The Forbes Heated Pool has won a $550,000 Crown Land Grant to upgrade its facilities.

President of Forbes Heated Pool Inc Dianne Decker was excited to announce the news, “Yes, I am very excited to have this grant from the Crown Lands Department. Very exciting. We are now working to have an early meeting with the Council to get it underway.”

The grant will provide funds for a number of upgrades to the pool. “This will allow us to greatly improve our pool and allow us to improve the access to the pool for everyone. The money will allow us to upgrade the pool, put in a lift for access and to replace the steps leading into the pool with a ramp.”

Other upgrades being looked at are relining the pool, better ventilation, a new shell toilet and shower improvements.

The upgrades will be of great benefit to those throughout the area who use the pool. “We have over 700 people use the pool every month, users come from Parkes, Condo, West Wyalong, Peak Hill, Tichbourne, Caragabal and of course, Forbes. We have wanted to improve the pool and have pursued funding for a few years now,” said Dianne.

The devastating impact of the drought in rural Australia has prompted several initiatives to see the light over the last month in support of country town businesses and entrepreneurs.

Go Country for Christmas was launched last week to encourage fellow Australians to support rural and regional communities by purchasing their Christmas presents from a business based in the country.

A new social media campaign called #buyfromthebush has also been started. It targets people in the city, encouraging them to buy from regional areas in the lead up to Christmas.

Liberal Senator for NSW, Hollie Hughes, encouraged Australians to think outside the box when buying presents this Christmas at the launch of Go Country for Christmas. “We don’t need to buy from the usual suspects, just go to gocountryforchristmas. com.au and get the same thing you had in mind but buy it from a small regional business,” she said.

The website gives consumers an easy and accessible directory enabling them to buy Christmas presents from a registered country business.

Businesses that have an online presence and haven’t yet registered on the website, can go to www.gocountryforchristmas.com.au. Consumers and retailers taking part in Go Country for Christmas, can use the #gocountryforchristmas on your social media accounts to spread the word.

Grace Brennan, who started #buyfromthebush, never expected the campaign to take off the way it has. She told the ABC some business owners said they were already reaping the benefits, as the campaign has gathered more than 20,000 followers on Instagram.

Grace created #buyfromthebush to shine a light on drought-affected towns struggling to maintain their businesses. “Small businesses in the region depend on money coming from the agricultural industry, which is diminishing in the drought,” she said.

Grace saw this as an opportunity to draw in new customers using social media. “It’s incredible what you can do with Instagram and Facebook.”

Members of Rotary Ipomoea are inviting residents to make and decorate a Christmas tree for exhibition in their 9th community Christmas Tree Festival.

There are no restrictions on the theme of your tree, it could reflect your organisation, the festive season or have a Christmas message. For example, a school could choose classes to make paper decorations for a tree to reflect their school’s recent projects or messages for the people of Forbes at Christmas.

There are also no size or material restrictions. It’s requested a Christmas greeting is placed on or under your tree from your family or organisation.

The fee for entering a tree in the exhibition is $5, which is used by Rotary Ipomoea to support local Rotary Ipomoea projects. RSVP your intention to enter to Sue-Anne Nixon on 6851 5197 or at sueanne.nixon@hotmail.com or Helen Pitt on 6851 4930 or 0427 201 445. Trees will be accepted right up until the opening, but the requested time to deliver trees for exhibition is between 8am and noon on Friday, 6th December.

The exhibition begins 6.30pm on Friday, 6th December at the Forbes Town Hall with the official opening. Viewing will be open all weekend, with the exhibition open from 9am to 5pm on Saturday, 7th December and 9am to 3pm on Sunday, 8th December

On Tuesday, 15th October, 58 people attended the social afternoon at the Uniting Church Hall for the Forbes College for Seniors members.

The afternoon was emceed by Leo Currin, who introduced an entertaining and varied programme. Our first entertainment came from the Seniors Choir, led by choirmaster and pianist Anne Hodges offering the songs ‘Can you feel the love tonight?’ from the Lion King with beautiful harmonies, ‘North to Alaska’ and a very impressive ‘Hava Nagila’ both in Hebrew and English. The latter two songs set the atmosphere for a fun afternoon.

Bill Looney regaled participants with some Aussie poetry which was well received. Members Claudia Glasson and Barbara Thomas presented a hilarious skit on medical procedures, dressed appropriately in dressing gowns and hospital gear, followed by jokes from Barbara Thomas and Allison Lockhart, all of which were very well received by howls of laughter.

