The Rotary Club of Forbes Impomea hosted its annual Christmas Tree Festival over the weekend with many people calling in to the Town Hall to peruse the wonderfully creative trees on display. Now in its 5th year the festival attracted 92 entries, a number that has been steadily increasing since the 50 they received in their first year.

Organisers of the event were pleased, once again, with the support of the community and were excited by the new entries they received this year. “There has been an increase in the number of families who submitted trees this year” Sueanne Nixon said which is a great contrast to the many regular businesses, schools and community groups that have supported the festival since the very first year.

News On Rankin, who have entered each year, were very enthusiastic again this year accepting the invitation to attend within the first 24 hours and were the first to set up their entry for the year. Sueanne made special mention of Forbes North Public School, who have always been strong supporters of the event, this year an entry was received from every class at the school as well as an entry from the school’s Principal, Steve McAlister. Every entry was
unique and shows great imagination.

Along with regular visitors to the event, many Vanfest visitors called in to take a look at the wonderful display. Many commented on what a great town Forbes is and that the Tree Festival and Christmas Markets were excellent adding something extra to the whole weekend and making their stay more enjoyable.

Rotary Club of Forbes Impomea meets on the 1st & 3rd Tuesday of each month at 7.00am for breakfast at the Plainsman Motel and welcome new members at every opportunity. The group raise valuable funds which support many local projects each year including:

An Agricultural cropping and cotton growing program for students at Forbes High School and Red Bend College, Can Assist, Havannah House, Salvation Army, St Vincents De Paul, Church in the School Yard, Awards for local school presentation assemblies, John Flynn Remote Medicine – support for trainee doctors in Forbes, Polio Plus as well as other local appeals. A special project they are currently working on is to raise funds to support a dollar for dollar grant to purchase and install seating around the new section of the walking track around our beautiful lake.

Organisers wanted to thank the local community for their continued support of the Christmas Tree Festival and in particular Forbes Shire Council for providing a wonderful venue to house this magnificent display.

International Day of People with Disabilities is held on December 3 each year and aims to promote an understanding of people with a disability and encourage support for their dignity, rights and well-being.

Forbes Shire Council and House With No Steps hosted an afternoon tea on the 3rd December at the Youth and Community Centre to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with a disability. It was also a chance to celebrate the achievements and contributions that they make within the community. House With No Steps is one of Australia’s leading providers of disability services, dedicated to ensuring people with disabilities have greater choice, control and freedom.

Forbes is lucky to be associated with this organisation and provides employment opportunities for people with disabilities with Aussie Biscuits, Home/Business Maintenance and in the Office located in Rankin Street. Around 40 people attended the afternoon tea event and enjoyed the delicious food which was catered for by Cassandra Tyack and provided by council before engaging in some activities.

The Schools as a Community Centre provided the ability sports kit for the afternoon which was put to good use with everyone enjoying the modified volleyball and other modified games.

Waiting times to see a doctor are improving in Forbes since the inception of the towns Medical Centre with doctor’s numbers doubling in the town over the past five years. The Forbes Medical Centre has evolved from being a “suburban general practice” to a sustainable large general practice that is attractive to graduate doctors.

The Forbes Medical Centre has evolved from being two small general practices in the town to a large teaching and academic general practice. Local Patient Neil Biddle visited the centre on the opening day five years ago and has been very impressed with the development of medical services in Forbes since,

“The new facility is great with practice nurses available and a lot more services,” Mr. Biddle said. “Plus the hospital is right across the road making everything very accessible.” Following surveys conducted in the early 2000’s, local GP’s identified the need to develop one large facility in order for Forbes to be more attractive for young doctors graduating from university. It was at the same time Forbes was down to five permanent doctors.

The primary purpose in establishing the Forbes Medical Centre was to meet these wishes of young doctors and in doing so make Forbes an attractive destination. “An unexpected bonus is that with the critical mass of Doctors, the Forbes Medical Centre has also been able to attract visiting specialists, multiple allied health professionals, university funding, enhanced administration plus other services,” Forbes Medical Centre Practice Manager Beverlie Gardiner said. “The challenge for the centre now is to maintain the small doctor’s surgery feel for patients despite being a large medical centre.”

The Forbes Medical Centre now employs 28 staff including Doctors, Nurses, Reception and Administration Staff as well as engages a number of contractors including bookkeeping and IT services, Nurse Practitioner, Dietitian, cleaners and handyman services.

Will you be alone this Christmas? Are you or someone you know struggling with financial, relationship or other problems this holiday season? A fantastic community tradition is back this year and the whole town is invited.
Havannah House are once again hosting the community Christmas Day Lunch at the Forbes Town Hall. An invitation is extended to one and all and there will be presents for both young and old, plenty of food and fun for everyone.

