New drug testing vehicles have hit Central West roads. Two new purpose-built four-wheel-drives equipped to conduct random drug and breath tests are now operating in Western NSW. Worth a combined total of $450,000, Deputy Premier and Minister for Police Tony Grant said “we are cracking down on drug driving right across our state.” Roads Minister Duncan Gay said “we’re tripling roadside drug testing to 97,000 tests by 2017 and are working closely with the community.”

It’s show time! The Bedgerebong Show is on Saturday 22 August at the Bedgerebong Showground. Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for children. Pensioners are half-price with their card and kids under 5 are free!

The 2015 National Disability Awards give locals the chance to acknowledge the hard work of people having a positive impact on the lives of people living with a disability. You can nominate someone you believe deserves recognition from the community by calling 1800 672 682 or by visiting www.idpwd.com.au before Friday 4 September.

Get out to the Forbes District Lions Club Car Boot Sale at the Lions Park this Saturday 15 August between 8am and 1pm for a variety of stalls, a Lions BBQ and country music.

The average Aussie has 10.5 standard drinks each week, which equals to 4143 calories according to research from Dry July.

Don a daffodil! Friday 28 August is Daffodil Day and stalls will be selling daffodils, soccer balls, brooches and pens to raise money for cancer research, developing cancer prevention programs and providing patient support. You can get involved by making a donation, purchasing merchandise or signing up as a Daffodil Day volunteer. For more info go to www.daffodilday.com.au

The Rotary Globe was put together back in the 1950s by a past Rotarian, the late Eric Leaney. Eric joined the Rotary Club of Forbes back in 1949 only a year after the Club was first formed. He held every Board position apart from Club President, was Club Secretary for ten consecutive years and was a great gentleman through and through. The Globe is used to collect the smallest coins and started off eating pennies and now devours 5 cent pieces.

A big thank you from the Men’s Shed to Woolworths and Bernardis for helping to sell raffle tickets for the 100 Club. The Men’s Shed sold 10 sheets of 100 squares totalling 1000 tickets which is a massive success! “We are so lucky to be a part of such a generous community.” Congratulations to all the lucky winners; Fay Dwyer was the Woolworths winner, Grahame West won second place and donated his voucher back to the Men’s Shed. Guy Findey was the Bernardis Winner and Julie Kopp won second place.

Forbes District Lions Club Car Boot Sale will be held on Saturday 15 August at the Lions Park between 8am and 1pm. A wide variety of stallholders and manufacturers will be there as well as a Lions BBQ and performances
from the Country Music Club. Stalls are $10, call Peter on 0468 819 659.

Forbes Shire Council’s July meeting: Council resolved to support the Forbes Flatlands Hang Gliding events, become a participating Council of Garage Sale Trail and participate in the Live Life Get Active Program. Council also noted that 62 food premises were inspected during June resulting in 22 of them being awarded 5 stars in the Scores
on Doors program, an increase from the 17 premises to receive the stars last year.

The Inaugural Central Shorthorn Sale will be held on Thursday 13 August at 1pm at the Central West Livestock Exchange. Contact John for more information on 0408 297 368.

National Suicide Prevention Tour is coming to Forbes! Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to discuss the realities and experiences of depression and suicide. The bus will be at Mezzanine on Monday 10 August at 10am. Get out there and show your support for a fantastic cause. The amazing people behind it might just change your life.

Forbes Shire Council hosted a networking evening at the Forbes Services Memorial Club on Tuesday 28 July with about 50 people attending. “It’s all about working together when major events are on and increasing visitors
to our town,” Mayor Miller said. If you want to find out more info or register your interest, email your details to tourism@forbes.nsw.gov.au

Did you know research from the University of NSW and Miami University into how men treated women while playing video games showed males were hostile to women who beat them at playing!

Every year more than 35,000 people are reported missing in Australia with around 12,500 in NSW. This equates to one person disappearing every 15 minutes and research indicates for every person who goes missing, on average at least 12 people are affected in some way. “If you have fears for the welfare of a loved one I urge you to come forward so the Police Force can assist as soon as possible,” Police Minister Tony Grant said, stressing there is no minimum time frame to wait before making a missing persons report.

Forbes Preschool Kindergarten will receive $150,000 under the Indigenous Advancement Strategy to help improve education outcomes for Aboriginal children aged 3 to 5 years in the community of Forbes.

Relay for Life are holding Information Nights for Forbes locals to find out everything they need to know about the event. Browse the stands, join a team, meet the committee, ask those burning questions, sign up for games,
choose a campsite, purchase merchandise and collect your kits and shirts. Check it out at Forbes Services Memorial Club on Wednesday 12 August from 6-7pm.

The Forbes Magpies Old Boys Day will be held on Sunday 9 August at Spooners Oval. All MOB members will receive tickets entitling them to free food and beverages which can be redeemed at the canteen, bar, sponsors
tent and Coffee Man.

