Wiseleigh residents, Jane and Mark Oakley, are upset that their plans to rebuild on their 10-acre plot following the bushfires, have been stymied.The couple has lived in Howards Road for 28 years without any problems, until fate intervened in the form of the 2019 bushfires.“The fire went through here, burnt down the gully and took out my workshop, my business and everything, and then went across...

For Sarsfield residents, Milusa and Kevin Giles, the past 12 months have been the most horrendous they’ve ever had to endure.The bushfires, 12 months ago yesterday, not only wiped out their home, but completely obliterated their flower farm business, which they’d spent years establishing.Yet, they feel lucky to have celebrated Christmas with family in their newly built home, completed just in...

“Disappointing” was a polite was of describing the vandalism on Sunday night that trashed the Christmas Tree in the Main Street, along with decorations on trees.The tree was set up in the first week of December by members of the Bairnsdale Chamber of Commerce and Industry, near the rotunda to beautify the town and create some positive Christmas spirit.Potted Pear’s Mark Hopley, who helped clean...

The importance of technology in helping people to stay in contact and informed during a natural disaster proved paramount last summer.Fortunately for Gippsland, 10 local towns are among the first in the state to receive a new nbn Disaster Satellite Service.“We have all seen how crucial access to information is during a natural disaster and through the recovery period afterwards,” Mr Chester...

Pamela and Ian Carr (pictured) are worried about fire.Outside their front gate is a nature strip and the couple is nervous about the fuel load that lies between it and the Great Alpine Road.“A cigarette butt could be all it takes, it would be enough to light it up,” Mr Carr said.The Carrs have lived beside the highway for seven and a half years on the Bruthen side of the Sarsfield Fire Brigade...