Kirstin Nicholson, The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper

A strong congregation attended the last service at the Cohuna Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon. 71 people from across the district and further afield came to celebrate 63 years of Christian faith and fellowship and see the doors close for the last time. Low numbers and an inability to maintain financial viability saw the decision to close the church.

Professionally, he is known as Doctor Peter Barker OAM, but to the community he serves, he is affectionately known as Doc Barker, Doc, Peter and even PB. Last week, our local GP celebrated 40 years in the job in Cohuna – and he celebrated wearing a blazer and tie much like he wore on his first day at the clinic on August 3, 1983.

With Year 12 students soon to begin their university applications, we thought we’d take a look at the success of one of Kerang’s former students, Glenn Thomas ... is a graphic designer in Melbourne, and he shared his graphic design journey with us, proving that kids from the country can chase and realise their dreams.

The Melbourne Royal Show might still be some time off, but for cattle exhibitors, preparations are already underway ... This year, Limousins are the feature breed and Murray will be showcasing the breed to the judges and the public.

Cohuna District Hospital was the recipient of a donation from the Cohuna Bridge to Bridge Committee ... The money was raised from the 30th annual Bridge to Bridge event held in March, and will go towards improving the outdoor area of the aged care home ... looking at options to enclose the area so that it can be used any time of the day and throughout the year.

Black bears, moose, woodpeckers, lynx and beavers – just some of the wildlife Tim Wishart and Nick Whatley encountered on their recent deployment to Canada to fight fires. The Cohuna men were part of a team of 46 Victorians from Forest Fire Management Victoria and the Country Fire Authority which spent 35 days providing relief to exhausted Canadian fire crews fighting the Kimiwan complex near Peace River in Alberta.

Macorna Football Netball Club (FNC) will play host to the Golden Rivers Indigenous Round between Macorna and Wandella this Saturday, July 8 ... Each team will wear specially designed Indigenous Round uniforms, which were introduced to Senior levels in 2021.

This week’s local living legend of league football is Chris Waterson. Chris played Reserves for Fitzroy in 1988-1989 before playing Seniors ... Highlights? ... "First Senior game at Windy Hill in 1990 was a massive highlight. My first opponent was Bomber Thompson, who later captained Essendon and coached Geelong to AFL premierships.  "

Three Cohuna bowls players were part of a regional team that took out the championship title at the Region Sides Championships late last month ... Jarred Hammond and Harrison Keely of Cohuna Golf Bowls were part of the Murray Mallee Bowls Region side, which was victorious in the Men’s Silver Tier Championship at the 2023 Region Sides Championships in Echuca and Moama from May 26-28.

Not everyone can say their dog has saved lives, but for the owners of our local blood donor dogs, they can rightly shout it from the rooftop. Chocolate Pudding, known as ‘Pud’, has saved at least 13 sick local dogs, but the time has come to retire from his blood donor days.