Lambs have reached a new NSW high of $400 at Tuesday’s sheep sale at Forbes’ Central West Livestock Exchange. Vendor Dan Toynton and agent Randall Grayson were all smiles looking over the quality pen.
$500k grant to advance local business vision
Derby day one to celebrate for Magpies Page 3
Full story page 3. PHOTO: Forbes Livestock and Agency Co Page 20
Forbes Shire Council has unveiled an amazing opportunity for developers to expand and enhance Forbes’ accommodation o ering.
Two parcels of land within the Forbes Visitor Information Centre on the Newell Highway south of Forbes have been identi ed for developing a motel/conference centre and a caravan/holiday park.
Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM said a strong market demand
signalled the need for new accommodation options in town.
“Forbes has maintained consistently high occupancy rates for some time, supported by a notable rise in visitation,” she said.
“This trend highlights a compelling opportunity for further investment in accommodation.
“By capitalising on the steady stream of visitors to the information centre, there is signi cant po-
tential to transform the area into a dynamic, fully serviced destination precinct.”
Forbes Shire Council is o ering 2.31 hectares of land on the southern end of Mary Street for purchase and development of a motel / conference centre.
The second block of 3.28 hectares on the northern end of Mary Street for a caravan or holiday park. The site was home to the tourist
drawcard, the Lachlan Vintage Village, from the mid-1970s.
May marked 50 years since it was o cially opened by then Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.
Forbes Shire Council purchased the acreage in 2017 with a big vision for it.
They’ve since relocated the Visitor Information Centre to the original building that was once the 17-stand Trigalana woolshed but
was rehomed to the Vintage Village site during its heyday.
Parties interested in acquiring the land and developing the site(s) are invited to submit an Expression of Interest by Monday 30 June.
This EOI o ers exibility for developers to present their ideas and visions for how this land can be best utilised.
For more information, visit www. forbes.nsw.gov.au
By MAYOR PHYLLIS MILLER OAM
I hope everyone enjoyed the King’s Birthday long weekend. Thank you to the wonderful Lions Club volunteers who operated the Driver Reviver van across the entire weekend. Such a valuable service, keeping travellers alert and refreshed.
Central West NSW Heavy Vehicle Breakfast Forum returned Thursday 12 June at Forbes Inn.
This year’s Forum focused on higher productivity vehicles, safety, compliance and industry case studies, with a high productivity vehicle on display.
It’s a great opportunity for local farmers, contract harvesters, couriers, truck drivers and transport company operators to network and speak with industry experts.
This week I attended the annual Country Mayors Association of NSW (CMA) Regional Road and Transport Meeting in Orange where I had the opportunity to hear from industry leaders about the state of our road and transport network, as well as major infrastructure projects impacting the State’s regional areas.
We heard from a range of presenters including The Hon. Jenny Aitchison MP, NSW Minister for Regional Transport and Roads, and representatives from Transport for NSW, IPWEA, Reconstruction Authority, NRMA and Essential Energy.
The meeting was an opportunity for regional advocacy and collaboration between member councils.
We are o cially on the countdown to Frost and Fire 2025!
The ultimate winter warmer event is on Saturday 21 June at Forbes Ski Dam.
We are beyond excited to have Mitchell Coombs on board as this year’s Frost and Fire o cial ambassador. Mitchell is an Australian comedian who originally hails from Bogan Gate.
Well-known for sharing his hilarious takes on everyday life on social media, Mitchell will bring his signature style and energy to this year’s event.
Now in its sixth year, Frost and Fire delivers family-friendly fun.
Hearty food, re buckets, boutique brews, re performers and pyrotechnics, cultural performances and live music including headline act, The Wolfe Brothers.
Tickets are on sale now via 123tix, or head to the Amazing Forbes website for more information. See you all there!
THE entries are in, the programs are out: the annual Forbes eisteddfod is just a week away.
Town Hall doors open on Wednesday 18 June to launch the rst stage of competition in music, speech, drama and more.
School students from across our region will take the stage in the opening mornings, with choirs, choral speech and percussion sections.
Wednesday a ernoon and evening will feature our talented piano soloists, with public speaking, speech and drama scheduled for Friday a ernoon.
Disney, musical theatre, jazz, and classical are just some of the styles
MEN’S HEALTH CHECKS
Friday 13 June, Saturday 14 June
Rotary is bringing the MHERVthe Men’s Health Education Rotary Van - to Forbes o ering free health checks. If you don’t remember the last time you had a check up, then it’s time. They’ll check your blood pressure and blood sugar levels, as well as cholesterol. The van will be in Harold Street, opposite Town Hall, on Friday 13 June from 9.30am to 4.15pm. It will be at the Rotary Markets at Forbes Youth Centre on Saturday 14 June from 9.30am to 4.15pm.
INDOOR MARKET
Saturday 14 June
from 10am Sunday 21 June.
Sunday a ernoon sees our bands take over Town Hall with Forbes Town and District band, Parkes shire concert Band and City of Orange Brass band all entered in the session scheduled to start at 4pm.
