August is Pet Dental Health Month of the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA).

This year’s theme is Quality dental care is good medicine. Four out of five dogs and cats over the age of three years have some form of dental disease and it will often become more severe with age. Dental care is not only important for dogs and cats, but also smaller pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Pets may not show signs of dental issues and it is often missed or forgotten about by owners.

Periodontal disease, a bacterial infection of the mouth, is one of the most common problems in pets. If it goes untreated, severely affected teeth need to be removed and can lead to other serious problems such as infections in the kidneys, heart and liver.

In its early stages it is reversible. However, it can often go undetected until it is quite severe as pets often won’t show signs of pain.

Signs of periodontal disease to look out for include: bad breath; tartar build up on teeth; swollen, reddened or bleeding gums; broken teeth; reluctance to eat harderfoods or evidence of pus near the gums.

If you notice any of these signs in your pet it is best to get into contact with your veterinarian. Conducting an oral exam during your pet’s routine annual check-up can help identify any emerging dental health issues.

Just like we brush our teeth twice daily, preventative dental care is also important for all animals. (Source: www.ava.com.au)

Visit Parkes Pet Barn at 6 Bogan Street for a good variety of items to choose from for your pet’s dental health.

This National Science Week, we are asked to think about “Game Changers & Change Makers.” There is no better example of this than what we can find in our own backyard – the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope.

The telescope has stood quietly in the middle of a sheep paddock for nearly six decades – a fixed landmark for those used to its existence, a wonder to those who visit, and a powerhouse for scientists across the globe. Since 1961 the telescope has been evolving and is now more than 10,000 times more sensitive than it was when it first opened its radio eyes.

Although the Dish may be best known for its role in the Apollo missions and helping broadcast mankind’s first steps on the Moon, the telescope has played pivotal roles in numerous scientific breakthroughs.

Parkes has time and time again been called on by the likes of NASA and the European Space Agency to help track some of the most successful space-based missions.

In 1973, Parkes was the first telescope to discover a stream of material trailing our nearest neighbour galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. This formed a more complete picture of the “neighbourhood” in which our galaxy, the Milky Way, resided.

In 1998, observations taken with the then new multibeam receiver proved that our Milky Way was responsible for the destruction witnessed between the Magellanic Clouds.

The multibeam receiver is considered by many to be the single most productive and successful astronomical instrument the world has ever seen. In addition to mapping out our local neighbourhood, the dynamic duo of Parkes with the multibeam receiver have discovered more than half of a specific type of star known as pulsars.

Pulsars behave like cosmic clocks and observations of them allow us to test some of the most extreme physics – including gravitational waves and Einstein’s general relativity.

Earlier this year, Parkes had another upgrade with the installation of a receiver called the Ultra-wide Bandwidth Low (UWL). In the past, most telescopes either studied objects as they changed over time, or recorded how they change with wavelength, or “colours”.

The new receiver will make Parkes the first telescope in the world able to do both at the same time opening up an entirely new window through which we can study the Universe.

The CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope stands as an icon of Australian scientific achievement – constantly looking out for the next big discovery.

* CSIRO hosts and manages a wide range of science-ready national research facilities that are used by thousands of Australian and international researchers each year. This includes Parkes radio telescope, part of the Australia Telescope National Facility, which is funded by the Australian Government.

By Jane Kaczmarek

A record number of people made use of the Parkes Visitor Information Centre (VIC). Almost 30,000 visitors were welcomed through the VIC’s doors in the 2017/18 financial year resulting in a 24% increase in visitor numbers compared to the previous year. The number of visiting tour groups also increased by 19.04%.

Tourism Team Leader Jaimee Timmins said a number of small improvements to onsite amenities and customer service products had resulted in the biggest and best year to-date in terms of visitation.

“Last year we introduced volunteer support to assist with customer service, revitalised both the indoor and outdoor seating areas, introduced new information touch screens and a V3 booking widget, and refreshed each of the four museums.”

“More recently we have introduced new operating hours in an effort to provide the best possible visitor experience, while maintaining our service standards and becoming more cost efficient,” said Jaimee.

The new operating hours are Monday to Friday from 9am to 4pm, and Saturday, Sunday & Public Holidays from 10am to 3pm.

During busier times, like the Parkes Elvis Festival, the Visitor Information Centre will extend its hours to open 9am to 5pm daily.

The Parkes Visitor Information Centre was recently recognised as a finalist in the Visitor Information Services category, for its quality customer service and commitment to enhancing the visitor experience.

The Parkes Elvis Festival keeps on rocking and rolling in accolades taking home a second gold in as many weeks.

The festival won gold at the Local Government R H Dougherty Awards in Sydney last week as joint winner with the Flavours of Mudgee Festival of the Innovation in Special Events (Division A) category.

“Each year we aim to make the festival new, exciting and unique, and in 2017 we introduced new elements including the Heatbreak Hotels and misting fans, free water refill stations, Elvis public art, live streaming of events, and an innovative PR campaign that achieved a media reach of 200+ million worldwide,” said Parkes Elvis Festival Director Cathy Treasure.

Parkes gained a second award with Brand and Marketing Manager, Katrina Dwyer winning the R H Dougherty Award for Outstanding Individual Contribution for the significant role she plays in the successful delivery of Council’s internal and external communications.

“Katrina is so deserving of this accolade, having dedicated herself to the organisation and our community for over 10 years,” said Parkes Shire Mayor, Cr Ken Keith OAM.

Member for Orange Philip Donato MP extended his congratulations to Parkes on its well-deserved achievements making it stand out as one of the best and brightest.

“I’m thrilled Parkes was mentioned not once, but twice in these prestigious awards.

It’s fantastic when the efforts of our smaller cities are acknowledged on a larger scale,” he said.

An uplifting comment from a family member was all it took for a seed to be planted that would grow into a flourishing community fellowship café.

Last Saturday the Soul Café celebrated its fifth anniversary with more than 40 people enjoying not only good conversation but excellent home-made slices and other organic delicacies, freshly ground coffee and of course birthday cake.

When Carole Corbett saw how churches were being converted into cafes and eating establishments on her last pilgrimage to the British Isles, a spark was ignited to do something similar in Parkes. “I’ve been cooking since childhood, and used to invite the sheep shearers for a daily lunch in our home in Trundle.”

She also remembered a comment by her aunt that she had a gift for organising and she should use it to the benefit of the ministry. She had no trouble getting the green light from the parish council to start a café in the St Georges Church Hall and on 3rd August 2013 the Soul Café opened its doors.

Twice a month, on the first two Saturdays, the Soul Café offers patrons a delicious and very reasonable menu, all made by Carole, but also a convivial atmosphere where people can relax and chat for as long as they want to. “The beauty of it is that even if you come alone, there will always be someone to talk to.”