If you missed out on the drama and action last year, don’t despair. The second annual Steve Magill Earthmoving Parkes Rodeo Stampede at the Parkes Showground tomorrow, promises to be even better.

Last year the crowd witnessed with shock and horror one of the greatest wrecks in international rodeo. Clown and veteran bullfighter Matt Darmody was flung in the air by one of the meanest bulls on the rodeo circuit. Darmody staggered to his feet and walked out of the arena after being knocked out cold.

The committee has worked tirelessly to improve on last year’s event addressing more food, better seating, extra entertainment and parking.

As the last rodeo in the Southern Zone before the finals, this event is set to be a huge draw card for the top cowboys and cowgirls chasing championship points. The program includes saddle bronc riding, the original rodeo event; bareback bronc riding, the suicide event of rodeo; bull riding, the only event a cowboy can earn over one million dollars a year; and motor bike barrel racing where top riders from the motor cross circuit will battle it out against the ladies of the professional barrel racing.

The gates open at 4pm on Saturday, 3rd March and the rodeo starts at 6pm. The rodeo is presented by McPhersons Parts and Services, Signs You See, Langlands Hanlon, Uni Fence, Derrick Hoe Excavations, D’Aquinos, The Cambridge Hotel, See Solar Smart Lighting, Magills Concrete Pumping and Parkes Diagnostic Imaging.

For James Whalan there is no difference between work and non-work hours as he fills all of it with his passion, music. Last weekend he received recognition for all the work he puts into his ‘after hours’ music ventures when he won a Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Award.

He was nominated with five other people for the Patricia Kelson Encouragement Award for his first-time musical direction of 9 to 5 with the Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society.

“It was very exciting,” said James, who is regional co-ordinator and singing teacher at the Mitchell Conservatorium.
James has been involved with the Parkes M & D for ten years, playing the lead role of Frederick in the Pirates of Penzance among other roles, as well as assisting with directing in various productions.

“9 to 5 was the first show I was not on stage. It is very encouraging to win an award for my debut as musical director.” James said Parkes was very fortunate to have such an array of talented people from singers and actors to backstage crew and musicians. “We are one of the smallest communities in the CAT and has one of the greatest bands in the Central West.”

The Parkes M & D Association was also nominated in the Best Technical Achievement category for the flying car in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and the Best Ensemble for the three lead girls in 9 to 5.

By Maggi Barnard

What does reading books and wet sponges have in common? More than 180 children in the Parkes Shire discovered that smashing a reading target can result in a lot of fun with a soaking wet sponge and adults in your line of fire. The Summer Reading Club splashed out last week for a big celebration when two library staff members, voted for by participants, became the targets of eager sponge throwers.

The goal of this year’s annual Summer Reading Club, aimed at encouraging children to read over the summer holiday, was to read 974 books collectively by 31st January – 974 was Don Bradman’s 1930 score for the most runs scored in a cricket test series.

“This year’s ‘Game On’ Summer Reading Club was a fantastic success, with a total of 1,563 books read!” said Parkes Shire Librarian, Andrea Lovell. Parkes read 1,078, Peak Hill 261, Trundle 121 and Tullamore 103 books.

Two local sports personalities were ‘game’ to join in the fun last Thursday with Helen Magill (tennis) and Glenn Pepper (cricket) also lining up for a cool down on a hot summer’s day. Their reward was cutting the Summer Reading Club cake to round off the party fittingly.

“Congratulations to all who participated and thank you to the parents, grandparents and carers who encouraged our summer readers and helping them to fill in and return their forms. It was a very special event,” said Andrea.

By Maggi Barnard

True to its caring nature the Parkes community came out in droves to support the inaugural Day On The Green fundraiser for Currajong Disability Services at the Railway Bowling Club last Saturday. Almost 300 people attended the event, brainchild of Lilian Thomson and the Railway Bowling Club, to help Currajong raise much needed funds for a Care Chair.

With over $5,000 raised the objective was achieved much to the delight of all concerned. “Currajong currently has three wheelchair bound clients and only one Care Chair. This means we can now arrange a second one for our clients,” said Currajong CEO Jeff Evans.

“We are extremely grateful and can’t put into words what this means for us and our clients who will directly benefit from the overwhelming generosity of the community. The support is fantastic,” said Jeff. The day featured a who’s who of the local music scene with Birdie and Georgie Sideris, Chris Orr, Jordie Dwyer, Twiggy McGirr and Tommy and Holly Orr providing entertainment. The auction and array of lucky door prizes added to the fun.

For Marketing and Communications Coordinator Dane Millerd, the day couldn’t have gone any better. “I really must thank Lilian and the team at the Railway Bowling Club as well as Sue Maxwell and our own Indigo Kriedemann for their tireless efforts to make this day a reality,” he said.

