Special Interests Archives - Page 26 of 121

Spring Walks For The NPA Lachlan Valley

September 26, 2024 by Roxane Manley

The National Parks Association of NSW Lachlan Valley Branch have released their walks calendar for spring 2024.

• Sunday 15th September: SWWNR Cookamidgera. Meet at gate on Coonambro Way at 9am. Leader Martin Bell 0429 346 586. Medium 6kms.

• Wednesday 9th October: Back Yamma SF. Meet at gate on Forest East Rd off Parkes-Eugowra Rd at 9.30am. Contact Liz MacRaild 0455 915 989. Easy 7kms.

• Wednesday 13th November: “Kokoda” Northparkes Mines Offset Block. Meet at Lions Park, Molong Road, Parkes at 9am. Leader Martin Bell 0429 346 586. Medium 6kms.

• Wednesday 4th December: Christmas Party Bumberry Dam. Meet at 5pm for walk then picnic. BYO everything including chair, food either to be shared or eat your own as people prefer.

Please contact the listed walk leader the night before the walk if you intend to come.

A $2 donation for each walker is appreciated. New walkers are always welcome.

Walkers are reminded to bring along enough food and water for the entire day as well as suitable clothing, footwear, hat and sunscreen. A pair of good binoculars and a fold up chair for the post- walk cuppa is recommended.

Easy: (5 to 10 kilometres) Mostly flat to slightly undulating topography. Walks are mostly on tracks or fire trails and of moderate distance. Suitable for those with a minimum level of fitness.

Medium: (5 to 8 kilometres) May be over moderate hills or rough terrain. May involve some off track walking. Walk may involve shorter distance overall due to rougher conditions. Suitable for an average fitness level.

Hard: (5 or more kilometres) Walk may involve hilly or mountainous terrain, rough tracks, a trackless route or an extended distance. Walk suitable for above average fitness level.

Forbes Garden Club Notes

September 19, 2024 by Elvy Quirk

Marion Murray’s garden at Coonamble.

Forbes Garden Club held their monthly meeting on 27th of August at the home of Colleen Liebich, 22 Koala Place, where 38 members were in attendance.

The Friendship day luncheon at Young was the topic of discussion. The day is being held on the 13th October at Clifton Gardens and a cost of $60 includes the luncheon and a tour of the gardens. Members who are wishing to attend please bring your money along to the September meeting.

Colleen gave a brief talk on how she and her late husband Jeff started with a bare block of land, building the house and in the development application they had to include a layout of their planned garden. The garden is an easy care garden.Marlene Huff thanked Colleen for having members to her home for the monthly meeting.

Our special speaker was Marion Murray, our very own member who earlier this year retired to live in Forbes coming from Coonamble. Marion gave a vast talk on her life on the land, her childhood days, moving from place to place and establishing gardens. Marion has purchased a little home near our beautiful Lake and is enjoying meeting new people, forming friendships and once again establishing a garden.

Our Forbes show has once again concluded with a good display of flowers. To the members who took time to make an entry, well done.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday 24th September, 2pm at 16 Reymond Street. A trading table will once again be in operation, and don’t forget to bring your entries for flower of the month.

By Elvy Quirk

Prime Minister Ignores Farmers At National Farmer Rally

September 12, 2024 by Roxane Manley

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has refused to attend the National Farmer Rally outside Parliament House, instead, ignoring hundreds of farmers who travelled from all over Australia to plead with the Government to stop its anti-farming agenda.

Leader of The Nationals David Littleproud said “For the Prime Minister to ignore hundreds of farmers, many who have spent days on end driving to Canberra from other states, shows that Labor doesn’t care about our agriculture industry.”

“Our Prime Minister isn’t interested in helping or even listening to those who produce our nation’s food and fibre. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins didn’t attend the rally either, which is incredibly disappointing given she has only just been appointed as Agriculture Minister.”

The National Farmer Rally organisers were calling for sensible changes including scrapping the truckie tax, scrapping new taxes for biosecurity and superannuation, scrapping water buybacks in the MurrayDarling Basin and protecting the Great Artesian Basin, scrapping unnecessary red tape from emissions reporting, known as Scope 3, and scrapping reckless renewables which will rip up prime agricultural land, protecting the 88-day backpacker visa, as well as overturning the decision to ban live sheep exports by sea.

“These requests are common sense solutions and without changes, farming will become unviable. The National Farmer Rally is the biggest in a generation – it has been more than 40 years since farmers have had to march on Parliament House because a federal government has made them feel so aggrieved.”

