What do you think of the new public art installation in Peak Hill?

Skye Leigh: It is beautiful. It will mean a lot for our town.

Carol Smith: It is absolutely beautiful and looks fantastic! It will hopefully teach the younger generation more about star constellations, and it will be good for tourism.

Brendan Read: It’s great and so good to see a local artist on display. It is fantastic recognition for Sauce who has been drawing since age 5 but very humble about his achievements. I’ve already seen people pull up to have a look, so it’s good for attracting visitors too.

What is your favourite board game? Kids at the Home School Picnic at Lions Park were keen to answer.

Claire Butler (9), Rebekah Knowling (8) and Samuel Knowling (11): Claire: I like chess – it is fun and good for your brain. Rebekah: I like 3D snakes and ladders. Samuel: I like Lego more and hope to become a master builder one day.

Ayrton Fowler (10), Ted Fowler (9) and Ruben Kelly (10): Ayrton: I like Monopoly – it’s fun playing with all the money. Ted: Monopoly is fun! Ruben: I like Risk.

Hayden Hawker (8), Marshal Fowler (13) and Jacob Hawker (10): Hayden: I like Trouble – I got it for my birthday and I am awesome at it! Marshal: Monopoly is really fun and you can buy properties with fake money! Jacob: The Star Wars game is my favourite and I am ridiculously good at it!

The Parkes College for Seniors held a fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House this week including a competition for old items. What is the story of your old item?

Doreen McKenzie: This is a golden sovereign case that belonged to my grandfather and then my mother. It is well over 100 years old.

Shirley Job: When I was 16 I wanted a fur coat to wear to balls and dances. My father helped me to set the rabbit
traps on our farm west of West Wyalong. We sent about 50 skins to Sydney in 1946 where this fur cape was made.
(Shirley won the old items competition.)

Joyce Stanford: This silver butter dish dates from 1911 and was a wedding present for my mother and father. You
put cold water and ice in the bottom to keep the butter from melting.

Moya Wade: I received this Mickey Mouse Movie Stories book for my 9th birthday. It was my favourite book and
I lost it for a while, but was very happy to have found it again.

What is the highlight of the Parkes Show for you?

Josie, Bruce and William Watson: William: The dodgem cars; Josie: I love the horses; Bruce: The fireworks of course.

Joseph, Jamie, Christine and Lilly Holmes: Christine: Because I have little children, we spend lots of time at the tractors and headers. My son Joseph (4) can spend more than an hour looking at them.

Sandi and Ross Bailey: Sandi: The pavilion and the craft – I love the tea cosies made by the Craft Corner members. I am inspired to enter next year.

What do you like about reading books?

Lyla Miller – Parkes East Public School: It is fun and you can learn new words when reading. My favourite book is The Cat Wants Custard.

Jackson Westcott – Parkes Christian School: I like to read so I can learn about different animals. I like Green Eggs and Ham by Dr Seuss – it is fun to read!

Arabella McCutcheon, Parkes Christian School: It is fun and you get to learn lots of new words and you learn new things. I like the book Despicable Me 3.

Cunningham’s IGA in Parkes celebrated its 50th anniversary this week. We asked customers: Why do you like shopping at IGA?

Dick Berry: I have been coming here for about 45 years. It is very convenient, not too many aisles and very nice people. It is easy to do your shopping in a hurry.

Ian Wade-Parker: I started shopping here last November and enjoy the friendly service and smiling faces. I’d rather support a local business than shopping at one of the multi-nationals.

Parkes Christian School held its second creative showcase on Monday.

Why do you think this evening is important or the school and students?

Isaac Westcott: Napoleon – hero or tyrant? – It gives us an opportunity to tell people about our research and our views. It also tests our knowledge on the subject.

Emma Greenland: Significant Women (authors) – It is a great night and a fun way to showcase our school, to meet new people and an opportunity to reach into the community.

Ethan Peters: Pirates – It is a good night to help the school grow, to show the community what we are about and it is a confidence booster for the students to be able to present our research to a wider audience.

Why do you love playing hockey?

Zac Redfern: It’s really good exercise and you develop skills. It’s also fun and you meet new friends. I’ve been playing for five years.

Ella Milton: I love it because you get to make friends. It’s good to get fit and have fun. I’ve been playing hockey for five years.

Jayden Redfern: I love playing hockey because you get to play with your friends. I started hockey when I was four years old, and I play midfield.

What do you love about astronomy?

Bernadette Aiken: I really like seeing deep sky objects through the telescope. The Jewel Box is my favourite thing to look at, it’s really colourful and looks just like a box of jewels.

Gillian Hunt: I like hearing about the different probes. Juno is orbiting Jupiter, and you can choose what you want it to observe. The public can tell NASA what they want to see – it’s really user-based. Saturn is my favourite thing to look at, when you get a good enough telescope you can see a gap between the two rings.

Peter Cannon: There’s always something more to find, there’s always another target. I think my personal favourite thing to observe is the moon. It’s the thing you can spend the most time on, there’s so much detail, it changes every night, and it’s so easy to find.