Retail

Shoppers going to Aldi supermarket in Casino will have noticed changes at the front of the shop. New bollards are in place to prevent cars going through the window. As unlikely as that may sound, this happened in January 2023 when an 88 year old man’s car crashed into the glass frontage.

Kaniva is buzzing as the doors to Lane 36 officially opened on Monday. Located at 36 Commercial St, formerly LD Tink and Hardware, this bright and stylish new store is turning heads and redefining retail in town. The new store is the creation of Tracie Dunstall, a former nurse, who saw the potential in the double-fronted store situated between Little Guys Pizza & Cafe and Seven & Sage Kaniva.

Victoria Mathew reckons her name should be Mrs Christmas. She really loves Christmas – the mother of six children and grandmother to six started making Christmas decorations when she had her first child. “Christmas is my passion,” Victoria said. “I love everything about Christmas. It’s when I shine brightest.”

Twenty-seven years and 2.2 million boxes later, Sharon Drabsch has called it a day. Shaz, as her colleagues call her, ends her 27-year career as a box maker at the MiniJumbuk in Naracoorte at the end of this month. The 46-year-old with special abilities is not only a box maker but also a beacon of hope to those with special needs in the community.

Tracey Deehan and David Greenhill at the Corryong Post Office are getting into the festive spirit as part of the Towong Council’s ‘December on Hanson’ promotion which features cutouts out of local identities in the main street.

Late November 2024 a small crowd gathered in Donald Shared Shop to attend a book launch of one of the shop’s vendors. Samantha Davies has written over 30 novels, and most are available to purchase at Donald’s Shared Shop.

Bovaer is getting a lot of attention – and not the good kind. Bovaer is a feed additive for cattle – including some used to supply milk and beef sold at Coles supermarkets. Why? Because Bovaer reduces cattle methane emissions (in burps) significantly. Bovaer is made using silicon dioxide, propylene glycol and the organic compound 3-nitroxypropanol (known as 3-NOP).

Birchip is aglow with holiday cheer as the town sparkles under dazzling Christmas lights and festive decorations ... There is another exciting reason to keep it local this festive season, with over $3000 worth of Big Bucks and prizes up for grabs in the annual Birchip Big Bucks Promotion.

This Christmas, the spotlight is on the 17,390 local businesses across the Toowoomba region, as Groom’s Gifts, spearheaded by Groom MP Garth Hamilton, returns for 2024. Groom’s Gifts supports small businesses and rewards shoppers in the lead-up to Christmas.

Kerry Cain. For rural communities across Australia, local post offices play an invaluable role, providing essential services that go beyond just sending mail ... Newstead’s post office shares its space with a local pharmacy and support for the pharmacy directly benefits the post office. Revenue from the pharmacy helps offset operational costs, ensuring both services remain available to the community.

Pioneering Adelaide Hills cheese producer, Udder Delights, has released a special cheese to help fundraise for the health and wellbeing of farmers and advancement of the agricultural industry. Stocked in Coles and selected independants nationally, 20 cents of the specially labelled Udder Delights Double Cream Brie is donated to the National Centre for Farmer Health...

The NFF Horticulture Council ... confirmed it cannot support an updated Food and Grocery Code of Conduct that resembles the draft recently shared for comment. Chair of the Council, Jolyon Burnett said ... the core concerns of the fresh produce industry remained ignored ... "despite the time available and keen public interest, neither Dr Emerson or the Treasury appear to have been interested in understanding how fresh produce supply chains work and how best to protect vulnerable suppliers."

Bev’s Baubles and Jewellery continues to be the lead trader in the newly established Donald Shared Shop, and has been joined by Snowy’s Vintage Homewares, Benson’s Bow Ties and Bandanas, Horizons Vintage and Antique Furniture, Ask for Art, local author S.L. Davies and 1mile2 go Photography. There are extra craft, brica-brac and hobby-type products being sold on consignment through the shop and on behalf of additional smaller businesses.

Long, long ago, in the early 1980s, a group of Western Australian farmers decided they had had enough of the growing spread in tractor prices between what was on offer at their local dealer and what American farmers were paying. So, they decided to bypass the local dealer network and order directly from the land of the free, thereby proving that middlemen exist only if you allow them.

Earlier this month, Teddy & Me’s owner Marilyn Kennedy made the difficult decision to close her shop, which had been operating in Maldon since 1997. The [Tarrangower] Times caught up with Marilyn last week to talk about her time as a retailer ... While building up a loyal customer base, she also made some changes to her stock, including specialising in collectable toys that appealed to adults as well as children.

Police have raided the newly opened ‘Quick Stop Convenience Store’ in King George Street, Cohuna, seizing illicit tobacco products and arresting a woman. Police officers from Kerang, Cohuna and Koondrook executed a warrant at the tobacconist, which sells children’s toys front of house...

The earlier than usual start to the series of Upper Murray Farmers Markets was well received with many locals and visitors getting out and about on Saturday morning. There was plenty of variety on offer with 17 stalls operating and the live entertainment provided by talented musician Riff added to the carnival atmosphere.

The [Naracoorte Community] News is introducing a new series called Hard Talk, focusing on in-depth interviews with hard-hitting questions on issues relating to communities like ours ... In our first issue, we questioned Premier Peter Malinauskas and newly appointed Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia.

Walking through the doorway of Casino’s newest dress shop is an assault on the senses – in a good way. As you walk in, there is the soft wafting scent of the candles on sale, the cool refreshing air and the colours – oh my, patterns of colours on the clothes hanging on the walls like material artworks.

"Custard apples come lumpy, Quite seedy and bumpy, When added to fruit salad, They rhyme like a ballad." In case anyone hasn’t noticed we are well into custard apple season until probably October when the Qld fruit fly will start to get active with the warmer weather and sting the fruit.

The NFF Horticulture Council has today reaffirmed its call for tighter government controls on supermarket trading practices as annual profits are reported by the major listed companies. Council chair, Jolyon Burnett said the results would speak for themselves, and that not even a cost-of-living crisis had dampened the supermarket drive for profits above all else.

For Carmell Sanne, it hasn’t just been about selling quality lingerie, sleepwear, and hosiery throughout the past 30 years, it’s also been about working closely with Clarence Valley women who have undergone lumpectomies, unilateral, and double mastectomies, offering professional advice and guidance as they navigate life post-surgery, and helping them restore their confidence and rediscover their identities.