Articles Archives - Page 263 of 459

Snippets…

May 22, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

There are a lot of changes happening along lower Clarinda Street with the Main Street Revitalisation Project nearing completion. This 8m Town Centre pylon was installed recently near Cooke Park, while lots of landscaping was also done, parking lines added and lots more.

Click And Collect Your Books: Parkes Shire Library launched its new Click and Collect service on Monday making borrowing library books a breeze. While libraries remain temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 restrictions, they are permitted to operate a click and collect service with library materials collected outside the library.

“For the safety of our staff and members, we have implemented a range of control measures including correct hand hygiene to be maintained prior to and after handling items, returned items will be segregated into a dedicated quarantine area and cleaned before being re-shelved, and physical distancing will be strictly observed during the collection and delivery process,” said Manager Cultural Education & Library Services, Kerryn Jones. To borrow library items go to www.parkes.nsw.gov.au/things-to-do/parkes-shire-libraries/what-can-you-borrow/

Library staff will contact you by phone when your reservations are ready to be collected. You can collect your items at the front door of your local branch library – Parkes, Peak Hill, Trundle or Tullamore branches.

No Changes To Hospital Visitors: Visitor restrictions continue to apply to all hospitals and multipurpose services in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD).
• One visitor per patient at any time.
• Maximum of two visitors per person per day for residents in MPS facilities.
• All visitors undergo temperature testing and screening on arrival.
• All visitors to residents of MPS facilities must show they have received a 2020 influenza vaccine.
• Children under the age of 18 cannot visit.

Fire and Rescue Open Day: In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fire and Rescue NSW moved their 2020 Open Day online for this week via Facebook until tomorrow, Saturday 23 May. Firefighters will walk you through how to check your smoke alarms and help you come up with a fire escape plan via Facebook. As Winter is the time when there’s an increase in residential house fire related fatalities, it is important residents remember to be careful when using heaters and fireplaces and electric blankets.

Visit www.fire.nsw.gov.au, or the Fire and Rescue NSW Facebook page or search for the Parkes station on Facebook.

Blood Donations ‘Essential’: Donate now. Blood donors are needed now more than ever with 800 cancellations per day nationally and blood products shortages are potentially going to be a reality. Make an appointment online or call 13 14 95.

Giant Blue Tongue Welcomes Back Students

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Year 6 students Jessica Larsen and Lilly Gosper helped to design Barugil the lizard.

Students started returning to school this week and at Middleton Primary they were greeted by a big, bright and cheerful lizard.

The artwork, made from recycled materials by the school community, depicts the Gunbalanya dreamtime story of the blue tongue lizard.

The students looked at and combined both traditional and modern indigenous artwork styles to create the piece measuring five metres by three metres. The lizard was drawn by Year 6 students, Jessica Larsen and Lilly Gosper, and then all students were involved in adding approximately 3,500 colourful bottle tops to complete the full picture.

The artwork has been named Barugil, which is Wiradjuri for blue tongue. The artwork was completed for the annual Waste 2 Art competition and exhibition run by NetWaste.

The project was once again directed by Helen Standen, having led the school to eight previous regional wins in the competition.

Although the competition was cancelled this year because of COVID-19, the students still enjoyed returning to school being welcomed by the eye-catching artwork.

“It is so nice for everyone to be back on board, with more and more students coming back each day,” said teacher Judy Fisher.

The whole school gets involved in the annual Waste 2 Art project during their library time learning about reducing, reusing and recycling waste.

Do Not Put Away Your Poppies

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Parkes Town Crier, Tim Keith, in Cooke Park last Friday. The 75th anniversary medal participating town criers received.

The Parkes Town Crier proudly joined town criers from all over the world on the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day last Friday for a very special ceremony.

Tim Keith, Parkes’s town crier of the past 24 years, marked this historic anniversary with a ‘Cry For Peace Around The World’ at the Cenotaph in Cooke Park.

Although the cry was done in almost complete isolation in the park, Tim raised his bell with nine other Australian town criers at exactly 3pm, while the New Zealand and Great Britain town criers followed their time zones.

It has been 75 years since the guns fell silent when Winston Churchill officially announced the end of the war in Europe and declared it to be VE Day at 3pm on Tuesday, 8th May 1945.

Tim said the idea came from the Guild of Town Criers in England, and as the President of the Australian Guild, he felt it was a great event to join. Each participant received a special VE Day medallion and pin to mark the 75th anniversary.

