Maggi Barnard

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

New Drought Relief Officer For Shire

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

The new Drought Relief Officer for the Parkes Shire region is Roger Kitson. He was welcomed by the Parkes Shire
Council, in partnership with Neighbourhood Central, this week.

The role, created under the Federal Government’s Drought Communities Program Extension, will support the implementation of the NSW Drought Strategy, and to coordinate and disseminate information regarding government and non-government services and initiatives available to affected residents.

Originally from the Sunshine Coast, Roger holds a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in sustainability and geography, and has completed further training in agribusiness, value chains and consumers in global food systems.

“I look forward to working as a collective with everyone involved to provide the necessary support and a co-ordinated approach to assist farmers and businesses affected by the devastating impacts of the drought.”

Roger comes from a family with a strong connection to the agricultural sector who have been farming for many generations across a range of agricultural industries including grain, cotton, cattle and sheep as well as dairy.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said: “We are delighted to welcome Roger to the Parkes Shire to assist in the collation and coordination of all available support avenues that our drought affected residents can access. While the Shire has experienced a number of heavy rainfall events in recent weeks, the prolonged dry period continues to impact our community.”

Roger will be based at Neighbourhood Central, 80 – 82 Currajong Street in Parkes, Monday to Friday. Residents and business operators wishing to speak with Roger about the various support programs available can contact 02 6862 3757 or email dro@ncentral.org.au.

For more information about drought relief, visit www.parkes.nsw.gov.au/drought-relief

Visitors Centre Reaches Out ‘Across The Universe’

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Who would have thought that some of the excitement of 1969 would reverberate in a paddock outside Parkes 50 years later? This week the Parkes Radio Observatory Visitors Discovery Centre fittingly started a year of celebrations with a big birthday cake for its 50th anniversary.

According to Operations Scientist John Sarkissian’s calculations the centre has handled more than five million visitors, making it not only the biggest tourist attraction in Parkes, but also the number one point of contact with the public in the CSIRO.

The year 1969 was marked by milestone events like the final public performance of the Beatles, the first flight of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet and the Concord, the launch of Apollo 9 and the moon landing, but it also saw incredible public interest in the Parkes Radio Telescope following the ABC program Astronomers of Parkes.

“People started pouring in wanting to have a look around until 6,000 visitors arrived for an open day,” said John. After some lobbying, the visitors centre was built at a cost of $50,000 and officially opened by the Science and Education Minister, Malcolm Fraser on 14 February 1969.

Visitors numbers continued to climb and sky rocketed after the release of the popular movie The Dish with numbers peaking in 2003 with 138,000 per year. The centre was upgraded in 2001 with Roy Billing, who played the Mayor of Parkes in The Dish, and the real Mayor, Robert Wilson doing the honours at the opening.

It is not only in Parkes that The Dish has become an icon. Director of Telescope Operations John Reynolds said the most successful scientific instrument ever built in Australia had been featured on banknotes and even rego stickers.

“Fifty years later it is still punching above its weight, and that is where the visitors centre comes in. It is the reason everyone knows about the telescope.”

John praised the staff saying it was easy to underestimate their importance. He said they had made the centre unclosable and encouraged them to continue their great science outreach.

On 20th and 21st July this year the visitors centre will once again feature with the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s moonlanding with an open weekend at the Parkes Radio Telescope.

Netball Season Starting Soon

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

The netball winter competition is starting on Tuesday, 5th March. Get a team together or just register online through MyNetball and you will be allocated into a team. The competition will run for 14 weeks with finals to follow. The cost for adults has been discounted to $155. Parkes and District Netball Association is registered with Active Kids which means juniors can play for free, otherwise the cost is $100. All registrations will be done online through MyNetball and payments via direct deposit to Parkes Netball. Registration closes on Friday, 22nd February. Sign up at www.mynetball.com.auto.

Parkes Women’s Bowling Club

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

This week Merilyn Rodgers defeated Di Howell. In triples Gwenda Carty, Flo Riseborough and Minnie Riordan defeated Carol Reid, Frances Charlton and Rhona Went. Di Greenhalgh, Kim Evans and Robyn Morgan defeated Lorraine Baker, Maureen Miller and Cherie Frame. In a pairs Chris Curteis and Liz Byrne defeated Kay Craft and Maureen Baillee.

The draw for the Club Championship Singles on or before 19th February are: Cherie Frame bye; Robyn Morgan v Lorraine Baker marker Joan Simpson; Liz Byrne v Brenda Davies marker Cherie Frame; Gwenda Carty v Kim Evans marker Minnie Riordan; Maureen Miller v Elaine Miller marker Isabel Svendsen; Pat Cooney v Maree Grant marker Flo Riseborough; Rhona Went v Jan McPhee marker Audrey Jones.

Five Endeavour Dragons To Compete At Nationals

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

The eight-month old Parkes Dragon Boat Club keeps on paddling forward with five of its members selected to represent Western NSW at the National Dragon Boat Championships this year. Warren and Donna Edwards, Rochelle Smith, Linda Snyman and Maggi Barnard have been training hard under State coach Louise Linke and assistant coach Deb Clarke in preparation for the national championships in Canberra on 20th April.

Club President Bill Thomas congratulated the members saying: “We are all so proud of you.”

As part of its preparation the team took part in a regatta against the top ACT teams on Lake Burley Griffin in January winning second place in the 2km race.

The Western squad consists of members of six other clubs in the Central West and mostly trains on Ben Chifley dam at Bathurst.

This year training sessions have also been scheduled at Lake Endeavour to use the Parkes Dragon Boat Club’s tens boat. The first session took place early this month with a second one scheduled for next weekend. The Parkes Dragon Boat Club squad members will join their club members at the Jindabyne Flowing Festival this weekend to compete in a 2km race on Saturday and 200m races on Sunday.