’Tis The Season Tips For Your Itchy, Watery, Red Eyes This Spring

September 12, 2024 by Hansen’s Eyecare Plus

If you are one of the estimated 20% of Australians that suffer from hayfever, Spring is not a time for celebration but rather a time of sneezing, mucous and the dreaded itchy eyes! Allergic conjunctivitis is the bane of many a hay fever sufferer, so what is the best way for you to manage your itchy eyes?

1. Avoid your allergy triggers. Plants, grasses or pollens that trigger your allergy symptoms should be avoided. Try saving outdoor activities to the evening or just before dawn when the pollen count is lower.

2. Keep allergens away. Regularly washing your face, hair and around your eyes, frequently changing your clothing and linen can help to remove the little allergen particles that accumulate.

3. Treat your itchy eyes with medication. Over the counter antihistamine eye drops can provide relief for the symptoms of allergic conjunctivitis. Avoid using the “red eye” drops. These will only temporarily hide the redness without actually addressing the cause of your red, itchy eyes. For persistent allergy, use a mast cell stabiliser eyedrop leading up to and during spring to act as a preventative. These are available as a combination drop alongside an antihistamine.

4. Treat any concurrent dry eye disease. Having dry eyes will exacerbate your allergic conjunctivitis symptoms and our tears act as a natural means of flushing allergens out of our eyes. Watch out with taking oral antihistamines as these can cause dry eyes.

Book an appointment at Hansens Optometrists where we can formulate a personalised plan. We can prescribe more effective eye drops and treat other eye problems that might be masquerading as allergy symptoms.

Eye Health Brought to you by Hansen’s Eyecare Plus

Fire Up Forbes

September 12, 2024 by Roxane Manley

Grab your mates and fire up for an unforgettable night of tasty food, ice cold beverages, live music and plenty of dancing – all in the name of charity.

The Nedd Brockmann Gala Ball, which is being held at the historic Forbes Town Hall on Friday 4th October, is set to be an event not to be missed.

The aim of the black-tie charity ball is to support Bedgerabong born and bred Nedd Brockmann’s past achievements whilst also getting right behind him and his next big challenge: which is to run 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) in 10 days!All proceeds from the ticket and bar sales plus the fundraiser auction will be donated to the charity: “We Are Mobilise” which aims at combating homelessness within Australia.

Sam Mackay, who is one of several young locals organising the event, said “We hope everyone gets around this event and supports the Brockmann Gala Ball.

There has been a lot of work behind the scenes to make it a really special evening”.

Head to the Forbes Gala Ball pages on either Facebook or Instagram or to 123tix.com.au get your ticket.

Keep The Sheep Celebrates Historic Day

September 12, 2024 by Roxane Manley

Keep the Sheep campaigners and supporters have sent a strong message to the Albanese Government, amassing thousands of supporters to the lawn at Parliament House in Canberra to protest the government’s ban on live sheep exports.

The campaign celebrated people joining the rally from across Australia, coming from as far afield as Darwin, Broome, North Queensland and Adelaide to show their frustration.

Armed with a 50 strong convoy of trucks and vehicles that converged from Yass and Goulburn, Keep the Sheep spokesman Ben Sutherland celebrated the excellent turn out. “People feel so strongly about the government ruining our livelihoods, they came out in force today.”

Mr Sutherland said that neither the Prime Minister nor the Agriculture Minister, Julie Collins came out to address the crowd.

“People are hurting already as a result of this policy and no Government representatives turned up to listen to their concerns” he said.

With approximately 2,000 people in attendance, the rally demonstrated the frustration that farmers have felt about the government’s anti-farming policies and added to the nearly 100,000 signature petition.

See Ewe Next Tuesday, Albo

September 5, 2024 by Roxane Manley

With momentum growing for the national agriculture rally to be held in Canberra next Tuesday 10th of Sept, co-organisers, Keep the Sheep, are encouraging as many people as possible to attend to give the Government a clear message: support agriculture or face the ramifications at the ballot box.

Coinciding with news that the new Agriculture Minister’s Department advised her that, “the policy is now settled and will not be revisited”, spokesperson Ben Sutherland said that the choice was now clear, and that farmers, agricultural workers, truckies and regional people were now only left with a single choice, to campaign against bad policy at election time.

“This policy is far from settled. If the Government thinks it can dispose of our livelihoods and then declare it all done and dusted, they are very wrong,”“If the Government prefers to listen to activists or bureaucrats instead of the real people that their policy will hurt, then they will see us and hear us next week,” he said.