Part of the ‘Cry For Peace Around The World’ read:
Remember men and women, old and young, who died to make us free.
The women left at home did not just sit and wait.
They toiled in harsh conditions before dawn to very late.
Factories, farms, other essential jobs, the women were quick at learning.
They worked, some died, to keep the home fires burning.
As we remember this special day, do not forget that every day someone needs your aid,
Do not put away your poppies, letting your memories fade.
Celebrate with the knowledge that VE Day is also a time to remember,
Beyond the solemn wreaths of the 11th of November.
Let’s thank all those who have gone before, with their colours proudly unfurled.
Join us as united we say, ‘Peace to the world’.

Little To Complain About

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Margaret Dwyer, better known as Mardie, is the author of four books.

As a 91-year-old resident of a unit in Southern Cross Village, I feel I had little to complain about during my enforced isolation.

I have a large family, four of whom live locally and one who bought our former homestead. She and her husband live in Sydney, and after isolating for 18 days, she decided to bring her laptop in one day a week and worked from my table, with me in another room.

This, and the very brief visits of the other four when they handed in yummy cooking, and/or groceries from the door, kept me from feeling lonely, as well as extremely well fed.

I realise how fortunate I am and know there are many who either don’t have family or they live too far away to be able to do this.

My kitchen cupboards have never been so organised, as well as my wardrobe. I had time to phone people who I knew might be lonely and vulnerable for a chat.

On the negative side, my spiritual life, which is so important to me, declined. Weekend masses were discontinued, as well as daily masses at the school chapel, which I rely on for spiritual comfort. Admittedly, Father Barry arranged for a home liturgy kit to be delivered to us over Easter with all the epistle and gospel readings for Holy Week. I am still receiving a weekly bulletin with all the readings for the current weekends, so all that is missing are my fellow parishioners and Father to share them with, plus of course Holy Communion.

On Anzac Day, Bobby Strickland and I, complete with a portable keyboard, took a stroll through the entire village about 11am, (no one would want 6am in this neck of the woods!) I played The Last Post, we recited the ode and finally Bobby sang the National Anthem. Residents came out of their units and some followed us from venue to venue. The help of Harry and Doreen Westcott was much appreciated by the two Pied Pipers!

There is no doubt my TV and online technology helped me to keep my spirits up when I missed the physical presence of those near and dear to me. I still consider I was very blessed.

By Mardie Dwyer

Snippets…

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

First Online Author Talk: Adam Courtenay, author of The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter will feature in the Parkes Library’s very first online author talk on Friday, 22nd May at 6pm. Library members and residents will have the opportunity to hear from the Sydney-based writer and journalist about his new book The Ghost and the Bounty Hunter streamed live on Facebook. The book is a microcosm of Australian colonial history, setting John Batman’s unbridled ambition against Buckley’s yearning to keep his adopted people alive. Please RSVP to this free online event by clicking ‘going’ on the Facebook Event page. Viewers will be able to make comments and ask questions via the comments section.

Vegetation Program: Essential Energy started a comprehensive vegetation management program in Parkes and the surrounding area, to ensure the ongoing safety and reliability of the local electricity network. The vegetation program is about striking a balance between preserving the town’s trees and ensuring power safety and reliability for the community. Residents can download Essential Energy’s Tree Planting Guide at essentialenergy.com. au/trees for tips on appropriate species for planting near powerlines or contact 13 23 91 for more information.

No Time To Be Complacent: The Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) has urged local residents to come forward for COVID-19 testing, even if the symptoms they have experienced are mild. The symptoms can be very much like those you experience with a cold or hay-fever – a sore or scratchy throat, a cough, shortness of breath, or fever. Testing is available at general practitioners (call ahead), respiratory clinics, and testing clinics at smaller rural hospitals (call ahead). If you’re unsure of whether you should be tested, or where to go, contact the Western Public Health Helpline on 1300 066 055. The test involves taking swabs from the back of your nose and throat. If you’re tested in a NSW hospital and your test is negative, you’ll get a text message within several hours of the results being known. If your test is positive, you’ll be contacted by a person from NSW Health about how to isolate and they’ll talk to you about who you’ve been in contact with.

Food Is COVID Safe: The federal, state and territory agricultural ministers have moved to reassure and reiterate to Australians that there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food. The Victorian regulatory authority and the Federal Department of Agriculture does not intend to initiate a recall of any product produced at Cedar Meats after the outbreak of the disease in a Victorian abattoir as the products are safe.