After the overwhelming success of the day the general consensus among attendees was unanimous: “When is it on again?”

The past week has been a celebration of the Parkes Shire community and its outstanding, kind and generous members at the Australia Day celebrations on Friday and the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) on Monday.

“Each of these people have made positive contributions to our community. Whether it be inspiring others through their personal achievements, generously dedicating time to a community group, organisation, event or project, or going above the ordinary in a specific field – they exemplify what makes the Parkes Shire a wonderful place to live, work and visit,” said Mayor Ken Keith at Australia Day of all the nominees.

There are 19 equally inspiring stories for each of the batonbearers who were celebrated as they carried the baton around the streets of Parkes lined with supporters and onlookers. “We are very proud of our batonbearers,” said Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton. “It blew my mind to hold this piece of engineering,” said Olympian Scott Westcott
of the baton that is the focus point of the longest and most accessible relay in history, travelling through the entire Commonwealth for 388 days and 230,000km.

The Queen’s Baton arrives on the Gold Coast for the XXI Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony on 4th April, where HRH The Prince of Wales will remove Her Majesty’s message from the baton and read it aloud to declare the Games open. The Australia Day Awards went to: Citizen of the Year – Warwick Tom; Young Citizen of the Year – Yasmin Potts; Marie Bashir Academic Award – Janie Green; Cultural Award (Adult) – Scott “Sauce” Towney; Cultural Award (Student) – Gracey Denham Jones; Cultural Award (Group) – Parkes Action Club, St Elmo Shearing Shed Art Show “Ducks on the Pond”; Cultural Award (Group) Highly Commended – Sean James Cassidy, Scott “Sauce” Towney, Scott Turnbull – Sculpture in the Rotary Arboretum. (To see full coverage of both events, go to our Facebook page.)

Six weeks of school holidays will end on  runner’s high on Monday afternoon when the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) arrives in Parkes on Day 35 of its 100-day journey around Australia leading up to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games.

On Monday, 29th January the baton will leave West Wyalong, travel to Forbes and then onto Parkes for one of only eight overnight stops in NSW. In Parkes 19 selected batonbearers will carry the baton around the CBD with the relay starting at 4.30pm at Memorial Hill. Olympian athlete Scott Westcott will start the relay and run down Memorial Hill to meet Rebeckah Auld at the bottom in Bushman Street. She will carry on and turn right into Albert Street and hand over to Amanda Draper. Amanda will turn left into Victoria Street where Barry Garment will be waiting on her.

Barry will turn right into High Street to meet up with Peter Bristol. Peter will carry the baton down High Street to Helen Magill waiting near the corner of Wentworth Street. Helen will carry the baton into Bushman Hill Reserve to Nicayden Greenwood. He will run back to Wentworth Street where his grandfather Michael Greenwood will be waiting on him. Michael will turn left into Currajong Street and meet Barbara Weaver about 300m further down the road. Barbara will stay in Currajong until she gets to Maureen Massey. Maureen will turn right into Victoria street and take the baton to Richard Rice at the roundabout in Clarinda Street. Richard will go down Clarinda to meet Frances Dixon near the second roundabout, and she will carry on to hand over to Cato Rutherford in Clarinda Street.

Staying in Clarinda Street, Cato will hand over to Lauren Neilsen, and Lauren will meet up with Timothy Keith in Clarinda Street near Cooke Park. Tim will turn right into Short Street and hand the baton over to his brother, Parkes Mayor Ken Keith. The Mayor will turn right into Welcome Street and meet up with Danielle Hoskins. Danielle will go left into Cecile Street to get to Victoria Simpson.

Victoria will complete the second last leg of the relay by turning right into Bogan Street where Darrin Gibson will be waiting to take the baton on its final leg down Dalton Street and into the Parkes Aquatic Centre at 5:28pm.

Residents are encouraged to cheer on the local legends at several good vantage points along the route. The Parkes Community Celebration will start at the pool at 5:30pm with a family friendly pool party, free entry from 4pm until 7pm, outdoor games, and entertainment.

The Queen’s Baton will arrive on the Gold Coast for the XXI Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony on 4th April. See a detailed map of the route at https://www.gc2018.com/qbr#gc2018-qbr-parentmap

The year started off on a very encouraging note for the economic outlook of the Central West of NSW with Parkes at the centre with the first delivery of steel rail for the Inland Rail project. “This is a great day for regional Australia, but more importantly, it is a tremendous day for our nation,” said Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce as the first rail of 165m and weighing 9.9 tonnes were being off loaded at Peak Hill on Monday.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the 1,700km project from Brisbane to Melbourne with a capacity to carry 1.8km long trains at speeds of up to 120km per hour, would provide people in regional areas with the capacity to be part of this corridor of commerce.

Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack said the Central West alone would see an economic benefit worth $480 million. “This ribbon of steel of 1,700km is going to transform regional Australia.”

Parkes Mayor Ken Keith added that Parkes would be a major beneficiary as a major national logistics hub. He said the construction of a $35 million facility by National Pacific including a roundabout to handle the 1.8km long trains, would connect Parkes with all the ports of Australia.

The first delivery of 14,000 tonnes of steel rail for the Parkes to Narromine section, manufactured by Liberty OnseSteel Whyalla Steelworks, is enough for 5km. Further deliveries will be made every two weeks to complete this section of 107km.

By Maggi Barnard

It’s early January, summer has arrived in all its blazing glory and it’s time for the Parkes Elvis Festival all dressed up in black leather, white suits and lots of pomade to celebrate 50 years since the ’68 Comeback Special. With more than 20,000 people flocking to the biggest one yet, the celebration of the life and music of Elvis will be immortalised
with the unveiling of a permanent statue in Cooke Park this year to ensure his legacy will live on forever in Parkes.

In recognition of the volunteers, who have driven and managed this phenomenon for most of its 26-year history, Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith said: “The statue will be a fitting dedication to our hard-working volunteers, and serve as a lasting legacy and recognition of their work to make the Parkes Elvis Festival what it is today.”

Recognition has also come from various other quarters to confirm the Parkes Elvis Festival is one of the best event experiences in Australia. Over the past year the festival was awarded gold in the NSW Tourism Awards, gold in the Regional Tourism Awards and bronze in the Australian Tourism Awards.

As The King recaptured his kingkom with his legendary performance in 1968 in what is widely regarded as one of the great television moments in pop/rock music history, the 2018 festival promises to win over countless more fans with a jam-packed program full of surprises.

Whether you come with your black leather, white suit or flowery 60’s outfit you are guaranteed to leave here ‘all shook up’!

By Maggi Barnard

Parkes Christian School Year 12 students have received their HSC results, with the school branding their efforts as a success. In just their third year of delivering the HSC, the 2017 cohort has produced some of the best results seen at the school so far. Greg Ballantyne, High School Head of Teaching, Learning and Curriculum, was very pleased with the performance of the students. “The students can all be very proud of their efforts,” Greg said.

“The HSC is a massive undertaking and competing against every student in the state can be very tough. But some of our students have really stepped up this year. While some of the results are great, it is the overall achievements of our students that we are most proud of,” said Greg.

Mr Ballantyne said “Every student who wants to study a University Course next year has already gained early entry. This maintains our 100% record of students gaining early entry.” “Our school is very focused on developing the overall skills and abilities of each student, and this really shows when students apply for early entry, traineeships, apprenticeships and jobs.

In terms of results, School Dux, Rachel Thorncroft, performed extremely well in all her subjects with the highlight being her Music result in which she achieved a Band 5. She also ranked highly in Advanced English and Business Studies.

Emma Greenland and Elly Collins are both accelerated students who completed Advanced English as Year 11 students. Both performed exceptionally well in this verytough course, finishing among the top third of the state, while Emma had a similar result in Extension 1 English.

“We are really proud of our students who achieved Band 5s and Emma for receiving an E3 in Extension English,” Greg said. “But our focus is on much more than the marks. As a small school we can work really closely with all our students on achieving their goals, no matter how big or small,” said Greg.

By Greg Ballantyne

While hundreds of people flocked to the annual Carols in Cooke Park on Sunday night, a much smaller and more solemn gathering took place in Lions Park.

With beautiful weather in abundance, the Carols event had the biggest crowd ever to attend. As usual families had their picnic blankets out, children in Christmas colours ran around and the Parkes Shire Concert Band, school choirs and other singers performed.

Across town, the Parkes Chapter of the Compassionate Friends welcomed over 65 people to their annual Candle Lighting for a wonderful night of sharing in a safe place. A wooden Christmas tree was covered with loved one’s photos.

Sadly, many new faces joined in from Parkes and areas around Orange, Dubbo, Canowindra, Trundle and Eugowra to remember their children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, husbands and friends who will not be at the Christmas table.

Special poems were read and candles were lit from Mary McPhees’s special candle. (Mary started the Parkes chapter.) Faith Setiawan and her sister Savannah-Lee sang a special song that Faith wrote for their friend Michael Meluish whom they lost this year.

Whether it is one year or many years the pain at times like Christmas or birthdays or anniversaries can be immense.
Special thanks to Judy and Tony Fisher for organising the night with a lovely booklet of poems and angels with a meaningful verse to hang on their Christmas tree in memory of loved ones.