Aurora College, the state’s first virtual secondary school, is a new and unique option for students in government schools in NSW. To be eligible for enrolment, students must also be in a NSW Government school classified as rural and remote. Aurora offers selective classes in English, Mathematics and Science to gifted and talented Year 7-10 students. Students are chosen in the same way as students in all other selective classes in NSW government schools.

The college also gives Stage 6 high school students the opportunity to study subjects not available in their school
Aurora provides a mix of online and residential school classes twice per year. Students connect with their teachers and classmates through a virtual learning environment comprising of web conferencing software, a learning management system, and a range of cutting-edge online communication and collaboration tools.

Aurora has a strong science and mathematics focus. Mentoring opportunities and master classes are key features of the learning experience. They offer students expanded career options through innovative partnerships with business and with scientific, cultural and tertiary education institutions. Call 9886 7560 if you have questions
or visit www.aurora.nsw.edu.au.

The Northparkes Mines Emergency Rescue Team (ERT) won three events at the Victorian Mine Rescue Competition in Bendigo last weekend. The national competition was held for the 23rd year and attracts teams from mines
across Australia. Northparkes came first in fire, ropes and theory, and second in first aid.

The team was also ranked first for safety across the three days and team captain Jamie Pope was placed third for his leadership during the competition. Other members of the 2016 Northparkes team were Travis Beaton, Wayne Logan,
Linda Snyman, Jack Medlyn, Mat Allan and Brooke Lees. Northparkes Managing Director Stefanie Loader said: “Our consistent success at this competition reflects the team’s hard work to stay at the leading edge of emergency response practices. We are enormously proud of our competition team, only three of whom had competed before.

“Our congratulations go to the winning team from Evolution Mining. It’s great to see another company operating in NSW’s Central West bring home the trophy,” Stefanie said. This year’s competition took place in the Bendigo region at Newmarket Gold’s Fosterville Gold Mine. Teams competed in a number of challenges demonstrating theoretical
and practical mine rescue skills.

Northparkes Manager People, Safety and Environment, Angus Wyllie said: “Zero harm operations is our approach to all we do, and our ability to respond to emergency scenarios is a critical part of this. Competitions such as this allow us to practice our skills and benchmark ourselves against others in the industry. It’s great to know that our ERT is always ready to assist us and others in times of need. “ Northparkes has sent its Emergency Response Team to the competition for the past 20 years, and was named overall winner in 2009, 2014 and 2015.

It’s not often that you are given an opportunity of a lifetime twice, but local vocal trio Amitie are once again preparing for this year’s Rock The Boat cruise. The ladies were both thrilled and extremely proud to be asked by the promotors to return this year as part of the entertainment line up on Rock The Boat 6. “We worked very hard in the lead up to last year’s cruise and we received some amazing feedback from both the audience and the other artists,”
said the trio.

Christie, Shev and Christa have been in rehearsal mode for over three months, meeting weekly in a backyard shed, fine tuning their performance as well as adding in new material to go with this year’s cruise theme. Rock The Boat 6: A Salute to the Sixties, sails on 6th November from Brisbane on Royal Caribbean’s cruise ship Legend of the Seas. A seven night Rock ‘n Roll festival on the South Pacific stopping at the glorious Isle of Pines and Lifou along the way. This year’s cruise boasts the biggest international lineup of headline artists ever assembled on Rock The Boat. These legendary acts from the UK and USA, come from what many consider to be the golden age of Rock ‘n Roll. Acts include Chubby Checker, Gary Puckett and The Union Gap, The Fortunes, The Searchers, The Troggs, Brian Poole and Chip Hawkes, P J Proby, Badfinger, and The Pacemakers – all hosted by Glenn A Baker.

Amitie will perform daily throughout the cruise in various venues around the ship. When not performing they are treated as guests. Once Amitie return to Parkes they will go straight into preparations for the 2017 Elvis Festival. They will be performing throughout the festival period. Follow Amitie on Facebook for details.
By Shevaun Brown

“Each morning I have to hobble to the toilet because I get a sharp pain in my heel when I walk. It settles after a while and feels like I am walking on a bruise.” Is this you? Plantar Fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. According to research, 80% of all cases of Plantar Fasciitis show spontaneous improvement within 12 months. This means that if you are prepared to suffer the pain for the next year, you have an 80% chance of improvement. If you want to be a little more proactive there are a few things you can do.

