A high speed fibre network has been finalised in the Parkes Shire as part of NSW’s first Special Activation Precinct (SAP).

The Parkes Shire Council telecommunications partner, Lumea, is now providing secure, scalable and high speed where the SAP is located.

Businesses along the path will benefit from full fibre drop off flexibility, and connectivity up to 10Gbps or higher, with options to connect onto the Lumea Data Centre Interconnect (DCI) ecosystem for Edge Computing and Cloud Connectivity.

Parkes Shire Council Mayor Ken Keith OAM said, “It’s great to see cutting-edge infrastructure delivered in Parkes that will improve the digital connectivity in the region and benefit local businesses located in the SAP.”

Lumea Head of Telecommunications, Glenn Wood, said “I’m extremely proud of the delivery of high speed network services that sees the Parkes business community benefit from faster and more scalable data services.”

Digital connectivity for Parkes will help accelerate the economic growth of the region, which includes key industries of agriculture and mining, as well as a strong transport and logistics industry.

“Businesses located in the SAP, including SCT Logistics, Master Pet’s Pet Care Kitchen and Pacific National, as well as future businesses in the area will have access to speeds and performance that rival metropolitan centres. Fibre really is the critical infrastructure of the modern economy, and that’s why bridging the digital divide between regional and urban centres is of such high importance to us at Lumea.”

The fibre network was built using the existing Lumea Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) backbone network combined with self-build underground and aerial fibre in conjunction with utilities partner Essential Energy.

Children may have just returned to school, but a new grant will help savvy teachers to get them out of the classroom and into the paddock.

NSW Farmers and the Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment have teamed up to deliver the Kids to Farms program, and now there are $1,500 grants on offer to help primary school teachers to add a farm excursion to the curriculum, after a long period of at-home learning.

NSW Farmers Young Farming Council Member, and local Eugowra school teacher, Charlotte Groves said the Kids to Farms program has been popular since its April 2021 inception, with more than 400 students experiencing a real working farm, or a farm classroom experience, or ‘incursion’ last year.

“Basically, the program is all about exposing young students to farming so they understand food and fibre production and are aware of the opportunities in the sector,” Ms Groves said.

“Schools will be looking for something new and engaging for their students after long COVID-19 lockdowns, and we’re saying look no further than a farm excursion through Kids to Farms. “

The Kids to Farms program has been extended to June 2023. To find out more, visit www.kidstofarms.com.au.

The Parkes Que Club new committee members are Lyndall Bowen, Colleen Mitchell, Miriam Luyt, President Jeanine Boland, Cathy Clarke, AnnMarie Wynter, Raelene Rout, Karen Ritchie, Kay Craft and Ingrid Stephenson.

Parkes Que Club has a new board. Regrettably, one of its first tasks was to cancel our annual International Women’s Day luncheon at the Services Club, which so many of our citizens enjoy – another victim of the current COVID crisis.

This was to be Bev Laing’s last contribution to our club. A former president of Que and member of the Parkes Shire Council, she has been a wonderful contributor for a long time, with the organisation of the IWD event being her prime job in the last few years. Bev and Lew have moved from Parkes to be closer to their family and they will be greatly missed.

Que Club is roaring back to life after the holidays with a wonderful day at the races where, with so many people enjoying a beautiful day out, we manned the canteen offering punters great food and big smiles and earning a good amount to help with our service work.

Que members work to help the speech and hearing impaired in our community and to improve the lot of disadvantaged women and children in particular. We also host events such as Open Gardens and support the community whenever the opportunity presents itself, while at the same time we make great friends, and enjoy lots of fellowship and fun.

Caterers unmasked: Wendy Neville, Helen Heraghty, Anne Steel, Raelend Rout. Lyndall Bowen, Kay Craft and Susan Ball.

March will see Rhonda Brain OAM, of birth to kindergarten fame, coming to our business meeting bringing with her an expert in early literacy from the Blue Mountains to talk to us, and that should be really interesting. The club provides a book to each new mother in Parkes, and at birth to kindergarten day when requested.

I remember the year when Rhonda asked us to hang about down the street, dressed in red and reading books. Malcolm and I did that, and we even got some washable red dye to put in our hair. Mine came out at the first wash, but Mal had pink hair for a fortnight! Needless to say, we haven’t tried that again.

We are as always looking for new members to bring new ideas and invigorate our club. We will need at least three of you to take Bev Laing’s place, so if you think you might like to join the Que, please give me a call on 0407 894 498 for more information.

By Pam Nankivell

Benson O’Donnell is the new facilitator for the Author-rised writers group at the Parkes Shire Library.

The 1st of February was the first Author-rised meeting for the year, the first Author-rised presented by me (Benson O’Donnell, bookish and brave Library tech) and the first Author-rised in the ‘decatholonic’ celebration of our amazing writers group taking root at Parkes Library.

It was a great showing for our first meeting, with eager fledgling writers keen to make plans for the year. First on the agenda was a writing roster for the year. This gave each writer wanting to submit a piece of writing for the newsletter or The Parkes Phoenix a more generous deadline than just the next meeting. The end goal of all this planning will be a book filled to the brim with contributions from the Author-rised group. A worthy tribute to mark our 10-year milestone.

