Almost a year and a half ago Kathy and Andrew Garland received devastating news that changed their family’s life irrevocably. Their youngest daughter, Ava, then only three years of age, was diagnosed with Leukaemia.

Within moments of receiving the news from a local doctor, Ava and her mother Kathy were rushing to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead in Sydney where Ava would receive treatment.

Kathy says, “Unfortunately, most families have been affected by cancer in some way. Cancer didn’t have much of an impact on my life, until five years ago when my mother passed away from Cholangiocarcinomas cancer and then later, Ava’s diagnosis.”

The Garland family could also not have foreseen that it would be nine months before Ava and Kathy would finally return home from Sydney. Separation from one another during the time of Ava’s treatment proved to be a major factor for the Garland family.

“Can Assist Forbes almost immediately got in touch and offered us fuel vouchers. This made more frequent visits to Sydney possible for Andrew and our four other daughters,” said Kathy.

As a gesture to show their eternal gratitude and to give back, the Garland family have made a donation towards one of the largest fundraisers for Can Assist Forbes, Dancing With The Stars.

Kathy explains, “Can Assist is an organisation that works behind the scenes and comes in quietly when someone in your family receives a cancer diagnosis.”

“Ava has been doing well and her hair has started to grow back. She is still on chemo until June next year.”

By Gizell van Wyk

 

It was a gathering of shiny metal and roaring engines last Sunday at the 8th Forbes Ben Hall Motor Show.

Approximately 4,000 automobile fans fawned over the sea of more than 300 entered vehicles including bikes, cars, vintage machinery, trucks and tractors on display. The event took place at South Circle Drive and attracted 165 official entries for a category trophy.

President of the Forbes Motor Show Ian (Bart) Bartholomaeus said: “This year’s show has exceeded all expectations. It’s been an unbelievable day with great weather that reflects on the number of people that’s come out today.”

Entrants came from as far as Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.

Forbes locals did not let out-of-town competitors take all the glory with Forbes Public School student Clare Little, winning the trophy in the Best Street Rod category with her junior dragster vehicle.

At just 12, Clare is ranked fifth and top girl junior dragster in NSW (8 to 16 years old). She started racing when she was only eight years old. These days racing at the Sydney Dragway, with a special licence and all the necessary safety equipment, Clare can get up to speeds of over 120km/h.

Other Forbes locals doing well at the show were Willy Webb with his Custom Pro Street Harley winning the award for Best Custom Bike and Graeme Coady’s Kawasaki Z1 900 Quacka winning the People’s Choice Bike award. J&K Glennan Transport, M&A Bray Transport and R McClintock & Co were trophy winners in the truck categories.

By Gizell van Wyk

It was a night of glitz and glam as guests strolled onto the red carpet at this year’s Boscars Gala Dinner held last Friday at the Forbes Services Memorial Club. Attendees were welcomed at the Forbes Business Awards with tasteful decor of The Godfather theme making this annual event even more thrilling.

The evening’s Master of Ceremonies, Chris Baker, entertained guests with his quick wit and sharp humour as nominee finalists awaited in eager anticipation for the award winners to be announced.

Loud applause and cheers erupted when Forbes Family Dentists was announced as the Business of the Year winner sponsored by Evolution Mining. This award is given to the most outstanding business which has demonstrated excellence across all areas of operation. They were also the winner of the Excellence in Small Business (under 20 employees) award. On acceptance of the award, Dental Assistant at Forbes Family Dentists Tabitha Blake said, “This means the world to all of us. We all really love our jobs and we all love all of our patients.”

Among the guests were Forbes Business Chamber President Brett Rout, guest speaker Neil Druce from the Junee Licorice Factory, Minister for Small Business Michael McCormack gave the  introduction to awards, MP for Orange Philip Donato and Forbes Mayor Graeme Miller.

A number of the award categories are aligned with the NSW Business Chamber. Winners of those categories can progress directly as finalists to the 2018 Western NSW Business Awards.

A full list of the award winners and photographs can be seen on The Forbes Phoenix Facebook page.

Unlike last year, the skies were clear at the Forbes Show on Friday and Saturday, allowing enthusiastic show-goers to be entertained with many attractions, competitions and events. From magic shows and shearing competitions to rides for thrill-seekers.

There was something for everyone to enjoy.

Jan Facey, Show Secretary, said that the committee were pleased with a good show all over. “The Show was a big improvement on last year. We were lucky with the weather and had a good crowd on both Friday and Saturday.”

“It was good to see the showjumping back again this year. The pavilion entries were also up and the cattle pavilion was well attended.” “The dog show section ran very well and the dairy section’s numbers were up,” said Jan.

By Gizell van Wyk

 

The wine flowed at the Forbes Youth and Community Centre last Friday, as fans strolled around the room in search of the perfect glass of vino.

The NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show public tasting featured an outstanding selection of the award-winning wines as well as the other wines entered into the show for the crowd to enjoy, along with finger foods.

President of the Wine Show Mark Watts said: “We get around 120 people on the public tasting night and they get to try really good boutique type wines. Some of the wines here have won awards overseas.”

The Wine Show awarded 16 trophies, 25 gold medals, 56 silver medals and 142 bronze medals in this year’s competition. In an unprecedented event, Rosé has been the second biggest class this year and won the best boutique wine at the show.

