Life

The second Cohuna Chilli Festival was held on Friday night and organisers say it was a huge success. Held on the public holiday of the AFL grand final weekend, it drew visitors from across the state. With weather to wow, food to feast on, and an atmosphere to applaud, the chilli festival had something for everyone and kept patrons entertained into the night.

Snowy Valleys Council (SVC) has issued a blue-green algae ‘Red Alert’ for Mannus Lake and warning signs are in effect at key recreational areas around the lake. Red alert levels represent ‘bloom’ conditions.

Peter Walsh MP. All roads led to Barmah at the weekend as hundreds of people scrambled for access to hundreds of tonnes of flood-damaged fallen trees rescued for use as firewood. Coming out of the Barmah Forest, the wood was originally pushed into 70 large piles and was going to be burnt by Parks Victoria staff.

Westbrook and Wyreema are not typically known as tourist hotspots, however five strong entries in the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers have attracted thousands of visitors to the two towns over the past few weeks.

Succulent Fest, hosted at Bunker’s Hill State School, is increasingly becoming a flagship event of the Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers, this year’s staging attracting over two thousand visitors and raising nearly $12,000. This year marked the sixth staging of the event, organised by group of volunteers under the P&C Association of the school.

This year, global grain production will be somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0 billion tonnes, of that around 500 million tonnes will be available for export ... Take your pick as to the impact of going organic, but on average, between a third and half the world starves. But what about just taking out paraquat and glyphosate—the foundation chemicals for no-till farming?

One of the Wimmera’s favourite events for women in agriculture is returning in October. After a 10-year hiatus, Chicks in the Sticks is back on October 23 at Grampians Park Station, Moyston.

It's a simple truth that our family has always been Ford fans. For as far back as I recall the cars have been descendants of the original Henry... I recall driving off in a new model way back and hating leaving my treasured XC at the dealership ... My son has told the person who is taking him that Yuri is indestructible, surviving the 2014 bushfires and saving our dogs ...

Quilts but not as you know them. Kyogle Quilters Group has an exhibition at the Roxy Gallery in Kyogle that is full of colour, intricate stitching, imagination and a few surprises. Everything you thought you knew about quilting will be upturned at the  Quilts – we’ve got you covered  exhibition running until October 13.

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.

Glyn Rees. As many will be aware on Tuesday last week, so very sadly the Wattles fraternity, senior and junior, lost one of their great stalwarts in Mr Jack Duggan. It will certainly be an adjustment for all who frequent Platz Oval at game time, senior and junior, to now see a vacant chair near the gateway aside the announcing box, a chair that in recent years has seen Jack, beside wife Shelley, as near permanent viewers of the achievements of all those on field in green and gold.

The whole town garage sale ... turned the town of Donald into a busy shopping centre for astute bargain hunters, and allowed many residents to make a dollar or two from selling unwanted items. As the saying goes: "One man’s trash is another man’s treasure," and the numerous garage sales held in Donald at the weekend seemed like a great big, marvelous treasure hunt...

It’s an unusual story—one we hardly get to hear or read about in Naracoorte. It’s a story of our small community and our people coming together to help raise funds to alleviate the sufferings of women and children in a community and country not part of Australia—Mengaumenau, PNG. Imagine finding yourself in a place where there is no one at all to help you deliver your baby.

Buloke Collectable Vehicle Club annual Show 'n' Shine event brought together car enthusiasts from all over the region this past weekend, transforming the George Cartwright oval in Birchip into a dazzling display of automotive craftsmanship. With almost 150 vehicles on display, the event celebrated everything from classic cars to modern muscle, trucks and motorbikes, and it drew a diverse crowd of spectators and participants alike.

There was a time when Maldon was at the forefront of heritage planning in Australia. But has the town lost its way, in terms of conserving its built and natural landscapes? Many believe that the short answer is: yes.

Sean Cunningham. The decision to keep Lockhart Airstrip opened has proved to be a good one with a group of workers regularly toiling hard to maintain it. Early last year, Lockhart Shire Council was considering closing the airstrip, however after many submissions were received requesting council to reconsider its proposal, council agreed by resolution to continue with the lease of the airstrip.

Former Narrandera resident now painter Tim Snowdon has had a fulfilling life as a talented painter, dipping his brush in many different genres over time: still life, landscape, contemporary, traditional, portraiture – and of course houses. He doesn’t paint pictures of houses, he paints houses. Literally.

Singapore horticultural show garden, Gardens by the Bay’s first Australian-themed floral display Carnival of Flowers, inspired by Toowoomba’s ongoing event, opened this week with a mini “floral float” parade. The iconic Singapore attraction, which was recently named Number 8 in the world by Tripadvisor, showcases plants from all over the world in thematic floral displays.