Northparkes Mines (NPM) volunteers have planted more than a quarter of the total 9,000 plants put in so far at PAC Park. The community effort to revegetate the banks of the wetland with 15,000 plants by spring is progressing well with about 4,300 planted by NPM volunteers.

Under the Northparkes Mines Volunteer Leave Program, employees are encouraged to do two volunteer days per year. Linda Snyman, who organised ten employees of the mining operations technical services team to do a planting session last week, said they wanted to do something physically challenging. “I would also like to see the area beautified and used by the community,” Linda said.

Other community groups involved so far include Parkes High School, Parkes Christian School, Currajong Disability Services, House With No Steps (Lachlan Branch) and the Motley Crew of Central West Lachlan Landcare. “The efforts of all volunteers on this project has been fantastic, and it’s especially great that the NPM Volunteer Leave Program were keen to contribute their valuable time to this project for two separate planting days,” said Michael Chambers, Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator of the Parkes Shire Council.

Managed by Parkes Shire Council, the PAC Park project aims to rejuvenate the waterway and the entire park. It is hoped that establishing strong partnerships with community and school groups they would engage community members and encourage a sense of ownership over the area. Funding for the project was provided through three different NSW Government agencies including the Local Government NSW ‘Building Resilience to Climate Change’ program and the Central West Local Land Services ‘Natural Resource Management for Local Government’ program.

Any school or community group interested in doing some planting would be greatly welcomed by Michael. Please contact him at the Parkes Shire Council on 6861 2349.

By Maggi Barnard

Lachlan Local Area Command recently hosted local community leaders as part of an initiative to develop a greater knowledge and understanding of policing. The second Community Awareness of Policing Program in Local Area Commands (CAPP in LACs) was a great success and was held at Parkes Police Station on Wednesday, 8th June. Participants included Councillor Barbara Newton, Councillor Chris Roylance, Managing Director of Northparkes Mines Stefanie Loader, Jenny Doecke from the Aboriginal Medical Service, Parkes East Public School Principal Michael Ostler and Councillor Dennis Brady.

Lachlan Local Area Commander, Superintendent Chris Taylor, said the local program is based on the highly successful Community Awareness of Policing Program (CAPP). “CAPP in LACs is an exciting community engagement project that offers the opportunity for our community leaders to get to know us and the diverse range of services we have to offer,” Supt Taylor said. Participants in the program experienced various aspects of police work, including highway patrol, defensive tactics, criminal investigation and forensics. “We also discussed crime prevention, investigation, operational policing, and the training, policies and protocols that guide our decision making processes.

“The program provides members of the community a chance to experience what it is like to be a police officer – it’s a real eyeopener, showcasing the varied and complex duties of policing. By imparting this knowledge to participants, it helps us better understand the needs of the community and foster strong relationships to ensure we work together toward mutual goals.” “We want our community to have full confidence in its police force, and by creating a more informed community through trustedand respected leaders, we believe we can achieve this goal,” Supt Taylor concluded.

“The Dish Pies are the best pies ever” is a typical response Craig Smith gets for his handmade red wine beef pies. The popularity of the pies has grown so much that Craig often receives pre-orders from people in other states for pick up when they are travelling through Parkes.

While pies are standard fare when it comes to Australian food, Craig created a unique recipe that puts the Dish Pies in a class of their own. When he took over the Dish Café he first sold pies made in Melbourne, but it was getting too costly and he made a decision that put him on the ‘pie map’: to start making his own. “I found a French farmhouse recipe for the base that is very unique. Using yeast to ferment the dough, instead of the standard short crust pastry, gives it a very tasty base.”

The richness and flavour are important to Craig, he can only make small batches at a time, as the dough is very sticky and not that easy to handle compared to conventional pie pastry.

The filling of chuck steak, red wine and caramelised onions is cooked slowly for hours until tender and thick. The finishing touch to this ensemble of deliciousness is the pie lid made from homemade puff pastry. If beef and red wine doesn’t get your mouth watering, Dish Pies come in other flavours too: chicken and mushroom, chicken and leek and curry chicken and three styles; cocktail, normal or family size. Bulk orders are welcomed by contacting the Dish Café on 6862 1566, or you can purchase or order at Parkes Cellars. The Dish Pies can also be frozen as a convenient dinner option at a later date. Tuck in and warm up this winter.

A number of young Parkes musicians took part in a workshop with the Sydney Youth Orchestra, as well as a performance at the conclusion of the day, in Dubbo recently. The Sydney Youth Orchestra (SYO), as a part of their new three-year commitment to establish a regional hub program, put the event together. The program, open to all musicians in the Lachlan area, will initially be based in Dubbo but there are plans for expansion over time.

Development and special projects manager for the SYO, Mia Patoulios, said they wanted to start building a much deeper engagement with regional students, providing educational and performance programs across primary, secondary and tertiary segments through to the pre-professional stage.

Students from the Mitchell Conservatorium, as well as other musicians from the Western region, were buddied up with the 100 SYO members during the workshop for rehearsals. The day ended with an impressive concert featuring the SYO players in both a band and an orchestra.

The climax of the concert involved the combining of all western region musicians, who had rehearsed throughout the day, with SYO performers to play two wonderful pieces of music: ‘Anniversary Overture’ by Brian Buggy and ‘Finlandia’ by Sibelius. The choir was made up of SYO wind ensemble members, and anyone who wanted to sing with them. The good news is that this will become an annual event. If you are a keen musician, keep the June long weekend open for next year when the SYO will be in Dubbo again.

By Pam Parkin

The Mayor of Parkes Cr Ken Keith OAM today welcomed the news that the New South Wales State budget has allocated money for a new fire station in Parkes. Cr Keith said the he would like to thank the NSW Government for the $250,000 allocated in the State Government’s 2016/17 budget. “It is a great step forward for the project which will include the purchasing of land as well as building the station. The total cost of the project is just over $1 million.”

The current fire station has served the community for over for over 90 years, having being built in 1924. The current building is at the end of its serviceable life and no longer complies with contemporary standards in regarding’s to WHS, training and accessibility.

“The Council has been lobbying the NSW Government for a number of years for funding for this important project and it was wonderful to see it emerge as a capital expenditure item. I would like to thank the Deputy Premier Troy Grant MP and our former State Member for Orange Mr Andrew Gee as well as Minister for Emergency Services David Elliot for their support on this project.”

“Parkes is a progressive community, Council is optimistic about the future of Parkes. We see the potential for strong residential growth underpinned by the mining, agriculture and logistics sectors. With growth comes the need for additional community services such as health care, policing and fire services. It has been very encouraging that over the last few years the NSW State Government has invested in the growth of Parkes with the new $72.5 million hospital, new $13 million Police Station, and strong financial support through grants for vital infrastructure projects such as the new Water and Sewer treatment plants and road upgrades” Cr Keith concluded.