What a Country Music Muster!: Veva MacCullagh was our very lucky winner of a double pass to the Country Music Muster held at Condobolin recently. The event was run by Phil and Chris Coad. “This was a fantastic well-run event and featured many walk-up opportunities for singers of country music and a great line-up of professional artists over the weekend,” said Veva.” Many thanks to the Forbes Phoenix and the Coad’s for running this competition,” she said.

Drink-driving in NSW: From May, drink drivers who are first-time, lower range offenders will receive an immediate three month licence suspension and a fine of $561. Under the new laws, simpler and more certain penalties will also apply for drug drivers. Offenders who drive with the presence of illicit drugs for the first time will receive a $561 fine and a three month licence suspension if the offence is confirmed by laboratory analysis. Alcohol related crashes claimed the lives of at least 68 people on NSW roads in 2018, accounting for nearly one in five road deaths, including 55 lives lost on country roads. Fatalities from crashes involving a drug driver accounted for similar numbers of deaths.

Minister for Transport and Roads, Andrew Constance said this reform makes it clear if you break the law, you will pay the price. “We are taking a zero-tolerance approach to drink and drug driving,” said Andrew. “Drivers who have an illegal level of alcohol in their blood or have used illegal drugs have no place on the road.”

Firefighters Open Doors To The Community: Firefighters will be opening the doors to Forbes Fire Station for the Fire and Rescue Open Day on Saturday, 18th May, inviting people to learn more about Australia’s largest urban fire and rescue service.

Forbes Fire Station will be open from 10am to 1pm with a range of free activities including firefighting demonstrations, station tours and safety presentations. Families can also see the fire trucks and firefighting and rescue equipment up close and chat to local firefighters about the critical work they do to keep communities safe.

The Croquet Club celebrated birthdays for May at the Returned Services Club last Tuesday. Club members celebrating their birthdays in May were Lorna Field, John Cole, Dot Hailstone, Anne and Harley Stewart, John Browne and Elvy Quirk.

FANTASTIC WIN… The Red Bend Catholic College Rugby League Opens team celebrated a 38-16 win over Farrer this weekend in Tamworth. Congratulations!

Candidates to contest 2019 election: A total of 1,514 candidates have nominated to contest the 18th May federal election, the Australian Electoral Commission announced.

The national figures include 458 candidates contesting 40 Senate vacancies and 1,056 candidates for the 151 House of Representatives divisions across Australia.

The national total for the 2019 federal election is slightly lower than the 1,625 candidates who stood at the 2016 event. The 2019 candidate nominations were officially declared at public events held across the country recently, followed immediately by a draw for ballot paper positions. The declarations represent a milestone in the huge logistical operation that is a federal election – over 50 million ballot papers will be printed and distributed in the coming few days and early voting began on 29th April.

Between next Monday and 6pm on election day, 18th May, a record 16.4 million Australians are enrolled and able to cast their votes at more than 8,000 polling locations over the period. Voter services will include early-voting centres, mobile-polling teams visiting hospitals and remote areas, election- day polling places and interstate voting centres, overseas voting venues, and other offshore locations such as Norfolk Island and Antarctica.

Mamma Mia! Dancing in Trundle: The Trundle ABBA Festival has arrived with many festival goers expected to start their travel to Trundle and the region this weekend. “We have ABBA fans coming from all over Australia, and even fans from England, travelling to Trundle,” said Felicity Jackson, who is one of the event organisers. “We also have about 400 people coming from Sydney, the Hunter Valley and Parkes on special ABBA Trains,” said Felicity. This year’s festival includes Bjorn Again, the world-famous ABBA tribute band, renowned artists including Ben Ransom, Ingrid Mae, Amitie, MRQ and The Natalie Prevedello Duo. There will also be market stalls, dancing and best costume competitions and lots of fun activities for all ages. “It’s going to be a great fun filled day, so come and visit us on 4th May,” said Felicity.

Contributions: If you have a story, photo for Be Seen, a Thumbs Up/Down, Letter to the Editor or Snippet we would love to hear from you! Simply email editor@forbeshoenix.com.au.

The Mixed Foursomes Golf Championships held last Sunday saw Dan Bayley and Beth Dickens as the winners of the Les Forbes Trophy for Scratch and the Treanor Memorial Trophy for Handicap for a second year running.

Thanking Clients: Flannery’s Pharmacy celebrated winning the Pharmacy of the Year Award with a bbq last Saturday to thank the local community for their ongoing support. Long time customers, Deborah Murphy (left) and Dos King (right) joined in the celebrations with Pharmacy Owner, Michael Flannery.

ABBA Festival Competition Winner: Congratulations to Dylan Johnson on winning our ABBA Festival Competition!

