At 4.5 x 3.8m and weighing 10kg, it really is Mooroopna’s biggest blanket.

Through a Mooroopna Education & Activity Centre (MEAC) project, residents banded together to help create the town’s biggest blanket which was last week donated to the Salavation Army.

The blanket appeal was part of the Centre’s How Bizarre, How Bazaar Project, which saw a large community event held in Mooroopna in June. The idea was for people to donate small pieces of material or to knit a seven-inch square to contribute to the woollen rug.

But the Project grew far beyond its organisers’ expectations, with 10 blankets created.

The Pyalong Defibrillator Team, which was established  by the Pyalong Neighbourhood House in 2008, has been nominated for the Kleenheat Gas Community of the Year Award – Population under 5000 category, with the winners to be announced at a Gala Awards Dinner in October.

The project had its beginnings in mid 2007 when first aiders at Pyalong Neighbourhood House learned of a device known as the Automatic External Defibrillator. The AED is a portable device used to restore normal heart rhythm to patients experiencing cardiac arrest.

The redevelopment of land on Parkside Drive (Shepparton), which will become the home of the new North Shepparton Community Hub, is starting to take shape with the arrival of portable buildings from the Commonwealth Games Village.

The portables will be incorporated into the overall project to create a modern, multifunctional central hub.