Maggi Barnard

Why Your No.1 Vote Should Be For Me!

During my 13 years on Council there have been many things that we have achieved, from the National Logistics Hub, Inland Rail, the Airport Business Park, the Special Activation Precinct (SAP), to new playgrounds, sporting facilities, and improvements to infrastructure within the shire.

Having village representation also ensures a voice, so all shire residents are heard.

If re-elected my focus will be on making sure project ideas, that have been suggested during the recent community consultations, are prioritised and developed into planning phase. There are several community/village projects that are still being finalised, so their completion will also be at the top of the list.

I am also committed to continue to work with the members of the Parkes Sports Council with the prospect of hosting a master sporting event in Parkes in 2023. The Parkes Shire has excellent sporting facilities, with many recent upgrades to amenities and playing fields and with a variety of accommodation, has the potential to be a sporting mecca.

Community – being a Councillor for the Parkes Shire gives me the opportunity to give back.

Peak Hill – living in the village of Peak Hill, I believe it’s important that the smaller communities have a voice with Council decisions to provide true representation of the Shire.

Women Power – we need more women in government roles and local government is a good place to start.

During my 13 years on Council, I have met some very interesting, and inspiring shire residents and joined many community group meetings. It is heart-warming to experience their passion and vision about the communities they live in, and I look forward to working with them again.

Hello Parkes Shire residents, my name is Glenn Wilson. I am running as a candidate in Group ‘A’ on the voting ballot paper for the upcoming Local Government election on Saturday, 4th December.

I say a NEW BROOM is needed to run through the entire Parkes Shire Council activities. We need a completely new set of councillors to enable this.

I believe that too many residents of our shire have had poor service from the Parkes Shire Council for far too long. I will seek to represent ALL residents in a fair and equitable way, not just a select few.

I stand against fraud and corruption and welcome full investigations into suspect land deals, tenders and council issued contracts. I would like to seek a review of how rate payer funds are being used and how funds could be better invested into the community.

There needs to be better planning to increase the availability of low-cost housing for the people that are on the breadline, and more protection for renting residents from huge price increases and evictions.

Other issues that concern me is the need for an improved home waste collection by having the RED lid garbage bins collected

every week, and better road maintenance. Some of our roads are in a terrible state, full of potholes and ruts, and poorly resealed over.

A big campaign is needed to have maternity returned to Parkes Hospital and to tell the Health Department bureaucrats to pull their head in. Many other needs are also required at the hospital.

The list of required investigations and changes to Council is too long to list here.

One or two new councillors will not change anything, only a majority, if not a complete new council, will.

Most people know me as the face of Betamix Concrete Parkes. My family has operated a quarry for 45 years, started by Colin (Shorty) Wilson and Eileen Wilson (Shorty’s Fashions) and a concrete plant for 29 years in Parkes. I have dealt with councils, bureaucrats, courts, barristers, politicians, police and tribunals and am not intimidated from my resolve to ensure the right thing is done.

If you want a better council to be more concerned about the residents that live here and much better roads and services, then vote 1 to 6 in GROUP A and 7 to 10 on the other side.

IMAGE: Mayor Ken Keith (left) with retiring councillors Barbara Newton, Alan Ward and Pat Smith.

The last Council meeting of the current term was held on Tuesday before the Local Government Election in a week’s time on Saturday, 4th December.

Mayor Ken Keith thanked all the Councillors for their effort and team work for the betterment of the community.

At the Mayor’s Christmas party on Tuesday night a presentation was held for the three Councillors who are retiring to thank them for their service. Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton served four terms, while Cr Alan Ward and Cr Pat Smith both served for three terms.

Bogan Gate CWA members who celebrated the branch’s grand milestone of 90 years at the Bogan Gate Hotel on 7th November.

The small town of Bogan Gate recently celebrated a grand milestone when the Country Women’s Association (CWA) turned 90!

The 90th birthday celebrations took place on 7th November at the Bogan Gate Hotel, with 16 people attending.