After separating to write, we joined again for a great showing of diverse creativity. Starting with Heather’s musing on the different ways of families, Margaret’s poetic memories on the river, Peter’s captivating world building in his newly minted sci fi world, Kerry’s linguistic delight of ‘she was not usual’, and Laura’s continuing adventure of a rugged rural life. We ended the night with Graham’s presentation on a book he has put together for 125 years of Bogan Gate. This 500-page tome consists of local poetry, yarns and never before published histories of the Bogan Gate township. It sounds like a fascinating read and I can’t wait for the library to get their hands on it.

For everything we have planned for the year to come there truly is no time like the write time and if you have a story itching to get out, we would love to see you, the first Tuesday of the month.

By Benson O’Donnell

Saxophonist and Kinross Wolaroi student Annabelle van Wyk will be fulfilling a wish many a musician can only dream of when she will be playing in the Carnegie Hall in New York in July.

When former Parkes Christian School student Annabelle van Wyk tried out busking on the streets of Peak Hill when she was nine years old, she could not have imagined she would be performing on the most prestigious concert stage in the United States only five years later.

Annabelle is the winner of the Intermediate category (13-15 years) of the ‘Golden Classical Music Awards’ and in July she will join other winners in a recital at New York City’s famous Carnegie Hall.

The purpose of the ‘Golden Classical Music Awards’ is to discover artists of outstanding personality and launch them on the international stage.

Anabelle was among musicians from 33 countries to enter the awards this year. “I’m very grateful and excited to be playing in Carnegie Hall! I was also very surprised to have won the competition considering so many young, talented musicians enter. It’s been a dream of mine since I was very young to play overseas and in a big music hall like Carnegie Hall,” Annabelle said.

She had to record a classical piece for the competition, and she chose Concertino for Saxophone, Opus 78 by Jean-Baptiste Singelee. She will be playing the same piece in New York when her dad Jacques accompanies her on the biggest adventure of her five-year musical journey with the saxophone.

“I have always wanted to play the saxophone, however the teachers at my school refused to allow me to take lessons as my fingers were too small. I am quite stubborn and refused to play another instrument, so they finally agreed to let me start lessons,” said Annabelle, who also plays in the Symphonic Wind Orchestra branch of the Sydney Youth Orchestra.

Since her first performance as a busker when she did not even have a mic or speaker, Annabelle has gone on to collect an impressive list of achievements, but playing on stage where the world’s greatest have gone before at the age of 14 is just remarkable.

The iconic Trundle Hotel reached a sad chapter in its life on Sunday when a notice went out on its Facebook page that the hotel licensee had decided to move on, and the hotel was closed. “We are aware how important the hotel is to the community and we are working with a number of interested parties to open the hotel as soon as possible,” the message read.

Parents NSW Vouchers: $250 worth of vouchers, thanks to the State Government’s Parents NSW program went live on Monday. Eligible families will receive five $50 vouchers which can be redeemed at Discover NSW and Stay NSW registered businesses. In addition, the Stay NSW voucher program, providing every adult aged 18 and older with a $50 voucher to spend at registered accommodation providers, will be progressively rolled out from 21st February. Both programs will be implemented using the existing Dine & Discover NSW infrastructure. It is easy to apply via your Service NSW app, the Service NSW website or by calling 13 77 88 for assistance. For more information, visit https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/parents-nsw-vouchers

Surrender Your Illegal Gun: This year’s National Illicit Firearms Campaign will keep Australians safe by removing illegal guns from the community. The three-month campaign will target illegal gun owners by encouraging families, friends and anybody else who may have information to speak up and share what they know with Crime Stoppers before it’s too late. There are over 260,000 unregistered guns estimated to be in circulation in Australia. To share information about an unregistered or illegal gun, contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go online at www.crimestoppers.com.au/illegalguns.

Escape To Nature: Motorists will in future be able to pay their vehicle entry fee to National Parks via a new Park’nPay app. The app will be extended to allow people visiting national parks to use it when purchasing their vehicle entry fee on-line. The technology is seen as a game changer that gives drivers the power to easily pay and top up for parking from their phones in a few simple clicks. Motorists can use the Park’nPay app across numerous councils as well as find real-time parking availability for Transport for NSW Commuter Carparks, locations of EV charging stations and more than 18,000 private driveways to rent. For more information on where the technology can be used, including which national parks, visit: https://parknpay.nsw. gov.au/

New Board Members: The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) has welcomed David Pheeney and Louise Johnson as new board members. David, a Wiradjuri man, has a strong history working in communities in Western NSW. He currently operates his own legal firm out of Dubbo and previously, for six years, was the managing solicitor at the Aboriginal Legal Service in Bourke. Currently working with Australian Rail Track Corporation Inland Rail, Louise has more than 20 years’ experience in community engagement, including a number of years in Western NSW communities. She has also worked with the Warrumbungle Shire and Brewarrina Shire Councils.