Parkes Shire Council is encouraging locals and visitors to ‘be out there’ these school holidays as part of its new spring campaign. The campaign reflects the 2018/19 Destination Guide theme which promotes the Parkes region as a place to ‘be out there’, explore, and see first-hand what makes the region an appealing tourist destination.

“There’s plenty of affordable and memorable experiences for the whole family to enjoy these school holidays,” said Parkes Shire Council’s Brand and Marketing Manager, Katrina Dwyer.

“With the generous support of our local tourism operators, we have compiled a fantastic list of special offers to entice people to discover why it all adds up in Parkes to keep the kids entertained over the holiday period.”

The list of special offers and activities can be accessed via the Visit Parkes website until 30th November. Be amazed by space + science with free astronomy talks at the Dish. Be active at the Parkes Skate Park with the Bluntside Skatepark Competition Series. Be entertained at one of the Parkes Shire Library’s school holiday workshops. Be cool and enjoy free entry at the Parkes Shire public swimming pools. Be inspired by classic car displays at the Central West Car Show and Shine. Be fulfilled at the Parkes Upmarkets with a great range of local produce, food and gifts.

Once the school holidays come to an end, the message will be directed at a broader audience to showcase the region as the perfect place to visit over summer.

Parkes Shire lifeguards are expecting their busiest pool season to date with all Parkes Shire pool facilities offering free entry this summer. Parents and carers are reminded to keep a close watch this summer and know the
pool rules ahead of the Parkes pool opening tomorrow (Saturday) and the Township pools on Saturday, 3rd November.

“To enable us to keep track of how many people are using the facility, we will be asking everyone to sign a register at the gate this year,” said Parkes Shire Aquatic Coordinator, Nicole Thornhill.

“We will also be closely monitoring the bather load at each of the facilities. If we reach the maximum number, we may ask swimmers to hop out of the water temporarily to ensure we maintain a safe supervision ratio.”

Parkes Aquatic Centre will be running free introductory water safety lessons and child capability assessments for children under the age of 5, during Learn2Swim Week 2018, for the first time.

The Learn2Swim Week lessons will run from Tuesday, 2nd October until Friday, 5th October, between 1 and 3pm daily. Lessons run for 30 minutes and aim to educate parents on the importance of teaching children under five to swim, and the importance of water safety.

To register your child for their free Learn-2Swim lesson, contact Parkes Aquatic Centre on 6862 6206. Council’s regular Learn to Swim program commences Monday, 29th October. To enrol your child in the Learn to Swim program, download and complete the enrolment form on Council’s website www.parkes.nsw.gov.au

Trundle has become the latest stop in the Parkes Shire Public Art Trail featuring works of local school students and community members. The Trundle Community Wall was unveiled last Friday celebrating the cultural and artistic diversity of the town.

“The Parkes Shire is emerging as a vibrant arts and cultural scene, and we are delighted to expand the Public Art Trail to include Trundle,” said Parkes Shire Deputy Mayor, Councillor Barbara Newton. The Trundle Community Wall is now showing ‘Trundle through young eyes’, featuring works created during a series of workshops curated by local Trundle artist Helen Gray.

“A fantastic group of people ranging in ages from five to 90 years old, met for four workshops to brain storm ideas about what Trundle mean for them,” said Helen.

The featured local artists are Maggie Anderson, Sophie Wright, Phoebe Wright, Isabel Aveyard, Brooke Morgan, Aliethea Stokes and Paddy Williams. The Community Art Wall is part of a series of community walls in the shire, with the iconic ‘Plus’ also featured in Parkes and Peak Hill.

A new home might be beautiful, but will not show its true potential to buyers when it’s empty. They need to visualise themselves living there! The magic of staging a home for sale can dramatically increase the chance of a quick sale. The same applies to styling your new home – the total package of great furniture, rugs, cushions and artwork takes it to the next level of enjoyment.

PARKES FUN PALACE
All day! Parkes Library
Saturday, 22nd September 9am – 3pm,
Join the Parkes Library team for a family day of science, play, art and games! Activities include: fingerprinting, dancing ballerinas, storytime with pets, community art collage, sausage sizzle and more….

Adventure Quest
9.30am – 10.30am, AND 11am – 12pm
All you need is a little imagination!
Families are invited to join this interactive show based on the ideals in the “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. Music, storytelling, drama and dance in one all-inclusive show! Free. Limited numbers.

Trash Percussion
1pm – 3pm. Free. Limited numbers.
This workshop is a whole lot of LOUD fun! Anything and everything can be used as a musical instrument and everyone can play music. Kids aged 8 and older can join this music workshop being hosted by Ian from FunDayOut.

AUSTRALIAN READING HOUR – TAKE THE TIME
During September all of Australia is encouraged to pick up a book and escape in its pages for an hour. For children it has been shown reading helps with identity formation, setting them up for success in the future. For adults reading can reduce stress by 68% more than listening to music, going for a walk or having a cup of tea. To celebrate Reading Hour Parkes Library is launching its newest pre-schooler program – Once Upon a Storytime. The Parkes Library team will stop what they are doing at 10.30am on Tuesday, 25th September and share the joy of reading. Pre-schoolers their parents and carers are invited to participate in the first ever Parkes Library Once Upon a Stortyime.

