The leaping, high-flying cow had the record-breaking young audience in stitches on Wednesday at the Parkes Shire Library’s performance for Simultaneous Storytime.

The library joined the rest of the country for the annual event with all the pre-schools in Parkes attending, as well as the regular sto- ry timers and other members of the public.

“It is our best one yet,” said Sandie Ward who directed and narrated the performance of The Cow Tripped Over the Moon. “We seem to be getting bigger each year and might have to think of doing two shows next year to fit everyone in.”

The book by Tony Wilson is a story about friendship and perseverance. It is also a sto- ry about cows smacking into meteorites and hot air balloons and sand dunes.

Simultaneous Storytime not only promotes the value of reading and literacy, but also the fun of books and celebrates an Australian writer and publisher.

Members of the Library Council of NSW were also in the audience and were very impressed with the performance and the other services offered by the library. They visited Parkes Library for the first time in more than ten years to see how the library operates.

Shellie Buckle, Manager Cultural, Education and Library Services presented plans for expansion to the team and said she hoped for the best in the next round of grants opening in September.

The abundance of sunshine in Parkes will be harvested for power generation by the end of the year.

Leading French renewable energy firm Neoen is busy erecting more than 200,000 ground mounted solar panels in a 210 hectare area approximately 10km west of Parkes.

Parkes Solar Farm, as it will be known, will produce enough renewable energy to power more than 20,000 homes per year. It will be the biggest solar farm run by Neoen in Australia with a capacity of up to 80MW, and make a major contribution to Australia’s greenhouse gas reductions.

Project Manager, Warren Woo said con- struction should be complete by October and he expected it to be fully operational by the end of the year.

“During construction, the project in excess of $100 million, would create up to 150 jobs for local people at peak times.” He said over the long-term contractors would be needed to clean panels, for vegetation management and electrical maintenance. He added the landowner, who is leasing the land to Neoen, were benefitting too.

According to Warren the site near Parkes was chosen because of superior solar ir- radiance, and the land is relatively flat with low tree density and no or manageable flood risk. The site also has good proximity to the local substation.

Neoen has there other solar farms in NSW at Dubbo, Narromine and Griffith and one operational in Western Australia, plus a wind farm in South Australia.

By Maggi Barnard

Gimme, gimme, gimme… white boots, platform shoes, glittering hotpants, sequined jumpsuits, retro hippie outfits, ponchos, colourful psychedelic designs… for the time of your life.

Trundle burst at its seams last weekend when about 6,000 people attended the sixth and largest ABBA Festival, including the Swedish Ambassador to Australia, Pär Ahlberger and his family.

“It was fantastic. Everywhere you looked you just saw happy, smiling people,” said co-founder of the festival, Gary Crowley. The pure pleasure people get from the festival is what really counts for Gary, and the fact that the towns’ businesses received a much-needed boost to its coffers.

People came from all over Australia to experience huge hospitality offered by a small country town. According to Gary, the Swedish Ambassador was blown away by the friendliness. “He is no longer a stranger to Trundle, and joked that if ABBA would ever come to Australia again they should come to Trundle and not Sydney!”

Another highlight was the surprise birthday cake for the world’s number one ABBA tribute band, Bjorn Again, as they celebrated their 28th anniversary of their first performance on Saturday. “They had the whole crowd singing Happy Birthday to them,” said Gary.

Cheered on by Parkes band, Amity, the record crowd from all over Australia and other parts of the world filled Trundle’s famous 60m wide main street swaying to Dancing Queen for the world record attempt thanking ABBA in their hearts for the music.

By Maggi Barnard

According to Gary all you need to do is enlist the help of the community. “Teachers do not realise the power they have as everyone wants to see kids in science.”

Every Monday after school students and parents helped to turn the school walls into artistic science displays. “We started off with a couple of canvasses of dinosaurs, and it has since grown exponentially.”

Today the school walls are covered with murals of space images, cretaceous marine reptiles, and dinosaurs, as well as scaled-up models of stars and planets that the children and their families have built.

According to Gary it was all done on a miniscule budget. “The secret is to build contacts, create networks and make use of your local community, whether it is artists, dancers, trades people or anyone who can make a contribution.”

More advice he offered science teachers was to make the subject more exciting and interesting is to look at what is happen- ing in the world. “Share science news with students, take part in the Australian bird count or do citizen science projects.” He said simple activities such as measuring the temperature in different spots at school over a period of time and representing the data in graphs, could already make such a difference in how students look at science.

One of Gary’s many missions is to mentor the next generation of science and maths teachers to improve the way these subjects are taught in the classroom. He hopes to return to Parkes later this year and meet with local teachers to share his passion and inspiration.

(Go to YouTube to see a video of the Seaforth Public School science walls.)

