THE school holidays are a great time to get out in nature and search for gold on the back of some recent amateur discoveries across western Victoria.

THE Victorian Seniors Festival will host an event in Hamilton on October 8 for seniors to come along and hear guest speaker and experienced jeweller, Adrian Dickens, talk about renowned former actress, Elizabeth Taylor and the fascinating history of her jewels.

THE Greater Western Victoria Rebels fell just short of the ultimate prize in the V/Line Cup, falling to Geelong Falcons by 12 points in the Under-15 Boys Division 2 grand final on Wednesday.

OVER the years, Dr Katrina Rainsford has kept busy volunteering her time with a number of community initiatives including Footprints the Choir, the Cavendish Redgum Festival and the Victorian Farmers Federation just to name a few.

IT is a sacrifice Michael Close is willing to make, leaving Harrow-Balmoral’s end of season footy trip to Brisbane a day early to support former teammates in today’s AFL Grand Final.

Considered to be one of Hamilton’s most prestigious properties in both design and location, this is a rare opportunity to secure a unique property with stunning uninterrupted views of Lake Hamilton.

THE Hamilton Hurricanes are gearing up for another Country Basketball League (CBL) campaign in the South West Men’s conference, which gets underway next weekend.

HAMILTON Highway patrol police are urging locals to be extra careful over the weekend and to obey the road rules during their statewide road blitz Operation Scoreboard that will run for four days from 12.01am on Thursday, September 26 to 23.59pm Sunday September 29.

THE men played the first round of the Rountree Hyslop Cup 4BBB par and it was great to see two father and son combinations winning and finishing runner-up on Saturday.

FARMERS in the north-east are sighing with relief following the decision by the Victorian Government to extend the unprotection order for dingoes and wild dogs, however, farmers in the north-west will be supported by a $2 million investment to assist with monitoring and adoption of non-lethal dingo management strategies.