Any day in May is great to vaccinate against flu: Parents of small children and people in high-risk groups are being urged to set a reminder for 1st May to book a flu jab ahead of winter. NSW Health’s Communicable Diseases Director, Dr Vicky Sheppeard said most GP clinics should receive their Commonwealth flu vaccines by next month. “There have already been 7,584 recorded flu cases in NSW during the warmer months so the best protection ahead of winter is to be vaccinated to build up resistance,” said Vicky. More than 250,000 flu vaccines have been delivered so far, including over 42,000 to aged care facilities across the state. “For the wider population, supplies should be with their GP by 1st May,” she said. Vicky said free vaccines will again be available through GP’s for all children aged from six months to under five years of age, under the NSW Government’s $2.6 million program. The NSW Government has invested around $130 million in the 2018-19 Immunisation and state vaccines. “Free flu vaccines are also available for pregnant women, Aboriginal people, those aged over 65, and anyone with conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and heart disease,” said Vicky. People who are not eligible for free vaccines can get vaccines on the private market from their GP or an eligible pharmacist. Influenza vaccines are recommended for children and adults to reduce their risk of flu and spreading it to vulnerable people. In addition to booking a flu jab, people are reminded that to help reduce the spread of flu, sneeze into your elbow, wash your hands regularly and stay home if you are sick.

Contributions: If you have a story, photo for Be Seen, a Thumbs Up/Down, Letter to the Editor or Snippet we would love to hear from you! Simply email editor@forbeshoenix.com.au.

Love Our Lake Community Consultation: The first consultation with the community to find out what they love and don’t love about Lake Forbes was recently held. Great ideas were discussed. Remember to have your say in the boxes dotted around town. Find them at the Library, the Health and Community Centre, Jemalong Retirement Village and soon there will also be one at Undercover Sleepwear.

OUR SPORTING HEROES… George Field was selected as the February recipient for the Central West Credit Union Monthly Sports Achiever Award. This was for his efforts as a spin bowler and a batsman during the PSSA Championships. Bruce Facey presented George with the award.

Sydney Royal Easter Show Competition Winner: Congratulations to Daniel Brown on winning our Sydney Royal Easter Show Competition!

Catch of the Week winner: Thank you for sending in your great fishing pics and please keep it coming! Jock Townsend was our March winner. Please claim your $25 voucher prize from Loomzy’s Fish ‘n’ Fix in Forbes.

Respect The Day: Ahead of Anzac Day on Thursday, 25th April, Respect the Day is a campaign of the RSL & Services Clubs Association to remind people of the special significance of Anzac Day and to encourage Australians to reflect on how we should behave on this sacred day. Anzac Day symbolises the sacrifices made by our defence personnel in all theatres of conflict at all times and the service of all veterans to Australia irrespective of overseas service, full or part-time service, serving or exservice, male or female. It is for these reasons that Anzac Day is so important. With this in mind, the association is urging people to remember the importance of Anzac Day, and what it stands for. Commemorate the day, celebrate the traditions, but be respectful and responsible.

Contributions: If you have a story, photo for Be Seen, a Thumbs Up/Down, Letter to the Editor or Snippet we would love to hear from you! Simply email editor@forbeshoenix.com.au.

NSW Double Demerit Dates: Motorists are reminded that double demerits will be in place for eight days during this month’s Easter and Anzac Day holiday period. Double demerits start today, 18th April and run to Monday, 22nd April. Then there will be a one day break before they start again on Wednesday, 24th April and run through to Sunday, 28th April (inclusive). The double demerit points period applies from midnight of the start date to midnight on the finish date, meaning this month there will be a total of eight days where double demerit penalties will be in place. Double demerit points apply for speeding, seatbelt, motorcycle helmet and mobile phone offences during all holiday periods such as long weekends, Christmas, New Year and Easter. Drivers caught using their phones during a double demerit period can expect to be hit with the fine as well as up to 10 demerits. Please drive safely and take extra care on the roads.

OurAutismCrew: This April, for World Autism Awareness Day, Autism Awareness Australia is celebrating everyone that makes up our wonderful autism community!

From the incredible individuals on the spectrum, to the families and friends who love them, the educators, employers, medical and health professionals who support them… we all have #OurAutismCrew.

To join in, submit a photo of someone, or everyone, in your crew and explain why they’re so special to you. You can nominate yourself, a child, a sibling, mum or dad, a grandparent, teacher, therapist, doctor, mentor… anyone who is part of your inner circle. It’s an opportunity to recognise and celebrate them and the positive impact they’ve had in your life. The submissions will be shared across social media pages from 2nd to 12th April so make sure to follow Autism Awareness Australia on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see yours! Submissions are open from 18th March to 12th April.