The show still has three members on the committee that started it 26 years ago. The show was started in what is not a traditional wine making region.

“According to our head judge the show is held in Forbes because of passionate people that want to put on a wine show, it’s neutral ground and we have no problem getting top quality judges,” said Mark.

The show also introduced a new electronic system this year by receiving all entries online and the judging was done using iPads. This saved a lot of time by eliminating transposing of numbers and expediting the result calculation.

By Gizell van Wyk

Aussie Biscuits staff were very pleased to have Member for Riverina and Minister for Small Business, Michael McCormack, as a guest at their factory in Forbes on Wednesday. Michael’s visit comes after the factory was given a $210,000 Federal Government grant through the Building Better Regions fund.

Attendees went on a very informative tour of the factory led by Employee and Production Supervisor, Natisha Humphries. During which Michael spoke with employees and asked them about their daily processes at work and about the products.

The factory, located at 98 Rankin Street, was established in 1976 as a business enterprise of House With No Steps to offer employment opportunity to people with disabilities.

“This grant will enable them to not just refurbish but also expand. It’s going to provide more opportunities to this business but also for the wider Forbes community.

The funding will change the lives of so many people in such a positive way,” Michael said.

Biscuits are made using only Australian products. The factory produces 39,000 biscuits a day and currently employs nearly 30 people with a disability.

Funding will go towards relocating the factory to the new premises in November providing much needed additional space. The tour was finished off with a biscuit tasting by Michael and Aussie Biscuits’ longest serving employee, Kevin Green. Kevin has been working for the business for 42 years.

By Gizell van Wyk

Cold weather conditions could not keep more than 600 children, families, presenters and entertainers from attending the annual Forbes Reading Downtown Day held last Friday. This year’s theme was “Escape to Everywhere” and took place at Victoria Park, the Town Hall and Forbes Library.

Children and staff dressed up to the theme as their favourite book character to promote the importance of reading.

Forbes Birth to Kinder committee President Dell Welsh, thanks all for participating in the day. “Shared language, whether through books, rhymes or singing plays a vital role in preparing children for school,”Dell says. “We hope everyone who attended Reading Downtown Day has had fun sharing and learning”.

Stories, songs and rhymes escaped all over Victoria Park with the help of Jayne Whitworth’s “Beary fun time”, Kristen’s Dance Studio and Beth Osborne’s “Where is the Green Sheep?” Maddie Collits and Rosie Yapp led an enthusiastic team from Forbes North to present “Piranhas don’t eat bananas”. CentaCare’s Book Nook and Central West Libraries entertained the masses.

Gail Smith from Musica Arioso introduced all to the music and rhythm available for little people. “What a day! I was given the privilege of being the first person the children saw as well as the last. It was a long day, but oh so much fun –can’t wait for next year,” said Gail.

By Maree Yapp

Forbes High School proudly welcomed Local MP for Orange, Philip Donato, to its Wellness Hub on Tuesday.

The school was keen to show off the difference the hub has made in the students’ and community’s lives since its official launch in March this year with over 400 appointments made per term.

“I’m super impressed. It’s a one-stop shop for the wellness and wellbeing of students and their family members,” said Philip. “There’s a whole array of support agencies and services looking after their best interests.

“Students these days have particular challenges, whether it’s home life, anxiety over their HSC or all sorts of issues. It is fantastic that they’re able to go to a safe place in the school discreetly, and be able to get expert professional advice at the drop of a hat. Full credit to Forbes High School for getting this initiative off the ground.”

Referring to the high number of appointments made per term, Head Teacher of Wellbeing Justin Hoy said it was fantastic to see such a strong self-referral by students. “We’re making a real difference.”

The hub offers support and counselling to families five days a week. Domestic violence and nutrition are among the complex issues that students can receive support in. Aboriginal Education Officer for the school, Barry Merritt is hoping this initiative will help more students stay in school.

Philip said the Wellness Hub was a wonderful initiative to support education holistically.

By Gizell van Wyk

 

Local Wiradjuri Ranger Peter White will spend 16 days kayaking on the Murray River as part of the Australian Horizon Foundation’s 2017 Mighty Murray River Kayak Trek, starting on 2 September.

Peter will be supporting Kev Cook from South Australia who is undertaking the 2500 kilometre trek from Bringenbrong Bridge to Gulwa, South Australia, to raise funds for and awareness of mental health in rural communities.

Peter has been given permission by the Wiradjuri Elders to carry a Message  Stick during his journey.

“I’ve seen the Wiradjuri elders, who are my elders, about giving Kev a Message Stick to take down, which will be the first time it’s ever been down the length of the Murray.

“I’ll carry that for the first leg of the trek to Echuca, where I’ll hand it over to Kev to carry to the end. I’ll do the last four or five days of the trek with him, too, and be in Gulwa to receive the Message Stick again, and I’ll return it to the elders as a keepsake,” said Peter.

Peter needs to raise $2,000 to help him along and is hoping for support from local people and businesses.

He is putting up his car panels for business signage for 12 months. The sides of Peter’s kayak also available as signage space.

If you can help, please call Peter on 0477 639 640, or visit his Go Fund Me page at https://www.gofundme.com/2017mightymurrayrivetkayaktrek