Our Bloke – Kim Chambers

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I was born in Parkes and have lived here all my life. Having grown up in the town you get to know a lot of people. Everything you need is here.

Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am retired and have been for 12 years from the DMR, RTA. I love to get in the shed and do woodworking and furniture restoration.

What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I am a bit of an artist and every Wednesday I enjoy going to art group and doing some landscape painting. And I enjoy doing cryptic crosswords.

What makes you proud? My family – my children and grandchildren all live in Parkes and I am very proud of them all.

If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? A bird, I’d like to fly.

What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? I like the old movies: The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, The Sting; any Elvis music, I like to read paperback westerns.

Tell us about your best holiday. My best recent holiday was driving the Great Ocean Road and traveling through central Victoria.

What is on your bucket list? I would like to drive the Eyre Highway along the Nullabor and play the Nullabor Links (world’s longest golf course).

Mateship And Team Spirit In Isolation

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

When it comes to such trying times as we are in at present the true colours of mateship and team spirit come shining through.

Parkes Dragon Boat Club (PDBC) members have found ways of staying connected under the current laws and the closure of waterways.

First came Maggi’s virtual morning teas with an Easter hat parade, and entertainment from Louise, Beth and Bill.

As the weekly virtual chat proved so popular, Robyn came up with a novel idea to do a virtual walk along the iconic Route 66 in the USA, covering 3,665km. A good number of members are counting daily steps with a fair section already covered.

Whilst counting his steps, Gattie came up with the idea of taking selfies outside other members’ homes when out exercising… Safe distancing at its best!

Al is keeping everyone entertained posting his hilarious ‘bin isolation outings’ every week.

In lieu of training time, club members opted for volunteering and are helping out twice a week at Georgie’s Pantry.

Bill has set up a simulated boat over their pool and with the easing of laws and consent given by the local Police, Beth has started one on one coaching for members.

Staying connected is a vital cog in helping to come out the other end of this pandemic as a strong and healthy group.

It makes me proud to be part of this club with an amazing band of people. If you’re looking to join a great group, we will welcome you once we are back on the water.

By Bill Thomas,
PDBC President

Peak Hill Artist’s Celestial Emu ‘Coined’

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

STARS IN HIS EYES… Wiradjuri artist Scott “Sauce” Towney with the $1 collector’s coin depicting his art work.

When Peak Hill artist Scott “Sauce” Towney first started working on a project to draw constellations of Wiradjuri stories in the night sky about five years ago he never imagined one of the works would feature on a $1 coin one day.

Reality sunk in this week when he received the stunning silver coin depicting the majesty and wonder of the Emu in the Sky constellation packaged in a beautiful box. The uncirculated coin is part of the Star Dreaming series of three coins of the Australian Mint.

“It is fantastic and surreal at the same time,” said Sauce. “I’ve been an artist all my life, and this one is up there. I guess this is my 15 minutes of fame. Everyone in my small community is congratulating me.”

The Peak Hill Central School posted on Facebook: “We are incredibly proud of our former student.”

Going back five years, Sauce was approached by an astronomer in Orange, Trevor Leman, who was working on a research project on Wiradjuri constellations as the indigenous Australians were the first astronomers and have been using the stars as navigation maps, calendars and to tell stories for tens of thousands of years.

He asked Sauce to illustrate the 13 he had picked out, which included the Emu in the Sky, a constellation seen as a silhouette traced by the dark spaces in the Milky Way.

Sauce said when the completed works were on exhibition at the Parkes Library, Trevor mentioned in his speech at the opening that the Australian Mint was interested in using the Emu on a coin. “That came as a big surprise as it was the first I had heard of it.”

The Emu in the Sky as shown on the $1 coin.

It took another two years before Sauce could hold the actual coin in his hand, but in the meantime the Emu has become a bit of a celebrity capturing everyone’s imagination.

In September 2017 six of Sauce’s works were unveiled at the Community Wall in Peak Hill forming part of the public art trail in the Parkes Shire. The panels included his beautiful drawings of The Mighty Yarran Tree, The Eagle’s Nest, Cockatoos, The Seven Sisters, The Great Creator, and of course The Celestial Emu. Sauce was also asked to do a rock carving of the emu for the new Parkes Hospital.

