General Interest Archives - Page 158 of 352

A Pink January For Parkes

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

January next year is not going to be dull and boring but bright and pink!

As the Parkes Elvis Festival was moved to April, the Pink Up Parkes committee decided to move into the void in January with more opportunities to pink up our town!

“We hope that the decision to move to January will provide more opportunities for holding events,” said Chairperson Carolyn Rice.

The Pink Up Parkes Committee made the decision with the welfare of the community as the highest priority. They want the community to be able to participate and raise awareness for The McGrath Foundation funding 170 breast care nurses in communities right across Australia, who have supported over 95,000 families since 2005.

“We are in particular looking forward to once again hold a successful Pink Up Parkes Dinner and Auction,” said Carolyn. “During our inaugural year this was a significant contributor to the fundraising efforts of the month. It was also an opportunity to acknowledge the amazing work that The McGrath Foundation do, particularly in regional communities. We are very fortunate to have a McGrath Foundation Nurse working in the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shires.”

Start planning how you will be ‘pinking up’ in January, let the committee know to help promote what you are doing. There will also be first, second and third prizes for shop frontage displays. Let the committee know of any items for the auction in January.

Information is available at https://www.facebook.com/PinkUpParkes/, email pinkupparkes@gmail.com.

Pink Up Parkes will also be supporting the new Overture event celebrating opera and musical theatre to be held in Cooke Park on 2nd April 2022.

Local Health Chief Moves On

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Scott McLachlan, Chief Executive of Western NSW Local Health District. Img src: wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au

He has become a familiar face with his daily COVID updates over the past two months for the local health district, but last week Scott McLachlan announced he was leaving the region.

Scott has been in the role as Chief Executive of the Western NSW Local Health District for the past eight years. He will be leaving on 10th November to take up the role of Chief Executive of the Central Coast Local Health District.

“This was my first posting as a Chief Executive and I’ve both learned from, and enjoyed the role. It’s been a privilege to work with our exceptional clinical workforce, all the supporting services, our leadership team and Board, and our local communities.

“The last two years have been an exceptional test of health services around the world, and our Local Health District has shown it has great clinical talent, leadership and resilience in not just responding to those challenges, but often leading the way in the regional COVID response.

“While I’m looking forward to my new role, I will always be grateful to the people in our LHD team and communities who have supported me, and who I’ve learned so much from.”

Library Changes

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

According to the Reopening NSW road-map, which came into effect on Monday, all visitors to the libraries in Parkes, Trundle, Tullamore and Peak Hill will need to show proof of their full vaccination status.

There are three different types of evidence that can be shown, including the COVID-19 digital certificate, printed version of the COVID-19 digital certificate and the Service NSW certificate.

The Public Health Order also requires children under the age of 16 who visit the library, to be accompanied by a family member who is fully vaccinated.

“The Parkes Shire Library service must comply with the Public Health Order. We are looking to support our community in every way that we can. If you need help with locating and downloading these certificates, the Parkes Library staff will be able to assist patrons needing to print their vaccination certificate in the library foyer,” said Manager Cultural Education and Library Services Kerryn Jones.

“We will also be continuing our home delivery service to patrons who are unable to come to the library. This service includes books, DVDs, audiobooks and family friendly games.”

Snake Handler Has His Hands Full

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

The snake season has started with many people coming across really big brown snakes on their walks and in their yards. The problem is that as far as could be established there is not a snake catcher in Parkes at the moment, and the professional snake handler from Forbes is semi-retired.

Paul Newcombe, or Boo as he is known, announced earlier this year that he was retiring, but because of the demand he has sort of come back. So far, he has caught 33 snakes this season, but he would only come to Parkes for real emergencies.

He did not think there were more snakes than normal, but they were much bigger and in very good condition. “I think the mouse plague definitely played a role.” Paul expected the breeding season to be very busy.

His best advice was that if you’re within a metre of a snake to stand very still, and if you’re more than two metres away to back away very slowly.

