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.

Be Seen @ Christmas With The Parkes Shire Concert Band

December 19, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Band members were privileged to perform for Southern Cross residents, with beautiful Mia dancing. The appreciation they were shown was overwhelming.

A few members experienced the amazing Nine Lessons and Carols Orchestra. Gratitude is extended to band member Kirsty Cairney for organising and leading at Parkes Anglican Church, thanks to Rev. Ben Mackay.

The Parkes Shire Concert Band Christmas party was a wonderful time for all thanks to Rhonda who organised the event. You can see the PSCB’s at their next gig which is the Parkes Elvis Festival.

Corvette National Convention Coming To Parkes In 2025

December 19, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Parkes local, Dusty Powter pictured left with his newly acquired red Corvette, and CNC Co-Ordinator Harry Turner.

The 2025 Corvette National Convention will take place over four days in both Parkes and Forbes from the 28 – 31 March. The club is hoping in some small way to assist families of the floods that occurred in the region in November 2022. With close to 150 motel rooms booked and an anticipated $280,000 being brought into the area over the four days. The program for the event is as follows:

Friday 28th March 2025 – Welcome

• Registration: 11am – 5pm at Bushmans Conference room, Bushmans Motor Inn, 9-13 Peak Hill Road, Parkes.

• Welcome, Meet and Greet: 6.30pm – 10.30pm. Canapes and cash bar at Bushmans Conference room, Bushmans Motor Inn 9-13 Peak Hill Road Parkes.

Saturday 29th March – Day Two

• Breakfast: Parkes Rotary to provide BBQ at the Bushmans Motor Inn.

• Show ‘n’ Shine: Parkes Showground 8:30am – 3:30pm. Food trucks will be at the venue for lunch at your own expense

• The National Presidents’ meeting will take place at 4pm.

Sunday 30th March 2025 – Day Three

• Breakfast: Parkes Rotary to provide BBQ at the Bushmans Motor Inn.

• Half the cars will take a leisurely ‘Observation’ cruise to Forbes. Once at Forbes we’ll be visiting a local Car Museum. A short drive back into Forbes and enjoy ‘Pizza in the Park’ for our lunch break. Locals will be given the opportunity to inspect our beautiful Corvettes.

• The other half of the cars will drive north, through Parkes and onto ‘The Dish’.

• In the afternoon cars will swap and do vice versa.

• The ‘Gala Dinner’ will be held at the Parkes Services Club at 6.30pm. Drinks will be available to purchase from the bar. The Show’n’ Shine awards will be presented along with the auctions and raffle winners.

13 Days Of Double Demerits For The Christmas Holidays

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Double demerit points will be in force for 13 days over the Christmas and New Year period. Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, MelanieSuitor said that double demerit points would run from Friday 20 December 2024 to Wednesday 1 January 2025 inclusive for all speeding, seatbelt, motorcycle helmet and mobile phone offences.

Ms Suitor said double demerit points have proven to be an effective road safety initiative to make holiday travel safer for everyone on New South Wales’ roads.

“Traffic on roads to popular holiday destinations, increases by up to 50% during the Christmas and the New Year holiday period, so it is important to obey all the road rules and drive safely.

“While driving, focus on driving. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted by your mobile phone, follow the road rules and drive to suit the conditions. Please make sure that you and your passengers are buckled up.

Parkes Highway Patrol Sergeant Mitchell Gage is warning drivers that they are at greatest risk of losing their licence during this period.

“There will be more Police on the roads which means a greater chance of drivers being caught if they are doing the wrong thing.

“So, make sure you give yourself plenty of time to travel, don’t speed, drive to the conditions, wear your seatbelt, avoid distractions, make sure you’re well rested and if you’ve been drinking or have taken drugs – don’t drive.

Snippets…

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Representing Parkes Shire Council at the 2024 Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards, Michael and Hannah from the Environment and Sustainability team were honoured to accept the award and are pictured with Costa Georgiadis.

Parkes Shire Council: Parkes Shire Council is thrilled to announce their success at the 2024 Local Government NSW Excellence in the Environment Awards, where they took home: Division A (population < 30,000) and Overall Winner of the Natural Environment Protection & Enhancement: On-Ground Works Award for the Parkes Wetlands Development. These awards recognise the outstanding achievements of councils across NSW in protecting and enhancing our environment.

Forbes Shire Council: Recycle your blister packs for free right here in Forbes. Forbes Shire Council has partnered with Life Pharmacy Forbes, Flannery’s Pharmacy and Pharmacycle to make it possible for residents to recycle their medicinal blister packs. Blister packs are the packaging most medicinal tablets and capsules come in and they cannot be recycled in the yellow lid curbside bin, meaning they often end up in landfill. This is because the aluminum and plastic in them are bound together. Pharmacycle separates these two materials and recycles them to make a range of products such as fences, building and construction materials. Recycle your blister packs by using the blue Pharmacycle bins located at both pharmacies instead of placing them in your red lid bin.

Parkes Elvis Festival: Ready to roll? Applications for the Northparkes Mines Street Parade are open! The Northparkes Mines Street Parade is a Festival-fan favourite. Kicking off 10am Saturday, 13 January along Festival Boulevard. Sign up to walk, ride, drive or float at: bit.ly/ElvisParade

1800RESPECT: Violence of any form is never okay. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic, family or sexual violence, support services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. National services include: 1800RESPECT and www.1800respect.org.au. You can also contact the Men’s Referral Service at https://ntv.org.au/mrs/. Always remember, that you are not alone and that there is support available.

