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A BAND of lightning that crossed Western Victoria on Monday night started multiple fires in the district including in the Grampians at Yarram Gap and Mirranatwa that has burnt more than 7600 hectares so far with a coordinated response by emergency services from far and wide.

REGIONAL households will be hit up for an extra $60 a year on average, to help fund emergency services as part of a series of tax hikes being introduced by the Victorian Government.

THE sale of the Hamilton Spectator and Portland Observer mastheads has been confirmed in a statement (see below), with the contract set to be finalised next week.

A FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND mobile workforce development program for the aged care industry led by South West TAFE has won national recognition and could soon spread across the country.

WORD has it that Wannon MP, Dan Tehan is increasingly concerned by the Alex Dyson Independent campaign that is in full throttle across the electorate at present.

LOWAN MP Emma Kealy has said that Victoria’s health crisis continues as new figures reveal several hospitals have had huge increases in their WorkCover premiums.

AFAC (the Australian and New Zealand National Council for fire and emergency services) has released the Seasonal Bushfire Outlook for Summer 2024 and it’s not looking good for Western Victoria.

HAMILTON Police have been investigating the circumstances of a house fire on Coleraine Road, Hamilton, on Sunday night, where thankfully all residents were evacuated safely.

HAMILTON police have called for drivers to prioritise safety after multiple road collisions – including a fatality in Port Fairy – and drink driving incidents over the past few days.

SEVERAL local SES units were part of the emergency effort that attended to the multiple callouts in Casterton late Wednesday afternoon when the township was lashed by a freak storm.

A MAN was briefly trapped when the B-double he was driving carrying livestock rolled over on the Coleraine-Balmoral Road on Monday leaving multiple cattle killed and several needing euthanising.

DEVELOPERS of the proposed Coleraine wind farm, European Energy held two public information sessions in Coleraine this week.