News blog, March 16: Ardmona explosion; Ollie the famous Collie

Georgia Rossiter here with you this morning, and Caitlyn Grant may take over a little later as I duck in and out of the office.

Expect a top of 24 degrees, with showers to ease mid afternoon.

UPDATE, 4.15pm: Afternoon headlines

Hey all, it’s Georgia again.

I’m back from my trip down the Hume and profusely apologise for the interruption to your daily blog feed.

To make it up to here, here is a compiled list of things that are happening around the region:

Kyabram teenager donating hair for a cause close to her heart: On April 2, Jazmin Clarke’s blonde locks will be chopped off by a local hairdresser and made into a wig for someone who has lost their hair due to a long-term medical condition.

Bikers ride to ‘create more prostate cancer survivors’: Twenty-five blokes on postie bikes will visit Shepparton to raise awareness and funds to battle prostate cancer and support families affected by the disease in regional Australia.

Council to advocate for water reform in NSW: Greater Shepparton City Council will write to the NSW Minister for Lands and Water to advocate for regulation of flood plain harvesting.

Moira residents to have say on off-leash dog areas: Moira Shire residents can have their say about the future of dog off-leash areas in the shire’s towns.

Shepparton Festival coming to life: There’s a sense in Shepparton that something big is unfurling, writes Caitlyn Grant. Art is popping up on walls and creatives are on the loose.

It can only mean one thing: Shepparton Festival is back.

UPDATE, 3.20 pm: Reported explosion in Ardmona

Energy Safe Victoria is investigating the reported explosion of an LPG cylinder used for cooking yesterday, leaving a man with burns to up to 35 per cent of his body and suspected internal injuries.

The 68-year-old is in a critical condition at the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.

A Victoria Police spokesperson said emergency services were called to an Ardmona Rd property after a gas bottle exploded in a shed about 2.30pm.

The full story is coming on its way to our website.

UPDATE, 12.40 pm: Good boy Ollie #notsponsored

As our Seymour correspondent Georgia Rossiter makes the journey south, I will be grabbing the reins.

Just in time to brighten your lunch break, here’s Ollie the Collie!

You may be thinking, gee, that is a photogenic dog! And you wouldn’t be alone.

Ollie has also appealed to the people of Instagram, reeling in a whopping 5000 followers.

The micro-influencer’s mum Megan Lock ran us through his busy schedule, to be seen in tomorrow’s pet page.

UPDATE, 9.10am: Morning headlines

Sienna Ratila is being remembered as an energetic girl who loved her friends “more than anything”.

The 13-year-old Mooroopna girl died on Friday, March 11, following a long battle with mental health.

Her step mum Roxanne Ratila said Sienna always wanted to be with her friends.

“As soon as the sun came up on a Saturday she’d ask to be dropped in town and if we were too busy she’d say ‘I’m catching the bus then, I’m not waiting for you’,” she said.

Greater Shepparton City Council chief executive Peter Harriott has defended the due diligence done on a proposed social housing development above a central business district car park.

He was speaking in response to a public question at the March 15 meeting asking whether council had done its due diligence on the impact to neighbouring Shepparton ACE Secondary College.

Over in NSW, the state has recorded more than 30,000 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

In it’s daily announcement, NSW Health advised a data issued has meant a significant number of rapid antigen tests recorded between Sunday, March 13 and Monday, March 14 were reported today.