The Big Cake Bake is back in August 2015! Get together with friends, families, colleagues and neighbours to take part in a fun, easy and rewarding way to support Red Cross. Bake your favourite savoury or sweet for a good cause. Events can include a cake sale, baking competition, afternoon or morning tea and you can register as an individual or as a team. Call 1800 652 635 or ‘like’ The Big Cake Bake on Facebook for more details.

A quote to remember! The following is a wonderful quote from a beautiful elderly resident who sadly passed away last year: “Go forward! Look upward! And each day will find you with sunshine before you and shadows behind you.”

Leaving mushrooms in the sun for an hour in winter will boost their vitamin D content four-fold. This means that three sundrenched mushrooms – about 100g – will provide an adult’s daily vitamin D needs.

Church in the Schoolyard is held on the second Sunday of each month at 12:30pm and a weekly kids program happens on Wednesdays from 4:30pm. Everyone is welcome at Northside Chapel! Call Rex or Rachel on 0427 261 326 for more information.

Incredible youth opportunity! Under 25s are invited to nominate for the 2015 Youth Advisory Council. Those with experience in youth and community organisations, and young people with particular life experience are encouraged to apply. Visit www.acyp.nsw.gov.au or call 9286 7231 to apply.

Now and then: In 1984, 2.4 million passengers arrived in Australia by air. In 2014, that number had increased to 16.6 million passengers.

Stop food waste with Ozharvest. Did you know that Australians throw out at least 1 in every 5 bags of groceries they buy? Snap a photo of your crossed utensils and #thinkeatsave to show your support for the food revolution. Go to www.thinkeatsave.org for more details.

Lions Club Car Boot Sale will be held on 15 August at the Lions Park between 8am and 1pm. A wide variety of stallholders and manufacturers will be there as well as a Lions BBQ and performances from the Country Music Club.

People looking to relocate from the city to the Central West well what better place is there than Forbes? Mezzanine Style, a locally owned and licensed café loved by customers in Forbes is up for sale. Enquire in store today.

Beware dodgy emails! Be very careful opening emails you are not sure of and be certain your virus checker is up to date. Sometimes a person can lose all the server data and backups from a Crypto Virus taking over their computer.

Burger of the Week: McDonalds Create Your Taste. It is a unique experience to bypass the counter and walk up to a touchscreen kiosk to build your ideal burger. There are 30 ingredients to choose from including 9 mouth-watering sauce options. Pay at the kiosk and take a seat while your creation is made to perfection.

Did you know in Scotland, embarrassed barmen at a pub in Inverness have decided to wear pants instead of kilts after groups of tipsy female guests kept lifting their kilts!

Forbes Motor Registry is here to stay! It’s been confirmed by Member for Orange Andrew Gee. “I’ve been hearing rumours that the Motor Registry in Forbes was going to close,” Mr Gee said. “This is absolutely not the case and the Forbes Motor Registry will continue to operate as is.”

Get trackside for the Forbes Cup on Monday 3 August. Gates open at 11am for a big eight race program. Full bar, canteen facilities, a TAB and Tote will be available to punters. The La Pizza Ladies Fashions on the Field
features a big cash prize so dress to impress!

 

Shooting to the Number 1 spot in Amazon.com’s most popular author’s list is Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee. It’s already the most pre-ordered book in the publisher’s history. For those who have read Mockingbird, this is a must read. Let us know what you thought of the book!

Save the date! The Forbes Youth and Community Centre is holding a wine tasting event on August 28 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm where you will be treated to a taste of the best entries in the 2015 Small Winemakers Wine
Show. This is some of the best wine produced by some of the smaller winemakers in the state and to whet your whistle with this wine is worth more than the $25 entry fee.

60% of Aussies experience cravings for snacks according to a recent consumer survey. This statistic is higher than our craving for sex (49%) or cuddles (39%).

The Forbes Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting will be held on 30 July at Forbes Bowling Club from 5.30pm. The motto of the Chamber is “striving to encourage economic growth in our town”. In May
they won the Central West Business Awards in Bathurst and were given the opportunity to go to the State Finals in November; a great achievement. If you would like to be part of this exciting and innovative Chamber and be involved in the future direction of the Forbes district then come along on Thursday 30 July.

From across the globe: In Brazil, strict new rules requiring doctors to justify why a caesarean is necessary have been introduced to lower the high rate of C-section births.
890 Australians will die from bowel cancer this week. 72 of those may have survived if they had done one simple thing: make sure you have a home-screening test – it’s non-invasive and simple to do. Visit www.jodileefoundation.org.au for more details.

The Friends of the Forbes Hospital Auxiliary are holding their Annual General Meeting on Friday 7 August from 2pm at the Services Club. Come along if you are interested in being involved and to find out more about the new developments at the local Forbes Hospital.

Send us your soup! We are still looking for the best soup recipe in Forbes – what soup do you love to slurp through winter and cook for your family? The Forbes Phoenix will give the person with the best recipe a $50
voucher for lunch at Mezzanine. The winner will be announced at the end of the month. This could be a recipe book in the making! Send your soup recipe to sales@forbesphoenix.com.au

STORK NEWS Congratulations to proud parents Gabe and Brad McMillan on the arrival of Robey John Miller McMillan. Robey was born on Tuesday 13th July 12.32pm weighing 8lb1oz.

