General Interest Archives - Page 112 of 317

CMA Addresses Skills Shortage

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

At the CMA meeting were (L-R) Scott Ferguson, Mayor Blayney Shire Council; Kylie Thomas, Mayor of Kyogle Council; Doug Hawkins OAM, Mayor Liverpool Plains Council and Ken Keith OAM, Mayor of Parkes Shire.

The Country Mayors Association (CMA) hosted a Skills Forum recently in response to the dire situation of attracting skilled staff to councils and communities.

“Covid has highlighted Australia’s dependence on skilled migration and the need to refocus on training and education,” said Mayor of Parkes Cr Ken Keith OAM and Chair of the CMA. “We have seen a decline, particularly in regional towns, in the delivery of courses, particularly face-to-face, by TAFE and private providers.

“Course enrolments have decreased significantly by 12.7% from 2016-2021 and more importantly, only 29% of people enrolled completed their courses in 2021. One of the main issues is the lack of apprenticeships and traineeships in rural towns,” said Mayor Keith.

The forum was addressed by the National Commissioner for Rural Education Fiona Nash, as well as the director of policy for the McKell Institute, Edward Cavanagh, CEO of Parkes CUC Cr Jacob Cass, Cr Rick Firman OAM and CEO of Riverina Joint Organisation, and Julie Briggs, who outlined the Riverina’s skills shortage project.

A round table discussion seeking suggestions for positive change was held. Ideas included: specifically isolating data from metro areas to compare to regional, rural and remote local government areas; to allow flexibility for reduced class sizes and course offerings and more support and incentives for businesses to train trainees within TAFE’s community service obligation; to encourage state government to train their own trainees and apprentices rather than taking from local government and the private sector; to advocate for the aged workforce to return to work and provide training and mentoring; that the CMA membership support the McKell Institute and its endeavours to increase skills and retain skills in country NSW; and to engage with Minister Henskens and his advisors to discuss problems facing regional and rural NSW.

Waste Not…

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

IMAGE CREDIT: https://www.sheridan.com.au/the-sheridan-recycling-program

Food waste releases greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide when it is taken to the tip and buried in landfill. To reduce these nasty gases from polluting the fresh air in Forbes, only buy the food you need to avoid any wastage. If you do have excess food, you can donate it to Havannah House if it is not out-of-date. Otherwise, compost the food in the green lid FOGO bin.

Textiles cannot be recycled in the yellow lid bin, but there are other ways of ensuring it does not end up in landfill.

Give your linen a new life via the Sheridan recycling program www.sheridan.com.au/the-sheridan-recycling-program. Drop off washed sheets, quilt covers and towels in-store and you will receive a 5% discount off your next purchase. The closest store to Forbes is in Orange. Alternatively, you can donate your linen to op shops.

Melbourne Cup Comes To Forbes

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

If you want your photo with Australia’s most famous trophy, make sure to be at the Forbes Town Hall on 19th September. (Photo: vrc.com.au)

An amazing opportunity awaits all horse racing enthusiasts in Forbes in just over two weeks’ time.

The Lexus Melbourne Cup Tour is celebrating its 20th year of touring Australia and the world and it is coming to Forbes on 19th September!

The visit to Forbes is even more special as the gold for this year’s Melbourne Cup comes from Evolution’s Cowal Mine about 100km from Forbes.

Since the tour’s inception in 2003, the three-handled Cup has travelled over 760,000 kilometres, visiting more than 560 destinations, engaging with tens of thousands of people and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for local fundraising initiatives.

The Forbes community is invited to attend the event in full Melbourne Cup finery if you wish for an opportunity to not only see and touch the trophy, but also have your photo taken with the Melbourne Cup.

There will also be some local industry celebrities talking about their experiences in their racing lives, including female jockey Cat Newcombe and the famous race caller Col Hodges.

The Making of the Melbourne Cup video will be screened and all attendees will receive a food voucher to purchase a free lunch from local food vans located in Harold Street.

It sure promises to be a bit of fun on a Monday morning. All you need to do is let the organisers know that you will be there for catering purposes. RSVP to Jolene Jones at Jolene.Jones@forbes.nsw.gov.au by Monday, 13th September.

This is an opportunity to wear your fascinator twice this year!

Time To Create A Christmas Tree

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The options are endless to create a Christmas tree. This is a previous entry by Forbes North Public School.

Great news for the Christmas lovers is that the time has come to start making plans for this year’s celebrations and Rotary Ipomoea is leading the ‘charge’.

Rotary Ipomoea members are looking forward to holding its 10th Christmas Tree Festival after a two-year COVID break.

“We would like to involve as many families, groups, organisations and schools as possible in this year’s event,” said Sue-anne Nixon of the Rotary club.