Forbes North Public School Easter Fete: The Forbes North Public School Easter Fete is on today (Friday), 5th April. The fete is being held at the school grounds in Thomson Street, from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. A highlight for the fete this year is the Anytime Fitness Picnic Games, which will be free for kids to enter, with great Easter egg prizes for race winners. Games will include all the traditional favourites, such as three-legged race, egg-and-spoon, sack race and more.

The first races will kick off at 3:45, with different events held throughout the fete. Another big highlight of the fete will be the Forbes Toyota Kids Karaoke Competition.

Children will be welcome to enter on the day and some happy singers will be going home with great Easter egg prizes from the karaoke. “The P&C is absolutely thrilled to have such wonderful support from the community for our school,” said P&C President, Maree Yapp. “We are looking forward to a fun filled fete with something for every budget.” Other great attractions will include the ever popular Sumo suits, the haunted house and the Gunn’s Menswear jumping castle. Gate entry into the fete is free. All welcome.

Daylight Saving: Daylight saving will end in NSW at 3am on Sunday, 7th April. So remember to turn your clocks back one hour when you wake up the following morning.

HARD WORK PAYS OFF… The Forbes Rugby Club President’s Lunch saw its biggest year yet, with over 1,000 guests attending the fundraiser held last Saturday on the Forbes rugby grounds. An event of this magnitude can only be successful when organised by a great team such as the one pictured here.

A fun day of sports for the disabled: The annual Regional Sports for the Disabled will be held again this year for the 38th year in a row. This is always an exciting and happy day for all ages and all people with a disability. The occasion will be held at Red Bend Catholic College starting with morning tea at 9:30am followed by a March Past to the pipes of Brian Tisdell and the magnificent Red Bend drummers. This will be followed by walking races and novelty individual races for all ages and some team events as well. Molly Neilsen and a team of helpers, many whom are Red Bend students will serve up the morning tea. If you are on a special diet then you better bring it with you! Red Bend students all buck in and help with the starting whistle and the finishing ropes. All participants will receive a ribbon but there is always only one winner! Many participants have been known to help the other participants to get over the finish line with them. Come along and join in the fun on Wednesday, 8th May at Red Bend College Gymnasium. Participants can even compete in musical chairs and at the end of lunch when everyone has had enough there might even be a disco dance. Want to know more, call Dianne Decker on 6852 2902 or Jacqueline Coady on 6853 8153. All welcome.

Arts OutWest calls for Board members: The Central West regional arts development organisation Arts OutWest seeks applications from people with a range of skills and backgrounds interested in becoming members of their board. Details can be found on artsoutwest.org.au.

Join the largest global movement for the environment: Australia is home to some of the world’s most iconic and breathtaking natural landscapes and wildlife. But climate change is putting all this at risk. To protect our unique species and their habitats, we need Australia to step up now and take stronger action on the promise we made at the 2015 Paris Agreement. The latest government data shows that Australia will miss its 2030 targets. We risk losing our beautiful natural heritage – forever. We don’t have a moment to lose! Sign up to switch off at 8:30pm on Saturday, 30th March and join millions of people in over 180 countries to show the need for stronger climate action. It’s time to switch off and #Connect2Earth. Go to https://www.earthhour.org.au/ to find out how you can become involved.

Forbes Sports Person of the Year Awards: Leisa Burton was awarded the 2018 Senior Sportsperson of the Year title at the annual Forbes SOYA Awards held last Saturday. She placed equal third in NSW after contesting the State Champion of Champions title this year. Leisa was also successful in qualifying for the Australian Open Lawn Bowls event. She competed in the singles and won her three qualifying games but was knocked out of the competition by last year’s runner-up. Leisa then went on to compete in the pairs competition where she and her partner won the three qualifying rounds once again.

Bernardi’s Launch New $50,000 Sponsorship Program: Bernardi’s have launched a new sponsorship program ‘Building Better Communities’, which will see a total of $50,000 donated in 2019. After receiving over 100 applications for the first round of their new Building Better Communities program, Bernardi’s have chosen three beneficiaries for each of their five stores in Forbes, Bathurst, West Wyalong, Blayney and Wagga. The initiative is designed to get customers involved in the sponsorship process, and to give them ownership over who Bernardi’s support as a business.

Catch of the Week winners: Thank you for sending in your great fishing pics and please keep it coming! Keith Mackay was our January winner and Abbey Fuge was our February winner. Please claim your $25 voucher prize from Loomzy’s Fish ‘n’ Fix in Forbes.

Wings out West Bush Dance Competition Winners: Congratulations Bronwyn Horan from Forbes and Cherie Simpson from Parkes on winning our Wings out West Bush Dance Competition!

2019 NSW State Election: Tomorrow, 23rd March from 8am to 6pm for the 57th Parliament of NSW, including all 93 seats in the NSW Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the NSW Legislative Council. On Election Day, voting can be made at the following locations: Bedgerabong Public School, Forbes High School, Forbes Tennis Club and Forbes Town Hall. For more information on the election please see: www.elections.nsw.gov.au.

