Come in and try the selection of delicious pizzas and pastas at dinner or perhaps a light lunch of sandwiches, focaccias, melts or anything from the ever-changing menu. They create a new one every week. Call in to the Homemaker Centre in Forbes (near Bunnings) or call them on 6851 5522.
Forbes is a fascinating place to visit. This is what Mike Whitney, host of Sydney Weekender, had to say at the conclusion of the program featuring Forbes that was aired on Sunday on Prime 7. As the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach, the just over five minute feature on Forbes was seen all over Australia.
Starting with a few general shots of historic buildings in the town, Mike first visited the Central West Livestock Exchange where there were over 20 000 sheep on auction. He said he had never seen anything like it in his life. He ended up “buying” some sheep forgetting to keep his hands in his pockets!
Next up he went to the McFeeters Motor Museum where the Barbie Ford Falcon with its gold plated fittings made a big impression on him. The last place to feature was the beautiful Girragirra Retreat where he stayed for the night and Wendy, the owner, taught him to make a sourdough loaf. Locals said they were very impressed with the program, but they felt that it could have showed more of Forbes. “They did not even show the Forbes Lake,” one said.
Mike and his crew were in Forbes last month to film. After retiring from international cricket, Mike first appeared on Sydney Weekender in 1994. He travels around the city and throughout NSW to find the best places to stay, eat and play.
By Maggi Barnard
40 Years of service for John Pearce:
John Pearce yesterday celebrated 40 years of service at Roylance’s Auto One.
Chris Roylance, Managing Director, said it was a unique achievement as not many employees reach such a milestone. He described John as being very popular with the customers all over country NSW, staff and other branches in the organisation. “He is very loyal, honest and thorough in what he does,” said Chris. John said he had never looked anywhere else for a job. “It is a great company to work for and I‘ve had a pretty good run of relationships seeing the first, second and the third generation coming in.” He feels proud of his achievement staying that long with one company. John said he had nine years to go to retirement and hoped to crack 50 years of service! John joined the company in 1976 after completing Year 10 at the Forbes High School. His first job was a spare parts assistant. “The day he started he walked around the shelves goggled eye wondering what it was all about,” Chris remembers. He said back in those days they were still wearing white dust overcoats as their uniform. These days John is a sales rep travelling all over NSW selling automotive, earth moving and hardware parts. He is also the co-ordinator for the Orange Field Days and he is involved in training for pressure cleaners, automotive parts and earthmoving.
Open Day at Ian Simpson & Co: To celebrate the opening of the offices of Ian Simpson & Co everybody is welcome to their Open Day to be held at their offices in 88A Lachlan Street on Saturday 23rd July starting at 10am. Come and join in the celebration with a sausage sizzle and face painting for the kids.
National Tree Day: Central West Lachlan Landcare is organising a Family Day on Saturday, 30th July at the Central West Livestock Exchange from 10am-1pm. You will learn about wildlife corridors, native animal habitat and threatened species. This will also be the launch of the first Forbes Motley Crew initative. Tools and equipment for planting, watering cans and buckets will be supplied. A BBQ lunch will also be provided. Kids can also take part in fun, free DIY nature-craft workshops held over the weekend of Tree Day, Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July at your local Bunnings store.
Forbes Business Chamber AGM: The Forbes Business Chamber AGM will take place on Thursday, 21st July at 6:00pm at the Forbes Sport and Recreation Club. President Stuart Thomas will be standing down as president.
“We have a great committee but still need input and enthusiasm. Please have a think about joining the committee. We will welcome any new committee members who would like to join. There are a range of roles, some more hands on and some more advisory. So if you have great ideas or would like to see some changes but are limited for time, come on board and join us,” said Stuart Thomas, President of the Forbes Business Chamber.
The dance program of the Forbes Eisteddfod started last Saturday with more than 850 entries received from all over the region to compete until Sunday at the Forbes High School. Many local dancers from Kristen’s Dance Studio and Stepping Out Dance Factory are taking part under the watchful eye of Amanda Clerke, the adjudicator from Sydney.
The program started with youngest competitors and will end with the group sections on Sunday, which is always a highlight. The day will be split into a morning and afternoon session. The dance sections commenced with soloists starting with 5 years and under participants and will go through to opens competing in classical, jazz, demi-character, song and dance, modern expressive, tap, contemporary and national character, as well as duo/trio groups.