The entertainment solo or group should also be a good section to watch that a ernoon.
Town Hall sections wrap up Monday, but our eisteddfod committee doesn’t stand down - they’ll be preparing for the dance eisteddfod.
Nine big days of dance at the Red Bend Catholic College hall open with the popular group dance day on Saturday 5 July.
BINGO AT CALARIE HALL
Sunday 15 June
SPECIAL SCREENING
20 and 21 June
The markets are moving indoors for June! Rotary Ipomoea’s market will be at Forbes Youth and Community Centre from 8am to midday. Phone to book a stall on 0427 201 445. If the weather is mild there will be stalls outdoors as well, including co ee and the Rotary breakfast caravan.
EUGOWRA RUGBY LEAGUE
LADIES DAY
Saturday 14 June
Ladies, enjoy an a ernoon of fun, live music, nibbles under the marquee at Ian Walsh Stadium: it’s ladies day at Eugowra rugby league club. It’s the perfect opportunity to come together, enjoy great company and support the Young Eagles, Geagles and Golden Eagles. From midday.
PARKES YARD DOG TRIALS
14 and 15 June
From 7.30am dogs from around NSW will be rounding up sheep at the Parkes Showground. Free entry for spectators to watch six categories including maiden, novice, junior, improver, local and open.
There will be a co ee van on site each morning as well as a barbeque run by Parkes Headquarters RFS available on both days.
JOURNALISTS
Calarie Hall hosts regular bingo on Sunday a ernoons. Doors open at 11am, rst call at 1pm.
FREE WORKSHOP: UNDERSTANDING GRIEF
Tuesday 17 June and Monday 23 June
The National Association for Grief and Loss (NALAG) is bringing free workshops to Forbes and Eugowra. This 3.5 hour workshop explores the emotional impact of grief, common grief reactions, some practical strategies for self-care and how to support someone who is grieving. Participants will learn how to have meaningful conversations around grief; recognise when further support may be bene cial and develop resilience in their grief journey or while walking with someone grieving. Please register online at https://nalag.org.au/events/
ONLINE SAFETY WORKSHOP
Thursday, June 19
The Council of Catholic School Parents with the eSafety Commissioner is o ering a free webinar called ‘Understanding and using parental controls to help protect your child online. You can nd more information online https://register.gotowebinar.com/ register/2610806197060341853 If you are interested in the Forbes Phone Free Alliance, email forbesphonefreealliance@gmail.com
Renee Powell 0448 238 023
rpowell@midwestmedia.com.au
Brendan McCool 0448 238 254
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ADVERTISING
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Parkes Show Society will be holding a community screening of Just a Farmer at the Parkes Little Theatre. This special screening of a powerful Australian lm will be screening for two nights with both starting at 7pm. Tickets are available now for $15 at 123tix.
FROST AND FIRE
21 June
Country rock artists the Wolfe Brothers, Ripley Alexander and the Baker Boys headline an incredible night’s entertainment for this annual festival. Cosy up by toasty re buckets, indulge in hearty treats from our food trucks, and savour boutique brews while being serenaded by internationally recognised Australian music acts on the main stage. Tickets now online through 123tix.com.au
NEW VOGUE AND SOCIAL
TWELVE-HOUR DANCE
22 June, 10am - 10pm - Tickets $15
The New Vogue and Social Dance Group presents the Twelve-Hour Dance at Canowindra Services Club.
Featuring a special dance demonstration by well-known dancers and choreographers, Andrea and John Barwick. Music will be provided by Barry Whitty and Phil Redenbach, and the MC will be Doug Moorby. Further details contact Gail on 0417 747 338.
www.forbesadvocate.com.au
Our talented performers from Kristen’s Dance Studio will take the stage, with entrants travelling from Parkes, Cowra, Mudgee, Bathurst
Tuesday 24 June
Join the Bedgerabong community from 10am at the hall to raise a cup and funds for the Cancer Council’s Biggest Morning Tea.
PCS PRESENTS MARY POPPINS
Opening Thursday 26 June
Parkes Christian School presents Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins the Broadway Musical. Bert introduces us to England and the Banks family in 1910. Mary Poppins arrives on the scene, taking the children on the magical and memorable adventures this production is known for. Evening and matinee performances. Tickets online through trybooking.com
FORBES COMMUNITY NAIDOC CELEBRATIONS
Friday, 4 July
From 12pm to 4pm at the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre gather together as a community to celebrate NAIDOC Day. A march will leave South Circle Oval at 12pm and will end at the Wiradjuri Dreaming Centre.
FORBES RUGBY LADIES DAY
Saturday 12 July
It’s ladies day at Forbes Rugby Union Club, from midday to 5pm at Grinsted Oval. Enjoy grazing boards, lunch by Eat Your Greens, bar and live music, followed by a jersey auction. Tickets online through 123tix.com.au
CENTRAL WEST BIRD EXPO
Saturday, 2 August
The annual Central West Bird Show will be at the Forbes Showground. Public entry is $2 per person with kids under 12 free. The bird sale is open to the public from 10am to 2pm unless sold out prior. There will be trade stalls, food vans, ra es, education stands and more on the day.
mbrown@midwestmedia.com.au
Topsoil Organics will be able to put their compost into 20kg bags for the retail market with $500,000 in funding from the Coles Nurture Fund.
