There are many crimes or offences. A lot are contained in the Crimes Act but many more are contained in other statutes both of the State and Federal Parliaments. The range of offences vary from murder down to parking.

Most criminal matters are commenced by the Police or the Director of Public Prosecutions by way of Court Attendance Notices (formerly known as Police Charges/ Summonses) and those charged with an offence will appear firstly before a magistrate sitting in a local court. In some cases, issues of bail may need to be considered.

Magistrates deal with over 90% of criminal matters summarily but the more serious offences are committed to the District Court or Supreme Court for trial before a judge and/or jury.

Unlike civil matters, criminal matters must be proved ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ having regard to the elements of the offence. This is when a solicitor’s professional knowledge becomes essential for the client (i.e. the person charged with an offence).

Police will normally have a fact sheet (which is not evidence but outlines the Police case) on the occasion of the first appearance before the court. With the fact sheet and instructions from the client, this will help the solicitor in deciding whether to advise the client to plead guilty or not guilty having regard to the elements of the offence. Sometimes an adjournment is necessary to obtain further information.

Once a plea is entered, the magistrate may adjourn the matter for hearing, sentence the client, commit the client for trial in a higher court or other options which may depend on the seriousness of the offence and the previous criminal history of the client.

The Parkes Bridge Club has found a new home in the Red Cross Rooms in a win-win situation for both parties.

The bridge club which, over the past six years, has gone from the Father Pat Centre, to the Railway Bowling Club, to the Parkes Leagues Club and temporarily to the foyer of The Little Theatre has found itself a home at last.

In a mutual arrangement, the Parkes Bridge Club has agreed to furnish the Red Cross room with new tables and chairs for their friendly coffee shop and to hire the room at regular times for members to play bridge.

This will bring ongoing benefits to both parties as the Red Cross will receive a permanent income, while the bridge club will gain a permanent home.

It will also allow an exciting new initiative for the bridge club as they will be able to hold beginners’ classes on a regular basis. Bridge, originating in Europe, is one of the world’s most popular card games; a great game for exercising the grey matter while also making new friends.

You can build your skills to play in tournaments around the region or just head along to one of the local weekly casual games on Mondays, Tuesday or Thursdays.

The beginner classes are planned to commence from mid-February, with a warm welcome extended to the Parkes community to head along.

Although it has been said that bridge is hard to learn, it only takes fundamental card knowledge to begin playing and enjoying the game. To master bridge may be more difficult and take more time, but that should not stop you from going along to give it a go. Like others, you will continue the journey of learning for many years to come.

For more information contact Greig Ball on 0429 621 712

By Beth Thomas

Twelve local kids spent the school holidays learning lifesaving skills as part of the first intake of the Outback Lifesavers program held at Parkes Aquatic Centre.

The program was developed by Parkes Shire trainers, Nikki Thornhill and Christie Pisani, in conjunction with Royal Lifesaving Society Australia (RLSSA) to provide children aged 10 to 16 with lifesaving survival and rescue skills. The aim is to prevent instances of drowning in rural and remote communities.

“The one-hour practical lessons over five consecutive days each had a different focus including water safety awareness, resuscitation, first aid, spinal injury management, rescue techniques, recognising an emergency and team building,” said Parkes Aquatic Centre Coordinator, Nikki Thornhill.

Six of the participants went on to complete their bronze medallion.

The nominees for the 2020 Parkes Shire Australia Day Awards have been named for the community celebrations on Sunday, 26th January at 11am in Cooke Park.

The annual awards celebrate and acknowledge community, sporting, environmental and cultural contributions at a local level. “Congratulations to all those nominated for these prestigious awards. “I invite the community to join the celebrations in each of the townships on Sunday,” said Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM.

The Citizen of the Year Nominees for Parkes are: May Collier, Jennifer Jewell, Hedley Nicholson, Pam Symonds, Catherine Dwyer, Natalie Quince, Ros Edwards and Terrance Job.

Young Citizen of the Year Nominees: Melanie Smede, Phoebe Potts, Elizabeth Hoyle and Becky Wright.

Community Event of the Year Nominees: 50th Anniversary Apollo 11 Moon Landing – CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope, Bogan Gate Village Fair, Pink Up Parkes, MLAHMC NAIDOC, Parkes East Primary School Fete and Paint Australia REaD.

See a full list of all the nominees on The Parkes Phoenix Facebook page.

The Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society finished a fantastic year of three big shows with ten Canberra Area Theatre (CAT) Awards and one commendation.

The nominations are for: Lyn Townsend and costume team – Best Costumes for a school or youth production: Shrek The Musical Jr; Imogen Steele – Patricia Kelson Encouragement award: Shrek; Keola Aho – Patricia Kelson Encouragement award: Les Miserables; Libby Pepper – Best youth actress in a feature role in a musical: Shrek; Tom Buesnell – Best youth actor in a lead- ing role in a musical – Shrek; Krystle-Lee McMurray – Best youth actress in a leading role in a musical – Anne Of Green Gables; Kimberley Ryan – Best actress in a leading role in a musical – Les Miserables; Neil Westcott, Gail Smith and Rachael Westcott – Best musical direction in a school or youth production – Shrek; Lyn Townsend – Best direction in a school or youth musical – Shrek; and Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society – Best production of a school or youth musical – Shrek. Commendation – Parkes Musical & Dramatic Society for making productions accessible to people with special needs through presenting a special autism-friendly performance and providing closed captioning for the hearing-impaired.

A CAT judge made the comment that “Parkes M & D is certainly punching above their weight in quality of productions”.

For Director Lyn Townsend the biggest highlight was the collaboration of members of the society, working cohesively and co-operatively in the production of three successful productions, while welcoming many new members to the theatre family.

Two prestigious awards were handed out at the 3rd Parkes Scouts Christmas Party last week.

Long serving Scout Leader, Barry Reid, was awarded the Silver Emu Award by Parkes Mayor Ken Keith for over 30 years of dedicated service to Scouts.

NSW Scouts Leader, Ben Williamson, and Regional Commissioner for The Golden West, Gavin Arnold also attended to con- gratulate Barry.

The second award went to Nic Unger who was presented with the Australian Scout Medallion, the highest achievement for a scout. To be eligible for this prestigious award, a Scout had to attend a Scout Leadership Course and achieve the Adventurer Cord. Nic also planned and lead a hike.

If you would like to find out more about Scouts or join them, contact Barry Reid on 0409 151 239 or join in on Thursdays from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Scout Hall at 11 Bushman Street.