After a very wet March, the weather in Parkes flipped on its head with only 0.8mm of rain recorded in April.

March saw the average rainfall almost double when 91mm were recorded, before the four-week dry spell of April, making it the second driest month on record after 2019 when 0mm of rain fell. Last year April was the wettest April on record from 1942 when 154.8mm of rain were recorded.

Ironically enough the dry spell was broken on Monday night when Parkes record-ed over 18mm of rain.

Bureau of Meteorology Senior Climatologist Simon Grainger said the dry spell was part of a bigger picture that included the entire state of NSW.

“For NSW as a whole, it was the eighth driest April on record, and the driest since 2005,” he said.

“Most inland areas received less than 5mm in April, which equates to about 20% of the average for the month.”

Simon put the dry month down to a shift in weather patterns from March, which saw successive high pressure systems move across the state.

He said this led to clear skies and the usual April cold fronts that would bring wet weather with them being pushed away by the high pressure.

“We also saw the end of the monsoon season in northern Australia, which is where some of inland Australia’s rain can flow down from, but we didn’t see any of that in April.”

Simon said the remainder of May was expected to stay dry, after the rain recorded earlier this week.

However, the winter months were looking at being wetter than average.

“The ocean waters in northern Australia are still warmer than average, and we’re expecting this to remain the case moving into the winter months, which could lead to increased rainfall.”

A new load restraint quiz has been released online and local farmers, contract harvesters, couriers and transport operators stand a chance to win $500 worth of equipment.

The quiz is the first strategy of Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Load Restraint Education Project following its launch at a property on the outskirts of Forbes last week by Deputy Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development, Michael McCormack.

The project targets the safe transportation of hay bales, machinery and general freight according to the three Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor. “The safe carriage of loads affects us all. It is vital for both the producer and consumer but also for other road users.

“This project was developed to assist the transport industry and local farmers in gaining a better understanding of the fundamentals of load restraint. We’d also like to see a reduction in the number of load restraint breaches and incidents that are occurring on local roads.

Melanie said the quiz would measure the current level of load restraint knowledge before the implementation of the various educational strategies.

The project received funding from the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator’s 2020 Heavy Vehicle Safety Initiative, supported by the Federal Government.

The seven-question quiz can be accessed by using this link: https://forms.office.com/r/5BVtDjjdj9 and will be open until Wednesday, 19th May. You can also find the quiz link on the Councils’ Facebook pages.

Melanie thanked the project partners – NSW Police, NSW Farmers and Transport for NSW – for their assistance in planning and developing the quiz and the other project strategies.

So, you now know you are looking for at least an eight-card fit with your partner. If you hold five cards of a suit, and sufficient points, you may open bidding in that suit. Your partner may have three or more cards of your suit, making the eight-card fit, and a few points as well, so they can support your bid by taking it up a level.

The contract may also be no-trumps, in which highest cards of each suit win tricks while following the suit which is led. The least you can bid for is seven tricks which is bidding at the one level, example 1C or 1S. The maximum you can bid is for all thirteen tricks which is bidding at the seven level, example 7H or 7NT. Once your partnership has won the bidding contract, you need to win the number of tricks you have specified, or more.

Making the right bids the past week were: Tuesday, 27th April Jennifer Calvert and Val Worthington; Thursday, 29th April Jennifer Calvert and Vicki Burke for north/south, Peter Quin and John Quin for east/west; and Monday, 3rd May Steve and Rosemary Morris.

Call Greig Ball 0429 621 712 or Bev Laing 0418 114 826 for more information.

By Beth Thomas

Did you know that NSW Creative Kids voucher can be used for PSCB membership or instrument hire? Membership is $30 per school term and instrument hire is $25 per school term. PSCB is a registered Creative Kids provider. Check out the link below to apply for a NSW Government voucher for up to $100 per calendar year for eligible school children towards these fees https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/apply-creative-kids-voucher.

It does not matter at what level you can play or if you used to play an instrument or would like to learn, please come along and sit in on one of our rehearsals.

If you would like to be part of community music, rehearsals are on Tuesday from 7 to 9pm during school term above the Parkes Pool Complex in Dalton Street. Contact Duncan Clement, PSCB Music Director at duncanclement@hotmail.com or on 0405 035 164.

By Ellen Tom

Parkes was recently named as one of 240 business fibre zone locations offering NBN Co’s premium business-grade fibre to more than 700 local Parkes businesses at the same wholesale price as capital cities centers.

Last Wednesday NBN Co-presented this opportunity to Parkes Chamber of Commerce members to help local businesses make the most of the new offering.

Enterprise Ethernet, as the new fibre is called, is NBN Co’s fastest symmetrical wholesale product and has options for prioritised traffic, high capacity and symmetrical upload and download wholesale speeds from 10Mbps to close to 1Gbps1, as well as enhanced 24/7 support.

NBN Local General Manager, Chris Cusack, said: “An estimated 717 Parkes businesses will have access to fast and reliable connectivity at a time when reliance on driving online presence, digital collaboration platforms and cloud-based tools has never been more significant for businesses.

“Meeting with the Parkes Chamber of Commerce is part of NBN Co’s ongoing commitment to educate communities and ensure local businesses are aware of the solutions available for continued resilience and growth.”

Parkes Business Chamber President, Geoff Rice, said the launch of the Business Fibre Initiative was an exciting investment for Parkes, provided a competitive edge for businesses looking to relocate, while also helping support local business innovation and competition into the digital age.