Parkes Phoenix Editor

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

Bedgerabong Pig Sale A Success

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Local selling agents and brothers Scott and Murray Reid from VC Reid and Son were very pleased with the result of the pig sale held at Bedgerabong last month.

There were eight vendors with 91 pigs sold for an average of $929. Buyers came from Sydney, Casino, Kempsey and the lo- cal area of Forbes.

Murray said there was a total clearance at what were better than expected prices, “as recent prices had been somewhat lower”. The top priced boar, bred by Chris and James Dockrill from Casino, was purchased by Paul and Emma Baxter from Riverdale, Forbes. The boar was sold for $2,600. They said they were keen to gain some new blood for their breeding drift.

A total of 25 mated gilts averaged $1,079; 15 large white boars averaged $1,110; nine Landrace boars averaged $1,444.44; three Duroc boars averaged $600; 21 large white gilts av- eraged $638.15 and seven Landrace gilts averaged $7,657.14.

Council Comments

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Council Comments by Councillor Steve Karaitiana

I am really enjoying my time as a Councillor. When I threw my hat in the ring I had no idea just how involved it would be, but I am privileged to be working with a great team of Councillors and feel that if we achieve only a third of our goals, it would be worth it.

I said from the beginning we need change, and it’s great to see changes already made have brought interest back to Forbes. We have quite a few exciting developments in the pipeline, and I am looking forward to seeing them bringing improvements to our community.

We had a very informative meeting on Monday about the requirements of the users of the showground and race course. A working committee will look to improve facilities and infrastructure to the benefit of our town.

My wife, Sarah, and I will be in Brisbane this weekend attending the funeral of three beautiful children killed in a tragic road accident last week. I grew up with their dad on the showgrounds and our families have been close friends for three generations. Show people refer to other show people as their family. The bonds formed are so tight given the reliance on each other to get from one job to another.

I would like to thank every person in our community who have expressed their condolences. Your kind words are appreciated. In a sense, Forbes is similar to the show community in that what affects one, affects all.

Cherish your loved ones, Councillor Steve Karaitiana

Netball News

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes netballers went wild dressing up in their crazy socks and clothes and sporting crazy hair to help raise funds for The Kids Cancer Project.

Fun prizes were awarded to players and teams in each division. The winners were:

Division 1 overall – Ellie Flick; best dressed – GiGi Stitt; best hair – Robyn Kenny and best team – Lightning.

NetSetGo overall – Chloe Tyack; best dressed – Tara Higgins; best hair – Charlotte Haggarty and best socks – Marnie Blake.

Division 2 overall – Ella Nicholls; best hair – Lauren Bate; best socks – Grace Crowley and best team – Magpies.

Division 3 overall – Andy Hodder; best hair – Katie Crouch; best socks – Isla Worland and Ella White and best team – Joeys.

Rules and Umpiring Session

A free rules and umpiring session will be held at the Forbes netball courts on Sunday, 18th June from 9 to 10:30am.

All representative players and Saturday and night competition players must attend. Also open to parents and national badged umpires.

It will be a once-off umpiring and rules information and update session, and an update for national badged umpires for the Australian Marist carnival from Monday, 19th June.

Question of the Week

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

What is important to you about events during Reconciliation Week?

Fiona Blyth and Kerrianne Mundy:
Fiona: It’s a beautiful culture and we can learn so much from each other. Hopefully days like this can make a difference.
Kerrianne: All the coming together of community

Patrick Bowden and son William: Days like this make a big difference. It’s great so see so many people here.

Melody Ruhrmund: Being part of breaking down barriers and celebration of community.

Bush Telegraph

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Ladies Day Out In Trundle

Trundle was the place to be last Saturday when many visitors and stall holders from the district took part in the Ladies Day Out of the Trundle Branch of The Royal Far West Sunshine Club.

The day included a fashion parade, courtesy of Dolly’s Fashions in Trundle, wine tasting by Robert Oatley Wines and afternoon tea with cheeses, dips and other tasty morsels.

The fashion show, featuring mostly models who are members of the Trundle Sunshine Club, ranged from younger and trendy tastes to mature women and all shapes in between.

The Trundle branch would like to thank Dolly for all the time and energy she spent setting up and for the wonderful variety of high class fashions. Thank you also to Stephanie and Tamilla for doing the make-up of the models.

Thank you to all the stall holders for coming to Trundle to showcase your goods. We would love to see you again in two years’ time. We appreciated the effort you made to come and set up your stalls, and thank you for supporting the great work of the Royal Far West.

By Robyn Whitson

Jemalong Wool Weekly Market Update

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Despite a small offering of 28,459 bales, price reductions were evident from the outset. Best style/spec lots continued to be in demand and fared relatively well, however wools showing small impurities or slightly unfavourable test results were quickly discounted. The finer microns were most affected resulting in losses of 60 to 80 cents, while the broader mi- crons defied the trend and even managing some small gains.

The skirting market followed a very similar path to the fleece, with best style/ low vm skirtings finding good support while the average style & higher vm lots were discounted by up to 80 cents.

The finer crossbreds continued to find excellent support and were 5 to 10 cents dearer, while the broader end were highly irregular. Again carding buyers had to fight for their share of a limited offering, with most prices and descriptions remaining generally unchanged for the week.

