Maggi Barnard

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

Our Bloke

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Mayor Ken Keith

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like about living here? I have lived in Parkes most of my life, except for some time away at boarding school in Yanco, Sydney University and teaching mainly at Windsor High. The family settled in Parkes around 1908 and I love living in the friendliest town in Aus- tralia.

What do you enjoy about your work? Meeting so many nice people who share my passion for Parkes and want to do things to progress our future and make it such a nice place to live.

What do you do to unwind after work or on weekends? I unwind on the golf course, swim laps at our beautiful pool and enjoy watching local sport, league, rugby union and cricket.

What are you really good at? My wife says snoring! But I enjoy our sheep and wool enterprise and supporting community events, such as the ABBA, Elvis and Irish festivals.

If you could have a super power, what would it be? To spread the Christian phi- losophy of love and peace throughout the world.

What is your pet hate? People who are not punctual.

Tell us about your best holiday ever. Taking the family, when our three sons were young, on a trip to Coventry and on to visit all our Scottish relatives.

Mayoral Notes

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

This week our nation’s heritage was celebrated with a number of events held across the Parkes Shire for Australia Day. We welcomed media personality Susie Elelman as our Australia Day Ambassador for 2017. She presented the Australia Day Awards at the official ceremonies at Parkes and Peak Hill. Congratulations is extended to all the nominees and recipients of our Citizen, Sporting and Cultural Awards – all of whom make wonderful contributions to our community. Parkes celebrated Australia Day in style with an Australian-themed art show in the Coventry Room. The exhibition runs until tomorrow afternoon, and I encourage everyone to go along. Entry is a gold coin donation.

Construction on the new Water Treatment Plant achieved a major project milestone with the final concrete pour on the potable water reservoirs. The two 2.7 mega-litre reservoirs required 60 tonne of steel reinforcement and 300 cubic metres of concrete, all of which was procured locally from regional operators. The next phase will see the aluminium roof members installed, expected to be complete by 21st February.

Residents are encouraged to conserve water, following an increase in water us- age over summer. The high temperatures experienced in recent weeks resulted in an increased demand for water as locals attempted to stay cool. Currently, the Parkes Shire is on Level 1 water restrictions, which limit the use of garden watering systems to outside the hours of 10am and 5pm. In order to avoid tightening of restrictions, our community needs to make efforts to limit water usage. For some helpful tips on how to con- serve water and reduce your water bill, visit www.parkes.nsw.gov.au.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend. Yours Faithfully,

Cr Ken Keith OAM Mayor of Parkes Shire

How to Remove Clutter From Your Home

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

A new year is a good time to remove clutter, and enjoy a tidy home. Here are some useful ways to get started.

Get three big boxes. Label each box: Keep, Sell and Charity.

Set a time limit for the session. Set a timer and when it rings, make yourself stop, clean up, and take a break so you don’t burn out.

Make three piles on the floor, to match each of the marked boxes. Later, you probably will change some of the items, or move them to another box.

Tackle one room at a time. In each room make three piles on the floor, matching the boxes.

Find a place for everything. Keep the things you need in a place where you will find it easily. Make sure everyone in the family is aware to return things after they use them.

Clean and vacuum the room. Look around and enjoy the neat and tidy area. Scrub off grime from surfaces, remove cob- webs and repaint if necessary.

Sort through the keep box, aiming to put more into the charity or sale boxes. The rule of thumb is if you have not used an item in a year or more, it goes!

Take the box for charity to your car. If it is too much, call a charity of your choice and ask them to pick it up. Sort through and price items for your garage sale. Try to arrange the garage sale as soon as possible, so you will not be tempted to re- turn the items to your house.

Look around! No clutter, no mess, just a nice clean and nice looking house. Keep it that way on a daily basis.

Keep your living area and bedrooms clutter free by minimizing décor. This will not only look larger but cleaner. Having less décor means less to clean and dust.

Stop shopping! This is a tough one, but learning to not replace items that you have gotten rid of is an important one to follow. Also it is really important to shop well. It is easier to remember the items you spent more money on, and to treasure them above the cheaper things.

