South West Local News

SOUTH WEST LOCAL NEWS- FRIDAY APRIL 10TH-2026

South West Local News

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This morning on south west local news

missing woman found in the grassdale area safe and well

a portland curch boken into over the easter weekend

a single car rollover in busfeild, the occupants receiving minor injurys

and in sport

teams line up for the first full rounds of the district leauge season


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SPEAKER_00

This morning on Southwest Local News. Missing woman found in Grassdale area safe and well. A Portland church broken in two over the Easter weekend. A single car roll over in Bushfield, the occupants receiving minor injuries. And in sport, teams line up for the first bull round of the district league season.

SPEAKER_04

Live from Silverball Studios in Warnerville. This is Southwest Local News with Shanna Rogers.

SPEAKER_00

Good morning and welcome to Southwest Local News. Missing Tahara woman Lisa has been found. The 40-year-old had been the subject of an extensive search since going missing on April the 3rd. Police have reported Lisa has been found with a member of the public finding her safe and well in the Grassdale area about 12.30 pm today. The search for Lisa included police using their airwing and dog squad. A family member told Southwest Local News that Lisa was found dishevelled, 13 kilometres from home, after spending a week in the bush. The family member said, You have no idea how incredibly elated and grateful we are right now for the support and help. Lisa is being assessed at the Hamilton Hospital. Police are investigating a burglary at a church in Portland over the Easter weekend. It is believed that an unknown offender gained access to a church on Leamouth Street by forcing open a window sometime between April the 5th and the 6th. The offender stole a security system, recording box, and audio visual equipment. The incident occurred on Mackenzie's Road. According to police, a car had rolled over and an occupant of the vehicle was treated by Ambulance Victoria. At least one person was transported to Warnable Hospital. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers or Warnable Police. The upcoming construction of a social housing project in Warnerville was celebrated today. The project will include 21 houses, which will be built at the back of the current Salvation Army headquarters site on Mortlake Road. The Salvation Army and the Victorian government have partnered on the project. The cost of the project is$13.8 million, with the Salvation Army contributing$1.5 million for the purchase of the land. The state government will foot the rest of the bill.

SPEAKER_02

Every home we build will increase supply and reduce homelessness and couchsurfing. Increasing the supply of homes in Warnerball will eventually take pressure off housing and rental prices. With the Salvation Army on this, I think it's a beautiful project because as a major general said, it's not just about building bricks and mortar, it's about providing a caring environment for people. So it's very exciting. It's also my view that housing is the biggest contribution to the cost of living crisis in this nation. And so dealing with housing and providing more housing is really important. I will be sending if I don't want a text message straight away after this event to her. 21 new social housing units funded as a part of our record investment in social and affordable housing.

SPEAKER_01

I think it's a really amazing project. So thank you so much, and I'm really honoured to be here today on behalf of City Council.

SPEAKER_00

South Energy is the company behind the project, which once complete will have enough stored energy to power the equivalent of approximately 42,000 households for four-hour discharge cycle. The site covers 23.3 hectares of land with a proposed capacity of approximately 120 megawatts and 480 megawatt-hour energy storage. Plans are for the facility to be built next to the existing Kuroit electrical substation. The application for the facility has been accepted by the state government with public submissions now happening. Work has begun on Warnable's newest roundabout. The roundabout will be stationed on the intersection of Corroit Street and Riot Street. It will come at a cost of$800,000 with Warnable City Council and the state government sharing the bill. As well as the roundabout, the works will include pedestrian islands, renewed road pavement, accessible footpaths, curb and drainage improvements, extra car parking on Riot Street, and relocation of two bus stops further west on Corroit Street. The project is aimed at increasing pedestrian and motorist safety in the busy Southwest Healthcare precinct. Illegal fishing methods caused death in the Portland Canal last weekend. Six dead fish were found in an illegal fishnet in the canal. The fish included Esther Perch, Travalli Pike, Southern Sea Carp, and Luderic. Members of the public alerted fisheries officers to the scene. The members of the public are encouraged to call the 1-3 fish line if they suspect illegal fishing. The task of keeping Warnable's main indoor pool facility safe and afloat will continue with repair works now scheduled. The Warnable City Council will put in$800,000 to have repair works done on the roof of the indoor pool area. The works will happen later in the year, most likely November, when the outdoor pool is open. It is expected the repairs will take six weeks to complete.

SPEAKER_01

It's one of our key advocacy priorities to make sure that we get the funding that we actually need to continue to deliver that service. As a council, we're 100% committed to it. We're going to make sure that our community has the access, but we need to get that state and federal government support to really have the facility, you know, at its best.