Paul has a Facebook page called Snake Catcher Forbes and Surrounding Areas, and he can be contacted on 0424 522 608.

(If you have a bee swarm that needs to be moved, call Kevin Miles on 0487 912 332 or 6862 5302.)

Changes As NSW Reopens

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

While many NSW businesses started the long road back from lockdown on Monday, a new era also started for businesses in regional NSW that have been out of lockdown.

“In Regional NSW, we have been lucky enough to have been open for the past few weeks while other areas in the state have been in lockdown,” said President of the Parkes Chamber of Commerce Geoff Rice.

“However, from Monday our businesses had to align with the rest of NSW as the state reopened. This means that non-essential retail businesses will need to ensure that customers are double vaccinated, and staff members have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination and are fully vaccinated by 1st November.”

The NSW Government is updating the Service NSW app to link the digital COVID-19 vaccination certification in the coming weeks. “In the meantime, you will need to manually check for not only the QR code check-in, but also for the customer’s COVID-19 proof of vaccination,” said Geoff.

“It’s been such a difficult time for businesses across the state. The Chamber of Commerce will continue to provide support and guidance to our local business community where we can to ensure that we collectively remain committed to ensuring the safety of our community, whilst safeguarding the strength and resilience of our businesses.”

Mayor of Parkes Shire Ken Keith OAM said: “We understand this is a challenging time for everyone, but we ask our community to practice kindness and patience as our businesses are only following the direction of the NSW Government.”

For businesses who need advice or support regarding these changes, contact the NSW Business Chamber, Services NSW or visit www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/businesses-and-employment/covid-safe-business.

Parkes Elvis Festival To Hit Top Speed

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Sam Farraway MLC and Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM at the 2019 Parkes Elvis Festival.

The Parkes Elvis Festival will return in top gear next April thanks to $160,000 in funding from the NSW Government.

“The NSW Regional Events Acceleration Fund will help next year’s Parkes Elvis Festival deliver a bigger program of events, inspired by the 1968 movie classic Speedway,” said Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier Sam Farraway MLC.

Parkes Elvis Festival Director Cathy Treasure is very excited about the funding that will go towards theming around Speedway.
“We have some fabulous things planned including a Speedway car show, a specially themed opening concert and a themed disability viewing platform in Cooke Park.”

She said the funding enabled them to bring new styles of entertainment to the festival. “We are very happy to be part of the program to bring back big events.”

Cathy said the reaction to the new date of the festival had been overwhelmingly positive. “We have been able to sell to a new target market. The reaction has just been brilliant.”

The multi-award-winning Parkes Elvis Festival was moved from its traditional date in early January to coincide with Elvis’ birthday, to 20-24 April next year because of the COVID situation.

Parkes Shire Pool Season

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Take note of the new rules for entering the Parkes Shire Pools. (Photo: Parkes Shire Council)

The Parkes Aquatic Centre opened its doors on Saturday and in line with the latest COVID Public Health Order you must check in with the QR code and should be prepared to show proof of your vaccination.

At this stage the only members of the public who can access the aquatic centre are fully vaccinated adults (16 and over); unvaccinated children between the ages of 12 and 16 accompanied by a fully vaccinated adult at all times; and unvaccinated children under the age of 12 must be accompanied at all times by a fully vaccinated parent or guardian.

The Parkes pool will also be closed to the public from Monday to Friday between 1:30 to 3pm for cleaning sanitation in line with COVID-19 Government regulations. Physical distancing measures include restrictions in changerooms and the number of swimmers per lane will be restricted.

“We ask that our community and visitors please respect these restrictions and changes as staff are doing their best to keep the facility a safe place for everyone to enjoy,” said Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith.

Registrations for the Learn to Swim Program are now open, and forms are available on Council’s website. Season tickets can be purchased from the Parkes Pool kiosk.

The pools at Peak Hill, Tullamore and Trundle are expected to open on Saturday, 30th October.

What Is Astigmatism?

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Astigmatism is a common optical condition caused by the shape of the front surface of the eye.

