Maggi Barnard

Maggi Barnard has been with the Parkes Phoenix since it was established in March 2016 and loves writing about her community.

Flowers On The Water At Pink Paddle

November 1, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

HONOUR… Parkes Dragon Boat Club members took part in Dragons Abreast Australia’s Flowers on the Water ceremony by spreading out rose petals on Lake Endeavour on Sunday.

It is not every day you would see a top hat in a dragon boat, let alone a bright pink one, but on Sunday the Parkes Dragon Boat Club (PDBC) members turned on the pink for a very special day.

The club signed up for Pink Up Parkes and organised a Pink Paddle with members giving their creative dress sense free reign. There were all kinds of pink hats, ties with t-shirts, a party of pink tutus and even suspenders worn over a life jacket!

The fun day was balanced with the beautiful Flowers on the Water ceremony per- formed by Dragons Abreast representative from Orange Pearl Butcher.

It is a very special ceremony conducted by members of Dragons Abreast Australia to honour those who have, and are continuing to travel, the path of a breast cancer diagnosis, as well as remembering those who have lost their battle.

Dragons Abreast Australia is a national organisation comprised of breast cancer survivors of various ages who provide a “face” for the breast cancer statistics whilst spreading the message of awareness through participation in the wonderful sport of dragon boat racing.

“I would like to thank all our members for getting into the spirit of the event,” said PDBC President Bill Thomas. “The Flowers on the Water ceremony was a reminder that all of us have been or will be touched by cancer.”

Club members also organised a pink morning tea and a pink lamington drive to raise funds for the McGrath Foundation. Almost $300 was raised and handed over to Carolyn Rice of the Pink Up Parkes Committee who attended the event.

She thanked the club for their effort and praised the community of Parkes for their enthusiasm and support for Pink Up Parkes. “Our aim was to raise $20,000 and we have achieved that already, and might even get to $30,000,” she said.

Letter to the editor…

November 1, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Dear Editor,
I note with interest the ‘Thumbs Up’ given to the new dog park at Kelly Reserve.

This park was constructed only metres away from the front doors of residents in Coleman Road without prior notice or discussion with them. Residents choose to live here because of the close proximity to the park. Construction commenced on 8th August 2019 around 7:30am, approximately eight hours prior to residents receiving a hand delivered notice to their mailboxes announcing the planned construction. Despite immediately voicing our concerns to the Parkes Shire Council office, our appeal was considered unimportant.

Surely a more appropriate location could have been chosen. We now experience constant barking, sometimes dogs fighting, often wailing and crying when left unattended and at least two nights this week dogs howled from 8:45pm for several hours.

Despite appropriate signs it is clear the information is not understood by either the dogs or their owners.

I suggest that future plans that directly impact on local residents should be appropriately brought to their attention and time allowed for community input. It is difficult to accept that in a time of financial constraint and obvious hardships experienced through the current drought that the expenditure of such a significant amount of money could not be better used within our community.

Resident of Coleman Road

Don’t Play Renovation Roulette

November 1, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

November is Asbestos Awareness Month to educate the public about the dangers of asbestos. Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related diseases in the world.

Asbestos-related diseases continue to increase as a direct result of exposure to asbestos fibres during home renovations and maintenance.

Many people wrongly believe that only fibro homes contain asbestos, but asbestos products can most likely be found in any Australian home built or renovated before 1987, whether it’s brick, weatherboard, fibro or clad homes.

It can be found under floor coverings, be- hind wall and floor tiles, in cement floors, internal and external walls, ceilings, eaves, garages, around hot water pipes, fences, extensions to homes, outdoor toilets, dog kennels, chook yards and backyard sheds.

If you suspect you have asbestos in your home: Dont cut it! Don’t drill it! Don’t drop it! Don’t sand it! Don’t saw it! Don’t scrape it! Don’t scrub it! Don’t dismantle it! Don’t tip it! Don’t waterblast it! Don’t demolish it! And whatever you do… Don’t dump it!

Check out the NSW Ministry of Health fact sheets about asbestos and health risks at www.health.nsw.gov.au

Matt Qualifies For Nationals

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Matt Price with the two gold and two silver medals he won early in the swim season.

A young Parkes swimmer came home with four medals from the NSW Multi Class Swimming Championships in Ryde recently. Matt Price won gold in the 100m breaststroke and backstroke, and silver in the 100m and 50m freestyle.

This achievement means Matt has qualified for the Hancock Prospecting Australian All Age Championships to be held in Perth in April next year. It is a terrific result considering that he only started training for the season after the competition.

