General Interest Archives - Page 88 of 342

Concern Over Ballooning Mouse Numbers

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

Farmers are on the lookout for increased mouse activity with reports of increasing damage to crops and fodder across the state.

Two years after a mouse plague saw vehicles, buildings and towns infested while crops were destroyed, NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin is urging growers to be extra-vigilant about mouse activity.

“Members are telling me they’re seeing mice again all the way from Queensland down to the Victorian border and out west towards Adelaide,” Mr Martin said.

“We need everyone to keep an eye out for mice, in particular use their chew cards, and report any activity to authorities.

“It is important to stay on top of this issue so we can avoid a repeat of the 2021 mouse plague, so please if you see something, say something.”

In 2021 the rodents swarmed rural and regional communities, chewing their way through hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of crops, damaging farm machinery, vehicles and buildings in the process.

Farmers and rural landholders are urged to report mouse activity by visiting feralscan.org.au/mousealert and download the chew card template at https://grdc.com.au/resources-and-publications/resources/mouse-management/monitor-manage/know-your-mouse-numbers.

Tickets Selling Fast For PMJRLC Sportsmans Fundraising Dinner

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

On Monday 10th April, rugby league legend, Royce Simmons set off from Dubbo on his Big Walk to raise funds for Dementia.

Royce is set to walk into Parkes next Thursday, 20th of April and the Parkes Marist Junior Rugby League Club (PMJRLC) is holding a Sportsman’s Dinner to assist in Royce’s fundraising efforts. Some of the funds raised on the night will also go back to the PMJRLC.

Guest speakers at the dinner will include rugby league legends, Royce Simmons, Terry Lamb and Garry Jack, with former local boy and NRL star Luke Goodwin.

An auction with some great signed sporting memorabilia on offer will be supported by raffles, lucky door prizes and a Q&A session with the special guest speakers.

The Sportsmans Dinner will start at 6.30pm at the Parkes Services Club and tickets cost $35pp. If you have not yet organised a table and purchased tickets, be sure to do so quickly so you don’t miss out.

Tickets are available at www.123tix.com.au/events/38306/royces-big-walk-parkes

Leyland P76 Enthusiasts Converge On Parkes

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

Leyland ‘P76ers’ congregated at the Parkes Visitor Information Centre over the Easter long weekend.

Over 70 Leyland P76 cars converged on Parkes last weekend, Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th April, to compete for prizes, and more importantly, bragging rights.

The event was extra special as it combined two events into one – the 18th Nationals of Leyland P76 Clubs across Australasia, that includes all Australian States and New Zealand, and the 50th Anniversary of the release of the P76 car in 1973.

President of the NSW Leyland P76 Owners Club, Paul Patten said, “It was probably the biggest collection of P76s for some time and possibly the biggest that we will ever see again.”

The show and shine event was held on Sunday, with over 14 prizes awarded across various categories for first and second place getters. Some of the categories included most original, best restored and best in show.

Parkes was chosen as the host for this years event due to its central location for the large number of visitors travelling from Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

Paul extended a big thank you to everyone who attended the event over the weekend and to the Parkes Services Club, HARS Museum, Parkes Telescope and the Visitor Information Centre for their support.

The Hansen Family Are Synonymous With Optometry

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

Come in and meet the team at Hansen Optometrists in Clarinda St, Parkes. The Hanses stores in 1905 (top) and in 1930 (below).

The Hansen family have the distinction of being the oldest family operated and continuous running optometry practice in Australia, having provided eye care to the people of the central west for six generations.

Their story began in the 1890s when Henry Hansen, a Danish immigrant and watch-maker opened his business in Orange. Henry Hansen sold ready-made spectacles as part of his inventory.

Fast forward to the early 1900s, and his son Frederick began working at the family business, advertising himself as a “Scientific Optician”, performing rudimentary eye examinations and prescribing spectacles.

This tradition continued with his sons Lel and Bob, taking over the business after completing their optometry studies. This saw the evolution of the family business from a humble jeweller and watchmaker that dabbled in providing spectacles, into Western Optical Pty Ltd, with optometry practices in Orange, Parkes and Wellington.

They also started the first lens grinding laboratory west of the Blue Mountains in NSW. This laboratory provided the lenses for spectacles all over central west NSW and further abroad.

