Here is what is making news for September 30, 2026.========================================Residents in Colac, Barongarook, Yeo, and Carlisle River are being encouraged to prepare for the upcoming fire season by attending a local Get Fire Ready workshop.
================================================================================The Colac Kids Festival is happening today at the Bluewater Leisure Centre.

Running from ten A-M to three P-M, the action-packed family event features live music from The Mik Maks, free swimming, and a D-J dance party.

Colac Salvation Army's Josiah Van Niekerk says entry is a five-dollar donation supporting local Salvos youth programs.
================================================================================Polwarth MP Richard Riordan says Lorne's fuel supply must be secured before the upcoming fire season.

The town's only service station recently ran out of fuel due to insufficient storage capacity.

Mr Riordan is calling on the government to pressure Viva Energy into completing necessary tank upgrades alongside local operators before Christmas.
================================================================================Victoria Police's Operation Scoreboard concluded at midnight on Monday.

In the Surf Coast area, police detected thirty-five speeding offences, two drink drivers, two unlicensed drivers, and two unregistered vehicles.

Colac Otway officers conducted nearly one thousand preliminary breath tests and reported no serious or fatal collisions, pleasing Sergeant Jamie Kahle.

However, Sergeant Kahle noted concerns with non-locals driving twenty to fifty kilometres per hour over the limit on the Princes Highway.

Meanwhile, a Monday vehicle search yielded significant cash and drugs, resulting in a Melbourne driver with four warrants being remanded.
================================================================================Corangamite Shire Council is calling on the Federal Government to rethink proposed caps on backpacker workers.

While Council welcomed agriculture being made a priority for skilled worker visa processing, it is urging ministers to also add Working Holiday Makers to that priority list.

Council officials say backpackers are vital to local employers during peak seasons. 
================================================================================Winchelsea and Deans Marsh residents will see improvements to local unsealed roads this summer, with the Surf Coast Shire Council revamping its dust suppression program.
================================================================================Corangamite Shire Council is encouraging community event organisers to book its free Waste Wise Event Trailer ahead of the busy summer season.

The trailer holds up to twelve bins, along with covers and flags, to help festivals and markets manage recycling and reduce landfill waste.

Waste Coordinator Simone Robertson says organisers only pay standard waste disposal fees. 
================================================================================AND IN SPORTThe Country Basketball League returns to the agenda this weekend, marking the start of the twenty twenty-six season for local teams.

The Colac Kookas men and women will face a busy opening schedule with back-to-back clashes.

On Saturday, October third, the Colac men take on the Warrnambool Seahawks, while the women face the Warrnambool Mermaids.

The action continues on Sunday, October fourth, with both Colac squads matching up against the Terang Tornadoes.
================================================================================Heytesbury Princetown has bolstered its senior men's cricket team for the twenty twenty-six, twenty-seven season with two new recruits.

The Storm have signed experienced wicketkeeper-batter Milinda Sepala, alongside all-rounder Praveen Dilanka. 
================================================================================The Victorian Athletics League season kicks off with the Cobden and Mortlake Gifts on the weekend of October twenty-four and twenty-five.

Cobden will race on the Saturday, followed by Mortlake on the Sunday at D-C Farran Oval.

Four hundred athletes will compete across both days for over twelve thousand dollars in prize money. 
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