What does Australian citizenship mean to you?
Clarence Goh and Yee Wern Teh: We are now part of something big giving us a sense of belonging in society and opportunities to contribute to society. It also means a better future.
Aswin Rajendran: It means taking one big step ahead as Australia gives me lots of opportunities to further my career.
Aruna Swamy: It means a lot to me. I am grateful to become a citizen. I love this country and its people, the rules and regulations.
Jenny Kingham
How long have you lived in Parkes? 26 years – not quite a local yet!
Where do you work? After 23 years teaching IT and Business at TAFE, I now work three part time jobs – Admin at Parkes Show Office, Photographer for the Parkes Champion Post and Reception plus Dance Teaching at Twinkle Toes Dance Studio.
What do you enjoy most about your work? The people – I meet lots of people of all ages and walks of life in my jobs, and love talking to and helping people achieve their goals.
What do you do in your free time? I love to spend time at home with my family, take lots of photos, sew and restore old furniture and volunteer at various events like the Parkes Elvis Festival.
How do you like your coffee? Very strong with caramel flavouring!
What makes your day? Helping to make someone smile.
If you could go anywhere in the world on holiday where would it be? Right here with my family – I love living in the friendly Parkes area and the wide open spaces.
PARKES ELVIS FESTIVAL
Tickets on sale from Monday, 12th September. Get in quick to secure your seats for the 2017 Parkes Elvis Festival for the 25th anniversary with a Viva Las Vegas theme. You can check out the full program of all the major events online. Browse the program at parkeselvisfestival.com.au, download your copy of the schedule and contact ticket sellers directly.
The Spacecats scored a vital 24 – 10 win over the Forbes Magpies on Sunday to secure a place in the Group XI Grand Final. It was a happy Father’s Day for the Spacecats as the last team to fly the Parkes banner high and proud as their drive for a spot in the final proved to be greater than rivals Forbes.
Forbes started the clock with a great kick and Parkes making great ground through five sets of hands to allow Demi Winter to put the first points on the board. Next points came from a successful penalty by Claire Barber to take Parkes’ lead to 6.
Forbes came back five and a half minutes before the break to level the scores, but was soon answered by Parkes scoring with under a minute remaining of the first half. In the second half Forbes scored the first points, but Captain Hannah Kelly put in a great kick that Forbes knocked on 5 metres from the try line. Spacecats made the most of the Magpies error and Shayna Male broke through the Forbes defence with Claire adding the extras to put Spacecats in an 18 – 10 lead.
A Magpies penalty allowed the Parkes tally to go up by another 4, and Claire, with another awesome strike took Parkes to 24. This last 6.5 minutes was the most physical a non contact sport can get with the Spacecats playing well until the sound of the full time bell.
Congratulations to 1.Claire Barber, 2.Brittney Ryan, 3.Sarah McAneney, 4.Hannah Kelly, 6.Ella-J Harris, 7.Sally Dwyer, 8.Demi Winter, 9.Katie Caldwell, 10.Sami Afele, 11.Emma Bayley, 12.Sam Cox, 13.Codie Wakefield, 14.Louise McAneney, 15.Nat Gardiner, 16.Emeline Lavaka, 17.Shayna Male, 20.Brittany Dumesny and Michael, Rock, Tim and Ricky.
Group XI Grand Final is on Sunday at Caltex Park in Dubbo. We need all the support we can get to cheer us on.
By Kim Ryan
More than 130 students from Parkes East Public School had the opportunity to learn about Council’s role in the community during an outdoor, interactive lesson. Council workers did a lesson across the road from the school where they have been constructing a pipeline for the new Water Treatment Plant. Students learned about worksite safety, environmental awareness and careers at Council, before getting behind the wheel of a stationary piece of machinery for hands on learning. (See photo on page 7.)
The wet weather couldn’t dampen the fun at the 30th anniversary of the Trundle Bush Tucker Day with the live performance by Troy Cassar-Daley the highlight of the day. Congratulations to the organising committee delivering such a great event.
Parkes residents are encouraged to enroll in this summer’s Learn to Swim Programs. Parkes Shire Council will run the Learn to Swim programs for the first time at the pool. The 10-week term kicks off on 10th October for all ages and abilities. Enrolment details can be found on Council’s website www.parkes.nsw.gov.au.
Residents will take to the polls tomorrow for the Local Government Elections. Prepoll voting in the Coventry Room in Bogan Street ends today at 6pm. Residents can vote for five or more candidates. A number of roads have been closed due to heavy downfalls and flooding. Council urges motorists to avoid flood waters. For a current list of road closures visit Council’s website.
Enjoy your weekend.
Yours Faithfully,
Parkes Shire Council
Alana Ryan was officially presented with her National C Badge, which she was tested for in May 2016. Alana has worked very hard and shown great commitment to her umpiring over the last few years, and was given very positive comments by State umpire coaches at the NSW State Age Championships in July. Since receiving her badge, Alana has continued to improve her umpiring and has started to help coach the younger aspiring umpires.
Parkes and District Netball Association would like to congratulate Alana on this wonderful achievement, and wishes her all the best in her umpiring in years to come.