Over the next 50 years, the scope of the Optometry profession steadily evolved as did Hansens, with the next generation of Hansen optometrists entering and running the business.

In 2008, the fourth generation of Hansen Optometrists began working in the practice. Soon after in 2012, they purchased an existing optometry practice at 267a Clarinda Street Parkes, which became Hansen Eyecare Plus Parkes.

They soon expanded operations, providing an optometrist five days a week, increasing staff and giving a much needed injection of new technology to better service the eye care needs of the people of Parkes.

Hansens continues to defy current trends by remaining a fully independent, family owned optometry practice in a sea of foreign owned, corporate optometrists. They have survived the test of time, continuing to evolve and staying at the forefront of optometry with the latest advances in technology and eye care innovations. This allows them to provide the highest quality of eye care to their patients.

They also pride themselves on their strong involvement in the local community, providing vision screenings to primary schools, after hours services, home visit to the elderly, sponsorship to local charities and spectacles to the less fortunate.

Hansens delves into many of the sub-specialties of optometry including children’s vision, dry eye management, specialty contact lenses and orthokeratology.

With optometry in their DNA and a fantastic team of support staff, there is little doubt that Hansen’s will continue to support the people of Parkes and the surrounding community for generations to come.

Save Medicare Heart Health Check

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

The good news is that heart disease is largely preventable. The bad news is that the best tool for heart disease prevention – the Medicare Heart Health Check – is about to expire.

The Heart Foundation is seeking a guarantee from the Australian Government that funding will continue beyond 30th of June this year.

Nearly 440,000 Australians have seen their GP for a Medicare subsidised Heart Health Check since they were introduced.

The Heart Foundation is asking the Government to invest $11.5 million per year, to continue subsidising Heart Health Checks into the future.

This is a relatively small investment compared to the $1 billion in healthcare costs that could be saved with broad uptake of Heart Health Checks in high-risk Australians and more importantly, the 67,000 heart attacks, strokes and heart disease related deaths that could be prevented over five years.

It’s not too late for people to take action: Help save Medicare Heart Health Checks by signing our petition, writing to local MPs and sharing the petition with friends and family.

To take action, please visit www.heartfoundation.org.au/save-heart-checks

Parkes Shire Local Roads And Community Infrastructure Upgrades

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

The Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program has delivered new multipurpose courts at Peak Hill and new cricket nets at Berryman Oval in Trundle.

Parkes Shire Council has delivered nine new projects with just over $1.23m committed under the second phase of the Australian Government’s Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) Program. The projects include:

• New multipurpose courts at Peak Hill to enable the community to engage in tennis, basketball, netball, and other sports.

• Parking and pedestrian access to both sides of Harrison Park complex, providing dramatically increased safety for all.

• New cricket nets at Berryman Oval in Trundle to provide modern accessible nets for practise by all members of the community and adds to the work being undertaken at the precinct.

• Additional mitigation works at Cheney Oval to reduce the impact of salinity on the turf surface and provide new drainage across half the oval surface,.

• New pathways to provide accessibility to the McGlynn complex for netball and hockey supporters and players.

• More shared pathways to provide active lifestyle opportunities along East Street, Parkes.

• Solar lighting around the Memorial Hill precinct.

• Furniture for the new Pavilion facility in Cooke Park.

• Proper goal posts at Pioneer Oval.

Councillor Ken Keith OAM, Mayor of Parkes Shire said “This new funding opportunity for local councils across Australia has been wonderful as it has funded many community projects that were not eligible under other funding programs.”

“It has allowed Council to deliver projects across the Shire that support active lifestyles and ways to enjoy our great outdoors as well as offering improved safety at some key locations,” he added.

Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack MP said he was delighted to deliver $6,632,212 in LRCI funding to Parkes Shire through the first three phases of the program.

The Golden Plough

April 14, 2023 By Roxane Manley

The Golden Plough will be held in Wongarbon on Saturday, 22nd and Sunday, 23rd April. This competition was first held in 1976 and has been fiercely contested ever since. This is the first year it will be hosted in the Dubbo region.

The Western Branch of the Australian Draught Horse Stud Book Society hosts the two-day annual event which includes, horse working classes, obstacle courses, wagon rides, horse-driven chaff cutter demonstrations along with ladies, junior, novice and veteran ploughing competitions and culminates with the fiercely contested Golden Plough.

