News Just In

OVERNIGHT there was some fire activity on the south-west corner of the fire ground, near Ringwood Road (Wollora Road), which crews were able to keep under control. The fire is still holding on the eastern front along Policeman’s Track and along the sourthern side of the Goulburn River. On the northern side of the fire, […]

INSPECTOR Troy Gersback from the Rural Fire Service provided an update to the Merriwa community on the Meads Creek fire in the Goulburn River National Park this afternoon. The fire is still burning to the south of Tunbridge Road, Possum Springs Road, Flight Springs Road; to the east of Ringwood Road or Wollar Road and […]

A petition has been launched calling for an independent review of the Upper Hunter Shire Council’s business case underpinning the proposed airport development, to be lodged with the New South Wales State Parliament. 

Concerned residents said they were supportive of the airport redevelopment and warbird museum, but wanted an independent thorough assessment to ensure the largest capital expenditure ever undertaken by the Shire was realistic and would not leave ratepayers repaying a $10.8 million loan if projections are realised. Read more…

THE Meads Creek fire south of Merriwa is still active along the northern side adjacent to Turnbridge Road and Flight Springs Road and while there is currently no threat to property, residents are urged to remain vigilant and monitor conditions closely. Ringwood Road (Wollara Road) remains closed. There is a severe fire danger rating forecast […]

By Russell Sakey Merriwa 149  defeated Muswellbrook South 65. Bunnan 126 off 18 overs defeated Rouchel  86 off  20 overs Murrurundi  6/176 off defeated Muswellbrook Silver 167 off 39 overs Belmore Bulls –  no results provided Muswelbrook Blue – no results provided. Aberdeen  4 / 183 Bushrangers  192 off  38 overs Belltrees – bye.  

By Lyn Banks On Saturday, November 30 the Scone golfers played an 18 Hole Individual and 2 Ball Aggregate Par for the David Druce and Mick Reynolds trophies. A good field of 43 players turned up in very windy conditions which became worse during the afternoon. With par events being a rarity on the golfing […]

CAMPBELL Jones, who grew up in Scone, won the L’Etape Australia cycling race in Jindabyne on the weekend, the largest road bike race outside Europe and was awarded New South Wales Roadman of the Year  Campbell said it was a great race to win and helps build to his ultimate goal of riding in the […]

THE Rural Fire Service has described last night’s fire activity with the Meads Creek fire as “very benign”. Crews were back-burning around the Ringwood Road area, but by midnight it had became too damp and cold to continue. Update 3pm: Spot fires have occurred this afternoon on the western side of the Meads Creek fire […]

Dear Editor, I first wrote to the General Manager, Steve McDonald 10 weeks ago, concerned that the Council was incorrectly recording Council resolutions from meetings and thereby keeping secret from you, information you would expect and have a right to know. I have NOT HAD A RESPONSE, despite two more letters and published Letters to […]

EACH year the Upper Hunter Shire Council asks for community submissions on the holiday arrangements for the Scone Cup, which will be held on Friday, May 15 next year. Submissions can be made in writing or in an online survey and close on December 24. Public holiday options for Scone Cup 2020 are: No holiday; […]

THE Bureau of Meteorology recorded the following rainfalls in the 24 hours until 9am this morning: Aberdeen: 1.6ml Bunnan: 2ml Cassilis: 1ml Ellerston: 2.2ml Glenbawn Dam: 1.4ml Merriwa: 4ml Murrurundi: 0.4ml Parkville: 0.4ml Scone: 1.5ml Upper Rouchel: 2.2ml Wingen: 1ml    

MORE than 70 residents attended an RFS information session on the Meads Creek West fire, which has burnt through 6,700 hectares, since it was sparked by lightning on Wednesday. Currently the fire is not running, with cool conditions and some rain giving fire fighters the chance to work on containment lines. David Nicholson, public liaison […]

THE Rural Fire Service are holding a community meeting at 3:30pm today at the Merriwa RSL Club.   RFS will provide an update on the Mead Creek Fire in the Goulburn River National Park, explaining forecasts over the next few days and issues which may arise.   When: 3.30pm, Monday, December 2, 2019. Where: Merriwa […]

IT’s only the second day of summer and local rural fire service crews have already responded to eight fires in the Upper Hunter Shire area.  Tim Honner, from the Liverpool Range Rural Bush Fire Service, which covers the Upper Hunter Shire area said the two main areas of concern is the fire in the Goulburn […]

THERE is a cold front moving through the Upper Hunter today bringing light showers and possible thunderstorms this afternoon. The predicted rainfall is 5 to 7ml, with the chance of thunderstorms bringing more in some places. The winds are 30 to 45 km, dropping this evening and easing off tomorrow. The rest of the week […]

