Petition to Save Parkes Maternity Ward: Over 500 baby outfits were donated for the Rally to support the Parkes Maternity Unit last Friday. If you were not able to attend the rally, there is also a petition circulating in Parkes and Forbes asking the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales to stop the downgrading of health services in Parkes and Forbes Hospitals. 10,000 signatures are required to have the petition considered for a debate in Parliament. The petition is available at some of our local businesses. If you have a business and would like to include the petition for your customers to sign, please contact the Parkes Chamber of Commerce at chamber@parkeschamber.com.au.
Ag in Education. Combating the City/ Country Divide: The NSW Farmers’ Parkes/Forbes Branch Annual Meeting will be held at 6:30pm at the Forbes Services Club on Wednesday, 3 July. The Special Guest for the meeting will be Sarah Thompson, beef and grain farmer from Cassilis, with a long record of representation within the Association, as an Executive Councillor and on the Rural Affairs Policy Committee. Following the Annual Meeting a General Meeting will be opened. Please note, ten voting members are required to attend to form a quorum and the branch is entitled to send five delegates to conference. Please RSVP to Gavin Tom, Chair on 0438 678 916, gaveltom@hotmail.com, or Catriona McAuliffe, Regional Services Manager, 0488 100 005, mcauliffec@nswfarmers. org.au
Restrictions Reminder: Level two water restrictions are still in place across the Parkes Shire. Under level two restrictions, residents are only permitted to water outside the hours of 10am and 5pm with odd numbered households allowed to water on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and even numbered households on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. For more information about Level 2 water restrictions, visit www.parkes.nsw.gov.au
Urgent call to support St Vincent de Paul Winter Appeal: With just days until the end of the financial year, Vinnies is only halfway towards its Winter Appeal fundraising goal. The charity is urgently calling for donations to support its work with people experiencing poverty, homelessness and disadvantage. “Sadly, more and more people are turning to us for help with very basic needs. Our aim is to raise $1.2 million to ensure that we can continue to be here for the growing number of people needing our help,” said Jack de Groot, Vinnies NSWCEO. You can make a donation at 13 18 12 or visit vinnies.org.au.