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Forbes Phoenix

Parkes Phoenix Editor

Maggi Barnard has been with the Forbes Phoenix since 2021 and loves writing about her community.

Grand Opening For KHub In Forbes

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

READY FOR BUSINESS: KHub staff are ready for Forbes shoppers after officially opening earlier this month. (Photo courtesy of Essjay Photography)

Forbes officially has a KHub after the retail giant Kmart opened earlier this month in the old Target Country store in Rankin Street.

Retail Director Kmart Australia & New Zealand, John Gualtieri was excited about the new opening in Forbes.

“At Kmart, we’re on a mission to make everyday living brighter for Australian families. Giving them easy access to the everyday items they need, at the lowest possible price,” he said.

“It’s how we make shopping more accessible for more people and that’s at the heart of everything we do,” Mr Gualtieri said.

“As a business, we’re committed to opening stores in new communities, and we are thrilled to officially welcome Forbes into the family.”

With 12 existing Target team members and 20 brand new recruits, the whole team have been working tirelessly to bring this colourful new store to life for the local community.

KHub is stocked full of great value, on-trend products that customers are going to absolutely love. The store will have the 200 most popular Kmart products across kids, home and clothing.

“KHub customers will be able to pop in and visit the team instore, or shop Kmart’s entire product range online using home delivery services,” said Mr Gualtieri.

“We’ll be using the store as a collection point for online Target and Catch orders too, giving customers easy access to all three of our Kmart Group brands.”

Forbes Shire Gets $2.4 Million In Federal Budget

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

BUDGET WIN: Forbes Shire Council has many reasons to smile after vital funds for infrastructure were allotted in the federal budget last week.

In a real win for the community, Forbes Shire Council has received $2,445,132 in direct funding under the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, it was announced in the Coalition’s Federal Budget last week.

The budget boost is a shot in the arm for Forbes and is one of more than 100 projects across the Tablelands, Riverina and Central West approved for funding.

National’s Leader, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development and Riverina MP Michael McCormack highlighted the importance of local infrastructure projects in relation to the nation’s recovery from COVID.

“This program is delivering vital infrastructure through local councils (like Forbes) – they know best where this money needs to be spent in their Local Government Area,” Mr McCormack said.

“A broader range of projects will now be eligible for funding under the LRCI, enabling local governments to pursue larger, more complex developments to deliver even greater benefits for their local communities.”

The new program will also support jobs (850 so far across the regions), construction businesses and economic growth, it will also improve road safety and bolster the resilience of our local road networks, helping Australians get home sooner and safer.

“I will continue to work closely with local councils to ensure local projects get under way, supporting jobs and businesses as soon as possible,” Mr McCormack said.

“It really is a great boost for Forbes.”

Councils will be able to access funding for Phase 3 of this funding program from 31 January 2022, with the program extended until 30 June 2023.

Free Practical Load Restraint Information Sessions

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

ON TOUR: Load Restraint Village Tour is coming to Forbes Shire.

Are you a local farmer, contract harvester or transport operator? Do you think you know load restraints? Load Restraint Info sessions will provide information about the fundamentals of load restraint, your legal requirements as well as tips to safely restrain hay bales, machinery and general freight. The village tour schedule is:

• Friday 21 May: Wirrinya Community Hall at 12pm
• Wednesday 26 May: Bedgerabong Showground at 8am

Registration is required for catering and COVID requirements at https://forms.office.com/r/fuhpfAS0EW

By attending you may be eligible for a Safework $500 Biz Safety Rebate. Attendees will also receive a show bag full of useful information and resources.

The Load Restraint Village Tour is part of the Councils’ current Load Restraint Education Project, which is funded by the Australian Government’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative administered by the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator. Project partners include NSW Police, NSW Farmers, Transport for NSW and NSW Rural Fire Service.

For further information about the information sessions please call Mel Suitor on 02 6861 2364.

CT Water Draft Plan Now Public

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

IMAGE: Central Tablelands Water DSP DRAFT

Central Tablelands Water draft 2021/2022 plans are now on exhibition for public comment.

General Manager Gavin Rhodes said the draft financial plans provide for the “ongoing financial sustainability” of Central Tablelands Water and the provision of quality drinking water over the next decade.

“These plans also provide for vital major capital renewals and infrastructure upgrades,” he said.

“CTW does not receive recurrent government grants to fund its operations,” Gavin said.

“CTW’s revenue is derived from its fees and charges, and as a result, consumption charges for financial year 21/22 are proposed to increase by 6.7% from $3.28 per kilolitre (kL) to $3.50kL,” said Mr Rhodes.

“Overall, these proposed increases, will see the average residential water bill of us-ing 182kL paying an additional $44 per year or 85 cents per week.”

The draft documents are currently on public exhibition at Council’s Blayney Office at 30 Church Street Blayney and on Council’s website at www.ctw.nsw.gov.au/publications/documents-on-public-display/

Members of the public are invited to review the draft documents and make written submissions by 4pm, 4 June 2021 to: General Manager, Central Tablelands Water, PO Box 61 Blayney NSW 2799. You can also email water@ctw.nsw.gov.au.