A Long Walk For Cystic Fibrosis

February 14, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

A Parkes couple have set themselves a mammoth task in honour of their two sons living with cystic fibrosis (CF).
Helen and Corey Rowbotham’s sons Callum (10) and Harrison (7) are living with CF, an incurable, life-limiting genetic condition.

To honour their boys and give back to the CF community, Helen and Corey created Team Callum and Harry and plan to walk 65km on 23rd February at Sydney’s Iron Cove to help raise funds to support Cystic Fibrosis Community Care (CFCC) and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

“When we put the call out to family and friends to join our team, we did not expect anyone else to be this crazy! Now we have a fabulous team of eight,” said Helen. “Callum and Harry really wanted to walk with us but we thought it was too far so instead their school held a Crazy Hair Day fundraiser this week,” said Helen.

CF causes an abnormal build-up of thick and sticky mucus in the lungs, airways and digestive system. The mucus traps bacteria that cause irreversible lung damage, with lung failure being the major cause of death.

To support Team Callum and Harry go to https://65k2019.everydayhero.com/au/team-callum-and-harry

Novel Idea For Parkes Bookworms

February 7, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Street Libraries have been popping up all over Australia for a number of years, and last Friday a Parkes resident ensured our town joined the movement.

Daniel Greef built a beautiful home for books and installed Parkes’ very first Street Library at the Presbyterian Church where it is accessible from the street to share the joys of reading with the community. Daniel said he got the idea from his parents who started one at their home in Sydney. “As I don’t live in town, I had to find a place to put it.”

As a member of the Presbyterian congregation, Rev Craig Bland welcomed the idea when Daniel asked him for space. Daniel constructed a beautiful little home for the books and bolted it to the boundary wall of the church on the corner of Gap and Hill Streets last Friday.

“It is a great idea,” said Craig, “and the interest in it already shows there has been a need for this in the community.”

Daniel said he put in 10 books initially and within a few days it had been filled to capacity. He has also received very positive feedback from residents commenting on what a good idea it is.

The idea is that anyone can take books, or put books in. “Anything is welcome from fiction to non-fiction and children’s books.”

He encouraged people to drop by regularly to see what’s new. He would also be happy if other Street Libraries pop up elsewhere in Parkes.

Your Health Matters…

February 7, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Diabetes: What You Need To Know

Diabetes is currently affecting the lives of approximately 12 million Australians, with numbers continually rising. When you eat, your body turns food into sugars, or glucose. At that point, your pancreas is supposed to release a hormone called insulin. Insulin serves as a ‘key’ to open your cells to allow the glucose to enter, and allow you
to use the glucose for energy.

In people with diabetes, insulin is no longer produced or not produced in sufficient amounts by the body. It requires daily selfcare and if complications develop, diabetes can have a significant impact on quality of life and could reduce life expectancy. While there is currently no cure for diabetes, you can live an enjoyable life by learning about the condition and how to effectively manage it.

Parkes Pharmacy’s aim is to help people with diabetes be confident in managing their medicines and blood sugar levels (BGL) for improved day-to-day quality of life and reducing long-term complications. Over the next month we will focus on supporting patients with diabetes’ effective use of medicines by offering Diabetes MedsChecks, and discussing effective BGL monitoring.

The Diabetes MedsCheck is a government- funded pharmacy program, involving a private, face-to-face consultation and medication review with the pharmacist. It focuses on education and self-management, and will help the patient better understand or manage their structured BGL monitoring.

We can also help people who might be at risk of diabetes due to genetic and lifestyle factors. Evidence shows that type 2 diabetes can be prevented or delayed in up to 58% of cases by maintaining a healthy weight, being physically active and following a healthy eating plan.

Our Bloke – Graeme Tanswell

February 7, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

Graeme Tanswell

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
Fifty-two years – born and bred here. Meeting my wife here. I think it’s a very proactive community and has provided me with opportunities, especially my sport.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work with Wright farming and enjoy the outdoors as I grew up on a farm.

What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? Spending time with Lindy in our garden. Very challenging at present with such dry conditions. Family time is important to me and helping others out when in need.

What makes you proud? My mum, my marriage, our children and their talents used for good, watching people I’ve
coached or mentored, achieve their best.

If you could be an animal which one would you choose and why? Probably a dog. I think I’m loyal. Maybe a bird, they
rely on God’s creation to survive and are free.

What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? Sound of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang – very talented natural acting. I really like the music of Casting Crowns – it’s very thought provoking. I also like 70s music. The Bible is a collection of books and in them I find direction and purpose, knowing I’m accepted as I am.

Tell us about your best holiday. A four week tour on west side of USA with my family in 2017. The natural features of Utah, the amazing Rocky Mountains, spending July 4th at Mount Rushmore and being treated to a taste of Hamilton the musical while there. Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Route 66, San Diego Zoo, LA, Disneyland, Baseball, Universal Studios. Mostly spent with wonderful friends from Denver.

What is on your bucket list? To make our gold wedding anniversary. To do some Christian mission work and visit our sponsor child in Kenya.

Street Parade Prize For Parkes High

February 7, 2019 By Maggi Barnard

The full economic boost of the 2019 Parkes Elvis Festival is still being calculated, but some of its benefits are still flowing into the community. Parkes High School (PHS) received a welcome donation of $1,000 this week from winner of the Best Float in the 2019 Northparkes Mines Street Parade, David Potts. Parkes High Principal Sandra Carter welcomed the donation saying it would be put to good use for extra seating and shade areas. Northparkes
Mines (NPM) introduced the prize money for the first time this year to encourage schools, businesses and community groups to enter the street parade.

Maggi Barnard

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