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Speedway Exhibit A Car Lover’s Dream

April 8, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles owner Peter Champion with the VE-VC 30th anniversary vehicle that will be on show at the Speedway Exhibition. He will be at the exhibition to talk about the launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

Car enthusiasts cannot afford to miss this year’s Speedway Exhibition at the Parkes Elvis Festival featuring 40 iconic and prestigious cars at the former Broderick’s car yard in Clarinda Street.

Inspired by this year’s Speedway theme, a diverse blend of unique cars have been brought together for the first time ever. Sharing the showroom floor will be a rare collection of Holden Dealer Team (HDT) special vehicles, special Commodore builds, the Anniversary Edition Commodores together with group A cars and a 1980 Peter Brock Marlborough Holden Dealer Team race car.

The exhibition will also see the official unveiling of the 2015VF “Blue Meanies” in sedan, wagon and ute configuration based on the 1985 HDT VK Commodore SS Group A ‘Blue Meanie’ released by Peter Brock and the HDT.

The range racing cars will include the 1977 Brian Burt and 1978 Everlast Ford XC Coupes, an Alan Moffat Tribute Ford Mustang and Peter O Donnell’s BMW 335i which has completed more laps of the famous Bathurst track than any other car.

The list also includes a Porsche 911 GT3, MK1 Ford GT40 and 1965 Shelby Cobra along with NASCARs and a range of speedway cars. As if that isn’t enough to whet your appetite, the feast of horsepower continues with a 327 HK Bathurst Monaro, a VL Walkenshaw Commodore and other powerful cars to get your motor revving.

To further enhance the racing experience, a state-of-the-art virtual reality racing car simulator, as used by professional drivers around the world, will get your adrenaline pumping as you try to be the King of the track.

The display will also include racing memorabilia such as bonnets from various racing cars, racing suits and a diverse selection of intriguing and fascinating collectables.

The Speedway Exhibition official launch at 11am on Wednesday, 20th April is open to everybody where you’ll hear from owner of Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles, Peter Champion who will share some thoughts on the cars and launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

The HDT VC race car will also be on display at the Speedway Exhibition at this year’s Parkes Elvis Festival. The exhibition, to be held in the former Broderick’s car yard in Clarinda Street, is sponsored by the Bogan Gate Pub, and funded by the NSW Government. The exhibition will run from Wednesday, 20th April to Sunday, 24th April from 9am to 5pm with free entry. Everyone is invited to attend the official launch at 11am on Wednesday, 20th April where you’ll hear from owner of Holden Driving Team Special Vehicles, Peter Champion. He will share some thoughts on the cars and launch of the Blue Meanie Trilogy.

Snippets…

April 8, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Beau Bailey crosses the finish line to become the Speed-way Australian Champion in the 125cc class.

Country Mayors Association: Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller has been elected to the executive of the Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA). The new executive team was elected at the AGM on Friday, 11th March with Cr Ken Keith OAM (Mayor of Parkes Shire) returning as chairman, and Councillor Jamie Chaffey (Mayor of Gunnedah Shire Council) elected deputy chair. The seven other country Mayors elected to the Executive are Cr Craig Davies (Narromine Shire Council), Cr Rick Firman OAM (Temora Shire Council), Cr Russel Fitzpatrick (Bega Valley Shire Council), Cr John Medcalf OAM (Lachlan Shire Council), Cr Sue Moore (Singleton Council), Cr Kylie Thomas (Kyogle Council), and Cr Russell Webb, (Tamworth Regional Council). Kent Boyd PSM, General Manager Parkes Shire Council, was elected secretary/public officer. Priority areas for the CMA include working with the State Government to close the gap between health services in the regions and metropolitan areas, ensuring towns have sustainable water supplies and to ensure the financial sustainability of local government.

Free Online Holiday Fun: Code Camp is offering two free build-your-own games this school holiday for kids living outside of major cities. In the free online tutorial kids can choose to make the game Super Slimer, guiding a friendly slime blob collecting coins and avoiding baddies, and Firewall, where a heroic wizard or witch wards off evil spirits. To access the free online lessons visit www.codecampworld.com

Wagga Wagga Medical School: The $21 million Wagga Wagga Medical School has been given the green light to start works with development approval granted. “The very first thing I did when I became Deputy Prime Minister was to establish the Murray Darling Medical Schools Network, which comprises of schools in Dubbo, Orange and Wagga Wagga in NSW and Bendigo, Mildura and Shepparton in Victoria,” said Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack.

New Employment Program: Not-for-profit employment, training, education and apprenticeship service provider VERTO has been selected to deliver Workforce Australia services in Forbes, Parkes and the Central West for the next six years from 1st July. Workforce Australia is the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s new employment model to deliver simple and efficient solutions to assist local job seekers and employers. Workforce Australia will enable job seekers to self-manage, while those with greater needs will be supported by experienced VERTO consultants. For more information visit www.dese.gov.au/workforce-australia.

