Frogs Hollow is located on the corner of Riley and Lawler Streets.

The much-loved Teddy Bears Picnic will be held on Friday 1 November from 10am to 1pm, with a new venue at Frogs Hollow.

With redevelopment works underway at Lions Park, the popular annual event has been relocated to Frogs Hollow in 2025.

Forbes Shire Council Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said the event continues to be an im­portant day on the community calendar.

“The Teddy Bears Picnic is a special tra­dition in Forbes, giving families the chance to come together and enjoy a day of joy, play and imagination with their children,” the Mayor said.

“While Lions Park is currently out of ac­tion, Frogs Hollow is a wonderful setting to host the event and we look forward to see­ing plenty of teddies out and about.”

The picnic will feature children’s enter­tainment, activities and story time, with families encouraged to bring their favourite teddy bear, picnic rug and snacks. Food and refreshments will also be available for purchase.

The Teddy Bears Picnic is proudly host­ed by Forbes Shire Council, Forbes Youth Action team and Forbes North SaCC (a Schools as Community Centres).So come along to the Teddy Bears Picnic on Friday 1 November 2025 from 10am – 1pm at Frogs Hollow, corner of Riley and Lawler Streets (next to Forbes Sports and Recreation Club bowling greens). For more information, visit www.forbes.nsw.gov.au.

Council is calling for Expressions of Inter­est from food and beverage vendors to op­erate at the Teddy Bears Picnic. Interested vendors are encouraged to submit an EOI to community@forbes.nsw.gov.au by 5pm, Tuesday 30 September to be considered.

The mock crash demonstration took place at Parkes High School’s Multi-Purpose Centre.

The annual mock crash demonstration re­turned last week and was viewed by over 400 Year 10 students from across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas. Seven local high schools are taking part in this year’s NOT A STATISTIC! Youth Driver Education Program, which includes a pre classroom lesson, the live mock crash demonstration and a follow-up classroom lesson.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Coun­cils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Of­ficer, Melanie Suitor, said the purpose of the mock crash demonstration is to show young drivers what happens when a crash occurs.

“The mock crash demonstration started with a short video that set the scene about how the crash occurred and introduced the youth actors. Then the curtains opened, and the audience watched as the youth actors called ‘000’ for help.

“When emergency service personnel ar­rived, they were confronted with two severe­ly injured trapped passengers, one dead passenger and an emotional driver.

“The mock crash demonstration conclud­ed with recorded victim impact statements which highlighted what life has been like for the driver, her surviving passengers and their families nine months on. The videos included point of view footage of what hap­pened at the Police station and hospital.

The program has been running since 2009. Over that period there has been a 27% reduction in crashes on local roads in­volving a young driver (17 – 25 years old).“It is a real team effort. Thanks to Parkes High School, Westlime, Regency Medical, Parkes Auto Wreckers, The McMasters, Bella Henry, Julia Sullivan, Halle Molloy, Senior Constable Emma Dyball, Acting Sergeant Jane Heffernan, Sergeant Philip Brown, Constable Anthony O’Brien, Made­line Elkhouri, Ebony Domanski, Jeff Field, Matthew Hando, David Law, Mark Appleby, Leanne Field, Marshall Munn, Glen Morgan, Sherry Morgan, CCT Productions, Chloe Marskell, Logan Davies, Abigail Heard and Abbey Browne,” Ms Suitor said.

A series of major upgrades to The Bogan Way are complete, transforming more than 25 kilometres of this vital regional freight route and improving safety and access across the Parkes Shire.

Seven projects made up the $15.7 million Parkes Shire North South Link (MR350) Project.This included three projects funded by more than $4.5 million from the Aus­tralian Government under the Safer Local Roads and Infrastructure Program, and over $9 million from the New South Wales Government.

The Bogan Way is a regional road link that provides a vital north-south road train route through the Narromine, Parkes and Forbes shires in central west NSW. It sup­ports transport operators connecting pro­ducers to grain silos and the Central West Livestock Exchange, and is a vital haulage and residential access route.

The completed works enable higher pro­ductivity vehicles, including AB Triples, to safely use the route, thanks to addressing pavement rehabilitation, widening, realign­ment, culvert replacement, and the installa­tion of wire rope barriers.

Parkes Mayor Neil Westcott said, “The council is fortunate to have the staff and expertise to deliver projects of this scale in-house, supporting our community while dramatically improving safety.”

Pictured drawing the raffle at the last Soup Day, left to right: Nic Little (President of Forbes Evening Branch of CWA) and Mrs Pat Hodson (Patron at the August Soup/Slice Kitchen).

Members of the Forbes Evening Branch of CWA Members wish to thank everyone who enjoyed and supported their Soup and Slice Kitchen on 6 August, as a ‘sit down’ or ‘a takeaway’ patron.

The August event offered five different varieties of soup served with a bread roll, along with the introduction of slices and a hot beverage.

The numbers of patrons attending in­creased overwhelmingly, with 95 serves of soup sold, compared to 25 at the July Soup Kitchen.

At the completion of the August Soup and Slice event, the raffle conducted by the Forbes Evening Branch over recent months was drawn. First prize, a tonne of firewood valued at $400 (kindly donated by the Forbes Men’s Shed) was won by Mr Kerry Smith. The winner of second prize, a $200 voucher to be used at Cahill’s Footwear or Euphoria was Mrs Lesley Teale.

Congratulations to both winners and thank you to everyone who supported the branch raffle. Funds raised by the Forbes Branch of CWA are returned to the Forbes Community as needs arise.

The final Soup and Slice Kitchen for 2025 will be held on Wednesday 3 September, with the doors opening at 12 midday at the CWA Hall in Lachlan Street, Forbes.

There will be some of the favourite vari­eties of soups on offer, along with several ‘new varieties’, created by members of the Forbes Evening Branch of CWA.

For just $10 you can enjoy a serve of soup, bread roll, slice with tea/coffee. take­away serves will be available if you are un­able to sit and chat.