The Forbes Business Chamber is currently working with the Forbes Shire Council on a 15-year plan to improve the town’s CBD. Chamber President Stuart Thomas said areas such as the CBD’s streetscape, shared zones, shade improvements as well as other ideas to improve the shopping experience in Forbes would be considered.

Mr Thomas said the overall goal was to make Forbes a “vibrant shopping space”. “We’ve got a goal with the view that we’ll end up with a vibrant shopping district, but also more than that, an area where the community will enjoy having a meal and a chat, and do their shopping,” he said.

“It would have a combined effect of social benefits for the community, but also
economic benefits, and the retailers would benefit.” “Retailers are effected by things like online shopping now, so they need to create a point of difference so more people will walk into the store. It’ll be about the shopping experience.”
Mr Thomas said the process would be long, but one that would see input by not just the Chamber and Council, but also businesses themselves and the community.

He said a revamp of the CBD and changes to the streets were not out of the question, and this was something Council had considered in the past, but remodeling the town would take a lengthy process of consultations.

“The concept is going to involve business input but also community input. You need something that people want rather than something that is forced into place,” he said. Mr Thomas added there were also benefits from businesses investing within themselves. “Tradesmen benefit from the work, and that brings money into the local economy, and it creates a new feel and freshens things up,” he said.

New Forbes Medical Centre registrar Dr Chen-yi Lo has already lived in a number of places in Australia, but says she is enjoying the friendly lifestyle Forbes has to offer. Dr Lo started working at the Forbes Medical Centre this year, along with fellow newcomers Dr Maria Rasool and Dr Farrah Yasmin.

It is her first permanent position in a General Practitioners clinic, with her previous work being in hospitals, apart from a brief three-month period. Dr Lo was born in Taiwan, and spent her school years in Singapore before relocating
to Melbourne in 2002, where she spent six years at the University of Melbourne in medical studies.

Before she moved to Forbes this year, she worked at the Ballarat Hospital in Victoria, and prior to that, she spent seven years working at hospitals in South Australia, where she first started work as a doctor. She is currently in a 12 month rotating working arrangement, and as such, she will move on to another, yet-to-be-determined, medical practice next year.

She said she was enjoying the friendly and easy lifestyle Forbes provided. “Forbes is very different from where I have been before. It’s a long way from the nearest major cities,” she said. “I have worked in rural communities before, so Forbes isn’t really that different in that way, but the distance from the nearest city is what is new for me.”

“The environment in Forbes is really enjoyable, and the people here are really friendly, so it hasn’t been too difficult getting used to living here.” Having worked mostly in cities, such as Adelaide and Ballarat, Dr Lo said there were differences in the environment of working in either setting.

“You get to know your patients a lot better working in a rural GP clinic than a city hospital, as the people will normally always come to see the same doctor,” she said.

By Joshua Matic

The senior citizens of Forbes enjoyed 10 days worth of fun-filled activities recently, as NSW Seniors Week took off across the state. Seniors Week actually ran for 10 days, but in Forbes, activities were held on seven of those days across town.

Friday April 1 saw the event launch with a seniors expo at the Youth and Community Centre, with stalls and information available on how seniors can get involved in the local community. Sunday April 3 had an opera show on at Forbes Town Hall entitled ‘Songs of Love and Loss.’

On Monday April 4 a morning tea was held at Mater Aged Care, while the following day saw Jemalong Residential Village host a morning tea of their own. The Forbes Sport and Recreation Club held a lawn bowls ‘come and try’ day last Thursday, while last Saturday had a dance show and the Forbes Rodeo take place, with seniors discounts on offer. The event ended last Sunday at the Forbes Services Club with the Country Music Muster.

Sally Spence, Lifestyle Therapist at Jemalong Village in Forbes, said the residence’s morning tea was well received. “We had three students come across from Forbes High School who entertained the crowd. They sang and played songs for our residents,” she said. “We were also celebrating two birthdays that day. One of our residents turned 100, and another turned 91.” “The residents really love anything involving music and food. Seniors Week was great for that.”

Forbes Shire Council Community Relations Officer Blake Nicholson organised the Seniors Expo, and said the aim of the day was to display ways seniors could get out and get active in the community. “Stallholders included the Forbes Menshed, Neighbourhood Watch, College for Seniors, Home and Community Care, Flannerys Pharmacy, Australian Unity Home Care Service,” he said.

With organised gaming on the rise, Greenlight Collectables on Welcome Street has become an official venue for competitive Magic: The Gathering play, also known as Magic. Magic: The Gathering is the world’s most popular trading card game with approximately 20 million players. The game can be played by two or more players and each game represents a battle between wizards known as ‘Planeswalkers’ who employ spells, artefacts and creatures depicted on each individual card to defeat their opponents.

As the original concept drew heavily from motifs of traditional fantasy role playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, the gameplay has substantially more cards than many other card games which make this game not only fun but also mentally challenging.

Magic combines fantasy themes with strategic thinking and is a great social and competitive hobby for people of all ages. On Friday nights players can now compete for prizes, Planeswalker points and become part of a growing gaming community. Magic is a great addition to the competitive schedule
on offer at Greenlight Collectables, who offer a wide range of table top and trading card games. Everything from Dungeons and Dragons to Yu-Gi-Oh is in stock and tables are always open for play. Friday nights at Greenlight Collectables are focused on providing an accessible, fun night out for players
of all ages and ability levels. Come on down, meet some new friends and join the fun!

The Forbes Diggers Harness Racing Club will be one of the main showpieces in Forbes on ANZAC Day. The day will feature six races. People have been flocking to Forbes on ANZAC Day since the 1950’s, as it has been tradition to head out to the pace way on the commemorative day.

While the massive crowds of yesteryear may not be as big as they once were, there is no denying that it keeps a very special part of history close to our hearts. It’s official name, the “ Forbes Diggers Trotting Club”, is very symbolic to locals.

All the committee have been working overtime to ensure that everything is ready for another carnival, run over two weekends, and no doubt come the end of it, they will be enjoying yet another great success. The program will start at 1.00pm with the running of the Forbes 3yo Pace (1680m)