VERTO Workforce Development Consultants (L-R) Lau-ren Rozyn, Mikayla McVicar, Stacie Caslick and Claudia Limon.

Vinnies Acknowledges Traditional Custodians

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

In the photo are representatives of the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre, Binaal Billa, Yoorana Gunya, the Wiradjuri Language Group, Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes High School, the Catholic Education Office, CatholicCare, the Forbes Shire Council, St Laurence’s Parish, St Vincent de Paul Society Wilcannia-Forbes and St Vincent de Paul Shops Wilcannia-Forbes present at the ceremony last Thursday.

The Vinnies store in Forbes held a special ceremony last week. A plaque was mounted in the shop to acknowledge traditional custodians. “The ceremony was an opportunity to share with each other, to recognise the injustices towards our Aboriginal community, and to learn and walk forward together in hope,” said Elizabeth Young, pastoral worker. “We were inspired by the new Reconciliation Action Plan for the St Vincent de Paul Society in NSW with the aim to create a culturally safe and friendly environment where First Nations Peoples are welcomed, respected and employed.

Weaving Culture And Tradition Into Modern Day Life

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Three generations learn together. Kiesha Bowden with her mum Kelly and grandmother Cathy at the basket weaving workshop.

A basket weaving workshop was but one of the many activities on offer during Seniors Week that is still in full swing in Forbes with more events to follow next week.

A small group of women gathered at the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre on Monday to learn the traditional craft of weaving baskets from Condobolin’s expert teacher Bev Coe.

“I learned to weave baskets years ago at Camp Coorong, and wanted to pass on the skill to other people,” said Bev. When she is not teaching workshops all over the Central West, you will find her in her workshop in Condobolin called Sista Shed.

Bev has expanded her skill to make grass sculptures, and before COVID-19 she used to go to the markets in Sydney where her creations were in high demand.

The Forbes women were very happy and felt very privileged that Bev could fit in a workshop for them and offered them the opportunity to learn from her.

“We think she’s brilliant,” said Aileen Allen. “She teaches us our culture, which we should’ve learned when we were young.

She has been very patient with us. It is great that she can keep our culture alive and pass it on to the next generation.”

Part of the group included three family members from three generations. Cathy Bowden came with her daughter Kelly Bowden, and her granddaughter Kiesha Bowden.

“I wanted to learn more about traditional stuff. It is very important for us young people to learn about our culture,” said Kiesha. She was very excited about learning the skill of basket weaving and planned to keep doing it.

Although the group used raffia to weave their baskets at the workshop, Bev said traditionally you would use native spiny flat sedge for weaving, but during drought times it was hard to get hold of.

She said baskets made from natural materials lasted much longer than those made from plastic. “I made a basket from sisal for my clothes pegs and I always left it at the washing line. It lasted for years, much longer than anything plastic.”

Bev Coe (standing) from Condobolin presented the workshop. She is with (L-R) Aileen Allen, Wendy Hughes and Margaret Eldrige.

Snippets…

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Congratulations to Tara Kelly from Forbes on the opening of the Century 21 Central West Parkes office last week with Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith and Century 21 CEO James Bell.

Remember To Turn Your Clock Back: Daylight Saving ends on Sunday, 3rd April when we turn our clocks back one hour from 3am to 2am. Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour earlier on Sunday.

Checking Fuelcheck: The NSW government is encouraging customers to check the NSW FuelCheck app to help find the state’s best value fuel before filling up at the bowser. The app is easy to use and allows you to compare prices at local petrol stations to find the best deal by location, price or fuel type. The app displays the price for more than 2,400 petrol stations across NSW with users also able to set up alerts for when the price drops under a certain threshold. For more information on FuelCheck and to download the app visit: https://www.fuelcheck.nsw.gov.au/app

Have Your Say: Parents, carers and educators are invited to take part in the consultation for the Department of Education’s Parent and Carers Engagement Framework that will outline how the education sector can work more closely with parents and carers to improve student outcomes. Parents can have a say about the best ways for their school to communicate with them and what can be improved on. The new framework will help parents and carers to better understand their rights, responsibilities and choices in the education system and have access to timely information about their child’s learning, development and wellbeing. To have your say, visit the NSW Government ‘Have Your Say’ website www.haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au/engagement-framework to 30th April.

