Hunter trains: There is a good service on the Central Coast and Newcastle line and the Hunter line.

Hunter weather: Partly cloudy with a medium chance of showers Newcastle (18 degrees), medium chance of showers and partly cloudy in Raymond Terrace (17 degrees), cloudy day with showers  in Maitland (18 degrees) and a cloudy day with showers in Scone (14 degrees).

Hunter beachwatch: NNW wind, 13 knots. Silky smooth but dead flat not looking good at the moment, may start to break when the tide drops. - Daniel Mason

►  NEWCASTLE has moved on from the BHP, says Aubrey Brooks, but he’s not sure he has. “Probably not,” Mr Brooks, a third-generation steelworker until the plant’s final day in 1999, said. More here.

► As the Surfest women's competition nears closer, we take a look back to the historic event captured from 1985. More here.

► FEW sporting events give men and women equal billing, and the boss of Surfest says he’s determined to preserve the structural equality of Newcastle premier surfing competition. More here.

► GERMAN-born Andrea Mathe’s decision to fly to Australia for a working holiday has morphed into a discovery that has the potential to improve treatment for breast cancer patients. More here.

► A $30 million Awabakal Land Council deal designed to bankroll the restoration of the old Newcastle post office could be dead in the water, with the state government threatening to block the controversial project.  More here.

► IT was the tear in the eye, the comforting arm around the shoulder and the smart police hat sitting alone on the church pew. The signs of sacrifice were strong at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newcastle on Thursday, as a small but strong congregation met to remember lost police officers. More here.

► NEWCASTLE Permanent  has reported annual growth of 11.5 per cent growth in its home loan portfolio, almost twice as much as national system growth of 6.7 per cent. More here.

► When Cronulla Sharks fan David Ninness puts his game face on he is literally transformed. The 45-year-old Wallalong father of two becomes MC Hammerhead the fearsome looking Sharks mascot who cheers the team from the sidelines with his mascot mate Reefy. More here.

► CENTRAL Coast Council meetings will now be held monthly and broadcast live to a potential audience of 331,000 residents.  More here.

► A LAKE Macquarie man has modified a $10 web camera by adding lenses from $16 door viewers – commonly knows as peep-holes – to devise an affordable research tool to be used in the development of a new bionic eye. More here.

► The Hunter Highway Patrol team has urged people to be extra vigilant on the roads this October long weekend. Hunter Highway Patrol cluster supervisor Senior Sergeant Tony Grace said the message in the school holidays and on long weekends was the same as it always was. More here.

► CHRIS Doohan will continue as the Port’s deputy mayor after being re-elected unopposed to the position at Tuesday’s council meeting. More here.

► You know spring has well and truly sprung when the buds are bursting on the vines around the Hunter. Brokenwood Wines general manager Geoff Krieger said while it’s early days, this season is shaping up to be a high-quality vintage. More here.

► Indeah Clark is embedded in the nucleus of the Grand Junction Hotel’s cult following. With bluesy musicians filling the pub’s pantheon and regulars perched eternally on barstools like gargoyles on the steeples – Clark bounces tap to tap, cranking out cold schooners and frothing conversation.    More here.

► Hunter residents are being urged to give much-needed blood to keep fridges stocked for the long weekend.  More here.

► It was 1976 when Carol Bailey started work with Mai-Wel’s TimeSavers. Fast forward 40 years and the bright and bubbly woman is still enjoying every minute of her career with the disability organisation. More here.

► It was big in the 80s and 90s but died a slow death. Today Neighbourhood Watch is poised for a relaunch, embracing the latest technology and waiting for the Maitland community to jump onboard. More here.

► Cessnock City Council’s newly-elected councillors have now completed their induction ahead of the first meeting of the new term on Wednesday, October 5. More here.

► In the the words of Bec Bushell her 11-year-old daughter Tahlia is an angel. Why? Because on the morning of September 15 Tahlia’s prompt actions saved her mother’s life. More here.

►  The inaugural Gresford Photographic Exhibition at St Anne's Hall was a roaring success. A hundred photos were on display, by local photographers as well as the only three Grand Masters of Photography in NSW – David Oliver, Peter Eastway and Jacqui Dean. More here.