Congratulations to the lucky winner of our first Forbes Phoenix competition! Marie Lambert has taken home a family pass to Taronga Western Plains Zoo for two adults and two children.

Riding for the Disabled: The first local volunteer training day for Riding for the Disabled will be held at Sahara Park Riding School — 79 Amaroo Lane, off Bedgerebong Road — on Wednesday 22 July at 10am, followed by a sausage sizzle. Volunteers are urgently needed to instigate this valuable opportunity in Forbes so that our disabled children can experience the benefits that horse-riding has proven capable of bringing them. Even if you’re not a horseperson you can still help with other jobs such as cleaning and fitting helmets and boots for the riders, making and serving refreshments and many other support roles. The training day is necessary for volunteers to learn how to assist in all safety aspects required to get these children safely prepared and mounted on the horse. For more info, please call Veva MacCullagh on 0427 511 770 or Helen Morris on 0407 863 464.

If you’re into a leisurely sip of red or white, put August 28 into your diary and head out to the Forbes Youth and Community Centre from 6.30-8.30pm to taste the best entries in the 2015 NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show. You’ll have the chance to taste some of the best wines produced by the state’s smaller winemakers, and believe us, tasting their best tipples is worth much more than the $25 entry fee.

Annual Astrofest and Conference will be held in Parkes on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th July. Enjoy a host of lectures and an astrophotography exhibition for astronomers. For further information phone 02 6861 1777.

 

 

The Lachlan Valley Caravan Club, formed in 2003 as the Forbes Country Club Caravanners, is well known locally for having plenty of fun on its monthly rallies. So far this year its rallies have led members to Tumbarumba, Oberon, Manilla, Kiacatoo (west of Condobolin for the club’s annual bush rally), Young and Victoria’s Gippsland region for the club’s annual three-week roving rally. The next event is a rally to Bourke from July 20-27, with members spending two nights at the Nyngan Riverside Caravan Park and four at Kidman’s Camp in North Bourke. For further
information and plenty of photos of the members letting their hair down or just having fun in the case of the follicly challenged, visit www.lachlanvalleycaravanclub.org.au.

The Forbes and District Lions Club will officially welcome its new President, Peter Bright, at its annual changeover dinner tomorrow night when members will meet at the Golf Club Hotel. This is his second time as President, hopefully with a less eventful start to the term than last time, about five years ago, when Peter had been diagnosed with prostrate cancer and was inducted by phone from his hospital bed. Peter replaces outgoing President
and club stalwart Robyn Seberry. The club will hold its next car boot sale on Saturday, August 15, in Lions Park at the
end of Lachlan St from 7.30am to 1.30pm. For more information, contact the incoming President, Peter Bright, on 0419 463 803 (peterabright@bigpond.com) or email lionsclubs@hotmail.com.au.

Don’t forget to enter our competition to win a double family pass to Taronga Western Plains Zoo. A family pass includes tickets for two adults and two children for entry to the zoo and, in this case, is valid for 12 months. For entry details, visit our website, www.forbesphoenix.com.au, or go to our Facebook page. Remember, you have to be in it to win it, and the zoo is such a great place for you to visit … and, of course, to take the kids.

If you are wanting to find out about some very local artists and listen to some original music, then tune into James Monte and his new program, called ML Uncharted on local community radio 2LVR (97.9FM). The show
airs every Wednesday from 9-11pm and highlights unsigned artists and original music from Forbes and elsewhere in the Central West. Contact James on 0400 054 381.

Don’t forget to send your soup recipe in to us this week to see if you can win a voucher from Mezzanine for $50.00.

 

What’s the time Mr. Wolf? Answer: Forbes Time. It would seem that the Forbes Post Office clock has decided that it wants to be out of sync with the rest of the world. Today at 8.50am, it was showing as 2.52 and this means its either 6 hours behind or front. Do we want to change this?

“Warming the Cockles of your Heart” is an old saying that comes out in winter. After having a bowl of delicious pea and ham soup this week at Mezzanine I thought we should call on all the budding Masterchefs in Forbes and
ask them to send in a particular soup recipe that they either love or cook a lot for their family. We will give a $50 voucher for lunch or dinner at Mezzanine for the lucky winner, who will be announced at the end of the month. Maybe a recipe book in the making! Send them to sales@forbesphoenix.com.au.

The Circus is in town from Tuesday through to and including Thursday and will be located at the Forbes Showground. Take the children along for a show they will remember with over two hours of interesting acts, including of course the clowns, which they all love.

It’s School holidays again and there is always plenty to do with the children. If you have little ones and they like Frozen, then consider taking them along to the Forbes Services Club on Wednesday 8th July to see Snow Queen’s Aussie Freezing Show. Remember to book, so that you don’t miss out, with the doors opening at 11.00am.