News blog, December 20: Christmas carols come back; two new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Shepparton district
Return to the blog throughout the day to stay up-to-date with the latest Goulburn Valley news.
Hello and happy Monday,
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Welcome back to the blog after what I hope was a lovely weekend, despite some wild extremes in weather.
UPDATE, 5:20 pm: Two vastly different stories to polish off the day
In breaking news, wild weather continued to batter our region today, when a fire in the Strathbogie Ranges burned about one hectare of land following a lightning strike.
Monique Preston brings us the details of the blaze, which called for 10 CFA trucks to bring it under control.
Citizenship ceremonies are back in action, with multiple sessions held in recent weeks.
Reporter Thom Monaghan caught up with a few of the GV’s newest Australian citizens on Friday.
See the pics and hear what they had to say about their journeys in this story.
And that’s it for tonight! Georgia Rossiter will be on board tomorrow to blog with you through Tuesday.
UPDATE, 4:40 pm: Carols by Candlelight give Shepparton a glow again
Were you at the carols last night? As reporter John Lewis puts it, it wasn’t the usual Carols by Candlelight in the gardens under the Shepparton night sky, but it hasn’t been the usual sort of year.
More than 700 people enjoyed singing along to the show, which shifted to the Eastbank Centre when bad weather threatened.
Read the full story and see if you can spot your family or friends in the crowd.
UPDATE, 2:35 pm: Mercury soars across weekend of sport
Lots of sporting action fell by the wayside on Saturday due to high summer temperatures, but there were still plenty of completed matches for the News sports team to write about.
Paul Newman was on fire for Kyabram — as was Liam Callegari for Old Students — among the Cricket Shepparton Haisman Shield action.
Meanwhile, about half of the Goulburn Valley Playing Area lawn bowls weekend pennant fixtures were able to be completed.
UPDATE, 2:25 pm: A lovely arvo read
This afternoon Gianni Francis brings us the story of Mary Farren, and it’s well worth a read.
Mary has become a karate master at 89, after a two-decade self-defence journey.
Her sons and grandsons struggle to keep up with her enthusiasm and energy, telling her “you don’t have to go at 100 miles all the time”.
Read the full story via this link.
UPDATE, 2:10 pm: Attention cyclists
Entries close at midnight tomorrow, December 21, for the 2021 Shepparton Christmas Track Carnival.
UPDATE, 12:25 pm: Greater Shepparton COVID-19 numbers
The Victorian Department of Health’s latest COVID-19 data shows that as of 12 pm today there are 66 active cases in Greater Shepparton, two of which are new.
This is three fewer than yesterday, December 19, when there were 69 active cases.
The fresh numbers come after a busy weekend of testing.
The drive-through site at Shepparton Showgrounds was closed for the weekend, leaving the walk-up site at the GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic on Graham Street as the health service’s only testing site.
The Graham St site was overwhelmed on Saturday, closing early after it was swamped with unexpected demand.
On that note, here are the current opening hours of both sites:
Shepparton Showgrounds, High Street Shepparton (enter from Archer Street) – Drive through site, open Monday – Friday, 8.45am – 4.45pm. Closed weekends.
GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic, Graham Street Shepparton – Walk up site, open 7 days, 8am-4pm.
Don’t forget opening times will differ during the festive season.
The Shepparton Showgrounds drive-through site will be closed from December 24 to December 28 and between January 1 to January 3.
The showgrounds site will be open 8.45 am to 4.45 pm from December 29 to December 31.
The GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic on Graham Street will remain open, and operating hours will be as below:
December 24: 8 am – 4.30 pm
December 25: 7.30 am – 11.30 am
December 26 to January 3: 8 am – 4.30 pm
UPDATE, 11:30 am: Championing diversity in Greater Shepparton
Today we bring you the news that Shepparton’s Neha Samar has been appointed to the Victorian Multicultural Commission Regional Advisory Council as a Hume region representative.
Ms Samar is eager to hear from migrants, refugees and asylum seekers about the key issues affecting their communities.
“It’s really important for me to really listen to people and the issues that they’re facing,” she said.
And John Lewis brings us an update on Shepparton Culture Kitchen, a collaboration between Multicultural Arts Victoria, Greater Shepparton City Council and Mooroopna’s POD Studio.
Eight Shepparton district women from different cultures and generations are cooking together, and sharing recipes and stories to build a network of local knowledge around sustainable food sourcing and healthy eating.
Check out the full story about the initiative two years in the making.
UPDATE, 11:10 am: Christmas light guide
Have you already been for a Christmas light viewing excursion, or is that on the cards for another night this week?
We’ve made it easy to navigate with our Christmas lights guide.
While we’re on the subject, we’ve also prepared a list of Greater Shepparton Christmas church services, a comprehensive set of tips to make your celebrations more environmentally friendly, and some expert advice from the vets on what not to feed your pet this Christmas.
UPDATE, 10 am: O’Keeffe re-elected as Chair of Regional Cities Victoria
Regional Cities Victoria will be chaired by our very own Greater Shepparton City Council Mayor Kim O’Keeffe next year, for a second term in a row.
RCV is a leadership group comprising of the Mayors and CEOs of the 10 largest cities outside Melbourne, including Shepparton.
Cr O’Keeffe said she was extremely pleased to be re-elected as the Chair for another term, giving her the ability to further advocate for necessary investment in regional Victoria.
UPDATE, 9:45 am: Morning headlines
A police operation targeting intentional high-risk driving in the Shepparton area has nabbed eight people.
“Failing to stop when directed by police, driving under the influence of drugs, driving at excessive speeds. We are sick and tired of seeing this kind of reckless and selfish behaviour – it’s dangerous and it costs lives,” Shepparton CIU Detective Senior Sergeant Paul Shortis said.
Greater Shepparton City Council is exploring a regional first to boost social housing in Shepparton by gifting the air space above car parking in the central business district for development.
It’s an exciting prospect for the community, with Greater Shepparton City estimated to have the highest homeless rate in regional Victoria, according to data from late 2019.
And if you’ve been delaying organising your third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp is asking you to urgently boost your immunity.
Just 17 per cent of the eligible population in Greater Shepparton has come forward to receive a due third dose.
UPDATE, 9:30 am: State-wide case numbers and hospitalisations climb
Below is the latest COVID-19 data for Victoria, while we wait for Shepparton numbers.
We know on Sunday (yesterday) there were 69 active cases of COVID-19 in the Greater Shepparton local government area, and two new cases reported.
Reporter for The Australian, Rachel Baxendale, has pointed out today is the first time Victoria has gone 24 hours with zero COVID-related deaths since September 16 - more than three months ago.
Shepparton News journalist