Parkes Shire residents are invited to attend the Anzac Day Commemorative Services to be held across the region on Tuesday, 25th April.

The Parkes Shire RSL sub-branches, in combination with Parkes Shire Council, have planned special services in each of the townships to pay tribute to veterans and current defence personnel.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said: “Historically, 25th April is a day for the Parkes Shire to come together to acknowledge our history, honour the Anzac legacy and show our strength as a community.

“The day will begin with Dawn Services in Parkes, Alectown, Tullamore, Peak Hill and Bogan Gate and will be followed by the Anzac Day march, wreath laying and commemorative services mid-morning.”

A number of guest speakers have been invited, including Captain Anthony Klen- this from the Royal Australian Navy. He will acknowledge the 75th anniversary of the 1942 World War II campaigns, the Battle of the Coral Sea, and share an insight into his time in the Navy at the 9am com- memorative service in Cooke Park.

Council’s roads and footpath crew have constructed a new footpath at Memorial Hill connecting with the existing granite walkway further down the hill to significantly improve pedestrian access.

Two Parkes East Public School students have made their own Anzac history in the annual Riverina Anzac Writing Awards.

Year 5 student Brienna Brown was the Northern district winner with her lyrical poem about the soldier’s experience, utilizing the recurring motif of a field of poppies to create a sense of futility and loss.

“We have to remember them because they died for our country,” Brienna said.

The Northern district’s Highly Commend- ed award went to Year 6 student Madeline Blackstock for her short story that tackles a different aspect of war-time sacrifice. Made- line tells the story of a nurse stationed over- seas to tend the wounded, seen through the eyes of a child left behind on the farm.

“It’s important to remember the Anzac’s because there’s no war in Australia anymore,” Madeline said.

The Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack received almost 800 entries for the annual competition, with students across the electorate exploring the theme Anzac Day in the Riverina and Central West.

Michael said judging this year’s competition was tough. “I was not only impressed with the quantity of entries, but also extremely proud of their quality.”

Parkes East Public School teacher Leanne Matthews coordinated the school’s entries for the competition. “We’re all extremely proud of the girls,” she said.

“The information pack that the Minister sent out was very stimulating and managed to spark their interest, ” she said. “All the students really responded to the resources.”

By Raen Fraser

A key mechanical and engineering national supplier with a branch in Parkes has won a major award at the NSW Parliament House last Thursday.

The PJL Group took out the Outstanding Supplier category in the 2017 NSW Mining Industry and Supplier Awards.

PJL Group General Manager, Luke Buck- land, said: “The Mining Industry and Sup- plier Awards recognise the people and the businesses whose hard work and achieve- ments help to make NSW mining strong. I would like to congratulate PJL Group employees from across Australia for helping the business to achieve such an award and for always giving 110% on every job.

PJL Group Manager in Orange, Ben Hockey, and PJL Group Major Projects and Tender Coordinator, Dean Jarvis, were on hand to receive the award.

The Outstanding Supplier Award recognises a business that can demonstrate excellence in working with the NSW minerals industry by adding value to a mining operation through one-off projects or on-going relationships with clients.

PJL commenced operations in Orange in 2006 with three mates purchasing a truck, which they refurbished as part of establishing their mechanical engineering busi- ness. The business now operates from five permanent sites in Orange, Parkes, Cobar, Mt Isa and Perth employing 320 people.

The business operates 24 hours a day providing a full range of services includ- ing mechanical and maintenance, engineering and fabrication, service exchange components, line boring, labour hire, non- destructive testing, equipment hire and sales, installation and construction and design services.

The turning of a sod marked the start of work on the Advanced Water Recycling Fa- cility (AWRF) in Parkes.

Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack joined Mayor Ken Keith, Parkes Shire Councillors and representatives from John Holland and the Parkes Shire Council for the ceremony on Wednesday.

The new facility will supply recycled water to irrigate the golf course and racecourse, and will later provide water to sporting fields and parks around town. It is expected to be completed by November 2017.

The AWRF is jointly funded by the Federal Government and Parkes Shire Council, who have each contributed $8.725 million towards the project.

“This is a great investment that builds com- munity capacity and provides water security in the dry times,” Michael McCormack said.

“Projects like this show that Parkes really is a can do community. It’s a progressive town that gets things done.”

The Mayor was full of praise for the project. “We’re absolutely delighted that the federal government partnered with Parkes Shire Council to enable this water recycling system to be built,” he said. “The scheme complements the new water treatment plant and sewage treatment plant beautifully and will position Parkes Shire well into the future.”

The sod-turning wasn’t the only symbolic gesture of the day. Michael McCormack selected a blue and brown striped tie for the occasion, telling the attendees that it was the most appropriate attire. “It represents the project; turning brown water into blue,” he joked.

By Raen Fraser