YOUR WEEKEND NEWS BRIEFING
IN THE COURTS
Hunter: Three-hundred bucks and a packet of smokes. That was the bounty that Hunterview mother and daughter Leanne and Tiffany Loughrey offered a would-be hitman to "get rid" of Leanne's ex-husband's new girlfriend.
Upset at the breakdown of her 22-year marriage to Tiffany’s father, Stephen Loughrey, and certain her ex-husband’s new partner was to blame, Leanne decided the only way to get him back was to take her out.
"We've got a favour to ask," Tiffany, 22, told a man they ran into in a Singleton shopping centre car park on September 26 last year.
Do you know anyone or would you get rid of someone for 300 bucks and a packet of smokes?
- Tiffany Loughrey, 22
Wagga: Lawrence ‘Larry’ John Skewes launched an immediate appeal after he was thrown in jail last week.
Skewes is facing five charges, including two counts of remaining in a licensed premises after he was refused admission to both the Union Hotel and the WIlliam Farrer Hotel.
Ballarat: The family of high-speed crash victim Nathaniel Merritt-Price has told a Melbourne County Court of the emotionally crippling change his death caused.
Gemma Sargent, 20, appeared in court on Thursday for a plea hearing ahead of her sentencing for culpable driving causing death and negligently causing serious injury.
TRUE STORIES, STRANGER THAN FICTION
Lismore: The Lismore car boot market, known locally as "The Booty", is a treasure trove of the old, the rare and the downright oddball.
On a summer's morning in 2013, the booty didn't disappoint for local artist Stefanie Bassett. While flicking through a plastic sleeve of old sketches she paused on a striking little painting that caught her eye. A small signature in the far right corner read "Olley, 1947"
She remembers, the store owner's asking price was just $20.
"As I handed over a $20 note he piped up, 'You know someone said that it reminded them of a Margaret Olley painting ... if it turns out to be an Olley, you owe me a beer'," Bassett recalled.
The work is not considered one of Olley's major paintings, and would likely sell for between $8,000 - $10,000.
Blue Mountains: If you have grown up in the area around Lithgow, you have probably heard the tale of a ghostly figure that appears on the Mount Victoria Pass. But what could the spooky tale of the Lady in Black have have to do with drink driving, Henry Lawson and a ménage à trois?
GOOD NEWS WEEKEND
Queanbeyan: Bavaria paid a visit to Queanbeyan this past weekend with the annual Oktoberfest celebrations held across the border for the first time.
After more than 50 years in Canberra, the Harmonie German Club hosted its Oktoberfest event at the Queanbeyan Showgrounds.
Illawarra: While visitors to the Illawarra flock to the main attractions, those in the know hang out at the little-known places.