News
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Koala strike hot spots
Macedon Ranges wildlife rescuers have responded to a spike in koala road strikes with bold signage to warn drivers of hot spots. The yellow, koala-shaped markers bear the words ‘slow down’ and ‘hot spot’. Their placement indicates a high strike area. Wildlings Woodend Wildlife Shelter rescuers Mel Fraser and Karl Dawson are leading the project.…
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Push for road levy
Macedon Ranges petitioners are leading the call for a road levy charge on registered vehicles in Victoria to help fund emergency wildlife care. The proposed levy is $2 per registered vehicle and would contribute to a consistent grant program for wildlife carers. Woodend resident Rhonda Gibbard is part of the group that launched the petition…
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Protesting proposed protest laws
Central Vic Climate Action, along with a number of other groups such as Extinction Rebellion and Wombat Action Group, gathered outside Jacinta Allan’s office in Bendigo last Thursday to celebrate protest and all it has achieved, and bring an important message: democracy dies when protest is criminalised. Avery Barnett-Dacey was one of the speakers at…
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Planning powers at risk
Planning powers could be overridden if local councils do not co-operate with the Victorian Government’s latest housing targets to reach 2.24 million new homes by 2051. Macedon Ranges Shire is expected to accommodate an additional 13,200 houses by 2051 in updated plans released last week. It is an additional 500 homes on what was initially…
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High street suffers all-time low
Local business owners have blamed exorbitant rent prices for Kyneton’s vacated shopfronts, which have been visible in the town centre for the past two and a half years. On a small stretch in High Street, 12 commercial buildings are empty or have ‘for lease’ signs displayed on them, and a further store is set to…
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Acclaimed artists unite
Audiences are in for an extraordinary evening of virtuosity, passion and musical storytelling when world-renowned classical artists, violinist Yamen Saadi and pianist Simon Tedeschi, perform at the Castlemaine Town Hall on March 17. Saadi, a virtuoso violinist and the youngest-ever concertmaster of the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, will make his first-ever Australian tour, bringing his…
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Clean up at the res
Local fishers, environmentalists and community members are joining forces on Sunday March 2 for a Clean Up Australia Day event at Upper Coliban Reservoir near Kyneton, ensuring this vital waterway remains healthy and pristine for future generations. Organised by the OzFish Campaspe Loddon Chapter and Kyneton Angling Club, the clean-up will take place at the…
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Parking, parrots and potential fires
Mount Alexander Shire Council is seeking a permanent speed reduction along a one-kilometre stretch of Golden Point Road at Chewton to address road safety issues at Expedition Pass Reservoir. Following on from the article ‘An accident waiting to happen?’ (published in the Express on January 7), which outlined community concern about haphazard parking along the…
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Kyneton Tigers issue statement
Kyneton Football Netball Club has finally issued a statement following a week of media attention on the club and its culture. Late last year, the senior women’s football team defected from the club to form its own stand-alone club as the Kyneton Eagles Women’s Football Club. Last week in the media, allegations were reported that…
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Coles opens in Romsey
About 120 people braved the cold last Wednesday morning to witness the opening of a new Coles shopping centre in Romsey. The event began with a Welcome to Country and was followed by speeches from McEwen MP Rob Mitchell and store managers. Mr Mitchell noted it was a positive inclusion for Romsey as it had…
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Outsiders drive up crime
Police from across the Macedon Ranges held a forum at the Gisborne Mechanics Institute last Thursday to discuss statistical crime rates in the region relative to the rest of Victoria. Thirteen police members were joined by 20 members of the public, all of whom were armed with specific concerns and had the opportunity to speak…
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Castlemaine, Southwest USA
Liam Neeson was seen filming his new film The Mongoose in Castlemaine last Thursday and Friday, marking his third film made in Victoria in the past four years. Neeson plays the role of Ryan ‘Fang’ Flanagan, a war veteran who is running from the law for a crime he didn’t commit, and leads the police…