Netball Proving More Popular

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

Forbes junior mixed netball continues to attract new players to both programs that are running on Saturday mornings.

NetSetGo is for all players aged from 5 years to 9/10 years to learn the skills of netball and have lots of fun doing it. NetSetGo is played at 9:30am each Saturday morning.

Training for any players aged from 9/10 years to 13 years is held each Saturday at 10:30am immediately after NSG. This session is also training for the carnival teams that are playing on Sundays, for those players who are available on Saturdays. Although players playing in the carnivals must be registered with NNSW, anyone can come along on Saturdays and try the programs before they register.

When players register, the registration will carry through to the Netball Forbes Junior Mixed Competition that will be played in the spring on Wednesday nights, inline with the very popular adult competitions.

Wednesdays will be a family affair, when players will join the Junior Mixed competition and play at 5pm and 6pm, and the adults will play in the usual timeslots of 6pm, 7pm and 8pm. Parents have already volunteered to help run the Wednesday junior mixed competition so junior netball can be played in Forbes.

Teams have been entered into the Parkes carnival on Sunday.

The next carnival will be Bathurst on May 23, and entries close today (Friday). Dates for future carnivals after Bathurst are Dubbo May 30, and Orange or West Wyalong on June 6. Parents are asked to please check with team organisers for nomination closing dates.

Primary schools Gala Day
The annual Primary schools Gala Day that was postponed due to rain earlier in the year will be held on Monday May 24. If anyone can help, please email Secretary, Lyn at this email secretary.forbesnetball@gmail.com

Playoff Decides Forbes Golf Open

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

BOOM: George Falvey of Forbes launches one off the tee at Forbes Golf Club.

In cool autumnal weather 164 players competed in the Forbes Men’s Open, with the winner earning an entry into the 2022 NSW Open. This year’s event was sponsored by Forbes Shire, Golfie Hotel and Golf Harvest. At the end of the day four players finished on 2-under, requiring a play-off to decide the winner.

The A-Grade scratch winner, and winner of the Forbes Open, was Thomas Heaton (The Australian GC). Thomas scored a birdie on the second play-off hole, the par-5 2nd hole, to push Joshua Gadd (Penrith) into the Runner-up position.

On the first play-off hole, Will Moody (Avondale) and Joseph Curran (Moore Park) each made bogey to end their tilt at the title.

The B-Grade results saw G Hooper (81 – Forbes) take the Scratch win over S Kirk-man (85 – Forbes). The Handicap winner was G Webb (68 nett) over J Dobell (69 nett), both from Forbes.

The C-Grade results were: Scratch win-ner A Richards (Condobolin) with 86 ahead of N Ryan (Forbes) on 91. The Handicap winner was J Wood (68 nett) ahead of A Quirk) 70 nett, and again both from Forbes.

On Saturday a 4BBB Stableford was played, sponsored by Forbes Livestock & Agency. The field of 116 managed to produce some very good results.

The Scratch winners were Penrith players M Organ and J Gadd with 41 points. Scratch Runners-up were local players J Betland & P Dawson with 40 points. The Handicap winners were D Bayley and A Quirk (both Forbes) with 43 points, on count back from G Webb (Forbes) & L Cotterill (Brisbane) with 43 points.

This weekend has an 18-Hole Stable-ford, with the West Wyalong Mens Open, the second event in the Trilogy of Golf’, on Sunday 23 May.

By Short Putt

Dominos Sports Brief

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

All-Stars Go Down To Stingers

Forbes All Stars have succumbed to the slick Grenfell Stingers 3-1 in an entertaining affair at Forbes Botanical Gardens. In what was Forbes first home game of the season, the All Stars were expected to dictate but their rivals had different ideas, dominating possession and territory aa they launched raid after raid on the Forbes goal. The loss sees Forbes start the 2021 season 0-2 after a loss last week to Parkes.

FPS Serves Up Tennis Clinic

Last Wednesday Laura Chudleigh, Zara Bruem, Jono Webb, Will Watson and Jackson Beaudin headed to the Forbes Tennis Courts to face West Wyalong Public School in the second round of the PSSA Western Tennis Knockout. They faced some tough competition but managed to come out on top, winning with a total of 42 games to 18. All students displayed fantastic sportsmanship on the day and should be proud of their efforts. Depending on the results of the other round two match, they will now move on to play either Parkes East Public School or Tottenham Central School next month. Good luck for round three!

Mixed Results For Platypi

It was a mixed bag on Saturday at Forbes in the May Day fundraiser for Tracey and cancer research. Firsts won against Dubbo Roos 42-7 while the 2nd XV scraped home 7-3. The women went down 54-10 while Colts were outmuscled 15-0. Forbes travel to Cowra next week to begin round two in an important clash for the Platypi if they are to go all the way in 2021.

Polding Selection

Congratulations to Ash Kennedy who has been selected to compete at the NSW PSSA Rugby League Championships in Tamworth as a member of the Polding Opens team. This is a wonderful achievement, go Ash!

