A total of 57 pubs, clubs and bottle shops across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas have joined forces to promote the Plan B campaign.

Plan B is a statewide initiative encouraging patrons to think about an alternative to driving home after a night out.
Drink driving is one of the biggest causes of death and injury on NSW roads. Country people are at particular risk given the lack of public transport or other options for getting home.

Almost 80% of fatal crashes and 57% of serious injury crashes involving illegal alcohol occurred in country areas.

In the Western region there were 368 casualty crashes with alcohol a contributing factor over the past five years resulting in 36 people killed and 219 seriously injured.

Patrons at participating outlets are invited to enter a competition to nominate a Plan B for getting home and can win a swag valued at $250. The winner will be drawn on New Year’s Eve.

Parkes Shire Council and CMOC-Northparkes Mines have partnered again to extend the Parkes Shire Grants and Aboriginal Project Officer positions for an additional three years.

Both roles were established to build capacity, achieve long-term sustainability for community-based projects and initiatives, and deliver improved outcomes for residents. “The partnership is creating value and opportunities
for the community that neither organisation could achieve on their own,” said Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Keith OAM.

Northparkes acting Managing Director Hubert Lehman said, “We’ve been operating in Parkes for over 24 years and we understand the vital role these positions have played in delivering improved outcomes for the residents of the shire.”

Between 2013 and 2018, the grants team have submitted 412 successful grant submissions, securing over $35.5 million in grant funding for the Parkes Shire. Furthermore, 167 community groups have been assisted with funding applications, with over 300 representatives from community and sporting organisations attending grant writing workshops and presentations.

Recent big wins for the community include, $4.2 million for the Parkes CBD Vibrancy project, $9 million for the Recycled Water Rising Main, $2.2 million for Parkes Shire Library expansion and more than $1.7 million
towards township infrastructure projects.

The Aboriginal Project Officer role, based out of Neighbourhood Central, has led to significant advancements in health, culture and reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.

Some of the positive initiatives supported by the Aboriginal Project Officer include free outreach eye and dental clinics in Parkes and Peak Hill, free health checks, free hearing checks, the establishment of a homework centre, as well as the establishment of a Boys and a Girls Group in Peak Hill.

The Parkes central business district has come alive with sound and colour the past month with street performers adding to the festive cheer leading up to Christmas. The initiative by the Shop Parkes Christmas Campaign has brought lots of local talent out on the street for the whole community to enjoy. The artists range in age, experience and genre.

They include young emerging acts Hannah Dun, Gemma Ellis and Annabelle van Wyk, who all had great success at the Australian Busking Championships this year, to up and coming performance artists, sister duo Birdee and Georgia Sideris, and wellknown local groups, the Parkes Shire Concert Band and acapella ensemble, Tapestry.

“It has been a great experience,” said Georgia Sideris, who has been performing on her own and with her sister Birdee for the past four weeks at the Roasted Combi Cafe.

“It is a great location to play, and people said they enjoyed the music while having something at the café.”

A key objective of this year’s Shop Parkes Christmas Campaign was to increase trade for local businesses and to keep shopping dollars local. According to Parkes Shire Council’s Marketing and Branding Manager, Katrina Dwyer the idea was to activate the main street to attract more patrons and to encourage businesses to extend their trade offering.

“This was done through installation of lighting and projections, opening up of Christmas Central on Thursdays and Saturdays offering free gift wrapping and concierge services and live music.”

The live music component was implemented to complement the late night trading days to encourage people to stay longer and enjoy local hospitality outlets. The artists will continue to perform until Christmas and you can hear them tomorrow (Saturday) from 10am to 2pm on the corner of Church and Clarinda Streets near the Roasted Combi Café, and outside Christmas Central at 203 Clarinda Street.

By Maggi Barnard

Congratulations to the young men and women who have completed their HSC this year – no small feat! A passed exam is a happy event unlike any other.

As you know, there is no secret to success. It’s the result of hard work and more importantly, resilience. Not everything goes to plan and it’s not the wins that make us who we are, but our ability to handle the setbacks along the way.

Whether your HSC results exceeded what you expected or fell a little short, you’ve put in the hard yards and for that you deserve a huge pat on the back.

It’s important to know that your future isn’t determined solely by those numbers, as plenty of opportunities will arise if you’re ready to meet them. Your future is determined by your attitude, choices and – here’s that word again – your resilience moving forward.

