Pictured are Parkes High students receiving the welding equipment donated by Sullivans Mining & Industrial.

Sullivans Mining & Industrial Parkes is proud to support the next generation of local tradespeople through a donation to Parkes High School and its Trade Readi­ness Program – Introduction to Engineer­ing, currently being delivered through TAFE NSW across May and June.

As part of the initiative, Sullivans Min­ing & Industrial Parkes has supplied 12 Welding Helmets and 12 Pairs of Welding Gloves.

The equipment will be used by the stu­dents participating in the program, helping them develop practical engineering and welding skills in a safe, hands-on learning environment.

Sullivans Mining & Industrial Marketing Manager, Belinda Clenton, said supporting local trade pathways and workforce devel­opment is an important investment in the future of regional communities.

“Programs like this give students valu­able exposure to practical skills and career opportunities within industry. Having ac­cess to the right equipment from day one helps build confidence, safety awareness, and real-world experience,” she said.

Bianca said the branch is committed to supporting initiatives that strengthen local communities, encourage skills develop­ment, and create opportunities for young people considering careers in trade and industry.

“It’s great to see these students getting involved, building practical skills, and pre­paring for future opportunities in engineer­ing and trades,” Bianca concluded.

Royal Far West’s Ride for Country Kids – a three-day ride across regional NSW – is coming to Parkes, starting at 7am on Sun­day, 17 May at Cooke Park Pavilion. All are welcome to cheer on the riders.

The Ride will travel through Molong, Ma­nildra, Trundle, and Eugowra, before finish­ing in Forbes, raising funds to improve the health and wellbeing of children in rural and remote areas. Children with developmen­tal, behavioural, and mental health needs can wait up to six years for diagnoses be­cause care is too far away, too fragmented, or impossible to access. Royal Far West is aiming to bridge that gap.

Michael Gibbons, father of five and a lo­cal Parkes resident, has seen first-hand the benefits of Royal Far West’s speech pathology services. His nine-year-old son, Finley, is now flourishing due to his once weekly telehealth speech pathology ses­sions that were held over two years. Finley has gone on to win two inter-town public speaking competitions.

“Accessing paediatric support was ex­tremely difficult in Parkes. There were long waitlists. And when we did manage to see a paediatrician, it was very sporadic. There was also limited staff to assist us. Royal Far West was introduced to us through our school. We jumped on board when an availability came up for Finley to see a speech pathologist,” Michael Gibbons said.

The support from Royal Far West has had a dramatic positive impact on Finley’s life. “His literacy and reading have taken off. His confidence and social skills have improved, and he now experiences the joy of communicating with other people and being understood – something that we take for granted.” said Michael Gibbons.

Royal Far West is aiming to raise $500,000. They need your help to give these children the best start in life. To sup­port the riders go to: www.rideforcoun­trykids.com.au

Last minute gift ideas for Mother’s Day.

Are you looking to buy a small home cre­ated gift for your mum this Mother’s Day? You will be able to do just that on Saturday 2 May from the Forbes Evening Branch of CWA (FEBCWA) Mother’s Day Stall in the CBD of our Forbes Community.

Members of the FEBCWA will be creat­ing beautiful items for you to browse and purchase. There will also be tickets avail­able for three Mother’s Day Pampering Parcels with the lucky winners being drawn on Thursday 7 May.

The contents of the pampering pack prizes have been donated and presented by the Members of the FEBCWA. The first pampering pack will contain a hand cre­ated lap quilt, while the second contains a $50 gift voucher (to be spent in Forbes) and the third contains pampering treat sim­ilar to packs 1 & 2.

Forbes Evening Branch would also like to thank all members of the community and local businesses who supported our Christ­mas Raffle, especially Cahills for multiple vouchers, Serendipity Studio for the donat­ed piece of pottery, and Spok Wooldridge for his artwork. A total of 18 prizes were drawn, with all winners receiving their sur­prises prior to Christmas.

By Lorraine Everest Publicity Officer, FEBCWA

The Coalition is committed to addressing the unique issues facing men, boys and fa­thers, and is pleased to announce the ap­pointment of MP Llew O’Brien as Shadow Special Envoy for Men and Boys.

Mr O’Brien said the new position was a privilege, enabling Australian men to over­come entrenched disadvantages and new and emerging challenges where men and boys are falling behind.

The announcement comes after The Na­tionals recently hosted a Men, Boys and Dads Forum to address the issues that are often overlooked.

Leader of The Nationals Matt Canavan said men and boys were facing real chal­lenges in all aspects of life, such as health, family law, education and the workforce, but too often these issues go unaddressed in the public debate.

“There are issues across all areas and all ages – men’s health doesn’t discriminate.

“It is vital men and boys can access the services they need.

“This is why the Coalition appointed Llew O’Brien as the Shadow Special Envoy for Men and Boys. Llew will be tasked with de­veloping a comprehensive approach that ensures that our brothers, sons and dads are not left behind.”

Parkes Fire Station has been holding Open Days so long they’ve lost count, but it has been decades. Head along to 20 Hill St in Parkes this Saturday 9 May.

Parkes Fire Station will be open from 10am – 2pm on Saturday the 9th of May, with fire trucks and equipment on display for the community to check out. You’ll also have the opportunity to meet and talk to some firefighters, ask them questions and watch live demonstrations. There will be a range of free activities and fun for all including station tours, safety presentations and fire­fighting demonstrations.

There are 19 retained firefighters em­ployed here at Parkes Fire Station. Re­tained firefighters are highly trained, pro­fessional firefighters who are on-call 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. They attend a vast range of calls every year including build­ing and residential fires, bush/grass fires, automatic fire alarms, hazmat incidents, rescue and motor vehicle incidents and ambulance assists.

Savannah-Lee Bevan from Fire and Res­cue here in Parkes said “Open Days are a lot of fun! We get to play around with our equipment, do firefighting demonstrations and enjoy a sausage sizzle. We also enjoy just being able to get out and interact with the community we serve. We get to show them what we do, provide them with all the information they need to keep themselves safe and what to do if an emergency oc­curs, it definitely builds a strong relation­ship between the community and our fire­fighters.”

Open Day is a great time for kids, but it’s an even better opportunity for the adults to learn first-hand how to keep safe from fire. The public are encouraged to engage our firefighters with questions about home fire safety and smoke alarms. We can even help book a free Home Fire Safety Visit from the crew here at Station 417. If you can’t make it on the day, you can still get your free safety visit by booking online at fire.nsw.gov.au/Visits.

Thirty years after dreaming she’d one day win the lottery, a Parkes woman has experi­enced a string of chills down her spine after discovering she’d scored $100,000 in a re­cent Lucky Lotteries draw.

The Central West player held the first prize winning entry in Lucky Lotteries Su­per Jackpot draw 11068, drawn Monday 13 April 2026. She looks forward to $100,000.

While repeated attempts to contact the winner went unanswered, she finally checked her winning ticket three days after the draw.

Her winning entry of one random num­ber was purchased at Parkes News & Gifts, 284 Clarinda Street, Parkes. With $100,000 soon to boost her bank account, the stunned woman had a few ideas on how she’d enjoy her prize. “I bought a house recently and it needs a lot of work done,” she shared.

Parkes News & Gifts manager Melissa Cowling shared she was thrilled a major lottery win had landed in her town. “It’s just so exciting to hear that someone in our small country town has been lucky enough to win a major prize,” she said.