Forbes dancers have been performing very well. When The Forbes Phoenix attended the program on Tuesday, Lauren Neilsen had won the modern expressive category for 12 years and under. Lilly Gharib came third in the same category. Entry to the sessions is $3 for adults and $2 for pensioners and children (5 – 12 years). Sessions start at 9am.
The music, speech and drama sections of the 23rd Eisteddfod were held at the Forbes Town Hall from 18th to 23rd June. Selected winners from both programs will be invited to perform at the Grand Concert to be held at the Forbes Town Hall on Saturday 23rd July commencing at 7pm. Tickets and table groups are now on sale and can be purchased by contacting the committee at forbes.eisteddfod@hotmail.com.
The Forbes Eisteddfod would not be possible without the assistance of their major sponsors, namely Forbes Shire Council, Northparkes Mines, McDonalds and the Forbes Services Memorial Club, plus numerous local business and individual sponsors.
Oh dear, we have had more rain this week and there is a lot of water around. Please do not drive through any flooded roads. Whether you are in a 4WD or a little Echo, they all float so please don’t do it. The NSW Junior Squash Championships were on the weekend with the finals held in Forbes on Sunday. The Golfie was a spectacular venue and there was standing room only for spectators. The presentation that afternoon upstairs was superb. There was great talent on display, especially from our local juniors who did very well and we are very proud of them.
There is another new business that has opened in town with JD’s Glass and Glazing in Union Street. It is always great to see new businesses open and I wish them well.
A big congratulations to Margaret and Ken Nock for 30 years of great service to the Forbes community. For most of that time they were my newsagency and they gave me excellent service. I wish them health and wellbeing on behalf of the Forbes community in whatever their future plans are.
Our General Manager Danny Green and I travelled to Orange last Thursday for a consultation meeting on the Joint Organisation model and pending legislation. We have had a lot of consultation in regards to the Joint Organisations and we are now at the point where we’ve got to suck it up and see if it works in my view. Centroc as a pilot Joint Organisation has been highly successful and has delivered savings to our Councils.
Have a great week, stay safe and God bless.
Mayor, Cr Phyllis Miller OAM
One Great Solution: What a great name for a group of shops located on the corner of Jones Street and the Newell Highway in Forbes. More than 20 people attended a Biz Viz evening hosted by Roylance’s Auto One, Auslec and Blue Sky Outdoor last week. Biz Viz events are run by the Forbes Chamber of Commerce.
The three businesses are very diverse, each with their own story. Auslec, managed by Tanya Godden, is the number three electrical wholesaler group in Australia. They located to Forbes after their store in Parkes burnt to the ground. It was almost like starting from scratch as a lot of business was lost.
Auslec covers the whole Central West from Cobar to Blayney and everything in between. They stock the Heatcraft range, which supplies all heating and cooling products. Auslec also owns a solar business, supplying to both residential and commercial customers with a 25-30 year warranty on their products. “I am happy with trading conditions at the moment, as we are 60% up year on year at the moment,” said Tanya. Our main challenge is pricing and keeping up with cost savings, and how we can help our clients achieve this.”
Moving next door to Blue Sky Outdoors, which has been owned by Mick Roylance for 11 years. The shop has three full time staff, two casuals and trades seven days per week. “We really pride ourselves on our level of service, with over 1, 000 square metres in which to house our vast range of products from camping, fishing, wood burners, baby clothing and household items,” said Mick. Blue Sky Outdoors is not a franchise but a buying group. Mick is one of those people who knows what is happening in every part of his business, keeping up with the figures and making it a ‘destination store’.
At Roylance’s Auto One, Chris Roylance said: “We haven’t looked back since we moved here in 2001.” There have been a couple of name changes along the way, coming full circle from 1990 when it was Roylance’s Auto One. The name then changed to Roylance’s Automotive and Industrial and back again to Roylances Auto One when it rejoined the group in 2014. Roylance’s are the leaders in the automotive business in Australia. “We pride ourselves on our service. We have many long term staff, some having been with us for over 40 years,” Chris said. “Our biggest challenge is cash flow, and the large range of products that we have to have in store.