Trivia presented some head-scratching and brain-straining, as Anne Hodges had obviously searched the internet for the 15 most difficult questions she could find. The winning table with 12 correct answers were treated to prizes of Smarties (for smarties).

To round off the afternoon’s entertainment, Neil Gilmore presented a slide collage of photographs from the very many activities members had participated in throughout the year. The afternoon finished with a delicious afternoon tea.

Did you know that hayfever or allergic rhinitis can worsen your asthma symptoms. “Asthma affects 2.7 million Australians, and about 80 per cent of people with asthma also have hayfever,” said Pharmacist, Tracey Edwards. “Asthma and hayfever both involve airway inflammation and sensitivity throughout the respiratory system. This means it is important to treat the nose as well as the lungs to achieve good asthma management,” said Tracey.

Hayfever symptoms can include an itchy nose or eyes, runny nose, sneezing, blocked nose, coughing to clear the throat and feeling like you have a head cold. “You may also experience disturbed sleep, daytime tiredness and poor concentration.”

Research shows treating hayfever can reduce asthma-related emergency department visits and hospitalisations, and may help to improve your asthma symptoms.

“It is important to treat and manage both your asthma and hayfever well,” said Tracey. “Treating your hayfever symptoms can definitely help keep your asthma under control.”

Before starting hay fever treatment tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any other medical conditions, are pregnant, taking other medications, or experience nose bleeds. Asthma suffers should be particularly careful during thunderstorms occurring in October and November. “This is a particularly dangerous time for people with asthma and they should avoid being outside during thunderstorms,” said Tracey.

“Flannery’s and Life Pharmacies have a range of over the counter medications which can help relieve the symptoms of allergic rhinitis including nasal sprays, eye drops and antihistamines. Our Pharmacists and experienced team are available to offer information and advice.”

Forbes Shire Council Mayor Phyllis Miller presented cheques to both the Forbes Lions Club and Forbes Men’s Shed recently for their contribution to the inaugural Frost and Fire event earlier this year.

The Lions Club were an integral part of the success of the event, assisting with parking, manning fire buckets for safety and distributing the wish candles to Festival goers. “Ten Lions Club members were there on the night and we couldn’t have pulled off the successful night we had without their help,” says Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM.

“The unexpected attendance to the event called for more hands on deck to ensure everyone was safe around the amazing fire buckets and displays.”

The Men’s Shed was given the mammoth task of creating the bonfire Effigy, the focal point of the evening before the live entertainment kicked off. As this was to be an integral part of the event, it needed to be a show-stopper and it was. The Club built a metal structure to house the fuel to not only give the fire height, but longevity to burn for several hours while the entertainment performed.

“A big thanks goes to the Men’s Shed who were able to pull this off,” says Mayor Phyllis Miller. “The huge spectacle marked the night, the large size was definitely needed with the amount of visitors in attendance.”

Plans are beginning for Frost and Fire 2020 and it is looking to be bigger and better again. More food and drink vendors and a stellar line up of entertainment are planned.

The Forbes Riverside Community Garden has launched its 2019 annual competitions with winners to be announced at the annual Open Day.

Entry forms with all the competition details are now available on the Forbes Shire Council website, at the Community Garden in Reymond Street between the hours of 9am and 11am Monday to Saturday, or by emailing forbescommunitygarden@outlook.com. Entry is free and there are great prizes to be won.

There are two competitions, Best Vegetable Garden and Best Scarecrow. Best Vegetable Garden is a vegetable garden which is located within the 80 Kilometre speed zone of the town of Forbes and Forbes Shire villages. Entries close on Thursday, 8th November. Best Scarecrow is judged by popular vote on the morning of the Open Day which is 16th November. Entries close on Thursday, 14th November.

The winners of both competitions will be announced at the Community Garden Open Day at 2pm on Saturday, 16th November. Head down between 10am and 1.30pm to vote for the Best Scarecrow in each category as the winners are awarded by popular vote on the day.

There will be stalls with various products for sale, including plants and vegies from the community garden. Also available, for a small price, will be morning tea, cold drinks and a sausage sizzle.

Entrants in the vegetable competition will need to be home on a pre-arranged date and time to make their garden available for the judges to visit.

For further information, visit the Forbes Riverside Community Garden’s Facebook page, Forbes Shire Council website, email forbescommunitygarden@outlook.com or call Heather on 0409 029 529 before Friday, 1st November, or Pru on 0411 745 576 up to 15th November.