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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.

Maternity Services In Focus At CWA Display

September 9, 2022 by Sue Cunningh

The urgent need for improved maternity services and support across rural and regional NSW is the focus of the Forbes Evening CWA Branch’s annual Awareness Week campaign. Robyn Miller, President of Forbes Evening Branch as well as Oxley CWA Group, said the issue was on the CWA’s radar at its annual state conference in Sydney in May. 

“Just because you choose to live outside our major cities doesn’t mean you should have to tolerate a lower standard of medical care and support,” said Robyn. “Expectant mothers and new mothers should feel safe and supported, but what we heard during and after the inquiry was that this is far from the case for those living in rural and regional areas.” 

Robyn said it was valuable to hear from the maternity team at the Lachlan Health Service that our birthing care is of the highest standards. “The expert team of doctors and nurses providing care in Lachlan, throughout the maternity journey of women and families, are focused on support and care that is evidence based and provided in partnership,” said Robyn. 

There is sometimes a need based on the individual requirements of a woman to escalate her care to a centre with specific treatment options – we are fortunate to have Orange to provide this tertiary care. 

Lachlan Health Service Manager Rach Ellem said: “There is a long history of dedicated clinicians that endures today across Lachlan Maternity Services. The community can be very confident in the level of expertise and care provided locally.” 

*Visit the Forbes Evening CWA Branch Centenary Display at the Forbes Show where we will have a Lachlan Maternity Services midwife available at various times to discuss the services available in the Commercial Pavilion today and tomorrow. 

By Sue Cunningh 

Platypi Juniors Premiership Winners For Third Year

September 9, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Platypi Under 12s won the Central West premiership for the third year in a row beating Mudgee 50 – 0.

Forbes Junior Rugby made its mark in the Central West this season with the Under 12s taking home the premierships trophy for the third year in a row, and the Under 16s narrowly missing out on claiming the grand final. 

The Under 12s beat Mudgee 50 – 0 in Dubbo at the end of August to continue the dominance they showed all season. 

Mac Glasson was chosen by CWJRU as best and fairest player of the grand final, and Jagger King was selected as player of the finals by the coaches/parents. 

“It’s fantastic,” said club president Craig Bruem. “They were head and shoulders above the rest for the whole competition, but that did not distract them and they kept up their level of performance. It is pretty amazing that they’d won it for the third time and it is so good for the club.” 

Craig said there was a lot of talent among the players and the coaches. It was a great result for the time and effort put in by Dave Hodder, Randall Grayson, Troy Howe and Jim Cronin. 

The Under 16s played the formidable Orange Emus in the grand final with the Emus taking the trophy 24 – 12. 

A special mention of the Platypi no. 8 Geordie Duncan, who was chosen by CWJRU as best and fairest player of the grand final, despite not being on the winning team. 

“It was the first grand final for many of the Platypi players and they really stuck it to the Emus and fought hard to the end,” said Craig. 

“For a little town like Forbes to be playing against the bigger clubs really made a statement this season.” 

Greg Moxey, Pete Francis, Steve Jarick and Tony Frazer lead the boys to the pointy end of the season. 

Parkes Public Tennis Second In State

September 9, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Lachie Orr, Boyd Hutchins, Anna Orr and Savannah Latu at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre. (Absent: Harry Yelland who could not make the finals due to hockey commitments.)

More than 150 teams started the competition and the Parkes Public School tennis team ended up in the top four and playing the finals in Sydney winning the silver medal. Anna Orr, Savannah Latu, Boyd Hutch-ins and Lachlan Orr played brilliantly at the Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre for the first time. They beat Hay Public School in the NSW Primary School Sports Association semi-final in a thriller. Parkes Public played Artarmon Public School in the final. They were a polished and experienced team and won the 2022 Victor Kelly Trophy. The Parkes team had travelled about 2,000km for their round matches before reaching Sydney.

Swamp Tigers Take Two Premierships

September 2, 2022 by Alex Milsom

The under 12 and under 14 Orange/Forbes Swamp Tigers won their grand final matches on Sunday in Bathurst. This is the under 14 team with their medals and trophy.

The Orange/Forbes Swamp Tigers claimed the 2022 AFL Central West under 12 and 14 junior premierships in front of a big crowd at Bathurst on Sunday.