The national agriculture rally will be held on the lawns at Parliament House on Tuesday 10 September from 11:00 and participants can register online.

Catholiccare Wilcannia-forbes To Host Free Movie Nights For Families

September 5, 2024 by Roxane Manley

CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes team member Dylan Biles is encouraging families to come along to the organisation’s free Forbes Community Movie Night on Friday.

Families at Forbes and Trundle can enjoy a film event for free this month, thanks to CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes.

The organisation’s Family and Relationship Services team is hosting a movie night at Forbes on Friday 6th September, and at Trundle on Friday 20th September.

The events will feature a screening of the film, The Wolf and the Lion, as well as a free barbecue sausage sizzle and other activities for children, all at no charge to attendees.

CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes’s Family and Relationship Services team organised these events to bring families together and add to the social experience for community members in these towns.

Forbes Community Movie Night, Friday 6th September, 5pm-9pm, to be held at Forbes Public School. Bring chairs and rugs and dress warmly. Children are to be supervised by parents. No staff supervision available for children. This is a drug-free and alcohol-free event.

Trundle Community Movie Night, Friday 20th September, 5pm-9pm, to be held at St Patrick’s Catholic School. Bring chairs and rugs and dress warmly. Children are to be supervised by parents. No staff supervision available for children. This is a drug-free and alcohol-free event.

“Our community movie nights are an enjoyable night of entertainment for families that don’t break budgets,” Family and Relationship Services delivery leader Rebecca Lee said.

“They are a chance for children to make memories and they encourage strong positive bonds between family members, and between families in the community.”

Serving western NSW, CatholicCare Wilcannia-Forbes understands the needs of smaller rural communities.

“With time pressures, many families can’t take a day to travel to a bigger city for entertainment,” Ms Lee said.

“Furthermore, owing to inflation, many families may not be able to afford the fuel to travel away.”

All are welcome to attend.

‘Use It Or Lose It’

September 5, 2024 by Roxane Manley

My grandfather was the founder of a poultry farm. He loved chickens, the way they moved around, walking with a swagger, their jerky, almost nervous movements. I remember collecting the eggs with him as a child, watching his hands move quickly, with almost a flare of artistry, placing eggs gently but firmly into cartons as he pushed the trolley along through the sea of chickens.

In the last 10 years of his life, he battled Parkinson’s Disease. I once helped him from his car to the egg packing shed, a painstakingly slow process, every movement a neurological battle for his brain to connect with his muscles. His feet barely cleared the ground with short, shuffling motions, his hands shaking and his voice a whisper.

Twenty minutes into the 15 metre journey from car to shed door, I offered to get the wheelchair. He looked at me, smiled and said “My girl. If I don’t use it. I… lose .. it.” He was, of course, right.

A study about patients who are critically ill and find themselves in an ICU bed found that they lose nearly 2% of skeletal muscle per day during the first week of admission. A week in bed, motionless, well that’s almost 14% of your muscle lost. Yet we know on the flip side, it can take 6-8 weeks to build muscle up and build strength. Hardly seems fair does it?!

There are so many benefits to keeping active, across all stages of the life span, but especially as we age.

Interested in keeping strong & active? We have a new seniors exercise class at Kerin Health, run by our Physiotherapists. Find out more or secure your place in this program (places are limited) by calling us on 0437 749 746

Free Online Child Car Seat Safety Workshops

September 5, 2024 by Roxane Manley

Parents, carers and grandparents of young children are invited to attend one of two free online workshops being held to provide important safety information about child car seats.

The workshops are being conducted by Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils in partnership with Transport for NSW West Region. The workshops will be held via MS Teams, on Tuesday 10th September at 10am and again at 7pm, and will run for about an hour.

The Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said the correct selection, installation and adjustment of child car seats is vital in ensuring children’s safety when travelling in vehicles.

“The workshop will cover the National Child Restraint Laws, types of child car seats available, correct installation and adjustment, when to move to the next car seat, accessories, tips for second-hand car seats and much more. It is so important to ensure your precious cargo is safe,” Ms Suitor said.

The online workshops were the first of their kind in NSW when they were trialed in May 2023.

“Over 30 local families have attended the online workshops since their inception. Participants rated the workshop 4.8 out of 5, said they would be very likely to recommend it to a friend or family member and were glad they had attended,” Ms Suitor said.

To book your place, visit the Councils’ Facebook pages, use this link: bit.ly/WorkshopRegoSept24 or call Ms Suitor on 6861 2364.

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