SPEAKER_00

Warnerville City Council is urging parents to get their children vaccinated. Council says influenza cases in children aged under five have surged over the past decade, but vaccination rates for this age group remain low. Council has begun its annual flu vaccine rollout with free flu vaccines available for children aged from six months to under five years of age. Immunisation bookings can be made at the council's website. Southwest Motorists hitting the road for a special football event this weekend will have police from two states ensuring they do the right thing. Victoria Police has announced it will be staging Operation Constellate from Thursday, April the 9th to the end of Monday, April the 13th. The operation will coincide with the AFL's Gather round, where all teams will play in and around Adelaide. Many Victorians, including the Southwest, will make the round trip to witness the gather round. Operation Constellate will see police highly visible and enforcing on all major arterial routes and metro feeder roads between Melbourne and the South Australian border for the duration of the event. The police presence will also continue over the border with South Australia police implementing a major traffic operation on metropolitan and regional routes to Adelaide. Need something fixed? Well, the West Warner Neighbourhood House will be the place to be on Saturday. The house will be hosting a repair cafe event from 10am till 12 noon. Time slots of 30 minutes are on offer with bookings recommended. This is a free volunteer-ran community event. First making news in sport. The first full round of Warner and District football begins on Saturday with a grand final replay. Reigning Premier's Naranda will come up against Allensford, the team they defeated in the 2025 decider. The Cats have recruited well with Ruckman Jarvis Birmingham among the ready-made senior players they've brought in. As is often the case, Naranda has kept their cards close to their chest in the preseason, but have named a strong team for the big game.

SPEAKER_03

We're really excited about playing around around one. Obviously, they're they're a very good side and they better last year in the grand final. So um, yeah, we know sort of what we're going to be up against and have to play our best football to meet them.

SPEAKER_05

And I suppose you are just, you know, focused on on what's ahead now, what's gone is gone, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, exactly, right. Like last year's last year. Um and you know, we we took a lot of learnings out of last year, so um, yeah, we'll take that into this year. And you know, obviously we need to start the year off well, what we did last year and set ourselves up. So yeah, we'll just take it game by game and and then see where we end up um at the back end of the year.

SPEAKER_05

And do you think the players will sort of um build that momentum themselves? That you know, the longer a group's together, you know, they're getting closer to what they want to do. I suppose it's it probably becomes a little bit easier from your role.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, look, the the group has gelled really, even though we've brought in some new recruits, the the groups um gelled really well together, and um there's a really good feel around around the group. So yeah, they know what each other does and and what they're capable of, and you know, we played a practice match and they all got to play together and just have a bit of a look and and and feel a few different positions out. And um, look, I think we're in you know, we're in um a pretty good position. Like, yes, we won't be at full strength, but we're still going to have a you know a fairly handy sword.

SPEAKER_00

So Naranda will have a familiar face guiding them towards redemption this Warnerable and District League Nepal season. Steph Townsend will coach the Blues, having done the job before from 2016 to 2021. The Blues have beaten grand finalists last year, losing to Merivale. Naranda was chasing its fourth straight flag, and Townsend will be keen to maintain the team's prolonged excellence in 2026. They begin the season on Saturday with a game against Allensford, a finalist from last season. South Warnable has added a player with senior AFL experience in 2025 to their team to play Cobden in Hampton football on Saturday. Will White played 14 games and kicked 10 goals for Carlton at the highest level last season. Despite this promising start, the Blues delisted him and White was picked up by the Geelong VFL team. He has nominated South Warnable as his home club, and with the VFL by this week, he will play for the Roosters. He'll be joined in the team by fellow VFL player Archie Stevens, Miles McCluggage, and Jay Rentel. Star Warnable basketballer Jalen Brown has been named in the Australian Rollers wider squad for 2026. The squad was selected by Basketball Australia and will be part of the international competition as well as tours and camps. This will all lead up to the 2026 IWBF World Championships in Ottawa, Canada in September. Brown is seen as a key player for the Rollers with his offensive flair, a weapon for the Aussies. Cloudy with strong winds over this part of the state. Foggy on Monday morning. Now let's take a look closer at the forecast. Starting in Port Ferry, a windy day with a top of 16 and 8mm tomorrow. As for Saturday, 4mm to 4 with a top of 16 degrees. Showers are supposed to ease on Monday with 2mm and fog in the early morning from the northeast. Showers are remaining light in Malt Lake with only 5mm. Winds are picking up to 40 kilometres an hour, and they're coming in from the northwest. A top of 15 degrees on Sunday with 30km winds. Monday, a cloudy day with a chance of showers and fog in the morning, northwesterly winds chopping in from the southwest throughout the day, and overnight temperatures will be dropping to seven. Similar conditions to the rest of the state in the Kolak and Camperdown region, topping at 14 degrees tomorrow with 7mm to fall. 4mm on Sunday with a top of 15 degrees, and winds are easing and tending southwesterly. As for Monday, 18 degrees and only 2mm to fall. Warnable tomorrow top of 16 degrees with 10 millimeters. It will be a windy day with winds picking up to 30 kilometres an hour. Only 4mm to fall on Sunday, topping at 16, slightly warmer on Monday, 2mm and light winds. That's it from your Southwest Local News team this morning, and thank you for tuning in. Remember that you can also watch this bulletin online at southwestlocalnews.com.au. Until Tuesday morning with peace. Have a great and safe weekend.