Doug Pout has not been at Currajong Disability Services (CDS) for long, but he is already making a huge difference in the lives of many.

The CDS support worker is about to embark on a new mission to raise awareness for autism.

“My partner Courtney and I thought we could make a difference so we registered as “Dougney” for the Autism Walk,” said Doug.

It did not take long for Matt Medlyn and Neil Hamilton to also get on board. “We are hoping to get more people involved, so we can enter a CDS team,” he said. Matt is excited to be involved. “We have a number of clients at CDS who have autism and with Autism Awareness Month in April, this is an important mission.”

The Walk for Autism is a free virtual walking event, which means you can do it at your own pace, in your own time. Challenge yourself to walk 10,000 steps a day for eight days from Sunday, 31st March to Sunday, 7th April to raise much-needed funds to support people on the autism spectrum.

More information available at https://www.walkforautism.org.au/home or if you would like to support Doug or join him go to https://www.walkforautism.org.au/fundraisers/ Team-CDS.

Thanks to Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign a lot more locals are now better informed about the virus. Seven cyclists and two escorts left Parkes on Sunday for Condobolin as part of a District Bike Ride organised by Rotary to raise awareness and funds for the campaign.

“It was a very rewarding day,” said Parkes Rotary President Jenny Jewell. “We were able to do a lot of publicity and create awareness around polio, and managed to raise about $500.”

Jenny said the best part of the day was the number of locals who came with personal stories about polio. “Some people remember a family member who had polio, while others have never heard of it.”

Jenny said five years after WWII polio reached epidemic proportions in Australia, but since the vaccination of all children under five years new cases of polio are rare.

Jenny said though that as it is a virus, it could be imported on the next plane as there are still countries like Nigeria, Afghanistan and Pakistan where it is common.

Accompanying the riders on Sunday was the last remaining iron lung in Australia to show people what it was all about.

It is a tense week ahead for first time director Lisa Ramsay until the premier night next Friday of the Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society’s production of Anne of Green Gables The Musical.

Although it’s been a very popular story for many people growing up, the musical has rarely been done in Australia.

Lisa wanted to do something different and said she had found her first directing experience very fulfilling. “It’s been an amazing learning process to take what I’ve learned at university, the experience from watching Lyn Townsend as director and adapting it into my own process.”

With a cast of 31 amateur actors with half of them teens and children, a lot of energy went into the production and managing everyone.

Lisa said 17-year-old Krystal-Lee McMurray from Forbes, who plays Anne, had really stepped up in her role, as did the rest of the cast. Lisa is also grateful for musical director James Whalan for putting together a great band, for Jenny Kingham taking on the costumes and Ray Brown for the set construction.

The heart-warming tale of Anne is suitable for all ages and told with lots of humour and tongue-in-cheek lines about small country towns. Lisa would love to see the whole community supporting local talent for the shows running until the end of April.

By Maggi Barnard

Not many people get to celebrate their 90th birthday, let alone celebrate it with the launch of their fourth published book!

Life has not slowed down for local author Margaret Dwyer when she left her family home in Elizabeth Street nine months ago to move into the retirement village at Southern Cross.

She immediately started working on the sequel to her first fiction book, A Chain of Dreams, published in 2016 after so many readers had asked when she was going to write more.

During the day Margaret has to keep a diary for her busy schedule attending VIEW Club meetings, playing the piano at the Southern Cross Village sing-a-longs and at mass, and various medical appointments while still driving herself.

“So, I write at night from 10pm to 2am when it is quiet and no one can interrupt me.”

After only nine months she finished The Unbroken Chain bringing the O’Reagan family into the 21st century where marriage is no longer a given, living together is the norm, young adults live on the streets and drug use results in the escalation of crime.

Margaret’s new book will be launched by Councillor Bill Jayet on 27th April at the Coachman Motor Inn at 2pm. Everyone is invited to see Margaret cut her 90th birthday cake at this auspicious event.

By Maggi Barnard

The Parkes Aero Club received good news from Member for Orange, Phil Donato MP, last Friday when he announced the club’s successful application for funding through the 2018 Community Building Partnership Program. “I’m thrilled to announce the Parkes Aero Club will receive $20,000 to enable them to build a new awning on the Clubhouse building,” Phil said. “The awning will provide year-round protection from the elements and give us an outdoor social space,” said Warwick Tom, public officer of the club.

Baroness Gardner of Parkes is the only Australian woman to date who has been elevated to the peerage, and only the second life peer who has taken a name from a place outside the United Kingdom.

“It was a huge battle to get Parkes in her title and Trixie Gardner even had to get permission from the Queen,” said a representative of the Baroness who visited Parkes in January doing research for her autobiography to be published later this year.

The Baroness is the daughter of Greg and Rachael McGirr and was born in Parkes as one of nine children. Her sister is Clarinda who died at a young age and the fountain in Cooke Park was erected in her memory.

“The Baroness is very passionate about the Clarinda Fountain, and I am sad to report that it is not in a good state,” said the representative who preferred not to be named.

