Forbes Council Shire have reaffirmed their position to stand alone in response to the IPART assessment of its Fit for the Future proposal at a special meeting this week. The Council’s decision was backed up by Member for Orange Andrew Gee, who says that he fully supports their stance to stand alone.

“Forbes Shire Council has voted unanimously to continue to stand alone, and I have made it clear from the start, I will be backing them to the hilt,” Mr Gee said. “While I accept that people have differing views on the issue, and I, and we as a community certainly need to respect those views, the overwhelming feedback I’ve had at both the community meeting earlier this month, and through a phone survey conducted by Council, is that the communities
of Forbes would rather stand alone.” “Being a local member is about backing your local communities through thick and thin, and while there is no doubt that this is a very tough battle, I’ll be in there fighting for the Forbes community until this thing is done.”

Mayor Phyllis OAM said the response from the community at the public meeting and the telephone survey showed 72% wanted to stand alone.

Local Forbes musician, Jake Ellison who is a guitarist and vocalist from the popular local band House of Tribes, has received quite a prestigious award. Named as Highly Commended in the 2015 Australian Children’s Music Foundation National Songwriting Competition for his song “Underdog”, Jake and his supporters are thrilled with the result.

“I’m really stoked about it and it puts me up with the top composers in the country for my age group,” Jake said.
It was Jake’s music teacher, Don Ruttan who suggested Jake enter the competition. “There were only two days left to enter. Mr Ruttan was about to delete the email. We entered anyway thinking, you never know where it might get you.”

Jake says that Underdog, which is featured on House of Tribes recent debut album Paint it Red, is a song inspired by some of the struggles faced in day to day life. It is a touching and inspiring melody featuring the kind of beautiful acoustics and rising harmonies that give you goosebumps. “I wrote it about bullying. It’s about trying
to stay strong and keep with it,” said Jake. Order a copy of Paint it Red by sending your order to HouseOfTribes@outlook.com.au or listen to House of Tribes on You-Tube.

The Find It In Forbes This Christmas Festival on Saturday 5 December will be a fun-filled day with loads of activities! Cath Adams will be providing live entertainment and there will be activities to keep the kids amused including a visit from Santa! There will be the traditional wheelbarrow races where winners will receive a $500 Why Leave Town Gift Voucher. Contact Amy at Anytime Fitness or Bowns Sportspower to sign up! We’re also looking for
volunteers to help out at the Festival to make sure everything runs smoothly. If you can donate your time please contact forbes.businesschambernsw@gmail.com

Jim Roylance moved to Forbes in 1948, where he became a Spare Parts Specialist for Paddison & Co. Jim married Nea Gunn in 1952, establishing Jim Roylance PTY LTD in October 1955. The first premises was situated at 153 Lachlan Street, starting as a business stocking auto and tractor spare parts and adding lines of household and electrical items.

In 1960, the store moved to a bigger premises at 66 Lachlan Street, and the growth of the business forced another move in 1962 where they purchased F. Rath & Co in Rankin Street. At this time, F. Rath & Co were having their 60th year in business. The store remained there with upgrades along the way until 2001.

The year 2001 saw a move for the store to the Newell Highway where the store is situated today. Chris and Mick Roylance became involved in the family business once leaving school. With a company restructure in 2009, Mick took a new direction to become the owner operator of the outdoor and camping store, known as Blue Sky Outdoor experts. Chris’s son Justin, a third generation family member became a partner with Chris at this time.

Over the years the family has purchased other stores. 1995 saw a partnership in Canobolas Auto One and selling out in 1999. The year 2000 saw the opening of Roylances’ Automotive & Industrial in Port Melbourne servicing the mining and quarry sectors.

The Melbourne branch is going strong and they have seen a move to larger premises in Tullamarine in August 2015. 2008 saw the Roylance brand open a branch in Cobar NSW. After servicing the Cobar region for over 30 years, the family opted to open a branch to service not only the mining community but the local workshops and community. Roylance’s Melbourne and Cobar are continuing strong with the efforts of all five staff involved.

Last year saw big changes for Roylance’s. After 11 years of being independent, the family made the decision to re-join the Auto One group. This has been a positive move for the Forbes store. It has created a one stop destination in the Automotive Industry for trade and retail products within the Forbes and surrounding communities.

The Forbes store hosts 11 employees, all of who are locals. There are also long standing employees who are like family. John Pearce has been employed by Roylance’s for 39 years and Terry Churchill 19 years, just to name a few.
There has been a lot of changes and moving with the times for this family business. For over 60 years they have watched the way of technology change not only with computer systems and the like but also within the Automotive Industry.

The Roylance family are proud that they have been able to service the country over the past 60 years and will pride themselves to do so for many more years to come.

Before summer really hits us, don’t forget to make sure you have everything you need in the way of air conditioning to keep your livings spaces liveable. It’s hard to enjoy summer if you’re stifled by the heat 24/7!

Coles Climate Centre in Forbes is the ideal place to go for all your cooling and heating needs, a local supplier and installation agent. Coles Climate Centre can supply the services you need from the best brands, including Rinnai heating, Bosch hot water systems, Mitsubishi heavy industrial air conditioning and Braemar evaporative refrigerator
systems.

Michael Coles has thirty-five years of experience in the building industry, as well as ten years of experience in the heating and cooling industry. On top of that, he is a licensed gas fitter and builder, and can also cut your keys if you need some spares. Coles Climate Centre is working out of the Coles Hardware and Glass site on the corner of Bathurst and Flint streets. Call now to have your system installed before Christmas which is the busy period. You can
contact Michael on 0427 523 930.

Forbes North Public School held a successful fundraising event on Friday 6th October. Around 85 people attended the Spring Fling Dinner which raised in excess of $3000 which will be used to sustain the school’s Kitchen Program.

The Kitchen Garden Program emerged after grant funding was received through the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation, which enabled the school to build the schools kitchen, employ a cook and establish gardens. The Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden program is designed to help children to form positive food habits for life.

The program provides inspiration, information, professional learning and support for educational institutions to deliver pleasurable food education. Forbes North Public School was the first school to launch the program and staff have witnessed the positive impact that it has had on students and their families. Children have learned how to grow, harvest, prepare and share food, not only improving their food science knowledge but developing essential social skills. The program also explores the origins and history of food and highlights the many cultural influences and flavours available. Many of the successful outcomes of the Kitchen Garden Program can be attributed to the dedication and enthusiasm of the program facilitators, firstly with Julie Bourke and now, qualified chef, Tami Montgomery. Their love of cooking is infectious and the children have enjoyed their experiences. Tami and her team of volunteers are constantly cooking a wide variety of products, including relishes and jams, which are then sold to produce revenue to support the now self-funded program.

Tami was the driving force behind Friday’s event and was responsible for the delicious menu that attendees enjoyed. Mrs Michele Morley, Assistant Principal at Forbes North, commended Tami’s efforts and was grateful for the support shown by local businesses and the Forbes community in general.

Michele would also like to thank the Forbes Golf and Sportsman’s Hotel for being so obliging and helpful with the event.