Maggi Barnard

Musica Arioso, a performing arts studio in Parkes, entered 11 students in the vocal sections of the Forbes Eisteddfod taking out 10 first places, four second places, one third and 18 highly commended awards. Two piano students won a first and third place; while four students took part in the Speech and Drama sections with one first, one second and three highly commended places. The studio also won a first place in the Open Choir section.

Some of the Musica Arioso prize winners are at the back: Shaianne Metzeling, Sasha Adams, Grace Powley, Emily Cox and Savannah Ross. Front: Cameron Noakes and Sophie Fahey.

The Musica Arioso Choir won first place. In the back row are Shaianne Metzeling, Shannon Ridges, Chloe Smith and Ileerose Haydon. Middle row: Savannah Ross, Grace Powley, Piper Chase, Harrison Rowbotham, Emily Cox and Lisa Ramsay (Drama Teacher). Front row: Cameron Noakes, Sasha Adams, Lylah O’Brien and Sophie Fahey. (Vocal Coach, Gail Smith – not in photo)

Kerryn and Deb Jones love growing their own vegetables, which means they do not have to buy plastic wrapped veggies! Kerryn also likes her non-plastic watering can.

It’s a huge challenge, but worth a try.

Kerryn and Deb Jones tried going plastic free in Parkes last year after watching a Four Corner episode about how recyclable plastics often don’t get recycled and end up in landfill.

“We decided to do a month’s grocery shopping completely plastic free to see what wasn’t a problem and what we simply couldn’t buy.

“Our first grocery shop was very interesting. There was a lot of…well we can’t get that… or that… or that…we can’t buy that any more… or that!

“Luckily, we like fresh fruit and veg, but even the watermelon, one of our favourites, was covered in glad wrap. We were going to have to buy them whole from now on and re-learn how to tell a good melon from a bad one without being able to see inside!”

The two sisters have not been able to go completely plastic free, but packaging is at the front of their minds when they shop and definitely plays a role in deciding what to buy. They are going to give the Plastic Free July challenge a go as motivation to try and find more plastic free options.

This is what they found the most challenging:
• Meat: find a sympathetic butcher who will put your meat in your container or in a paper bag. It was impossible to find free range chicken locally that is not wrapped in plastic;
• Biscuits: almost impossible, so they made their own;
• Nuts ‘n stuff: they visit a bulk food outlet to buy nuts, grains, dried fruit etc;
• Berries: always in plastic so they have to wait for the berry farm to open to pick their own. They’ve also planted some, but that might take a while;
• Yoghurt: make your own;
• Cheese: they found one shop that sells cheese in paper – unfortunately not in Parkes;
• Shampoos underarm and toothpaste: plastic free options are available, but mostly online or out of town;
• Loo paper: ‘Who gives a crap’ can be bought online in bulk to reduce packaging and freight. They use only paper-based packaging, environmentally friendly paper and give back profits to community projects.

Trying to remove plastic from their lives, have also made them realise how much of a concern all packaging is. Deb remembers how glass bottles were reused in her childhood. “You’d take them down to Or-bells on Bogan Street and trade them in. I think we’d have to go back to that at some stage. There needs to be a big shift in the way we package and it probably means going away from shiny perfect products we have become used to.”

If you’d like to try the Plastic Free July challenge by choosing to refuse single-use plastics go to the website for ideas and alternatives that can become new habits forever.

If going plastic free is too daunting or overwhelming, just take it one step at a time and start refusing plastic straws, stop buying bottled water, or using plastic bags for your fruit and veg.

“We really have to get into the habit of reusing and refusing,” said Kerryn. “If we really can’t do either, then recycling is the next best option.”

Authorised child restraint fitters will be in Parkes on Tuesday, 22nd June to do free child restraint checks at Lions Park from 11am to 3pm.

Parkes Shire Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer Melanie Suitor said the annual day was important to ensure the safe travel of young children.

“The correct fitting and adjustment of child restraints is vital. Research shows that two out of three child restraints are not being used properly and this puts children at risk of injury in the event of a crash.

“Most of the restraints we have checked at previous events have had minor problems that needed fixing to ensure the safety of the child, such as tightening and untwisting straps, fitting gated buckles and correcting the seatbelt’s path through the restraint.

“It is important to have your child restraint checked regularly after prolonged use and installed correctly before use to ensure that your precious cargo is safe,” said Melanie.

Free barista coffee will be available, along with information about the national child restraint laws, the types of restraints and advice on moving children from one restraint type to the next.

Bookings are essential by phoning 6861 2364 to secure your place.