The Parkes Elvis Festival kicked off its Silver Jubilee by celebrating an Australian music pioneer. This year a plaque dedicated to Digby “Dig” Richards was unveiled on the Elvis Wall of Fame, cementing his position as an Australian music legend. Dig Richards was a rock and roll singer who rose to fame as the lead singer of the R’Jays. His impressive career as a singer, actor, and television presenter was tragically cut short by his death in 1983, aged just 42 years.

His younger brother Doug Richards was among the dignitaries and celebrated guests to posthumously honour the performer. “It’s just fantastic that Digby has been finally recognised,” he said. “Dig was one of the very first rock and roll singers in this country.” Many of Digby’s former friends and collaborators attended the star-studded event, including Little Pattie, Rob E.G., Lucky Starr and Leon Isackson. “It’s lovely after all this time that Dig’s remembered,” Leon said. “A lot of people have forgotten, but he was such a pioneer.”

“He was one of the great 60s entertainers,” said Lucky Starr. “It’s wonderful he will be on the wall with his friends.” More than one hundred fans braved the scorching heat for the ceremony, which was officiated by Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM, but none were prouder than Luke Digby Khan who paid tribute to the grandfather he never met. “It’s a real privilege to be here for this ceremony,” he said.

By Raen Fraser

Parkes Elvis Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a Viva Las Vegas theme, so throw on some sequins and join in the fun next week. About 25,000 Elvis fans are set to enjoy a jam-packed five-day program of more than 120 events, including a special gala dinner to mark the festival’s silver anniversary at Parkes Leagues Club on Wednesday. MC Greg Page will lead you through a night to remember with festival favourite Mark Andrew paying tribute to The King in this dynamic show.

The Goodsell Machinery Miss Priscilla Dinner is set to be all glitz and glamour at the Parkes Services Club on Thursday. There’s also the much-anticipated Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist Contest and 2017 double-header feature concert series starring the UK’s Pete Storm and Jake Rowley from the US. There are also great chances to get involved. Why not re-affirm your love at our Renewal of Vows ceremony? Pop on your shades, shine those rhinestones and warm up your vocal cords for the looka- like and sound-a-like competitions, or slip into your blue suede shoes for McDonald’s Rock’n’Roll Dancing.

Be sure to catch all the excitement of the Northparkes Mines Street Parade, an annual festival highlight. Other highlights include vintage car displays, Poets’ Breakfast, the Wall of Fame unveiling, buskers and markets. Don’t miss a minute. Make this the year to dance on down and celebrate The King of Rock’n’Roll. Contact the festival team on 6862 6000 for more information on ticket sales and events.

Looking at international news events 2016 might go down as one of the worst years in history, but on the local front it has been an enormously successful and productive year for the Parkes Shire, according to Mayor Ken Keith. He told The Parkes Phoenix the success of the year culminated in the Council winning the prestigious AR Bluett Memorial Award for the most progressive rural council in NSW. “We have also been successful in receiving three awards for our burgeoning Elvis Festival, two environmental awards for PAC Park and achieving accreditation for our workplace health and safety systems. It is quite an achievement for Council to reach the highest level for the first time.”

The completion of the turf 2 hockey complex, along with Mariah Williams and Scott Westcott’s selection for the Rio Olympics, were definite highlights for the community. The Mayor also listed the conclusion of the Lehman Bros settlement with the recovery of 70c in the dollar as a highlight for 2016. “The redevelopment of the Parkes Regional
Airport with the impressive looking new terminal building appropriately named after former Mayor, the late Robert Wilson OAM, and the conclusion of the building of Lake Endeavour dam and spillway, need a mention too,” he said. With one of the wettest winters ever experienced, the Mayor said: “What a year it was to try and implement improved business structures with our engineering team faced with the most challenging road conditions to maintain, and on top of that we had the freak tornado like storm that ripped through Parkes in October unearthing hundreds of trees and lifting the roof of the iconic race course grandstand.”

The Mayor said the wet conditions also made it a challenging year to start work on Council’s new sewage and water treatment plants. “But work under the John Holland Group is progressing very satisfactorily. The $85 million cost of these facilities also includes a recycling capability with a recycled water ring main. “The Parkes Shire Council launched its new branding for the Shire community based on positive feedback that it all adds up to live in the Parkes Shire.”

Mayor Keith said the year ended on a high note with the resurgence of the Christmas Street Parade, enhanced by the Sparkles Illuminations transforming buildings into an outdoor Christmas exhibition.” Looking ahead the Mayor said: “We look forward to 2017 with optimism and to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Elvis Festival, the completion of major capital works projects and the opportunity to restore and upgrade the road network.”

