Hundreds of art lovers flocked to a unique exhibition in a 137-year-old shearing shed outside Parkes last weekend. Approximately 200 people attended the sell-out gala opening of the St Elmo art exhibition on Saturday night, while another 200 visited the next day.

The opening night was an amazing evening of good food and entertainment reminiscent of community events at St Elmo in the past. John Den’s fire buckets enhanced the outdoor atmosphere, The Dish provided exemplary fine food complemented by award winning Twisted River and Cammeray Wines with Sydney’s String Family providing entertainment throughout the evening.

Town Crier Ken Keith called the guests to order for Deputy Mayor, Barbara Newton to open the exhibition. She congratulated the organisers, Action Club, and artists in promoting art and a community spirit. Action Club President, Gary Somers thanked Parkes Shire Council for its support, sponsors Langlands Hanlon and Ostini Wool and artist Pol Cruz for donating a ceramic bird bath for the raffle.

The next day was a perfect spring day when more people visited the historic St Elmo Shed to view the art work and enjoy a Devonshire tea provided by Parkes Quota club members. Art works sales were in excess of $13,000. Any profits from the night will be used by the Action Club to support youth in the local community.

By Stafford Orange

With a household of teenage boys, it always amuses me to see that as soon as the footy grand finals are over the cricket gear miraculously appears and watching cricket on TV for the next five months. As cricket can become a bit of an obsession for some, now is an appropriate time to highlight an injury often seen in young cricket players (under 25 years) and particularly in fast bowlers: spondylolysis.

A spondylolysis is a stress fracture in an area of the vertebrae called the pars interarticularis (pars). Pars stress fractures are thought to be caused by repetitive hyperextension and rotation loading of the spine that can occur in the bowling action. The most common site is at the level of the L5 vertebrae. Pain is usually felt on one side, occurs gradually and is aggravated by rotation and extension of the lumbar spine. In the initial phase pain will settle with rest.

Stress fractures tend to occur on the nonbowling arm side of the lower back and are typically due to errors in technique (such as a mixed bowling action, too much counter rotation or high ball release height), and/or excessive bowling work load.

If your young cricket player does complain of low back pain it is important to get a correct diagnosis. Cricket players who have had a pars stress fracture can still make a full return to sport. Initial treatment would involve rest from bowling and a rehabilitation programme focused on strengthening the deep abdominal, trunk and gluteal muscles.

Bowling action may need to be modified once training is resumed.

For the fitness of you,
Linda Reilly

It looks like there is still a lot of confusion about which bin a disposable coffee cup should go into. The correct answer is the red bin. Disposable coffee cups cannot be recycled because of a plastic coating on the inside of the cup. That is why it is very important to make use of a reusable cup to help reduce the ONE BILLION cups going to landfill in Australia every year!

Congratulations to the following winners! Donna Stone, Liz MacRaild, Dale Allen, Bridget Lee, Julie Fisher, Janine
Hando, Michael Craft, Jo Tye, Joe Kinsela, Valerie Chisholm, Katie Hetherington, Nicole Tolhurst, Belinda McCorkell, Claire Barber, Christie Crowe, Oscar Hendry, Daniel Greef, Carla Greef and Tony Sansome.

Onnie Coffee shows the way! The lucky winners can pick up their cups at Onnies Coffee in Parkes filled with a coffee kindly sponsored by Onnies! And if you go back to Onnies with your BYO cup you will get a discount on your coffee! Let’s all support the drive to reduce the use of disposable coffee cups! Remember to keep your reusable cup in the car, with your reusable shopping bags!

If you did not win this time around, we have more cups to give away and will run another competition in October!

PARKES FUN PALACE
Saturday, 23rd September – 9am to 3pm
Join the Parkes Library team tomorrow for a family day of art, science, play and games! Activities include: scavenger hunt, fidget spinner art, racing cars, straw rockets, drawing shadows, citizen science and special guests from the Central West Astronomy Society for day time sky gazing. And… science, robotics and coding!