She said it was a good time to start planning and making your masterpieces, adding that Jemalong Residential Village had already started working on theirs! The aim is to equal or better the 124 entries received in 2019 as it is a lovely way to celebrate the beginning of the Christmas season.

Exhibits need to be delivered to the Forbes Town Hall on Friday, 2nd December, and the exhibition will be open to the public on the same day from 1pm -5pm, all day on Saturday, 3rd December and from 9am to 2pm on Sunday, 4th December.

“We have no size restrictions or limits on materials used. We love all the amazing ideas people have when making a tree or nativity. Big or small we love them all.”

GP Surgical Clinic Re-Opens

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

A rural generalist surgical clinic has been re-established at Parkes Hospital and is run by Dr Angus Brown.

A rural generalist surgical clinic has been re-established at Parkes Hospital that will improve access to high quality surgical care for communities across the Lachlan Valley.

The reinvigorated clinic is being delivered by Dr Angus Brown, a rural generalist with advanced skills in general surgery, endoscopy and emergency medicine, and offers pre and post-operative care for a range of procedures.

“Through the rural generalist surgical clinic, Dr Brown provides public consultations throughout the surgical process to help patients understand their procedures and coordinate any care required afterward too,” said Professor Damien Limberger, Acting Clinical Director of Lachlan Health Service.

“Dr Brown has been providing services to the region for over a year. The reinvigorated clinic continues the work of local GP surgeon Dr Stephen Morris following his retirement.”

Rach Ellem, Health Service Manager of Lachlan Health Service, which includes Parkes and Forbes Hospitals, said the clinic currently operated only at Parkes Hospital on Tuesdays once per month, but there was scope to expand.

Contact the rural generalist surgical clinic on 68612455 or WNSWLHD-Admissions@health.nsw.gov.au

‘Avarice’ A Thrill For Forbes Scriptwriters

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

MOVIE MAKERS… Dane Millerd and Adam Enslow have collaborated before on other projects. Avarice has been described in the media as ‘smartly put together and entertaining, a rock-solid homegrown thriller’.

It took more than four years to see the fruits of their labour, but last week two Forbes locals celebrated when the world premiere of a new thriller was screened in Perth, Western Australia.

‘Avarice’ is an action-packed thriller about a home invasion and it all started when Adam Enslow and Dane Millerd met director John V Soto in 2018.

“Adam and I were introduced to John through a mutual film colleague from the US. John had read our horror home invasion script ‘Are You Scared Yet?’ and wanted to chat with us. From there the action thriller Avarice was born and Andrew Slattery was brought in to help us with the script,” said Dane.

Luckily ScreenWest and Epic Pictures believed in the movie and it was made for over $2 million and filmed in Perth.

“It was a great process that Dane and I went through and to see it being made into a movie is pretty awesome,” said Adam.

Dane is just as excited about the movie saying the long wait of four years made it all worthwhile. “There are not short cuts in this business.”

Starring Gillian Alexy and Luke Ford the story of Avarice follows a woman (Alexy), who is an Olympian lever archer, as she attempts to rescue her investment banker husband (Ford) after he is abducted during a vicious home invasion.

As a screenwriter you have to put up with a lot of changes and Dane and Adam were involved in the five rewrites for Avarice. As a point of reference, Dane said Star Wars: A new Hope had 27 rewrites.

“We created the plot and the initial storyline and was able to put our stamp on it,” said Adam.

The writing pair have another thriller on their slate that has been delayed due to COVID, called ‘Death’s Waiting Room’, plus some other projects in their infancy.

They have not seen the movie yet, but can’t wait for the Sydney premiere in mid-September. It will then be released in theatres, streamed online and available on DVD/Blu Ray and video on demand.

Gillian Alexy, who also starred in The Americans, with director John V Soto at the premiere of Avarice in WA last week.

Locally Made Is The New Souvenir

September 2, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Forbes Visitor Information Centre is seeking expressions of interest from creatives to expand its range to more locally produced products when it moves to the new centre on the Newell Highway at the end of the year.

If you are creative and would like a wider audience for your products, the Forbes Shire Council is seeking expressions of interest for locally made goods.

The former Lachlan Vintage Village is being converted into the new Forbes Visitor Information Centre that will open towards the end of the year and will be an outlet and showcase for locally produced craft and goods.

Whether your interests are in baking, preserves, crafts, sewing, textiles, design, drawing, painting, woodwork, leather work, cosmetics, fragrances and the like, this might be the opportunity you’ve been waiting for.

Locally made is said to be the new souvenir, and with an average of 9,000 visitors per year before COVID, the new Visitor Information Centre’s prime location on the Newell Highway is set to attract loads more people. The new centre will also have a restaurant/coffee shop that will entice more people to make a stop.

The centre currently sells a variety of items with the Amazing brand, but would like to expand its range to include more locally made products from Forbes and the Central West.

