Volunteers from Orange Sky celebrated three years of service in Castlemaine recently.
Orange Sky has been providing support to people in the area who are experiencing homelessness and hardship through access to free laundry and genuine conversation.
“Our amazing team of volunteers have formed quite a connection with many of the friends using the Orange Sky service over the past few years,” said Laura Keogh from Sac’O’Suds Launderette.
The service is available at Sac’O’Suds Launderette in Barker Street, Castlemaine every Thursday from 1pm to 3pm. If you are interested in volunteering with Orange Sky visit orangesky.org.au/volunteer/
Residents are divided in their opinions about the new wombat crossing on Mostyn Street.
Works on the pedestrian crossing commenced last week and are estimated to be completed by the beginning of next week.
Designed to improve pedestrian safety, the work includes the installation of a raised crossing, a reduction in the width of traffic lanes and improved street lighting.
Last week, the council flagged the impending works on Facebook, which was followed by a post on The Castlemaine Connection, questioning the council’s decision to turn off comments on their thread.
Responses to both posts varied. Some commenters questioned why the council wasn’t focusing its energy on the dangerous stretch of road on Forest Street, while others felt the money would be better spent repairing roads. Some called out for more parking spaces, while others worried this would create visibility issues.
Most of the comments were disparaging of the council, while others were complimentary.
A streetscape design expert said that wombat crossings are safer and, if designed properly, make it easier for mobility and make kids more visible.
“I’m tired of people deciding money should be spent somewhere else on projects in our community. It’s not how funding works,” they wrote.
“The works make our community safer. Yes, there are other problems. They need fixing, too. But let’s not cut off good projects to get them done. Let’s just simply ask for more to be done.”
Angela Crawford and Morgan Reinwald
Macedon Ranges mayor Dom Bonanno has lost his driver’s licence after being caught speeding and drink driving in the mayoral car last month.
Victoria Police said Cr Bonanno was pulled over on McGeorge Road in Gisborne South about 8.15pm on Friday, October 31. He returned a positive roadside breath test and was taken to a local station, where an evidentiary test allegedly returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.087.
His licence will be disqualified for six months from the end of November.
In a public statement issued on Wednesday, Cr Bonanno took full responsibility for what he described as a “major lapse in judgement.”
“I appreciate that my family, fellow councillors, council staff and the community put their trust in me, which I have breached, for which I sincerely apologise,” he said.
“I can’t turn the clock back, but I will work each day to rebuild this trust over the months and years ahead. I am very disappointed in myself, and I have always strived to be a good councillor and mayor, to listen and to strongly represent our residents and broader community.”
Cr Bonanno said he had since returned the mayoral vehicle and it was neither impounded nor damaged during the incident.
The Midland Express received an anonymous tipoff regarding Cr Bonanno’s actions and approached council CEO Bernie O’Sullivan at a public event a day before the mayor’s announcement to confirm whether the allegations were true.
Mr O’Sullivan responded, “I can’t comment on that. Where did you hear that?”
The following day, the Midland Express emailed the council requesting a statement from Cr Bonanno. Six hours later, his public apology was published online.
Cr Bonanno has since taken personal leave and is expected to return on Tuesday, November 25, for the annual council meeting to elect the mayor. He confirmed he would not seek re-election to the position.
Cr Kate Kendall has temporarily taken over mayoral responsibilities.
This story has been published to the Castlemaine Mail instead of the Midland Express as its website is currently down for maintenance.
The Electoral Matters Committee is inviting the Bendigo communities’ input on the 2025 federal election at its upcoming hearings.
The Committee wants to receive feedback from community members about their experiences participating in the 2025 Federal Election, and to use this information to shape our upcoming hearing.
The Committee will be holding hearings in Bendigo tomorrow, Thursday November 13.
As part of these hearings, members of the public will be invited to be on the record by making short verbal statements of up to five minutes.
You don’t need to have put in a submission to register your interest; you just need to inform the committee what you want to talk about and how you participated in the 2025
Federal Election.
They might not be able to hear from everyone on the day, but they would like to hear from as many community members as possible.
To register your interest in making a statement at the upcoming hearings, contact the Committee Secretariat at em@aph.gov.au.
Further information on the 2025 election inquiry can be found at www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Electoral_Matters
