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Laura Turner

Looking back down the track

A LIFETIME on the railways has made many fond memories for James Dowdy, and some for like nightmares he cannot unsee. He looks back with LAURA TURNER.

23 Dec 2023

News

Stoic flood survivors stand their ground

For more than 40 years, Guiseppa and Guiseppi Callipari nurtured the vines, gardens and olive trees on their block. Then the floods came. The heartbroken but stoic Italian migrants tell LAURA TURNER they have not lost their faith.

16 Dec 2023

News

Foster kid who found homes for her heart

Carla Piscitelli has vivid flashbacks to a childhood of turmoil, confusion and rejection. But the former foster kid teacher says her grandmother, a loving foster family and a pact with her sister helped change the course of her life. LAURA TURNER...

09 Dec 2023

News

Charlie keeps moving heaven and earth

GRADER operator Charlie Hutchinson explains to LAURA TURNER why he’s still working 60-hour weeks at the age of 82 - and has no plans to stop.

25 Nov 2023

News

Why Lily loves to think on her feet

ASPIRING scientist Lily Lawrence has struggled with crippling shyness and the pressure to excel in her studies. She tells LAURA TURNER how she was saved by the dance.

18 Nov 2023

News

Injecting room ‘need’ in Mildura

SUNRAYSIA Community Health Services says Mildura needs its own medically supervised injecting facility because it can’t accommodate the region’s “heartbreaking” demand for drug help.

18 Nov 2023

News

Finding hope and empathy in ward five

AS a teenager, Matt Golding questioned his will to live. As a psychiatric nurse at Mildura Base, he helps others experiencing acute mental illness. He tells LAURA TURNER about life in the mental health unit.

11 Nov 2023

News

The organic growth of Mildura’s coffee king

When John Kimerlis arrived in Mildura, locals were accustomed to just one type of coffee: Instant.

04 Nov 2023

News

The secret journal of Mildura’s bride queen

VALLI Leake’s impeccable sense of style and work ethic made her the beloved queen of Mildura’s brides for more than 60 years. Her proud children tell LAURA TURNER about the seamstress who stitched together the fabric of a community.

28 Oct 2023

News

Farmer’s wisdom forged by fire

WHEN a small fire behind a harvester morphed into a wall of flame and engulfed him, Ian Hastings fell to the ground, fearing he’d never get up again. LAURA TURNER reports.

21 Oct 2023

Health

When cancer fight is only half the battle

BRAVE six-year-old Daisy Pearse is fighting cancer and winning. But her mother, Ash, says challenges beyond the hospital ward are a burden regional families should not have to bear. LAURA TURNER reports.

14 Oct 2023

News

Lost mum finds the courage to thrive

CARING for two small children, and without the money and support she desperately needed, Amber Rose literally collapsed into a gutter, crushed by the weight of her dysfunctional past. LAURA TURNER lays bare the courage of a young mother who reached out for help.

30 Sep 2023