The Parkes Business of the Year award went to Regos Plus Tyre & Mechanical last year. In two weeks’ time this year’s winner will be announced at the 2019 Henry Awards gala evening.

In two weeks’ time the business gala event of the year will take place at the Parkes Services Club.

The 2019 Henry Awards gala evening on 25th October is the night when local business in the Parkes Shire are celebrated.

This year the annual event is going pink in support of Pink Up Parkes with $5 per head donated to the McGrath Breast Cancer Foundation. Make sure to get your ticket before they sell out at $90 including a meal and entertainment, and a night of brilliant networking.

The evening is hosted by the Parkes Chamber of Commerce. This year categories include: Start Up Superstar; Outstanding Young Employee; Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Services; Excellence in Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Mining, Industrial and Trade; Excellence in Personal and Lifestyle Services; Excellence in Professional Services; Excellence in Retail; Excellence in Social Enterprise; Excellence in Innovation; Outstanding Young Entrepreneur; Outstanding Business Leader; Excellence in Small Business; and Excellence in Business.

At the prize draw were (L-R) Parkes Shire Councillors Alan Ward and Bill Jayet, Banjo the Recycled Water Scheme Mascot, Mayor Ken Keith OAM and Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton.

The drinking water in Parkes has been given the tick of approval with 43% of locals rating the water quality high or very high.

In the 2019 Parkes Water Survey residents were asked to rate their satisfaction with the quality and affordability of Parkes’ drinking water. They were also asked to gauge community attitudes towards the Recycled Water Scheme, which will use recycled water to irrigate public greenspaces.

Participants in the survey went into a draw to win Council vouchers towards their water bills.

The first prize, a $250 Council voucher towards the winner’s water account, went to Kristy Davison. Second prize winner, David Potts, won a $150 Council voucher, and Mark O’Neil claimed third prize, a $75 Shop Parkes Card.

“This year we had 164 respondents, which provides a strong sample of the population,” said Mayor Ken Keith OAM.

“It is particularly encouraging to see that the overwhelming majority of our residents regularly undertake water saving practices.”

Generally, respondents expressed satis-faction with the quality of Parkes drinking water: 40% rated Parkes water quality as average; 43% considered it to be high or very high; 85% reported satisfaction with the value for money.

The survey results show that the new Re-cycled Water Scheme is well received, with over 92% of respondents expressing sup-port, 6% neutral, and only one respondent expressed disapproval.

COMPUTER TRAINING
Want to feel more confident using a computer or mobile device? The Parkes Library provides FREE computer training.
Would you like to learn how to:
– send an email?
– search the internet?
– shop online?
– download and store photos?
– attach photos to emails?
– use Facebook?
– use computer programs such as Micro-soft Word?

You can learn safely and at your own pace at the Parkes Library with hands-on support and advice from our friendly staff. Train-ing and support sessions are held every Wednesday morning during school terms from 9am to 10:30am at the Parkes Library. These sessions are designed for beginners through to more experienced users. The sessions are free for Library members – if you’re not a member it’s free to join! For bookings call the Library on 6861 2309. You can also access the Computer Training Pro-gram and Digital Learning from home via our Online Library catalogue.

GIVE BRIDGE A TRY!
Keep mentally fit and have fun. Parkes Bridge Club is offering FREE lessons and demonstration games at Parkes Shire Li-brary commencing Monday, 21st October on Mondays from 1pm to 3pm and Fridays from 10am to 12noon. Enquiries: Greig Ball 0429 621 712.

ADVANCED CODE CLUB – SCRATCH
Refine your coding skills that you’ve learned in Scratch with a whole new set of fun projects. Participants must already have experience using Scratch. Six-week course starting on Tuesday, 22nd October to 26th November from 4 to 5pm at the Parkes Shire Library. For primary students years 3 – 6. Places are limited. Bring a parent/guardian with you to register. Call 6861 2309 for more information.

BEFORE AND AFTER… Tommy Davis with his long locks (left) and after the big shave done by Dolly Allan (right).

It’s Pink Up Parkes month and one resident has already taken a big step in showing his support and raising funds for the McGrath Foundation. Currajong Disability Services (CDS) client Thomas Davis kept his promise and shaved his locks to raise vital funds.

Thomas, or Tommy as he is known, talked about doing a shave months before, and last week he had his curls snipped by Dolly Allan, also of CDS.

“I think it’s a great initiative by Tommy,” said Indigo Kriedemann of Currajong Disability Services. “So far there have been around 500 donations. He is a credit to himself, his family and Currajong,” she said.

The idea first came to Tommy before the start of the 2019 NRL season when he was originally going to shave his hair if the Canterbury Bulldogs won the wooden spoon.

While the Bulldogs rallied to finish mid-table, the idea soon developed into something else and more supportive of a worthwhile cause – cancer and the McGrath Foundation. “I just wanted to make a difference,” said Tommy, “and hopefully I have. I can’t thank everyone enough for supporting me and the McGrath Foundation,” he said.

If you want to get behind Tommy’s cause, call Currajong on 6863 4713. The Mcgrath Foundation raises money to fund McGrath Breast Care Nurses in communities right across Australia. More nurses are needed to meet the growing rate of breast cancer diagnosis in Australia.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, John Barilaro

Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, John Barilaro released the draft master plan for the Parkes Special Activation Precinct recently. The plan outlines how land should be used across the 4,800 hectare purposely zoned precinct, what businesses could exist and operate there, and how an eco-industrial hub can be established and thrive. Parkes Shire Council’s General Manager, Kent Boyd said: “We are excited to be working with the NSW Government on the next step towards our community’s long-term vision of developing Parkes as a national logistics hub and inland port.”

“The State’s first Special Activation Precinct will be designed to take advantage of the unique economic opportunities of Parkes’ strategic location at the epicentre of the national freight and logistics network and will create up to 3,000 jobs over the next two decades, adding to the diversity of our economy especially in times of drought.” Kent encouraged residents to take up the opportunity to have their say during the consultation period and help Parkes reach its full potential.

The draft master plan follows 12 months of detailed investigation into the area by government and independent advisors. As part of the investigations, an independent consultant identified land owned by Parkes Shire Mayor as one of the parcels that was strategically important to the hub. To protect against potential conflict of interest, Parkes Shire Council has robust procedures in place to ensure there is no question about probity.

The Parkes National Logisitics Hub Probity Plan, available on Council’s website, describes the principles to be applied, the processes to be used and the controls that will be implemented to promote the integrity of any land acquisitions and ensure that all aspects of the process continue to be above reproach and fair to all. To view the draft master plan and to have your say until 20th October, visit www.planningportal.nsw.gov.au/exhibition