Karen Ritchie with Lachlan House resident, Don.
The courtyard walls of the Lachlan House, the Forbes Men’s Refuge, were recently beautified with art works. Forbes Arts Society members Karen Ritchie and Melody Ruhrmund partnered with Bunnings Forbes to create the paintings. They donated their time and talent to paint large scale works on site at Bunnings earlier this year. The works were presented to the residents of Lachlan House recently.
Spring has started in John Brownes’ garden in Forbes. The Forbes Garden Club meets on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Contact President Elvy Quirk on 0428 540 272 for more information.
There are 30,000 species of native orchids in Australia and some of them can be found in the Central West in areas like Weddin Mountains and Mount Canobolas.
These were some of the amazing facts presented to members at the Forbes Garden Club’s July meeting with guest speaker Colin Bower from Orange who is an entomologist and botanist.
He captivated the 39 people at the meeting with his presentation about insects and orchids, and explained that orchids often take their names from their appearance, such as ‘bearded’, and ‘ducks’.
Colin also delivered a serious talk on pollination, and in thanking him Meg spoke of the humorous side of the sexual behaviour of bees.
The club’s bi-annual flower show will take place on 15th October, and members are encouraged to support the event with an entry. Volunteers are also required on the day, as well as seedlings and cuttings for the plant stall. Donations for the raffle which can be bought along to the next meeting at the home of Trudy & Mark Mallick at 16 Greens Road. In the event of wet weather, the meeting will be held at Northside Chapel in Johnson Street.
The club’s garden trip is on 19th September to Mayfield Garden. The cost is $60 payable at our August meeting, and includes coach travel and entry to the gardens. Please bring your own lunch.
A special thank you to all who participated in th flower of the month competition. First place went to Max Swift with a spectular Camellia. The second and third places were also Camellias and went to Pam Bass and Margaret Swift.
The raffle was won by Sylvia Glasson, and the second prize by Irene Ford.
Now is a good time to start tidying up in the garden as spring is just around the corner.
By Sweet Pea
Forbes Shire Council General Manager Steve Loane and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM with the winning certificate at the 2022 Local Government Week Awards.
The success of the Sculpture Down the Lachlan art trail resulted in an award for Forbes Shire Council (FSC) at the recently held 2022 Local Government Week Awards.
FSC won the Leo Kelly OAM Arts & Culture Award (Division A – population less than 30,000) for its contribution to the Sculpture Down the Lachlan trail expansion project. The Forbes Arts Society celebrated the win with Council saying FSC was not only a funding partner, but also provided support on a practical level with planning permission, land use and risk management, as well as promotion.
I want to start this column with an apology for the state of our local road network. We know the roads are bad and we know with all this rain and water around they are only getting worse. I’m sure that those of you who are farmers would appreciate how hard it is to get onto anything at the moment!
Rest assured, we are doing our best. We are continuing to assess the roads and have prioritised where the work needs to be done. As soon as it is dry enough to get machines and teams in place, we will be getting on to grade, patch and improve them. We manage almost 1,800 kilometres of sealed and unsealed roads and like everywhere in the state (and possibly beyond) our roads have been hammered and need serious attention.
Demolition continues at Spotlight which is great news, as it means the sooner we can rebuild.
It’s footy finals season, a big shout out to the Magpies whose first grade side won and the reserves and under 18s will play this week in Orange. Congratulations to Forbes Junior Rugby – 2022 Central West Junior Club Champions. It is a delight to see the sporting grounds and facilities brimming with players and supporters on the weekends.
Finally, I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the Bedgerabong Show tomorrow – it really is the best little show in the west. It is so great to see the shows returning this year. Looking forward to the Forbes Show in September.
Forbes Public School staff member Katy Brown shows FPS Students Maggie Dooley, Josie Watson and Emily Greig her family paver from her time as a student at the school.
The Memorial Pathway at the main entrance to Forbes Public School is set to expand with an offer to the community to take part in the project for the 160th anniversary of the school.
The Forbes Public School Parents’ & Citizens Association is once again offering families, past students, local businesses and the wider Forbes community an opportunity to contribute to the engraved pathway first unveiled in 2005.
