Maggi Barnard

Members of Quota International of Parkes will once again celebrate the achievements of women and raise awareness of their world-wide struggles for International Women’s Day.

The celebration under this year’s theme #BalanceforBetter will be on Sunday, 10th March at 12 noon at the Parkes Services Club including a fabulous two-course luncheon for just $30 per person.

Entertainment includes Zumba with Nancy Cayo, the beautiful voice of Barbara Newton, and the talent of Hannah Dun, runner-up in the National Busking Championship last year. In keeping with Quota’s ideal of showcasing
the talent and expertise of local women, Helen Magill and Hannah Hawker will inspire with their positive stories.

Professional tennis coach, Helen Magill, has been nominated for many awards, and a particular highlight was winning the Newcombe Medal (2016) for her passion and commitment to tennis. She is an inspiration to young girls and women of all ages, and encourages everyone to be confident, to love what we do and to do the best job we possibly can.

Hannah is a wellness teacher at Parkes High and a previous winner of the Parkes Showgirl title ably representing Parkes and the agricultural community. Hannah credits this experience as life-changing and she continues to strive for excellence in both her personal and professional life.

Tickets are available at Absolutely Hair, 207 Clarinda Street, until 5th March. Make International Women’s Day YOUR day and do what you can to make a positive difference for women.

By Lynn Rogers

In a huge and well-deserved achievement four local talented women received the coveted Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) award for Best Ensemble in a Musical in Canberra last Saturday. If you saw Shevaun Brown, Christie Green, Christa Radley and Kimberley Harris in Motherhood the Musical at the Parkes Little Theatre in May last year you
would agree they deserved this prestigious award.

It was a complete four-woman show with direction, choreography and stage-set, as well as acting and singing by Christa, Christie and Shevaun of Amitie, with valuable input from the fourth cast member Kimberley Harris. “I am so grateful to have been ‘adopted’ by these amazing ladies,” said Kimberley who slotted into the team seamlessly, playing the pregnant Amy.

The musical was also nominated in a second category for Best Direction of a musical or variety show. “Christie, Christa, Kimberley and I are incredibly proud of what we have achieved,’ said Shevaun. “We had a huge sense of accomplishment at the end of our show season and felt we had really put on a quality show. To receive two nominations was a huge thrill, but to actually win an award is just fabulous.’

The girls were up against some incredible competition with more than 80 productions from places like Dubbo, Bega, Albury, Bathurst and Canberra in the running for awards.

The Parkes ‘Fab Four’ were asked to perform at the ceremony and were just about to go on stage when their exciting win was announced.

By Beth Thomas

The installation of the Recycled Water Rising Main reached the halfway mark last week with 50% of the schemes purple pipes now laid. Construction is on track to be completed in July, with 6.7km of the 12km of pipeline now installed that will service up to 20 sites in the Parkes urban area.

“The Recycled Water Scheme is a responsible solution to water shortages, but the benefits are flowing even before the taps are turned on,” said Parkes Shire Council’s Director Infrastructure Andrew Francis.

According to Andrew the construction phase has generated 33 jobs with 13 going to local workers. Some specialist personnel could not be sourced locally, but that brings workers into Parkes and benefits local businesses.

“Parkes has been really fortunate with the level of investment and development over recent years. We have been able to generate significant local spend during construction with some project components spending up to 80% of their budgets in the region.”

The water and sewerage upgrades engaged 67 local businesses and suppliers at various stages and provided jobs for 329 individuals. The $20.9m Recycled Water Scheme is jointly funded through the Australian Government and Parkes Shire Council.

Childcare in Parkes will be streamlined with a new integrated facility offering different services all under one roof.
A $1.3 million investment by the NSW Government is set to transform an unutilised community health building located within the old Parkes Hospital precinct into the new Central West Day Care base.

Parkes Shire Councillor Patricia Smith said: “With major developments happening in Parkes such as the construction of Inland Rail, the first Special Activation Precinct, the expansion of CMOC Northarkes Mine and the Clean TeQ Sunrise project, we must invest in the delivery of a quality educational facility to ensure we can meet the needs of those new families and businesses relocating to the region.”

At a cost of just over $2 million, the project will include an integrated early childhood education facility, services for school aged children, and family services for children from birth to twelve years. The centre will focus on inclusive programs and facilities.

Central West Family Day Care Service Manager Ann-Marie Winter was delighted by the announcement. “With 51 educators and over 400 children enrolled, we have outgrown our current facility. The relocation into a larger, fit-for-purpose facility will allow Family Day Care to expand to facilitate additional services including preschool, before/after school care and vacation care.”

“With additional space, we will also look at complementary services utilising the rooms for consultation purposes, such as occupational therapists, speech pathologists, dental checks, auditory services, inclusion support meetings, parenting classes, child assessments along with mother’s groups, breast feeding association meetings, conferences, play groups, and the delivery of Certificate III in Early Childhood courses.”

Central West Family Day Care Scheme is an Approved Community Service of Parkes Shire Council, regulated by the NSW Education and Communities – Early Childhood Education and Care Directorate, and is funded by the Department of Education and Training.

Yoga, belly dancing, bridge, writing, posy making… senior citizens in the Parkes Shire celebrated life this week by staying active and healthy as part of the NSW Seniors Festival.

In keeping with this year’s theme, Love Your Life!, Neighbourhood Central organised a fun filled program with a diverse range of activities. “We opted for something different this year to encourage the younger members of the demographic to be more involved,” said Jenny Short.

That is why the week started with an ‘ohm’ when 17 senior citizens from Trundle, Tullamore and Parkes attended Monica Lea’s chair yoga class after Parkes Shire Councillor Pat Smith officially opened the festival.

“Attendees were keen and willing to try the poses, and really enjoyed savasana and relaxation at the end,” said Monica. She said some participants were interested in attending her ongoing Friday gentle class, while there were also some who requested her to start a chair yoga class. “It was lovely to be involved in the Seniors Festival.”

On Tuesday Beth Thomas and Suzie McNamara taught participants to play bridge. “They all really enjoyed it,” said Beth. “Some want to continue on with beginner lessons and hope to eventually join the Parkes Bridge Club. Suzie and I really enjoyed taking the two-hour class which extended into two-and-a-half hours.”

For those interested in writing their life story, Dan Fredericks from the Parkes Library offered some tips on writing to a group of 14 people, while Alice Milne from the Pink Orchid Florist offered a posy making class. The monthly lunch for Neighbourhood Central clients happened to fall in the festival week, and on Wednesday they were entertained by the newly formed Parkes Community Choir with a variety of songs, including a Zulu song from South Africa.

On Thursday Rosedurnate residents joined other senior citizens on a visit to the HARS Aviation Museum at the Parkes Airport. The week ended on a fun note with two belly dancing classes presented by Nicole Kennedy.

Neighbourhood Central’s Jenny Short and Beverley Drabsch were both very happy with the attendance and interest shown, especially by members of the community who were not clients.