The plantar fascia is a thick fibrous band of tissue that fans from the heel to the base of each toe. It helps to support the arch of the foot. Plantar Fasciitis strikes when degenerative changes occur in the fascia where it attaches to the heel. It is sometimes associated with bony heel spurs however the spurs themselves do not cause pain.

The cause of Plantar Fasciitis is often multifactorial and may include any combination of; stiff ankle joints, low arches, high arches, weak foot muscles, poor footwear or increased load due to weight gain or prolonged periods of standing. Self-treatment for this problem should involve massage to the foot arch and gentle calf stretches before rising each morning, strengthening exercises for the intrinsic muscles in the foot, a temporary decrease
in training and a gradual return to sport when it is no longer painful to walk. In addition any biomechanical issues present in the lower limbs should be addressed to prevent recurrence.

“For the fitness of you”
Linda Reilly

The Central West Car Club got plenty of engines revving at their Annual Show and Shine on Saturday. Almost 200 cars from all vintages were on display, with some coming from as far as Ipswich for the 12th annual charity event.
The impressive variety of motors in the show included vans, utes, hot-rods, motorcycles, vintage service vehicles, and even a lawn mower collection. Some attendees were impressed by the creatively restored panel vans on display,
which featured luxurious bar and bed options, a gaming room, or air-brushed murals on the panels.

Others were taken by the rare vintage cars that were in show-room quality, such as the 1915 Model T Ford owned by Brian and Alicia Day, or Simon Holland’s 1933 Plymouth Coupe, which is believed to be the only one in Australia.
Even with so many beautifully restored cars, the old rust-coated work-trucks won quite a few hearts.

Mick Beuzeville demonstrated his 1949 Orchard Crawler, a tidy little tractor that ploughs between trees, and his 1948 tractor that is started with a shot-gun cartridge. There were 55 trophies awarded for different categories. The Car of the Show was won by Rod Goodsell’s 1956 FE Holden, which also claimed the Aiden Ashcroft Memorial Award. Dwayne Boan’s 2012 Harley Davidson Fatboy won the Bike of the Show.

The real winner was CanAssist. Rodney Barnes, President of the Central West Car Club, said that once the finances are tallied up he expects they will donate in excess of $9,000 to the charity. Photos of event on page 10.

By Raen Fraser

The St.George branch in Parkes will be closing its doors next month and its operations amalgamated with the St.George Forbes branch. The existing Parkes Branch Manager, Andrew Kerr, will be based at Forbes full time. It is not yet clear what the future will be for staff members. “We’re currently having discussions with our staff about redeployment opportunities,” said a spokesperson of St George.

The reason for the closure is that fewer customers are visiting the Parkes branch with a steady decline in over-the-counter transactions as more people choose to use digital banking channels. “Today only five per cent of customer
transactions take place over-the-counter at a branch,” said the spokesperson. “In many regional communities the number of transactions taking place is as low as three per cent.

“It’s for this reason that we are changing the way we provide banking services to our customers in Parkes, and why we have made the difficult decision to close our branch. We wish for the Parkes community, including local businesses and our customers, to know that the decision to close the branch was not made lightly.”

The spokesperson said locals who can’t get to Forbes, Bank@Post was a great face-to-face banking option in Parkes to make deposits and withdrawals, account balance queries and bill payments. “Customers can also access their banking 24/7 through our Internet, mobile and phone banking services, and withdraw cash free from the Westpac ATM at 270 Clarinda St, Parkes.”

The Parkes Public School Little Goanna Dancers won the Annette Sloane Indigenous Youth of the Year award at the NAIDOC celebrations on Saturday. Coach Lionel Lovett said the group of eight boys had become very enthusiastic
about performing and were always asking when the next event would be. The Annette Sloane award was established
to celebrate and acknowledge the contribution made by Annette Sloane to the Wiradjuri community, particularly the youth. Annette grew up in Condobolin and was the first Aboriginal student to receive her Year 10 Certificate. She moved to Parkes with her family and was concerned for the youth of the Wiradjuri community. She believed
in nurturing skills that would instil a sense of pride and confidence in them. She opened her home to them and taught them many useful skills, particularly sewing for the girls.