THE front bar of the Golden Fleece Hotel in Scone dates back to 1842 and over the years it became an icon in the districts history as a beautiful art deco hotel, then expanded when Glenbawn Dam was being built in the 1950’s accommodating many workers on the Dam. See plenty of photos below. Today […]

TODAY people around the world are supporting student strikes to bring awareness to climate change and in Scone Murray Armstrong was doing his bit to support the students, with a sit in at the Upper Hunter Shire Council. Murray was joined by Dr Richard Abbott and Roslyn Armstrong, with others welcome. Murray said he only […]

COUNCIL have released the audio file of the November meeting, which includes the motion relating to the airport. The entire file is more than 2 hours in duration, so we have broken it down into the main sections relating to the call for an independent review of the airport project, with each speaker and the […]

AT November’s Council meeting this week, Daryl Dutton questioned Council’s use of confidential closed meetings for strategic purchases and said he believed Council was breaching the Code of Practice guidelines by not disclosing the details of the resolutions after they were decided. Listen to this section of the meeting, in the audio file below. Mr […]

“IF you build it they will come” might have been a great line for a movie about ghosts coming to play baseball in a cornfield, but it’s not a great basis to justify a $10.8million ratepayer funded investment in an airport. From a business perspective there have been many people question the financials including David […]

COUNCIL have decided to keep 13 mature trees in Hill Street and Gundy Road, Scone following a consultant arborist’s report which assessed the health of the trees and recommended kerb and guttering be moved.  On Hill Street, between Liverpool and Kingdon Street, the gutter will be moved 30 centimetres to protect nine Pistacia Atlantica trees […]

MATTERS before Scone Local Court in November included the following: ALLEN, John William, a 34 year old from Scone, appeared and pled guilty to charges of drive with low range prescribed concentration of alcohol – second offence and drive motor vehicle during disqualification period- first offence. The offence occurred on Noblet Road, Scone on September […]

THE Bureau of Meteorology recorded the following rainfalls in the last 24 hours until 9am this morning: Aberdeen: 0.8ml Bunnan: 8ml Cassilis: 0ml Cressfield:7,5ml Glenbawn Dam: 8.6ml Merriwa: 0.6ml Moonan: 5ml Murrurundi: 0.6ml Parkville: 9.6ml Rouchel: 2.2ml Scone: 5ml Wingen: 4ml

By Graham Turvey THE veterans enjoyed the friendly company as usual but not the increasingly hot wind at Aberdeen Golf Club on Tuesday, November 26 for their stroke and putting event. Jeff McKeon won the stroke with nett 67 while Les Brown won the putting with 27 putts and the wine prize kindly donated by […]

THE Council chambers were packed with more than 50 members of the public in attendance for the airport development motion to have an independent review of the underlying business assumptions before the project proceeds, with emotions running high amongst participants and Councillors alike. There were six members of the community who addressed Council on the […]

IN an unorthodox move, Michael Johnsen, the Upper Hunter state member of parliament, addressed Councillors at last night’s Council meeting and told them to “just get on with the job” of the airport development. Stating that the state government had given grant money and the project plan had passed through various government departments including Infrastructure, […]

LAST night the Council moved a motion for water rates for the Scone Race Club to be reduced, however there is a period of public consultation for their amendment to the Council’s revenue policy before the matter is finalised by Council and Council issued a media release this afternoon asking for community feedback. Read: Council […]

LAST night Council voted to reduce the water rates for the Scone Race Club from $2.35 to $0.96 per kilolitre for one year. Cr Sue Abbott said she strongly objected to the motion for a Club which was profitable, compared to other local clubs which were not as well funded and still had to pay […]

THE Westpac Rescue Helicopter is on route to the Scott Memorial Hospital in Scone to transfer a 65 year old male, suffering a medical condition, to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for specialist treatment. 

AT approximately 9:20pm last night a 20 year old male driver from Merriwa careered over the Middlebrook roundabout, hit the medium strip and became airborne, then colliding with a guide rail and coming to a stop at the top of the gully. The police report states the driver had momentarily looked down before driving over […]

THE Council meeting reconvened following a break for the General Manger to identify a source of funding for the motion to have an independent review into the airport project so that the motion for an independent review into the airport project could be put forward and while funding was identified the motion was lost, with […]

GREEN with a splash of colur is a welcome sight during the drought and a pelargonium drive is helping bring some growth to the Belltrees Public School. Lynda Posa, from Plants on Main, said some of her suppliers wanted to know how they could help regional people during the drought, which sprouted the pelargonium drive. […]

THE Merriwa swimming pool will return to the hours of operation from last season and once again be open at 6am on weekdays, following community feedback. Council and the pool operator, Lifeguarding Services Australia, trialed changing the hours to ensure the pool was available during higher use times, such as school programs. The Council will […]