Horse drawn ploughing involves skilfully guiding one or two draught horses, pulling a single furrow plough, to create a straight plot of eight runs (minimum) which are judged on linear accuracy, depth, sharpness of cut, total width and how the soil is turned.

Watch the ploughmen and women battle it out for the Golden Plough trophy, see horsemanship at its best. Bring your family and friends for a great weekend of horsemanship, demonstration events,food stalls and stay longer for fire-side stories, poetry and a camp oven dinner. Day, dinner and weekendpasses available.

For further details go to: www.facebook.com/thegoldenplough or get your and tickets at www.123tix.com.au/events/38544/the-golden-plough

From Little Things, Big Things Grow

April 6, 2023 By Roxane Manley

Zachary (Zac) Gordon and Richard (Rick) Mill are now the proud owners of Littlewoods Smash Repairs.

When David Littlewood decided it was time to move on from the business he had built, Littlewoods Smash Repairs, long term employees Zachary Gordon and Richard Mill jumped at the opportunity.

Sunday, 1st January 2023, was Zach and Ricks first official day as owners of the business.

Rick recalls his path to owning the business, explaining, “In year 10 at school I worked here one day a week, I used to sweep the floors every afternoon with the hope of getting an apprenticeship. I worked for nine months everyday sweeping, but didn’t get the apprenticeship.

“I went and worked at Scotty Page’s for a year and a half then at another place for a bit, before coming back to Littlewoods. I have been back here for eight years.”

If you have met Zac and Rick, you will know they are great mates and love a good laugh. Rick originally helped Zac get the job at Littlewoods, joking, “I thought he (Zac) was a bit of a pest for a while.”

Seven years ago when Zac first started working for Littlewoods Smash Repairs he recalls the previous owner, David Littlewood telling him at the time he would “never amount to being a tradie”.

The fact that he is now a part-owner in the business is testament to his strong work ethic and passion for the job.

Busy times lay ahead for Rick and Zac with the business already booked out for the next six weeks.

Rick and Zac’s advice for the residents of Parkes is, “Forget the rest, see the best!”

Autism Is Not A One-Size-Fits-All

April 6, 2023 By Roxane Manley

The world acknowledged World Autism Awareness Day on 2nd April. Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) has moved to change the wording to World Autism Understanding Day, in a bid to foster greater consideration and acceptance of autism and Autistic people.

The most important message is that no two Autistic people are the same and that autism may not be what you think it is. It’s not a one-size-fits all and there is still misunderstanding and stigmatism.

Jacqui Borland, CEO, Aspect said she applauds the change to World Autism Understanding Day because how we use language to talk about autism and Autistic people is important.

“The more our wider community understands what life on the autism spectrum can feel like, the more likely it is they will know what environmental adjustments and language will make a difference.”

Ms Borland added that building an inclusive environment is up to all of us. “The onus must not sit purely on the Autistic person to ‘fit in’ but creating supportive environments for neuro-divergent people is a positive step we can all take.”

More information is available at www.autismspectrum.org.au/about-autism/our-research/our-research-program/disclosure

Applications Open For MLA Producer Demonstration Site

April 6, 2023 By Roxane Manley

Funding applications are now open for cattle and sheep producers throughout Australia who are interested in running local projects to demonstrate on-farm benefits of research and development findings.

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) is calling for applications for its 2023-24 Producer Demonstration Sites (PDS) program, with applications opening on 3rd April and closing on 16th May. This includes levy and co-contributor funding options for projects ranging from two to six years.

MLA Group Manager, Adoption and Commercialisation, Sarah Strachan, said “The PDS program aims to increase the rate of adoption of key management practices and commercially available technologies that improve business profitability, productivity and sustainability.

“This year we are looking forward to seeing applications come forward in a range of areas including cattle and sheep reproductive performance, best practice management of internal parasites, and improved grazing and land management practices to benefit productivity and sustainability.

There are two funding options available to producer groups wishing to participate in the PDS program, being levy and co-contributor.Producer groups wishing to engage in a levy PDS project can apply for up to $30,000 per year for the length of the project.Groups wishing to engage in a co-contributor PDS project can apply for up to $60,000 per year for the length of the project.

For full details go to www.mla.com.au/extension-training-and-tools/pds-producer-demonstration-sites.

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