She said it would be wonderful if it could be restored to coincide with the launch of the autobiography, as the McGirr family was so important to the history of Parkes.

The family helped with the establishment of Memorial Hill and parts of Cooke Park.

“There is this wonderful dichotomy of history in Cooke Park with the new statue of Elvis on the one side and the Clarinda Fountain on the other. It would be great to have them match in stature with the fountain restored to its original state.”

The representative said if the Baroness, who turns 92 in July, was fit enough she might travel to Parkes to launch her autobiography here.

Trixie Gardner earned a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) in 1954 from the University of Sydney and moved to the UK in 1957. She was a councillor of Westminster City Council, Lady Mayoress (when her husband was Lord Mayor), in 1970 she stood for Parliament for the Conservative Party, and he was elected as a member of the Greater London Council (GLC).

A Parkes resident took the bold step of shaving her hair last week by taking part in the World’s Greatest Shave for the Leukaemia Foundation.

Fiona Mcgonigal, who lost a kidney through cancer last year, felt she wanted to give something back and decided to raise money by shaving off her hair.

Fiona was well supported by her friends at Currajong Disability Services with Trilbie Bermingham taking charge of the clippers.

“It felt really strange after all my hair came off, but I am now really happy with my new style.”

She plans to let her hair grow back, as she wants to do it again next year for the same cause.

Fiona aims to raise at least $1,000 for her effort and is almost half way there. “The fundraising is going really well, and I’ve received a lot of support so far.”

She would like more people to sponsor her so she can help to give families facing blood cancer the emotional and practical support they need. Donations would also help to fund vital research to help more people survive leukaemia, while improving their quality of life.

Fiona’s page is still open for sponsorships on the World’s Greatest Shave website.

Currajong Disability Services (CDS) Sewing Group has again been the fortunate beneficiary of a kind donation from a local community group – the Ladies Lounge Parkes.

Co-ordinator/Founder of the Ladies Lounge, Maree Mulligan, and her fabulous group have long been supporters of CDS. “We had been setting aside some money each meeting to donate to the CDS Sewing Group,” said Maree.

“Currajong is an important organisation in the community and we truly value them and the sewing group. “Today we are pleased to announce a donation of $110 to the Currajong Disability Services Sewing Group,” Maree said.

For CDS Sewing Group Co-ordinator Deitre Jackson, the funds are vital to enable the group to continue running and purchase necessary sewing supplies. “The generous donation will go to sewing and craft equipment,” said Deitre. “We will be able to purchase more cotton and other relevant items for our group to keep working,” she said. “It is these little but important community gestures that help organisations like us continue to survive and for that we are extremely thankful.”

Scots All Saints College is a premier, independent college with Christian values, offering quality co-education to more than 750 day and boarding students from prekindergarten to year 12. Set on expansive grounds of more than 200 acres, the college is centrally located within NSW across three campuses in Bathurst and Lithgow.

As a new college established in 2019, it has all the modern facilities within an innovative college of the future, combined with a proud history of over 218 combined years. The Scots School (1946-2018) and All Saints’ College (1874-2018) have enjoyed a longstanding reputation as leading schools of excellence. Building on a strong foundation, Scots All Saints College offers an inspired learning environment with positive pastoral care and student wellbeing programs within a friendly, approachable and supportive school community.

A junior school (pre-kindergarten to year 4) and middle school (years 5-8) is available on All Saints Campus, pre-kindergarten and senior school (years 9-12) on Scots Campus and pre-kindergarten to year 6 on Lithgow Campus. Boarding is available from year 5 onwards in four newly renovated boarding houses located on Scots Campus.

Contact the college on 6331 3911 or visit www.scotsallsaints.nsw.edu.au/TryUs

A third-year mechanical fitter was awarded the Lester Plummer Apprentice of the Year award at CMOC-Northparkes Mines recently. Matt King was recognised for being a quiet achiever who takes on responsibility, leads others and consistently strives to improve and develop his skills. Matt also received exemplary results at TAFE, with four out of
five assignments marked at over 95%.

“I feel extremely honoured to have received the Lester Plummer Apprentice of the Year award. During my apprenticeship I have been lucky enough to have worked with various tradespeople across site, who have positively influenced and developed my attitude, skills and knowledge,” said Matt.

The Lester Plummer Apprentice of the Year award was first introduced in 2016, in honour of friend and colleague, Lester Plummer, who passed away in 2015. “Lester worked at Northparkes for many years displaying a keen interest in the development of our apprentices,” said Stacey Kelly, Manager – People, Safety and Environment.

His caring and fun-loving nature, combined with his trade knowledge and skills, meant that he was a perfect match to mentor our apprentices.” Brandon Keep, Luke Wallace, Oliver Dagger and Steven Butler, who finished their
apprenticeships last year, were also recognised for their efforts at the employee pipeline event that welcomed new employees to the business. The employee pipeline includes apprentices, trainees, graduates, scholarship holders and work placement students.

“By building the skills of young people, we are able to build a community of talented and experienced tradespeople whose skills will benefit both Northparkes and the community in which we live and work,” said Stacey.