Parkes Phoenix Editor

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

More Drought Support For Aussie Farmers

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Each year PSC Connect Insurance Brokers hold a national conference for its network of insurance advisors across Australia and New Zealand. This year’s conference was held in Sydney recently and through the generous contributions from delegates in attendance, a record $25,000 was raised for Drought Angels to support Aussie farmers.

“Our authorised representatives are widely dispersed across Australia and many have clients and personal connections that have been affected by drought.

We are proud to be able to do our bit to help out,” said CEO, Tony Walker.

PSC Connect Authorised Representative and founder of Central West Insurance Group, Sam Hornery nominated the Drought Angels to receive the donation from this year’s conference. “We wanted to be able to give something back to our Aussie farmers. The Drought Angels have done amazing work and I know that the funds raised will go to great use.”

Lou Green from Drought Angels was on hand in Forbes to accept the donation. “We appreciate the continued support and donations from the Australian public.

Our farmers are so appreciative and overwhelmed with how the country has banded together to help support them through this unrelenting drought.”

MAYORAL NOTES

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Your prayers worked, we did get rain!

Last week I attended the Country Mayors Conference in Sydney. Some of the key issues we discussed at the conference was what government, at all levels, are doing about the drought situation and regional water in general. Another key issue was the employment and skills shortage in the country. The NSW Government’s 100,000 free apprenticeships program was discussed. This great initiative is on offer over the next four years and includes all courses currently funded under the Smart and Skilled program.

This week I will be attending the Mining Related Councils Meeting in Crookwell. Both Lake Cowal and Northparkes Mines are preparing for an extension, which I am sure you realise will have an effect on our Shire.

Coming up on 29th November is the Fraud Forum. The seminar is brought to you by the Police and it is important for everyone to attend, to find out ways to avoid being caught out by people wanting to gain your private information and use it in an inappropriate way or without your consent.

I had a sneak peak at the new Men’s Shed this week. It is amazing, and I am so excited for them that it is nearing completion. They are however a little short of money to totally complete the job. I do hope they find the money soon as it will definitely be put to good use.

Have a great week and God Bless.

Your Mayor,

Phyllis Mil

Business Chamber Strategic Plan Development

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Business Chamber would like your input, thoughts and contribution to enable them to work hard for your business and to deliver a program that works for the Forbes community. “The Business Chamber has identified the need to develop a long term plan,” said Marg Duggan. “This work requires assistance from the business community and their employees,” she added.

Please complete the online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7VXQST2 to assist the workshop facilitator and the development of the strategic plan. You are welcome to attend Strategic Planning workshops at the Vandenberg Hotel on Tuesday, 20th November at either 8am, 12pm or 5:45pm. Your business doesn’t need to be a member to participate. RSVP by 19th November. Please indicate your preferred workshop time to forbes.businesschambernsw@gmail.com.

Croquet Results

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Croquet week ending 3rd November

It was an interesting start to the week at Tuesday’s golf croquet with all courts being used and a follow on as well. The total participants numbered 36. How we survived with only six courts is still a mystery.

Some of the closest games were between Mal Smith and John Cole with 7, who defeated Neville Spry and Marjorie Styles with 6; Colleen Liebich and Merv Langfield with 7, who defeated Robin Pols and Lorraine Todd with 6; Jill Rubie and Carol Slattery with 7, who defeated Joan Littlejohn and Dorothea Croker with 6 and in the last game of the day between Evelyn Mahlo and Alec Todd with 7, who defeated Merv Langfield and Robin Pols with 6.

The winners of three games on Saturday in the Aussie croquet were Bruce Field, Bill Scott, Bob Murray and Kevin Rubie.

Saturday’s Aussie croquet saw a close game between Bob Murray and Elizabeth McLean who defeated Veva MacCullagh and Colleen Clifton 14 to 13. The winners of their three games were John Allegri, Bob Murray and Tony Thomson.

By Anne and Harley Stewart

Jemalong Wool Weekly Market Update

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

The lack of buyer confidence combined with an ever-increasing quantity of lower spec wools, has resulted in losses across the board. Reductions of 15-40 were common this week, leaving the NRI 23 cents lower. The NRI has now fallen 272 cents (13%) from its mid-September peak. The fall in prices was again met with firm seller resistance, with a weekly clearance rate of only 74.7%.

The skirtings were the best performing sector this week, managing to record modest gains for the week of 5-10 cents, wool carrying less than 2% VM attracted the most competition and the largest gains. The crossbreds had a week of mixed results, prices rose slightly in the South and fell slightly in North, while the oddments continued their steep downward path. Locks, stains and crutchings generally fell by a further 40 to 100 cents, pushing the three carding indicators down by an average 71 cents.

Quantities remain similar next week, currently there are 35,696 bales on offer Nationally.

Source: AWEX

Why did you choose this specific teddy bear to come with you to the picnic?

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Oliver Curry: Timmy is my most favourite furry friend.

Jane Curry: I chose Rainbow because he is so soft.

Emma Curry: I brought Ruff Ruff because he is really fluffy.

Extension Of The CWLE Clouded By Chain Of Responsibility Notice

November 8, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Work has begun at the Forbes Central West Livestock Exchange (CWLE) to expand on the existing cattle selling complex.

The estimated $3.4m expansion consists of improvements to truck parking areas, electrical works to increase lighting and security CCTV, expansion of the current covered yard area and installation of additional state of the art cattle yards. This will lift yarding from 1,800 to 2,600 head of cattle per week, an increase of 41,600 per annum to a total of 105,000 head of cattle per year.

