Violence against women is a serious problem in Australia and to coincide with White Ribbon Night, the Forbes High School Welfare Team held a White Ribbon Evening on Thursday 30 July. More than 35 male students, along with several male teachers attended the evening which began after school and finished at around 8pm.

Attendees participated in games and activities and were enlightened by discussions and presentations before enjoying a delicious dinner. The organisers were happy with the response to the event and are confident that it will continue to grow in the future, believing it to be a great step towards eradicating violence against women.

White Ribbon Night is a chance to join communities across Australia uniting to bring an end to violence against women, having a night out to get the word out. In Australia, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence perpetrated by someone known to them. One in four children are exposed to domestic violence.

We would all like to think that family, friends, colleagues and neighbours are safe at home. This is a basic right. Sadly, for many, this is not the case. On average, one woman is killed every week as a result of intimate partner violence and a woman killed by her male partner is most likely to be in her own home. This is the extreme end of men’s violence against women. If we can change young boys’ attitudes today, we can change the world and make violence against women a thing of the past.

The fog and drizzle didn’t dampen the spirit of NAIDOC Week Celebrations at Forbes High School last week where Indigenous culture and identity was celebrated through music, dance and awards. Blake, Tai and Warren Baxter opened the event with a traditional smoking ceremony and didgeridoo performance, followed by Welcome to Country and then comments from Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller.

“It is important to remember that NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by all Australians from all walks of life,” Cr Miller said. “Forbes Shire Council would like to recognise the outstanding contributions that Aboriginal Australians make to improve the lives of Aboriginal people in our community, or to promote Aboriginal issues through our local NAIDOC Awards.”

Paige Thomas, Warren Baxter and Tai Baxter were each presented with the 2015 Aboriginal Youth of the Year Award. Each recipient was commended for their efforts and achievements in sports and academics. “All three of these young people regularly volunteer and contribute to community events with dance and other cultural presentations,” Cr Miller said. The 2015 Aboriginal Person of the Year was awarded to David Acheson for his key role in the foundation and development of Forbes Aboriginal and Community Working Party, and for his participation with the wider Aboriginal community.

After a traditional dance performance from Red Bend Catholic College dancers, the Forbes High School band, House of Tribes performed, followed by a lifting performance from Orange outfit PreDestined, which had some students and the Mayor getting out of their chairs to dance.

Tuesday morning saw the first of what will hopefully be a regular occurrence as NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione joined with the Police Minister and Deputy Premier Troy Grant in Forbes recently. Set up as an initiative of Troy Grant, these visits started in the northwest of the state, visiting Gunnedah and Tamworth, followed closely by visits to the mid north coast and now visiting Police Stations in the Central and South West.

“It is a great opportunity to discuss the needs of the local staff, the contemporary needs for accommodation and also how functional these offices are,” Troy said. “It affords the local staff the avenue to discuss these needs in person with the Commissioner.” “We are able to make decisions on the spot, rather than having to delay these decisions
and having to go through what is sometimes a very long process,” Andrew said. “With the recent high spate of crime in the Lachlan area, the local staff were able to get on top of this very quickly and they are to be commended.”

“In addition, it is evident that the local staff take immense pride in their building and premises, as is evident from the gardens and upkeep at the front of the building”. The local staff really appreciates this visit and the time that both the Minister and Commissioner have taken out of their busy schedules to visit Forbes.

Following the visit to Forbes on Tuesday morning, the group then headed off to Temora and West Wyalong.

Mark Pietsch, who runs Logical Lifestyles on the corner of Rankin and Battye Streets, knows first hand just how tough life can be. His mum died when he was six and he grew up the hard way, becoming what he describes as a bad person without a great deal of selfconsciousness.

Mark damaged his back at 17 and over the pursuing 12 months put on a lot of weight as a result of the medication and his mental state. But he had the inner strength to work his way through the problems, both physical and psychological, and at one stage shed 78 kilos weight in just over seven months.

So when he met a street kid doing it rough, living by the seat of his pants by breaking and entering to feed himself, Mark didn’t hesitate in opening up and offering the chance for the young guy to turn his life around. The result is that he’s become a youth worker for some 60 kids and runs a gym that he prefers to think of as not really a gym at all.

“Many people, especially young people, see gyms as intimidating places that make them uncomfortable,” said Mark. “I prefer to see Logical Lifestyles as a place where people can be more relaxed and talk about things as well as doing the physical bit.”

These days he divides his life between three passions: caring for his group of young people; being involved with the Generocity Church; and running Logical Lifestyles as a business that can help him pursue his other goals.

Tom Drane might be just nine years old, but last weekend the keen member of Forbes Auto Sports Club carried away two national titles at the Australian Dirt Track Championships in Kempsey, winning the 65cc two-stroke class

and the 80cc modified-four-stroke class in the seven-to-nine-years division. Mum and Dad — Matt and Lisa Drane, who own MD Steel Fabrication in Forbes — were obviously proud of the achievement, but Tom was “absolutely over the moon” after a weekend that saw him win all 10 of his races and completely dominate his events.

“Even when he fell behind in a race, he just revved it up and fought his way back to the front,” said Matt. “There was just no stopping him.” Last year, Tom scored a second and third in the national titles, which were held in
Cowra, and earlier this year rode to first and second places in the state championships. Tom has been riding dirt bikes since he was four and started competing as soon as he reached seven and became eligible.

Also representing Forbes at Kempsey were Tom’s younger siblings, Georgia and Sam, and Beau Bailey. They all rode in the non-competitive demonstration classes but are keen as mustard to start competing as soon as they’re old enough.

Australians have a worldwide reputation for being extremely generous with their time and effort when it comes to undertaking voluntary work, and our bands of selfless volunteers have indeed become the heart and soul
of our communities. It’s particularly the case in rural communities such as Forbes Shire.

That’s why Forbes Shire Council took the opportunity not so long ago to recognise a prominent collection of selfless locals during National Volunteers Week with special awards and a morning tea at the Forbes Youth and Community Centre.

Those awards went to Marie Lambert, Murray Field, Nikki Patten, Greg Spencer, Narelle Shaw, Janelle McManus, Patricia Caines, Joy Brown, Heather Tomlinson, Len Keat, Bruce Toole, John Clifton, Lachlan Reynolds, Lorraine Rue, Lee Reynolds, Peg Clifton, Dawn Keat, Maree Yapp, Debbi Hodges-Lockwood, Heather Mann, Julie Herridge, and, to show that community organisations play an important role in the process, also to the Rotary Club of Forbes, Forbes Riverside Community Garden and Spectacular Screenings.

Now there’s another chance for the community to recognise it’s invaluable band of volunteers, this time in the form of the 2015 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards, which are being run under the auspices of the State Government’s Department of Education and Communities. There are regional sections, including one for the Central West, so make sure that you participate in the nomination process. Nominations close July 17 and can be made online by visiting www.volunteering.com.au.