Miss Priscilla: It is time to start preparations for the Miss Priscilla competition at this year’s Parkes Elvis Festival. The winner of Miss Priscilla becomes the Face of the Festival at the Goodsell Machinery Miss Priscilla Dinner on Thursday, 21st April. Being crowned Miss Priscilla brings instant fame as she will make special appearances at many of the festival’s wonderful events and will enjoy all the perks of being crowned Elvis’ leading lady for the weekend. There are also some great prizes to be won. There are also two other competitions on the night: Hairstyles of the 60’s and Miss Speedway. Simply recreate the gorgeous 1960s hairstyles or have some fun with Speedway inspired novelty hairstyles. To enter the competitions and to purchase tickets for the night go to www.parkeselvisfestival.com.au

The 2020 Miss Priscilla winner was Shania Sarsfield from Wellington.

Opportunity Of A Lifetime For Young Soloists

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

BIG NIGHT… Overture’s two junior soloists Lexi Herden from Forbes and Aimee Ross from Parkes are ready to share the stage with Australia’s biggest stars in Overture tomorrow night.

It promises to be a night to be remembered and a young Forbes student has been hand-picked to share the stage with Australia’s celebrity artists as a soloist in Overture tomorrow night at the Cooke Park Pavilion in Parkes.

Lexi Herden from Forbes is one of only two school-aged soloists chosen after she auditioned for the role with students from all over NSW. The Parkes Christian School student will be joined by fellow student Aimee Ross from Parkes as the other junior soloist.

Lexi will be singing ‘When I grow up’ from the musical Matilda. “I will sing two verses and then the choir will join in,” said the young star who played Scuttle in her school’s production of ‘The Little Mermaid’ last year. Aimee is singing ‘I know it’s today’ from Shrek with Lucy Durack and Holly Hare from Bathurst.

Lexi said she did not really understand how big a deal it was until her mum explained it to her. “I got really excited, but I’m also feeling a bit nervous about performing in front of such a big audience.”

Lexi’s favourite subject is drama and she would love to become a professional in musical theatre one day. “I can’t wait to meet Lucy Durack and talk to her about what it takes to get to the top.”

The two soloists concluded their preparation with a singing lesson from Overture star, Josh Piterman. The 12 and 13-year-old are ready for the big night and would like to see their communities come out and support them.

By Maggi Barnard

Forbes Students Get A Taste Of VANFEST

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

Indie pop act Loretta from Sydney entertained Forbes students last week. The band members are Max Jacobs (guitar), Ellis Hoare (vocals) and Nico Scali (keys, guitar).

Forbes High School students received an exclusive performance by Sydney’s alternative pop act Loretta last week in their school hall.

The indie band played to an excited audience, including students for Forbes North Public School, as a promotion for the upcoming Mini VANFEST next weekend.

The students did not mind having their school day interrupted. In fact, it was quite a memorable day to have an up-and-coming band perform in their school hall. Some students even got a photo opportunity with the band members afterwards with a lot of fist bumps happening.

“It was great to get the kids excited and let them know it’s all happening and going ahead on the 9th of April,” said singer Ellis Hoare.

Being in the VANFEST line up is equally exciting for Loretta members Ellis, Max Jacobs on guitar and Nico Scali on keys and guitar as it will be their very first festival performance. “We’ve done a little headline tour at the beginning of the year after COVID, but we’ve never done any regional stuff before,” said Max.

Loretta played three songs at the Forbes High School last week to give the students a taste of their music style which is described as indie pop. Their first release ‘Come Over’ from late 2018 achieved over 500,000 streams worldwide and made the Australia’s viral 50 chart.

After a string of well received releases in 2021 including ‘Late Night’, ‘All I Know’ and ‘When I saw U’, their latest single is ‘Running Time’. They are also working on the band’s debut EP for release later this year. “We will potentially feature songs from the

EP at VANFEST, but will definitely do hits and songs doing well on Spotify,” said Ellis.

“We look forward to playing our music to a new crowd. It looked like the kids had a great time today,” said Max. “It is great to write good music, and we love to rock it up in live shows.” The three of them have have played together in various incarnations since their high school days in Sydney.

For further information and music, go to www.lorettamusic.com.au

VANFEST

Mini VANFEST at South Cirle Park Forbes next Saturday is a teaser one-day version of the much-loved weekend festival planned for later in the year. Next Saturday’s event is open to all ages with free entry for kids under 10. There will be carnival rides, market stalls, family activities and a huge line up of Aussie artists including Julia Stone, Jarred James and Holy Holy. Get your tickets at https://tickets.oztix.com.au

Some Budget Highlights

April 1, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

The Federal budget delivered on Tuesday night had many measures for the Riverina and Central West in health, defence, infrastructure, social services and easing cost-of-living pressures, according to Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack.

Cost Of Fuel: Events abroad are pushing up cost-of-living pressures, and the government is cutting fuel excise in half. Australians will save 22 cents a litre for the next six months. This could mean a saving of $30 a week for a family with two cars, or $700 over the next six months.

