It is Education Week next week and NSW public schools will celebrate with the theme ‘Learning Together’ drawing on the education community’s sentiment of 2020. Department of Education Secretary Mark Scott said schools faced unprecedented challenges this year, and Education Week would provide an opportunity to reflect on the achievements of the public school community in the face of adversity. “The year started with communities still suffering the impacts of drought and the destructive summer bushfires, while flooding forced the closure of some schools. Then the COVID-19 pandemic struck and totally disrupted our way of life, changing the way we learn and socialise.”

“Despite these significant disruptions our staff, in partnership with parents and carers, have worked tirelessly to ensure that high quality teaching and learning has continued for all students.”

This year’s events will focus on opportunities to celebrate virtually. The week will start with a live stream on Monday featuring public schools across NSW. The Education Week 2020 website at education.nsw.gov.au/edweek20 offers a wealth of ideas for schools.

The Parkes Shire community is benefitting from donations of furniture and water tanks as the construction of the Parkes to Narromine leg of Inland Rail is coming to an end.

Fulton Hogan and BMD Constructions will donate furniture, purchased for staff homes in Parkes, to Can Assist.

“We have started to demobilise our work sites, and our staff are starting to leave the project and Parkes. They leave behind all their household furniture that was bought new over the last year,” said Project Director Gerard O’Connor.

“Fulton Hogan and BMD Constructions (INLink Joint Venture) wanted to give back to the community and will donate approximately 12 households worth of furniture to Can Assist in Parkes.”

The contractors also donated several 25,000 litre water tanks that were used across the 103km building site. “We wanted to show appreciation to the local community, who were and continue to be very understanding during the works, by donating them to impacted residents and the local councils.”

“We have donated 20 water tanks to residents between Parkes and Narromine, two to Narromine Shire Council and four to Parkes Shire Council,” said Gerard.

Two tanks have been delivered to Council’s Works Depot in Parkes, and the other two at the new depot in Peak Hill.

A lot has been happening in the Parkes CBD of late, and last week the Deputy Prime Minister received a special tour to inspect progress made so far of the $8.5 million revitalisation projects.

Mayor Ken Keith showed Michael McCormack, who is also the member for Riverina, and Sam Farraway, Member of the Legislative Council (MLC), the Cooke Park Multipurpose Centre and expansion of the Parkes Shire Library.

The tour was going to include the upgrades to Lower Clarinda Street, but daylight ran out as Michael also visited new projects in Forbes on his first visit to the Central West since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“I am very impressed with all of it,” he said afterwards. “I’m just blown away by the size of the Cooke Park Multipurpose Centre. The Elvis Festival will now take up the added area and have so much more scope. I can’t wait to perform a duet with the Mayor there – Suspicious Minds or Love Me Tender,” he said with a big smile.

The Deputy Prime Minister had only praise for the Parkes Shire Council singling it out as a “real can do council”.

The library and Cooke Park projects are both being built by Matthew Steventon from Cabonne Constructions in Molong after his company won both tenders.

A 12-year-old Parkes photographer has made sure to add some local flavour to the prestigious David Malin Awards for astrophotography.

Ella Harbidge took out the Photo Editor’s Pick award in the junior category for her picture titled, “Always Look Up”, while Mark Polsen from Eaglehawk, Victoria was named the overall winner during last Saturday’s special online presentation of the Central West Astronomical Society’s annual event.

The first-time overall winner’s evocative nightscape image is titled “Tranquillity Base” and has it all according to world renowned astrophotographer Dr David Malin, who judged the entries. “A perfect setting, under a beautiful sky with the moon and Venus peeping through the trees,” said David of the image that Mark took 30 minutes after sunset.

“I am just blown away by everything I saw and love everyone’s work.Thank you so much for the acknowledgement of my work,” said Mark.

“The competition gets harder to judge every year, as the entrants polish their skills to reveal more and more of the universe around us, with beautiful, scientifically informative images,” said David.

The 253 entries received from every state and territory is above average for the 17th anniversary of the competition. “The high quality of the images is a testament to the outstanding skills and talents of Australian astrophotographers”, said AstroFest organiser John Sarkissian.

He was very excited that the winners this year included the first ever category win for a woman. Belinda Wickens won the Animation – Aesthetic category, and also com- posed and sang the music for her stop motion video.

At the official opening of the newly refurbished Cheney Park amenities block on Wednesday, Parkes received the good news that the community would receive a further $1.6 million in NSW Government funding for other projects in the Shire.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro joined Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM and Sam Farraway MLC at the multi-purpose amenities block at Cheney Oval for a ribbon cutting ceremony when he made the announcement.

“Today I can announce another $1.6 million, through the NSW Government’s Resources for Regions Fund, to build and upgrade many more projects across Parkes.” He said Parkes would not have to compete for the money, and it would be allocated on an annual basis.

Nationals NSW Upper House MP, Sam Farraway said the funding was a result of the NSW Government’s revamped Resources for Regions program giving local towns and communities embedded in the mining industry a guaranteed fairer share of funding. Parkes is one of 24 eligible Local Government Areas to benefit from the fund.

The refurbishment of the Cheney Park amenities block was jointly funded with $200,000 from the Regional Growth Fund, matched by $200,00 from Parkes Shire Council and a $20,000 contribution from the Parkes Touch Football Association.

There has been a recent spike in opportunistic thefts and the Parkes Police are urging residents to lock their vehicles and secure their possessions. “Lock your vehicles,” is the simple message from the Officer in charge of Parkes Police, Chief Inspector Dave Cooper.

He said recent incidents had been very opportunistic in nature with offenders checking cars parked on the street or in driveways. “If they are unlocked, they enter the vehicles and will steal anything of value. If the cars are locked, they move on. The same principle applies with items left unattended in the front yard or veranda. If it’s easy to grab, these offenders may target it. If it’s locked away, they won’t get the chance.”

The Chief Inspector said that unfortunately the days of leaving cars and homes unlocked because of our laid-back country lifestyle were over. “We need to make it harder for offenders.”

The Police will be increasing proactive patrols in response, but they cannot be everywhere. “We are calling on our community to do their bit and lock up.”