Snippets…

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

CRACKING GOOD TIME: Stephen Perryman cracks a cigarette out of Kelvin Brown’s mouth as part of the warm up for the Bogan Festival on June 11-13 at Bedgerabong Racecourse.

Houso’s Comes To Bedgerabong: Pauly Fenech and the Houso’s team will be in Forbes for the 2021 Australia’s Biggest Bogan Festival shooting extra rushes and scenes for the new season of Houso’s.

The event will also include Chris Franklin and The Noll Brothers as well as local acts Bogan’s Heroes and Ballz n All. There will be a bogan wedding, turkey gobbling, best beard and more! For tickets go to www.eventbrite.com.au/e/australias-biggest-bogan-festival-tickets

Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea: Hosting a Biggest Morning Tea on 27 May is easy. There’s a great free host kit and you can make your morning tea as simple or as fancy as you like. After COVID cancelled many cuppas in 2020, it’s time to get everyone back together. So what are you waiting for? Go to www.biggestmorningtea.com.au for more info on how to host or get involved with existing events in the Forbes shire.

Thanks To Our Midwives And Nurses: Over the next two weeks throughout the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) morning tea celebrations will be held to honour and thank the work of nurses and midwives.

WNSWLHD Acting Executive Director of Quality, Clinical Safety and Nursing, Jo Lemmich expressed his appreciation for the significant role nurses and midwives have played in the course of the past 15 months in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

“If ever there was a time to put the commitment and compassion of our nurses and midwives on the centre stage, it is now,” Ms Lemmich said.

Taste On Templar Is Back! Save the date October 30 because Taste on Templar is back! The event will start at 6:30pm and again there will be magnificent food and beverages for all. Watch this space for more!

Funds for small business: Small businesses are encouraged to sign up online for a new $1,500 rebate scheme to help cover the cost of NSW and local government fees and charges.

The Small Business Fees and Charges Rebate is open to small businesses which have a total wages bill below the new 2020-21 $1.2 million payroll tax threshold and have a turnover of at least $75,000 per year. It is available from 1 April 2021 until 30 June 2022, for eligible fees and charges due and paid from 1 March 2021.

Fees and charges that can be claimed back through the scheme include liquor licences, food authority licences, council rates and outdoor seating fees.

FUNDS FOR SMALL BUSINESS: Small business funds up to $1,500 are available for local business owners.

 

 

Cyms Make Big Statement As Maggies Remain Winless

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

FAMILIAR SIGHT: Dubbo CYMS players celebrating another try on the weekend as Forbes Magpies went down in all four grades. (Pic courtesy of Dubbo CYMS)

Dubbo CYMS steamrolled Forbes Magpies in a 42-16 rout last weekend to send a warning to rival teams they are not here to make up the numbers in 2021.

The classic rivalry between the two clubs never really materialised as Forbes were always playing catch up despite a lively start against a slick CYMS side lead by familiar names Thurston and Ramien.

A huge second half effort saw Tongia Fox crash over before Mitch Burke also grabbed one. Nick Greenhalgh kicked four goals for Forbes who have one draw and two losses to start season 2021.

In reserves the script read much the same with Dubbo trouncing the Magies 38-4 with doubles to Craig McLean and Mark Merritt. Kristian Markwort nabbed one for Forbes.

In Under 18s it was a much more dour affair with Dubbo again prevailing 24-12 in a cracking game. Forbes will rue the two early tries that gave Dubbo a 12-0 lead at the break after both sides scored 12 points in the second half.

League Tag unfortunately also followed the same thread with our ladies going down in the match of the day 14-6 despite Forbes leading 6-4 at the orange break. Courtney Hodge grabbed the Maggies only try of the game.

This week also saw representatives from NSWRL come to Forbes to discuss the future of the game in the region in what was described as a productive and informative night for stakeholders at the Post Office Hotel. The meeting was called to discuss the future of the group competition and touted merger for 2022.

Be Seen

May 21, 2021 by Maggi Barnard

OFFICIALLY OPEN: Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM officially opens the new KHub in Forbes with new manager Jess Storm. (Photo courtesy of Essjay Photography).

 

CWA MEMBERS: CWA catering at the Eugowra murals weekend Frances Anderson, Robbie McFadyen, Shirley Heinzel, Sharon Radwick and Dorothy Jones .

 

SPECIAL SPORTS DAY: Neil Hamilton and John Carey from Currajong Disability Services at Red Bend for the 40th Special Sports Day last week.

 

JOB WELL DONE: Not only did Firsts take care of the job on the field, the day was a massive fundraising success by the Forbes Platypi Rugby Club.

 

NEEDING A WIN: Forbes All Stars have started the season with two losses (Parkes 2-0 and Grenfell 3-1) and will be looking to turn it around this weekend.

 

FORBES REPRESENT: Despite finishing 11th, Western AFL did win the Red Dirt Cup in a tight match against Barrier by 20 points.

 

KEEPING FIT: Rock Climbing is becoming more and more popular with many taking up the challenge at the recent Super Mega Fun Day.

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