By Maggi Barnard

Parkes Christian School is pleased with the HSC results for 2016 with 65% of students scoring Band 4 and above. Music students continue to lead the way with both Cameron Sharp and Kaitlyn Strudwick scoring band 5.
Top student in each course are:
• Biology: Lyndal Suffolk
• Business Studies: Isabella Diener
• Design & Technology: Bethany Magill
• English –Standard: Rebecca Butler and Kaitlyn Strudwick
• English – Advanced: Bethany Magill
• Legal Studies: Isabella Diener
• Mathematics – General 2: Lyndal Suffolk and Joe Caines
• Mathematics: Isabella Diener
• Mathematics – Extension: Lachlan Westcott
• Modern History: Isabella Diener
• History Extension: Indianna Bermingham
• Music 1: Cameron Sharp
• PD – H – PE: Joe Caines
• Visual Arts: Rebecca Butler

This was only the second HSC cohort for Parkes Christian School. “Our school is building on its successes from year to year. We wish our HSC graduates all the best and may they be blessed abundantly in all of their endeavours.”

Santa on a penny farthing, a boy in a present, dogs dressed up, angels, elves and a sea of red and green…Parkes put its festive hat on last Friday when hundreds of residents turned up in their Christmas colours for a night of celebration. The Christmas Street Parade returned with an eruption of colour and joy after a two year absence with more than 30 floats and hundreds of children and adults flowing onto the streets around Cooke Park and hundreds more people filling the sidewalks to watch.

Cooke Park, almost bursting at its seems, hosted over 60 stalls for the Sparkle in the Park Upmarkets displaying many gift ideas, and a good selection of food and drink. A social festive atmosphere prevailed as kids enjoyed the jumping castles and fun rides or just running around the park, while the adults settled on their picnic blankets and chairs to watch performances by the Parkes School of Dance and local duo, Salt to the Wound. As the sun was setting on the cheerful gathering, the Sparkles Illuminations, the biggest and brightest yet, were switched on. Buildings and shops were turned into a colourful canvas of Christmas-themed light displays. Twelve light installations and projections transformed Court Street, Clarinda Street and Cooke Park into an outdoor Christmas exhibition.

The lights will come on every night until Boxing Day, and will then change for the Parkes Elvis Festival with a Viva Las Vegas theme. The festivities in Cooke Park ended with the outdoor cinema screening the Christmas classic, The Santa Clause. “The Action Club is keen to stage the parade again next year as we feel the community is in favour of it,” said Staffod Orange of the Action Club. “It’s an opportunity for groups, schools and businesses to show case themselves.” He said they were getting very positive feedback, and the large crowds lining the streets were a good indicator of its popularity.

Stafford said: “The Parkes Action Club would like to thank the Parkes Shire Council for supporting the 2016 Christmas Parade, as well as everyone else who helped to organise and who took part.” Many people would agree with the Parkes Mayor, Cr Ken Keith, it was a night filled with favourite family activities.

By Maggi Barnard

Since last week Parkes is no longer just home to the famous Elvis Festival, it can also boast to having the best festival in NSW! The Parkes Elvis Festival was named the best festival at the 2016 NSW Tourism Awards at a gala celebration held at Luna Park in Sydney last Thursday. Festival Director, Cathy Treasure, said it was an amazing year for the Festival, having taken out the Festivals and Events category at the 2016 Regional Tourism Awards and more recently, the NSW/ACT Regional Achievement & Community Awards.

“This is the third award the 2016 Parkes Elvis Festival has won this year, which is recognition of all the hard work and dedication of our fantastic volunteers, supporters and staff who have made the Festival what it is today. “It’s exciting for all those involved, especially as we prepare to celebrate the Festival’s 25th Anniversary in just six weeks’
time,” Cathy said.

Parkes Elvis Festival was one of eight finalists in the Festivals and Events category competing with huge events like New Year’s Eve in Sydney Harbour, Taste Riverina Festival, Boggabri Drovers Campfire, Canowindra Balloon Challenge, Deni Ute Muster, The Wingham Akoostik Music Festival and Tulip Time in the Southern Highlands.

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM said it was a fantastic achievement for a community generated event. Parkes Elvis Festival will now progress to the national level at the QANTAS Australian Tourism Awards in Darwin on Friday, 24th February 2017.

The first Green Army team deployed in the Parkes and Forbes Shire Council areas did not only win the hearts and minds of everyone they worked with, but also made a valuable contribution to conservation projects. The team of six young participants graduated on Tuesday from Central West Lachlan Landcare (CWLL) after 20 weeks of work.
“It was an amazing experience and I am very proud of myself,” said Chelsi Edwards, one of the participants.

Thomas Staff of Skillset congratulated the team on their marvellous achievement saying the CEO of Skillset was amazed by the team’s positive spirit. The participants worked on several projects including the tree lines at the Central West Livestock Exchange at Forbes, two planting projects on Condobolin Road and PAC Park and other projects. “All these projects have a focus on maintaining and improving biodiversity in our local area,” said CWLL Chair, Margot Jolly.

Marg Applebee, CWLL Co-ordinator said: “It has been a pleasure to work with Skillset to provide work experience opportunities to young people. We hope this is the beginning of new opportunities and that they build on their skills acquired to pursue further employment.” CWLL will be working with Skillset again with a second team starting in mid-January 2017. Marg said she would like to hear from local landholders willing to work with CWLL and to contact her on 6862 4914. Young people interested in joining the Green Army should contact Skillset.