“The added advantage of the additional delivery pens will facilitate more efficient turnaround time for cattle, spending less time in the selling centre. This will have a positive impact on animal welfare and transport operations,” said Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller.

“The project will drive economic growth and productivity into the local community, creating jobs and new opportunities for Forbes,” she explained.

This expansion phase will greatly enhance the efficiency of operations and animal welfare standards to industry best practice levels. The high profile facility has however been the subject of recent controversy with Forbes Shire Council being served with an improvement notice this year by the RMS.

This is as a result of 57 breaches of Chain of Responsibility legislation by livestock transport operators leaving the saleyards.

Forbes Shire Council General Manager, Steve Loane states that Council is not the loading manager and merely provides the facility.

“It’s just callous to whack the livestock industry with this now,” he said. “The weighbridge would need to be remotely operated because trucks come and go at all hours.

The weighbridge would have to be capable of taking photos of the back, front and sides of a truck and identifying the truck driver. If a truck is overloaded, there would need to be extra yards to hold offloaded animals, another expense the Council doesn’t have reserves for,” he said.

To further press Council’s case, the CWLE hosted on Tuesday executives from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator and administrators of the Chain of Responsibility legislation, including CEO, Sal Petroccitto.

The hosting was done during an active sale at the CWLE to better develop their understanding of the complexity of the issue faced by saleyard owners.

Croquet News And Results

November 1, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Croquet week ending 27th October

Tuesday’s golf croquet was near a record of participants on the courts, with 32 players in attendance over six courts and four following on.

The two new courts were slow after top dressing and mowing. It’s hard to believe that we still had follow-on’s due to the large amount of players on the courts. Two of the closest games on the day were Neville Spry and Kathleen Broderick with seven against Jill Rubie and Tony Thomson with six. The second game was between Lorraine Todd and Merv Langfield with seven defeating Carol Slattery and Bob Murray with six.

There were only three winners of their three games on the day. They were John H. Browne, Joan Littlejohn and Libby Smart. Saturday’s Aussie croquet had 30 participants with all of the courts being used. The winners of three games were John Cole, Bruce Field, Merv Langfield, Bob Murray and Kevin Rubie.

Our next birthday lunch date will be Tuesday, 13th November at the Vandenberg. Don’t forget to put your names on the list.

By Anne and Harley Stewart

Forbes Services Club Named Boscars Awards Gold Sponsor

November 1, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Business Chamber is very happy to announce that the Forbes Services Memorial Club have now come on board as a Gold Sponsor in addition to those sponsors announced last week.

David Fitzgerald, General Manager of the club said: “The Board of Directors see the Boscars Awards as an important part of the Forbes Business Community and is honoured to be a Gold Sponsor of this event.”

“We are a truly community focused club and assist as many local charities, organisations and sporting groups as we can. In the past financial year, the club granted in excess of $96,000 amongst 40 plus local charities, organisations and sporting groups. This is something we as a club are very proud of,” said David.

The new dates for the Boscars have also been announced with the submissions now closing on Thursday, 15th November at 5pm. A few businesses have experienced some problems with logging onto the website and it was decided to extend the deadline for the closing of entries. This will allow businesses the opportunity to ensure that they have the time required to complete their entry.

We encourage all businesses to apply as this is fantastic recognition for them as a business if they win and then allows them to progress to the NSW Business Chamber awards at a state level.

Factory Signals New Chapter For Aussie Biscuits

November 1, 2018 by Maggi Barnard

Aussie Biscuits has this week celebrated the opening of its new factory located at 137 Rankin Street.

A well-known Forbes icon, Aussie Biscuits, is one of nine businesses owned and run by House with No Steps. It provides employment opportunities for people with a disability and has been part of the Forbes community for over 40 years.

More importantly, it also provides people with a disability the sense of connection, pride and independence that comes from working.

House with No Steps Executive Director of Businesses, Brett Lacey said the Aussie Biscuits team was thrilled to be in their new home.

“The new factory has been possible after we received $210,000 from the Building Better Regions Fund towards a $456,000 project to scale up our operations.

“Moving to the new factory is a big milestone! Some of our supported employees have been working at Aussie Biscuits for over 30 years. We’re celebrating our new chapter and we’ll now be able to bake more biscuits and deliver them to even more people. The new factory will also create much-needed employment opportunities for people with a disability in the area,” said Brett.

The new site includes new ovens, which have come all the way from Italy, a specialised cool room and mixing room for biscuit production. Employees now also have a new lunch room and a welcoming reception area.

Colin Ward is one of 30 supported employees at Aussie Biscuits. He’s been with the company for 30 years.

“I love making biscuits and seeing all my friends and working with everybody. I’m excited to be in our new place. We’re now able to make even more biscuits,” he said.

Federal Member for Riverina and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the opening of the new factory was a good result for a fantastic organisation.

“This is great for the local community and great for local business,” said Michael.

“House with No Steps is doing a power of good in Forbes and this new Aussie Biscuits factory will continue its fine work.

“I particularly like the Jam Drop biscuits and I will be dropping in one day to take a tour of the new factory,” he said.

Construction on the new factory started in May 2018 and Aussie Biscuits marked the new chapter with a grand opening morning tea and ribbon cutting on Wednesday, 31st October.

Parkes Phoenix Editor

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