Maggi Barnard

The very first Pink Up Parkes campaign exceeded all expectations with well over $34,000 raised for the McGrath Foundation during October.

“It is very exciting what was achieved considering we are in the midst of a severe drought,” said Marg Applebee of the Pink Up Parkes Committee. “We aimed for $20,000, and the final amount has not been confirmed as money is still coming in.” She said donations could still be made, and asked all businesses and organisations to deposit any outstanding money.

Chairperson of the Pink Up Parkes Committee, Carolyn Rice OAM thanked the community for their enthusiasm and support, as well as her committee members who had put in many hours to make it all happen.

Community members, businesses, schools, organisations and clubs got onboard and organised a variety of different activities, events and fundraisers in support of the campaign. Marg said the committee did not even know about all the events.

As the plan is to run the campaign again next year, she asked people to put it in their calendars and start thinking about how they would like to get involved.

The Pink Up Parkes Committee thanked the Parkes Shire Council, Central West Lachlan Landcare and the Parkes Business Chamber for all their support in making it a huge success.

The annual White Ribbon March took place in Parkes on Monday with about 150 people taking part to raise awareness of domestic violence.

As Parkes is currently ranked 30th in the state for incidents of domestic violence, the event was a good opportunity to create awareness.

“We believe in the capacity of the individual to change and to encourage change in others,” said Secretary of the Parkes Domestic and Family Violence Committee, Tina Nash.

Community members joined participants from two schools, Holy Family and Parkes High, Fire & Rescue 417, Currajong Disability Services, Ron Dunford Pharmacy and Northparkes Mines.

Guest speakers included Chief Inspector David Cooper of Parkes Police, Mayor Ken Keith, General Manager MLAHMC Seth Toomey and White Ribbon Ambassador Kaidyn Haynes.

Tina said the march was about coming together as a community and saying you would ‘stand up and speak out’ should you witness this type of behaviour. “We are happy with the event, but would like to emphasise that you do not have to be a victim or survivor of domestic violence to attend the event.”

Tina said the objectives of the White Ribbon campaign were to create widespread awareness of the positive role that men play in stopping violence against women; to enable leadership, particularly by men and boys, to bring about social change, and to build collective knowledge and understanding of the effective prevention of violence against women.

The news that White Ribbon Australia has recently gone into receivership does not affect the annual event as it would continue to be supported by the Parkes committee alongside the international White Ribbon movement.

In Australia, one in three women has experienced physical or sexual assault in her lifetime. The mission of White Ribbon is to change the attitudes and behaviours that support or excuse this violence against women in Australia.

Why do you like reading and what do you read?

Ava Pearce: I like reading because it helps me to learn new knowledge. I like Tilly, a girl who hides her special things in a stair, and Fancy Nancy.

 

Local artists are invited to book a space on an introduction wall at the temporary Parkes Library in Clarinda Street.

The OUR ARTS wall will feature an artwork or photo that represents local artists of all art forms, and could include a band showing a photograph of everyone with their instruments, a potter in the studio, or a photo of a sculpture or painting. The wall will serve as the starting point to locate pop-up art spaces where artists can exhibit their work.

The need for exhibition space was one of the key themes that arose at a Parkes Shire Arts Advisory Council workshop with local artists and representatives of art/cultural groups earlier this year.

The purpose of the wall is to showcase and promote the many practicing artists and arts/cultural groups in the region.

The aim is to install the images by mid-December, with images added or changing over time.

If you are interested, provide images before Friday, 13th December to Kerryn Jones at the Parkes Library. For image specifications contact Kerryn on 68612338 or email: kerryn.jones@parkes.nsw.gov.au

Three of the eight students at Bogan Gate Public School joined 5,500 other performers from public schools across NSW for Schools Spectacular in Sydney last weekend.

Cooper Bond and Jack and Daniel Smith formed part of the primary concourse choir after they auditioned via video to be select- ed. The theme this year was Stars and the school was sent the sound tracks in term 3 to give students time to practise the songs at school and in their own time.

They spent a week in Sydney rehearsing for two days learning choralography (actions to accompany the songs), followed by two long days performing for the public.

The students also engaged in other learning activities including a day at Taronga Zoo, exploring the harbour by ferry and participating in cultural activities around Olympic Park.

The students could attend thanks to significant financial support from the Bogan Gate Public School P&C.

Four Year 7 students from Trundle Central School were in the audience at Schools Spectacular. They travelled to Sydney as part of Wish Upon a Star for students from drought-ravaged schools, whose Principals selected them as a reward for their good behaviour and merit.

Schools Spectacular will be aired on Channel 7 Saturday, 7th December at 7pm.

More than 180 people attended a memorial service in Cooke Park on Sunday to mark 20 years since the tragic air blast event at CMOC-Northparkes Mines that claimed the lives of four men.

Ross Bodkin, Michael House, Stuart Osman and Colin Lloyd-Jones were killed when millions of tonnes of ore and earth suddenly collapsed, leading to the catastrophic air blast.

Family members, employees past and present, local Councillors and community members joined together in Cooke Park to stop and remember the four men.

Manager Operations Rob Cunningham, who was an underground team leader at the time of the air blast, shared his memories from the day including a poem dedicated to the four men. “This event is a black day in the history of Northparkes that is never forgotten – this day reshaped the way we approach safety, mine designs and critical control monitoring.”

“I am personally driven every day to prevent the past and be better tomorrow. Please spare a thought for all the family and friends that were impacted by this tragedy. Our thoughts and wishes are with you. I am sorry that these four good men never made it back to their families 20 years ago,” said Rob.

Northparkes Managing Director Hubert Lehman said: “To all the families whose lives will never be the same as a result of the air blast, we think of you every day. All four men were exceptional people who had so much to offer but never returned home from work that day. We will continue to remember these men every year and share what we learnt from that day to help prevent it from ever happening again.”

The ceremony concluded with family members unveiling a chair dedicated in memory of Ross, Michael, Stuart and Colin.

The chair will be installed at Bushman’s Hill Reserve next to the existing memorial rock.