Havannah House is a local community organisation that provides emergency accommodation as well as emergency food hampers to those in need. Many clients are referred to the service by the Department of Housing, Department of Community Services and the Women’s refuge. Clients also have access to counselling and budgeting services.

Previously Havannah House was affiliated with Anglicare but is now controlled by a body corporate after the Combined Churches Association purchased the building. This community facility is not government funded and relies on fundraising and revenue raised through its two businesses, greeting card verse printing and screen
printing, to sustain the valuable support it provides. The centre holds two to three garage sales per year which provides a major part of the funds necessary to maintain the property. Donations of good quality second items are always being sort and Havannah House would be grateful for any assistance.

The services four managers, Geoff and Caroline Wells along with David and Julie Virtue, live on site and are able to provide support and referrals to meet the needs of their clients. The majority of the food for the Christmas luncheon is donated or purchased through donations of money received. Based on previous years organisers will be catering for 150 guests. The event is well supported by the community and Forbes Shire Council provide the venue free of charge. Doors open at 12noon with lunch being served at 12.30pm. Bookings are not essential but encouraged to assist with catering. Volunteers are also welcome to assist on the day so please give Caroline, Julie, Geoff or David a call on 6852 1366 for further information on the lunch or other activities they hold throughout the year.

2014 National Barbeque Champions and local ladies, Veronica Rebellato and Ann Tildsley may not have made the finals of the new reality show, Aussie Barbeque Heroes, but they have done themselves, their families and their community proud with their efforts on the Seven Network television series.

The National Barbeque Championships president, Chris Roylance, was approached by the network to submit teams to audition for the show earlier in the year. A number of teams were submitted and the process began in May and continued until filming commenced in September. Veronica and Ann cooked every day for three months, experimenting with different flavours and cooking techniques. Every stage was documented with photos and recipes which was all part of the competition process.

Finally, nine teams of two were chosen and accepted the challenge to test their cooking skills against one another with contestants hailing from all around Australia. Three teams compete each week in the heats and every dish they produce must possess the three elements the judges, Robert Murphy, Jess Pryles and Ben O’Donoghue are looking
for; flavour, presentation and technique.

The girls featured in the first episode and met the two timed challenges, Prawn Supremacy and Gang-Lamb Style, head on. The ladies had to prepare and cook the two different types of meat and present them to the three judges complete with a side. They had a full pantry of fresh and packaged ingredients to choose from and Veronica and Ann were impressed with the quality of the ingredients.

Although a little disappointed that they did not make it through the first heat, the ladies have really enjoyed the experience and have made some great friendships with the other contestants.

Aussie Barbeque Heroes will continue on Wednesday night on PRIME7 commencing at 7pm and viewers can follow the progress of the teams and the eventual naming of the 2015 True Barbeque Hero.

Forbes Jockey Club will receive a major boost in prize money with new legislation set to match NSW’s wagering tax rates with Victoria’s. Every TAB race at Forbes Jockey Club will have the minimum prize money offered
per race increased by $5,000 to $20,000 from July 2016.

“Any funding increase directed towards country racing is good,” said Forbes Jockey Club President Blake Nicholson. “Hopefully it will encourage more trainers and people into racehorse ownership which will boost the quality of racing in country New South Wales.” “Infrastructure at the tracks has been worn down over the last couple of decades and it is fantastic to see money going towards that.”

Member for Orange Andrew Gee said this will mean more jobs, bigger crowds and help grow the local racing industry. “Racing is an important part of the Forbes community – everyone loves to get down to the Jockey Club and enjoy a day out at the races,” Mr Gee said. “Local trainers, jockeys, owners and punters have been crying out for increased prize money to invigorate the industry and the benefits will flow to the whole community.”

Deputy Premier and Minister for Racing Troy Grant said the increased prize money at Forbes Jockey Club is part of a $21 million state-wide package to boost country and provincial racing. “In addition to the increased prize money
at regular TAB meetings, approximately 40 Country Showcase meetings will be held at regular intervals across regional NSW offering a minimum $30,000 in prize money,” Mr Grant said. “Racing NSW has recognised the huge
contribution that regional NSW makes to the racing industry so I would like to thank Chairman John Messara, the Board and CEO Peter V’landys for delivering this much needed boost to country racing.” Legislation to match NSW wagering tax rates with Victoria passed NSW Parliament last week, delivering $235 million extra to the industry over five years and an extra $90 million for each year after that.

November is over, the month where men across the nation let their facial hair grow to raise awareness in the community about men’s health issues. Darrin Kopp has been a keen supporter of Movember for the past eight years and is certain to continue his support well into the future.