By Russell Sakey Murrurundi  118 off 34 overs; J Chapple 29,A Mepham 24, B Crowe 23*, J McClymont 19 N Blackadder 3/21, B Nebauer 2/ drew with Merriwa    118 off 34 overs; B Strachan 28, J Maben 23, B Nebauer 23, J Chapple 3/29, J McClymont 4/16. Rouchel 3 / 151 off 29 overs; […]

By Lyn Banks ON Saturday, November 23, the Scone golfers played an 18 Hole Stableford for the James Archibald Trophy. On a hot day the morning players appreciated a breeze and the afternoon players were mostly cart golfers, along with a hardy group of younger walkers! The field was 45 which included two visitors and […]

OVER the next couple of days the Bureau of Meteorology is predicting storms. There is a trough in the area and tomorrow a stronger front will move through bringing more high impact weather. A storm is possible today and tomorrow thunderstorms may be severe with strong gusts, which may pick up dust and there is […]

THE Wesptac Rescue Helicopter was called to Wingen late yesterday to attend a 45 year old female who sustained lower limb injuries after an all terrain vehicle accident. The patient was transferred to the Tamworth Rural Referral Hospital in a stable condition.

THERE are more than 150 people expected to return to Belltrees Public School to celebrate 140 years today. There have been many smaller schools which have closed through the decades, but the Belltrees school has a special place in the broader community, support Katy Tyler P&C secretary and mother of two current students at the […]

If you’d like your event listed in What’s On, please send the information to: news@scone.com.au. Friday, November 22 ARCHA National Finals What: For the first time the National Australian Reined Cow Horse Association (ARCHA) is being held in Scone. When: Friday, November 22 –Sunday, November 24, 2019. Where: Scone White Park, 100 Guernsey Street, Scone. […]

TONIGHT A Current Affair will air a story on how Murrurundi are managing water restrictions. Brady Halls and the crew visited Murrurundi last week to spend some time with the Ferguson family and show Australia what water restrictions mean in regional towns struggling through one of the worst droughts in history. See story: Flying the […]

COUNCILLOR Sue Abbott has raised a motion for Monday’s general Council meeting: To seek an external independent review of the Scone Airport and Aviation Museum Project, and to not proceed to any construction contracts until:(i) the external review has been completed and any issues raised within the external review have been adequately and publicly addressed, […]

TOMORROW the Australian Reined Cow Horse Association (ARCHA) will return to White Park, Scone to hold the Shiney Outlaw ARCHA National Finals. The show is the first national show for Cow Horse events in Australia with a total of eleven classes being contested and over twenty thousand dollars value in prizes. Another first for Cow […]

THE New England Highway is closed in both directions at Camberwell, north of Singleton, following a collision between a car and a truck, as reported on LiveTraffic at approximately 10:40am. Emergency services are on scene and drivers are advised to avoid the area, or use an alternate route between Muswellbrook and Singleton. For updates on […]

The Editor, When the Upper Hunter Shire Council keeps the truth from you, what are they covering up? On the 24th September, 8 weeks ago, without response to date, I wrote to the Council General Manager and the Director Corporate Services to advise them that the Council was keeping information from you, that you are […]

By Stuart Sheldrake THERE were about 1,072 cattle penned today. Half the yarding was export cattle, mainly cows, due to a lot of people really starting to get frightened now. The cow job was fully firm on last week and we saw export bulls make up to $3 a kilo and cows made up to […]

THE third annual all women’s sevens rugby union tournament held in Scone on the weekend was another huge success. The tournament was the first all female tournament to be held and continues to grow in popularity with rugby players travelling from throughout the state and the ACT. This year, Southern Districts backed up last year’s […]

By Graham Turvey EIGHTEEN veterans enjoyed the hospitality of Denman Golf Club and had lots of fun and laughs when they played a stableford event on a hot and dry Tuesday, 19th November. Thank you to Gary Ashmead for sponsoring a $200 prize for a hole-in-one on the 14th hole. Vice-captain Graham Turvey did best […]

RECORDS of the Scone Airport, obtained under freedom of information, reveal there were only seven emergency service aircraft landings at the airport during a 12 month period, despite Council’s claims that there are “two critical emergency services landings per day”. Mayor Wayne Bedggood said at a public meeting he was surprised there were so many […]

SANTA has confirmed he will be available for photos in Scone again this year! Lee Watts, manager of the Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre, said they were excited to announce Santa would return and they were busy preparing for this photo sessions. “The Christmas elves are ready and Santa is booked ready for photos in Scone […]

THE US conservation organisation, Global Wildlife Conservation, has donated $50,000 and joined with Aussie Ark to  help native wildlife devastated by the bushfires. Rescue organisations are struggling to cope with injured and displaced animals, thousands of native animals have been killed and the genetically diverse koala population in Port Macquarie has almost been wiped out. […]