Before you go, why not check out what is happening on our websites:

DUBBO  |  NARROMINE  |  WELLINGTON  |  NYNGAN  | LIGHTNING RIDGE  |  WESTERN MAGAZINE

8.50am: Here's a (belated) look at what is happening in local sport today.

*Christies Crackerjacks are searching for a place in the Megahit Twenty20 grand final tonight.

*Wellington jockey Katherine Bell is back in the saddle again. Many are calling it a miracle return to the heady world of thoroughbred racing after breaking her back in three places last December.

*Cowra's Rodney McDonald does not make the trip to Dubbo all too often but he made it count yesterday with a trifecta of wins at Dawson Park.

8.40am: Speculation continues to mount that Tony Abbott may not be Australia's Prime Minister for too much longer.

Abbott's so called 'Knightmare' has brought a lot of unwelcome attention onto the government and some are speculating it is the last straw, with backbenchers reportedly sounding out alternatives.

8.30am: We have been blown away by the response to our back to school competition we are running at the moment.

There is still time to enter and be in the running for a double pass to Reading Cinemas.

Just send us a back to school photo. Details here.

8.20am: What a difference a year makes.

Twelve months ago an abandoned, half-built mansion in Illawarra was a haven for vandals and skaters but after a push from local lawyers, it has been cleaned up and interest in it is high.

The mansion was originally started by Dubbo businessman John Kosseris before his company went into receivership six years ago.

8.10am: Have you been taking part in our #MyDubbo photo-a-day competition? 

If not, it's not too late to enter. You still have two days to take part and in that time you could take a photo that earns you a $100 voucher from our friends at Sticks and Stones restaurant.

Today's challenge is 'cup' so get creative and send us your entries.

Check out the details here.

8am: There has been a lot of relief from the community after Dubbo MP Troy Grant committed to helping Playmates Cottage Childcare Centre find a new location.

There had been concern from some, including Playmates management committee chair Jim Jane, councillor Ben Shields and Labor candidate Stephen Lawrence, that the government wouldn't help.

Mr Lawrence said yesterday he was pleased to hear Mr Grant had committed.

7.55am: School is back, Fletchers is shut (temporarily), Politicians are arguing. Have a look at the week that was in pictures from around the Central West.

7.45am: Have a read of the heartbreaking story of Hamen Vile, a man who has been stuck in hospitals for 64 years and has now been moved to Narromine Hospital, more than two hours away from his friends and family.

Mr Vile spent 58 years in Gulgong Hospital after he was left a paraplegic by a gunshot wound. When it closed, he was moved to Dunedoo but now it has been shut, he has moved to Narromine.

Dubbo MP Troy Grant and NSW Health refused to comment.

7.30am: Now a look at the national news:

* In a remarkably detailed opening to the coronial inquest into the Martin Place siege, NSW Coroner Michael Barnes pulled back the veil in order to "answer speculation" about an incident which "terrified many".

* A senior officer vying to become the state's next police commissioner, Nick Kaldas, is set to give explosive evidence to an inquiry into a bugging operation run a decade ago by his rival, fellow deputy Catherine Burn, and overseen by the present commissioner Andrew Scipione.

* Andy Murray fought off Tomas Berdych in a tense semi-final battle at the Australian Open on Thursday night, but it was a foul-mouthed volley served up from his fiance in the stands that sent the online world into a spin.

7.15am: A first look at what is making news around the region:

*DUBBO: A pregnancy announcement should be a time for celebration, but for Shane Evans the news has been marred by Fletcher International Exports closing their doors, leaving him without a week of pay.

*WELLINGTON: Wellington-borne author Colleen McCullough has died in hospital on Norfolk Island. She was 77.

*ORANA: Dubbo MP Troy Grant has rejected statistics showing the unemployment rate in Orana and the Far West reached 12.1 per cent in December and says the lack of hard workers in NSW is a bigger problem than a lack of jobs.

*DUBBO: Almost 10,000 Australians will trek to Gallipoli in April to commemorate Anzac Day but residents at Dubbo will be able to mark the occasion by sleeping out in Victoria Park.

7am: Good morning and welcome to Friday, the end of another working week.

You are here with Mark Rayner as well look at all the latest news from around the region and there is plenty of it today.

First a look at the weather:

* Dubbo / Trangie / Nyngan - Sunny. Light winds becoming SW 15 to 20 km/h in the middle of the day then becoming light in the evening. Daytime maximum temperatures 25 to 31.

* Bourke / Cobar - Sunny. Winds SE 15 to 20 km/h turning S 15 to 25 km/h in the morning. Daytime maximum temperatures 31 to 36.