9:00am:
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That's it from me here this morning - it's been a pleasure grilling with you.
Make sure you check back in with the one and only Grace Ryan tomorrow!
In the meantime, keep an eye on our pages for regular news updates:
DUBBO | NARROMINE | WELLINGTON | NYNGAN | THE RIDGE | WESTERN MAGAZINE |
8:50am:
Is it your glory day?
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Did you know you share October 15 with non other than Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York?
8:45am:
The Mailbox Shopper visited the year 5/6 opportunity class at Dubbo West Public school to ask the pressing question:
"What would you do if you were the school principal?"
We got some pretty hilarious answers - have a look at them here.
If you would like to nominate a class to be interviewed, please email Laura McIntyre at laura.mcintyre@fairfaxmedia.com.au or call 6883 2994.
8:40am:
TENNIS: Senior tennis players from across the state will battle it out in the upcoming annual Paramount Senior Tournament.
Up to 80 players are expected to play in the "competitive but social" competition this weekend, president of the Paramount Tennis Club Mark Campbell, said. Read more here.
TOUCH: HENDERSONS Menswear ran out eventual winners in Dubbo Touch's biggest yet social gala day at the weekend.
Nutricise gave the reigning champions a run for their money, but Hendersons continued their unbeaten run to take out the title.
RUGBY LEAGUE:
DUBBO College year 12 Harry van Dartel played for the NSW Combined High Schools rugby league team against the NZ Secondary Schools team in Auckland last month.
They defeated the NZ Secondary Schools team 28-16 and a regional team 44-6.
AFL: THE AFL Nines competition hosted by the Dubbo Demons Australian Football Club launches this Friday, October 17 at the South Dubbo Oval.
AFL Nines is a modified version of AFL, "like a touch footy AFL-style game" suited to summer months, Dubbo Demons president, Joe Knagge, said.
"It's a fast, free-flowing game that involves nine players on each team playing on a smaller field," he said. Read more here.
8:35am:
Mark Holden a clowning 'disaster' on Dancing with the Stars:
Mark Holden has reaffirmed Australia's collective clown phobia with a "disaster on the dancefloor" performance on Channel Seven's Dancing with the Stars.
Questions are being asked of the former Australian Idol judge's sense of humour after the prime-time act, in which he showered the judges in blue confetti and sprayed smoke from the bottom of his clown costume.
But it was his bizarre behaviour following the performance that has prompted the real chat. Read more here.
Royal hoax DJ Mel Greig tells UK conference she is wiser and ready to broadcast again:
Manchester, England: Royal hoax DJ Mel Greig has told a conference of UK radio heavyweights she is ready to get back to work on the radio – and thinks she is "wiser" after going through the trauma of the last two years
And she shared her tactic for dealing with internet trolls – by imagining them as filthy, lonely malcontents that she has dubbed 'Old Mate' and 'Cat Lady'.
Greig was interviewed at the Radio Festival 2014 in Salford on the outskirts of Manchester, the annual conference for radio managers, producers and talent. Read more here.
New home for A Place to Call Home:
Pay TV platform Foxtel has finalised a deal that will save the Seven Network drama A Place to Call Home.
Seven had cancelled the series earlier this year after its audience fell to the 1 million-viewer watermark. But in the wake of its cancellation there was a strong backlash from fans of the show.
Fighting to save their beloved series, fans organised protests and online petitions, hoping to change Seven's decision.
Josh Thomas finds Please Like Me stronghold overseas, with International Emmy nomination:
Josh Thomas' comedy drama Please Like Me may have struggled with Australian audiences, but overseas it is an entirely different story.
Up against three other nominees from Brazil, Belgium and South Africa Please Like Me has received a nod in the comedy category for an International Emmy. Read more here.
8:30am:
Mungery Races were on October long weekend.
The day included a wonderful marquee full of history, food and entertainment, along with the tradition races and fashions, a great day was had by all!
8:25am:
8:20am:
SNOW has forced the closure of both the Great Western Highway and Bells Line of Road on Wednesday morning.
The decision by Transport for New South Wales to close the roads was made overnight after out-of-season snow fell in the Blue Mountains.
The train line between Lithgow and Katoomba is also closed. Read more here.
8:15am:
A Dubbo family and their ill toddler will be major beneficiaries when a new form of entertainment springs into Dubbo this summer.
Fifty-two trampolines are coming to the city as part of Flip Out's commitment to establish a trampolining arena in the region.
Flip Out Dubbo's CEO Brent Grundy said he was hopeful of having the outdoor facility open on Friday, December 19 at the Dubbo Showground.
And he was hopeful the trampolines, which cover 550 square metres and comprise 7200 springs, 302 metres of padding and 707 metres of steel, would help raise thousands of dollars for Rob and Amy McIntyre and their son Max. Read more here.
8:05am:
The debate surrounding industrial hemp has heated up over the past weeks, making it the perfect time for a seminar at Narromine's Areodrome.
Macquarie 2100 and Regional Development Australia-Orana brought Australia's industrial Hemp (iHemp) leaders to the region to talk to growers on Monday.
People travelled from far and wide to hear what was being said about the contentious issue, as iHemp is illegal to grow in NSW.
Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton said there had been a resistance to the plant because of its association with cannabis.
"Hemp is similar in appearance to the cannabis plant but does not possess the same characteristics which have caused cannabis to be banned," he said. Read more here.
8:00am:
Former St John's College student Patrick Gallagher is one step closer to his dream career after recently graduating from the University of Canberra.
Mr Gallagher, the function and entertainment co-ordinator for Canberra Nightclub Academy, said his degree and experience with the club would help him with a career in artist management.
7:50am:
More than $10,000 worth of channel lining has been stolen from the Narromine Irrigation Scheme.
Scheme workers arrived on Friday morning to find six rolls of the 100 by 25 foot EDPM Membrane Rubber missing.
Scheme manager Robert Sharpe was left extremely disheartened.
7:45am:
SYDNEY: An epic storm raged across Sydney on Tuesday night, trapping dozens on a train, closing major roads and bringing snow to the Blue Mountains.
A lightning bolt struck the Sydney Tower about 10pm, creating a shower of sparks and plunging the structure into darkness. Read more here.
SYDNEY: The discovery of a getaway car may help police to arrest the second man responsible for the shooting death of a Sydney father at Leichhardt.
Brad Dillon, 25, was shot at close range in front of a horrified shopper outside MarketPlace Leichhardt on Monday, August 11.
SYDNEY: Forty of Australia's biggest companies will be asked to explain their tax affairs to a Senate committee investigating corporate tax avoidance.
Companies shown, in a recent report, to have the lowest "effective tax rate" over the past decade and to operate the most subsidiaries in tax havens have been given the chance to outline their tax strategies before the committee decides which corporate leaders to call in to appear before public hearings. Read more here.
SYDNEY: The ABC's decision to defend airing two controversial tweets about an transgender panellist on Monday's Q&A program is a "dumb act" that makes it difficult to defend the broadcaster against budget cuts, a furious Labor MP says.
NSW Labor MP Stephen Jones told Fairfax Media the ABC's refusal to admit its mistakes didn't help the broadcaster at such a critical time when it was facing budget cuts.
7:30am:
The South Coast is copping a bucketing as two storm cells converge from the north and south.
ILLAWARRA: NSW SES units in the Illawarra South Coast Region have received more than 35 requests for assistance on the South Coast this morning, with many calls related to flash flooding in the Narooma area. Read more here.
KATHERINE: Watermelon growers lock the gate on NT virus outbreak - INTERSTATE watermelon growers are introducing stringent biosecurity measures on their properties as they wait to see whether or not the virus that has crippled the industry in Katherine will reach their farm gates.
As producers in Katherine continue to come to terms with the fallout from the cucumber green mottle mosaic virus outbreak in the Northern Territory, farmers in other growing regions are doing everything they can to ensure a similar fate does not befall them.
PORT KEMBLA: A 50-metre fibreglass chute at BlueScope caught fire on Monday night, sending heavy black clouds of smoke across Port Kembla.
Emergency crews were called to the sinter plant at BlueScope about 5.30pm to find the chute was burning.
Employees near the fire site were evacuated.
7:15am:
DUBBO: WATCHING her dog die after it swallowed a bait containing crushed glass was one of the last straws for a Dubbo woman fed up with crime who was planning to give notice to her real estate agent and leave the city as soon as possible.
The woman, who prefers to be known only as Stacey, said she had lived in numerous towns and cities across NSW but none had left her so frightened to sleep at night as Dubbo did. Read more here.
DUBBO: The managing director of the Queensland property investment firm which recently purchased Riverdale Shopping Centre said he had a number of improvements planned for the plaza.
DUBBO: In two short years, students from St John's College have gone from not knowing a word of French to performing an award-winning short film entirely in French.
Year 10 students Chloe Zell, Leanna Mills, Jasmine Bansal, Amber Benson, Reuben Grant, Dyan Jeresano, Luke O'Brien, Abbey Sissian and Senuri Perera claimed first prize in the Alliance Francaise Competition. Read more here.
DUBBO: Mayor Mathew Dickerson says he will push for greater accountability from magistrates in response to a growing belief sentencing of the city's criminals is too lenient.
Cr Dickerson wrote to the NSW Attorney-General to raise his concerns and would send him another letter.
I have spoken to people in the court process and they talk about people on bail committing crimes and continually getting bail again.
- Cr Dickerson
DUBBO: The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) is recommending changes to the way the NSW tow truck industry is regulated to reduce costs while maintaining consumer protections.
Releasing a draft report for public comment, IPART Chairman Dr Peter Boxall said a range of improvements should be made to the current licencing scheme that will reduce the compliance burden on the tow truck industry while protecting consumers. Read more here.
7am: GOOD MORNING!
You are here with Laura McIntyre in Dubbo for this wonderful Wednesday - happy hump day!
If you'd like to add anything to our Grill please email me at laura.mcintyre@fairfaxmedia.com.au.
DUBBO / TRANGIE / NYNGAN: Dubbo will be mostly sunny with a top of 20 degrees. Trangie will hit 21 and Nyngan will reach 22.
COBAR: It's expected to be mostly sunny in Cobar with a top of 21 degrees.
BOURKE: Bourke can expect sunshine and a toast 24 degrees.