►  The former Singleton Community College will remain a place of education after the Management Committee announced the hand-over of the building to the Singleton Tafe Campus on Wednesday September 28. More here.

► FORMER Denman resident Matt McLaren will return “home” next month for a special performance at the Upper Hunter Conservatorium of Music. More here.

► SOMETIMES good neighbours can be hard to find. That has proved to be the case for Scone’s Elaine Dargaville. After months of tension and trouble, the Main Street resident has decided enough is enough. More here.

►  HUNTER Valley Local Area Command (LAC) hosted a special ceremony at St Alban’s Anglican Church, Muswellbrook, on Thursday, to mark National Police Remembrance Day. More here.

Need a national news snapshot first thing - well, we have you covered. 

NEWCASTLE: LIFEGUARDS were forced to close Birubi Beach on Thursday morning following reports a shark had been sighted during an aerial search. Read more.

BALLARAT: A 53-year-old Ballarat man has been charged over a bus crash at the Montague Street bridge in February which left 11 passengers injured. Read more.

TASMANIA: A softening in demand for poppy product and a desire to reduce inventory is being blamed for Tasmanian Alkaloids' decision to shut down its production facility earlier in the year than usual. Read more.

BENDIGO: THE crime rate in Bendigo jumped 10.1 per cent in the 12 months to June, driven by a significant increase in the rate of theft. Read more. 

MORETON BAY: MORETON Bay Marine Park has been declared a “unique’’ marine environment which is critically important to the health of the oceans. Read more.

ILLAWARRA: Unanderra company Sharry Pty Ltd has been fined $15,000 for illegally disposing of asbestos – after dumping contaminated materials in a waterway to try and make a dam wall. Read more.

WODONGA: A seven-month-old baby was hospitalised on Thursday when a car full of people crashed and flipped on the Hume Freeway. Read more.

TAMWORTH: AN INMATE on the run after escaping from a prison has been spotted in Tamworth. Read more.

LEETON: POLICE have cast doubt on the claims of a teenage girl who reported being sexually assaulted in a Leeton laneway in broad daylight. Read more.

TASMANIA: Labour hire companies are reporting registrations have dramatically declined for the upcoming picking season in Tasmania, says Mountford property owner Hugh Mackinnon. Read more.

National news

MELBOURNE: Metro Trains and Yarra Trams have been given the green light to run Melbourne's train and tram networks for another seven years, provided they accept a series of tougher performance targets. Read on

CANBERRA:  Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has issued a scathing criticism of former Liberal MP Wyatt Roy's trip to Iraq, branding it "irresponsible", "very high risk" and suggesting he could have been captured by hostile forces while there. Read on

NATIONAL: Some of Australia's most elite high-fee private schools are receiving taxpayer funding almost three times greater than their entitlements while others schools remain grossly underfunded, official Education Department data reveals. Read on.

PHILIPPINES: He is the popular president of a nation of 100 million people, but he's putting a key ally off with his antics. Read more

UNITED STATES: The Saudis might have been spared if this was not an election year in the US, but it was inevitable that Congress would side with the families of the September 11 victims - and that, when push came to shove, it was Riyadh and President Barack Obama that were thrown under the bus. Read more.

MALAYSIA: Flight MH17 was shot down from pro-Russian rebel controlled territory, with a missile that had recently been transported from Russia, a criminal investigation has found. Read more.

1520 - Suleiman I (the Magnificent) succeeds his father Selam I as Sultan of Turkey (rules till 1566)

1846 - Anesthetic ether used for 1st time by American dentist Dr William Morton who extracts a tooth

1938 - Treaty of Munich signed by Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier and Chamberlain, forces Czechoslovakia to give territory to Germany

1946 – 22 Nazi leaders found guilty of war crimes at Nuremberg

Salvation Army Rural Support Worker and Chaplain John Cartwright’s car has clocked about 185,000 kilometres in three years from his efforts to support the region’s farmers. 

The 72-year-old estimates he traverses about 200 to 250 kilometres per work day.

Read his story here.