SA

Gabrielle Duykers. Naracoorte leaders are hoping a newly completed trail linking the township to the Caves National Park will boost tourism in the district ... The 14.7-kilometre-long walking and biking trail begins at Naracoorte’s Memorial Parklands and winds its way to the UNESCO world heritage Naracoorte Caves site.

Sheryl Lowe. Police are seeking assistance from the community to be on the look-out for suspicious activities. With the price of fuel going up, there has been an increase in fuel theft in the South East particularly in centre pivots in the irrigation system.

Chris Oldfield. For more than a month, CEO Trevor Smart and Mayor Erika Vickery have not responded to questions relating to Australian Roads Research Board (ARRB) Chief Technology Leader, Asset Performance Tyrone Toole's expertise. Mr Toole has spent a lifetime building and researching roads around the world.

Chris Oldfield. When crunching numbers about whether to seal a road, the cost should be spread over 60 years "or as long as possible". Australian Road Research Board Chief Technology Leader, Asset Performance Tyrone Toole said it would be pointless to only spread the cost over 10 years.

Gabrielle Duykers. Kingston has been promised a new $1.8 million childcare centre under a re-elected Morrison government, just months after the local council was denied funding to establish the facility. Childcare shortages in the small coastal town have been an issue for more than 30 years.

Chris Oldfield. Regardless of the number of cars using a road, if there is access “don’t lose it”, a leading Australian road expert, Tyrone Toole has warned councils. Even if a local government body thinks there is no other way than to delete a road, Mr Toole suggests the council “takes another look at it”. His comments followed questions by The News regarding the Shuard’s La debacle – a 600m stretch across a wet low-lying area enabling all-weather access to farms. Without community consultation, Naracoorte Lucindale Council deleted it and others from its road register.

Gabrielle Duykers. Localised farm trials in the Limestone Coast and western Victoria will be significantly reduced after a research and innovation body chose to reprioritise its spending ... Historically, the Mackillop Farm Management Group (MFMG) used funds from its members to conduct variety trials in areas throughout the region where there are either no National Variety Trial sites, where nearby trial sites have different growing conditions to those on members' farms, or to conduct specific cropping trials as selected by the committee. Earlier this month the group announced it would cease funding these trials indefinitely, citing rising running and management costs.

Chris Oldfield. Council amalgamations, redundancies and retirements have resulted in the loss of experienced staff when it comes to managing road networks. And often council managers are trained in different fields, not civil engineering. “They are busy doing everything else they have to do,” national road chief Tyrone Toole said. So, road networks deteriorate and costs increase.