What do you enjoy about Easter?
Dallas Snow: The excitement on the kids’ faces when they see that the Easter Bunny has been.
Daniel Taylor: As well as enjoying Easter for the true reason of the season, and spending time with family, I like hyping up my nieces on chocolate and then giving them back to their mother.
Casey Harding: I think the best thing about Easter is tons of chocolate!
Liz Matthews
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I’ve been in Parkes 51 years this year. I think it’s a very pleasant town to live in because of the climate, the geography and the people.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I’m a retired foreign language teacher who worked at Parkes High School teaching French and Japanese among other languages. Nowadays I’m a lady of leisure just taking a short break from my volunteer work at Neighbourhood Central. I feel I’m giving something back to the community – and the people there are good to work with.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? There are very many things to fill my free time. I like to read and to cook. I play golf when I can and I enjoy a glass of wine with friends. In longer periods of spare time I like to travel.
What makes you proud? I don’t think of myself as ‘being proud’ although I do feel I’ve achieved quite a lot in life. My biggest achievement would be contributing to the development of the hundreds of kids I’ve taught and helping them to become good citizens. When I came to Parkes it was a very inward-looking community, but now people can see beyond the hills. I hope I’ve helped broaden their horizons.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? I would be a platypus because it’s such an unusual creature – even if it does eat worms…
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? My favourite song is ‘Je ne Regrette Rien’ by Edith Piaf because it is such a defiant statement of resilience.
Tell us about your best holiday. The ten days I spent in the Galapagos Islands because of all the incredible creatures I was able to see and interact with on land and under water.
What is on your bucket list? Although I’ve travelled widely around the world, I haven’t yet been to Uluru, so I’m going to make sure I get there next year.
Warren Blatch
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? Since I started school at Parkes Infants. The best thing in Parkes is my lovely wife Nancye.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I was the middle man in the family business, A A Blatch. I really enjoyed the interaction with the farming community.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? Golf and bridge.
What makes you proud? The achievements of my three children.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? A pussy cat because they get cared for.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? ‘Bill the Bastard’ – it’s a great read about a great horse and the Great War.
Tell us about your best holiday. Backpacking through Europe in ’72.
What is on your bucket list? Winning at Las Vegas.
Kate Anderson
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I’ve lived in Parkes since I was four. I love the community spirit.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I work for Baptistcare Niola. I love working with the residents and other staff who always have a smile and a story. I also coordinate the Little Acorns Playgroup every Tuesday during school terms, and the St George’s Toy Library every second Monday at the Anglican Church.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I enjoy sewing and attend lessons at the sewing shed.
What makes you proud? My family and friends who are always there for each other.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? I’d love to be a cat and sleep all day.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? I don’t have any.
Tell us about your best holiday. We took the kids to the beach and even though it rained the whole time, we still had fun.
What is on your bucket list? I would love to go to Scotland to see where my grandmother’s family came from.
Dooley Thomson
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I’ve lived in Parkes pretty much all my life, except for a couple of years in the Nation’s capital. Parkes is a good joint, plenty of friends and family around to get up to some shenanigans with and a great place to bring up your kids.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I’ve got my own bricklaying and landscaping company called Dooley Outdoors. I have five bloody great full-time employees. We work in Parkes, Forbes and surrounds, and have a pretty awesome time at work. I prefer work to be a place where you can be yourself and not have to worry about the pressures of the outside world. We work, laugh, have fun and maybe a little dancing from time to time.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I love hanging out with my wife and kids. We have a lot of fun making videos, laughing and creating memories. I also love a beer.
What makes you proud? Seeing my three boys achieve things that they have fought for.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? A threetoed sloth, so I could just hang out all day.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? ‘Flying High’ – it’s the most corniest, funniest, stupidest movie I’ve ever seen. ‘Shirley you can’t be serious.’
Tell us about your best holiday. This may sound boring, but I’ve never had a bad one.
What is on your bucket list? To succeed more in business, make more videos. If I can make one person smile a day, I’d be a happy man. My wife and I would love to renovate houses full-time, and I want to go to Ibiza (don’t tell Bec).
Jenny Jewell
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I am privileged to say I was born in Parkes. My formative years were spent at “Olieview”, Coobang. My schooling at Parkes Public and Parkes High, with Years 11 and 12 boarding at St Catherine’s in Waverley. Then to MCAE at Bathurst for teacher training where I met Don.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I spend most of my days at our business, Greenparkes Garden Centre. I enjoy working with plants and the wonderful customers we have.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? Spending time with my adult children and their wonderful children. I am very proud of all of them.