“We often get asked by families, contractors and other visitors to the school how they can get their name on a paver,” said Principal Meg Staples. “It provides a wonderful entryway to our school.
“Many of our current staff have pavers from when they were students and even our current students delight in finding the pavers donated by older friends, relatives or even their parents from their time at Forbes Public School,” said Meg.
“This being our 160th year of Forbes Public School, we thought it a wonderful time to make this opportunity available once again.”
Pavers can be engraved in type form or with an original hand drawn design and can be purchased for $50. Order forms are available from the Forbes Public School Office (entry via Lachlan St) or by emailing the P&C Association forbespublicschool@pandcaffiliate.org.au. All orders and paver designs must be received with payment no later than Friday, 26th August. All funds raised from this project will contribute to the new landscaping design and implementation for the school.
ECO STUDENTS… The year 5 group of Forbes Public School ready to learn more about waterbugs at Eco Day held at the Parkes Racecourse on Wednesday.
In celebration of Science Week almost 300 students from Forbes Shire, Parkes Shire and Eugowra took part in Eco Day activities at the Parkes Racecourse.
It was a day of learning for the Year 5 students organised by Central West Lachlan Landcare.
“It is important to give our children a deeper understanding of the environment as they are our future community and we want them to be as informed as can be,” said Landcare Co-ordinator Marg Applebee.
“We are thrilled to have the support of FishCare (DPI), CMOC NorthParkes Mine staff; Lake Cowal Foundation; Netwaste; Petaurus Education, Parkes Shire Council Environmental staff, the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, and many volunteers.”
The activities taught children about native and introduced species of fish and their habitats, water treatment processes, waterbugs and macroinvertebrates, biodiversity and habitats, mining and land management, as well as worm farms and recycling.
The students also made seed balls and stamped bags with local native species carvings for the seed balls that will be distributed at next month’s Grazing Down the Lachlan with a focus on local food, sustainability and zero waste.
At the end of the day students took part in a Waste Game Show, and they were asked to list the environmental issues they considered to be important.
“We are proud to once again host a group of fabulous young people. Our volunteers and presenters come away from days like this being inspired by the students and encouraged that they will go back to their school communities and educate others,” said Marg.
Congratulations to builder David Hodder on winning the Tradie of the Month competition for July! He has won a pair of FXD WP3 Pants valued at $105 from Gunn’s Menswear, the sponsor of this popular competition. Jo Staines from Gunn’s Menswear handed David his prize.
Please keep on nominating your favourite tradie, male or female for the August competition simply by dropping into Gunn’s Menswear at 83 Rankin Street, or message the Gunn’s Menswear facebook page, or send us an email at editor@forbesphoenix.com.au.
The closing date for this month’s competition is Friday, 26th August
Rhyse Forrestal in the Parkes M & D production of Big. He will host the All Abilities concert with Lisa Martin on 3rd September at the Little Theatre in Parkes at 2pm.
Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society are known for their inclusive culture. Whether it be subtitles for the hearing impaired or Autism friendly relaxed performances so people on the spectrum, or who experience a disability, can come along to watch a production that is adapted to ensure suitability to the audience.
The society often cast people with disability in their productions – even one of their directors, Lyn Townsend, has a hearing impairment which requires adaptation at rehearsals so she can be involved.
About 18 months ago, the society were successful in a grant application under the Department of Social Services and Community Participation Stream to support people with disabilities.
So far, the grant has been used to support a number of people who have been cast in productions, and also for patrons with disabilities (and their carers) to come and watch the shows. A specialised screen was sourced from overseas to show subtitles where appropriate. The most important event to be supported by the grant is the All Abilities concert.
Featuring a combination of individual items and group performances in song, dance, recitation and a short skit, this concert will give people with disability (and their carers/support networks) the opportunity to experience what it’s like to be a theatre star and shine on stage, in their own unique way.
There will be performers from around the district, joined by their city friends from Twinkle Star Dance Studio. They contacted the society and asked to be involved after reading about the event.