The two teams beat Dubbo Junior AFL and the Bathurst Giants respectively in two nail-biting matches.

The under 14’s won a thriller thanks to Cayden Metzeling. He kicked the match-winner from 30m out on an angle just seconds out from the final siren to beat the Bathurst Giants by five points.

Orange/Forbes and Bathurst took turns leading through the match. The fourth quarter was tightly contested and with just under a minute left in the game, the Swamp Tigers surged forward and put the ball into their attacking 50. While contesting for the ball Cayden Metzeling was taken high in a bump by a defending Giants player and was awarded a free kick. Metzeling had the game on his boot and he kicked the only goal of the last quarter to take the lead with seconds remaining. The final score was Orange/Forbes 6.7 (43) to Bathurst Giants 5.8 (38).

Orange/Forbes had just a little too much class for an incredibly gutsy Dubbo, winning the under 12s grand final by 14 points.

Dubbo had by far the better of the early exchanges, but neither team were able to score a goal in the first quarter with Dubbo leading by one point, while Orange/Forbes led by five points at half time.

Dubbo wrestled back control in the third term with one point lead 8 9. In the final term the Swamp Tigers were leading by 20 points, but Dubbo refused to die and scored a goal to close the gap to fourteen. Final score Orange/Forbes 4.5 (29), Dubbo 2.3 (15). 

The FJAFL would like to congratulate its players on their success and thank everyone for their involvement.

By Alex Milsom

What do you like the most at the Parkes Show?

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Maurice and May Bates:
Maurice: I like seeing lots of my friends and going on the dodgem cars with them.
May: I like the rides and would like to go on Kamikaze this year. 

 

Jarrad Helm with Heath: It is just a good thing for the kids. 

 

Chelsea Ashford and Lara Brown:
Chelsea: I like watching the motorbikes and eating hot chips.
Lara: The rides are the best, especially Midnight Madness. 

CMA Addresses Skills Shortage

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

At the CMA meeting were (L-R) Scott Ferguson, Mayor Blayney Shire Council; Kylie Thomas, Mayor of Kyogle Council; Doug Hawkins OAM, Mayor Liverpool Plains Council and Ken Keith OAM, Mayor of Parkes Shire.

The Country Mayors Association (CMA) hosted a Skills Forum recently in response to the dire situation of attracting skilled staff to councils and communities. 

“Covid has highlighted Australia’s dependence on skilled migration and the need to refocus on training and education,” said Mayor of Parkes Cr Ken Keith OAM and Chair of the CMA. “We have seen a decline, particularly in regional towns, in the delivery of courses, particularly face-to-face, by TAFE and private providers. 

“Course enrolments have decreased significantly by 12.7% from 2016-2021 and more importantly, only 29% of people enrolled completed their courses in 2021. One of the main issues is the lack of apprenticeships and traineeships in rural towns,” said Mayor Keith. 

The forum was addressed by the National Commissioner for Rural Education Fiona Nash, as well as the director of policy for the McKell Institute, Edward Cavanagh, CEO of Parkes CUC Cr Jacob Cass, Cr Rick Firman OAM and CEO of Riverina Joint Organisation, and Julie Briggs, who outlined the Riverina’s skills shortage project. 

A round table discussion seeking suggestions for positive change was held. Ideas included: specifically isolating data from metro areas to compare to regional, rural and remote local government areas; to allow flexibility for reduced class sizes and course offerings and more support and incentives for businesses to train trainees within TAFE’s community service obligation; to encourage state government to train their own trainees and apprentices rather than taking from local government and the private sector; to advocate for the aged workforce to return to work and provide training and mentoring; that the CMA membership support the McKell Institute and its endeavours to increase skills and retain skills in country NSW; and to engage with Minister Henskens and his advisors to discuss problems facing regional and rural NSW. 

Waste Not…

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

IMAGE CREDIT: https://www.sheridan.com.au/the-sheridan-recycling-program

Food waste releases greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide when it is taken to the tip and buried in landfill. To reduce these nasty gases from polluting the fresh air in Forbes, only buy the food you need to avoid any wastage. If you do have excess food, you can donate it to Havannah House if it is not out-of-date. Otherwise, compost the food in the green lid FOGO bin. 

