News
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Fight to keep farm
Ongoing hardship could spell the end of 12 years supplying top notch organic produce for Angelica Organic Farm. Glenlyon farmers Tim and Deri-Anne Wyatt said the past 18 months or so had hit them with setback after setback and the prospect of recovery looked grim without outside support. “We’ve lost crops valued in the tens…
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Finishing the homeless problem
With one Castlemaine agency advocating tiny houses as a means to help solve homelessness, local government leaders on Friday lunched with an international social housing expert to hear about how Finland has all but eradicated rough sleeping. Finnish-based Juhah Kaakinen is chief executive of the Y-Foundation, which provides 16,300 permanent low-cost flats to homeless people…
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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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Close calls on the Calder
Truck drivers, tow-truck drivers and auto electricians are calling for measures to keep them safe when they are pulled over on the side of the freeway attending to breakdowns. Kyneton auto electrician Jim Matheson and towies Doug Holden and Daniel Vereker have all found themselves perilously close to fast-moving traffic in the limited shoulder space…
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Comedy for the club
*Change of venue* Kyneton Football Netball Club’s comedy night fundraiser on Saturday will now be held at the KFNC Social Clubrooms! No joke! Stay after the Kyneton V Maryborough game for some laughs. Comedy for a Cause will feature comedians from the Sydney and Melbourne International Comedy Festivals, including Xavier Michelides, James Masters, Beau Stegmann…
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Scout leader jailed for child sex offences
Former Gisborne Scouts leader Michael Schultz has been sentenced to 10 years, four months’ jail for child sex offences relating to a young female scout. Schultz was sentenced on July 10 for grooming, an indecent act and sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16, and possessing child pornography, in a case Judge…
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An ale tale fit for fans
What better way to spend International Beer Day than brewing up 600 litres – or thereabouts – of chocolaty ale made with Fantales. That’s exactly what the local brewers at Castlemaine’s Shedshaker Brewing were doing when the Midland Express dropped in to investigate on Friday. They were busy unwrapping 10 kilograms of the chocolaty lolly…
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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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Local brigades step up
Local firefighters are stepping up to to fight depression, PTSD and suicide in this year’s Melbourne Firefighter Stair Climb. Each participant will race up 28 floors at Crown Metropol while wearing 25kg of firefighting gear to raise funds and awareness for the cause and are calling for community support. Joining forces for Gisborne Fire Brigade…
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Fire exercise hones skills
With a high number of well-publicised serious house fires in the Macedon Ranges and surrounding areas this winter alone, it is important local CFA brigades are up to speed when it comes to dealing with these emergencies. To reinforce a range of firefighting skills to protect lives and property, a number of brigades were involved…
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Frightening near miss
The Victorian Goldfields Railway Murder on the Orient Express movie train gave passengers more than they bargained for when the train was involved in a near miss last Saturday night. The movie was being screened as the train travelled from Castlemaine and was nearing Maldon at 8.50pm when a car sped through the level crossing…
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On the write track
Preparing for this month’s Bendigo Writers Festival, Barkers Creek-based festival founder Rosemary Sorensen has cause to celebrate. After working on some of the nation’s leading metro writers’ festivals, the Castlemaine district local accurately identified the potential for a writers’ fest in Bendigo more than seven years ago. “Now we have more than 15,000 seats during…