Roxane Manley

Roxane is a true local to the Forbes and Parkes areas. Having been with the Phoenix for a number of years, she is passionate about her region and loves being involved with the local community.

What message do you have for locals as we approach the holiday season?

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Adam MacGregor Club Forbes: Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year from the directors and staff at Club Forbes, we are looking forward to seeing all of you in the new year. Hope you have a safe and relaxed holiday!

David Giblett Forbes Police Sergeant: The NSW Police wish the community a happy and safe holiday, and remind everyone to drink responsibly during the festivities. We would also like to remind the community about being safe on our roads, with double demerits in force and a highly visible police presence during the holiday period.

Hon Sam Farraway MLC: It’s been a really tough year for everyone on the back of covid and the floods, I just hope that people are able to take some time to recharge their batteries. I want to remind people how important it is to drive to the road condition, and enjoy the holiday festivities.

Miss Priscilla Dinner Celebrates 15 Years

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

The beautiful, enigmatic Priscilla Presley made her indelible mark on fashion in the ‘60s with her signature winged eyeliner, sensational bouffant hairdo, and ultra-glamorous take on fashion.

Hailed as the Queen of rock ‘n roll, with The King by her side, Priscilla’s signature looks throughout the ‘60s were instantly recognisable. Priscilla was emblematic of the era’s decadent ‘Rock ‘n roll meets Hollywood’ lifestyle that has been celebrated for the past 15 years at the Goodsell Machinery Miss Priscilla Dinner.

Attending a Miss Priscilla Dinner then it is highly recommended by all those that have previously attended. Enjoy a two-course dinner and a night of entertainment that includes performances, dancing and a whole lotta fun. Watch an extravagant floorshow by one of Australia’s premiere swing dancing performance troupes, the Sydney Swing Katz. Local favourites Amitie will mesmerise you with their harmonies, then dance the night away to NZ Elvis tribute artist Brendon Chase.

The evening promises to be a fun night where guests are encouraged to dress in the Blue Hawaii theme and watch the bevy of beauties and their stylists as they compete for the coveted title of Miss Priscilla – Face of the Festival. There are fabulous prizes on offer including balcony cabins on P&O’s Tribute to The King Cruise for Miss Priscilla and her stylists.

There are two other competition categories in the Festival’s Blue Hawaii theme;

Miss Blue Hawaii – will have the best interpretation of Blue Hawaii, inspired by the 1961 classic movie with the hairstyle, makeup, and dress in theme. This is a fun competition where you can use your imagination!

Blue Hawaii Theme – best dressed audience members in the Blue Hawaii theme.

Tickets and competition information can be found on parkeselvisfestival.com.au. The Miss Priscilla Dinner is proudly sponsored by Goodsell Machinery.

Forbes Croquet Winners

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Encouragement awards won by Fay Picker, Lyall Strudwick, Carolyn Neilsen, Noel Jolliffe and Allan Jones.

Doreen Rogers joined Forbes Croquet Club in September 2004 and is the longest serving member. Doreen was given the opportunity to cut the cake.

Perpetual trophy winners Robin Pols and Elvy Quirk with runner up winners Colleen Liebich and Cheryl Toohey.

Perpetual trophy winners Kevin Rubie and Neville Spry. Centre: John Browne with runner up trophy in Aussie croquet.

Members Of New Religious Communities Advisory Council Named

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Engagement with the state’s multicultural and multi-faith communities will be much stronger thanks to the NSW Government with the formation of the new Religious Communities Advisory Council.

Following a competitive, merit-based assessment process, 15 members have been appointed to the new council, which will be led by Multicultural NSW Advisory Board Chair Nick Kaldas.

Minister for Multiculturalism Mark Coure welcomed the new members, who will advise on matters relating to religious communities across NSW.

“I want to thank each member for self-nominating themselves and helping the NSW Government strengthen engagement with faith communities,” Mr Coure said.

The members, who will all serve two-year terms, include:

• Imam Shadi Alsuleiman of the Australian National Imams Council

• Dr Basim Al-Ansari of the Office of the Ayatollah Al-Ansari

• Mr Darren Bark of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies

• Mr Murray Norman of ICCOREIS

• Reverend Father Fadi Nemme of St Michael Antiochian Orthodox Church

• Rt Reverend Dr Michael Stead of the Anglican Church Diocese of Sydney

• Pdt Ramachandra Athreiya of the Australian Council of Hindu Clergy

• Mr Surinder Jain of the Hindu Council of Australia

• Reverend Heather Joyce Topp of the Buddhist Council of NSW

• Mr Elias Attia of the Islamic Council of NSW

• Reverend David Riethmuller of the Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of NSW and ACT

• Mr Gawaine Powell Davies of the Buddhist Council of NSW

• Very Reverend Father Tadros El-Bakhoumi of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Diocese of NSW

• Ms Monica Doumit of the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney

• Mr Parviz Deamer of the Australian Baha’i Community

The Council’s work is guided by the Multicultural Principles, which are enshrined in the Multicultural NSW Act 2000 as the policy of the State in NSW. The council’s first meeting will be held on 23 January 2023.

