Parkes Phoenix Editor

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

Council Comments…

September 29, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

It has been a hard week for many residents who have been affected by the flooding. We are still on flood watch. Please remember to call the SES on 132 500 if you need help. The Emergency Operations Centre has been open in the Town Hall since Saturday. I would like to thank the services involved for doing a great job. It is heartening to see
all of the support. There have been many visits to Forbes this week. On Sunday, NSW Deputy Premier Troy Grant and Deputy Leader of the Nationals Senator Fiona Nash visited. On Monday, NSW Premier Mike Baird, Minister
Emergency Services David Elliott and SES Commissioner Greg Newton were here. Minister for Justice Michael Keenan arrived with Troy Grant and Greg Newton on Tuesday and announced disaster assistance for
flood-affected communities across NSW including Forbes.

Information on the assistance available is at disasterassist.gov.au and emergency.nsw.gov.au. Retired NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Dave Owens, has been appointed as the Regional Recovery Coordinator to oversee the clean-up and recovery efforts. We have received many calls of support. Once the recovery process commences, we will know what is needed.

Danny Green
General Manager

Canowindra Set For Huge Long Weekend

September 29, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

The town of Canowindra is all set for a huge influx of tourists and a massive range of events this weekend, as the town’s biggest ever October long weekend takes place. What originally started as the annual Airing of the Quilts to take place on the October long weekend has grown to also include Charlie McCarron’s auction, tours of Canowindra, markets, exhibitions, barbeques, and live music.

The auction of Charlie McCarron’s vintage car collection is expected to attract thousands of people alone, however with all of the other events taking place across the weekend, even more people are expected to travel to Canowindra.
Fiona Ferguson, a member of local community organisation ‘Canowindra@Home’ who has played a major role in organising Canowindra’s long weekend, said it was an event the entire Canowindra community could look forward to.

“Charlie McCarron’s auction at Canowindra Motors will obviously be the highlight of the weekend.” “The quilt themed window displays, which started on Wednesday, will be a great way to get visitors to see Canowindra as well.
The idea behind that is to get people to walk around the town to view the quilts- almost like a trail.”

Besides Charlie McCarron’s auction, the Airing of the Quilts and the Twilight Markets, there will also be the “Roasted” exhibition at Delice, the “Past and Present” exhibition at the Old Vic Inn, various events at the Canowindra Services Club, a busking competition at Deli Lama, the Moorbel Markets, various community BBQ fundraisers, the Canowindra CWA open day, and “Blind Freddy’s” half day tours of Canowindra.
By Joshua Matic

Forbes High School Farewell 2016 Year 12!

September 29, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

Forbes High School, along with family and friends said farewell to Year 12 last Friday, wishing them all the best of luck in their HSC and in their future. The morning assembly provided the opportunity for Year 12 students to be recognised for their achievements, with major awards being presented. Major awards on the day were presented
and awarded to the following Year 12 students; Sally Downie- Dux of Year 12, Emily Godden- Blue & Gold Citizenship, Monica Pascoe- P&C Presentation to representative students, Oliver Carlisle -Carmel Hodges
Memorial Humanitarian Award, Madeline Dukes -Reuben F Scarf Award, Jake Ellison- Louise Stephenson Award, Monica Pascoe -Caltex Best All Rounder, Monica Pascoe and Nicole Morrison- Citizenship Awards, Morgan Penman- TVET Animal Studies Award, Grace Quigley- TVET Early Childhood Award, Quintin Hapgood- TVET
Information Technology Award and Jacob Beard- TVET Certificate III Media Studies, VET student of the Year Sally Downie.

Along with Year 12 providing a gift to the school, a special moment was shared with the school community, with a multimedia presentation put together by outgoing School Captain Emily Godden highlighting the amazing journey the 2016 Year 12 cohort have undertaken at Forbes High School, as well as commemorating fellow School Captain Oliver Carlisle and his unforgettable contribution to Forbes High School.

New Dragon Boats To Grace Lake Forbes

September 23, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

Very early one Sunday morning the calm waters of Lake Forbes were high and shrouded with light fog.

Seven eager members of the Forbes Dragon Boat Club were waiting for a truck to turn the corner… a truck carrying two long awaited, new racing dragon boats.

Past president, Bill Thomas, and past Treasurer, Claire Davis, were among the eager onlookers to witness the Forbes Dragon Boat Club change from its almost three decades old boats to much lighter, sleeker, modern racing boats.

As the truck rumbled into sight, a buzz went through the little group and cameras began clicking. The boats were unloaded with great enthusiasm and carefully set in their new home.

Many delighted phrases rang out like: “Wow! We have foot-rests.”, “They have handles! We can move them so much easier!” and “They’re so much lighter.” The club is ready for the next paddling session and can hardly wait to get them in the water.

“The boats have come about due to the hard work of our previous board and we thank them once again, especially Bill and Claire,” said President Robyn Stephens.

The club is set to go from strength to strength with a very committed new board: Robyn Stephens, president; Tony Fisher, vice-president; Michael Green, treasurer; Kristine Dobell, registrar; Chris Sweeney, publicity officer; Ian Prince, works coordinator; Neil Stephens, board member and Warren Edwards, secretary.

If you would like to join our club or find out more about it come along on Sunday mornings at 8:30 – the water recedes – and 6:30 Thursday evenings in daylight-saving time. You can find us on Facebook. It’s a great sport and a great club. You are most welcome to come along!

By Bill and Beth Thomas

Council Sets Example With New Female To Male Ratio

September 22, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

The newly elected Forbes Shire Council has four women and four new faces. The results were confirmed earlier this week following the Local Government election held on 10th September.

