PORT Fairy has taken out the Top Small Tourism Town award (population between 1500 and 5000) for the second year in a row at Victorian Tourism Council’s Top Tourism Town Awards, and the town has now been inducted into the Hall of Fame.

FOLLOWING weeks of media reports of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Indonesia and confirmation of 63 cases in Bali on Monday, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry minister, Murray Watt, said on Wednesday afternoon that strengthened measures have been imposed including assessment of all passengers on flights from Indonesia to Australia.

WESTERN Victorians travelling on public transport may not be aware of the current closure of the Ararat-Wendouree-Melbourne and Maryborough-Melbourne train lines to allow for track works and upgrades until next Thursday, July 14.

SOUTHERN Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) grading crews are currently working around the region to complete vital gravel road grading and maintenance works.

HIKERS and bushwalkers are being urged to take additional precautions when venturing into areas including the Grampians National Park in the coming months, after a number of recent incidents have required emergency services.

ANNUAL National Aboriginal and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC Week) celebrations are being held across Australia this week - Sunday to Sunday - to honour and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

AFTER the resounding success of last year’s Blockvention event held by the 3rd Hamilton Girl Guides, the action-packed day of creativity and fun is returning this weekend with all members of the community welcome.

AN article on the front page of The Spectator on March 3 motivated Hamilton Baptist Church pastor, Doug Whiteford, to do something locally for young people, and specifically with the under-utilised space in a large room at the church on Gray Street.

GLENELG Shire Councillors voted to pass its controversial 2022/2023 budget last week, but protestors against the document’s rate hikes are not silenced, with a rally being planned by unhappy ratepayers.

A NEW book telling the story of Penshurst’s Mervyn ‘Napier’ Waller OBE CMG (1893-1972) and his greatest work, including the mosaics he designed in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial, is now available.