Matt is a member of the Parkes Sharks Swimming Club. The club is open to all people for membership where they can enjoy squad training, club nights and family fun nights.

Pink Up Parkes

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Currajong Disability Services jumped on the Pink Up Parkes wagon to raise money for the McGrath Foundation and has already reached the halfway mark of their target of $1,000. Currajong clients and staff all got in the spirit and celebrated by dressing in pink for a morning tea with tremendous response from the community. Pictured are Blake Huntly, Dearnne Callaghan, Donna Apps, Sandra Lee Merritt, Shannon Miller and Jarrad Simpson at the event.

The Parkes Tennis Club held a family event last Friday as part of Pink Up Parkes. The ATP Cup ball kid squad played an exhibition match. They are (L-R) Mitchell Unger, Koby Wirth, Abbey Kennedy, Ben Evans, Jake Magill, Gabe Goodrick, Nia Boggs and Ethan Hunt.

The Pink Up Parkes Charity Dinner on Sunday night was a huge success with entertainment by Amitie and lots of money raised with the auction of donated items. All the money raised will go towards supporting the position of a breastcare nurse in Parkes, held by Di Green (left). She is with chairperson of the Pink Up Parkes committee, Carolyn Rice.

Dental Crowns And Bridges

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Do you need a crown? Are you missing a tooth and want to fill that gap? Then please read on…

What are dental crowns and bridges and why might I need one?

A crown is a ceramic restoration which completely covers a tooth. A crown is recommended for many reasons: your tooth may be weak from numerous fillings or bro- ken down, it may be cracked or severely worn down.

A bridge is a dental restoration used to replace one or more missing teeth by join- ing an artificial tooth definitively to adjacent teeth.

Crowns and bridges are done for both functionality and cosmetics.

Here at Baker Dental we offer same day Cerec crowns and bridges, all done over a four-step process. From the preparation of the tooth to the scanning of the prepped tooth using an intra oral camera, which allows the computer to produce a 3D image from which we can then design the crown or bridge.

Once design is completed, the milling machine will then cut a replica of the crown or bridge out of a ceramic block. The milling process can take up to 15 minutes and once this is complete, your crown is then ready for cementation. No need for impressions, temporary crowns or second appointments.

For any further information or if you would like to make an appointment, call us on 6862 1391.

Northparkes Best Emergency Response Team In Mining

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

TOP TEAM…The victorious Northparkes ERT members are (L-R) Jamie Pope, Scott Mackenzie, Ellie Hawkins, Linda Snyman, Jade Walker, Travis Carte, Rachael Whiting, Matt Flynn and Wayne Sargent.

The Emergency Response Team (ERT) of Northparkes Mines has won a prestigious national mine rescue competition for the fourth time.

Northparkes ERT won the 2019 Victorian Mine Rescue Competition last weekend at the Yallourn Mine in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria. They competed against eight teams from Victoria and NSW in a display of world-leading expertise of Australia’s mining industry at the 27th annual staging of the event.

This year’s team was led by Linda Snyman, the first female captain at Northparkes to bring back the winner’s trophy. The other members were Jamie Pope, Scott Mac- Kenzie, Ellie Hawkins, Jade Walker, Travis
Carte, Wayne Sargent and Matt Flynn. Northparkes won best overall, followed by Oscar 1 Emergency Response Brigade in second place and Fosterville Gold Mine in third place.

The teams competed in a range of events including team skills, firefighting, first aid, rope rescue and search and rescue.

The competition featured a variety of simulated emergency situations where teams put their skills to the test.

The Northparkes team placed first in breathing apparatus, first in theory, first in rope rescue, third in first aid, third in the captain’s assessment and third in search and rescue.

“Congratulations to the competition team and the entire group of ERT members who train year-round to ensure they are ready to assist in case of an emergency. We are enormously proud of each and every one of you,” said Northparkes Managing Director, Hubert Lehman.

Another highlight was Northparkes ERT member Travis Carte winning the overall theory component. “We have sent members of our ERT to compete for the past 24 years and were named the overall winner in 2009, 2014 and 2015. Our consist- ent success at this competition reflects the hard work of our ERT members to stay at the leading edge of emergency response practices,” said Hubert.

“Zero Harm is our approach to every aspect of our operations and our ability to respond to emergency scenarios is a critical part of this. Competitions such as this allow us to practise our skills and benchmark ourselves against others in the industry,” said Northparkes Manager People, Safety & Environment, Stacey Kelly.

