More than 200 people were part of a very special and inspiring afternoon in Parkes last Saturday at the Celebrating Neurodiversity event. People came from as far as Sydney and Leeton to listen to Chris Ulmer from the USA and Tim and Judy Sharp from Brisbane. Judy told the incredible story of how she was told to put her son away and forget about him when he was diagnosed with autism at age 3. “I was told he would never be able to love me and he would never speak. I was devastated, but in the car Tim was wiping my tears away.”

Judy never gave up on her son. She recalls a huge breakthrough when out of desperation to communicate with Tim, she started drawing stick figures. “As soon as I put the pencil down, he pushed my hand back to the pencil.” Tim started drawing every day and at 11 invented Laser Beak Man. Today he is an internationally acclaimed
artist with an impressive list of achievements. Judy’s message is that no one can tell the future and therefore all children must have the opportunity to reach their potential.

Chris Ulmer continued the message of love and encouragement with his talk. As a special education teacher he felt he
had stumbled down a rabbit hole and discovered a world that was beautiful after he had spent three years with the same students. He started a blog posting videos of his students explaining life from their perspective. When a video of him complimenting each student individually at the start of the day went viral, he knew this was the way to spearhead worldwide acceptance of neurodiversity. He is currently travelling the world to teach and interview
neurodiverse individuals for his blog called Special Books by Special Kids. Chris always focuses on the positive in
people and told the story of how he helped a student who could not run more then three steps without falling down to eventually finish a 5km run in 22 minutes. “Every day we celebrated the number of steps he managed to do without falling, but not once did I say a word about him falling down.”

Chris, who did eight interviews in Parkes, encourages everyone to like the videos as he firmly believes this would change the way individuals with a diagnosis are perceived in the community. One of the organisers of the event, Angela Wilson of the Central West Autism and Special Needs Support Group said the feedback had been incredible. The group’s Facebook page was flooded with messages of people saying how much the afternoon had meant to them.

Since day one Jac Clark’s art has featured throughout The Railway Hotel so when it came to decorating the walls of the new Hart Bar there was no question about what it would be. “We are lucky to be able to hang some of Jac’s prints and we also purchased one of her new original’s, which is seen in the Hart Bar logo and advertising. That is really exciting!” said Kasie. Kasie Ferguson and Bianca Sheridan have owned the Railway for six years and have just finished building the new bar on the second level named after their little boy, Hart! “When we walked in all those years ago I knew it would be something special, but I never thought it would be this amazing! The people who have worked on this project made our dreams come true. I can’t thank them enough for it,” said Bianca.

Hart Bar is booked out most weekends until Christmas, but next weekend Hart Bar will be open for lunch and dinner Friday, Saturday and Sunday with Jac Clark’s art on display to celebrate the official opening. The exhibition is titled Figure and explores the boldness of a monochrome palette. The original large scale artworks will be available
for purchase with limited edition prints of each piece.

By popular demand, the all-singing, alldancing Songs In The Key Of Motown is coming back to Australia! Two of the best and biggest Las Vegas soul shows are coming together again and bringing with them the best in soul and Motown music. Transporting audiences back to the era where The Temptations, The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, Martha & The Vandellas, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles reigned supreme. Songs In The Key Of Motown will literally leave you breathless.

It is a spectacular live concert production that takes you on a journey through Motown. Featuring Spectrum, a first-class vocal quartet that draws upon the talent of four radiant voices and diverse personalities. They have spent six stellar years recreating the sound and style of the Four Tops in Las Vegas. Superstars and Legends In Concert
the group has developed the versatility to credibly cover the music of groups from the Platters to the Temptations to Boyz-2Men. It is this versatility that has propelled them to the status of headlining their own shows in which they perform stirring renditions of all the best cover tunes. They have teamed up with Radiance, a talented vocal quartet formed specifically to pay tribute to the Disco and Motown era paying tribute to the music of The Supremes, Martha & The Vandellas, The Marvelettes and other female artists from that amazing musical era. Together they have created SONGS IN THE KEY OF MOTOWN, a spectacular show transporting audiences back to an era of music that formed a major cornerstone in American music of the 60’s and 70’s. The costuming, the choreography,
the harmonies, the energy and excitement are second to none.