Another award presented on Saturday was the NAIDOC Indigenous Person of the Year for 2016 that went to the Parkes Wiradjuri Language Group. Other nominees were Karen Hawken, Karen Hartley, Robert Clegg, Amanda Corcoran and the Parkes Aboriginal Community Working Party. Neighbourhood Central and Parkes Shire
Council would like to thank Parkes High School for the colour run, Lachlan Reconciliation Group for the sausage sizzle, the Dusty Yellow Sunbeams for popping in for a jam session and the launch of their sound track My Elders Blood, Gail Smith Music School students, the Little Goanna Dancers and all the volunteers.

Lions Park went pink last Sunday as locals gathered for a free morning tea to show their support for women with breast cancer. Dianne Green, the McGrath Breast Care Nurse for the Parkes region, hosted the morning tea. This was the eighth Field of Women event that Dianne has organised to show her support for her clients, their families and the community. She catered for the morning tea with the generous help of her family, who also volunteered their time to help serve the dozens of people who stopped by to have a cuppa and a chat.

Dianne said people attended the morning tea for a variety of reasons. Some came to remember lost ones, others wanted to show their support, and others might have had personal experience with breast cancer. One hundred pink lady silhouettes stood on the lawn as a symbolic gesture to the women diagnosed with breast cancer and all those around her. Attendees were invited to write a message of support or remembrance, which were then placed around a
silhouette.

Dianne said at the end of the day she’d read every single message, before neatly packing them away for the next year. “They’re beautiful heart-felt messages, and some of them make me cry,” she said. The carefully collated messages from the previous seven years were also on display. According to the Cancer Council statistics 16,000 Australians will face a breast cancer diagnosis this year. While the vast majority are women, the disease can also affect men. It is important to see your doctor if you have any concerns.

The McGrath Breast Care Nurses provide free physical and emotional support for families who are affected by breast cancer from the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment. For more information visit www.mcgrathfoundation.com.au
By Raen Fraser

NSW Roads Minister Duncan Gay visited Parkes last week to assess the damage caused to the surrounding road network as a result of the recent flood events. “While we won’t know the full extent or cost of the damage until the water recedes, Minster Gay was able to gage an understanding of the impact to our community,” said Parkes Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM.

“Sections of the road’s subsurface and bitumen has suffered extensive damage as a result of the prolonged wet weather and flooding. Motorists need to be aware that there may be pot holes and defects that pose a major risk to road users,” the Mayor said. A Council crew was involved in an incident recently when a tree collapsed on the front of their vehicle. The workers managed to escape without any serious injury, but the ute suffered extensive damage.

Soil saturation had caused the roots of the tree to become unstable. Motorists are urged to drive slower and with more caution during this extraordinary period of wet weather, and to report damage to roads.

The expansion of the Parkes Regional Airport Business Park will become a reality thanks to a $1.56 million investment from Round 3 of the National Stronger Regions Fund. Minister for Regional Development, Fiona Nash, said in Parkes last week the project would bring new jobs and business investment to the region.

“I aim to help build the kinds of communities our children and grandchildren either want to stay in or come back to, and quality regional airports are a big part of that,” she said. Small Business Minister and Riverina MP, Michael McCormack, said the project would improve access to health services and leisure travel.

“It will also generate new business activity within the local aviation sector, creating additional income and employment opportunities. The project includes a new helipad and fuelling/maintenance facility to support future disaster response operations, including medical emergencies.”

Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM, said the contribution by the Federal Government would ensure this important piece of infrastructure continues to deliver economic and social benefits to the entire region. “This next stage of the redevelopment project will encourage economic development, stimulate regional industry, enable businesses and industries to operate more efficiently and sustainably, and provide greater prosperity and opportunities for the region”, the Mayor said.

According to Chairman of the Parkes Airport Committee, Councillor Alan Ward, stage 2 of construction consists of an extension of the airport apron and taxiway, developing a new hangar precinct and planning infrastructure for a helipad complex. “Construction activities are expected to generate 42 full time jobs and inject $5.3 million into the region’s catchment,” Cr Ward said.

Two further projects in the Riverina received funding from the National Stronger Regions Fund with support going to the Central West Livestock Exchange in Forbes and a multipurpose community facility in Wagga Wagga.