Set limits on things. Having eight cereals to choose from is not being realistic. Enjoy twotothreeitems,thenoncefinished,buy others. This will teach children to respect what they have and it will encourage a less-cluttered mindset.

Get used to having less. Once you de- clutter your environment, enjoy the space and the look of having less. Take up a hobby and distract yourself from items you probably do not need.

(source: http://www.wikihow.com)

All Types of Windscreens Replaced At Tony’s

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Do you have your windscreen checked on a regular basis?

According to Tony Miller of Tony’s Windscreens most people do not realise how much sandblasting damage their windscreens have. “Living in the country where dust collects on the roads, sandblasting is a real problem.”

Tony said a sandblasted windscreen re-fracted the light especially early morning, late afternoon and at night. “This makes it very dangerous to drive.”

It is advisable to have your windscreen checked at least once a year. Tony said a chip needed to be treated immediately by keeping it dry with some sticky tape or a saver patch available at Tony’s Windscreens.

The business, started by Tony’s father in 1979, has been an agent for O’Brien for almost 40 years. Tony does all insurance work for any kind of vehicle, specialising in mining, agriculture, commercial and in- dustrial equipment. He replaces all windscreens including front, side and rear, and can do tinting if required. All his work has a lifetime guarantee.

Contact Tony for a free quote on 6862 5188 or see him at 339 Clarinda Street in Parkes.

Good Crowd At First Race Meet

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

The nightmare of the terrible loss of the Parkes racecourse in the tornado-like storm late last year was turned around at the first meeting of the Parkes Jockey Club for 2017 when Dream Express won the race of the day last Saturday.

A good crowd of about 250 people attended the full TAB race meeting featuring the Australia Day Services Club Handicap and good quality racing. Anthony Cavallo was the jockey on Dream Express, trained by Alison Smith of Orange and owned by the Buckley family.

The Rural Fire Service stepped in to provide patrons a barbecue lunch as all catering facilities were lost in the storm.

It’s Time To Enrol At Twinkle Toes Dance Studio

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Twinkle Toes Dance Studio (TTDS) is ready for a new year of dancing with their enrolment day on Saturday, 28th January between 10am and 2pm.

Principal Breanna Grebenc said: “2016 was a hugely successful year for TTDS and we are looking forward to 2017 when we will commence new classes for R.A.D. bal- let exams and extension classes for those who are already skilled dancers to further their skills.”

Twinkle Toes Dance Studio offers a range of classes for ages 2.5 years and up. Classes include Ballet, Pointe, Jazz, Tap, Contem- porary, Hip Hop, Boys only Hip Hop, Musi- cal Theatre and Acro. The staff at Twinkle Toes Dance Studio is focused on providing technical, fun and safe dance tuition to the dancers of Parkes, so that they can share their love of dance with the local community. Class timetables and enrolment packs are available now – just contact Breanna by phone, email or Facebook, or come in on enrolment day to meet the teachers, see the studios and enrol. Dance shoes and uniforms will also be available for or- der and purchase on the day.

TTDS can be contacted by phone on 0439 229 976, email at ttdsparkes@gmail. com or their Facebook page facebook. com/twinkletoesdancestudioparkes.

Round One Of Building Better Regions Fund Is Open

January 26, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Community groups and local councils are encouraged to apply for funding under the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), which is available for community and in- frastructure projects in the Riverina and Central West.

Funding will be available across two streams: infrastructure projects and community investments.

Minister for Regional Development Fiona Nash said the fund was dedicated purely as an investment in opportunities across rural, regional and remote Australia.

“Flexible, creative thinking can be a winning formula to receive funding, providing clear objectives are mapped out that show benefits for the region,” the Minister said.

The Nationals’ Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said applications would be assessed in three categories depending on the size of the project to ensure small community projects were not competing against huge projects worth tens of millions.

“We want to invest in the infrastructure, events and initiatives that we are passion- ate about and that we know will make a difference to our region,” Michael said.

An information session will be held in Dubbo at the Western Plains Cultural Centre at 10.30am on 31st January.