Sauce has been a finalist in the NSW Premier’s Indigenous Art Awards and has completed many commissions. He specialises in drawing and pyrography and experiments with a variety of materials for his contemporary style of indigenous art. He is currently back at his former school in Peak Hill to paint murals using contemporary Wiradjuri patterns.

“I use the patterns on tree carvings as my inspiration, but do not copy them. I use them in a contemporary way as a means of preserving our patterns.” He also aims to put an element of fun in his designs for the school.

If you would like to own one of these very special $1 collector’s coin depicting Sauce’s rendition of the Emu in the Sky, go to the Australian Mint’s website to purchase it online.

By Maggi Barnard

Upgrade For Three Showgrounds

May 15, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

Three showgrounds in the Parkes Shire have received good news this week of grants worth thousands of dollars for upgrades to facilities.

The Parkes and Tullamore show societies will receive $102,183 and $148,550 respectively through the Regional Agricultural Show Development Grants program, while Peak Hill received funding through the improvement program of the NSW Government.

A total of $20 million in grants were allocated to 122 regional agricultural show societies to renew and reinvigorate ageing showgrounds.

Minister for Agriculture, David Littleproud, said the grants would also serve as a much needed cash injection in the wake of recent bushfires and the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Ag shows are the heart and soul of our regional communities. They bring and keep communities together, link the country to the city and provide a key boost to these local economies.”

The money in Parkes will be used to carry out repairs to the luncheon room involving roof, box guttering and ceiling replacement, and repairs to the main arena grandstand including flooring, seating, handrails, steps and loose brickwork. Bird-proofing will also be installed.

The Tullamore Pastoral, Agricultural and Horticultural Association Inc will use the money to concrete the poultry shed floor, provide new flooring for bathrooms, line the pavilion dining room, install shelter over horse yards, construct a verandah for the pony club shed, provide power for barbecues and shelter at the camping area, and provide portable yards.

The upgrades at Peak Hill will focus on keeping facilities safe and functional.

Dogs No Longer Ask ‘Where’s Wally?’

May 8, 2020 By Maggi Barnard

One of the over 750 dogs and puppies rescued and rehomed by Wally’s Doggie Rescue in Parkes over the past three years.

No one knew when Wally’s Doggie Rescue signed on their first foster carer in Parkes three years ago just how much need there was in the Central West for dog rescue.

Cathy Arman, who established Wally’s on the Central Coast almost 15 years ago before she moved to Parkes, started with the occasional long-term foster dog.

Her daily motto was ‘build it they are coming’, and today Wally’s has nine large secure dog pens, three 1.8m high fenced exercise yards and a 2.4m high security exercise yard.

Dogs of all ages and sizes have been fostered in Parkes over the last three years on their way to their forever homes and a few mums have had their last litter in care before being de-sexed and finding their very own homes.

The oldest foster Teddy celebrated his 17th birthday as a permanent retiree foster weighing in at 4kg, and Thor, who weighs in at 64kg, the biggest boy who came into care.

Over 750 puppies and dogs have passed through Parkes, eating around 100kg of dog food a week.

HELPING HAND

Cathy started noticing a high number of working breed dogs at pounds, and put two and two together that the drought was taking its toll on dog ownership. She wanted to help and contacted her friends at Pet Rescue.

Mars Pet Foods in Bathurst quickly responded to Pet Rescue’s request for help and donated over 30 pallets of dog and cat food.

Logistics of storage and distribution had to be organised and without thinking twice, David Potts of Parkes Brick and Pavers put his hand up to help out. “Everyone else who was asked all jumped on board, including SCT Logistics, Georgie’s Pantry, Tommy’s Hay Run and lots of locals from townships in the Central West. Everyone helped to get the food out to where it was needed most,” said Cathy.

Mars Pet Foods donated pallets a second time approaching Wally’s Doggie Rescue to help out fire affected areas too. The distribution network grew quickly with David Potts’s connections, the local Farmers Federation members and Lions Clubs throughout the state to ensure over 100 pallets of top-quality pet food reached eve- ry corner of the state.

RESCUE

Wally’s has a good working relationship with many pounds in NSW and focuses on dogs that are critical on put to sleep (PTS) lists. Wally’s works closely with Orange Council and recently Molong Council, with a large reduction in their PTS rates. The aim is to also establish a working relationship with Parkes Council.

For more information go to Wally’s Doggie Rescue on Facebook or find dogs available for adoption on www.petrescue.com.au

HELPING HAND

RESCUE

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