News blog, February 28: COVID-19 Test Isolation Payment to end; Treaty Day Out a roaring success, snake season
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Gday Shepparton,
It’s Max Stainkamph back with you to kick off the start of another week, with news from across the Goulburn Valley and the region — and beyond, if we so feel.
We’re heading for a humid top of 29 degrees today, with rain likely in the afternoon and evening.
UPDATE, 4.55 pm: Signing off with cricket :)
You thought you’d escaped, didn’t you? You thought you’d been able to sneak through your Monday without me talking about the cricket. But no, alas, I’ve caught you.
And what a yarn I’ve caught you with, too. Shepparton United, winless so far this season, were knocked over for 99 on Saturday but Central Park-St Brendan’s. Game over, you’d think.
Not at all.
Chaminda Vidanapathirana’s four-wicket haul meant United were able to clinch a thrilling first victory of their win of the season. Check out the full yarn from James Kleeman here and get up and about over some cricket!
And that’s all she wrote for today, this snake and drama-filled day.
UPDATE, 4.20 pm: New job service to tackle employment in African communities
As we trundle towards the afternoon, here’s a top yarn from Youssef Saudie.
Kazi Connect is a new employment service at St Paul’s African House designed to break down barriers African-Australians face in gaining and maintaining employment.
Employment facilitator Furaha Baguma said the initiative, which starts in March, would help the community get “employment easily”.
Check out the full story here.
UPDATE, 4.00 pm: The snake is a lie, but gelato isn’t
I regret to inform you, dear reader, that I think we’ve been stitched up.
Following earlier reports of a snake in the Shepparton News office, there has been no further mention or sighting of the snake and I no longer believe it exists.
Did it ever exist? Is it a fever dream? Who could possibly say.
In actual, real-life news, Augustus Gelatery officially opened their doors to Shepparton at Maude Street Mall, drawing in crowds of people eager to try various gelato flavours.
Nicola Ceccato will have the story for you later this afternoon, but have a cheeky preview of one of the store’s customers below.
UPDATE, 3.15 pm: Still no snake, Sydneysiders think Shepparton is in Melbourne
There is still no sign of this so-called snake. Is the snake a lie? Who’s to say? Certainty not me, who still has plenty of work to do and has spent the last half an hour getting excited about a snake.
It’s the same vibe as when a dog gets on the loose in your school — very little work is currently being done (by me, at the very least).
In other news, the story about The Deck’s sandwich board made national news, and some of the nation’s media — evidently based in Sydney — have labelled Shepparton as “a suburb of Melbourne”, including news.com.au, the country’s biggest news site.
Yeah orright then.
UPDATE, 2.50 pm: There’s no snake in my boot?
We’ve spent 10 minutes hunting for the snake which is allegedly in the Shepp News office and haven’t found it. There is division amongst the office — people who are scared of the snake, people who believe the snake never existed, and people trying to make jokes about the snake.
As you can tell, I’m technically in the third category, but I’m a snake truther. No-one would lie about a snake being in the office, would they? That said, I’ve hunted around the office for the lil’ danger noodle and have seen no evidence the snake ever existed.
UPDATE, 2.40 pm: There’s a snake in my boot
Breaking news from the Shepparton News office: there is (allegedly) a snake in the office. This is not a drill.
I don’t know how it got in or where exactly it is, but we’ve just had a message over the PA system that we’ve had a baby brown snake sighted.
Anyone lucky enough to have an office has slammed their doors shut, the lights are flickering and — to be frank — I’m cold and scared.
If there are no further updates to the blog, you know why. It’s been an honour.
UPDATE, 2.30 pm: Mooroopna Kiwanis lending a hand
Mooroopna Kiwanis Club members are looking to host a “Super K event” later this year.
The event aims to help business owners in Mooroopna recover some losses after two years of a pandemic, in and out of lockdown.
The day will allow clothing stores to showcase spring and summer range of clothing in a “Kickstart Kool Klothes Kollection” fashion parade.
There will also be pop-up shops available for other Mooroopna business owners to sell stock.
Check out the full story from Nicola Ceccato here.
UPDATE, 1.45 pm: Pets! Give us (photos of) your pets!
You, wonderful reader, will know of the News’ pet page. Of all the wonderful journalism we do, the pet page is all of our favourite thing to write.
We’ve put a Facebook post up, where you can come past and drop a pic of your pet, and give us a few sentences to tell us why they’re the best character going ‘round.
Drop us a line on Facebook here or email editor@sheppnews.com.au with some words about your best friend, be they furry or feathered or scaly.
Here’s me with a pup over the weekend, for no reason other than she was the cutest thing in the world and it might brighten your day. (Also, go check out that comment section anyway. It’ll improve your mood immensely.)
UPDATE, 12.25 pm: Unemployment rate plummets
This won’t shock anyone who has anything to do with running businesses, but Shepparton’s unemployment is incredibly low, meaning people are unable to find workers.
Shepparton’s unemployment rate was just 2.8 per cent in January with many businesses reporting difficulty finding workers.
The regional Victoria unemployment rate hit a record low of 3.1 per cent according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Check out the full story here.
UPDATE, 11.30 am: Treaty Day Out a roaring success
If you’ve picked up a copy of today’s paper you’ll have seen two massive pages of photos taken by my good pal Caitlyn Grant, who got her grubby little mitts on a camera and wandered out to Treaty Day Out in the pouring rain on Saturday.
There are quite a lot of really good snaps in this gallery, which you can see here, (scroll down to get through them all) and Caitlyn will have a few more thoughts on the day coming through today.
Also, the Shepparton Region Reconciliation Group also wrote a wrap-up of the day, which is a lovely and really important read. Check that out here.
UPDATE, 10.45 am: A pick-me-up for your morning
Apologies for the near two-hour absence, I had to duck up to Nurmurkah for a story I’ll (hopefully) be able to share with you this arvo about carers.
Until then, however, we’ve got a mid-morning pick-me-up thanks to Tatura’s Alice Milner.
Ms Milner has helped saved 50 lives over the past 12 years through plasma donations, donating twice a year every year.
“The reality is, if I can help anyone who is going through one of the worst or toughest times of their life, be an accident or illness, then a small amount of my time is a gift I am willing to give,” she said.
Check out that full story here.
UPDATE, 9.00 am: Isolation payments to end from tomorrow
Tomorrow will be the final day for Victorians who have taken a PCR test to be eligible to claim the Test Isolation Payment.
Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula today announced that the Victorian Government’s Test Isolation Payment is closing due to Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) reducing the need to isolate for long periods while waiting for results.
“The payment was an important emergency support for many workers during the height of the pandemic, but as we enter a new phase of managing COVID-19 it’s no longer necessary,” Mr Pakula said.
UPDATE, 8.30 am: Backlash against sign, Ukrainians fear for homeland
A worker at The Deck has allegedly been sacked following a sign placed out the front displaying fake betting odds on the war in Ukraine.
The sign sparked backlash across the community and national media, and I think it’d be fair to call it a tasteless look. Darren Linton wrote the story yesterday and has it here.
It’s especially distressing for members of Shepparton’s Ukrainian community.
Ethnic Council of Shepparton and District president Maria Brown-Shepherd has helped welcome and settle refugees from war-torn countries, but she didn’t expect to be facing a crisis in her father’s homeland.
She spoke about the anguish of seeing her country invaded by Russian forces over the past four days. Read the full story here.
On that front, the UN has called an emergency session about the crisis and the Ukrainian and Russian governments have agreed to meet on the border of Ukraine and Belarus. There’s plenty more stories over on our World tab if you want to check them out.
Journalist