By Maggi Barnard

The Parkes Elvis Festival is collecting awards this year. Last Friday the festival was named winner of the prestigious Dobija Print World Events and Tourism Award at the 2016 NSW/ACT Regional Achievement & Community Awards in Wollongong. The annual awards program, presented by Prime7 and supported by the Commonwealth Bank, recognises groups, businesses, individuals and communities who play a vital role in enhancing the social, environmental and economic prosperity of country NSW and the ACT.

Parkes Elvis Festival was one of four finalists in the Events and Tourism category, taking home the title ahead of Tamworth Country Music Festival, Bluesfest and Deni Ute Muster. Festival Director Cathy Treasure said “It’s
an honour to have won this award given the calibre of the nominees in this category.” “In 2016, the Festival enjoyed more than 22,000 visitors, had a global media reach of 80 million and injected $11 million into the regional economy.” Parkes Shire Councillor Ken McGrath said it was exciting for all those involved to receive the recognition, especially with the Festival’s 25th Anniversary in 2017.

This is the second award the 2016 Festival has won this year, having taken out the Festivals and Events category at the 2016 Regional Tourism Awards. Parkes Elvis Festival has won TV advertising on Prime7 as part of the prize. The festival is also a finalist at the NSW Tourism Awards, with a winner to be named at a presentation dinner in Sydney
next Thursday.

The CSIRO Parkes radio telescope has made its first observation on Tuesday morning in its search for intelligent life beyond Earth. Parkes is part of Breakthrough Listen, the 10-year, $100-million project launched in 2015 by internet entrepreneur Yuri Milner and Stephen Hawking, and started observations last month. The Dish has joined two US telescopes, the Green Bank Telescope in West Virginia and the Automated Planet Finder at Lick Observatory in California, in their ongoing surveys to determine whether civilisations exist elsewhere.

Yuri Milner said the addition of Parkes was an important milestone. “These major instruments are the ears of planet Earth, and now they are listening for signs of other civilisations,” Yuri said. After 14 days of commissioning and test observations, first light for Breakthrough Listen at Parkes was achieved on Tuesday with an observation of the newly discovered Earth-size planet orbiting the nearest star to our Sun, Proxima Centauri. A red dwarf star 4.3 light years from Earth, Proxima Centauri is known to have a planet, Proxima b, orbiting within its habitable zone, the region where water could exist in liquid form on the planet’s surface.

Dr Andrew Siemion, Director of Berkeley SETI Research Center and leader of the Breakthrough Listen science program, said the chances of any particular planet hosting intelligent life-forms are probably minuscule. “But once we knew there was a planet right next door, we had to ask the question, and it was a fitting first observation for Parkes,” he said. “To find a civilisation just 4.2 light years away would change everything.” The Parkes radio telescope is perfectly positioned to observe parts of the sky that can’t be seen from the northern hemisphere, including the centre of our own Milky Way galaxy, large swaths of the Galactic plane, and numerous other galaxies in the nearby Universe.

Dr Douglas Bock, Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, said the Parkes telescope was one of the most
highly cited radio telescopes in the world. Swinburne University of Technology is working closely with Berkeley and CSIRO to design and implement a signal-processing and data-storage system for the project that will make the Breakthrough Listen data available to the science community. Professor Matthew Bailes of Swinburne University, and the Breakthrough Listen project’s Australian science coordinator, said Breakthrough Listen would do more than just hunt for ET.

“The detection system will be simultaneously searching for naturally occurring phenomena such as pulsars and fast radio bursts, which are a large part of Parkes’ present work.” He said the Australian science community welcomed the opportunity to share the Breakthrough Listen data for other ongoing research projects.

State MP David Elliot wore several different ministerial hats when he visited Parkes on Wednesday, making a number of announcements from his Emergency Services portfolio. This was the Minister’s third visit this year. He came to offer support during the Forbes floods, then returned to survey the damage caused by the Parkes storm two
weeks ago. This week David came under happier circumstances, making funding announcements and expressing his gratitude to the selfless helpers in our community.

The minister joined the Parkes SES staff and volunteers over a lunch, before he officially announced an $8,000 equipment grant, as well as the arrival of a new SES rescue truck. The $213,375 truck will make the SES work more efficient and safer. The truck’s features include seven specialty lockers with streamlined storage and lighting, ergonomic ladder access on the roof, an inbuilt generator and water tank, and a remote-controlled light-post. The truck’s impressively engineered features make it easier to access equipment and mobilise the crew.

Wednesday also saw the official handover of a brand new Rural Fire Service vehicle. The $310,000 truck boasts improved fire-safety features. The cabin is equipped with safety curtains and fire blankets. Retardant spray has been applied to the wheels to prevent them from igniting, and the cabin features monitors and joy-stick capability for remote operation of sprays. Rural Fire Service Superintendent Ken Neville says the new truck will give the crew a better chance if they’re caught in a fire.

By Raen Fraser