What makes you proud? The thing that makes me most proud apart from my wonderful family, is my membership and current Presidency of the Rotary Club of Parkes. The community work we do for the betterment of local families is ongoing and very rewarding. I am also proud to be associated with major causes world-wide.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? Dogs are my favourite animal since they have the ability to sense people’s moods and needs and are very loyal.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? My favourite movies relate back to my childhood – The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins have a special place in my heart.
Tell us about your best holiday. Our best holiday was the last full-family holiday in Tasmania – too many years ago. Or maybe it was the wonderful cruise Don and I were able to take a year or so ago.
What is on your bucket list? Everything or anything that makes our lives more complete – mostly with family.
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here? I moved to Parkes about 20 years ago. It wasn’t until I got settled here that I became aware of the friendly nature of Parkes residents. My wife, Pam, moved here from Christchurch, New Zealand and she has found Parkes a very friendly place to live too.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I run Glassplace with the help of five other people. The best part of my job is the variety of work we undertake. No two jobs are the same and with the constant upgrades in Australian Standards, we are always on our toes keeping up with changes.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I just love growing vegies. We have 20 vegetable growing beds in our garden and I almost always have something ready for Pam (who is a great cook) to include in our next meal. My other great love is kayaking.
What makes you proud? My wife makes me proud because she gave up her life in New Zealand so we could be together. For her every day is another adventure. I feel proud of my family members and my staff when they achieve a really good result with a new project.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose and why? I would definitely be a dolphin. They can travel the world, go fishing anywhere they like without a licence, go surfing at all the best beaches and take a holiday from it all whenever they feel like it. Have you ever seen an unhappy dolphin?
What is your all time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? Mark Knopfler and Graeme Conners are my favourite musicians. They are both great story tellers.
Tell us about your best holiday. About 25 years ago I was made redundant from a job, and had a month before I was due to start my next position. So, it was off to New Zealand and four weeks travelling with no set aims.
Lyn Edwards (Tullamore): It makes such a difference for our trips to Parkes and further in terms of timing and safety as it cuts the trip by about 15 minutes. We’ve been waiting for this to happen for 42 years.
Tim Sander (farmer living on the road): I did not think I would ever see it happen. We are very thankful for the road improvements and it is a significant improvement for animal welfare. There is now only a small section of unsealed road left to the Central West Livestock Exchange.
Vivienne Bolam (Tullamore): It felt marvellous the first time I travelled on it! I am on the Parkes Shire Council Roads Committee and it’s been on and off the agenda since 1964, so I am very happy. I never used it before as it was just unbearably painful.
Lyn Townsend
How long have you lived in Parkes and what do you like most about living here?
I have lived here since 1983. I love that Parkes has a sense of community and will support their own when times get tough.
Where do you work or what do you do currently and what do you enjoy about it? I am Service Coordinator of Community Transport at Neighbourhood Central. I work with the most amazing team, both staff and volunteers and absolutely love going to work every day. I am very lucky.
What is your favourite thing to do when you have free time? I love the theatre and particularly watching the junior members develop through the years into strong, confident young adults.
What makes you proud? My children. Every day, in different ways.
If you could be an animal which one would you choose, and why? Anything as long as it roams free.
What is your all-time favourite movie, song and/or book, and why? Movie: Notting Hill. Song: this changes all the time – at the moment it’s “I know it’s today” from Shrek as we are about to audition so this song is playing 24/7 and though I read a lot, I don’t really have a favourite book.
Tell us about your best holiday. Any one of the 14 cruises I have been on. (I’m a cruisaholic!)
What is on your bucket list? I’ve ticked most off, but there’s a few musical productions I aspire to direct: Mamma Mia, Billy Elliott, Wicked, Rocky Horror, Priscilla (though I suspect Parkes isn’t ready for the last two yet!)
What would you like to see added to the cultural scene of Parkes?
Elly Tom: I think a picture theatre would be fabulous. I know a lot of teenagers would like a tenpin bowling alley as a great place to go.
Christa Radley: I would like much more of everything cultural. I think Parkes has a great range of sporting options, but for those who are not sporty cultural opportunities are very limited.
Warwick Tom: I have had a vision for a long time of having a combined culture groups’ centre setup in Parkes. We have actually had the first few meetings of the ‘Parkes Shire Cultural Advisory Committee’ to get this up and running.