Forbes Garden Club held their April meet­ing at the home of Neil and Jane Gilmour with a great attendance of 38 members and apologies from ten. President Marg Dent welcomed all, with birthday wishes extended. Secretary Robin Lyall read the minutes of the previous meeting with Treasurer Lloyd Gerdes informing us of the financial situation. A big thank you was giv­en to Elvy Quirk for making the Anzac Day wreath that was laid by Marg.

Guest Speaker at the April meeting was Kylie Matthews who spoke on Dynamics.

She had everybody amazed at some of her methods to improve the soil on her proper­ty at Wirrinya using cow horns and manure buried as rich fertiliser, watered down and spread on the pastures with the use of Bio products, she has visibly noticed the dif­ference this has made to her farm. Robyn Mattiske presented a gift of thanks to Kylie.

Host Neil Gilmour then spoke on the preparation he had to do to his property to establish a healthy lawn with trailer loads of manure from the farm.

Flower of the month winners were 1st Marie Langfield Alec Red Rose, 2nd Elvy Quirk (Magenta), equal 3rd Joy Hocking (Petunia), John Browne (Pope Paul Rose), and David Sanderson (Yellow Gerbera). The raffle was won by Pam Baass, 2nd place went to Meg Butler and 3rd place to John Browne.

Forbes Garden Club’s next meeting will be at 34 Wambat Street on Tuesday 26May at 2pm. Please bring a chair, a hat and cup and also a flower for the competition. The guest speaker will be Tony McManus who is an Arbourist.

Are you tired of the usual blokey banter? Hungry for real connect­ed conversation with trustworthy men? The Men’s Table is a safe place to share and be heard in a confidential and non-judgemental environment, creating a greater sense of belonging, camaraderie and connection.

The first Men’s Table (MT1) began in 2011 with twelve men who have met once a month for dinner ever since. Our vision is healthy men, healthy masculinities, healthy communities. We help men build meaningful male friendships and connection by creating safe places to share, overcoming the stigma that “men don’t talk”.It’s healthy to show emotion and share feelings, yet for many men in their relationships with other blokes, the talk is mostly about ‘footy and sh*t’. There has never been a better time to be in a community. 84% of men who attend a Men’s Table felt a stronger sense of community belonging, 95% of men who attend a Men’s Table felt it was a safe place to share and 80% of men who attend a Men’s Table reported a benefit to their mental health and wellbeing.

There is an upcoming Men’s Table event being run at the Van­denberg Hotel on Tuesday 12 May, arrive at 6:30pm for a 7pm start and the event will run till 9pm. Cost of your ticket covers your meal for the night.

If you want to attend or find out more, just visit themenstable.org or email hello@themenstable.org or for phone enquiries call Al Stratton 0401 863 367 or 1800 636 782.

If you see illegal dumping report it immediately.

Forbes Shire Council is urging the com­munity to help curb illegal dumping after receiving 50 reports in 2025, costing rate­payers more than $8,000 for cleanup and disposal.

Last year, illegally dumped waste around the Forbes Shire included tyres, household waste, furniture, animal carcasses, green waste and even asbestos. These materials not only harm the environment but also di­vert valuable Council resources away from other important community services.

As part of a new campaign to help stamp out illegal dumping across the Shire, Coun­cil will install four CCTV cameras in known hotspots to help monitor and deter illegal dumping. Council Rangers investigate eve­ry report of illegal dumping. This often re­quires Rangers to sift through the dumped rubbish by hand to find any identifying in­formation that may help locate the person responsible.

In instances where the person responsi­ble is identified, Council prefers that they clean up the waste themselves and an offi­cial warning will be issued. When offenders are uncooperative, Rangers will issue fines or issue them with an invoice for the cost of cleanup and disposal.

Forbes Shire Mayor, Phyllis Miller OAM is urging residents to remain vigilant. Resi­dents can report illegal dumping by con­tacting Forbes Shire Council or lodging a report through the NSW Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) Report Illegal Dumping online platform.

Forbes Shire residents have access to a wide range of recycling, reuse and disposal services through the Forbes Recycling and Waste Depot (FRWD) located at Lot 1 Ca­larie, Daroobalgie Road, open 7 days from 8.30am to 5pm.

For more information visit www.forbes.nsw.gov.au or contact Forbes Shire Coun­cil on (02) 6850 2300.

Variety – the Children’s Charity NSW/ACT is calling on families to apply for a 2026 Variety Heart Scholarship, offering life-changing support for young people living with disabilities, chronic illness or financial hardship.

The scholarship provides practical, finan­cial assistance to help children aged 8 – 18 years reach their full potential in sport, mu­sic and the creative arts.

Whether its funding for specialist equip­ment, competitions or training programs, the scholarship is designed to empower children to pursue their passions, build their talent and participate fully in their cho­sen field.

Variety NSW/ACT CEO, Tony Warner, said the program continues to deliver meaningful, long-term impact for families doing it tough.

“Every child deserves the chance to fol­low their dreams and feel included, regard­less of circumstances,” he said.

“The Variety Heart Scholarship is about recognising potential and providing the support needed to help children thrive – on the field, on the stage, and beyond.”

Parents, carers and guardians of eligible children are encouraged to apply now with applications open until Thursday 21 May at 4pm. For information visit https://nsw.vari­ety.org.au/variety-heart-scholarships/.

New data has revealed the impact the Al­banese Labor Government’s disastrous en­ergy policies are having on local families.

According to the Australian Energy Regu­lator, over 70,000 families in New South Wales were unable to pay their power bills over October to December 2025.

Since Labor was elected in 2022, 72,914 households have recorded hardship. Na­tionally, 230,000 households are in energy distress – up by nearly 70 per cent in just 3.5 years, the highest level of hardship on record.

Federal Member for Parkes Jamie Chaf­fey said the energy crisis was heaping pres­sure on local households.

“It is heartbreaking to hear of the impact rising power bills, together with inflation, climbing interest rates and the fuel crisis, is having on families in the Parkes elector­ate. Many are at breaking point,” Mr Chaffey said.

“Behind this new data are people in our community who are really struggling to make ends meet, yet all they get from the federal government are broken promises.

“I’ll keep fighting for a more stable, reliable energy grid that puts the needs of Austral­ians first, not one-size-fits-all mandates and targets that we can’t practically achieve.”