Show Tickets A Perfect Christmas Gift

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Parkes Elvis Festival will be celebrating 30 years of from 4-8 January 2023.

Kicking off the Festival on Wednesday, 4th of January will be music legends, Ross Wilson, Brian Cadd, Joe Camilleri and Normie Rowe, performing in a special 30th anniversary Wall Of Fame concert.

ELVIS by Anthony Petrucci is performing at the Parkes Services Club, he incorporates a modern twist on Elvis’ songs while maintaining Elvis’s famous soul and authenticity.

Sons of Sun is a wild rock and roll play about Sun Records, Memphis, featuring songs from Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison with shows on Wednesday and Thursday.

Adam Harvey’s return with his tribute to Elvis’ country hits, Adams performance starts at 4pm on Friday, 6th January.

The Feature Concert Series will headline Dean Z and Victor Trevino Jr, two of the world’s best Elvis Tribute Artists performing five shows from 4th-8th January.

The preliminary round of the international Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest will see 19 leading Elvis tribute artists from Australia and abroad battling it out in heats and finals on 6th and 7th January.

The ultimate christmas gift for lovers of the Festival.

Snippets…

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Club Forbes is preparing to screen the long awaited and highly anticipated Avatar 2.

Club Forbes Cinema Presents: Puss in Boots, The Last Wish, Avatar, The way of Water, are playing from next week. Check out our website for program guides. Cub Forbes Manager Adam McGregor recommends seeing Avatar in 3D and said “we have new equipment installed. Testing has been better than expected. Our equipment will produce an experience like no other in the Central West. Our big screen in a smaller cinema, produces brighter images, combined with our active 3D glasses will produce an experience not available in the larger cinemas. Our sound system is also designed for a much larger cinema, providing perfect sound quality and experience. It seems our cinema has been purpose built for a 3D experience like no other.

Where to fuel up when traveling: Drivers are being urged to log into FuelCheck before hitting the road this Christmas after the nation-leading app identified the cheapest petrol on routes in and out of Sydney and in popular holiday spots across the state. If motorists notice the price at the pump in NSW does not match what is shown on the FuleCheck app, they can make a complaint directly to NSW Fair Trading.

Healthy Heart Hacks: Australians can satisfy their tickers AND their tastebuds this holiday season by utilising the Heart Foundation’s top Holiday Heart Hacks.

Heart Hack #1 – Add canned pears inplace of butter for a better Christmaspudding.

Heart Hack #2 – Fuel up at the start ofthe day.

Heart Hack #3 – Make time for exercisenow, not in the New Year.

Heart Hack #4 – Load up on healthyfoods before end-of-year functions.

Heart Hack #5 – Fill your platters with lotsof fresh produce.

BONUS Heart Hack – Support the Heart Foundation and help to protect your friends and family. Cardiovascular disease is one of the biggest killers of Australians, and yet it is mostly preventable through physical activity and nutrition.

If these Heart Hacks helpful and would like to donate to the Heart Foundation Holiday Appeal please visit campaign.heartfoundation.org.au/holiday-appeal

FuelCheck: The FuelCheck website was launched in 2016 and has received 23 million visits, the app has now had more than 2.3 million downloads. For more information on FuelCheck and to download the app visit: fuelcheck.nsw.gov.au/app

Secret ingredient in The Heart Foundation Christmas Pudding is canned pears!

Children Learn The True Spirit Of Christmas Is To Give

December 23, 2022 By Roxane Manley

The preschool children from Central West Family Day Care in Parkes are pictured with their Christmas Giving Tree.

This year the Christmas tree at Central West Family Day Care (CWFD) was turned into a Giving Tree, with aim of teaching the children that Christmas time is not just about receiving gifts but also about giving to those who may be in need.

Each child from the center was asked to bring in a wrapped gift to place under the Giving Tree.

“The tree was set up before the recent flooding events, but when the children heard about all of the children in Eugowra who lost all of their toys, they decided themselves to donate their gifts to those children,” said Ann-Marie Winter who is Manager/Co-Ordinator of the Central West Family Day Care facility in Parkes.

The CWFD educators reached out to their connections in Eugowra to identify and contact a family that had been affected by the flooding to be the beneficiary of their giving tree.

The Fenton family lost everything when flood waters rose up to a meter and a half at their Eugowra property. Their house and all of their belongings were destroyed, and they are now tasked with having to rebuild their lives, literally from the ground up.

Laura Fenton went on to recount the terrifying moments when they had to flee for their lives.

“Isabella was asleep and Harry was outside playing. Our neighbour wandered over to just say hi and check on us because at that stage we had already had water coming up to our driveway, but that was before all the water came from the hills,” said Laura.