Symptoms include: squinting to see, complaining of glare or getting frontal tension headaches may indicate you have this condition in your optical system.

An eye with no astigmatism is perfectly spherical in shape, like a marble. An astigmatic eye has a distorted shape, slightly like a football or grape. This can cause the image formed at the back of the eye to be distorted. Most people have a low degree of this condition originating in either the cornea or the lens inside the eye. Low degrees can slightly distort your vision, for example a ‘C’ may look like an ‘O’ or a ‘G’. You may also experience strain or discomfort with visual concentration. In higher degrees, astigmatism can cause images at all distances to be distorted or blurred.

It is easily corrected with spectacles or contact lenses.

Usually, astigmatism stays relatively stable, however there are some conditions that continue to progress. The most common one is keratoconus.

Keratoconus is caused by a thinning of the front surface of the eye, the cornea. This thinning causes the cornea to rapidly change shape creating high degrees of astigmatism and distortion. People with keratoconus may need hard contact lenses to obtain clear vision, or may need a surgical procedure to stabilise their cornea. Research has shown that eye rubbing (usually due to allergies like hay fever) can progress this condition.

Make an apoointment with the experienced optometrists at Hansen Eyecare Plus today for an assessment.

Bridge Banter

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

Jenny Freeman, Barbara Hughes, Suzie McNamara and Beth Thomas won their bridge games last Thursday.

One maxim in the game of bridge is ‘Cover an honour with an honour!’ The five highest cards in bridge – ace, king, queen, jack, ten – are known as honours. If an honour is led, the common rule is to play a higher honour to cover that honour.

Sometimes a player will stubbornly refuse to part with a good honour, but by looking at the bigger picture you see that you are not wasting an honour, instead you are promoting a lower ranked card to potentially take a trick. Covering an honour with an honour can work brilliantly in most situations of play.

Honourable winners the past week were: Margaret Hawken and Jill Crisp on Tuesday; Suzie McNamara with Beth Thomas, and Jenny Freeman with Barbara Hughes on Thursday; Bev Laing and Anne Berkeley on Monday.

If you are interested in bridge, go to www.parkes.bridge-club.org or call Kevin Robinson 0429 621 712.

Where Are They Now?

October 15, 2021 By Maggi Barnard

The 30m high war memorial on Memorial Hill in Parkes stands out from the average statue in the town square, and was part of the memorable World War II reunion in 2004 of soldiers who trained at the RAAF base in Parkes.

Seventeen years ago former prime minister Gough Whitlam was part of a record breaking crowd in Parkes to celebrate Anzac Day as part of a World War II reunion.

The theme for the reunion of soldiers who trained at the RAAF base in Parkes was ‘They Were Here’.

During WW2, Parkes airport became RAAF Base Parkes, accommodating No.1 Air Navigation School, No.2 Wireless Air Gunners School, No.8 Operational Training Unit and after the war No.87 SQN operated from Parkes. The former prime minister did his training in Parkes in 1943 before serving in the Pacific.

Organiser of the reunion and secretary of the Parkes RSL at the time, Arthur Parker, still have very fond memories of the event and is wondering where they are now. He added that most of the soliders had since died, including Gough Whitlam who passed away on 21st October 2014 at age 98.

Among the hundreds of people who attended the reunion weekend were also ex Italian interns and their families.

Arthur said while the weekend took months of organising, it was all worth it. The programme ran over three days from Friday, 23rd to Sunday, 25th April 2004.

The program on Friday included a Morse Code display, a street parade and flyover and a civic reception at Council chambers with children singing wartime songs.

Saturday included visits to the Parkes Radio Telescope, Parkes cemetery with a short commemorative service and a visit to Parkes airport and barbeque lunch. There was a Catholic Anzac service before a reunion dinner at the Parkes Services Club and wartime songs performed by a group of Parkes singers.

On Sunday the Anzac Day program started with the usual dawn service at Memorial Hill, followed by a breakfast at the Parkes Services Club before the program continued in Cooke Park at the cenotaph.

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