Darrin is the local representative for Jim’s Mowing, and all members of the franchise are encouraged to support Movember. Each year, the company donates money from every job completed in November to the Movember foundation in support of Men’s Health Issues. Movember supports projects relating to prostate cancer, testicular
cancer, mental health and physical inactivity.

Darrin has made a particularly strong effort to encourage others to increase the amount of physical activity they do by leading by example. Darrin and his wife created their own Movember page, where they documented their exercise programs, including fit boxing three times a week and Boot Camp twice a week. Darrin also grew a moustache for
the month, which he shaved off on Monday night.

Along with Movember, Jim’s Mowing franchisees also support Red Nose Day, which supports Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Both of these fundraising events are very worthy causes and it is great to see companies take the initiative to support them.

Movember began in 2003, starting with thirty men and expanding over twelve years to include millions of participants. The organisation seeks to make a global contribution to men living happier, healthier, longer lives. Since the organisation’s beginning, the Movember campaign has raised more than $685 million and has funded over 1000 projects focusing on men’s health issues. “The ambition underpins everything we do. It is the driving force behind our campaigns, funding strategy and vision for the future.”

Good times, good friends and great feelings is what Forbes Services Memorial Club (FSMC) is all about, offering members and visitors alike a relaxing, family friendly atmosphere. Forbes Services Memorial Club offers a range of activities for all ages to enjoy from the Tin Lids with our fully supervised Smile, Laugh and Play kids’ room. The kids’ room is open every Friday and Saturday night from 6pm.

The Club also offer free live entertainment every Saturday night, plus regular raffles and members’ draws among other great promotions and offers. Bistro 41 On Templar is the perfect place for lunch or dinner. Open 7 days a week,
Bistro 41 offers a comprehensive menu and specialty nights, such as the Sunday $15 Roast Night, Monday $13 T-Bone Steak Night, Tuesday $13 Schnitzel Night and Wednesday $10 Fish ‘N’ Chip Night.

Alternatively the Club Café is available, open 7 days a week from 10am. They offer great coffee which is supplied by local bean roaster Cannibal Coffee as well as cakes, slices, sandwiches, pizza and the Counter Lunch Menu.

With Christmas now only a few weeks away, Forbes Services Memorial Club is hosting the Hammiest Ham Raffles with the next 50 ham raffle to be held on Saturday 5 December, followed by the 100 ham raffle on Sunday 20 December. Forbes Services Memorial Club will also be hosting a massive toys raffle on Saturday 12 December. Santa will be visiting the club so bring your own camera and for the cost of a gold coin donation to Torchbearers for Legacy, you can have your photo taken with Santa for the 2015 Christmas season.

Don’t forget that this month, Forbes Services Memorial Club are offering $3 schooners of Hahn Super Dry 3.5 all day every day during December.

It’s time to celebrate Christmas and Parkes is going to be full of sparkles this year! Businesses are going to light up the town of Parkes with their fabulous light displays for the festive season and the Parkes Sparkles Christmas catalogue is out now for all your gift shopping fun!

This year, the Parkes Sparkles campaign is being promoted via television across three major networks – Prime, WIN and Southern Cross Ten, as well as radio, social media and newspaper coverage. 16,000 catalogues were distributed in a letterbox drop throughout Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, Peak Hill, Trundle, Bogan Gate, Tullamore, Eugowra, Canowindra, Molong, Manildra and Cargo, so it is expected to draw a lot of involvement.

Parkes has a fantastic range of Christmas gift ideas, and the 31 amazing business that came on board for the campaign are a testament to this. Some of those businesses include Adloyalty, Body Express, Agriwest, Little
Black Dress, Target, Nangar Gems, Parkes Mensland, Parkes Services Club, Griffins Leading Edge, The Red
Chandelier, Odds & Evie, Extra Mile Motorcycles and many, many more.

There will be plenty of fun at the Sparkle in the Park Christmas Festival where families can have a great night celebrating the Christmas period and all the things they love most about the holidays. Sparkle in the Park will be
host to an array of Christmas and family fun on tonight from 6pm, with market stalls, entertainment, face painting,
food, drinks and a visit from Santa. The night will also feature an outdoor movie screen with showings from sundown. If you haven’t got your hands on a copy of the Parkes Sparkles Catalogue, you can download it at www.
parkeschamber.com.au/sparkles.html

You can also visit the Facebook page for some fantastic gift ideas for Christmas and beyond! Check it out at facebook.
com/parkessparkels

The boys at McClintocks in Forbes, Canowindra, Grenfell and West Wyalong have participated in Movember to show
their support for men’s health issues. This is the first year McClintocks have participated as a group of branches and between the four stores, the boys have donated a Kubota 19” push lawn mower valued at $890. Raffle tickets have also been sold and sponsors donated. Keep an eye out on the McClintock’s Facebook Page for the announcement of the raffle winner.