Forbes Little Athletics: In partnership with Coles, Little Athletics NSW gave away eight $500 vouchers during Coles Community Round. To enter, you had to post a photo on either Facebook or Instagram in your best Coles Community Round outfit.

Well done to the Forbes Athletics club who pulled together, got dressed in their best in the Coles Community Round outfits and were one of the eight winners announced.

Thank you to Little Athletics NSW and Coles for allowing great opportunities for our communities.

Forbes Little Athletics winning competition photograph. The social media posts were judged on creativity, fun and of course a splash of Coles.

Be Seen @ Generocity Church Parkes

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Generocity Church held a lovely service on Sunday, as we move towards Christmas.

Everyone got into the spirit, singing some classic Christmas carols.

Everyone is looking forward to the thankfulness service and nativity play this Sunday.

Feature In Our Special Elvis Edition And Reach Over 24,000 Cutomers

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Each year the Forbes & Parkes Phoenix produce a Special Elvis Edition that is distributed across both Parkes and Forbes at the beginning of the The Parkes Elvis Festival, where a crowd of over 24,000 Elvis fans are expected to converge.

The theme for next Parkes Elvis Festival is Easy Come, Easy Go, and will run from 8 – 12 January 2025. Do you want to feature in our next Special Elvis Edition? There are two ways you can be included, and it is easier than you might think.

1. Advertising: Book an advertisement to promote your business or event. Anyone can book a display ad in our Special Elvis Edition.

2. Editorial: Do you have an interesting “Elvis Festival” related story to share? Let us know about it and you may be lucky enough to have your “Elvis Festival” story featured amongst the pages of our 2025 Special Edition.

Some opportunities are “Easy Come, Easy Go, but don’t let this opportunity come and go. For all advertising options email Roxane sales@parkesphoenix.com.au and for editorial options email editor@parkesphoenix.com.au or call 0432 337 278.

Parkes High School’s New Edible Garden Helps Students Grow

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

Parkes High School students building the herb gardens.

Gardening has been unofficially added to the curriculum at Parkes High School’s special education unit, where three new herb gardens mark the beginning of a 12-month edible garden project.

Students are working with the Bunnings store in Forbes to build the edible garden, which will include six raised garden beds for herbs and bush tucker, plus a mini orchard containing six different fruit trees.

Bunnings is donating the materials, plants, potting mix and the time of its team members to build the garden at the school.

The store is also donating a cantilever umbrella to provide shelter in the garden and native plants and paint to refresh the school’s yarning circle.

The first three herb gardens were built in late November, with five students rolling up their sleeves to help.

“Some of these boys had never assisted in the garden before, they’d normally rather be inside gaming,” said Bunnings Forbes Activity Organiser George Barnes.

“But they jumped at the opportunity to get their hands dirty and get involved in building the herb gardens.

“Seeing kids who don’t get outside very often get so much joy from this project is so rewarding.”

Mr Barnes said the partnership with Parkes High School, one of 120 community organisations Bunnings Forbes supports, started before Covid. Other projects it has supported at the school includes building a pride garden in June this year.

Parkes High School special education teacher Hugh Wood approached Mr Barnes about doing another garden this year and the pair decided on the edible garden. The edible garden will continue to take shape over much of the 2025 school year.

Quorn Park Hybrid Farm – Project Update

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

The Quorn Park Hybrid Project consists of the construction and operation of a solar farm consisting of photovoltaic (PV) modules, a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and related civil and electrical infrastructure. The Project is located approximately ten kilometres northwest of Parkes.

The construction of the Quorn Park Hybrid Farm has an investment value of over $190 million. The estimated construction timeframe for the plant is expected to be approximately 18 months, while the farm’s operational life is approximately 35 years.

Pre-construction site studies and preconstruction works occurred in late 2024, and the construction phase of the project will commence in coming weeks.

The relevant Development Approvals for the Quorn Park Hybrid Project have been obtained from the Parkes Shire Council.

The planning approvals set out conditions for the project, including management plans. Management systems will be in place to ensure compliance with all conditions covering construction, operation, decommissioning, and administrative matters.

Enel Green Power Australia (EGPA) will manage the construction works for the project. EGPA has appointed Beon Energy Solutions as the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for construction.

EGPA is also committed to local sourcing throughout the project’s operational and construction phases, where feasible. It is expected that the project will create significant local employment and supply opportunities during construction.

EGPA will work closely with the main contractors to identify capability and capacity in the local area. The specifics of these roles will be made publicly available in early 2025 by recruitment agency Chandler MacLeod.

For more information visit www.jobsinsolar.com.au or contact Chandler MacLeod at jobsinsolar@chandlermacleod.com Project updates can also be found at www.enelgreenpower.com/our-projects/in-development/quorn-park-hybrid-project

Be Seen @ Red Bend Catholic College

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

It was all hands on deck for Red Bend Catholic College students.

The students packed 150 Christmas hampers for families in need.

Donations made possible thanks to St. Vincent de Paul and Bernardi’s Marketplace.

Parkes Bowling And Sports Club Sectional Winners

December 12, 2024 By Roxane Manley

The three sectional winners of the regional open singles at the Parkes Bowling and Sports Club have been decided with the following results. Parkes’ Dave Reilly defeated Manildra young gun Alan Campbell.

Manildra prodigy Cooper Fliedner displayed his driving skills and draw prowess to defeat Club Dubbos Daniel Stanley. A special mention to our volunteer green keepers, markers, umpires and Tony Riordan and Colin Miller.

Parkes Railways’ greenkeeper Andrew (Juicy) Daley accounted for Manildras’ Ian Campbell. Good luck to the winners when they play against the other sectional winners in the new year.

Roxane Manley

Subscribe