Comes the calling of November
The thought of Christmas Eve,
And thirty days until December
Rise the Christmas Trees.

Decorations are in the homes
And all along the halls,
‘The tinsel’s out’, the mothers groan,
‘It’ll soon be on the floors!’

The relatives they come to stay
With presents all about them,
The kids are led astray
By the lollies that surround them.

Fairy lights twinkle like stars
All around the street.
My! Christmas comes so fast,
On speeding festive feet.

The big day comes for Christmas feasts
And family celebrations.
And in the snow, or in the heat,
We cheer with all the nations.

The day’s soon done
And visitors leave all in a puff.
We all sit down and mother says,
‘No more Christmas! I’ve had enough.’

Rock up to some brand-new entertainment at Parkes Elvis Festival that will have you dancing in your seats! The Soul Movers, Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows and a Comedy Hypnosis Show: Elvis Style, are just a few of the new and exciting performances the festival has in store for locals.

Don’t miss the opportunity to celebrate the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s birthday by watching one of Australia’s most iconic soul and blues band, Joe Camilleri and The Black Sorrows, at the Parkes Services Club on Wednesday, 8th January at 5:30pm. Joe is also the Wall of Fame inductee at the 2020 festival, which will take place at 2pm on the same day.

Tickets to this entertaining show performed by these Australian music legends would make the perfect Christmas gift.

The Soul Movers are a rockin’ pop and funky soul band fronted by Lizzie Mack and her brother in soul, guitarist and ex red Wiggle Murray Cooke, groove bass player Andy Newman (The Visitors), Marko Simec on keys (Waiting for Guinness) and drummer to the stars Lozz Benson.

This 60-minute show will be unforgettable as their sound is all about creating soul-moving music that will leave you bopping long after the last encore. The Soul Movers are performing at the Parkes Little Theatre on Friday, 10th January at 9pm.

Hypnotist Wayne Donnelly will be unleashing his hypnotic skills on willing volunteers and will make the world go away in a series of hysterical and hilarious Elvis Style hypnosis routines. It’s now or never, come and create memories that will last a lifetime at Parkes Little Theatre on Saturday, 11th January at 8pm.

For further information and tickets visit parkeselvisfestival.com.au.

• Special Elvis Issue: The next edition of The Parkes Phoenix will be a bumper Elvis edition on Thursday, 9th January filled with stories and information on the 2020 Parkes Elvis Festival.

Three Parkes students were among a group of Indigenous students who recently took part in the final stage of a six-month leadership program hosted by the Central West Police District.

The Active Citizens Program commenced in July and involved Indigenous Year 10 students from Parkes, Condobolin and Lake Cargelligo. Participants were involved in various cultural activities aimed at developing their leadership skills and discover- ing career opportunities.

Last month the students attended a leadership camp at Jindabyne and Canberra for the final stage. They joined fellow participants from the Tweed/Byron Police District to hike to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko.

All participants made it to the top of Australia despite challenging conditions.

“We do this trip so the young people can realise they can push themselves physically and mentally further than they think they can,” said Central West Police District Crime Prevention Officer, Senior Constable Daniel Greef.

The group also toured the Royal Military Academy, Duntroon, in Canberra before being treated to a presentation by an Aboriginal soldier on the military history featuring Aboriginal soldiers.

The camp concluded with a visit to the Australian War Memorial where students took part in an Indigenous-specific tour, as well as laying a wreath during a Last Post Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

It is possible to do your own divorce, property settlement, custody and maintenance matters. Remember that these areas are fraught with emotion and pit falls. Remember, too, the old axiom: “Any lawyer who acts for himself has a fool for a client.” This applies equally to lay people.

Lawyers can give you information and advice, prepare documents, assist in negotiations, counselling and mediations, and can represent you in court if your issues cannot be resolved beforehand.

The Family Law Act requires a lawyer to tell you about how you can settle your disputes by conciliation and the counselling services offered by the Family Court. You must also be given a copy of the information brochure “Marriage, Families and Separation”.

The reasons you should consider appointment of a legal representative are that you may want advice on multiple issues at the same time. A court will not grant final orders until it is satisfied that proper arrangements have been made for the children. There may also be tensions between the parties, which make it impossible for them to objectively deal with all issues.

Legal aid maybe available but you will need to complete and submit a legal aid application.

If we at Matthews Williams can assist you on this or any other legal matter, feel free to phone me or one of our solicitors or call into our office for an appointment.

By Mark Olson

Ian Thompson has given himself a Christmas present learning a new life skill.

He has been attending computer lessons at Parkes Library for over two years, and this is what he has gained from it.

Why did you want to do the computer training at the library? It was initially recommended by my rehabilitation provider to improve my chances of returning to work. I had wanted to learn about computers anyway so I went.

What have you learned? I didn’t know how to make capital letters when I first started! But I now know how to email, do word processing and research the internet. I have also been learning about cyber bullying.

How did you find the lessons? They’re informative but everyone learns at their own pace so there’s no pressure.

Will you be able to put your new knowledge to good use and how do you plan to use it? I feel confident to use it at home and to stay up to date with what the family are doing too.

Would you recommend it to other people? Yes. The library staff allow everyone to learn at their own pace, there’s no pressure to hit certain benchmarks. They are very patient and make the learning fun as well as informative.

What was the highlight of the training for you? Learning how to use the computer and surprising myself that I was able to learn more. Yes, there’s a lot to learn but you only need to learn what you want to know. Once you get the basics, it’s quite fascinating learning more and more.

The Parkes Library offers the lessons for free, but bookings are essential. Contact Library staff on 6861 2309 or pop in to talk to Dan who runs the computer classes.

Up to 2,000 people attended the annual and festive Carols in the Park event on a beautiful night to celebrate life in the midst of losses and challenges last Sunday.

Some people remarked it was one of the best Carols events they could remember.

The carols band and singers led the community in beautiful songs, while all the primary school choirs, Tapestry and Hannah Dun provided the entertainment for the night.

“I really enjoyed the strong expression of unity and community which gave a very special feel,” said Rev Andrew Taggart, President of the Parkes Ministers Association. “With the children in front of the stage so full of joy, there was a sense that we were a great extended family. I also really enjoyed the variety and creativity of the mix of items.”

Determined to do their bit to reduce drink driving across the Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council areas, 57 pubs, clubs and bottle shops have joined the Plan B campaign.

Plan B is a state-wide initiative encouraging patrons to think about alternatives to driving home after a night out.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Of- ficer, Melanie Suitor, said drink driving was one of the biggest causes of death and in- jury on NSW roads.

“Country people are at particular risk given the lack of public transport or other op- tions for getting home.”

Alcohol related crashes claimed the lives of at least 64 people on NSW roads last year, accounting for 18% of all road fatalities and included 52 lives lost on country roads.

During December, patrons at participating businesses will be invited to enter a competition to win a swag valued at $250 by nominating a Plan B for getting home.

The competition will be drawn on New Year’s Eve.

The promotion coincides with enhanced Police enforcement, reminding drivers that RBT means you need a Plan B, especially following the introduction of tougher drink driving penalties earlier this year.

These include drivers who commit a low range drink driving offence for the first time. They will have their licence suspended immediately, effective for three months. This will be coupled with a significant fine of $572.

A low range drink drive reading is a blood alcohol level between 0.05 and 0.079. The reforms deliver swifter, consistent and more certain penalties for drink driving in NSW.