Special Interests Archives - Page 50 of 121

A Great Time Had By All At The Show

April 28, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Milarni 8, Isabelle 6 and Khan 4 from Forbes, had a great time at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

We have received glowing reports from our Royal Easter Show competition winners.

Forbes winner, Joanne Holmes was excited to win and took her three grandchildren to the Show, saying “The grandkids and I had a great time, as you can see by the smiles on their faces.”

Parkes winner Theresa Byrnes was equally excited and took, daughter Rebecca Byrnes and two of her grandchildren along with her. “We had an absolute blast adventuring around the show,” said Theresa.

BreastScreen NSW Now Recruiting

April 28, 2023 by Roxane Manley

BreastScreen NSW (Greater Western) is recruiting representatives for its Consumer Advisory Committee, including a primary care provider, and women aged 40 and above who are clients of the service.

Women who speak a language other than English at home, or who are Aboriginal, are encouraged to apply. Committee members need to live or work in areas covered by Western NSW and Far West Local Health Districts.

Ms Deon Adamson, Manager, BreastScreen NSW (Greater Western) says the committee’s role is to provide consumer input, advice and feedback in order to enhance access, planning and development of screening and assessment services.

“Members of our Consumer Advisory Committee are our eyes and ears on the ground, providing us with valuable local insights that help us to continually monitor and improve our services,” Ms Adamson says.

“Breast screening saves lives, so please consider joining us, knowing you will make an important contribution to the health and wellbeing of your community, helping to shape the services we provide.”

Committee meetings are held twice yearly and it is possible to attend remotely.

For further information or to apply please email: kay.smith@health.nsw.gov.au

Solution To Keep Aged Care Homes Open

April 28, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Chief Advocate Ian Henschke.

Aged care homes are closing as they struggle to meet new standards. From 1st July they need a registered nurse 24/7 and more workers to give more care minutes per resident.

National Seniors has put forward a solution in its budget submission to help retain and attract staff.

Chief Advocate Ian Henschke said that pensioners are discouraged from staying in the work force, working more, or returning to work because they lose 50c in the dollar on income earned above the $11,800 work bonus limit.

“Our research shows almost 20% of pensioners are considering returning to work but under current rules after about one day’s work they’re losing 50c in the dollar from their pension, reporting to Centrelink and paying tax on top,” Mr Henschke said.

“Many older workers walk away because it’s too complicated trying to understand what you can earn before your pension takes a hit. We propose care sector workers be exempt from the harsh pension income test. Then you can work as much as you want and simply pay tax.”

The skills and labour shortage casts a shadow over more than aged care. It’s a growing problem in health care, disability care, and childcare. All are desperate for workers. A year ago there were 60,200 vacancies across the wider care sector. The latest ABS figures show this has blown out to 72,400.

Heritage Week Sharing Our Stories

April 28, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Forbes celebrated 150 years of history during Forbes Heritage Week Festival on 1st May 2021.

‘Sharing our stories. Revealing the layers of our history.’ is the theme for Heritage Week 2023 and Forbes Shire Council’s amazing events team has put together an itinerary that ensures more of our local stories are uncovered and remembered.

The celebrations will kick-off on Tuesday 2nd May, with the The Forbes Heritage Awards evening and presentation of the Forbes Medal, recognising the conservation and promotion of the stories within our community. Two community groups have been nominated for their dedicated compassion in preserving these stories and artifacts of days gone by.

The following evening, Forbes Town Hall will again come to historical life, as the Convict Footprint Knees Up takes to the stage. This will be a night of historical music-hall entertainment, a light-hearted look at the history of this town. Be ready from 6.30pm

For those feeling brave, sign up to join the Forbes Heritage Cemetery Ghost Tour.

The tour will start at the Book Dispensary before embarking on a Cenwest bus for the Ghost Tour with the famous ‘Blind Freddy’s bushranger’. The bus tour starts at 5.30pm on Friday 5th May.

Heritage Week will conclude on Saturday 6th May with the Forbes Rotary Ipomoea Vintage and Collectables Fair.

Step back in time with displays and sales of items of yesteryear – dolls, bears, crockery, giftware. Will you pick the use, and/or origins of mystery items? Enjoy all-day tea and scones at the Town Hall from 9am to 5pm. Entry is via gold coin donation.

St John’s Anglican Church will be open for tours of the historical church in addition to a cake and garage sale on Saturday 6th May from 9am to 5pm.

Bookings are essential for the awards evening, theatre show and cemetery ghost tour. Please email events@forbes.nsw.gov.au or phone Council on 6850 2300.

World Premier Of Cracks In The Mirror A Cracking Success

April 28, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Cracks in the Mirror tackles some very topical subjects in a respectful and authentic manner through five very talented actresses; Kimberley Ryan, Jade McGovern, Maddison Collits, Ruth Barnes and Amelia Regnier.

By all accounts, the Parkes M&D Society’s newest production, Cracks in the Mirror, which opened on the weekend is a hit!

Comments left by the audience were gushing in their praise including: “Absolutely brilliant, could not have been better. Loved. Loved Loved!”; “Beautiful story, beautiful voices and awesome acting”; “Love it! The girls are amazing!”

The production is an original musical with script and Lyrics by Lyn Townsend, and musical composition by Gail Smith. The musical arrangements were handled by Anthony Leonard and Gail Smith.

There are a few ‘cheeky’ moments in the play, hence the recommendation for people 14 and over.