The concert will be hosted by well-known identities (with their own unique ‘ability’), Rhyse Forrestal and Lisa Martin who are sure to keep the concert ticking along with their own dash of comedy.
There will be only one concert, on 3rd September at 2pm. Make sure to get your ticket at www.parkesmandd.com.au.
The four lead actors for this year’s Mock Crash performance have been announced following a lot of interest in the auditions.
The four actors for the NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program are Kaitlyn Stevenson from Parkes, Shaylee Edwards and Amelia Barwick from Peak Hill and Zak Chatman from Parkes who returns for another round.
“We had a lot of interest in the recent auditions. Casting was very difficult as everyone was very talented,” said Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor. “Whilst there are only four roles available for the mock crash scenario, we offered the others roles in the establishing scenes.”
The program is aimed at Year 10 students and more than 5,000 from across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas have participated in it since its inception 12 years ago.
“The program aims to show young drivers what can and does happen far too often on our local roads. It challenges them to think about their attitudes and behaviour as not only drivers but also as passengers.
“Over the last 12 years we have recorded a 27% decrease in crashes on local roads involving a young driver (17 – 25 years old),” Melanie said.
Following two years of COVID disruption, this year’s mock crash is going to be developed into a training package.
The crash scenario will be recorded and the video will replace the live mock crash demonstration for this year.
The video will become a resource so the program can be implemented in other areas and will be used as a back-up option for future years’ live demonstrations.
The video will premiere early October before being rolled out in local schools during term four.
The usual live demonstration will return in 2023.
Scaffolding has gone up at the De Havilland Jet at Lake Forbes to give the iconic plane a structural makeover after being in all kinds of weather for 50 years.
Farm Financial Skills Workshop: On Thursday, 1st September farmers can attend a free workshop in Forbes from 8:30am to 3:30pm on the financial skills essential to managing an agricultural operation. The practical Financial Skills Workshops is offered by Rabobank’s Client Council, and will provide practical, hands-on advice for understanding financial statements and banking requirements, and explore topics such as taxation versus management accounting, essential business management ratios and understanding key components of a business’s financial profile. Make sure complete your registration to ensure a spot at https://rabobankaunz.eventsair.com/financial-skills-workshops/registration/Site/Register
Trash Into Treasure: Households are encouraged to step up their recycling efforts to help contribute to a cleaner environment and transition to a circular economy in NSW. Minister for Environment James Griffin said: “Two thirds of all waste in NSW is already being recycled, and we want to do even better to boost the circular economy.” Use the Recycle Mate app to tell you exactly what can and can’t be recycled in your local government area. Sixty-four per cent of all waste generated in NSW is recycled, being remade into new items such as building materials, packaging, and new food and drink containers.
Spring Bee Swarming: New measures have been put in place as part of the Varroa mite emergency response to help deal with an expected increase in bee activity as the weather heats up. “Bees typically swarm during warmer months as a way of establishing new colonies, so we’re reminding people to be aware that these swarms can become feral or unmanaged,” said NSW Minister for Agriculture Dugald Saunders. “Reporting these swarms and colonies is really important so we’re asking members of the public to exercise caution and contact the Department of Primary Industries (DPI), so they can take targeted action to remove them. If you come across a feral bee colony, contact DPI’s Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881 (9am to 5pm, seven days a week). For more information on the Varroa mite emergency response, visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/varroa
Reading Day: The annual PAINT THE TOWN REaD day in Parkes is back next Friday, 26th August and this year’s theme is Paint Parkes REaD, Rhymingly. The theme is focusing on traditional nursery rhymes, contemporary rhymes, ditties and made-up rhymes – basically all things rhyming. Primary school students and pre-school kids can look forward to a fantastic day filled with many different shows and activities, including a graffiti wall, photo booth and lots more, from 9:30am in Cooke Park and the CBD.
Have you got your entries ready for the Parkes Show? The closing date is 26th August and enter at https://showday.online/show/6Rw9LV7 The Parkes Show Office is open every day for tickets and entries too. If you cannot enter or buy tickets online, visit the show office at 61 Welcome Street.