INSIDE:
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.com.au
No 1:1232
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 7, 2015
STUNNING QUILTS ON DISPLAY
SNAP SHOTS FROM THE PAST page 6
page 10
READY FOR SCHOOL? Back to School feature
COMMUNITY CONNECT | page 6 Letters to the Editor | page 8 Free 7 Day TV Guide | page 22 Classifieds | pages 19-21 Sport Adviser | page 23 ADVERTISING HOTLINE: 5832 8900
pages 15-17
GET ACTIVE DURING SUMMER HOLIDAYS | Sport Adviser
page 23
Lives lost statewide
But local road behaviour improving WHILE most of us are settling into the working year as the festive season comes to an end, police are continuing the push for safe driving, after it was revealed four lives were lost across the state during the holiday period and 11 road accidents reported on our roads locally. The 11 accidents, which included three without injuries caused, seven where minor injuries were inflicted and one where serious injuries were inflicted took place in Shepparton (3), Mooroopna (3), Tatura (1), Merrigum (1), Murchison (1), Kialla (1), and just outside of Kyabram (1). Continued on page 14
SUCCESSFUL SALES… Post-Christmas sales have proven to be successful this year, with many retail outlets across the region breaking sales records. Pictured, Shepparton Chamber of Commerce and Industry President, Paul Lelliott. Photo: David Lee.
Post-Christmas sales break records Local bargain seekers score big savings By David Lee EXPECTATIONS of Boxing Day and end of year sales across the country were smashed as millions of bargain seekers across the nation flocked to score big savings, and Shepparton was no different.
While locally consumers seemed to ease into pre-Christmas sales, post-Christmas sales across the region, particularly in retail, broke records in some cases as tills rang and streets filled during shopping’s biggest sale period.
On Boxing Day alone, the National Retail Association (NRA) made early predictions that shoppers would spend more than $2B snapping up discounted items around the country but even their expectations were exceeded, with members recording the best result retailers have seen for five to six years. Continued on page 12