Local suppliers must have capacity to provide and deliver adequate stock and hold appropriate insurances licences, certificates and ABN. Expression of Interest Forms are available at Council or at https://www.forbes.nsw.gov.au/council/tenders-public-exhibitions-and-expressions-of-interest/tenders-quotations-expressions-of-interest/tenders-and-eoi and must be submitted by 5pm on Friday, 16th September. For further information contact Council’s Governance Officer, Rebecca Kennedy by email forbes@forbes.nsw.gov.au or call 6850 2300.

Training Boost For Local Emergency Services

August 26, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

One of the scenarios volunteers worked on at the Careflight trauma care workshop in Parkes on Sunday. (Photo: CareFlight)

Emergency services in Parkes and Forbes received a boost on Sunday when CareFlight hosted a unique community education workshop for 14 SES and RFS volunteers.

CareFlight’s trauma care workshops are one of a kind and are provided at no cost to participants. Lifelike medical manikins, simulated accident scenarios and specially-designed simulation equipment aid in the recreation of a high-pressure, hands-on environment, ensuring the training is realistic, applicable and improves participants’ ability to connect learning to real-world situations.

In addition to lifesaving skills, personnel are armed with essential leadership, teamwork, situational awareness and communication skills that will help them respond to traumas.

Head of education and training at CareFlight, Colin Brown said it was the third time in 11 years that CareFlight had hosted the workshop in Parkes. “It is one of our favourite workshops and we love doing it in country towns like Parkes.”

He said the feedback from the participants was fantastic. “Talking to them afterwards they said it was really helpful, especially as they were often the first people to arrive at the scene of an accident or emergency.”

“Some of the practical aspects they learned were how to manage patients in a particular situation, how to triage patients and what to do when they have more patients than resources.”

CareFlight was able to bring the training to Parkes thanks to government grants, and is part of CareFlight’s grassroots initiative to create a resilient and healthier community. In collaboration with local groups and their members, CareFlight is building confidence in the emergency response abilities of locals in the community.

CareFlight’s Community Education workshops are coordinated by experienced doctors, paramedics and nurses who train first responders.

St Laurence’s Wins Prestigious Cup

August 26, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The winning team are at the back (L-R) Team Manager Kathryn Sweeny, Darwin Nicholls, Billy Smith, Oscar Cronin, Charlie Howe, Mitchell Stocks and Coach Tony Wallace. In front are Lennox Hurford, Beau Wheeldon, Liam McCloud, Jaggar King, Archie Keane, Matthew Wallace and Hugh Hope-Hodgetts.

The prestigious Chris Gangemi Cup came home to Forbes for the very first time after St Laurence’s won the 2022 NSWCPS 10 a side rugby finals in Sydney last week.

The Forbes team went undefeated all day at the Catholic Schools NSW competition held at St Joseph’s College, Hunters Hill.

St Laurence’s was one of eight teams and represented the Wilcannia-Forbes Diocese. They played five games on the day beating Kempsey (31-14), Terrigal (25-0) and Inverell (31-5) in the pool games. In the semi-final they beat Lewisham 24-10 and played Kempsey again in the final, which they won 10-5.

The victory was very special for the Year5 and 6 boys and they were extremely proud to bring the prestigious shield back to Forbes. “They were elated,” said their team manager Catherine Sweeney.

“They played well all day and showed great sportsmanship. Their coach for the day Tony Wallace was full of praise for their team playing.”

Katherine said it was a wonderful day for all the parents, teachers and spectators witnessing some great rugby.

Upon their return the whole school rejoiced in their win that made everyone incredibly proud.

Darwin Nicholls runs with the ball in the first pool game against Kempsey at the 2022 NSWCPS 10 a side rugby finals in Sydney.

Thurlstone For Quality

August 26, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Thurlstone Poll Dorset and White Suffolk Studs can stand up to its legitimate claim of one of the nation’s top breeders. It has behind it a swag of awards and prizes, including Most Successful Exhibitor at the Sydney and Melbourne Royal shows, and grand champion prizes from shows throughout the Central West.

The stock forms the base of the reputable studs, originally established as a Dorset stud at Cookamidgera over 75 years ago by Ron Hawken. Son, Richard, has expanded on the reputation of excellence with diversification to include Poll Dorset and White Suffolk rams. His strong interest in the industry started during his 1960s primary school years. “An indication of the success of the stud is the fact that it is free of diseases,” said Richard. “Accredited brucellosis free, Ovine Johnne’s MN3 status and footrot free.”

Poll Dorsets are one of the most popular prime lamb sires in Australia, with about 50% of lambs marketed as Dorset crossed. Another open-faced, clean legged meat sheep popular with buyers is the White Suffolk.

For more information, contact Richard Hawken on 6866 1214.

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