The councillors are in order of the position they were elected in starting at number one Phyllis Miller, Grant Clifton, Steven Karaitiana, Susan Chau, Graeme Miller, Jenny Webb, Michele Herbert, Chris Roylance and Jeff Nicholson.

Five councillors were re-elected and the first time councillors are Steven Karaitiana, Susan Chau, Jenny Webb and Michele Herbert.

“I look forward to working with the new council,” said Danny Green, General Manager of the Forbes Shire Council. “The mix of female to male councillors is an example for our more senior government sectors and together with the introduction of four new councillors will provide a good representation from the community.

“A new council is timely as we consult the community on the long term direction they would like to set, and we shape the organisation to achieve this.”

“I congratulate all unsuccessful candidates on their conviction in nominating and our retiring councillors for their efforts during their term,” said Danny.

The voter turn out was 81.67% with 5,738 votes counted out of 7,026 enrolled voters in the shire.

The election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions will take place on Thursday September 29. At the start of the meeting, all Councillors will take an oath of office or make an affirmation of office as part of changes to the Local Government Act. The Mayor will be elected for a two year term.

OUR Gal… Ashleigh Miller

September 22, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

How long have you lived in or around Forbes? I have lived here for the past 15 years, and did my schooling at Forbes High School.

Where do you work? I work at a home based business called Kazza’s Kitchen, which I set up over a year ago with my Mum. We cater for food to go for busy families, healthy treats for school lunchboxes, and catering for all occasions.

What do you enjoy the most about your job? Being able to work from home and spend time with my Mum every day.

How do you start your day? With a coffee, white, no sugar. I usually have around 5 cups of coffee a day.

What do you do in your spare time? Spend time with my family and friends. I am studying to be an alcohol and drug counsellor and will finish at the end of 2017. Hopefully when I finish I will be able to move to a bigger town and work in a rehabilitation centre.

What makes your day? People being kind.

Charlie One Step Closer To His Dream!

September 22, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

Year 10 student Charlie Staines took a step closer to achieving his dream this week when he signed a two-year NRL Player Development contract with the Penrith Panthers Rugby League Club.

NRL talent scouts have been watching Charlie for some time and the offer came after recommendations based on the skills and abilities Charlie has displayed in both club and representative football competitions.

Charlie will continue his schooling at Forbes High School for the next twelve months. The Panthers will assist with costs associated with any representative football he is involved in including the Western Rams and Country NSW. He will be provided with strength and conditioning, diet and training programs to further develop his talent over the year at which time he will be considered for a pre-season program in preparation for the inclusion in the Under 18 squad and possible relocation to Sydney.

Charlie attended and participated in training camps with the Cronulla Sharks and Canberra Raiders this year too. He and his family are taking everything in their stride, but they are excited by the prospects the signing will bring in the future. Charlie will compete with his local team, the Forbes Junior Magpies U16’s, in the grand final of the local competition in a couple of weeks before flying to Samoa to fulfil his representative commitments with the NSW Country side on the long weekend in October.

By Anita Morrison

Come Hell or High Water, The Forbes Show Was Fun

September 16, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

While Forbes was almost turned into an island last weekend by floodwaters, the town’s community spirit was not dampened for the 141st show. The first female president of the Forbes P.A. & H Association, Jan Facey, said although
numbers were down by about half a lot of people got out in the rain and wet. “We are quite happy and grateful for the support, and would like to thank everyone who joined in the fun.”

One of the highlights this year was the new entertaining Show Mow event, which became extra spectacular with so much mud around. According to Jan, Show Mow consists of a club of people who travel around the country to race at shows on their lawn mowers. Although entries in the different categories were unfortunately down, because of
people flooded in, entries were of a high quality. Only the cooking category budged the trend with a lot more entries.

One of the show’s major events, the ring events, had to be postponed to the Spring Horse Show on the weekend of 22nd and 23rd October, when the dog high jump and yard dog display will also take place. The dairy cattle judging could also not take place and will now be on Monday. Jan said she was happy not to be stuck in the show office this year. “It was a real treat to get out and talk to people. The feedback has been very positive.”

Grand Victory For Underdog Magpies

September 16, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Magpies put in an incredible performance to come from behind and win the Group XI Rugby League grand final in Dubbo 26 – 22 on Sunday. Taking on Dubbo CYMS, who have been undefeated for two seasons, was a daunting task for the Mapgies, but coaching coordinator Cameron Greenhalgh said this diasadvantage only ramped up the players’ enthusiasm.

“We were massive underdogs going in, but we knew that we had the side, we had the belief that we could win,” Greenhalgh said. With 12 minutes to go, CYMS had pulled out to a 10 point lead, but two tries in the final minutes gave Forbes the impressive victory.

Acknowledging that Forbes is sporting a very young team this year, Greenhalgh said it was difficult to single out top performers. “Our captain-coach Jake Grace won the Bob Weir Medal for man of the match, and he certainly led by example. “They were all excellent. They’re a young team, but have great confidence and big game performance,” Greenhalgh said.

By Cindy Nutley

Question of the Week?

September 16, 2016 by Maggi Barnard

What did you enjoy most at the Show?

Brendan Morrison (middle) with Barry Read and Ken Sly : I am particularly interested in the Lawn Mower Races this year.

Naarah Childs (with Tim Childs and Belinda Separovic): Face painting was great. I am now a Spider Witch and I love winning toys – my favourite is a blue panda.

Emily Speers (with Dan, Cam & Peta Speers and Wendy Nicholls): The rides are the best part of the show for me especially the Gravatron.

Parkes Phoenix Editor

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