Almost half of the Coobang Rural Fire Brigade members received long service medals at a ceremony held on the farm Trelawney outside Parkes last week. The 29 long service medals represented a combined total of 954 years of service at one of the oldest and most active rural brigades of the Mid Lachlan Valley Team.

The longest serving member with 64 years is Alan Somers. He joined the brigade in 1953 and became captain in 1960, and president from 1967 to 1997. Assistant Commissioner Jason Heffernan commended Alan on his achievement saying he had joined an elite band of people.

It was a special day for the Somers family, as Alan’s son Gary received his long service medal for 39 years. Gary became president in 1998 and still holds the position. Two other members who received medals for over 50 years of service were Neil Unger with 54 and Leon Laidley with 55 years.

The Deputy Commissioner said the rural fire brigades played a vital role. “If we don’t get out and do it, no one else will.” He warned of the season ahead saying it was going to be a hot and dry summer posing a real challenge to get on top of the situation. Parkes Deputy Mayor Barbara Newton thanked all the members for their bravery and dedication.

By Maggi Barnard

Parkes is going to be the rail freight capital of Australia with plans to build the biggest freight terminal in the country at a cost of $35 million. CEO of Australia’s largest rail freight operator, Pacific National Dean Dalla Valle was in Parkes on Tuesday to unveil the site at the Parkes Logistics Hub with Mayor Ken Keith. “This project will turn our dream of the Parkes Logistics Hub into reality,” the Mayor said.

“It is wonderful to be here at the site,” said Dean. “Located at the intersection of the main western railway line running from Sydney to Perth, the future Inland Rail corridor from Melbourne to Brisbane, and the Newell Highway, Parkes is the perfect place to establish a major intermodal freight terminal,” Dean said.

Once fully operational, the terminal will have the capacity to process up to 500,000 cargo containers each year, including the ability to haul double-stacked containers from Parkes to Perth.

Construction of Parkes Logistics Terminal will generate 50 full time jobs and opportunities for local construction work, while the future terminal will provide up to 20 new skilled jobs including train drivers and terminal crew.

The double lane terminal will be 1.8km long, making it the biggest in the country with Perth’s 1.2km terminal the second longest.

Last week was National Carers Week in recognition of a special group of people who are often taken for granted.
Whether they look after our mothers and fathers, grandparents or our children – they play a very important role in any family who rely on their time, support and generous nature. At Currajong Disability Services (CDS) in Parkes they are seen as angels.

“Without carers organisations like us would struggle,” said CEO of CDS Jeff Evans. “Carers are vital and on behalf of CDS I would like to say thank you,” said Jeff. The Currajong Carers Support Group (CCSG) and Currajong Autism and Special Needs Group (CASNG) are very active and supportive in the community. “The work Kitty Dwyer and Lethe Rawson have done for CCSG and Angela Wilson for the CASNG has been incredible,” said Jeff.

Having to write an original horror script of seven pages or less within 48 hours might sound like a nightmare to many, but for former Parkes Phoenix journalist Raen Fraser it was a thrill.

Winning the top prize at the Tasmanian Gothic Short Script Challenge for Best Australian Script from over 100 entries transformed the challenge into pure joy. “I was thrilled to have been selected as Best Australian Script – I already felt like I’d won just by finishing,” said Raen, who works in communications at the Parkes Shire Council and also on a fantasy novel for teenagers.

“I have not really done horror before, it is not my usual genre.” Raen’s winning script is titled As The Crow Flies and tells the story of a mother and daughter implicated in a mystery when they realise an injured bird holds secrets about a missing child.

“The idea came up years ago when I worked for WIRES and had to deal with some aviary escapees. It turned out tame cockatoos who had escaped would teach wild birds to ‘speak’ English and you’d find talking birds out in really
remote areas.”

The annual competition, based in Tasmania, is open to writers worldwide and encourages original horror storytelling. Hosted by Stranger With My Face International Film festival, the unique event asks participants to write a new horror script with three unique prompts: a line of dialogue, a character and an object had to be incorporated into their, inspiring idiosyncratic results.

Raen said her experience as a journalist working to strict deadlines and word counts served her well in sticking to the 48-hour deadline and seven-page length. Although she has doubts that her script would ever be turned into a movie, she said the competition offered a great platform for emerging screen writers to refine their skills.

“It can be really hard to get your work out there.” While writing her first horror story brought so much reward, Raen is happy to return to her fantasy novel with the hope the end result would not be all make-believe.

By Maggi Barnard