In early January Parkes opened its heart to thousands of different versions of Elvis, but some local residents also opened their hearts and homes to a very special young boy.

Eleven year-old Lujio Dos Reis Da Silva from Timor Leste was a very sick child. He had suffered damage to his heart valve from rheumatic fever and required urgent specialist treatment. Fortunately, he was referred to the Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children program (ROMAC).

ROMAC provides life-saving or dignity restoring surgery for children from developing countries which they otherwise would not be able to access. ROMAC flew Lujio and his mother Josefine to Australia so Lujio could undergo heart surgery at the Royal Children’s Hospital. Parkes Rotary made a small contribution to Lujio’s medi- cal costs, and became his sponsors.

During his treatment Luijo and Josefina stayed at the Ronald McDonald House in Randwick, however, once he had recovered enough the pair were invited to stay with their sponsors in Parkes.

Parkes Rotary formed a partnership with members of the Uniting Church to prepare for the visit. The Uniting Church has a strong connection with Timor Leste, and members from both Rotary and the Uniting Church generously provided practical assistance, helping with language barriers, and showing the family the very best of country hospitality.

Peter and Barbara Thompson drove to Sydney to collect Josefina and Lujio and hosted them for three nights. Lujio got to experience the simple pleasures of Australian farm life, which included catching yabbies in the dam.

Their next hosts Mel ten Cate and Beto da Silver speak Portuguese, which eased the language barriers for the remainder of their stay. Josefina and Lujio were treated to barbeques, had the pleasure of meeting Mayor Ken Keith OAM, and even got to experience the joy of the Parkes Elvis Festival.

By Raen Fraser

The annual Banjo Paterson Australian Poetry Festival takes place from 16th to 26th February in Orange with a full schedule of events ahead. This will be the fourth festival in its current form since the celebration of his 150th birthday in 2014.

Banjo Paterson, who has become an Australian legend, is best known for his poem Waltzing Matilda, and what better way to celebrate his life than in the district he was born in.

Andrew Barton (Banjo) Paterson was born at Narrambla, Orange on 17th February 1864. He lived in Yeoval until he was about seven. The festival highlights not only Banjo Paterson but is an opportunity to celebrate all Australian poetry and poets in general.

The community will also have the opportunity to polish their poetry and musical entertainment skills.

This is a perfect opportunity to show that Australian poetry is alive and well. The festival will showcase the very best suitable for all age groups.

There will be bush poetry, school performances, professional en- tertainers, markets, golf, barbecues and camp oven cooking. There will also be activities, such as retro fruit preserving, farmers mar- kets, yabbing, poetry competitions, fashion, horse racing, historical tours and much more.

The event kicks off with breakfast in the mornings at different loca- tions everyday from 7.30 to 9.30am for only $5.

The iconic Night Market in Orange will be held on Friday, 17th February. There will be over 30 stalls creating an outdoor playground in beautiful Robertson Park for all the family. Orange’s renowned cool climate wines are matched at each stall with delicious food from local chefs, caterers and cooks. Kick back to the sounds of local music and poetry in the park! The market will be from 5.30pm to 8.30pm at Robertson Park. Gold Coin donation for entry. To view the festival program or to get more information on the festival go to https://brandorange.com.au/orange-nsw/banjo-paterson-festival/

Bush fire arson is a crime and it is dangerous. It can destroy lives, properties and have long term effects on the environment.

It is also costly with the loss of properties, cost of firefighting resources and the disruption to businesses.

If you see something that looks out of place, record the details of vehicles such as the make, model and registration of suspicious vehicles. Also take note of the appearance of anyone acting suspiciously. Report suspicious behaviour to Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

To report a fire emergency call 000.

Community groups and local councils are encouraged to apply for funding under the Building Better Regions Fund (BBRF), which is available for community and in- frastructure projects in the Riverina and Central West.

Funding will be available across two streams: infrastructure projects and community investments.

Minister for Regional Development Fiona Nash said the fund was dedicated purely as an investment in opportunities across rural, regional and remote Australia.

“Flexible, creative thinking can be a winning formula to receive funding, providing clear objectives are mapped out that show benefits for the region,” the Minister said.

The Nationals’ Federal Member for Riverina Michael McCormack said applications would be assessed in three categories depending on the size of the project to ensure small community projects were not competing against huge projects worth tens of millions.

“We want to invest in the infrastructure, events and initiatives that we are passion- ate about and that we know will make a difference to our region,” Michael said.

An information session will be held in Dubbo at the Western Plains Cultural Centre at 10.30am on 31st January.

Applications close on Tuesday, 28th February for the Infrastructure Projects Stream and Friday, 31st March for the Community Investments Stream.

To register for an information session or to find out more visit www.business.gov. au/bbrf