The Forbes Aboriginal and Community Working Party came together as an initiative of David Acheson, a dedicated member of the Forbes and Indigenous communities. “We are trying to create a voice for Aboriginal people in Forbes,” says David, who is currently seeking out fresh members for FACWP. “You’ve got to be involved with your
own town.”

Although FACWP have been operating quite a few months now, David admits that there is not much structure at this stage. “We have up to 13 people come to our meetings, but it varies from month to month,” David says, stressing that FACWP is for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people alike and encourages people from all walks of life
to work together in their community.

David is responsible for most of the FACWP’s top jobs, including Secretary, Treasurer, Director and Cleaner, making it difficult for him to utilise resources in the best possible way. “I want to legitimise the committee,” he says. “We need structure to be accepted into the Three Rivers Regional Assembly. “As a group of volunteers we are working to
establish a local identity and make a place for ourselves in local decision making on things like health, education, housing, transport and cultural issues in the Forbes Aboriginal community.”

The next meeting of the FACWP will be held on Monday 12 October at the Forbes Services Memorial Club from 5:30pm. Anybody in the community who wants to contribute to their cause, whether young, old, black, white or in between is invited to join.

After 12 months of preparations, the time has arrived for 25 local dancers and 42 of their family and friends to make their way to America for 10 days. For some, this will not only be their first trip overseas, but their first time on an aeroplane.

Kristen’s Dance School owner Kristen Woods offered the opportunity late last year to students who perform at Eisteddfods throughout the year and she has since been working hard with students, choreographing and rehearsing dances to perform at Disneyland and Universal Studios. The dancers have a busy schedule to follow with workshops and performances at Disneyland, Universal Studios and Hollywood. They will also go on a guided sightseeing tour of
LA, visiting Beverley Hills, Hollywood and Rodeo Drive.

Students and their families conducted several fundraising activities throughout the year to assist the dancers with the costs, receiving an overwhelming response. The tour is offered by Dance Around the World Tours, an established company with over 25 years experience in giving Choir, Dance and Band groups performance opportunities
and workshop experiences in the USA, Asia, Europe and the South Pacific.

Good luck and happy travels to all our aspiring dancers and their families. Enjoy your trip and we look forward to hearing about your accomplishments on your return!

Forbes Preschool Kindergarten will be the grateful recipients of a $7000 NSW Government grant that aims to improve access to preschool for children in rural and remote communities.

“It was a lovely surprise when Andrew Gee came out to visit us last Friday with a $7000 cheque to ensure all children can access a preschool education,” says Amy Shine, Director of the preschool. “The money will help support our new building project and increase the available spaces allowing more children access to preschool and we are committed to maintaining our low fees, which start at $5 a day.”

Member for Orange Andrew Gee said the initiative provides these types of grants to community preschools in outer regional, remote and very remote areas. “This initiative helps early educators connect with families who are not sending their children to preschool and ensures children who are located in rural areas are able to access a quality early childhood education,” Mr Gee said.

“The program is designed to support preschools’ outreach initiatives, improving engagement and universal access for hard to reach and vulnerable children in these areas.”

A big charity event is coming up in Forbes that you won’t want to miss out on! Save the date for Saturday 7 November and get out your best outfits for a night of fun and flamboyance for the Dancing with the Stars
Forbes competition at Forbes Services Memorial Club.

Dancing with the Stars will involve 20 stars who are all local identities forming 10 couples. Each couple will be dancing in a different style in order to win the title of Dancing with the Stars Champion of Forbes. “We have had an incredible response so far from the community with sponsorship and donations, and we hope to fill the Forbes Services Club to capacity,” says event organiser Cassandra Tyack.

The winning couple will receive a glitzy trophy kindly made and donated by Midpro Engineering. Doors will open at 6pm for a 6:30pm start. A light supper will be provided and guests are welcome to bring finger food as long it is not pre-cooked. A charity auction will be held as well as an amazing raffle and fantastic prizes up for grabs. Tables can take a maximum of 12 people but you don’t need to be able to fill a whole table to book.

Tickets are $45 per person, and must be purchased using cash or cheque. Credit cards and eftpos transactions will not be accepted. Tickets went on sale this week at the Forbes Services Memorial Club with all profits going towards Can Assist Forbes, an organisation providing direct financial assistance to people in country NSW affected by cancer.