Arts OutWest calls for Board members: The Central West regional arts development organisation Arts OutWest seeks applications from people with a range of skills and backgrounds interested in becoming members of their board. Details can be found on artsoutwest.org.au.

Attending the announcement by Member for Orange, Phil Donato, for a successful funding application by the Forbes Sports and Recreation Club on Tuesday were (L-R) Cr Steve Karaitiana, Peter Mackay (Treasurer), Phil Donato and Rob Priest (Secretary).

Say Goodbye to the old lights: The old lights on Camp Street Bridge have been switched off and replaced with temporary lighting until the bridge replacement. The existing lamp posts on the bridge will be reused in the landscaping approaches on the new bridge and the remaining lights will be gifted to Forbes Shire Council. Work to relocate the power and water utilities from the bridge has been completed and temporary solar lighting has started being installed to maintain pedestrian and road safety.

‘Tackling Rural Crime’ handbook: It’s hard enough working on the land at the best of times without also having to deal with the threat of trespassers, illegal hunting, livestock theft, equipment and property theft and other preventable crimes. As rural crime is costly, preventing it is an integral step to building a long-term prosperous agricultural, pastoral and aquaculture industry and vibrant regional community. That’s why the NSW Police Force and the NSW Farmers have been working together to improve the ways rural industries assess the security of their property to reduce the risk of rural crime. In October 2018, 26 ‘Tackling Rural Crime’ workshops were held around the State to help farmers detect and prevent the major security risks facing their business, property and family. This included options to increase security infrastructure, ways to improve asset protection and surveillance to reduce trespass and new ways to report rural crime. Farmers came away from the workshops better equipped to report any criminal activity, with the intention of ultimately reducing crime. During and since the workshops 1,000’s of ‘Tackling Rural Crime’ handbooks have been handed out. To ensure that everyone gets the chance to use this handy reference guide, it is now available electronically. View https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/623602/BOOKLET_interactive_Police_Rural_Crime_Web_FINAL.pdf to get your copy.

Election Day: Will you be away on Election Day? NSW Election Pre-Polling is available from the 16th March to 22nd March at the Forbes Town Hall. Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri, 8am to 6pm and Thurs 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 5pm and Sunday closed. On Election Day, 23rd March, voting can be made between 8am to 6pm at the following locations: Bedgerabong Public School, Forbes High School, Forbes Tennis Club and Forbes Town Hall. For more information on the election please see: www.elections.nsw.gov.auorganisation.

RAISING FUNDS AND HOPE… Kylie Spice (right) presented a cheque to John Schrader from CanAssist recently. The cheque was made up from half the proceeds raised from the recent Ladies Night Fundraiser. The proceeds were shared between CanAssist Forbes and the Northside Chapel.

Work continues to develop options for the future of Warroo Bridge: Development work is progressing on the upgrade of Warroo Bridge across the Lachlan River. The NSW Government has committed $10 million in funding from Bridges for the Bush program to upgrade the bridge. Parliamentary Secretary for Western NSW, Rick Colless said Warroo Bridge was built in 1909 and due to its age is in poor condition. The bridge is 63 metres long and has one Dare timber truss span and only a width of 4.5 metres between traffic barriers, and is limited to general mass limit vehicles. “The bridge is narrow and does not meet current load standards and limits options for freight and local farmers moving equipment within the region, we need to develop a plan to provide a longer lasting and safer bridge for all road users,” said Rick.

Australia’s Climate Report Card: Newly released figures from the Environment and Energy department show there’s been a 0.9 percent increase in greenhouse gas pollution in the year to September 2018. Greenhouse gas pollution has now been rising for more than three years. “There’s been no leadership on climate change and this is the result,” said Climate Council CEO, Amanda McKenzie. “Last week we’ve seen the Federal Government recycling a failed policy, the Emissions Reduction Fund. Today’s data tells a very clear story. Without effective policy, Australia’s pollution will keep rising. We are further away than ever from meeting our 2030 Paris climate commitments,” said Amanda. “Australia has great opportunities to tackle climate change, but we have had no effective Federal policy,” she said.

Milk price index review: The Milk Price Index will face a thorough examination with a review into how well it meets the needs of farmers and processors. Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud said: “I’m not convinced the index is working as well as it can for farmers so I want to know if that’s the case and what can be done to make it better. The Milk Price Index is to let farmers compare farm gate prices, to encourage competition among processors. I encourage all dairy farmers and processors to take part in the review.” The review runs until April with a report due after Easter. To take part in the Milk Price Index review visit: https://haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/ organisation.

The Senior’s Week Concert held last week, completed this year’s Senior’s Festival in Forbes and saw 150 guests attending the event at the Forbes Town Hall