Can I start by congratulating the Grazing Down the Lachlan committee for pulling together an amazing event last weekend.

The weather started terribly on Saturday with that massive dust storm but as the day progressed it turned out to be a wonderful day. It was a stark reminder that we are still in drought and guests from outof- town would learn that storms such as that are becoming a common occurrence.

The Grazing Breakfast was also amazing and it was great to see so many people in Templar St enjoying the entertainment and lovely food. It takes a lot of combined effort to bring an event such as Grazing together and I commend them for persevering despite the hurdles thrown their way.

This week I met with Paul Toole, Minister for Regional Transport and Roads regarding the Newell Highway overtaking lanes tender. I highlighted the fact we were not happy with the recent tender process for the work being carried out in our Shire and felt no consideration was made for local tenderers. Local government are the largest road managers and must be kept in the loop when work like this is being carried out. We will continue to lobby government for local services to be used in upgrading to our main arterial roads. Keep our local skilled tradespeople in business and keep our Council staff employed.

I invite you all to have a look at the Lake Forbes Activation Plan on our website and let us know your thoughts for this major asset in town. This is a twenty year plan for our beautiful lake and we want to be sure we consider everyone’s wants and needs.

Till next week, God Bless.

Your Mayor Phyllis Miller

Another successful NAIDOC week of celebrations this year. It is great to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme for this year’s celebration is Voice, Treaty, Truth.

I would like to congratulate all of the winners of the awards, they are most worthy recipients; Natasha Harris for Indigenous Person of the Year, Courtney Hodge for Indigenous Youth of the Year, Ellie Flick for Indigenous Sports Person of the Year and Raymond Thorpe for Indigenous Creative Person of the Year. I would also like to thank Tahlia for her wonderful emceeing of the event.

I attended another Awards ceremony this week for the Cumbijowa Rural Fire Brigade. This year 34 Firefighters received their long service awards. A combined total of 919 years of service!

I applauded them for their dedication, commitment and service to our community.

As the fire season is almost upon us I encourage everyone to do their part in ensuring yards are tidied up, and for those on properties, know your local Brigade phone numbers.

Come join us at the Grazing breakfast in our CBD this Sunday.

And don’t forget next Friday is our Forbes Legends Pro-Am tournament, if you haven’t signed up, please do.

Your Deputy Mayor
Jenny Webb

 

We have had some crazy weather this last week and still no rain. We were given wonderful news from Northparkes on funding for our planned refurbishments of the picnic areas at the Forbes Ski Dam. They have given us $50,000 for more seating and BBQ areas, upgrades to amenities and landscaping. This will be a great boost for the work already carried out early this year at the park. I am receiving some great feedback from the community about the new play equipment and beach area. Now the weather is warming up this area will most definitely be used more often.

Have you seen the new trees in Templar St? They look amazing and will provide much needed shade in the streetscape during the summer months, which will look beautiful during autumn. We hope this will draw people off the bypass and into the town centre and provide our retailers with the travelling trade they require.

I hope you can all join me in the celebrations for NAIDOC next week. This year there are events on every day with the main event being on the Wednesday. The march will begin at 10am in Cross Street and go through town to end in Victoria Park where the awards will be given, traditional performances, games and the Yoorana Gunya Koori Cook-off will take place.

Make sure you tune in to the Council meeting next week on Facebook Live.

Till next week, God Bless.
Your Mayor
Phyllis Miller

This week I travelled to Albury for the Local Government NSW Water Conference.

There is no better time to talk about water than when we are in drought. It is local government’s responsibility to keep the state and federal government focussed on improvements to drought proof our state. Melinda Pavey, Minister for Water, addressed the conference and I think we are onto a winner with her. She is passionate about delivering for rural and regional NSW. She sees the importance of local and state government working together to secure water for communities through this drought and planning and preparing for the next.

Caltex and KFC work will get underway in the next week. The builders, Becon Constructions have committed to using local trades where possible to get the work done.

This is great news for our local tradies with 30 weeks of construction planned to complete the work. Keeping jobs in our area is  so important.

The 2019 NSW Small Winemakers Wine Show tasting was on at the Forbes Town Hall last Friday night and it was a huge hit! Over 620 wines were entered into the competition this year and 41 Gold, 80 Silver and 175 Bronze medals were awarded.

I look forward to the presentation night on the 14th September. A big congratulations to the hard working committee who bring this great event to town.

I hope you all have a wonderful time at the Forbes Show this weekend.

Till next week, God Bless.
Your Mayor
Phyllis Miller

As the drought continues, not only does the community come together to help each other through this tough time, but businesses do as well. This week I attended the Forbes Drought Business Forum at Council Chambers. It was great to listen to the ways businesses are trying new things to keep customers coming through their doors. Speakers from Central West Business HQ presented ways to adapt to several local business owners and ways in which they can collaborate to create unique customer experiences. Everyone walked away knowing there is support from other businesses in our community, if they need it.

Council received news this week that a Sydney firm has been granted the road work contract for the thirty overtaking lanes upgrade along the Newell Highway. This is so disappointing to hear Forbes Shire Council, along with a few other Councils accredited to do the work, were overlooked completely. I have let the Minister know we would like to keep these jobs in our Shire, especially during this awful drought. I will keep you updated on this important matter.

Councillor Chris Roylance and myself visited Evolution Mine this week. This company is doing some amazing things all while maintaining their corporate citizenship in our community. They continue to support us with employment opportunities for members of our community and provide contributions to various projects we have undertaken.

Again I would like to encourage everyone to shop local rather than online. We don’t need to make the rich richer, we need to support our local business owners and keep them open. That is all for me this week and I look forward to the build-up to the Forbes Show next week.

God Bless.
Your Mayor
Phyllis Miller