The election is on in the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shires and you will be fined if you do not vote in tomorrow’s Local Government Elections. This simple and clear warning came from Parkes Mayor Ken Keith who said there was
some confusion among residents as about half of the 70 odd councils in NSW were not in the election because of amalgamation issues and court cases. He said the approximately 9,000 eligible voters in the Parkes Shire needed to get to a polling station tomorrow.
The Mayor also wants to alert voters to a very important detail that has caused some confusion during pre-polling. There is a requirement that you have to vote for a minimum of five candidates otherwise your ballot will be invalid. “Some people misunderstood and thought they were only allowed to vote for five candidates.
I would really like to encourage voters to choose their number one candidate, but to choose another ten to 15 preferences as these could be really important in the final determination of the outcome,” he said. Twenty candidates will be contesting for the ten Parkes Shire Councillor positions.
The Mayor also encouraged voters who might be affected by flooding tomorrow, to get to the pre-polling station in the Coventry Room today to vote. Voting tomorrow will be between 8am and 6pm with pollings stations at the Alectown Hall, Bogan Gate Public School, the Peak Hill, Trundle and Tullamore Central schools, and in Parkes at Middleton Public School, Assemblies of God Hall, Parkes East Public School, and the Little Theatre.
Mayor Ken Keith welcomed six new Australian citizens at a citizenship ceremony held in the Parkes Council chambers on Tuesday. The Mayor read a welcome message from Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, Peter Dutton, in which he said: “Thank you for taking this important step today. Australian citizenship confers on you great benefits; but equally rights and obligations.”
The six new citizens are from Malaysia, Fiji, India and Italy. Clarence Goh, Yee Wern The and their son Christopher came from Malaysia in January 2011. They moved from Melbourne to Parkes in July 2015. Clarence teaches at the Christian School and enjoys making computer games, robot assembly and programming, while Yee is a keen photographer.
Aruna Swamy arrived in Australia in 2006 from Fiji and moved to Parkes in August 2008. She loves all things Bollywood. Aswin Rajendran is originally from India and arrived in Australia in February 2012, and relocated to Trundle in September of the same year. He works as a registered Nurse and enjoys watching cricket, movies and farming.
Franco Tiveron came from Italy to Australia in January 2012 and settled in Parkes straight away with his wife and two sons. He is an engineer and enjoys music and software. “I congratulate these candidates on their decision to become Australian citizens,” said the Mayor. Each candidate received an official citizenship certificate, a Bible, Parkes Shire Council pen, Australian Citizenship coin and a Parkes booklet.
As last weekend’s golf was washed out, the rest of the month promises to be very busy starting with the Bob Smith Memorial Golf Day tomorrow for men and women, while the rescheduled Pybar Handicap Challenge final will take place on Sunday.
The following week, the annual SCT Logistics Parkes Open Tournament takes place and on Saturday, 24th September the men get to play the washed out Telescope Tyres & Batteries September Monthly Medals sponsored by Tony Williams Chartered Accountants. The Ladies will play a 4 Ball Multiplier for Kay Jones trophies on the same weekend, and rounding out September, commencing on Monday 26th, is the Atlas Copco Australia Parkes Veterans Week of Golf.
Members are reminded of the Special General Meeting starting at 5.30pm tomorrow for the election of a new Club President after the unfortunate resignation of Ross Smith from the position. Members are urged to attend to celebrate the appointment of a new President.
The Club will conduct a Rules Night, in conjunction with Golf NSW, on Wednesday, 14th September at 6.30pm to discuss rules that affect the every day golfer. Bookings are required.
Tomorrow the men and women will contest an 18 hole 2Ball Medley Stableford with 9 and 18 hole individual events to be run in conjunction. The day will be in honor of the late R.L. (Bob) Smith with Michael Smith and family members sponsoring the day. The Pybar Handicap Challenge is on Sunday at 9am. The match committee have ruled that players who accepted for last weekend will have the first opportunity to play, but they must confirm to the Club Captain on 0427 624 683 by 5pm today.
By Paul Thomas
More than a thousand festival-goers made it through hell and high-water for the Bush Tucker Day at Trundle last weekend. With roads flooded across the region, there were fears that the annual festival would be washed out, but the scores of intrepid travellers proved that nothing could rain on this parade.
Festival president Donald “Digger” Anderson said he was thrilled with the turnout. While they were expecting double the crowd, the numbers weren’t that far off last year’s turn-out. “Even with everything stacked against us, it was still a hugely successful event,” he said, “and it’s only possible thanks to the dedicated committee and volunteers”.This year marked the 30th anniversary of the festival, which is held on the first Saturday in September. It began as a grass-roots, family focused fundraiser for local charities, and is now a major highlight on the region’s calendar.
Digger suggested the entertainment is the key to its growing success. What started off as a cook-out has evolved to be a jampacked day of family-fun, with a lot of people coming to see the show. Country music legend Troy Cassar-Daley was a popular inclusion in this year’s lineup. “When the music started you could really see the full extent of the crowd,” Digger said. “Usually the crowd stirs up a bit of dust, but this year it was clear as a bell, thanks to all that rain.” While some events were called off due to stranding, there was still plenty to keep the festival-goers amused, with loads of country-themed shenanigans, such as the hilarious bushman’s relay, the billy boiling competition, and whip-cracking and sheep sheering demonstrations. But let’s not forget the food.
With bush cooking competitions, demonstrations, and free taste testing, Trundle was well and truly tuckered out.
By Raen Fraser