Next week will see a further reduction in quantity and with Fremantle in recess, there are currently only 25,278 bales rostered for sale.

Quality Service At Locally Owned Business

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Forbes Engineering first started in 1969 and today Matthew Smith is the third generation at the locally owned and operated business serving the Central West area of- fering repair and maintenance services.

The future is looking good for Forbes Engineering with plans to be moving to a brand new, modern premises in the Central West Industrial Park within the next year.

Forbes Engineering at its current address at 9 Dowling Street, offers precision turn- ing, milling, drilling and boring, as well as on-site line boring and milling. Mat and his team have years of experience in general welding and fabrication, as well as repairs to all farm machinery.

With five employees serving the office and shed, no job is too big or small. Call Forbes Engineering on 6852 1841 for a quote, consultation, repair, installation or inspection.

Editor’s Note

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Hello cold days, and hot chocolate, fuzzy socks, warm fires, frosty mornings, hot soup, good books and warm friendship….! Yes it’s time to keep calm and welcome winter.

I am sure you can all add at least one favourite thing about winter to this list. Most of all, winter is a time to enjoy the comforts of your home, your family and friends and good food. With the long weekend ahead of us, we have brought you a decent read with a variety of stories in Issue 97.

Over the past two weeks we have been getting a lot of stories about young people doing well, putting their stamp on life and looking at the future with hope and optimism.

May you feel inspired by them and have a week filled with optimism!

Enjoy Issue 97!

Maggi Barnard Editor

Have Your Say On Long-Term Plan

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

The community’s long-term plan is on public exhibition for feedback until 25th June. Forbes Shire Council adopted the Forbes Shire Our Community Strategic Plan 2017- 2027 at its May meeting, and the support- ing Draft 2017-18 Operational Plan was endorsed for public exhibition at an extraor- dinary meeting.

The Operational Plan also incorporates a Statement of Revenue Policy outlin- ing Council’s financial information includ- ing a summary of the 2017/18 budget, the 2017/18 detailed capital budget and the 2017/18 Schedule of Fees and Charges to be implemented from 1st July. The plan outlines the programs and projects Council will undertake both operational and capital together with the funding sources and expenditure for the financial year.

General Manager Danny Green said: “This is your chance to have your say on Council’s planning and process for operationally achieving the targets and strategies as identified in the long-term plan.”

In 2017/18 the budget for capital works across its general, and water and sewer operations is $14.9 million. “This includes $3.8 million on roads, $1.6 million on water, $2.2 million on sewer and $1 million on recreational and community facilities, funded through grants and reserves,” Danny said. “The budget also includes a total rate in- crease of 1.5%, however individual charges will reflect the latest land valuations.” “Overall operational expenditure has been maintained below $28 million.”

In the 2017/18 Fees and Charges Schedule, Danny said most fees and charges have been increased by CPI although Council is moving to full service recovery where pos- sible. Please send your comments via email to mail@forbes.nsw.gov.au or by post to Forbes Shire Council, 2 Court Street, Forbes NSW 2871. For more information contact Community Development Manager Nina Hooper on 6850 2358.

Meet the Team: Raen Fraser

June 8, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

How long have you worked with the Phoenix?
I started working with the Phoenix in August last year, so that’s about 10 months now.

What is your role?
I’m a reporter.

What does your usual day look like?
My work days vary depending on what is happening. Some days I’m interviewing or attending events and taking photos. Other times I’m sat at my desk writing up my stories. I’m pretty adaptable and enjoy having a varied routine.

Where are you based?
I’m based in Parkes, but I have been known to wander over to Forbes from time to time.

Best thing about your job?
This job has been great for getting to know the town and meet people. I was fairly new to the region when I started with the Phoenix, so it’s been fantastic to get out and talk to so many different people and see what happens in Parkes. I’ve been impressed by so many of the people I’ve interviewed, it’s great to see the real diversity of talent and triumphs within our community. Everyone has a story, and it’s great to be able to share some of them with our readers.

Future ambitions.
I’ve got a few screenplays at various stages of development – but my big passion project at the moment is a young reader’s novel. The challenge is to balance my time against my responsibilities and make some decent progress on my narrative work this year.

Best Holiday.
I just spent a week training a brumby out near Cobar. It sounds like a very rugged cowboy kind of activity, but the method is more like “How to train your Dragon”. It’s all about establishing trust, it was incredibly gentle and unbelievably easy. My brumby was following me around by the end of the first day, and under saddle by the end of the week. If that wasn’t magic enough, the stars out there were incredible!

Favourite place?
Mon Repos; it’s a sea turtle rookery just near Bundaberg in Queensland. I spent quite a bit of time there in my youth, and we took the kids up a couple of years ago. It’s magical to watch the turtles come up the beach to nest, and to see the tiny little hatchlings dig themselves out of the sand and skitter into the surf. Sometimes there’s luminescent algae in the ocean, and the waves twinkle like blue fairy lights. It’s spectacular.

Favourite food?
Home-cooked meals shared with friends.

How do you spend your weekends?
Sometimes I have to wear my reporter hat, but mostly I kick about with the kids and animals and reluctantly do a bit of housework. My favorite weekends are out with the kids and pony, making pizza, and watching a movie.

Parkes Phoenix Editor

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