You may have put some pressure on yourself, or you may have felt the pressure from others, to have the enormous question of “what you’re going to be” all figured out by now. But the truth is that you find the path on the way, and there are plenty of paths to choose from.

I wish you happy beginnings in the next chapter of your life.

Cheers,
Phil.

What To Do After A Car Accident

If, by bad luck, you are involved in a motor vehicle accident, there are things you must do, and things you should do.
Things you must do:
• Stop as soon as you have the accident.
• Give your name, address and car registration details to the driver of the other car, to any person injured, and to the owner of any property damaged.
• Give the name and address of the car owner if it is not you.
• Give assistance to any injured person.
• Notify the police if someone is killed or injured, a driver did not stop and give their details to the other driver or drivers, any driver appears to be affected by alcohol or drugs, or any vehicle has to be towed away. In this latter case, and if the police do not come to the accident scene, you must report the accident to the nearest police station within 24 hours.
Things you should do:
• Make notes about the accident.
• Draw a plan of the scene and location of the cars.
• Take photos of the scene and location of each car.
• Take the names and addresses of any witnesses.
• Get the details of the other car, its owner, and its insurers.
• Notify your comprehensive insurance company immediately, and, if any person is injured, notify your green slip insurers.

If you have been injured, consult your solicitor as there are strict time limits for making an insurance claim.

If we at Matthews Williams can assist you on this or any other legal matter, feel free to phone me or one of our solicitors or call into our office for an appointment.

By Mark Olson

The makeover for Carols in the Park proved to be a huge success on Sunday with well over 1,500 people attending this annual community event. Despite the temperature soaring in the high 30s, the preshow attracted a good crowd of supporters for the four talented local acts taking to the stage.

The Doug Richards Trio jazz band featuring Amy Butler and Duncan Clements impressed the crowd. The Lachlan Regional Orchestra was led
by 18-year-old Matthias Kelly on his debut as conductor, while Belinda Boland supported by her husband Travis and friend Glen Westcott performed some beautiful Christmas carols.

Completing the afternoon set were Rachael Whitchurch and her husband Ben with their signature chilled-out Americana style performing their favourite Christmas songs.

As the park started filling up, the Parkes Shire Concert Band set the tone for the second part of the program. The Carols Band harmonised beautifully to get the huge crowd singing along for the community carols, while the primary schools choirs were a favourite for many. Local a capella group Tapestry once again highlighted the depth of singing talent in our community.

Organiser Emma Brown said she was overwhelmed with gratitude for the community’s support and how much people embraced the new format. “I would specially like to thank Shannon and Elle McCutcheon, Carolyn Butler and the Carols band for their time, work and dedication in the months leading up to Carols in the Park.”

Comments were all positive and encouraging of the idea to feature local talent at the preshow.

Another addition this year was a free souvenir program and kids book handed out to everyone attending. The 2018 Carols in the Park souvenir program contained not only the full colour program and song words, but also information about upcoming events and Christmas services in Parkes. The Bible Society created a children’s book illustrating the Christmas story.

By Maggi Barnard

Quota International of Parkes wrote out a cheque for $2,000 to Parkes Early Childhood Centre (PECC) in support of an ongoing partnership with PECC to cover the cost of screening all children about to leave pre-school to start their formal education.

The total cost of the screening is $4,000 and Quota hope to raise the remainder in the first half of 2019. PECC staff assess all children four years of age and above for speech/language delay. Parents are advised of the need for further assessment if required. An integral part of the process involves hearing tests, as well as further assessment by a speech pathologist to ensure children entering kindergarten have the best possible transition to school.

By Lynn Rogers

The Carols in the Park preshow on Sunday was a very special occasion for one young member of the Lachlan Regional Orchestra. Eighteen-year-old Matthias Kelly from Trundle conducted the orchestra for the very first time in public after a five-week internship under the orchestra’s conductor
Ben Macpherson.

“I was fairly nervous, but it went pretty well and the orchestra played well,” said Matthias of his debut performance as a conductor. Matthias is a viola player in the orchestra and was able to do the training with a Charles Sturt University (CSU) grant.

Five other members of the orchestra are excited to have received scholarships to attend the Sydney Youth Orchestra Summer School in Sydney from 7th to 11th January. They are Reuben Kelly (cello) Gracie Mcfadyen (clarinet), Carmel Kelly (violin), Simeon Kelly (Bassoon) and Anton Mcfadyen (violin).