Avoid disappointment and don’t leave it to the last minute – get in quick as tickets are expected to sell out fast!

If you like to get some of your Christmas shopping done early, this is a great opportunity to snag yourself a real bargain! Until Sunday 20 September, News on Rankin are proud to be offering 30% off all their giftware as a part of Destination Forbes. They have gifts for people of all ages, covering a range of interests and occasions, with staff who are friendly, helpful and always happy to assist you with your gift selection. News on Rankin is now a stockist of a great range of Penny Scallan Design products.

They also stock a massive collection of stationary, craft supplies, best-sellers, scratchies, art and plenty more. There is a variety of books on offer including up-to-date adults, childrens and educational books. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, the staff may be able to order it in for you. Looking for a printer cartridge at a great price? News on Rankin boasts the cheapest cartridges in the area.

Forget about driving elsewhere, it’s all about shopping locally in Forbes! Call in to News on Rankin today to check out their exciting product range. News on Rankin are located at 70 Rankin Street and are open 7 days a week.

September sees snakes waking up from hibernation. Please be aware of this when out in the paddocks, stock routes and around town with your animals. If your animal displays any of the following signs ring the vet straight away for advice as they are the most common signs we see with brown snake bites:
• Collapse
• Difficulty breathing
• Weakness
• Struggling to stand on its back legs
• Vomiting
• Colic if it is a horse

The Forbes area does have King Brown and Black snakes as well. These show different signs – a really painful, swollen bite site that is oozing blood. It is important to identify what snake has bitten your animal to assist us in knowing what anti-venom to give. Brown snakes and black snakes have different treatments. If you are unsure what it is and if it is possible and safe to do so a photo of the snake’s head will help us, otherwise we can do tests on your animal to try and work it out.

Cats can go for up to 12 hours before they start showing signs, dogs will usually show signs within 2 hours of a brown snake bite. Please bring in all animals who have possibly been in contact with the snake for assessment as some animals show absolutely no signs before it is too late. If in doubt please call the clinic for advice or bring your animal straight in. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Young Appaloosa Western Breeds Association (YAWBA) are a Forbes based organisation who work tirelessly to live their passion of showing horses. “We all work on this every day of the week,” said Stevie Jackson, Secretary of YAWBA. “We have big ambitions!”

In their second year, YAWBA are holding their first show of the season on Saturday 26 September. “The whole thing went so well last year that it seems like the sky is the limit,” said YAWBA Vice President Leah Helwig. “So this year we are going to keep getting bigger and better.” “We wanted to give something for kids and families to take part in, and so they could come and learn about a different perspective of the western show industry,” Stevie said, “and we cater to everyone from the beginners to the serious competitors. It’s a fun family environment.”

“We cater for the elite, but you don’t have to be elite to be there,” said Leah. The YAWBA Shows are so popular, people travel long distances to take part. For the upcoming event, they have people travelling to the Young arena from Mudgee, Dubbo, Forbes, Goulburn, Yass and the Blue Mountains. There will be a massive range of prizes on offer as well as tickets for a huge raffle which will be drawn later in the year. The winning prize is a free stallion service to Riverdowns Mega Mr. Visit www.yawba.net for more information.

McDonald’s Forbes Restaurant Manager Justin Miller has embarked on a trip of a lifetime this week! He will be travelling to Los Angeles for the 2015 McDonald’s Restaurant Managers Convention; an exciting and rare opportunity. Justin left from Sydney on Monday and is set to have a life changing experience as he has never before been outside of the state of NSW.

“I was born and bred in Forbes,” Justin said last week before leaving. “The furthest I’ve ever been from home was Moree!” The convention will be about leadership practises, the knowledge and confidence of managers, working through any issues and trying to improve the business overall. “It’s a great opportunity to branch out and meet other country stores, see how they run and get up to standards with business practise,” Justin said.

Justin joins a group of 4 managers and a supervisor from the Forbes/Parkes/Cowra area who have gone to LA to attend the convention. As part of the program, they will get to visit Disneyland and Universal Studios in LA before heading to Las Vegas for a few days to look around.