Shannon Birmingham, from Forbes Central Butchery, was crowned Central West Continental and Australian Lamb Sausage King for 2016 in Bathurst on the weekend. Shannon and his team travelled to Bathurst on the weekend to take part in the Sausage King & Best Butcher’s Burger Competition. The competition was run by the Australian Meat Industry Council, with competitors coming from all over the state to participate. In Shannon’s categories, Continental Sausages and the Australian Lamb category there were at least 50 competitors in each.

Shannon managed to win both sections and they have won the Central West division for the past four years,
over the five years that they have been attending. Shannon will be selling these sausages both in his store and also on his runs out to Parkes and around the Forbes area. He is still experimenting with some new and different
flavours and these include cheesebburger, wild tomato and pepper, hawaiian, lamb curry and many more. The meat that Shannon uses in his sausages is sourced from Breakout Meats, Cowra. It is great to have a win like this particularly when Forbes has been under so much stress with the floods.

Having owned the Shell Forbes for just over 12 months, owner Charanject Singh Bhamra has already made some important changes. New pumps have been installed for all types of petrol, with diesel pumps now being under cover for the first time. These new pumps meet the standards laid down by EPA, as well as being faster, more accurate, and require little maintenance. Should a spill occur, the spill now goes into the sump instead of going into any drain
which will save our environment in case of any major spill.

Singh said: “With this investment, it shows our commitment to Forbes and the community as we strive to provide a better level of service, with all staff who work in the store, being locals. We have maintained our driveway service for all cars who require petrol under the canopy, in addition to carrying a range of new products for our customers.

We also have plans to build up the takeaway side of the business by extending the area of the current shop and we are already underway with this process. With many offers available, including the Bernardi’s offer which entitles any purchaser to receive a 4c a litre discount with the provision of a Bernardi’s docket, and the offer of a 1c a litre off any purchase of 200 litres of any type of fuel, we believe that we offer very competitive rates across the Forbes area.”

Call in and say hello to Singh, Paul, Amanda and the team at the Shell Forbes.

The town of Canowindra is all set for a huge influx of tourists and a massive range of events this weekend, as the town’s biggest ever October long weekend takes place. What originally started as the annual Airing of the Quilts to take place on the October long weekend has grown to also include Charlie McCarron’s auction, tours of Canowindra, markets, exhibitions, barbeques, and live music.

The auction of Charlie McCarron’s vintage car collection is expected to attract thousands of people alone, however with all of the other events taking place across the weekend, even more people are expected to travel to Canowindra.
Fiona Ferguson, a member of local community organisation ‘Canowindra@Home’ who has played a major role in organising Canowindra’s long weekend, said it was an event the entire Canowindra community could look forward to.

“Charlie McCarron’s auction at Canowindra Motors will obviously be the highlight of the weekend.” “The quilt themed window displays, which started on Wednesday, will be a great way to get visitors to see Canowindra as well.
The idea behind that is to get people to walk around the town to view the quilts- almost like a trail.”

Besides Charlie McCarron’s auction, the Airing of the Quilts and the Twilight Markets, there will also be the “Roasted” exhibition at Delice, the “Past and Present” exhibition at the Old Vic Inn, various events at the Canowindra Services Club, a busking competition at Deli Lama, the Moorbel Markets, various community BBQ fundraisers, the Canowindra CWA open day, and “Blind Freddy’s” half day tours of Canowindra.
By Joshua Matic

Forbes High School, along with family and friends said farewell to Year 12 last Friday, wishing them all the best of luck in their HSC and in their future. The morning assembly provided the opportunity for Year 12 students to be recognised for their achievements, with major awards being presented. Major awards on the day were presented
and awarded to the following Year 12 students; Sally Downie- Dux of Year 12, Emily Godden- Blue & Gold Citizenship, Monica Pascoe- P&C Presentation to representative students, Oliver Carlisle -Carmel Hodges
Memorial Humanitarian Award, Madeline Dukes -Reuben F Scarf Award, Jake Ellison- Louise Stephenson Award, Monica Pascoe -Caltex Best All Rounder, Monica Pascoe and Nicole Morrison- Citizenship Awards, Morgan Penman- TVET Animal Studies Award, Grace Quigley- TVET Early Childhood Award, Quintin Hapgood- TVET
Information Technology Award and Jacob Beard- TVET Certificate III Media Studies, VET student of the Year Sally Downie.

Along with Year 12 providing a gift to the school, a special moment was shared with the school community, with a multimedia presentation put together by outgoing School Captain Emily Godden highlighting the amazing journey the 2016 Year 12 cohort have undertaken at Forbes High School, as well as commemorating fellow School Captain Oliver Carlisle and his unforgettable contribution to Forbes High School.

Very early one Sunday morning the calm waters of Lake Forbes were high and shrouded with light fog.

Seven eager members of the Forbes Dragon Boat Club were waiting for a truck to turn the corner… a truck carrying two long awaited, new racing dragon boats.

Past president, Bill Thomas, and past Treasurer, Claire Davis, were among the eager onlookers to witness the Forbes Dragon Boat Club change from its almost three decades old boats to much lighter, sleeker, modern racing boats.

As the truck rumbled into sight, a buzz went through the little group and cameras began clicking. The boats were unloaded with great enthusiasm and carefully set in their new home.

Many delighted phrases rang out like: “Wow! We have foot-rests.”, “They have handles! We can move them so much easier!” and “They’re so much lighter.” The club is ready for the next paddling session and can hardly wait to get them in the water.

“The boats have come about due to the hard work of our previous board and we thank them once again, especially Bill and Claire,” said President Robyn Stephens.

The club is set to go from strength to strength with a very committed new board: Robyn Stephens, president; Tony Fisher, vice-president; Michael Green, treasurer; Kristine Dobell, registrar; Chris Sweeney, publicity officer; Ian Prince, works coordinator; Neil Stephens, board member and Warren Edwards, secretary.

If you would like to join our club or find out more about it come along on Sunday mornings at 8:30 – the water recedes – and 6:30 Thursday evenings in daylight-saving time. You can find us on Facebook. It’s a great sport and a great club. You are most welcome to come along!

By Bill and Beth Thomas