Together they provide an array of talent that is the best in entertainment that leaves audiences wanting more! See them perform on Thursday, 24th November at the Orange Civic Theatre.

On Remembrance Day we reflect on the heavy price that more than 102,000 Australian soldiers have paid for peace. It is observed on the 11th of November; the anniversary of the Armistice that ended the First World War, and offers tribute to those who have suffered in all wars. In Australia we pay our respects with a minute of silence to reflect on those who have fallen or suffered in war. Public commemorations are held across the nation to honour their sacrifice.

Dozens of Parkes Shire residents attended a Remembrance Day Commemoration Service at 11am last Friday to acknowledge the local lives lost to distant wars. The service was hosted by the Returned and Services League of Australia, New South Wales Branch, Parkes Sub-Branch. The service included the laying of wreaths and the citation
of names of the fallen, to ensure that those who were lost are not forgotten.

Ava Curr, daughter of Paul and Kelly Curr, was spellbound representing the Western Region in the Premier’s Spelling Bee Finals on the 9th of November at the ABC studios in Sydney. The year 4 student from Tullamore Central School was the Junior Section winner of the Regionals in Dubbo, becoming one of 43 juniors to make it to the finals. Nine yearold Ava made it to the second stage before the spell was broken.

“Ava will never leave the d out of porridge again,” her mother Kelly said. “But she found the experience exciting and fun, and didn’t stop smiling the whole time – even when they announced her word was incorrect.” Ava met ABC presenters Juanita Phillips and Stan Grant, and NSW Premier Mike Baird presented her with a prize. Whilst Ava has lost her affection for porridge, she loves ice-cream and kittens, and hopes to be an artist or actor when she grows up.

Kindergarten students from Parkes Public School got out of the classroom and into nature during a spring excursion to Bushman’s Dam. The excursion was organised by Marg Applebee of Central West Lachlan Landcare and Michael Chambers of Parkes Shire Council, and provided a range of hands-on activities that focussed on living things.

A replica model of an urban wetland demonstrated how vital water is. The interactive lesson used dye to show how easily chemicals can get into our creeks and dams. In another activity, students sampled water and used magnifying glasses to identify some of the tiny creatures that live in the dam, learning that water-bugs indicate the health of the waterways.

The native animal lesson used puppets to engage the budding biologists while they learnt about habitats and the threats posed by land clearing, weeds and feral pests. The students also potted vegetable seeds, which the young green-thumbs took home to nurture.

The 2017 Parkes Elvis Festival will be the most accessible festival yet, with many options to travel by road, rail and air. For the first time in the Parkes Elvis Festival’s 25 year history, daily return aeroplane charters will transport city-siders from Sydney to Parkes. In another first, a daily bus shuttle will run from Canberra with a complete luxury
travel and accommodation package. The package includes return coach travel from Canberra to Parkes, four nights’ stay with breakfast at 4 star accommodation in Orange, and transfers each day.

Cowra Motor Inn is also offering a fourday package that includes accommodation, coach transfers, selected meals and event tickets. Other options are Visit Orange providing daily return shuttles on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and Cowra Tourism providing daily return shuttles on the Saturday and Sunday.

The daily Forbes shuttle returns with an increased service to and from the festival, while bus services to Peak Hill and the CSIRO Radio Telescope are also returning in 2017. It is expected the number of visitors to increase from the 22,000 attending this year.

Year 4 students at Parkes Public School raised more than $240 in a Dancing Bear Appeal last week. Funds raised will be donated to World Animal Protection, an organisation at the forefront of the fight to free bears from a life of misery. Students first learned of the issue watching a story on Behind the News (BTN) on ABC3. They then studied a book, The Deliverance of Dancing Bears by Elizabeth Stanley. Students were very moved by the story and decided to take action. They first wrote persuasive texts on Why Dancing Bears Must Be Banned! They found that World Animal
Protection (WAP) was the most reputable organisation. Three of the expositions by students of 4R will be displayed on the Supporters Wall of WAP in Sydney.

Class 4R also asked all primary students to bring in a small donation to help the bears and raised much more than expected.