Mal Smith, Sebastian Sadgrove with his painting and John Sarkissian at The Dish.

It is not all about space science and finding alien life at the Parkes Radio Telescope as a Currajong Disability Services (CDS) participant has discovered.

Sebastian Sadgrove’s artwork called the Blue Dish on display at the Visitor’s Centre has received wonderful feedback and will soon be immortalised with a plaque at a special event on 3rd April.

“It is a dream come true and hopefully I inspire others with autism and disabilities to achieve their goals too!” said Sebastian who donated his creation after The Dish started participating in World Autism Month turning it blue.

“The support shown to me and autism in Parkes and the Central West by the community and CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope has been phenomenal.

Operations Scientist at the Parkes Radio Telescope, John Sarkissian could not be more pleased with the initiative shown by Sebastian and CDS.

“We try to do our bit for the local community and were more than happy to support the idea to light the dish in blue,” said John.

Site Leader Mal Smith agreed saying: “We love supporting local groups. This is a unique painting and we love it!”

With World Autism Month fast approaching in April, Sebastian will be very proud to see his painting showcased at the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope for the cause of autism.

Parkes Headquarters Captain Vicki Williams (left) and Senior Deputy Captain Steve Chester (right) with Parkes Leagues Club Manager Luke Malam who handed over the $6,726.25 donation collected from patrons during the Parkes Elvis Festival in January.

The Parkes Headquarters Rural Fire Service received donations of almost $7,000 this week from the community.

The Parkes Leagues Club raised a staggering $6,726.25 during the Parkes Elvis Festival. Club Manager Luke Malam said local patrons and from afar helped to fill buckets with their donations of coins and notes. Luke said the coins weighed so much it took a car ride to the bank to have them counted.

“Donating to the local Parkes Headquarters Brigade was at the top of our list, as it means the local firefighters can continue the great work they do, protecting not only our community but those around us,” said Luke.

The Leagues Club has always been committed to supporting the Parkes Community and donates in excess of $50,000 each year to local sporting groups, charities and community organisations.

The second donation came from Centrelink staff. They love a mufti day, especially during the Elvis Festival, and raised $142 for a cause they thought was very important. This brought the total amount donated to Parkes Headquarters this week to $6,868.25.

Parkes Headquarters Captain Vicki Williams and Senior Deputy Captain Steve Chester could not thank both organisations enough. “Donations from our community mean so much,” said Vicki. “These donations will be wisely spent on the brigade’s new fire station to create a place that members can enjoy between incident callouts, and to assist with the training of current and new members.”

Parkes Headquarters members also collected donations during the Elvis Festival over two nights in Cooke Park and raised over $3,000. This amount was donated to Jenolan Caves Brigade as they had lost their station during the fires whilst serving their community.

Under Level 3 water restrictions, which started last Saturday for some of the smaller communities in the Parkes Shire, hand-held hoses are allowed.

Level 3 Water restrictions on the Parkes Shire Council controlled section of the Forbes to Tottenham water supply system started last Saturday, 1st February.

The 130km B-section pipeline, which runs from Forbes to Tottenham via Gunningbland, Bogan Gate, Trundle and Tullamore, is currently struggling to meet the demands induced by the ongoing drought.

Parkes Shire Council’s General Manager, Kent Boyd said: “Significant extraction from standpipes, particularly along the Parkes Shire section, has meant that at times supply to communities within the Lachlan Shire has been almost completely exhausted. Lachlan Shire Council have been forced to cart water by truck to Albert Reservoir to ensure basic supply to their consumers further along the pipeline.

“With Tottenham on Level 4 restrictions, it’s only fair and reasonable the Parkes Shire section of the supply system moves to Level 3.”

Under Level 3 Water restrictions, domestic users can water with hand-held hoses, soaker hoses, micro sprays and drip systems between the hours of 6am and 9am; and 6pm and 9pm on alternate days: For odd numbered properties (1,3,5 etc) the days are Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. For even numbered properties (2,4,6 etc) the days are Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. No watering is permitted on Mondays. Watering systems and non-fixed sprinklers are not permitted.

A new app will help ensure children receive vital vaccinations in time for the start of the new school year.

NSW Health is urging parents and carers to ensure children are vaccinated on time and has warned vaccinations shouldn’t be delayed even if a child has a minor illness.

Dr Jeremy McAnulty, Executive Director, Health Protection NSW encouraged parents and carers to download the free Save the Date to Vaccinate app.

“The app reminds parents and carers what vaccinations their child needs and when they’re due, in line with the NSW Immunisation Schedule. The app sends automatic reminders to your phone, making it easier to schedule immunisation appointments, and have a record of vaccinations your children have received.

On-time vaccination and overall participation in childhood immunisation programs continues to improve in NSW, with 94.5% of children fully vaccinated by five years of age in the past 12 months compared with 90.8% in 2012.

Protecting children from potentially deadly diseases is a key priority for the NSW Government, which has invested approximately $130 million in the 2019-20 Immunisation Program budget, including Commonwealth and state vaccines.

The new school year resumed for thousands of students this week and Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils are reminding local drivers and parents about children’s safety around schools.

There are 40km/h school speed zones around all schools in NSW. Most school zones are operational between 8 – 9.30am and 2.30 – 4pm on school days. The school zone in Bushman Street, Parkes is operational from 8am – 4pm. Police will be targeting school zones to ensure drivers obey the 40km/h speed as soon as school returns.

Parents and carers can help students remain safe by regularly reinforcing important road safety behaviours with their children, and following the below tips.
• Always make sure children wear a seatbelt or use a child restraint. Child restraint laws require children up to seven years old to be restrained in an approved child restraint.
• Always drop-off and pick-up children on the school side of the road.
• Make sure children use the footpath-side door, or safety door, when getting in and out of a car.
• Never call children across the road to you.
• Use a pedestrian crossing where possible and avoid being distracted by friends, mobile phones or listening to music through headphones whilst walking.
• Children aged up to 10 years old should always be supervised when near traffic.
• Children aged up to eight years old should always hold an adult’s hand when crossing the road or walking near traffic.
• Make sure children always wear a helmet when riding a bike.
• If your children catch a bus, always walk them to the bus stop. “Children are vulnerable road users. They are at risk in traffic because of their size, their inability to judge speed and distance, as well as the fact that they may behave unpredictably,” said the Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor.