2016
Quadruple premier hope
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It’s Groundhog Day for Kyabram Fire Brigade Cricket Club ahead of this weekend’s Goulburn Murray Cricket grand finals.
Just as they did last year, the Flames have four teams participating in premiership deciders in Moama and Rochester.
But Fire Brigade president Justin Hooper is expecting an even greater return this weekend than the club achieved last finals series.
‘‘Four premierships,’’ was his frank assessment of what the club could achieve.
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Getting hands dirty
About 50 volunteers rallied to clean up their local parks, reserves, roadsides and sporting fields in Kyabram on Saturday for Clean Up Australia Day.
Kyabram’s CUAD event organiser Suzanna Gorman said volunteers removed about 30kg of rubbish, reporting a staggering array, ranging from physically small items like cigarette butts and recyclables including plastics, beverage containers, glass, food wrappers, string and cord, to larger items like a bed sheet, clothing, hub caps and sheet metal.
‘‘It was a very successful event despite the heat. It was great to see so many people working together to make a difference,’’ Mrs Gorman said.
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Swimmers show strength in pool
The winners of Kyabram P-12 College’s annual swimming sports have been announced.
The swimming sports, held on February 12, saw more than 380 students between years 7 and 12 compete for their respective houses, with the winners announced last Thursday at a school assembly.
With most lanes full on the day, students donned their best and most colourful gear for the event and cheered on their classmates.
Outside the normal events, students also engaged in cheering, dance-offs, volleyball and more.
1996
Church extensions celebrate 50 years
The Kyabram Living Waters Assembly of God Church celebrated 50 years of service with the opening of new extensions last Saturday.
The extensions, costing about $180,000, and completed mainly by working bees of the congregation, provide a larger worship chapel, new foyer and administration offices.
The extensions were opened by Rodney MLA Noel Maughan and attended by former pastors and many former members along with State Superintendent of the Assembly of God Pastor Philip Hills.
Elder Ron Gillie told the crowd of about 300 that the church started in the late 1940s with a small group meeting at the home of the late Pastor Amery at Tongala, with the first official Assembly of God meeting held in 1946.
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Twelve years’ success for Stanhope
Stanhope has again come up trumps in the State’s Tidy Town Awards announced recently.
Representatives of Stanhope’s Tidy Town Committee, ‘Banjo’ Pattison and Brian Warren, set out for Wodonga on Saturday, February 7, to attend the presentation of state awards.
According to Banjo and Brian, hopes were high that Stanhope would continue its unbroken record of success since 1984, as the town had received no fewer than five awards at regional level in November.
Bearing this in mind, it was anticipated that at least one plaque would be added to the growing collection in the community hall.
However, the pair say they began to lose hope as the evening wore on and they saw awards going in all directions, near and far, including to competing towns in Stanhope’s population category (250-750).
Finally, the breakthrough occurred, and it was a proud Brian Warren who walked the length of the hall to receive the plaque for Positive Litter Control, North East Region.
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Kyabram leads group at Country Week
Ben Langley’s emergence as a frontline KDCA representative player continued at the current Melbourne Country Cricket Week.
The unflappable sporting star shared in two opening partnerships which elevated Kyabram to the top of division two after the first two days of the annual carnival.
Wednesday’s game against Leongatha at Richmond was washed out, and yesterday’s clash with West Gippsland at North Melbourne also looked to be in doubt.
Langley and Matt McMaster-Smith set up Kyabram’s win over Ballarat at Dandenong with an opening stand of 91.
1976
Prepare yourself for 10 great days
Centenary festivities commence in earnest in Kyabram from tonight.
And by tomorrow night the whole town should be jumping as the centenary celebrations get under way in full force.
Proclamation day two weeks ago set the pattern and spirit for what should be an unforgettable experience for present and former Kyabram residents over the next 10 days.
Co-ordinator of the centenary celebrations Mrs Norma Bear expects the town’s population to swell to 10,000 on some days of the celebrations.
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‘Grandstand’ finish in Cooma tennis
It’s going to be a grandstand finish for final four places in the Cooma Tennis Association when the final round of home-and-away matches are decided this Saturday.
Wyana, following a shock one-game defeat by lowly Echuca White on Saturday, is the side in the four at present in the hot seat.
They have three sides ― Kyabram Black, Echuca Black and Echuca Gold ― all waiting for them to falter against Kyvalley this week.
Kyabram Black, Echuca Black and Echuca Gold all kept their final hopes alive on Saturday with respective wins over Kyabram Red, Tongala White and Kyvalley.
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Kyabram rocks its way into second century
The big gamble paid off on Saturday as Kyabram rocked its way into its second century.
The much-discussed, much-publicised pop festival at the Kyabram Recreation Reserve turned up trumps as a week of festivities to celebrate the town’s century got into full swing.
A crowd estimated at between 3500 and 4000 attended the festival, which featured one of the top Australian pop groups, Hush, and compere Ian Meldrum, a former Kyabramite.