Forbes olive growers Clare and Greg Gibson of Gibson’s Grove have taken out the top gong at the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show this year.

They were awarded the Gold and Champion prize for their Manzanilla olives and they couldn’t be more thrilled about winning the 2015 competition after they took the top prize 5 years ago. “It’s not the first time we’ve entered. We actually enter every year and always get bronze, silver or gold. This is our second winning Championship,” said Greg Gibson.

The Gibson family came to their 300 acre property in 1994 and after stocking it with cattle they decided to diversify their farming interests by integrating an olive grove on their property. They planted 2,000 trees between 1996 and
2002 with equal numbers of Manzanillo, Paragon and Carraggiolla. At Gibson’s Grove they produce a range of
olive oils and table olives which are handpicked. They bottle, cask and tin their oil on the property and cover an extensive boutique market. Their olives have been sold all over the country including the Melbourne
markets, in Business and First Class on Qantas and Singapore Airlines and major hotels in the Blue Mountains.

“It’s very good because it shows that our 2010 effort wasn’t a fluke and we are consistent with our product,” said Greg. The Sydney Royal Fine Food Show is made up of ten competitions held in summer and spring and showcases the best the country has to offer in a wide range of produce.

The Forbes Show was blessed with perfect weather last weekend with many people coming through the gates to enjoy the attractions, competitions and events. The Forbes Show Society sold out of the pre-sale ride tickets they had available in the lead up to the show and they received quite a new number of members this year.

“We were very lucky weather wise,” said Jan Facey who is finishing up her final official year as the Show Secretary. “All the pavilion entries were wonderful, the rides people were very happy with the crowd and overall it was a very good show. There were no major incidents and everything went well.” “The highlight for me was working with the
handicraft stewards who helped make my job easier when I had so much to do,” said Jan. “I’m looking forward to next year when I can actually get out and enjoy the show and see things for myself.”

The dog high jump events and hay stacking events both proved to be very popular again this year, and the beef cattle numbers were up. The centre ring was full of horses all weekend with show jumping and hacks competitions.

The winner of the Forbes Showgirl (18-24) competition was Stacey Clarke, who said “it has been a great experience to be part of this and has given me a greater knowledge and understanding of the rural community, and the ability to communicate with the Forbes community.”

Following on from the Council Meeting on Tuesday 1st September, an extraordinary meeting was held on Monday 7th September at 8.30 am. At this meeting, the names of the two Councillors who were tied in the earlier vote were entered into a hat and Brian Steffen, GM, Forbes Council pulled a name from the hat, with Cr. Phyllis Miller’s name
being read out.

Prior to this happening, so that everybody present could be well informed, Cr. Graeme Miller, the other Councillor whose name was in the hat, queried the reasons behind the GM’s decision to go down this course of action.

His request was based on considerable discussion within the town about what was right and what was wrong with the process and to clarify the reasons behind the decisions made. Brian Steffen, General Manager and Returning Officer for the Mayoral Election said, “Following on from legal advice from Marsdens Lawyers, Corporate Solicitors
for the Council, the Local Government Association of NSW and the NSW Office of Local Government, there were three options available to the Council:

1. The Council could leave the decision with the vote of the lst September
2. The Council could hold another election
3. The Council could put the names in a hat and draw out the new mayor’s name.

All options were advised could be open to legal challenges, and the advice from the Lawyers was that the first two options would survive a challenge whereas with the 3rd option it would be highly unlikely that a challenge would be successful.”

Brian Steffen said, “He had to ensure that the correct procedures were undertaken at all times and this is why he needed time to seek the best advice possible. The decision to draw a name out of the hat is not one made by the Returning Officer, however is a requirement of the Local Government Act 1993 and the Local Government Regulations of 2005. It states – where there are two candidates with the same number of votes, the announcement is done by a lot draw.”

Cr. Phyllis Miller said: “This has been an extremely stressful time and was one of the most difficult in her life over the past 20 years in local government.” She commented: “Let’s move forward as a team and do the job that
we have been elected to do by our constituents. We have nine Councillors working for the town of Forbes, with a range of skills and capabilities from not only our Councillors but also the staff at the Council.”

Cr. Graeme Miller, was elected Deputy Mayor, with the other two nominees withdrawing, in Graham Faulkner and Jeff Nicolson. Cr. Graeme Miller said that he looked forward to working with Phyllis and congratulated her on
her re-election as Mayor.