We also have the latest technology to enhance our high level of customer service. “At the cornerstone of our business is our culture, with new ways of thinking, ensuring that our policies and procedures are adhered to, and allowing our staff to take ownership and pride in what they do.” Next time you are out and about make sure the One Great Solution shopping precinct is on your list.
By Cheryl Newsom
The Local Government election for Forbes Shire Council will be held on Saturday, 10th September when nine councillors will be elected for the next four years. Candidate nominations will open on 1st August and close on 10th August. The primary source of information for candidates is the NSW Electoral Commission’s website at www.votensw.info.
Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said she encouraged anyone wanting to stand for Council to contact her or any of the current Councillors. “Representing our community as a Councillor is a great experience and if you want to come and have a chat about what is involved, my door is always open,” the Mayor said.
Candidates can contact the NSW Electoral Commission directly on 1300 022 011 or email fdc@elections.nsw.gov.au if they have questions about registration or their election campaign finances. Voting is compulsory for all residents in the Forbes Shire who are registered on the electoral roll. There is no absentee voting in Local Government elections. If you are unable to vote on election day, you can vote either by pre-poll or postal vote.
Pre-poll voting will open 29th August to 9th September in the Council Chambers. Postal vote application forms will be available at http://www.votensw.info/early_voting_options/postal_voting from mid-July.
As required by the Local Government Act 1993, Council’s General Manager must prepare and certify the non-residential roll and the NSW Electoral Commissioner must confirm that those on the lists are able to be enrolled on the non-residential roll.
The Boscars – Forbes Business Awards are on again and it’s time
to consider your businesses entries. Entry in these awards give
you the opportunity to promote excellence in your business to your
customers, staff, suppliers and the wider community. It also provides
a forum for recognition of outstanding staff.
Take the time now to have a look at the award categories and
consider which might be a good fit for you. Seek input from key
staff and sell your story. Don’t be shy about your achievements.
The awards entry period will be during the month of August.
An information night will be held soon to provide guidance with
the awards entry process. Visit forbesbusinesschamber.com.au/
boscars for more information or email forbes.businesschambernsw@
gmail.com.
A total of 403 pairs of spectacles were collected in the Recycle for Sight program run by the Forbes and District Lions Club. The program was run in both the Forbes and Parkes communities. OPSM and Parkes Optical Services in Parkes, and Phillip Wells Optometrists and Eyeware Plus in Forbes acted as drop off points for the program.
It was the fourth time the Lions Club has successfully run the program for the collection of used spectacles and sunglasses. These spectacles will be forwarded to a centre in Brisbane where they will be cleaned, graded and forwarded for use in the Lions Eye Projects in developing nations. Lions would like to thank all those who contributed used spectacles and thank you to the local optometrists who acted as collection points for the project.
“I am very pleased to be here, people have been marvellous and the staff have been so welcoming.” This is what Danny Green, newly appointed General Manager at the Forbes Shire Council had to say on his second day in the office on Tuesday.
Danny said he was keen to make the move to Forbes from the Gloucester Shire Council where he has been General Manager since 2012. “I see this job as a new challenge as I will be working in a bigger and better resourced environment.”
For Danny, who strongly believes in the power of the community, the most rewarding part of his role would be to achieve something for the community. “That kind of achievement gives me a good vibe, and it brings immediate results for the Council.” That is why his immediate plans are to start meeting the staff, as well as key stakeholders in the community “to see how we can support what others do”.
With his experience at various Councils in NSW and Tasmania and qualifications, Danny brings a holistic management style to include financial and business skills, people relations and community involvement. “In my last few positions in a general manager role, one of my strengths has been working with people. I really enjoy it.”
With a strong background in doing volunteer work, Danny cannot stress enough the importance of supporting the community, as it is the backbone of any small town. Looking to the future Danny sees Forbes as a very sustainable community with good education levels that will continue to grow with lots of opportunities at its doorstep, such as the inland rail project, the livestock facility and its ideal location for new developments.
When he is not in the office, Danny looks forward to spending time with his wife Kerrie walking around the lake, playing tennis and reading. Kerrie is also an avid volunteer in the community and is looking forward to getting involved in new ventures in Forbes.
They have four adult children. Danny was appointed by unanimous decision after a comprehensive recruitment process. “We are very lucky to have appointed someone as experienced and well qualified as Danny,” said Mayor Phyllis Miller.