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►The Willo Enduro will be held on Sunday, February 26 at Wingello State Forest.
Now in its seventh year, the Willo Enduro has become a popular mountain biking event in the Southern Highlands that honours James Williamson, who died of an un-diagnosed heart condition.
►Schools across the Southern Highlands were visited by players from the NRL on February 21.
Players from the West Tigers headed back to the classroom to teach students about respect, belonging and celebrating differences.
►The Southern Highlands has again proved there is plenty of theatrical talent in the region.
It was another successful year for the Highlands at the recent 2016 Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Awards.
The Highlands finished with four awards and a commendation on the night.
► Lightning is believed to have started a fire in the Nattai National Park on Sunday.
The Rural Fire Service responded to the blaze near Upper Douglas Creek, west of Buxton and Hill Top, on Sunday morning, along with National Parks and Wildlife Service staff.
RFS Inspector David Stimson said a pilot flying above the location reported the fire at about 11am on Sunday, February 19. More here.
►Thanks to overwhelming support from Highlanders, three trucks will be heading to Muttaburra loaded with hay.
The Bowral Co-op acted as a donation point for the Burrumbuttock Hay Run, where 542 bales were donated, along with $484.55 cash.
Truck driver Jacob Rofe loaded 290 of those bales onto his truck on February 22, and truck driver Heath Willis arrived with another 40 round cattle bales donated by the Mitchell Brothers Moss Vale.
► Starting high school is a major step in a child’s life.
But Chevalier College has introduced a program to help make that transition a bit easier. Developed by Beyondblue, SenseAbility will be rolled out to all Year 7 students.
►The search for the Highlands best shortbread baker has begun.
The shortbread competition has been added as part of 40th anniversary Brigadoon events.
►Take a trip into the past to February 2008 for this week’s Throwback Thursday.
► NSW Ambulance has defended its resourcing of the Southern Highlands amid concerns from ambulance officers about understaffing and shift requirements.
The Southern Highland News understands Highlands-based ambulance officers are increasingly concerned about their ability to meet needs.
At times there is only one ambulance available in the area, the News has been told, Bowral intensive care paramedics were sent "nearly every shift" to work in Sydney, and there was no ambulance officer on call after 11am each day. More here.
TRAFFIC: All Southern Highlands roads are open and clear.
TRAINS: Commuters can expect a good service on the Southern Highlands today.
WEATHER: A mostly sunny day with a slight (20%) chance of a shower or thunderstorm about higher ground during the afternoon and early evening, winds N/NW 15 to 20 km/h tending N/NE 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day and a daytime maximum temperature of 27 can be expected in the Highlands today.
Here's a look at what the local weather is doing right now:
7.00AM: Good morning and welcome to the Southern Highlands Rise and Shine. Over the next few hours we will be bringing you as much information as possible from across the Southern Highlands and nationally.
Weather, road conditions, breaking news, we will have it all - and we'd love to have your help! If there's anything happening in your part of the world, drop us a line! Email jackie.meyers@fairfaxmedia.com.au
Regional
Norma Judd was forced to give up her five-acre property after a year of hell in which she struggled to walk and make basic movements.
A wheelchair-bound man missing for nearly 12 months has been found in Wangaratta.
Raymond Croxford, 61, was last seen at a home in Preston last March.
An Illawarra high school teacher has been refused bail accused of having sex with one of his female students.
National news
Failures in both the engine and 'feathering' system, that pilots are not trained to deal with, may be behind Tuesday's fatal plane crash, experts say.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "torpedoing" plans for recognising a Palestinian state, causing "enduring frustration" for diplomats attempting to bring peace to the region.
Scott Hargrave is a former Canberra concreter who transformed his life to become head brewer of Queensland's best beer.
Along the way, he's had help from AC/DC and some of Australia's best surfers.
National weather radar
International news
In keeping with his campaign's focus on more jobs and fewer undocumented migrants, President Donald Trump is creating more than 15,000 new immigration enforcement, border control and judicial posts to root out millions of what Americans call "illegal aliens".
Australia is pushing for Australian universities to be permitted to open campuses in Indonesia as part of a free trade deal that both countries hope will be finalised this year.
Maybe it will be called the Donald duck-around. It's a sort of diplomatic glad-game in which what is apparent to the entire world is not raised, and a phone call that stung goes unmentioned.
On this day | February 23
1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".
1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.
1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
The faces of Australia: Halauafu Lavaka
Halauafu Lavaka will put his rugby league dream on hold to pursue another long-held desire.
The 22-year-old will follow in the footsteps of Will Hopoate and serve as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Read more.