Applications close on Tuesday, 28th February for the Infrastructure Projects Stream and Friday, 31st March for the Community Investments Stream.

To register for an information session or to find out more visit www.business.gov. au/bbrf

Letter to Editor

January 25, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Dear Editor,
It is well documented that a by-pass around small towns has a devastating effect on businesses relying on passing trade. We have great concerns with the proposed by- pass for Parkes.

It is easy to say towns get over it, and eventually some do, but it takes years to do so. You only have to go to Holbrook and Yass to see the effect.

Even if Parkes gets over it, there would still be people who lost their jobs or their businesses came under jeopardy. These are the people employed by the fast food outlets, caravan parks, motels, hotels, service stations, restaurants and the like. Maybe they will get over it by moving away. In turn this loss of population will affect school numbers and have a flow on affect to other businesses including Council and rates revenue.

As for why we need a by-pass, the RMS and large freight companies are pushing for bigger capacity trucks on the highways, making us wonder if they will support in- land rail.

Ratepayers/voters in Ballerdee Lane, as well as Thomas and Moulden Streets, and Shallow Rush area are set to be greatly af- fected by the proposed by-pass. We will be subject to all sorts of new impacts that will affect our lifestyles including property values, noise, pollution and maybe even jobs or financial security.

We would like someone from the RMS to organise a meeting for all affected residents to give us an opportunity to convey our concerns about this potentially life changing event.

Yours faithfully Mark Ross

(Letter shortened – editor)

Forbes Smash Offers Quality Repairs

January 25, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

Forbes Smash Pty Ltd is managed and operated by Sam Leonard who is also the vehicle painter.

Sam has two tradesmen panel beaters, Jeremy Clark and Dylan Hennock, and Tim Holmes is a first year apprentice spray painter.

Sam and her team offer all smash repair work including insurance and private work consisting of both small and large repairs such as panel replacement or vehicle re-alignment. They also do motorbikes, boats, plastic repairs and vehicle buff and polishes.

Forbes Smash won two awards at the Boscars (Forbes Business Awards) at the end of last year with Sam taking out the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and Dylan awarded Apprentice of the Year.

The team at Forbes Smash strive to provide the best quality repairs and refinishing, friendly customer service and advice and continuous customer satisfaction.

Forbes Smash now offers free quoting in Parkes weekly and also offers vehicle pick-up and delivery from your doorstep.

Call Sam on 6852 2272 or 0497 855 088 to arrange your free quote or call into the workshop at 27 Rankin Street in Forbes.

Viva Parkes, Viva Elvis Fans, Viva Enjoyment

January 19, 2017 By Maggi Barnard

A record-breaking 25,000 fans came from all over the world to celebrate 25 years of the Parkes Elvis Festival last week.

The many highlights of the five days of non-stop entertainment and events include a personal message of congratulations from Priscilla Presley read out at the special anniversary gala dinner.

The town throbbed with the sounds of Elvis’ songs and the heatwave’s cicadas competing for audio dominance, while in the streets the tsunami of rhinestoned jump- suits, feathered showgirls, casino paraphernalia, hot rods, vintage cars and neon lights grew instantly with the arrival of 400 fans on the Elvis Express with more creative ver- sions of the theme from the 1964 Viva Las Vegas film.

“In the 25 years since it began, Parkes Elvis Festival has grown to become a bucket list event for many people in Australia and around the world. We’ve had an incredible five days of hip-swiveling action and turned Central West NSW into its own version of Las Vegas,” said Festival Director Cathy Treasure.

The Elvis-themed tsunami was bursting with colour and fun as it washed down Clarinda street on Saturday morning to the delight of 16,000 people lining the main street. There were Elvii and Priscillas galore of all ages and sizes on Elvis-themed floats, in vintage cars, on motorcycles, in walking groups and marching bands.

In 2018 Parkes Elvis Festival will celebrate its 26th year with the theme ‘68 Comeback’.

By Maggi Barnard (see results of competitions and other highlights on p.12)

Maggi Barnard

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