Fizzics Education is coming to Fun Palace!
9:30am Big Science Big Fun Show family event – See gigantic bubbles, flying toilet paper, hair-raising electricity experiments, fire balls, coloured shadows, a flame equalizer and much more!
11.00am Beebots – Beginner robotics (Kinder, Year 1 and 2)*
12.30pm Lego Robotics – Lego robots “Mindstorms” (year 3-6)*
1.45pm Lego Robotics – Programming robots (year 7-10)*
*Limited places. Cost $2. Bookings in person at Parkes Library.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY ACTIVITIES
MAD SCIENCE- Shake, Freeze, Sprinkle?
Have fun exploring science with items from the kitchen with hands on experiments, stories and finish the morning making your very own ice cream from scratch! For Kinder to Year 2 on Tuesday, 26th September & Tuesday, 3rd October, 10:30am -12pm

INSIDE YOUR INSIDES!
How many times does your heart pump a day? How long are your intestines? Answers to these questions and more plus make a 3D model of your insides. For Year 3 to 6 on Thursday, 28th September & 5th October, 10:30am -12pm. Bookings required for above sessions in person at Parkes Library. Cost $2. Wear old clothes, bring your drink bottle & library card.

‘QUIZZ-ITCH’ Harry Potter Quiz Show!
Come and join the wizard of quiz, master of mirth, magic and all things Potter – Andy Jones – the official Wizard of Quiz and the ‘Quizz-itch’ quiz master of all things Hogwarts and Potter. Dress to impress as your favourite Hogwarts character. For families & Harry Potter lovers. Tuesday, 3rd October, 2pm. Let us know you are coming – 6861 2309 or library@parkes.nsw.gov.au

The Station Motel in Parkes has a lot to celebrate for its 10th anniversary this weekend. Opened on 24 September 2007 by Cr Robert Wilson OAM the Station was one of a kind with its steel, glass and stone features. Going back to what the ethos of the Station’s design was, the property has undergone a few changes with the addition of the new outdoor barbeque area, orchard and vegetable gardens. What hasn’t changed is the rural outlook, warm country welcome and superb food and wine.

With the experience of recently appointed chef Peter Wilkinson, the new menu focus is on rustic food, sourced locally as much as possible. Peter loves creating classic dishes, and this is exactly what invited guests can look forward to at the 10th anniversary four course degustation dinner.

Each course will be matched with selected wines chosen by vintrepreneur Jo Bennet from Treasury Wines. The Station Motel has maintained its Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor for the past seven years and is currently ranked number one in the Parkes region. The management, staff and invited guests of the Station are looking forward to celebrating these milestones on Sunday night.

The Peak Hill Gold Mine has an extra sparkle with the official opening this week of new work and additions. NSW Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall was in Peak Hill on Monday to open the works including the
new gold mining themed entry shelter and associated revitalisation works that was supported by the NSW Government.

“The Peak Hill Gold Mine is a key driver of the Peak Hill visitor economy and we’re proud to be supporting Parkes Shire Council’s efforts in revitalising the visitor experience at the mine through our Regional Visitor Economy Fund,” said the Minister.

Parkes Shire Council’s Destination Development Manager Kelly Hendry said the mine was “popular among travellers, particularly caravaners, wanderers and family groups”. “These improvements are designed to encourage
visitors to stay and explore longer, which is anticipated to have flow-on benefits to Peak Hill businesses”.

Major works undertaken include: design and construction of a bespoke Peak Hill Gold Mine entry shelter that looks like an old mining relic (poppet head); development of interpretive sculptures and soundpost to tell the mining story; revamped walking trails/track works, seating, signage and bollards; and a drinking water refill station.

A majority of the works have been carried out by local suppliers such as local Peak Hill fabrication company Zaidan Pty. Ltd. The Peak Hill Gold Mine lies on a current mining lease, and is one of only a handful of sites to have been granted a tourist mine permit. Tourist mines are workplaces previously used for mining operations that are now used only for tourism purposes.

Visitors can take self-guided tours of the site from 9am-4pm daily.