first birthday tomorrow at the Woodend Farmers Market. One of 38 officially registered repair cafés operating in Australia and part of a growing movement, the Woodend branch is very excited to have reached this significant milestone. “I first heard about Repair Cafés overseas,” volunteer coordinator Jasley Wilding-McBride said. “I…
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All things edible grown in the garden
A fascinating collection of 11 edible gardens will be open to the public this coming weekend as part of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival. Visiting some or all of these gardens is a great way to learn and get motivated for the new growing season. Three schools are participating for the first time this…
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Man wanted, police car rammed in Romsey
Police are on the hunt for a man who rammed a police car with a stolen vehicle in Romsey yesterday and fled the scene. Sargent Mark Sims said police had located a silver Kluger in Romsey believed to have been stolen six weeks ago from the southern-metro area. Sgt Sims said police had received several…
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Public glass recycling skip bins on the way
Public glass recycling skip bins will be installed across the Macedon Ranges as the council continues to explore solutions to the current recycling crisis. The council has endorsed plans to remove glass from the current mixed recycling household bin collection service and to investigate introduction of a fourth glass-only bin service for the shire. The…
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Fate up in the air
Judgement is still up in the air on a daring drone fishing stunt at Upper Coliban Reservoir under investigation by the Civil Aviation Safety Authority. A group of four men in their 20s found instant fame last week from a viral video of their fishing on the fly but could now face penalties of between…
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Grounds for celebration at Buda House
Sometimes it’s what lies beneath the surface that counts. This is the case with much of the significant ground works project now completed at Castlemaine’s Buda House. Over recent months a $50,000 state grant has enabled the local tourism attraction to complete the project that includes harvesting rainfall that had previously been going to waste,…
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Creating pathways for people in crisis
A Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Forum being held in Castlemaine next week aims to highlight the pathways available to people in crisis. Local suicide prevention organisations HALT (Hope Assistance Local Tradies) and The ELM Network (Every Life Matters) are joining forces to host the forum, which will bring representatives from a range of local…
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Tower call answered for Woodend
A community call has been answered in Macedon Ranges Council’s rejection of a proposed phone tower at the entrance to Woodend. The plan would have seen a 33-metre Optus tower built at the town’s train station near the Christian Street/Corinella Road intersection. Councillor Jennifer Anderson gained unanimous support for her motion to refuse the tower…