Textiles cannot be recycled in the yellow lid bin, but there are other ways of ensuring it does not end up in landfill.

Give your linen a new life via the Sheridan recycling program www.sheridan.com.au/the-sheridan-recycling-program. Drop off washed sheets, quilt covers and towels in-store and you will receive a 5% discount off your next purchase. The closest store to Forbes is in Orange. Alternatively, you can donate your linen to op shops.

Melbourne Cup Comes To Forbes

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

If you want your photo with Australia’s most famous trophy, make sure to be at the Forbes Town Hall on 19th September. (Photo: vrc.com.au)

An amazing opportunity awaits all horse racing enthusiasts in Forbes in just over two weeks’ time. 

The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour is celebrating its 20th year of touring Australia and the world and it is coming to Forbes on 19th September! 

The visit to Forbes is even more special as the gold for this year’s Melbourne Cup comes from Evolution’s Cowal Mine about 100km from Forbes. 

Since the tour’s inception in 2003, the three-handled Cup has travelled over 760,000 kilometres, visiting more than 560 destinations, engaging with tens of thousands of people and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local fundraising initiatives. 

The Forbes community is invited to attend the event in full Melbourne Cup finery if you wish for an opportunity to not only see and touch the trophy, but also have your photo taken with the Melbourne Cup. 

There will also be some local industry celebrities talking about their experiences in their racing lives, including female jockey Cat Newcombe and the famous race caller Col Hodges. 

The Making of the Melbourne Cup video will be screened and all attendees will receive a food voucher to purchase a free lunch from local food vans located in Harold Street. 

It sure promises to be a bit of fun on a Monday morning. All you need to do is let the organisers know that you will be there for catering purposes. RSVP to Jolene Jones at Jolene.Jones@forbes.nsw.gov.au by Monday, 13th September. 

This is an opportunity to wear your fascinator twice this year! 

Time To Create A Christmas Tree

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The options are endless to create a Christmas tree. This is a previous entry by Forbes North Public School.

Great news for the Christmas lovers is that the time has come to start making plans for this year’s celebrations and Rotary Ipomoea is leading the ‘charge’. 

Rotary Ipomoea members are looking forward to holding its 10th Christmas Tree Festival after a two-year COVID break. 

“We would like to involve as many families, groups, organisations and schools as possible in this year’s event,” said Sue-anne Nixon of the Rotary club. 

She said it was a good time to start planning and making your masterpieces, adding that Jemalong Residential Village had already started working on theirs! The aim is to equal or better the 124 entries received in 2019 as it is a lovely way to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Exhibits need to be delivered to the Forbes Town Hall on Friday, 2nd December, and the exhibition will be open to the public on the same day from 1pm -5pm, all day on Saturday, 3rd December and from 9am to 2pm on Sunday, 4th December. 

“We have no size restrictions or limits on materials used. We love all the amazing ideas people have when making a tree or nativity. Big or small we love them all.” 

Junior Produces An Ace

September 2, 2022 by Short Putt

Lachlan Alley plucks his ball from the hole after scoring a ‘hole-in-one.’

Junior Forbes golf member Lachlan Alley scored a hole-in-one during competition on the weekend.

There were 63 starters for the Individual Stableford for men on Saturday with Wade Ricthie the division 1 winner with 36 points. Runner-up was Shane Sallaway with 36 points.

Division 2 was won by Lachlan Alley with 36 points, helped along by his hole-in-one which earned him ‘5’ points alone. Runner-up was Matt Duff with 35 points.

The NTP’s went to: 9th – Kim Herbert; 18th – Graham Newport. The 3rd hole super pin went to Lachlan Alley with a shot ‘zero’ metres.

The Ball Sweep went to 30 points on count back, with many scores affected by the sandy greens. 

Once again the numbers on Sunday were too few for a Stableford Medley comp, but at least the weather was good.

This weekend the men’s golf competition is the Monthly Medal. Sunday has a Stableford Medley, and the Inaugural ‘Naggers Cup’ at Condobolin.

Do not forget the ‘Roylances Ambrose Day’ on Saturday, 10th September. Get your nominations into the Pro Shop.

By Short Putt

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