“It was lucky she came over when she did because we were just standing there chatting when we saw the water coming at us. We had about six minutes from when we first saw it coming, to when it his us.”

“I ran in and got Isabella out of bed, got Harry in the car and let the dogs out. By the time I drove up to the higher part of our property that didn’t flood, I was driving through water,” said Laura.

Eugowra was already experiencing flooding prior to the big surge and Kyle Fenton, who is a Helicopter Rescue Pilot, had been trying for hours to get home to his family but was unable to due to the bridge thatwas impassable at Cudal.

Laura remembered facetiming her husband Kyle and frantically saying “You need to pray for us, because we are about to die.”

The Fenton family were overwhelmed by the gesture of kindness from the children at CWFC and Laura said “The support has been incredible.”

The Fenton family pictured receiving gifts from the children at CWFD. Parents Laura and Kyle are holding their children Isabella and Harry.

Golfers Raring to Go

December 16, 2022 By Roxane Manley

The golf course is looking good and it seems that the only thing missing are the flagsticks.

After a concerted effort by the course staff we are excited to announce that golf will re-commence this week with the availability of the back-9 holes. The Forbes Vets will have first use on Thursday, 15th December with the Summer Sixes also restarting that day.

Saturday competitions will commence on 17th December and require playing the back-9 twice using a stroke play format. However, there is more than enough opportunity for social play and the Summer Sixes.

The Pro Shop will be open from this week onwards, with both Head Pro Adam and Assistant Pro Michael ensuring it is fully operational. Call the Pro Shop on 6851 1554 if you have any questions.

Having only a 9-hole layout means there will be a lot of pressure on the course. All players are reminded to repair any pitch marks on the greens, fill any divot holes on the fairway and remedy any holes made on the tees. This will help the course staff in their efforts to get the full course back as soon as possible.

Big W’s Giving Tree Has Returned

December 16, 2022 By Roxane Manley

GIVING TREE…Monica Kearney is pictured with the Giving Tree located at the entryway of Parkes Big W.

BIG W is inviting Parkes and Forbes residents to share in the true spirit of Christmas, with the return of its annual Giving Tree initiative.

From now until Christmas Eve, customers can donate a gift at their local BIG W store, supporting families in need and helping to spread some joy to households across the country.

Managing Director of BIG W, Pejman Okhovat, said: “Our BIG W stores have had a strong connection to their communities for over 50 years. Our annual Giving Tree initiative gives us the opportunity to support local charities and families at a time that is special for many families, but also a time of need.”

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of both our customers and team last year, collecting and distributing over 11,000 gifts nationwide. With many households doing it tough this year, even the smallest gift can still make a big difference.”

St Vincent De Paul is the local Parkes charity that is collecting and distributing the gifts left under the Giving Tree located in the entryway at Parkes Big W.

“We have already had St Vincent De Paul come in and collect two loads of gifts, so people are really getting into the giving spirit this year, but there are always more donations needed,” said Monica Kearney.

Alison Covington AM, Good360 Founder & Managing Director, said: “Christmas can be a challenging time for the most vulnerable members of our communities. We’re very proud to once again be working with our long term partner BIG W to support families facing hardship after a difficult year. The Giving Tree will allow people who are in a position to give back to help share the magic of Christmas with other families and let them know they are not alone at this special time of year.”

Kickstart To 2023 Soccer Season

December 16, 2022 By Roxane Manley

Up and coming Goalies working on their skills at the recent Goalkeeper development course.

Lachlan United has been busy behind the scenes preparing for the 2023 soccer season.

Lachlan United Soccer Club was formed to encourage development pathways for rural kids to achieve placement in representative teams and increase the overall talent in the area. Players come from Forbes, Parkes, Cowra, Grenfell and surrounding areas. By bringing them all under the one banner, players will be able to make the most of courses and coaching opportunities not available in their hometowns.

The Forbes off season Goalkeeper development course held in November, saw promising soccer stars Nick Zannes, Indiana Kennedy and Josie McKenzie being selected in the U/14 Boys and U/13 girls NSW Country Futsal teams to play at the National Championships to be held in Melbourne in 2023.

Players who have been selected to play with the Lachlan United Soccer Club have a lot to look forward to in 2023. Several carnivals and gala days are already locked into the calendar, bringing teams from across the state to compete in our local area.

Teams will also travel to Goulburn to start the season at the Merino Cup, followed by a Mini Girls Gala Day hosted by Parkes, involving all western associated teams.

The opportunity to again start hosting these events, will see more than just the local soccer community benefit. The hosting towns can expect more than 5,000 visitors to visit the region, a boost that can’t come soon enough.

With the prospect of hosting larger tournaments in the future, the club is hopeful funding will come through for improvements to facilities such as training gyms, enhancing grounds and upgrading change rooms.

Roxane Manley

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