Parkes residents have one week left to make up their minds who to vote for in the Local Government Election on Saturday, 10th September. Twenty candidates will be contesting for the ten Parkes Shire Councillor positions. Of
the 20 candidates, eight are current councillors. Michael Greenwood and Belinda McCorkell are not standing again. The new candidates include an interesting mix of Parkes residents.

The candidates as they appear in order on the ballot for the Parkes Shire are Alan Ward (Parkes), Terri Ann Baxter (Trundle), Rosanne Jones (Parkes), Neil Westcott (Alectown), Danny Blakemore (Parkes), Louise O’Leary (Peak Hill), John Sarikissian (Parkes), Barney Thompson (Parkes), Kenny McGrath (Parkes), Kim Ross (Parkes), George Pratt (Parkes), Craig Smith (Parkes), Bill Jayet (Parkes), Barbara Newton (Tullamore), Greg Peterson (Parkes), Conrad Mill (Parkes), Ken Keith (Parkes), Bob Haddin (Cookamidgera), Wally Biles (Parkes) and Patricia Smith (Parkes).

Councillors will vote to elect the mayor at a special meeting of the new council shortly after the election. Voting is compulsory for all residents of the Parkes Shire who are registered on the electoral roll. Electors enrolled for federal and state elections are automatically enrolled for their local council area.

There is no absentee voting in local government elections. If you are unable to vote on election day, you can vote by either prepoll or postal. Voting on 10th September will be between 8am and 6pm with pollings stations at the Alectown Hall, Bogan Gate Public School, the Peak Hill, Trundle and Tullamore Central schools, and in Parkes at Middleton Public School, Assemblies of God Hall, Parkes East Public School, and the Little Theatre. The new council will serve for the next four years.

Go to www.votensw.info for more information on the election.

A class of year two students of Parkes Public School has created a book about endangered animals called “Precious Wildlife”. Parkes Mayor, Ken Keith, officially launched the book, at the Parkes Public School Library last Wednesday.
The book’s journey began when year 2 teacher Zoe Ruckley took a holiday on the Great Barrier Reef and noticed it wasn’t nearly as colourful as she thought it would be. This led to an investigation with her students on the effects of global warming, and the class learned that there were many other animals at risk of extinction.

“The students were so interested in learning about the black Rhinoceros and the southern corroboree frog that they each selected an animal from the endangered species list to research.” Zoe said. The students complimented their research with art projects, and their notes and illustrations were compiled into a beautiful book.

“The students wanted to share their information so that we might be able to help save their chosen animal, so we created this book” Zoe said. “These students are aged eight, so this is an amazing effort on their part.” Parkes Public School relieving principal Ben Smith proudly hosted the proceedings with the excited students, their families, and teachers revelling in the occasion.

The school gifted a copy of Precious Wildlife to the Parkes Library, which will be held in the Local History collection. The library will purchase more copies for general borrowing. Mayor Ken Keith officially launched the title, lending both gravitas and levity to the occasion. “What is the tallest building in the school?” he asked the students, “the library of course; it has the most stories.” And thanks to the diligent work of these young writers, the library has one more.

Precious Wildlife can be ordered at the Parkes Public School office.

By Raen Fraser

The CMOC-Northparkes Mines Heart at Work program won the Health Excellence award at the NSW Mining Health, Safety, Environment and Community Conference on Monday. Northparkes Managing Director Stefanie Loader said: “I am thrilled our commitment to health and wellbeing at Northparkes has been recognised. In the mining industry, our health reflects that of the general health of the population.”

“We recognised that many people, including employees and community members, were at risk of developing cardiovascular disease which kills thousands of Australians per year,” she said. The Heart at Work program was launched in 2015 focusing on the modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as poor diet and increased cholesterol levels, reduced physical activity, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and increased stress.

Northparkes Manager People, Safety and Environment Angus Wyllie said: “The Heart at Work program would not have been successful without the enthusiastic participation of our employees. They embraced every challenge, from cooking up a storm in crib rooms to committing to improve their personal health and fitness.”

The 12-month program saw some amazing individual and team results. One employee, Dan Rawsthorne, lost 17.7kg in the weight loss challenge by starting to change a few small things in his life. He exercised more and watched how much and what he ate each day. “My biggest challenge was breaking old habits; I found I was able to sustain my new habits because of the support provided by the program,” he said.

According to Angus, the Heart at Work program is part of the mine’s Zero Harm approach to all operations. “We care for our people, our environment and the community in which we live and work.” Northparkes was also recognised as a finalist in the Environmental Excellence award category for its innovative crop trials on the mines’ tailings storage facilities.

The Parkes Club of Quota International has received worldwide recognition for its efforts at the International Convention held in Brisbane recently. Parkes was recognised as one of the Quota Cares Monthly Award Winners for 2015 in recognition of the club’s efforts in hosting International Women’s Day; the donation of a Soundfield System to Peak Hill Central School; funding for two students to attend the Veronica James Science Challenge in Sydney; and the Survivors afternoon tea, which supported the Cancer Council’s Relay for Life.

Parkes also received acknowledgement for the $10,000 Achievers Award for 2016. This award was a result of the outstanding Open Garden event held in October last year when just over $10,000 was raised. “Our members worked hard to raise money to empower women and children, the deaf, hard of hearing and speech impaired, and receiving international recognition is a big achievement for us,” said Raelene Rout, President.

