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That's all from me here, HAPPY HUMP DAY!
Make sure you check back in tomorrow morning with the Grill master Grace Ryan in Narromine.
In the meantime, keep an eye on the regional pages for any cracking news stories.
DUBBO | NARROMINE | WELLINGTON | NYNGAN | THE RIDGE | WESTERN MAGAZINE|
8:50am: It's that wonderful time of the day ladies and gentlemen!
Are you celebrating your day of days today? HAPPY BIRTHDAY IF YOU ARE!
Did you know this day with Hollywood heart-throb Matt Damon and the darling Bruno Mars who loves you "just the way you are"?
Here's a little Wednesday treat you for!
8:40am: Get your celebrity fix here
Television dad Stephen Collins, best known for his role as minister Eric Camden on the long-running family drama 7th Heaven, has allegedly confessed to molesting underage girls.
Grant and Collins are presently engaged in what TMZ described as a "nasty, prolonged" divorce.
First Gwyneth gave us Goop, then Blake Lively provided Preserve and now Kyly Clarke has gone live with Lyfestyled, her new blog dedicated to teaching readers how to beautify "all aspects of your life".
Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence has spoken for the first time about the theft and release of dozens of nude photographs of her, labelling the hack a "sex crime".
"It is not a scandal. It is a sex crime," The Hunger Games star says in a interview for the November issue of Vanity Fair.
Just the fact that somebody can be sexually exploited and violated, and the first thought that crosses somebody's mind is to make a profit from it. It's so beyond me.
- Jennifer Lawrence
8:35am: They have been a dominant force in the Whitney Cup competition for the past 15 years but RSL-Colts have plenty of work to do if they are to be a threat in the 2014-15 season.
An off-season hampered by a lack of training and a few departures after last year's third-place finish means the club is a little bit uncertain heading into their opening match against Dubbo CYMS but player Wes Giddings is confident the club can still challenge. Read more here.
Have you got those mid-week blues?
I just stumbled across this and it's certainly brightened my mood.
Treat yourself to chuckling at 25 Alpacas with the Most Amazing Hair Ever
8:30am: Keep an eye out for this week's Western Magazine to see what young Tom Mackinnon got up to in his six month hiatus in Canda.
8:25am: The Mailbox Shopper dropped in to Lisa Minner's Cats on a Canvas workshop at the Western Plains Cultural Centre to ask the question:
"What is your favourite thing about school holidays?"
The answers were pretty cute - check them out here!
8:20am: IGA Dubbo will be competitively matching prices from major supermarket chains as part of the new national Price Match.
SUPA IGA Dubbo will today be one of the first to offer the price match to customers.
8:15am: Magpie Watch is back as The Narromine News and Trangie Advocate has discovered more nesting magpies around Narromine. Click here to see the death traps.
NSW Ambulance advises you to watch for swooping magpies.
It suggests you stare straight at the magpie or wear sunglasses on the back of your head to distract it.
If you have seen a swooping magpie around Narromine or Trangie please let us know and we will alert the community.
You can contact us through Facebook using the hashtag #narrominemagpies or email grace.ryan@fairfaxmedia.com.au
8:10am:
8:00am: The residents of Mumbil were mostly unaware there were two explosive devices sitting on the roadside near the railway line on Tuesday afternoon.
Guarded by a police officer from the Wellington Police Station, who was waiting for a member of the Bomb Squad from Bathurst to arrive, the devices were hidden in a grassy area near cattle and cars travelling by.
Wellington Police ordered in the bomb squad to check out two devices believed to be similar to those which formed part of the case against Liverpool man Ryan Paget, who appeared in Orange Local Court yesterday morning. Read more here.
7:50am: And now for what's cracking across the country:
Foreshore Beach at Port Botany is Sydney's most polluted, according to a report ranking the cleanliness of NSW beaches, but swimming spots around the state are generally becoming cleaner.
The report by the Department of Environment's Beachwatch water quality monitoring service examined 94 of Sydney's beaches and estuarine sites. About 90 per cent were ranked "good" or "very good". Read more here.
Analysts are split on whether BHP Billiton can achieve its ambitious drive to claim Rio Tinto's mantle as the cheapest exporter of iron ore to China.
The miner said on Monday it would slash its costs by 25 per cent to below $US20 a tonne and grow its exports by 65 million tonnes by 2017.
Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Young said the increase was faster and cheaper than expected, at a cost of $US30 a tonne for a total of about $US2 billion. But he questioned whether the miner's determination to reduce its costs by 25 per cent was achievable.
A strong sharemarket debut from Regis Healthcare and Japara Healthcare's resilient start to public ownership will lure more aged-care providers down the initial public offering route, analysts and experts have said.
Patrick Reid, the chief executive of industry lobby group Leading Age Services Australia, said a boom in the section of the population aged over 65 years made the sector attractive to investors. Read more here.
In terms of demand, we need to build around 80,000 beds in the next 10 years,
- Chief executive of industry lobby group Leading Age Services Australia, Patrick Reid
7:45am: Making headlines around the region today:
The Reserve Bank of Australia on Tuesday left the cash rate unchanged at 2.5 per cent, where it has been since last August, but altered its language around house price inflation and the Australian dollar.
SHARK attack victim Sean Pollard has already set his first goal - to be able to stand and receive a group hug from his family.
The Bunbury man had an arm and a hand bitten off in a shark attack while surfing at Kelp Beds Beach, Wylie Bay, near Esperance about 11am last Thursday.
7:30am:Sorry for the delay friends, slight technical difficulty here
Here's what's making local news this morning:
DUBBO: A project aimed at raising awareness about the mental health of men in rural communities has been hailed as a success in its first year.
The Act-Belong-Commit Community Wellbeing Project was run by a partnership of community, sporting and health agencies and attempted to draw upon the benefits and strengths of sporting groups in rural areas to improve awareness and engagement with mental health services - Read more here.
DUBBO: A man who drove up Dubbo's Macquarie Street while under the influence of alcohol has been placed on a two-year good behaviour bond, fined and had his licence suspended.
DUBBO: Taxi drivers are pushing for a change to current regulations after a recent string of fines were distributed for drivers being more than three metres from their taxi.
Taxi Drivers Christine Cole and Athol Opas, with 75 years of taxi driving experience between them, received fines for the regulation established in 1974. Read more here.
DUBBO: FUNDING for more health infrastructure in western NSW is high on the list of things the Australian Medical Association (AMA) NSW president says he will push for in the lead-up to next year's state election.
Dr Saxon Smith visited Dubbo Hospital yesterday to meet with junior doctors, senior clinicians and local GPs to discuss local issues.
Dubbo's very good when it comes to emergency surgery but it starts to fall behind somewhat when you look at elective surgery and the semi-urgents, that comes down to infrastructure
- NSW president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Saxon Smith
NARROMINE: Sacha Whitehead from Narromine has bravely shaved her hair for a Parkinsons Disease charity.
The brave mother has been diagnosed with alopecia as part of suffering from early-onset Parkinson's and instead of waiting for the inevitable decided to shave her hair. Read more here.
NARROMINE: With the weather warming up across the State anglers have welcomed the opening of the annual NSW trout season this October long weekend. Read more here.
7am: Good morning ladies and gentlemen!
You are here with Laura McIntyre in Dubbo today.
If you have any thing you'd like to add to our grill, whether it's opinion, events or birthdays, let me know by emailing laura.mcintyre @fairfaxmedia.com.au
DUBBO / TRANGIE / NYNGAN: we're in for a mostly sunny day with a top of 25 degrees.
COBAR: mostly sunny getting to a top of 26.
BOURKE: will be sunny reaching a top of 29.