Parkes Phoenix Editor

Get ready for what could arguably be the biggest week in Canowindra’s event and tourism history.

The internationally recognised and iconic hot air ballooning festival is once again taking place from 2 – 10 April, 2022 with some exciting inclusions, guaranteed to bring the crowds.

The much-loved community event, including the Street Parade and The Cabonne Community Glow, will be held on 9th April, 2022, and with thanks to the NSW Government’s Regional Events Acceleration Fund, this year will also see an extra night of entertainment and a new signature event.

Enliven Music Festival, will be held on 2nd April, 2022 and is bringing two of Australia’s top rated award winning artists, Jon Stevens, with the INXS and Noiseworks Collection and Eskimo Joe, sharing the stage with Country Rock up and comer, James Johnston, along with The Robbie Mortimer Band and Clancy Pye. Phat Brass, a fresh funk-pop style of brass band, rounds up the line-up for the much anticipated event.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the Canowindra International Balloon Challenge is building on the success of its 2021 event to host an expanded festival in 2022.

“Supporting big ticket events like this in regional NSW is what brings our economy into gear and back up to speed, and I can’t wait to see the benefits this festival will bring for communities not only in the Central West but right across the region.”

FREE CUPPA RETURNS: Registrations for the 2022 scheme are now open and close on Monday 31 January 2022, go to www.freecuppa.com.au to sign up and find more information about the scheme.

Local businesses are invited to help tackle driver fatigue by registering to take part in this year’s ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme.

The multi award-winning driver fatigue awareness campaign has been saving lives on country roads since 2010 by encouraging drivers to take more breaks and avoid fatigue-related crashes. The scheme runs each year from March 1st to May 31st.

Entering its 12th year, the scheme sees partnerships formed between participating Councils and local businesses. The Councils provide the marketing and administer the scheme whilst the participating businesses provide the free cuppas. The campaign is supported by Transport for NSW.

Registrations for the 2022 scheme are now open and close on Monday 31 January 2022, go to www.freecuppa.com.au to sign up and find more information about the scheme.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said since its inception the ‘Free Cuppa for the Driver’ scheme has given away more than 27,000 free cuppas in 265 participating businesses across 91 towns, villages and cities in regional NSW.

“Times have been anything but ‘normal’ these last few years. We know that some Local Government Areas have been in lengthy lock downs and many small businesses are struggling. We delayed our registration from the usual October deadline until Monday January 31, 2022, to allow for more clarity about what travel might look like and what COVID restrictions might be in place. We expect that with most state borders open, there will be a lot of people travelling to and through regional NSW,” said Ms Suitor.

Visiting drivers are entitled to a free cuppa at participating businesses if they are more than 100kms away from the address on their license.

The scheme is operational across most of Western NSW and parts of the Hunter and South-West.

Local Jobs and Careers Expo

The Forbes Local Jobs and Careers Expo is an opportunity for local businesses to promote current or upcoming job opportunities and to showcase the range of careers in their industry sector.

Each attending business will be allocated a space to set up a small information stand or banner. At least one representative from the business or company must be in attendance to talk to expo attendees.

This event is free of charge for all exhibiting employers and organisations. The expo is open to community members and job seekers of all ages.

Club Forbes Auditorium, Thursday 17th March, 2022, 5.30 – 8.00pm. Contact Janice Little at janice.little@det.nsw.edu.au

Citizen Of The Year Awards Gala Dinner

The 2022 edition of the Citizen Of The Year will be held at Forbes Town Hall on Tuesday January 25. The semi-formal, ticketed event will begin at 6pm and finish at 9pm and will comprise of a gala dinner and ceremony to recognise some outstanding local individuals and their contributions throughout the past year. For more info contact community@forbes.nsw.gov.au or 6850 2300

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ ‘Load Restraint Education Project’ has been heralded a success according to Project Coordinator and the Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor.

“The results of the project show that load restraint awareness amongst the target group (farmers and transport companies) did improve over the course of the project and we have seen load restraint breaches decrease 69% this year, with no incidents occurring,” said Ms Suitor.

The project was funded by the Commonwealth Government through the NHVR’s Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative (HVSI) and was supported by NSW Police, NSW Farmers and Transport for NSW, with assistance from NSW Rural Fire Service, SafeWork NSW and NSW Health’s Rural Adversity Mental Health Program.

Project results include:

• More than 100 farmers attended the Load Restraint Village Tour and all provided positive feedback about the program

• The how-to videos have had more than 1,000 views

• 1,100 additional load restraint packs have been distributed to the local community

• 311,740 people were reached through social media posts and there were 5,070 engagements – this is across five Facebook pages

• Police enforcement figures up to August 2021, show that local load restraint breaches have decreased 69% on the 2020 figures and 54% based on the 2019 figures, with no load restraint incidents recorded thus far in 2021.

NO VACCINE OR CURE FOR MOZZIES: The Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program is used to provide an early warning of increased flavivirus activity in Australia. The Arbovirus Lab is located at Westmead Hospital. Across the state, flocks are established in Bourke, Deniliquin, Griffith, Hay, Leeton, the Macquarie Marshes, Menindee, and Moree. Forbes is classed as a central location in the Central West for this surveillance to occur and has had high activity since the floods.

Forbes Shire Council General Manager, Steve Loane, wants the community to know their health and well-being is a top priority, post-flood. Each year during the warmer months Council partners with NSW Health to carry out Arbovirus Surveillance, to monitor for Mosquito-Borne Diseases in the Central West. Importantly to identify any virus in the region. Forbes is strategically located in the heart of NSW and the Central West, monitoring the entire Lachlan Valley.

“To ensure our community remains safe, Council monitors for mosquito-borne diseases in our area via two methods, the blood sampling of a sentinel flock of chickens and mosquito trapping,” said Forbes Shire General Manager Steve Loane.

“When chickens are bitten by mosquitoes they don’t get sick, unlike humans, this is why they are used to pick up such diseases as Ross River Fever, Murray Valley Encephalitis, Barmah Forest virus, and Kunjin virus.”

The Sentinel Chicken Surveillance Program is used to provide an early warning of increased flavivirus activity in Australia. The Arbovirus Lab is located at Westmead Hospital. In NSW, Forbes is classed as a central location in the Central West for this surveillance to occur.

“Council is spraying its public spaces, sporting fields, parks and gardens until February 2022 to keep the numbers at bay. We encourage the community to be vigilant during the next few months.”