Eight local Quotarians attended the fourday international convention. They were Raelene Rout, Miriam Luyt, Rosemary Morris, Valerie Chisholm, Bev Laing, Jill Crisp, Jeanine Boland and past international president, Carolyn Rice. Raelene and Carolyn attended the Lord Mayor’s Civic Reception. He assured Raelene that he intends to keep a promise made to Mayor Ken Keith to visit Parkes in the near future.

The members who could not go to the convention participated by making stars, which were hung and displayed in support of the “One Million Stars to End Violence” Project. Quota International has committed to support this project to collect one million stars from all over the world prior to the Commonwealth Games at the Gold Coast in 2018.
By Lynn Rogers

Next week is Women’s Health Week and this year’s theme is Am I Normal? At some stage throughout every woman’s
life this question is asked whether it be about size, image, mental health or sex. These questions are completely normal and women should feel comfortable talking about them.

During the week there will be a free online event as well as other live events across the country to encourage women to talk about these issues. On Monday at Northparkes Mines female employees will be able to do a yoga and deep breathing session, as well as attend a lunch health chat on menopause and PMS. Other events in Parkes were not yet available at the time of going to press. Jean Hailes have been conducting research to find what women are most concerned about when it comes to their health.

A survey of over 3,200 women from all ages revealed these top five issues:
• 23% weight management;
• 17% female specific cancers
• 15% mental and emotional health
• 9% menopause
• 8% chronic pain.

How many can you relate to?

The biggest concern is weight management and it’s no wonder with over 11 million women in Australia, more than half of them are overweight. Most of us want to loose a few kilograms, but often have excuses that we are too busy or too tired, yet exercising gives you more energy and produces endorphins that trigger a positive feeling. Taking the initial step is the hardest, but with this being a top concern for women’s health, it is an important issue to tackle.

Another issue of concern is that 65% of women don’t have regular sexual health checks. This week serves as a reminder to get these important check ups done to ensure the overall health of your body.

Demolition work on the old Parkes Hospital started last Friday with the nurses’ quarters the first building to crumble under the force of the excavator bucket. Parkes Shire Council has taken full control and responsibility of the old hospital site as part of an agreement with Health Infrastructure New South Wales following the Parkes Hospital relocation to its new $72.8M facility in 2015.

Byrne Demolition was awarded the contract following an extensive tendering process. John Byrne said his company had done 14 hospital demolition projects before Parkes. Byrne Demolition has about ten people working on site, as well as asbestos removal specialists. John said all material would be recycled where possible including the crushing
of the bricks. “We will only remove trees where we have to.”

Council’s Director of Engineering Ben Howard said all buildings would go except the two at the front, the Education and Community Health Centres. “We still need to decide what to do with the buildings, while Council also continues to plan for the rehabilitation of the site and future development opportunities that will provide positive benefits and lifestyle opportunities for the community.”

The demolition project phase is expected to be completed by the end of December.

Parkes Library is celebrating the people who live in our town at this year’s Curiosity + Wonder Saturday family storytime sessions. The 10.30am sessions on Saturday 3rd, 10th and 17th September will include craft and a special guest. Branch Librarian Andrea Lovell has been booking the special guests. “Our community is made up of many different people that have achieved so many things. We hope to share with our children their stories,” said Andrea.

Local artist and author Jocelyn Moles is the first special guest tomorrow. She is a mixed media artist who has published two picture books for children, Ten Little Girls and Ten Little Sailors. She is bringing a special craft and will be reading Ten Little Girls. Local mechanic, musician and father David Horwood is joining Storytime on 17th September. David regularly plays his guitar at Parkes Musical and Dramatic Society productions and at the annual Christmas Carols celebrations. David will be sharing his love of storytelling through music.

Karen Viggers has an impressive career – two impressive careers to be exact. The Canberra-based writer has three published novels, is a veterinarian with a PhD under her belt, and also a mother of two. Although Karen was a keen story teller as a child, she ended up pursuing a career in science. It wasn’t until after her children were born that her literary talents were rekindled. Her husband is an ecologist and they found it was difficult for their family to maintain two science careers, so Karen took some time off and wrote a book.

In a typical week she dedicates four days to writing, and one day to her work as a vet. Whilst managing simultaneous careers in science and the arts may seem contradictory, Karen says that her background actually compliments her creative writing. She was already writing academically and completing a PhD is not that different to writing a novel.

It typically takes her about three years to complete each book, which can involve anything between six to sixty drafts. The first draft is usually a chaotic dumping of ideas, but surprisingly Karen says it is the second draft which is the hardest; when all those ideas need to be crafted into a story.

The landscape is a central feature in her work. As a wildlife veterinarian, Karen travelled to some amazing locations, and it’s no wonder that some of these places have become integral to her novels. Karen says that she’s often inspired by the spiritual connection people have to their land. While her stories are contemporary, they’re threaded with history. Her novels examine the things we inherit from the past and how that baggage makes us who we are.

“They’re stories about the extraordinary lives of ordinary people,” she says. While Karen has travelled a lot, this coming Tuesday will be her first trip to Parkes when she visits the Parkes Library as part of the Curiosity + Wonder Festival. You can join her for a lunch and talk on Tuesday, 6th September at 12pm. RSVP to the Library on 6861 2309.

By Raen Fraser