What a great week of beautiful weather and obviously everyone has taken advantage of walking around our beautiful lake. It is surprising how exciting it is, that we can now eat out again.

The Ski Dam has had an amazing face-lift and is shaping up to be one of the great picnic areas in town. I can’t speak highly enough about the skill and expertise of Forbes Shire Council staff. They take so much pride in their work and it shows through to the finished product.

The Heated Pool Committee is working hard to deliver the refurbishment of our pool. They are an amazing group of people doing a great job. Ably lead by Diane Decker as the Chair, it never ceases to amaze me how enthusiastic and generous people are with their time and love for Forbes.

Yes, we are open for business, we always were but now you can come inside to pay your bills! We are encouraging everyone to practice social distancing and only three are allowed into the foyer area at any one time. Meetings with staff are still not allowed but if you call our office, they will put you through to them.

This Friday the restrictions will loosen a little further with more people allowed at outdoor gatherings and up to 10 patrons allowed to dine inside restaurants. Our playgrounds and parks will be reopened, again restricted to 10 people at a time. Weddings can have 10 guests and funerals up to 20 mourners indoors or 30 if the funeral is outdoors. Please remember that we are all in this together and we do still need to remain vigilant!

If you are out and about this weekend you must go and have a look at the latest landscaping work completed at the Ski Dam. Looks amazing!

I would like to remind everyone our lovely walking track around the Lake is for use of walkers, joggers and bike riders combined. All must be respectful of others on the track and if you are on a bike please ring your bell or call out to alert those in front you are coming along.

Council administration building will be opening to the public again very soon. Access will be limited to three people in the foyer area, due to social distancing guidelines and the front counter will have Perspex screens in place. The front glass doors will be closed and access can be made through the automatic doors in Harold St.

There has been a lot of talk about water bills this week and I can report Council has heard your concerns and we are looking into individual cases to ensure mistakes were not made when reading your meters. This bill included a longer than usual period between read times, by several weeks, which will see on average a 30% increase to last year’s bill. The cost of water has also slightly increased on your bill as at 1 July 2019, water went from $1.23 to $1.40 per Kl. We are still the cheapest in the region by far! Our neighbouring Shires are charging up to $4.05 per Kl! If you do have any concerns, please don’t hesitate to call Council to discuss. Make sure to check your meter reading before calling though.

We have had some beautiful rain recently and it is very much appreciated. However it is important to understand that a down- pour of rain does not break a drought and our farmers will be fighting the effects of this drought for at least three years, if not longer.

Another week down in lockdown and may I suggest a few to go. I acknowledge it is tough on everybody, but we must continue to do what we are advised to do, to keep everybody safe.

Disappointingly, I have heard of some bad behaviour towards our supermarket staff. I would ask you to think twice before you get annoyed with staff, they are trying to do their best.

A big shout out to our wonderful medical staff here in Forbes. They are doing a superb job in adapting to COVID-19. A big thank you from all Forbes residents.

I want you to know we have a local committee known as the Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC), the purpose of this group is to ensure communities’ needs are being met and with everyone in lockdown it is proving difficult to receive the views of the community. This committee determined a local information phone line is needed to assist residents on what services are available to them. The phone number is: 6850 2393.

I hope you all enjoyed the lovely Easter break we had last weekend, the weather was beautiful wasn’t it. It did feel strange not having the usual large gathering of family around during this time, but nice to catch up with them on the phone or on facetime.

This week I received a lovely call from the NSW Governor, Margaret Beasley AC QC. She called to find out how Forbes is travelling during this difficult time and how residents are coping from the years of drought we have experienced. She sends her good wishes to everyone and promises to come out for a visit when all of this is over.

I would like to introduce a new service the Council is offering to local residents during this troubled time, it’s called COVID-19 Assistance. This phone number 02 6850 2393, is for residents to call for more information regarding services and support available to them by government departments and local charities. It will be answered by our staff between the hours of 8.30am and 5pm and they will direct you to the relevant services.

Another big week in COVID-19 land. I hope you are all doing well and taking care of each other, from a distance.

An interesting call came into Council this week about my son Joshua coming home. Joshua’s gym in Wollongong has closed due to the Coronavirus regulations and therefore he has lost his income. Joshua came back to Forbes prior to any travel restrictions and he did not have to self-isolate. I am very lucky to have a home big enough to have him back.

This Easter however, my message cannot be any clearer, I am asking all residents to please stay home.

We have received very strong advice from our Public Health officers that anyone who travels around our state has the potential to carry the virus COVID-19 so it is imperative we reduce the risk and stay home.

This crisis has impacted all of us and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have contracted the virus, to their families and to the amazing health care workers who are working so hard to look after us all.

The sooner we stop the spread, the sooner life can return to normal. Then, we can start planning all those parties and holidays we missed over the time we have been staying home.

At the time of writing this column Forbes Shire is still Coronavirus free! That is because the community of Forbes are doing all the right things; social distancing, washing our hands and coughing into our elbow. These simple things are terribly important in preventing the spread of this virus. Please keep it up!

Staying at home is also an important way to prevent the virus from spreading. Although I remind you not to forget all the restaurants, hotels and cafes that are doing takeaways.

We all need to be mindful of them doing it tough through this pandemic and maybe order a takeaway at least once a week or grab a coffee.

The Australian Government has put a brilliant fact sheet out in relation to the Jobkeeper program they released this week. This can be found on the Treasury website www.treasury.gov.au.

If you have had to let staff go, this program can help. This stimulus package is one of the very best I have seen.

The Australian Government is doing an excellent job and I must congratulate Scott Morrison and Gladys Berejiklian for their leadership throughout this pandemic. We will come out the other side of this, but we must stay calm, take time to smell the roses and be grateful we are all ok.

What a week it has been for everyone. We are currently living in uncertain times as we work through this terrible virus situation.

It is with great sadness to see all the hotels and clubs close this week, creating a stressful time for hospitality staff who have lost their jobs. In addition to this, the gym and Youth and Community Centre has also closed.

I know there is a lot of talk about whether this is an over-reaction from our governments, but I want to assure you, it isn’t!

If we all take the measures suggested seriously, the effect it will have on our community will be minimal. I ask you all to practice social distancing, washing hands and coughing into your elbow as it is so very important. This virus is serious and if we as a community bunker down we should all come out okay.

The General Manager is looking after staff at Council to ensure the essential services can continue to be supplied to the community. Thank you to Council staff for their dedication and hard work. We are all in this together and we need to enjoy the family time we are being forced to have. Get the cards out, board games and outdoor walks, eat healthy, rest up and stay safe.