Maggi Barnard

You no longer have to get rid of your bread clips, plastic and metal bottle tops and ring-pulls in the red bin from where they will end up in landfill.

Jenny West in Orange is collecting these items for recycling and she has arranged a convenient drop off location in Parkes and Forbes for these items. Once you’ve collected a bag full of these items, you can drop them off at Western Plains Securities & Locksmiths in Clarinda street near Cunningham’s IGA, or at Hozpots Garden Centre in Forbes near Bunnings and KFC.

The ringpulls from cans are sold for scrap aluminium for about $1/kg. The proceeds are donated to the Aussie Kidz Charity for disadvantaged and disabled children.

Jenny is an authorised collector of bread clips for the Aussie Breadtags For Wheelchairs Charity to fund wheelchairs for people in South Africa.

The plastic bottle tops go to the Lids4Kids Charity where they are recycled into useful products to save them from ending up in landfill.

The metal bottle tops go to a scrap recycler in Canberra and sold for scrap to fund Lids4Kids operations.

There was great elation all over the Parkes Shire last Thursday when we returned to some form of normality coming out of lock-down from 1pm.

After almost five weeks of stay-at-home orders, catching up with friends and family was definitely one of the most popular activities a lot of people prioritised when we returned to freedom.

Some restrictions remain in place though with mask-wearing mandatory for all indoor public venues including retail, workplace offices, hospitality and also extends to hospitality staff working in an outdoor setting.

Hospitality venues, retail stores, hairdressers and nail salons, gyms and indoor recreation facilities were all allowed to reopen with specific conditions for each venue in place.

The big challenge remaining for the Parkes Shire is to catch up on its second dose vaccination rate, which is at 52%, to help keep our community COVID-free and out of lockdown. The first dose is almost at 85%.

Other good news this week was the introduction of surveillance testing across the health district. This means you don’t have to isolate while waiting for your test results, unless you or someone you live with has symptoms; you have been directed to isolate by NSW Health or have been to a venue of concern; or someone in your household is a close contact of a confirmed COVID case.

Surveillance testing encourages people to be tested even if they have no symptoms, and is designed to give clearer insight into whether COVID-19 is present in a community.

Windmills revolutionised rural living in Australia and have been part of the landscape since the late 1800s.

We might not always notice them, but caught at the right angle and time of day, they can be very photogenic.

Sharon Woods took this beautiful shot of a windmill on her farm outside Parkes.

If you have an iconic or local image for ‘Closing Shot’, send it to editor@parkesphoenix.com.au.

The Action Club members hard at work on the corner of Currajong and Clarinda Streets to update the signs for services clubs on Saturday.

The Parkes Action Club decided it was time to refresh the service club signs around Parkes.

With lockdown lifted in Parkes last Thursday, Bob Steel rounded up a group of Action Club members on Saturday for the job. They removed the signs that had old information and faded logos. Some were for clubs that closed down many years ago.

With the help of the other service clubs, they were able to repair and update the signs and replaced them at the two entry points into Parkes. “It is good to see the local service clubs working together to help the community of Parkes to be proud of where they live,” said Bob.

The old and faded signs of service clubs in Parkes.

The trishaw is a light three-wheeled motorised tricycle with a basket in the front designed to transport two passengers. On the photo are Peter Guppy who took the Town Crier Tim Keith for a ride earlier this year when Parkes became the latest member of the international movement Cycling Without Age to promote the social inclusion for people facing increasing immobility.

The Parkes trishaw campaign has not been in lockdown behind the scenes and managed to secure the loan of a bike from Cycling Without Age Australia until enough funds have been raised to keep it in town on a permanent basis.

“We are not able to use it at the retirement villages until they are out of lockdown but it gives us the chance to raise the funds and to train those who will be doing the riding,” said committee member Peter Guppy

Peter said the plan was to have everything in place by the end of October.

Cycling Withouth Age – Parkes has about ten volunteers so far, but most of them work full time and can only do trips over weekends. “We would really like people to come forward who would be able to do trips during the week.”

Peter said it was very easy to handle the electrically assisted trishaw. “It only goes at 10km/h and it is great for improving the fitness and mental well being of the riders too.”

If you would like to volunteer email trishawforparkes@gmail.com or ring 0448 166 016.

If you would like to support the fundraising campaign, go to https://chuffed.org/project/cycling-without-age-parkes.