Parkes residents will soon have access to a series of new bike paths around town.

Locals are encouraged to take a test ride or walk along the 1.3km of bike pathway from Bushman Street to Webb Street already completed. Construction on the 1.8km section along Renshaw McGirr Way is expected to be complete soon.

The Parkes Phoenix caught up with a resident who was walking on the pathway. She said it was an excellent idea and that it would make their regular walk more in- teresting.

The new Water Treatment Plant (WTP) project will not only secure our water sup- ply in years to come, but the installment of new pipelines is also being put to good use to create new pathways. Several sections of raw and treated water pipelines need to be replaced and the disturbed strips of soil are being transformed into bike paths, which will eventually connect to form a cy- cle network across the town.

Parkes Shire Council’s Director Infrastructure, Andrew Francis said: “The Urban Water Mains Augmentation (UWMA) contractors have done a tremendous job of converting the previously unused pipeline corridor into an asset for the community to use and enjoy.”

“As part of the UWMA project, Leed Engineering and Construction were commis- sioned to design and construct a bike path to follow the pipeline alignment.

The gravel used to construct the bike paths was procured locally through West- lime, with Council crews were assisting throughout the construction phase.

Construction of the bike paths was done in accordance with the Parkes Pedestrian and Cycling Plan, which aims to improve pedestrian and cycling access throughout town and enhance health and wellbeing opportunities for residents and visitors.

The Eugowra CWA branch welcomed several new members at its recent meet and greet event at the home of Yvonne and Colin Smalley. The next meeting will be in the CWA rooms on Friday, 10th March at 11am. Frances Anderson will talk about Nepal after attending a CWA of NSW study weekend in Canberra. Eyewear Specs op- tometrists are renting the CWA rooms once a fortnight for consultations.

Future dates to remember: The Central West Group Craft & Cooking Expo will be in Orange from 12th to 17th March. Eugowra members are putting in a selection of arti- cles.

The second Grease and Oil Change Work- shop in Trundle is on Thursday, 9th March. A variety of inspiring speakers will cover in- teresting topics suitable for all ages. These include planning for retirement, tackling cancer, staying on top of your mental health, bush yoga, goal setting.

A range of health professionals, including a dietician, social worker, alcohol and other drugs counsellor and a registered nurse for skin checks will be in attendance.

RSVP’s are essential. Contact Cherie Stitt on 0411 057745 or cheriequade@hotmail.com

The mission of the PCYC is to get young people active in life. The Parkes PCYC start with the youngest of the young offering KinderGym classes to three to five-year-olds every Wednesday from 11:00 to 11:45.

“We have younger siblings joining in too,” said Kerry Hodges, the experienced gym- nastics coach at the PCYC who takes the classes. Kerry, who has qualifications in a range of gymnastics classes, is an accred- ited KinderGym leader.

The aim of KinderGym, as it is also known, is to make learning fun while teaching con- cepts of movement. The emphasis is on free play and structured activities to assist the development of fine and gross motor skills, as well as hand-eye co-ordination in young children.

The heroes and villains of the Summer Reading Club not only achieved their mission – they shattered it by reading more than double the amount of books.

The 230 members of the Parkes Shire Library’s Summer Reading Club were set the task to read 888 books over the summer. Last Thursday they were invited to a Heroes and Villains graduation party to celebrate the total of 1,787 books read by children from across the Shire.

The party was a big celebration of reading, but also a fun event for the kids to see the library staff doing some crazy activities. Debbie Gould, Library Officer, said when a member returned a completed reading record to the library they were asked to vote for a wacky challenge the library team would perform at the party.

“The Library team anxiously watched the voting, wondering what the kids wanted us to do.” The top three crazy challenges voted for were spraying their hair different colours, being wrapped as a mummy in toilet paper and catching balls with a bucket on their heads.

There were lots of smiles and shrieks of joy as the kids transformed four staff members into mummies with toilet rolls. There were even more excitement when they could unwrap the mummies with toilet paper flying everywhere.

Super awards were also given to members who significantly contributed to the reading total. They were Brendan Bates, Harrison and Matilda Smede, Annabelle Border, Chloe Mudiman and Hareem Ak- mal from Parkes; Freya Berry from Trundle; Kayliah and Shanae Alvey from Tullamore and John and Peter Thomas from Peak Hill.

Around 50 bikers rode into town for the Big Ride 4 Parkinson’s fundraising event last Saturday.

Arriving at the Cambridge Hotel late af- ternoon, there was one notable absence though. The event’s poster boy Angry Anderson was absent due to an unfortunate double-booking. But for the dozens of bikers who came from Sydney via Mudgee, it was quite a ride.

For Richmond man Rudy Heynsdyk the ride is a personal challenge. He was diag- nosed with Parkinson’s in 2004. He recently lost his father to the disease, although there is only a genetic component in 1% of cases. Rudy has undergone several procedures to alleviate his symptoms and takes regular medication. He is determined to live life to the fullest. “You’ve got to do what you can when you can,” he said, “it’s such a horrible disease.”

Mark Atherton is the man behind the event. He started it five years ago to com- bine his passion for motorbikes with a posi- tive cause. He chose Parkinson’s as he wanted to support a disease that affects men in the later years of their lives. “Everyone really gets behind events for cancer, so I wanted to do the same for a less visible disease.” Tragically, just two years after he’d established the Big Ride, Mark’s father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, so it’s become a personal cause.

Parkes was the obvious destination; not only does it have great alliteration, but it’s the perfect distance for a ride from Sydney. Not all riders came from Sydney. There were a few locals who joined them.

Parkes woman Natalie Madsen rode to Sydney on Friday for the Big Ride. Her mother has Parkinson’s, so it’s a cause she cares about deeply. “We’ve been wanting to do this since before we got the bike,” she said.

By Raen Fraser