The 2015 Forbes Mayoral election had a controversial outcome on Tuesday night after a procedural issue at a special meeting that was held. The Forbes Shire Council are now awaiting the legal advice that has been sought to clarify
who will be the town’s Mayor. Until then, Cr Phyllis Miller will stay in the position. There were two nominations for the Mayor’s position; Cr Phyllis Miller and Cr Graeme Miller.

Each Councillor received four votes from their fellow councillors, with one vote declared informal when it could not be determined who that particular councillor was voting for. This call was made by returning officer General
Manager Brian Steffen, who gave his view that since there were two candidates with equal votes, the two names would be placed in a hat and the name drawn from the hat would be elected as Mayor.

The Council was not in agreement with the proposition and resolved to hold another vote with the result of Cr Graeme Miller being elected as Mayor. Mr Steffen said the process of holding another vote was queried on the night of the special meeting, and the decision was made to leave the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions as they were until legal advice can be provided on the matter. The time-frame on the legal advice is unclear.

“I am still waiting for the legal advice and once received, all Councillors will be notified in the first instance to resolve a way forward,” Mr Steffen said.

Forbes siblings Jake and Paige Ellison have a lot to be excited about with the upcoming release of the debut album from their band, House of Tribes. Due to be released on October 2, the fulllength album is called “Paint it Red” after one of the tracks. “We thought it was one of the best songs on the album, so we named the album after it,” said Jake.

“We’ve been at it for nine months, recording here and there and now we’ve finally sent away to get the CDs.” While the brother-sister duo are both big fans of music, their tastes and influences are poles apart – Paige likes indie/folk music and Jake likes heavy rock – which lends originality to their sound. The band formed almost 3 years ago when
Paige wanted to perform with her brother at the River Arts Festival.

Since then, House of Tribes has been getting gigs across the region including Forbes, Young, Orange, Grenfell and Condobolin. As underage teenagers, they have found it an interesting experience performing at licensed venues.
“We have had to tell the police so we have permission to be there,” said Jake. “It’s pretty crazy being a 17 year old and having all these drunk people coming up to you.” “We want to give a big thanks to our dad, Tim Ellison for helping with gigs and photos.”

The official album launch will be an all ages event so head over to Forbes Services Memorial Club to support local talent and youth culture.

 

 

The Forbes Show is fast approaching and plenty of people are getting excited. Opening for the 11th and 12th of September, the Forbes Show is a must-do event which is reaching a milestone in its 140th year. There is one person who is looking forward to the 2015 Show with a mixture of elation and sadness. This will be Janell Facey’s seventh and final year as the Forbes Show Secretary and although it is the end of an era, Jan has no regrets.

“When the Secretary position came up it really interested me,” Jan said. “I’ve honestly loved every minute of it!” “I’m very excited because I will finally get to share my grandson’s birthday. He is now four and I haven’t shared a birthday with him yet because he was born on Show weekend.” This year promises to be the best Show yet with a huge range of attractions and fun events on the schedule. Entries for Miss Showgirl are still open and this year there are over $1000 worth of fantastic prizes up for grabs.

From beef cattle to cage birds, machinery displays to tupperware, rides, show bags, show jumping, lolly ladies, harness racing, jousting tournaments and fireworks, there will be something for everyone to enjoy. Tickets can be purchased from the Show Office and families can buy sheets of $1 ride coupons for $25 with a value of $30 which can be used anywhere in Show Alley.

Every year, people across Australia unite on Jeans for Genes Day to raise money for genetic research for the Children’s Medical Research Institute by wearing their favourite jeans and craziest denim outfits.

To coincide with Jeans for Genes day which was held on Friday 7 August, The Forbes High School Student Representative Council (SRC) added a twist to the event. The School’s staff and students donned their favourite denim numbers for the day and enthusiastically donated a gold coin in support of the cause to aid research and
cures of childhood diseases.

As an extra incentive to raise money for the cause, students were entertained at lunchtime with a concert performed by some exceptionally talented local music students including Jake Ellison, Quinten Hapgood, Jacob Beard, Maddison Collits, Paige Ellison and Chelsea Turner.

Next, the attention turned to the crowd with a lip sync competition where ten brave individuals took to the stage. Their energetic and entertaining performances were well received by students and staff.

At the end of the performances, everyone had the opportunity to vote with their loose change, donating coins to their favourite performer. The act which attracted the most votes won the overall competition. Afterwards, the SRC put on a lunchtime special of chips and gravy which was very popular among students and sold out quickly. A variety of cakes and slices were also on sale.

Forbes High School said the event was a roaring success and a wonderful way to raise funds for a worthwhile charity.

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.