MOUNT Macedon is in danger of becoming a “moonscape” if homeowners are given the power to clear trees without council permits, the mayor says.

A FIGHTING fund set up to contest a planned ban on local councillors working for MPs is receiving little support from local councils.

WILD weather has wreaked havoc across Melbourne, bringing down trees and powerlines and causing widespread black-outs and property damage.

UPDATE 3pm: GET home early to avoid the storms – that’s the advice from the State Emergency Service.

SUNBURY traders are sceptical about joining in celebrating a “milestone” in the $25 million Vineyard Road duplication works, saying traffic is still a nightmare.

BUILDING cars were among the projects undertaken by Sunbury Downs College students at their first Science Fest on Thursday.

Andrew Brown, a paraplegic, will again compete in the Around the Bay in a Day cycle challenge.

ANTIQUE dealers and stallholders will descend on the Macedon Ranges for the annual Kyneton Antique Fair next month.

THOUSANDS of daffodils will be in full bloom when the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival kicks off next week.

A GISBORNE Football Club committee has given the green light to end its association with the Bendigo Football League.

STEPS are being taken to prepare Woodend, Macedon and Mount Macedon for the coming summer which is predicted to be one of Victoria’s worst fire seasons.

AN amendment that could allow three of the seven Hume councillors to keep their day jobs and finish their term on the council will be debated in the State Parliament upper house next week.

WITH the PNG tragedy involving 13 deaths dominating headlines, reporter Eugene Benson, who grew up in Macedon Ranges and just back from Kokoda journey, writes of his experience.

SUNBURY residents beware: dead wood on public land in Sunbury is not there for the taking. In fact you could be fined up to $5500 or jailed for grabbing it for firewood without a permit.

JACKSONS Creek has been given a tick of approval in the health stakes by Terry Lane, who is among a band of volunteers recording frog calls as part of an ongoing census at the creek.

HUME’S Nikoll Kaloustian wowed the judges to win the over-16 age group singing title at the Hume Winter Music Festival’s Talent Quest.

STEM cell research was the hot topic for students at Braemar College during last week’s National Science Week.

THE 16th birthday celebration of the Sunbury Probus Club will be the main topic of discussion at its next Wednesday meeting.

THE Historical and Heritage Society’s dream of having a railway museum in Sunbury has been shattered by VicTrack.

SPEEDING on roads and inadequate traffic control consultation have emerged as the key issues among Sunbury residents in two localities.