Writer Lyn Townsend said, “We have been overwhelmed with the response. We had a good feeling when we wrote a few of the songs and felt pretty good about the finished product. But really, the strength of this production is the cast and band. We were so lucky they came on board and took this journey with us!”

Cracks in the Mirror also received a glowing review in Stage Whispers, the national theatre magazine, with reviewer, Robert Cocks noting the production has “Clever, topical storylines, powerful ballads, catchy, toe-tapping tunes, and music that crosses multiple genres and would sit nicely on any Spotify playlist.” Read more of the wonderful review at www.stagewhispers.com.au/reviews/cracks-mirror.

Cracks in the Mirror runs for two more weekends, closing 7th May. Tickets are available at www.parkesmandd.com.au or you can email ticket requests to parkesmandd2870@gmail.com

Changed Traffic Conditions For Anzac Day On Great Western Highway

April 21, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Motorists are advised of changed traffic conditions on Tuesday, 25 April, on the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains for Anzac Day services.

Glenbrook: There will be no access to Hare Street from Great Western Highway between 5:15am and 11:45am. There will be no access to Ross Street from Great Western Highway between 10:00am and 10:50am. Great Western Highway will be closed in both directions between Hare Street and Ross Street for up to 15 minutes between 10:35am and 10:50am.

Lawson: The westbound left turn lane from the Great Western Highway will be closed into Honour Avenue between 4:30am and 12:30pm.

Blackheath: There will be no access to Govetts Leap Road from Great Western Highway between 9:30am and 11:00am.

Motorists are advised to take extra care, drive to the conditions and follow the directions of signs and traffic control.

Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience. For all the latest traffic updates download the Live Traffic NSW App, visit livetraffic.com or call 132 701.

10th Anniversary Of Last Post Ceremony

April 21, 2023 by Roxane Manley

The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military.

The Australian War Memorial is marking the 10 year anniversary of the daily Last Post Ceremony, held in the Commemorative Area. The first official ceremony, held on 17th April 2013, commemorated the service and sacrifice of Private Robert Poate who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012.

Each ceremony shares the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered over 3,300 ceremonies featuring individual stories of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take over 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed.

“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.

“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women did, but we also tell the stories of who they were when they lived and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.”

Last Post stories are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.

Tickets are required if you want to attend the Last Post Ceremony. Tickets are free and can be booked on the Memorial’s website: www.awm.gov.au/visit

Mental Health Should Feature Strongly In The Measuring What Matters Approach

April 21, 2023 by Roxane Manley

Beyond Blue is calling for mental health and mental wellbeing to feature strongly in the Federal Government’s new framework that aims to accurately gauge and understand how people’s lives are tracking in Australia.

The government is developing a Measuring What Matters Statement and Australian Wellbeing Framework to discuss how Australia might measure its success in ways that will go beyond traditional economic indicators such as productivity and growth.

In its submission, Beyond Blue states mental health is central to overall wellbeing and national prosperity. Beyond Blue recommends mental health and mental wellbeing indicators are included in the national framework to better measure overall wellbeing, due to the significant impact our mental health has on the way we live.

Beyond Blue CEO Georgie Harman said the framework was a chance to consider how social conditions influence our mental health and wellbeing.

“The framework must include ways to measure and better understand how employment, housing, racism, discrimination, and social inequality impact people’s mental health and wellbeing in Australia,” Ms Harman said.

“And it must be based on thorough consultation with communities, especially those experiencing mental health conditions and suicidal thoughts, and people impacted by homelessness, unemployment, racism, and poverty.”

Beyond Blue Support Service: 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au/getsupport.

Head To Eugowra This Anzac Day

April 21, 2023 by Roxane Manley

The Mates4Harness Flood Relief Anzac Day Race meet will bring the community together to celebrate the Anzac spirit while supporting local flood victims.

A family focused event, the race day will have something for everyone from live music, auctions, free kids amusements, mobile rides, mini trots, ice-cream, free facepainting and of course harness racing action and a drivers invitational race.

Anzac day will also be commemorated with a parade at the course and 2 Up, where punters can try their luck off the track as well.

The day will kick off at 12.15pm at the Eugowra Showground Paceway.

It is great to see the Eugowra community bounce back after the 2022 floods. The huge community and Council effort to get the infrastructure of Eugowra back in shape to host such events is commendable.

If you are looking for something different to do with the family this Anzac Day, head on over to Eugowra to support the community In their recovery efforts.

For more information on the Mates4Harness Flood Relief Harness Race Day, head on over to www.eugowraharnessracing.com or check out Eugowra Harness Racing Club Facebook Page.

Anzac Day Events In Forbes

April 21, 2023 by Roxane Manley

5.15am Dawn Service

Lights out in Templar Street, Lachlan St, Harold St and Victoria Park, organised for 5am – 6am. Assemble at 5.15am in front of Club Forbes. March to Cenotaph Harold Street 5.20am. Club Forbes open approximately 6am for breakfast.

10.30am Mid-Morning March

Assemble at 10am in Cross Street: Flag party, Forbes High School, Red Bend Catholic College, Forbes Public School, Forbes North Public School, St Laurence’s Primary School, local Preschool’s, St Johns First Aid Service, Forbes Town Band, Returned Service men and women and relatives of Returned Service men and women, vintage cars, Ambulance Service, Rural Fire Services, SES Members and safety vehicle.

The Service at the Cenotaph starts at 10.30am with wreath laying and concludes approximately 11am.

Luncheon at Club Forbes available in the club Bistro.

2pm Two-up at Club Forbes in the club auditorium.

5pm Lowering of flag at cenotaph

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