Alison Martin

The State Government will build a new hydrotherapy pool at the Lake Colac School, providing an opportunity for onsite swimming lessons and treatment, and potentially a facility which could be shared with the broader community.

The parent of a child left on a bus for about five hours after a morning drop off at Lake Colac School says the incident was “very traumatic and horrifying” but praised the school for its support.

Police are calling for anyone who witnessed a fatal crash at Irrewillipe or have dashcam footage of the car prior to yesterday’s incident to contact Colac Police Station or Crime Stoppers.

The Department of Education says it will continue to review processes after a Lake Colac School student was left alone on a bus, eventually getting out and knocking on the door of a stranger to raise the alarm.

Colac district fire crews saved a house and shed from a blaze which started as an unattended burnoff on a property near Birregurra on Saturday.

A recent “panther sighting” near Deans Marsh might have proven to be the infamous timber cut-out created by a local artist, but it did trigger a Winchelsea resident’s clear memories of big cats in the Otways.

Colac’s Camp Quality Convoy For Kids’ team has thanked the local community for its support which has catapulted it to claim the title of “Highest Fundraising Community Team” for a second consecutive year.

One of Colac’s most prominent commercial properties in Murray Street is being offered for sale for the first time in almost 30 years.

Production will stop at AKD’s Irrewarra sawmill at the end of February and impacted staff are being transferred to the Colac site in response to a nation-wide decline in demand for timber. The length of the shutdown is unknown and will be determined by future timber demand. The Colac mill…

Colac district vegetable grower Joe Sgro says he has never seen white butterflies in plague proportions to the extent the region has experienced this week, with high humidity the key contributor.

Colac Area Health chief Fiona Brew has decided to continue working at Colac until the investigation into allegations made public last week are complete, rather than starting at Portland District Health today.

Member for Polwarth Richard says he supports an independent investigation into the Colac Area Health “fake patients” allegations and has questioned why the department didn’t investigate six months ago. Allegations of staff and staff members’ relatives posing as patients in urgent care beds and waiting room and in an ambulance…

Colac Area Health Board chair Tim Greene has confirmed he will stay at the helm of the health service board as the Victorian Health Department continues investigations into the “fake patients” scandal that has rocked Colac’s hospital this week.

Five people escaped serious injury on Saturday night after a car allegedly failed to give way, colliding with a police divisional van and causing it to roll in Colac’s main street.

Otway Coastal Environment Action Network’s campaign to raise awareness of seismic testing for offshore oil and gas attracted about 250 people in Apollo Bay yesterday.

A dual-cab ute has been vandalised in a Lorne carpark, causing extensive damage, and anyone who witnessed the attack, or with information about the offenders, is urged to contact Crime Stoppers or police.

After 42 years in business and now facing company liquidation, Colac’s Mick Fenn wants to set the record straight and recognise his employees and his supporters.

Country Fire Authority crews were called to a grass fire near Winchelsea yesterday morning after a property owner lost control of a planned burn.

A $70-million tourist resort proposed for Apollo Bay will go to an independent planning panel without the support of Colac Otway Shire Council, following a unanimous vote this week.

Birregurra district residents on the northern side of town are furious they have no access to super-fast internet, despite commitments from the National Broadband Network and the Federal Government.