More than 100 Essential Energy employees will converge on Parkes this month to complete a major network maintenance project that will result in power outages for some residents. The 120 field-based employees will work
in Parkes and surrounding communities including Alectown West, Bindogundra, Cooks Myalls, Cookamidgera, Goonumbla, Gunningbland, Nelungaloo and Tichborne. Due to the scale of the project, some households and businesses may experience up to two planned power outages during the project to enable crews to safely access the network. Affected customers will be notified in advance.

Regional manager Northern, Mark Summers, said the crews would work between 8.30am and 4.30pm from Monday, 12th December to Saturday, 17th December. “Crews will complete more than 800 separate maintenance activities to strengthen the local network, including the replacement of 350 cross-arms and 40 power poles,” Mark said. “The work will target potential weaknesses on the power network – such as replacing insulators damaged in storms and ageing power poles. “This is a very large project so we have undertaken significant planning and will be
bringing in extra crews and equipment to limit the number of planned power outages affecting customers,” Mark said.

“We apologise to local households and businesses for any inconvenience caused by the planned power outages.”

Caswell Street in Peak Hill was transformed into a haven for family fun last Friday for the annual Meet You Up the Street festival. “It was a wonderful and busy day,” said Antonia Francis, one of the organisers. She said it was hard to put a number to how many people came as it went on for the whole day, but all the activities were well attended and some people specially travelled from Canberra and Sydney for the event. She said not as many farmers could attend as they were busy harvesting, but overall the numbers improved from last year.

“The chocolate wheel was fantastic with big prizes, the lip sync competition for kids was brilliant, the Christmas decorations in the shops were exceptional,” said Antonia recalling some of the highlights of the day. Leighton Davies was very happy with the Billy Cart Derby for kids held at the gold mine. The fastest time of 30.31 seconds was set by Malachi James. There were a number of competitions, including the Library Writing Contest, and the best decorated house, shop and best shop window, with winners announced at the Bowling Club at the end of the day.

Wops Glass Will Look After All Your Glass Needs
Wops Glass specialises in windscreens, windscreen chip repairs and all general glazing including residential and commercial premises. Wops Glass offers windscreen replacement or chips repairs on all vehicles including trucks and farm machinery at a competitive price. With 30 years’ experience in the glazing industry they also specialise
in all glazing needs for residential and commercial properties. Wops also repair or replace fly doors and fly screens.

The full list of services include: customising, screen doors, fly screens, mirrors, stone chip repairs, glass cutting, installation, replacement, resealing, automotive glass replacement and residential and commercial glass and all insurance work.

Rego’s Plus Has A Confident Team Of Mechanics
Rego’s Plus Tyre and Mechanical would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Safe and Happy New Year. The team at Rego’s Plus have more than 35 years’ experience in the tyre and mechanical field. Patrick Lenehan is the
owner and operator of the business and has a very confident team of mechanics working for him. You can be assured that your vehicle will be looked after. Rego’s Plus Tyre and Mechanical ser-vices include all mechanical needs, Rego
checks, all your tyre needs and CTP Insurance. Rego’s Plus is one of the leading tyre specialists in the Central West and is a Kumho Platinum dealership. In Parkes customers have access to the full range of high quality, reliable tyres. The technicians guarantee a professional and well thought out decision when it comes to fitting your tyres. Rego’s Plus Tyre and Mechanical, in conjunction with Kumho Tyres, are the only mechanics in Parkes that help to support the McGrath Foundation by taking part in Pink Fitters Day. The network of Kumho dealers raised more than $20,000 on the day.

Inline Panel & Paint Will Look After All Your Smash Repairs
Inline Panel & Paint panel beaters has a fully equipped smash repairs workshop for all types of vehicles and has been servicing Parkes for the past four-and-a-half years. Owner Mick O’Donohue has 14 years experience in the field and works hard to ensure he and his team are always up to date with the latest technology and safety features in new models of cars. They do all insurance work and private work and all work is guaranteed. Go and see them at Shed 3, 7 Clarke Street or call them on 6862 5770.

Ensure You Arrive Safely This Holiday Season

It won’t be long until school finishes for the year, the kids are on holidays and we all get ready for our summer holiday. Whether it be heading to the coast for Christmas, visiting family and friends or just on a local outing, one thing is for certain, you need to ensure that your vehicle is safe and ready for your trip. You are not only ensuring the
safety of your family, but also other travellers who share the road.
To ensure that you arrive at your destination safely and on time, here are some safety tips for your car:
• Service your car: Drop into your local service station and ensure that you get your car serviced before setting out on
that trip. Better to be safe than sorry.
• Insurance and registration for your car: Double check your insurance to see that it is up to date and now with some people not always receiving their registration notices in the mail and no evidence on your car to remind you, check to see if your car meets all criteria.
• With any chips in your windscreen, why not get them fixed rather than run the risk of it running when left out in the sun. It doesn’t take long to get it repaired, so make the time now.
• Check all of your tyres, including your spare, and have your wheels aligned. Nothing worse than being stuck in the
middle of nowhere with no spare tyre ready to go.
• Keep your mobile phones charged, a first aid kit in the car and a map handy in case you get lost, either mobile or paper.
• Carry water and oil in your car at all times, you never know when you might need them.
• Ensure you have the correct child restraints in your car, and keep pets restrained as well for everybody’s safety.
• Remember double demerits over the Christmas period, so do not speed, its not worth the accident or fine.