Our birthday cake, made by Kath Swansbra, was cut by three of our life members Shirley Hunter OAM, Esther Moore and Hilda McPherson. Life member, Ida McIntyre, sent her apologies.

A slideshow compiled for our 80th celebrations with old photos collected by members brought much laughter and some gasps of disbelief as we saw photos of ourselves taken 30 years ago or more!

Ros Edwards presented a brief history of our branch with the inaugural meeting held at the home of Mrs W Black on 7th November 1931, and opened by Miss Warby, state treasurer.

During the war years the CWA members did many extra tasks. For many months they ran a canteen for soldiers at the

nearby army camp. Almost every woman in Bogan Gate had a camouflage net on a stand and as soon as one was finished, another would be started. Most women knitted socks or made pyjamas, khaki shirts and fruit cakes to include in comfort parcels, which were packed once a month during the war years.

The activities of CWA are many and varied, with birthday parties turning into fashion parades with hats being popular, while the two annual events raising the most money are the ball with debutantes, and the flower shows.

In our 90 years we have awarded 13 life memberships, four 50-year badges, 33 long service bars (since 1968) and we have had 16 junior members.

The day gave us the opportunity to rekindle past friendships and reminisce about the wonderful years of enjoyment and satisfaction gained through our association with the Bogan Gate Branch of CWA.

By Gail McKay

The new members inducted on Monday are front (L-R) Ian Freestone, Liz Noakes, Cathy Pearsall and Deb Horder. At the back are their mentors (L-R) Col Offner, Robert Shore (President), Cliff Cowell, Heather and Rex Veal, Charles Pecenka and District Governor Leo Farrelly.

For the first time ever the Rotary Club of Parkes inducted four new members at its meeting on Monday, which was packed with many other newsworthy events.

It was the Parkes club’s turn to receive a visit from the District Governor, Leo Farrelly, and he was on hand to do the induction ceremony for Ian Freestone, Liz Noakes, Cathy Pearsall and Deb Horder. They each received a welcome pack and badges from their mentors.

Ian Freestone was called up again to receive a Paul Harris Fellowship for his work on a special project started by the Parkes Rotary Club. Ian is producing a library of podcasts and speeches created by the Parkes club for other Rotary clubs to use when they can’t get a speaker.

Ian conducts the interviews and does the editing for broadcasting. The episodes are stored on the Parkes Rotary Club Youtube channel. He has already done 26 episodes covering a broad spectrum of topics. The interviews range from local Geoff Anderson on the revival of the Wiradjuri Language in NSW, and Drew Farrant-Jayet, who grew up in Parkes, about the work he has done in remote indigenous communities to the naturalist John Young and his quest to find a living Night Parrot, and Shelley Taylor Smith, a multi-world record holder, featured in the Guinness Book of Records for swimming.

The project was the idea of club President Robert Shore and the episodes have already had over 1,000 views. Leo congratulated the club on being innovative, active and thinking beyond self for starting the project to promote and spread the word about what good people do in the world.

The club has been successful in securing two grants recently. The first grant is for $5,000 drought relief and will be used to give gift cards to farmers in the area and will be distributed by Sharon Bull, financial counsellor from Rural Financial Services.

The second grant for $20,000, which will be added to money held by the club in trust for Neighbourhood Central and will be used to purchase a driver simulator. The simulator will be used by teenage drivers and by elderly drivers who have to retake their driving tests. Neighbourhood Centre will manage the use of the simulator once it has been purchased.

By Maggi Barnard

Working on the Drought Relief grant will be (L-R) Mark Ritchie and Robert Shore for Parkes Rotary Club, Chris Finkel from Forbes Rotary Club, and Sharon Bull and John Beer from Rural Financial Services.

Working on the Drought Relief grant will be (L-R) Mark Ritchie and Robert Shore for Parkes Rotary Club, Chris Finkel from Forbes Rotary Club, and Sharon Bull and John Beer from Rural Financial Services.