An officer from the Veterans Outreach Pro- gram will visit Parkes on Tuesday 18th and Wednesday 19th July.

Any veteran, service or ex-service personnel who would like to seek individual assistance with any Service, Disability, War Widow and/or an MCRS Claim from any confrontation is welcomed to make an appointment.

All appointments are for a one hour pe- riod and will be held in the Parkes RSL Sub-Branch office at the Parkes Services and Citizens Club and persons are urged to make appointments with the Parkes RSL

Sub-Branch Secretary Paul Thomas on 0427 624 683.

A strictly limited number of evening appointments are available and this service is free to all ex-service personnel.

When announcing the visit, Mr Thomas stressed that this service is available to assist all veterans as well as service and ex-service personnel irrespective of when or where they served. The program also allows any matter of contention that may require the lodgement of a claim or applica- tion to the Department of Veteran Affairs.

It was all hands on deck for last week’s solar panel installation ceremony. Mayor Ken Keith and Wiradjuri elder Robert Clegg donned hi-vis and hard hats to help install solar panels at the Parkes Solar Farm.

They were joined by a handful of other VIP’s, or Very Important Panel-installers; Ian Learmonth, CEO of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and senior executives from the Australian Renewably Energy Agency, French renewable energy firm Neoen, and construction company Bouygues were made honorary solar panel technicians for the ceremonial event.

Construction on the Parkes Solar Farm is already well-underway, with acres of piles and panels already erected. The solar farm is situated on 240 hectares of land to the west of Parkes, and is the largest of Neoen’s four Australian solar plants.

Ultimately it will be connected to the future solar farm substation, and will produce up to 80MW of renewable energy – or enough to power more than 20,000 homes.

Bouyges CEO Jean-Chrisophe Perraud said that he’s excited to be part of a project that will bring the green power our planet deserves. He credited the local and international crew with the project’s successful progress. “We have the right people on the ground and are tremendously engaged with the local people,” he said. “We’re us- ing an ambitious mix of local know-how and global skills.”

The Rotary Peace Precinct stood almost abandoned as it was dusted by light rain on Wednesday, while across town the official dedication ceremony was conducted indoors. The standing-room-only event was moved to the Little Theatre, but even though attendees were unable to walk amongst the peace pillars at the base of Memorial Hill it was none-the-less an appropriate location.

Theatres are magical places that can transport an audience across time and place, and Wednesday’s ceremony was no exception. The audience was invited to visualise the Peace Precinct, to consider the symbolic imagery in the totem sculptures and dry creek bed, and to imagine how the installations interact with the land.

The audience was also transported further afield, as each of the official speakers reflected on the nature of peace, sharing their personal connections to various countries and conflicts, not just across the world, but also across history.

Even though the dedication was not held within the precinct, it was a deeply moving ceremony that evoked the passion and energy of the many talented and dedicated people who worked to bring the project together.

The Peace Precinct represents the values expressed in the Rotary Peace Communities credo, with a particular emphasis on reconciliation. The five timber sculptures are carved with Wiradjuri iconography, each reflecting the tenets of the credo; Respect, Reconciliation, Families, Newcomers and History. Four of the pillars are positioned to represent music notes, which together create harmony.

Harmony was the enduring theme through- out the ceremony. Students from Holy Fam- ily School and Parkes East Public School formed a joint school choir to perform Kookaburra in both English and Wiradjuri. This was later followed by an emotive flash-mob performance of I Am Australian.

The Peace Precinct is yet another of Parkes’ treasures. When you visit be sure to take time to engage with its poignant symbolism.

By Raen Fraser

If she could, Roberta Stone would work at Currajong Disability Services forever. Helping people comes naturally to her and is a part of her make up. She spent 26 years in child care prior to a decade with CDS. That came to a tearful end on June 15 when she officially retired.

“I will miss it at CDS and cannot thank my colleagues and the board enough,” Roberta said. “I’ll especially miss the clients, their re- actions when they achieve their goals,” she said. “We’ve all been through so much to- gether, but now it’s time to travel and catch up with my other family and grandchildren.”

When Roberta first walked through the doors of CDS ten years ago she was seek- ing a new challenge. The interest in special needs and the disability services industry had always been there but she said it took a long time to take the leap.

“Helping people is who I am and keep- ing my emotions in check has always been

tough,” she said. “The rewards are there for the right people and they are immeasurable and everlasting.”

With massive positive changes ahead in- cluding the roll-out of the NDIS Roberta has no regrets and knows it is the right time. “Donna Little is great and she is more than capable of taking CDS into the next phase of their development,” she said.

For Donna Little, the new system represents fresh challenges but more importantly new ideas and a chance to build on the good work of those before her like Roberta.

“Roberta has been tremendous and a great source of knowledge and support,” Donna said. “I know I speak for all staff when I wish her all the best.”

Donna Little will take on the role of Residential Team Leader that will incorporate much of Roberta’s old position and some other responsibilities.

By Dane Millerd