The Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre received a welcome gift this week of $13, 600 for the funding of two closed-circuit television cameras. Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack made the announcement on Tuesday as part of the Safer Streets program that supports communities at the grass roots to help address crime and anti-social behaviour.

“This has come as such a big surprise and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said Aileen Allen, Secretary of the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre. “We keep on spending money we should be using for development, because of vandalism at the centre.” Michael said the cameras would be beaming images straight to the Forbes Police Station to ensure the culprits were caught and faced the full punishment of the law.

Forbes Shire Deputy Mayor Graeme Miller said he was pleased the funding had been announced as the centre had a lovely setting at the lake and needed to be respected and not damaged. “The Forbes Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre Inc has done a great job with the development of the centre and unfortunately it has been the target of vandalism since it opened in 1996,” said the Deputy Mayor. Plans are underway to place at least eight Aboriginal sculptures around Lake Forbes if a grant application is successful. New barbeque facilities were recently installed. Aileen wants the whole community to enjoy the facilities any time.

The annual Lachlan Valley Caravan Bush Rally was held at the Kiacatoo Hall grounds last week. The popular rally saw 29 caravans arrive to enjoy a week of camping in a bush setting beside the Lachlan river. Campers were serenaded by resident muso’s Rod, Rob, Jim and Colleen.

Each morning the campers feasted on dampers with the camp cooks seeing who could cook the best before a plate of jaffles and toast for breakfast and pots of soup on hot coals for dinner. The club would like to thank all the woodcutters for the firewood they gathered and Judith Buttriss for keeping the coals alight in the early hours.

For those who haven’t seen it, The Church in the Paddock was another highlight with its lovely domed ceiling and mosaics. As the weather turned wet the campers retreated to a hall for their Biggest Morning Tea, with tasty food coming from the caravans, decorations and raffles. A total of $617 was raised, with all money going to Cancer Research. The mood of the rally turned silly when members dressed up for the skit pantomime, Cinderfello. Helen Pitt and Ruth Armstrong gathered all costumes for a hilarious few hours!

President, Peter Bright, then presided over the club meeting, welcoming all for attending and reports were read and business discussed. It was noted that Lachlan Valley are one of the four biggest clubs in NSW.

Lots of games of rummy and scrabble were enjoyed over the week while fishing and games of tennis were popular for those who were fit along with bush walks. At the end of the week winter seemed to quickly set in so all campers were happy to head back to their home comforts!

Gunn’s Menswear has been supplying Forbes and surrounds with quality menswear for nearly 60 years. While many original features of the shop date back that far, we have decided it was time for a refresh and an update for the layout.

The layout of the store evolved organically over time as new stock lines and new services have been added to the business. Over time the types of clothing customers are looking for has also changed.

Workwear is a huge part of our business, customized uniforms are a given for most businesses, while suits have made a big comeback, and of course fashion trends come and go. So with the customer in mind, it was time to consolidate, restructure and bring Gunn’s Menswear into the modern day with a fresh layout to give our customers a focused shopping experience.

All menswear is now front and centre on the main shop floor. Our suiting, dress trousers and business shirts have been brought down from upstairs and the surf wear brought forward. With such a huge demand for quality workwear combined with the emphasis on safety wear, we have given it its own space at the back. Corporate wear and schoolwear remain upstairs.

We still have a few areas to complete and some fine tuning to be done. Coming soon we will have vinyl printing for banners and signage, as well as digital printing. We are in the process of purchasing machines to offer these services. This will enable us to offer more on top of our current embroidery service. Even though our shop is having a facelift, some things will never change: quality clothing, trusted brands, great customer service and value for money.

With the date now set for the Boscars dinner being Friday 28th October, all businesses are being encouraged to consider nominating for one of the relevant categories. Now aligned with the NSW Business Chamber Awards the categories include the following: Excellence in Business Ethics, Excellence in Innovation, Excellence in Small Business (under 20 employees), Excellence in Business (over 20 employees), Employee of Choice, Young Entrepreneur, Business Leader of the Year and of course selected from all of these categories is the Business of the Year.

In addition there are two awards for employees, including Apprentice or Trainee of the Year and Employee of the Year. With the People’s Choice awards, there are two categories, Tradie of the Year and Most Popular Business. These awards publicly promote and reward business excellence within the Forbes Shire Council area and provide inspiration for businesses and set benchmarks for best practice. If your business is interested in being a sponsor for the Awards please call Cheryl Newsom on 0411 211 065.

The free Child Restraint Checking Day held recently discovered that 60% of the child restraints checked were incorrectly fitted. The service, offered by Forbes Shire Council and Jelbart Dawson, provided free child restraint inspections at the only RMS Authorised Child Restraint Fitting Station in Forbes. Five child restraints were brought in by parents, grandparents and carers for checking.

Forbes Shire Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Logan Dolbel, said that research showed that two out of three child restraints are not being used properly and this put children at risk of sustaining injuries if they are involved in a crash.

“Most of the child restraints that were checked only had minor problems that
needed fixing to ensure the safety of the child,” said Logan. “The most common mistakes were related to the use of the lap sash seatbelt and the straps on the child restraint – they needed tightening, they were too tight, or
were incorrectly positioned. Nearly all of the restraints checked also needed additional parts like gated buckles to ensure the safety of the restraint and the child.

Logan said the correct fitting and adjustment of child restraints was vital. “Child restraints that are not correctly fitted put children at risk of injury in the event of a crash. It is important to make sure that your precious cargo is safe and buckled up every time they are in the car – whether it’s a five minute or five hour journey.” According to Logan people who attended the checking day said they had come along because they were uncertain as to whether their child restraints were correctly installed.

Information and advice was also available about the types of child restraints, the national laws and when to move children from one restraint to the next. This is the second time that free child restraint checking days have been held in Forbes as part of the I’m counting on you project. If you missed out on this great opportunity, Jelbart Dawson & Co can install and check child restraints every day for a small fee.

Winter is coming to Bathurst as part of their festival running from 2nd to 16th July. The ‘cool’ event will include an outdoor McDonalds Bathurst ice rink, a Ferris wheel and illumination elements that will be turned on every evening from sundown until 10pm.

The illuminations will feature the theme ‘fire and ice’ with the Court House, Carillon, Ribbon Gang Lane, Church Bar and TAFE building key features. Don’t miss out on the interactive element this year where you can throw snowballs at the TAFE building!

Ferris wheel tickets can be purchased at the Ferris wheel during the festival at $5 per person and ice skating tickets can be pre-booked online at www.bathurstwinterfestival.com.au. The festival will feature two key nights, the first, opening night on Saturday will be themed, ‘Ignite the Night’. The evening will create a festival atmosphere in Kings Parade with skating, the Ferris wheel and a range of other family friendly activities including a giant six lane slide, a kid’s laser maze and an infinity mirror at the ice rink.

Bathurst Youth Council will also run the YJam stage, featuring local young performers and local food and wine will be on offer. On Saturday 9th July ‘Brew and Bite’ will get underway from 4pm. The evening will again offer a range of food and entertainment for everyone including food trucks and regional brewers. A pop up bar will serve regional wines, beers and ciders and the food will take on a distinct street food feel with burgers, gourmet frankfurts, slow cooked lamb, barbecued ribs, Lebanese and more.

There will be an ice hockey exhibition and market stalls selling winter woollies, jewellery, candles and clothing and the popular silent disco will return to Court House. Sounds, brr-illiant!

Girragirra Retreat owner and Forbes local Wendy Muffet says the town and shire will benefit from TV program Sydney Weekender’s visit to town last week. The Prime7 program, which is hosted by former Australian cricket fast bowler Mike Whitney, came to Forbes last week, visiting the Central West Livestock Exchange, the McFeeters Motor Museum, and the Girragirra Retreat.

Mrs Muffet said it was a great opportunity for the Forbes Shire to get showcased, especially as Sydney Weekender had not visited the town before. “It’s great that they came and got to see that there is actually a lot of things to do in the country,” she said. “Forbes has so much to offer and the country side is so nice, and personally I’m glad they came out and got to experience it.”

“They told me they really enjoyed their stay in the region, and Mike told me it was as good a stay as what he has had in any city that he’s been to as well.” When the Sydney Weekender crew visited Girragirra, located four kilometres out of Forbes on a rural property, they showcased the best of what the countryside has to offer, with nature literally walking up to the door of their room.

At the Livestock Exchange they attended a relatively small sheep sale of about 20,000 sheep, with Presenter Whitney helping out at the sale. The crew checked out the huge range of historical motor vehicles McFeeters Museum has on display, with Mr Whitney commenting that it was as good as any metropolitan museum he has ever been to.

“This motor museum is truly world class,” he told The Forbes Phoenix last week. “I love my motor bikes, and I’m telling you, I know a lot about them, and what this place has on show is just awesome.”

The episode will go to air on July 10.

By Joshua Matic