Phil Donato MP, Member for Orange with Parkes District Kennel Club member Fiona Watts and Fiona’s dog Willow, in front of the newly erected fencing
Earlier this week, Member for Orange Philip Donato MP caught up with Parkes District Kennel Club Inc to inspect their newly completed fencing, funded by a $24,910 grant under the 2022 NSW Government’s Community Building Partnership.
Funding was allocated for the removal of existing ring pipework, construction of new post and rail, chain, wire and mesh fencing and construction of entry and exit gates for competition rings. All works have now been completed.
Parkes District Kennel Club member Fiona Watts was on hand to show Phil the completed works, saying, “An enclosed fence was a pipe dream for us. We’ve received a few smaller grants from Council for equipment, as that can be expensive, but the cost of the enclosed fencing seemed unobtainable.”
The club applied for a grant and under the Community Partnership Program. Phil explained the process, “The applications come to my office, I asses them, score them and rank them, whhich accounts for 60% of the overall ratings of the scores. Applications then go to an independent review panel where they get scored again and the scores are collated before funding is allocated.”
The new fencing was erected by local contactor, Matt Clarke from Central West Fencing.
The Parkes District Kennel Club has been operating for 60 years, predominantly as a confirmation club for breeders. However, for the past six years, they have been focusing on sporting.