Tuesday, 13 January, 2026
Recycling site closure upsets locals
Junction students push for change
Sanders maintains overall lead in Dakar Rally
Real estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
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Competitors descend on Yarra Valley Some of the finest competition shooters descended on Yering last week after the Melbourne Gun Club stepped in to ensure a major event could go ahead. Initially scheduled to take place in Echuca, the heat would have cancelled the competition. Instead, the Commonwealth Championship and the Australian Clay Target National for Trap could go ahead, seeing Olympic shooters from across Australia and the world head to the Yarra Valley. It was an incredible display of talent in challenging conditions, from heat and wind. Star Mail photographer Rob Carew was able to capture some of the action on Thursday 8 January. See more on page 33
Olympian Penny Smith with her mum, Kim, and the trophy Penny won at the event. (Rob Carew: 527441)
Anxious weekend Everyone in the Yarra Valley held their breath last week as out-of-control fires blazed just 50 mins north of the area. Catastrophic conditions sparked and fuelled many major fires across the state, with the Longwood fire tearing through 350,000 hectares of land, including more than 300 structures, and killing one person at the time of publication. Locally, a fire in Seville quickly spread and could’ve wreaked havoc if it weren’t for a rapid response from CFA and Forest Fire Management
Victoria (FFMV). Meanwhile, an illegally modified e-motorbike caused a scare in Warburton when it burst into flames, igniting a fire which took all night to contain. The community banded together to support those affected by the fires in multiple ways, in what was a testament to the altruism and benevolence of the Yarra Valley in times of crisis. Many CFA brigades from the Yarra Valley sent out strike teams to assist the firefighting ef-
fort, with CFA tankers from Little Yarra, Hillcrest, Wandin, Yarra Junction and Coldstream heading up north. Lilydale opened a relief centre, seeing evacuees make use of the space as they wait to learn the fates of their properties and townships. Cars, some towing trailers of items, vans, people and their animals were continuing to flow into the Lilydale High School stadium car park at 6.40pm on Friday 9 January. The centre provided basic relief with tea and
coffee facilities, beds, a kids’ area and animal housing. Smokey skies left the entire valley awash with an eerie orange haze and air quality deteriorated. The smell of smoke caused some false alarms to the CFA, the anxiety of a bushfire hanging in the air just like the smoke was. The temperatures dropped late into Friday evening and the heat left the air like a sigh of relief. Read more on pages 3 to 6
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