News
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Contract awarded for upgrade of fatality road
Eve Lamb A contested vote of council has seen a local earthmoving firm clinch the $529,842 contract for roadworks to upgrade notorious Fogartys Gap Road – the site of four fatalities in recent years. Mount Alexander Shire Council has voted 5:1 in favour of awarding the contract to Castlemaine-based Leech Earthmoving. But it’s a decision…
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Coles for Romsey?
Supermarket giant Coles has confirmed it has interest in Romsey. A Coles spokesperson told the Express last week, “Along with sites all around the country, we are exploring Romsey as a potential location for a new Coles supermarket”. “Coles is constantly evaluating our store network to ensure we are delivering the best shopping experience for customers. “We’ll…
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Flare-up reignites grassland blaze
Eve Lamb A flare-up from a previous fire has been blamed for igniting a grassfire that saw residents in the Newstead and Sandon area issued with a watch and act alert last week. The CFA issued the watch and act shortly after 2pm for communities of Joyces Creek, Newstead, Sandon, Strangways and Strathlea after the…
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Championship in his sights
Fourth-generation Romsey axeman Blake Meyer is sharpening his focus on the STIHL Timbersports Australian Trophy Championship next month. The 14-time Victorian Tree Felling Champion will take on a series of fast-paced time-trial events for the championship in Adelaide. Blake will compete in three back-to-back traditional woodchopping disciplines: underhand chop, STIHL stock saw and single buck…
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What! Me? Sing?
Notes from a wobbly Woodend Warbler Lindsay Cumming When my daughter, newly arrived in Woodend with her family last year, suggested I join her to give Woodend Warblers a try, all I could think of were obstacles. I hadn’t sung in a choir since school, over half a century ago. I don’t read music. I…
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Idea takes seed
Three friends are establishing a native nursery for the Macedon Ranges, with a goal of continuing and expanding the legacy of Woodend identity Robin Baker. Robin was the owner of Acres Wild Nursery and his death in 2019 affected many people in the community. He was passion about native plants and conservation. In discussion with…
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Explore Kyneton through art
The second Kyneton Contemporary Art Triennial, ‘Holding the Circle’, launches this March. Eleven artists from around Australia have been commissioned to develop new work in a variety of media. Art will be presented across multiple sites throughout the town including the Kyneton Mechanics Institute, Watts Pavilion, the old Begg Schoolhouse, Freemasons Hall, the library, the…
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Mask rules to ease
A number of further changes to pandemic orders and public health recommendations in Victoria will come into place at 11.59pm on Friday February 25. The public health recommendation for Victorians to work or study from home will be removed, while masks will no longer be needed in most indoor settings. Masks will only be required…
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Celebrating Indigenous heritage
Eve Lamb The Aboriginal story of two local landmarks is being recorded and shared via a new public mural being created by local Indigenous artist Daikota Nelson. Castlemaine business Cream Town has commissioned the Dja Dja Wurrung woman to create the new mural to adorn an otherwise nondescript corrugated iron wall lining its courtyard and…
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Art project explodes mental health stigma
Aimee Timpson likes to colour outside the lines and harness her creativity to express deep and often painful emotions as well as observe daily issues that impact her personally. Her multi-skilled approach to any creative undertaking helps to deliver art that makes people look twice, linger and contemplate. And while the themes she explores may…
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Romsey reshape
Romsey is slated to become a large district town but exactly how it will look is still up for discussion. Last week Macedon Ranges Council began seeking community feedback for a new Romsey Structure Plan to shape the town’s future. The plan will determine how the town develops, considering provision for infrastructure, environmental constraints and…
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Car hits parked vehicles
A man in his 40s was taken to hospital after he crashed his car into a row of parked vehicles on High Street Kyneton on Friday. Emergency services were called to the scene about 11.10am. The driver was assessed by paramedics at the scene and taken to Kyneton Hospital in a stable condition.