NRMA estimates the busiest times to be the last day of school: 16th December; two days before Christmas 23rd December; the day after Boxing Day 27th December and January 4th. Enjoy your holiday!

The great bard suggested there was little to it, but last week the name of Parkes was the cause of celebration. Local residents gathered at Chamberlain Square on Thursday, 1st December to enjoy a piece of cake beneath the statue of Sir Henry Parkes. It was a birthday – of sorts – commemorating the 143 years since the township was officially named Parkes in honour of the then Premier of the Colony of NSW, Sir Henry Parkes.

However, the history of settlement on this land precedes that grand milestone. The original custodians of this land were the Wiradjuri people, the largest Aboriginal language group in NSW. The Wiradjuri had visited and lived on this land for thousands of years before European settlement. But that all changed in 1862 with the discovery of gold. White settlers made their way to our plains in the hope of improving their fortunes. A tent village soon sprung up
around the gold deposits, and was known as Currajong, purportedly named after the local trees.

While there was a lot of gold to be found, it wasn’t the easy alluvial gold of many other fields. Most of our gold was deposited underground in buried rivers, known as leads and could only be obtained by sinking deep shafts to mine it. In 1871 prospectors found a rich deep lead which they named Bushmans Lead. This discovery sparked another rush and saw the region become one of the richest gold producing areas in the colony and hastened the village’s growth.

The burgeoning settlement of Currajong became colloquially known as Bushmans. In August 1873 the Premier Henry Parkes visited the township of Currajong and Bushmans Lead Mine, following a request from locals. Then, on the 1st December 1873, the Lands Department officially changed the name of the settlement from Currajong to Parkes.

Many claim our town was named as a tribute to Sir Henry Parkes, who served five terms as Premier and became known as The Father of Federation. Yet in 1873, Henry Parkes had only been the Premier of the Colony of NSW for a year, and despite nearly 20 years in parliament, was yet to make his mark. According to the Parkes Shire Council’s website an anecdotal story suggests the town’s naming was actually a savvy political move from locals who were
lobbying the Premier to construct the eastwest rail line through Parkes.

So, what is in a name? A lot of history, and a bit of flattery.

By Raen Fraser

Local art-lovers got all fired-up for the Parkes Potters’ Group exhibition at the Parkes Shire Library’s Coventry Room last Friday. Cr Bill Jayett formally opened the exhibition, saying that while Parkes prides itself on our unique attractions – the Dish and Elvis Festival – the town’s real treasure is the arts. Bev Rowe, president of the Parkes
Potters Group said that for a small geographical area, there is a diverse output of artisans.

Lynn and Wayne Rogers were among the dozens of guests appreciating the art. “It’s a real credit to Parkes to put on a display of this calibre,” Lynn said. The work on display wasn’t simply traditional thrown pots and plates, but a selection of sculptural and functional pieces that utilized a fascinating range of styles and techniques. It was the third exhibition for the group this year, with 11 of the 14 members displaying their craft. Bev’s work included meditative wallmounted masks that incorporated religious themes, whereas Pol Cruz displayed a range of abstract art pieces, many of which positioned the human form amidst an almost surreal, dream-like arrangement of shapes and elements.

Other artists made more figurative pieces – the ram was a crowd favourite, and the Coventry Room became an honorary aviary with dozens of beautifully crafted pottery birds perched on various plynths. Bev drew attention to the two works, which were isolated in glass domes to highlight the skill involved in their crafting. Under one glass dome was a flawless Raku Pitcher made by Judy Kinsella, the other was a piece by the late Jan Hunter, who had passed away during the week.

“She was a great talent, and will be sorely missed,” Bev said. It was a delightfully arty soiree, with nibblies provided, along with a selection of locally produced wines by Twisted River.

By Raen Fraser

Reportage was the headline act at the Parkes School of Dance end of year concert held at the Parkes Leagues Club on Sunday. The Robert Wilson auditorium was almost full to capacity, with an audience of nearly 500 flocking in to grab the latest headlines. The concert was the culmination of a year’s hard work for the students and teachers of Parkes School of Dance, with routines presented from the preschool classes all the way through to the performance groups.

An otherwise eclectic array of dance styles and abilities was united by the journalistic theme, providing an engaging link between the various routines. The concert program was endearingly designed in a broadsheet format, and the decorative bunting was made of newspaper. Some of the dancers even structured their choreography around the happenings of a newsroom.

Of course the real good news story here is the kids themselves, most of whom had spent the year refining their movement and learning their routines. The youngest performers to tread the boards were preschoolers, who were joined on stage by their teachers as they wowed the crowd with their diminutive dance-moves.

From Petite Ballet Junior through to Senior Contemporary each performance was a highlight in itself, although one of the more memorable moments came when young Melinda McKeowen took to the stage. Melinda has Joubert Syndrome, so Parkes School of Dance arranged for an assistant to help her with her routine, which she performed with sheer vibrancy. Melinda’s mother Amanda Clarke said Melinda loved getting dressed up and performing. “Melinda is often left out of things because she can’t walk on her own and Parkes School of Dance made it possible
for her,” she said.

For all the young performers and their families, the concert was the good news story of the day.

By Raen Fraser