Local Land Service (LLS) Election: Local farmer Chris Sweeney is standing in the LLS Election held this month. He is one of eight candidates seeking election for the Central West Local Land Services. The other candidates are Jenny Bradley, Don Schieb, Sharon Portelli, Alan Smith, Penny Heuston, Peta Tumpey and Will Martel. The election is held every three years and is an opportunity for ratepayers to elect a member of the board to represent them and their views on how the Local Land Ser- vices will be structured over the next few years. Enrolled rural ratepayers can vote online or via postal vote until 5pm on 31st May.

Water Bills: Forbes Shire Council is reminding ratepayers that the latest water bills are for the period from the end of November to mid-March. This works out at an average of 108 days usage at $1.14 per kilolitre of water used. General Manager Danny Green said it was important to con- sider how many days were included rather than just comparing to the previous charge as the former period was for only 88 days. An increase of 11 cents per kilolitre of wa- ter used for 2016-2017 was also included.

Hair-razing effort! The extraordinary peo- ple who shaved or coloured their hair and their generous sponsors have raised al- most $5 million in NSW in support of this year’s World’s Greatest Shave.

The money raised for the Leukaemia Foundation will help to fund projects to provide safe and comfortable accommoda- tion in the city for families living in regional NSW, and to offer free transport, counsel- ling, information and practical support to the 60,000 Australians living with a blood cancer.

Nomination: The #MonteFamous show on 2LVR Valley FM has been nominated in the 2017 Community Broadcasting Asso- ciation of Australia Radio awards. James ‘Monte’ Irvine hosts #MonteFamous on Monday nights with a guest co-presenter, interviewing three independent or un- signed Australian musicians each week.

Monte has interviewed 201 artists since the program’s inception, and has given
a number of the artists their debut on the air waves.

“Monte and his show are a great contribu- tion to new and unsigned Australian artists who wouldn’t necessarily get interviewed or airplay on other radio stations,” said John Berger, President of 2LVR Valley FM.

Descendants of Indigenous Diggers: Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Dan Tehan is calling for descendants of Indigenous Aus- tralian soldiers who took part in the Battle of Beersheba and the Sinai-Palestine cam- paign to take part in an oral history project.

On 31 October 1917, two Australian Light Horse regiments charged Turkish positions outside the town of Beersheba taking more than 1,000 prisoners.

To mark the 100th anniversary this year on 31st October, Australia will hold a na- tional service to commemorate the battle and the Sinai-Palestine campaign.

The Rona Tranby Trust is launching an oral history project to record the stories of these men as recalled by their descend- ants, culminating in a group of descend- ants attending the national service in Be’er Sheva. Anyone interested in participating in this unique project should contact Ray Minniecon on 0417 929 701 or Meltem Akyol on (02) 9231 4293 or email info@ ronatranby.org.au.

Telstra Business Women’s Awards:Member for Orange, Philip Donato is en- couraging people in his electorate to cel- ebrate the achievements of exceptional business women by nominating them for the 2017 Telstra Business Women’s Awards. Donato said the awards, now in its 23rd year, seeked to raise the pro- file of women in business by recognising and rewarding their courage, leadership and creativity. Entries open on 26th April until 15th June across five award catego- ries. State and Territory winners will be an- nounced later this year, with the national awards in Sydney on 1st December. To nominate or enter go to https://www.telstra- businesswomensawards.com/nominate/ or call Telstra on 1800 817 536.

Visual arts program: A series of eight small workshops will run in the Central West, including Forbes from April to June. Arts OutWest has set up the workshops, in close consultation with mental health and disability support services, on behalf of House with No Steps, who provided the funding. Each of the programs specifically targets particular groups. Some of the pro- grams are for existing groups, while oth- ers are open to the public. The program in Forbes will be a visual arts workshop running over 10 weeks from May to June. Sign-ups for the Forbes program will be announced soon.

Flu vaccination: NSW Health is urging pregnant women, the elderly and other high-risk groups to get a free flu vaccina- tion –available from GPs – ahead of the winter flu season.

It is free for people eligible under the National Immunisation Program. This in- cludes those who are pregnant, over 65 years of age, have severe asthma, diabe- tes and heart conditions, as well as Abo- riginal people aged from six months to five years and 15 years of age and over.

Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a highly contagious illness. The virus is transmitted from person-to-person via droplets and small particles produced when infected people cough or sneeze, and through hand contact with contaminated surfaces. It is characterised by a sud- den high fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, and sore throat.

Spirit of the ANZAC: Year 9 students from Forbes High School travelled to Orange re- cently to see the Spirit of the ANZAC Cen- tenary Experience. The exhibition contains various interactive displays, which allowed students to take a self-guided tour through 12 different zones; each zone representing a different aspect of Australia’s involve- ment in World War I. The students learned how and why Australia became involved in the war, they saw first hand experiences from young men and women involved in the war and the aftermath it had on Aus- tralia and the young people who fought to defend it.

Jemalong Residential Village Expansion: The expansion of Catholic Health- care’s Jemalong Residential Village and its merger with Mater Aged Care has been officially approved. The development will bring together two of the longest serving aged care services in Forbes, adding new retirement living dwellings that are modern with integrated aged care services.

Construction will start mid-2017, at the existing Jemalong Residential Village lo- cation on Edwards Street for a state-of- the-art integrated aged care campus, 36 private rooms, a dementia specific space, chapel and a new retirement living village consisting of 20 units. There will also be modern health and wellness spaces, dining areas, an activities room and communal gathering spaces.

Stage one is scheduled to open in mid- 2018. Please call 1800 551 834 if you are interested in learning more.

Here’s your chance to fly: Plummeting towards the ground at 180km an hour from 14,000 feet above. The Phoenix is sending a reporter to see what all the fuss is about. Skydiving is a popular bucket list item and there is a good reason why – the adrenaline rush of free falling is but one. Bucket loads of emotions enter while dangling from a plane and then falling towards earth: excitement, fear, adrenaline, more fear, excitement, awe, gratitude, exhilaration and pure amazement!

Adrenaline junkie or not, skydiving is a chance to overcome your fears and feel free. Places still available this weekend to Skydive in Dubbo with Skydive Oz. www. skydiveoz.com.au/skydive-dubbo/

Forbes Phoenix Sales: Our Reporter Dianne Collie is now also doing sales in Forbes. Please contact her on 0414 643 250 or on reporter@forbesphoenix.com.au for a quote, to discuss options or any other information you would need to advertise in The Forbes Phoenix.