A life-long resident of Parkes has been listed in the final four nominees for the Tennis NSW Volunteer Achievement Awards to be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on 25th October.

For 40 years Hedley Nicholson OAM has been at the Parkes courts every week, though his daughter Helen Magill says: “Mum (Pauline Nicholson) would tell you it’s been every day!”

When asked what motivated him to take on the maintenance for 15 courts he simply said: “The complex needed repair and someone had to do it.”

Hedley recalled the days before synthetic courts when the surface was ant-bed – granite that needed to be sieved with a shovel and barrow, spread out and forever needed patching.

In 1985 the club had enough money to cover four courts in synthetic. These days the entire complex is synthetic, but Hedley continues to work on more improvements.

Every time he gets there he finds something that needs doing, as more than 300 kids use the complex every week.

Hedley’s passion for Parkes tennis was recognised a few years ago when he was awarded the OAM and the Parkes courts were lauded as one of the best country complexes in Australia. It was due to his passion that the Australian Junior Tournament was brought to Parkes.

The ultimate satisfaction for Hedley is seeing the entire block full of kids playing – not just on the courts, but playing cricket or football on the adjoining oval as well.

While Hedley says it is lovely to be nominated for the award, he is modest about his achievements. “It’s just a passion for something that I like to do.” Hedley has found a couple of good men, Brendan Hunt and Garry Barton, to help
with maintenance. Will they take over when Hedley retires? “They’ll probably be too old by then,” was his reply.

By Beth Thomas

Councillors Ken Keith OAM and Barbara Newton were returned to the positions of Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively at a Mayoral election on Tuesday. Councillors voted to fill the Mayor and Deputy Mayor positions by ordinary ballot during the September Ordinary Meeting of Council held at the Tullamore Bowling and Citizens Club.

Ken celebrates his 10th year in the position, Barbara marks her third term as Deputy. “I am tremendously proud of what we have been able to achieve during this term of council thus far and I look forward to what the next two years has in store for our region,” said the Mayor.

The Deputy Mayor said: “It’s an exciting time to be on council – the next two years will see the delivery of a number of major projects for our community.” “We have been planning and lobbying for these projects for a number of years and I am delighted to see them come into fruition. I look forward to continuing to add value to our community as Deputy Mayor.”

They will hold office for the next two years, and this will be the last election for the positions for the current term of Council.

Parkes and Peak Hill residents can once again enjoy the benefits of a fluoridated water supply as a new fluoridation scheme at the Parkes Water Treatment Plant has been approved by the NSW Ministry of Health. Fluoride is a naturally occurring component of mineral salts, and is found in rocks, soil, and natural water sources. Water
fluoridation is the process of adjusting the amount of fluoride in drinking water to an optimal level in order to reduce tooth decay.

In NSW 93% of the population have access to fluoridated water.

Parkes first adopted a fluoridation scheme in 1964, which was operated as part of the old water treatment plant until its decommissioning last year. A new fluoridation scheme has since been established to service the new Water Treatment Plant. Parkes Shire Council Director of Infrastructure Andrew Francis said; “We are very happy to
be resuming fluoridation for the residents of Parkes and Peak Hill. The new scheme meets strict government regulations.”

The plant was inspected by the NSW Department of Industry Water as part of the approval process to ensure it meets the requirements of the NSW Code of Practice for the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies.

In addition, NSW Health has provided a grant of $435,000 for the fluoridation scheme. “The grant covers the cost of establishing the fluoridation system,” said Andrew.

Once the fluoridation scheme is commissioned, Parkes Shire Council will host specialist fluoridation workshops in the new Water Treatment Plant’s training room during September and October. Treatment plant operators from around the region will be invited to undertake fluoridation certification using the new plant for the practical component.

Changing Your Will
A will is a testamentary document. This means it takes effect upon your death. It appoints an executor (a person who administers and distributes your assets) and makes bequests (distributes your assets among beneficiaries). A will remains valid until it is cancelled by you or if you marry after the will was made.

Nothing is ever set in concrete, and thus, your will should be a living document. It should be changed or updated as circumstances change. The rules are slightly different in the several states, so you should get legal advice if you want to make such a will.

You can cancel your will at any time provided you are of sound mind. This can be done in many ways, some of the main ones are:
• You make a valid new will. By law this revokes prior wills when the new terms contradict the old.
• You make a valid new will and expressly revoke the old one.
• You destroy your will with the intention of revoking it.

Estate planning is an area of the law of great family importance. We at Matthews Williams are able to give you competent professional advice on all estate planning matters. If we can assist you on any legal issue, feel free to contact me or one of our solicitors or call into our office for an appointment.

By Allen Duggan
Senior Solicitor