Extending Tax Relief: Around 61,700 taxpayers in Riverina will benefit from tax relief of up to $1,500 this year, made up of the $1,080 low and middle income tax offset and a $420 cost of living tax offset.

Cost Of Living: Government is also providing a one-off cost of living payment of $250 for Australians most in need. In Riverina, these payments will be delivered to: 20,326 pensioners; 6,607 disability support recipients; 2,258 carers; 8,233 jobseekers; and 14,180 eligible self-funded retirees.

Health: Charles Sturt University will receive $14.8 million through its Rural Clinical School to establish training sites and accommodation at Cootamundra and Parkes.

Grants To Plant Trees For Queen’s Jubilee

March 25, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

In the year of the Queen’s Jubilee grants will be made available to organisations to plant thousands of trees throughout the Central West and Riverina to honour the legacy of Queen Elizabeth II and her 70 years of service to Australia and the Commonwealth.

Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said eligible groups and organisations could lodge an expression of interest (EOI) in tree-planting grants being made available through the $15.1 million Planting Trees for The Queen’s Jubilee Program.

Grants from $2,500 to $20,000 will be available to a broad range of organisations, with each Federal electorate eligible to receive up to $100,000 for up to 10 projects. To be eligible, applicants must have an Australian Business Number and be an incorporated not-for profit entity or eligible government entity. Schools and churches are also eligible to lodge an EOI, subject to sponsorship criteria which is available from Michael’s Wagga Wagga electorate office.

Trees planted may be native or non-native, but must be regionally appropriate and grow to more than two metres tall when mature.

EOIs for the Riverina electorate can be lodged until 5pm on Thursday, 31st March. EOIs should include a short description of the project, total cost, grant funding sought, why the project is important to the community and contact details.

Expressions of interest forms can be requested by emailing michael.mccormack.mp@aph.gov.au or by contacting the electorate office on 6921 4600. The office can also provide further information about eligibility of organisations and the type of trees which can be planted.

The Queen has visited Australia 16 times and on many of these visits planted trees leaving a long-lasting reminder of the special occasion for the people in those communities. The Queen is said to have planted 1,500 trees throughout her reign.

Snippets…

March 25, 2022 by Maggi Barnard

It seems like the Forbes Meals on Wheels volunteers not only deliver meals, but end up rescuing lambs too. Cynthia West (behind the wheel) and Cheryl Garner had a bit of an adventure this week.

Generous Donation: Laurel Vale Station donated four Angus steers at Forbes cattle sale to be auctioned off with all proceeds donated to a specific organisation to help out with the NSW and QLD floods. The steers were sold to Nutrien Forbes for $10,000 and they put them back up for auction and made $6,285. This means a grand total of $16,285 was raised!

Overture Shuttle Bus: There will be a special shuttle bus running from Forbes to Parkes return for Overture on 2nd April. The cost is $10 + booking fees per person, and the bus will depart from and return to Forbes Town Hall. Leave your car at home, and relax and enjoy the evening. Remember you can BYO to this event. There will also be a licenced bar and takeaway food options at the event with plenty of local cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs surrounding Cooke Park. Spaces are limited, so please pre-book at https://www.123tix.com.au/events/31184/forbes-parkes-overture-shuttle#content Tickets to Overture are still available via www.123tix.com.au/events/23498/overture

Indigenous Celebration: Lions Park will come alive on Friday, 8th April for a fun-filled afternoon to celebrate our indigenous community from 4:30-8pm. There will be cultural activities, arts and craft, interactive displays plus bungee trampolines, pedal boats on the lake (from 3 – 6pm), Girri Girri games (until 6:30pm), and a drumming workshop. The first 300 attendees will receive a $10 voucher to spend at any of the food vans at the event! Complete all the activities in your free event passport and go in the draw to win awesome prizes! A free bus will depart Jenny Murphy Park at 4:30pm, and return trip departs Lions Park at 8pm. For more information contact Council’s Community Relations Officer at community@forbes.nsw.gov.au or 6850 2300.

Calling Artists: Creatives from across regional NSW have the opportunity to develop artwork that shares their perspective on the future for the regions. Regional Futures is a two-year statewide creative project funded by Create NSW and delivered by the NSW Regional Arts Network representing 15 member organisations. An Expression of Interest process is currently open and applications close 28th March. The artists selected from each region will become a part of a group of 15 creatives. For more information www.regionalfutures.net.au

Holiday Fun: It’s just two weeks until the school holidays start. Check out the Forbes Youth Action Team facebook page and sign up for the amazing school holiday events www.facebook.com/FYouthAT

Brodie Hodges was the runner-up in the 3-person Am-brose at the Forbes Golf Club on Sunday. He received his prize from men’s captain Steve Betland.

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