The Forbes Country Women’s Association (CWA) ladies are enjoying a very busy December. During this month the Forbes CWA, currently comprising of almost 28 members, have already prepared 24 Christmas themed toiletry bags which will be delivered to the Forbes Hospital very soon.

The toiletry bags supplied to the Forbes Hospital patients have been an ongoing project. Given along with the bags are beautifully knitted teddy bears and crochet butterflies, and for the maternity section, booties and beanies. These have specially been made by friends and members of the Forbes CWA.

The CWA ladies were inspired by the CWA Evening Group and also prepared some ‘Bags for Dignity’. These were delivered to the Bunnings ‘It’s in The Bag’ box last week.

Furthermore, the CWA have given donations to various community groups.

Havannah House received a donation that will go toward the refurbishment of a room. Captain Meaghan Gallager from The Salvation Army also gratefully received a donation from the organisation.

Robyn Kenny from the Forbes Town Band was extremely happy with a donation that  will go towards buying instruments for the band. Molly from the Sunshine Club was

happy to receive a cheque for such a worthy cause.

“Forbes CWA is always looking for new members. If you would like to come along and join us, our meetings are the first Friday of each month at 1:30pm at the CWA hall in Lachlan Street,” said Forbes CWA President Elaine Bright.

By Gizell van Wyk

Forbes High School (FHS) was successful in winning the CMOC-Northparkes Mine Domestic Violence Cup against Parkes High School 32-18 recently. The community came out in numbers on the day in full support of the event and to cheer the teams on.

Both sides displayed great sportsmanship and represented their schools with pride. The teams played with immense responsibility on the day and were extremely respectful towards the female referee, Shanika Harpur who did a marvellous job of refereeing the match.

Kristian Markwort was awarded with the Cole Medal and Michael Murphy was the recipient of the Oliver Carlisle Memorial Medal.

The event also showcased the talents of the FHS Girri Girri students who performed on the day with a welcome and cleansing ceremony.

Captain of the day, Charlie Staines accepted the Cup from CMOC-Northparkes Mine on behalf of Forbes High School.

The event looks set to be maintained on the school calendar for 2018.

Massive Sale At Tyreright Tyreright Forbes is your one-stop shop for all your tyre needs. With everything you need for your ute, 4WD, family car, trucks, farm equipment and more. Look out for the massive Christmas tyre sale catalogue with loads of specials. If you need a service before the Christmas holidays, give the shop a ring and book now!

Staff and clients of Currajong Disability Services (CDS) recently participated in International Day for People with Disability (IDPwD) at the Forbes Olympic pool with the who’s who of disability service providers from around the district, their staff, clients and families.

The event, which was run by Forbes Shire Council, included a BBQ, games and a variety of other fun activities that kept everyone entertained.

“From all reports, our participants had a great day,” said CDS Marketing and Communications rep Dane Millerd.

“We’d like to thank Forbes Shire Council for including us and staging such a successful day.

“It is important we recognise people with disabilities not just on days like today but that we support, encourage and celebrate them every day.”

IDPwD is a United Nations sanctioned day that is celebrated internationally.

It aims to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate the achievements and contributions of people with disability.

The Australian Government has been supporting IDPwD since 1996 and provides funds to promote and raise awareness of the day around Australia.

Each year the United Nations announces a theme to observe for IDPwD. The annual theme provides an overarching focus on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for people with disability.

This has been occurring since 1992 when the General Assembly proclaimed 3rd December as the International Day of Disabled Persons.

Contributed By Currajong

Forbes Shire Council is calling on all notfor- profit organisations, community and sporting groups to apply for Community Funding Program for the 2018-2019 financial year.

In alignment with the Forbes Shire Community Strategic Plan 2017 – 2027, all community funding will be allocated annually to fit in with the council’s budget cycle. Forbes Shire General Manager, Steve Loane encouraged all groups and organisations in the community to apply for donations, sponsorship, fees and charges waived, in-kind or new support, seed or growth funding.

“It is Council’s fiscal responsibility to ensure we are distributing all funding and support in an equitable manner to organisations and groups within our community.”

“This will enable as many community funding applications can be considered and budgeted for, generating funding security for organisations and meeting Council’s basic governance and accounting standards,” said Steve.

To assist groups with the new funding application, an information night is being held on Wednesday, 13th December at 6pm at the Town Hall. As well as providing valuable information, help to complete the applications, staff will share tips for running events in the shire and approval processes required.

Two CFP drop in sessions will also be held on Tuesday, 9th January and Wednesday, 14th February for Council staff to assist with applications.

Steve said the Community Funding Program application was a straight forward document which staff designed to be used as a planning tool by the organisations.

Community Funding Program application forms can be collected from Council and copies will be distributed at the information night. Forms can also be downloaded from the Forbes Shire Council website, by following the quicklink on the left hand side.

The Forbes Shire Grant Funding page on Facebook also has a link to download the application form.

Applications opened 1st December and will close on 28th February 2018.

A challenge to go plastic free has turned a Mum of two from Forbes from a passionate cling wrap user into a war on waste warrior.

“I used to put everything in cling wrap,” said Linda van Coller. When her son Marno’s teacher at Forbes Public School challenged the class to find alternatives for plastic for their school lunches after they had watched the ABC program War on Waste, Lindastarted searching on Google for ideas.

She discovered beeswax wraps are highly effective in keeping food fresh and safe as the wax is both anti-bacterial and preserves food better than any plastic can do. As a creative person there was nothing stopping her to start making her own wraps.

It did not take long for her wraps to be noticed at school, and she started getting orders. That lead to the birth of Earth Child, Linda’s small business she runs from home using 100% organic beeswax sourced locally from the Forbes region and 100% cotton. Linda’s daughter Melandri has become her right hand in the business. “It is so much fun doing it together over weekends,” said Linda.

She went public with her product at the Farmer’s Market in October, and sold out by 11am! “People just love it, because it is eco-friendly, reusable and cuts out the need for cling wrap completely. After about six months, I am happy to re-wax the sheets for clients, which means they never have to dispose of them.”

Linda warned it could take a bit getting used to them, but the secret is to simply use the warmth and pressure of your hands to mould your beeswax wrap around a bowl or snack.

These wraps make great Christmas presents, contact Linda on 0477 309 807 or find Earth Child on Facebook.

By Maggi Barnard