SNIPPETS…

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

It is the last week of Pink Up Parkes. The community has been fantastic so far. See page 6 of the Parkes Phoenix for the last events on this week that need your participation and support.

Author At Libraries: Karly Lane is a popular Australian rural fiction author and has written 14 best-selling novels set in small country towns. She has grown up and lived in country towns across NSW, including Parkes, and is often referred to as ‘rural fiction’s favourite daughter’. She lived in Parkes from 1986 to 1990 attending Parkes High School and started her first job at the Parkes branch of the State Bank in 1988. Karly will be doing a mini-tour of our shire, speaking at Peak Hill, Trundle and Parkes libraries on 6th, 7th, and 8th November respectively. “This will be a great opportunity for people to meet Karly, hear about her writing, and ask questions about her novels and characters. For any budding authors it is also an opportunity to get some tips for your own writing,” said Parkes Librarian Gillian Hunt. RSVP by ringing 6861 2309. (Win two of Carly’s books in our competition on page 5!)

International Rugby League In Parkes: The Western Rams will be playing a rugby league match against France at the Jock Colley Field in Parkes on Wednesday, 30th October. The two teams locked horns

almost three decades ago in 1990 at Bathurst. “It’s great to continue the tradition and have them back,” said Western Rams Chairman, Peter McDonald. France contested the World 9s in Sydney last weekend, and agreed to revive their rivalry with the green and white to finish their trip down under with a 13-a-side game against an open aged men’s Rams side in Parkes. Tickets available at the gate, $10 adults.

Parkes Shire Praying For Rain: Tomorrow, 26th October, Pastor Christopher Chetland of the Grace Chapel Church in Wonthaggi, Victoria will be visiting the Parkes Shire to pray for rain. After seeing Trundle school principal John Southon on television recently, Christopher felt the need to travel to the region to pray publicly in the streets and dry dams of the shire for rain. He has had over 40 years in ministry, many of which have been spent in mission in Burma, Papua New Guinea and predominantly Kenya where he spends three months of each year with his wife of 57 years, Evelyn, working with Baptist and Presbyterian mission groups. He will be praying publicly in the following locations: Cooke Park, Parkes 9am; Alectown 10.30am; Commercial Park, Peak Hill 11am; Tullamore 1pm; Trundle 2pm; and Bogan Gate 3pm. (These last three times are approximate.)

Learn To Play Bridge: Do you have an interest in learning how to play bridge and in doing so making some new friends? Join members of the Parkes Bridge Club each Monday and Friday for the next six weeks for free lessons and demonstration games at Parkes Library. “I would like to encourage all people to come and play, it is a great game,” said Greig Ball. “We are also looking for new members for our club.” Join in on Mondays 1pm – 3pm and Fridays 10am – 12pm (except 1st November) at the Parkes Library.

Why do you like playing bridge?

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Jill Peterson: I enjoy playing cards, and I’m a bit competitive. I also enjoy playing a card game that makes you think and provides a challenge. The company is good and it is fun too.

Greig Ball: Bridge is a great game as it stimulates the mind, and every day is different. The fascinating thing is that you can never beat the game, which makes it addictive as you always try to beat it.

Suzie McNamara: I enjoy bridge as it keeps my mind active, which is important for my stage in life. I also enjoy the interaction with other people.

Tichborne Keeps Reunion Tradition Going

October 25, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

At the 2010 reunion were (L-R) Robyn Jane (Kingham), Patricia Watts, Jenny Kingham and Anita Metcalfe (Cannon).

Tichborne is no longer a bustling town with a population of 10,000, but that is no reason not to keep the tradition of a reunion every 20 years going.

Tomorrow (Saturday, 26th October) is time for the 2019 Tichborne reunion starting with a barbeque lunch at the Parkes Golf Club, and followed by afternoon tea at the Tichborne Hall.

This will be a great opportunity to find out more about Tichborne, to look at photos, and meet old and new residents.

Tichborne was established in 1880 following the discovery of gold in the area. It grew to a population of 10,000 at the height of

the gold rush boasting multiple churches, two schools, shops and the hall. Today the hall is the last vestige of this rich history, with the township population now approximately 80 people.

The first Tichborne reunion was held in 1960 at the Tichborne School, and has taken place every 20 years since. At the 2000 reunion a grove of trees was planted near the hall, and a book to commemorate 50 years of the reunion was produced. Copies of the book will be available at the reunion for $20.

For more information and to book for lunch, contact Jenny Kingham on 0409 631 165.

Maggi Barnard

Subscribe