The central west nutrient return centre has shared in $3.5 million in grants supporting Australian producers across a wide range of industries.
Topsoil Organics takes food and garden waste and turns it into compost, but at present it’s only sold in bulk for the agricultural market.
Owners Dan and Lana Nicholson said this funding would enable them to bring forward plans to build a compost bagging facility that will get the nutrient rich compost back into the retail market.
“The Coles Nurture Fund grant means we can start bagging our compost and make it available not just to broadacre farms, but also to horticultural growers and eventually retail customers,” Mr Nicholson said.
Non-edible food waste from more than 100 Coles stores across NSW does come to the central west nutrient return centre to be blended with organics to make compost.
“It’s a full-circle process - the same materials can be returned to the land to help grow the next crop,” Mr Nicholson said
“As a family-owned business, it’s an honour to create this kind of impact with the support of the Coles Nurture Fund.
“It’s not just about compost it’s
for
about closing the loop, supporting farmers, and giving back to the environment in a meaningful way.”
The funding will have a massive impact on the Nicholsons’ business, which just won Western NSW’s 2025 Business of the Year.
“Where we thought we could probably get to in the next ve or six years is now going to become reality in the next year, opening up a market that we didn’t think we could have got to so quickly,”
Mr Nicholson said.
Coles announced the grants on World Environment Day, Topsoil Organics one of 11 small and medium sized businesses to receive up to $500,000. Now in its eleventh year, the Coles Nurture Fund has awarded more than $40 million in nancial support to 119 Australian producers across a wide range of industries.
Coles Group Chief Commercial and Sustainability O cer Anna Cro said this year’s recipi-
ents stood out for their forwardthinking projects that drive innovation across the industry.
“We’re proud to support these businesses that are pioneering smart and practical solutions that will help to create a more sustainable future,” she said.
“It’s exciting to see such a strong pipeline of ideas with the potential to make a real impact, not just on production methods here in Australia, but on the communities and environments they are part of.”
Lambs reached a NSW high of $400 at Forbes’ Central West Livestock Exchange at Tuesday’s sheep sale.
Forbes Livestock director and agent Randall Grayson said the industry had been anticipating good prices this winter, numerous factors driving that, but prices have risen higher more quickly than expected and especially for the quality on offer at Forbes this week.
Grayson credited vendors Dan and Mark Toynton from Molong for the high quality, well-presented pen of supplementaryfed lambs. They were second cross Poll Dorset lambs from Kraywood rams.
“(The Toyntons) are long-time clients and well known in the industry for their big heavy lambs over many years,” Mr Grayson said.
Toyntons sold 146 at $400 a head and those were the lead of a mob of 1200.
An estimated carcase weight of 38kg put them at $10.50 a kilo dressed weight.
At time of preparing for press, the sale represented a record for NSW with only Victorian markets reaching the $400 mark to date and only recently.
It was a particularly thrilling day for Forbes Livestock, who also sold the first $300 a head lambs at the Forbes selling centre in July 2018.
Prices are being driven by a combination of factors but particularly the extended dry conditions in the typically safe livestock regions of Victoria.
Destocking in those dry areas has led to Victorian processors coming north into our region’s markets earlier than they usually do to seek out prime lamb.
With conditions now easing here, we can expect good prices through the winter.
“We’ve still got June, July, August which are normally the squeeze months for demand so it’s going to be pretty solid for a while,” Mr Grayson said.
Health Minister Ryan Park has given assurance there will be an “independent look” at surgery gures at Orange Health Service a er allegations that the urgency status of some cancer patients’ surgery had been changed were raised in national media.
Member for Orange Philip Donato described the allegations as “very concerning” when he brought the matter before NSW Parliament.
“The claim made earlier this week by a doctor on ABC’s 7.30 Report that Orange Health Service allegedly re-categorised clinical urgency of cancer surgeries so that the hospital doesn’t breach recommended surgical waiting times, is
very concerning,” Mr Donato said.
“I acknowledge that many public health services across regional NSW are resource-challenged – however, a treating clinician’s determination of their patient’s clinical urgency for cancer surgery should not be interfered with by health administration to conform with policy relating to service delivery timeframes.
“Following a cancer diagnosis, the clock starts ticking – and the medical treatment plan should never be delayed.
“The suggestion that the urgency status of certain cancer patients’ surgery have either been changed by the hospital administration, or that pressure is being applied
by hospital administration on the treating clinician to downgrade surgical urgency – warrants a full and thorough investigation.
“If a public hospital’s surgical theatre services cannot meet the demand, then existing resources need to be addressed with a level of urgency, because - ultimately - it’s people’s lives we are talking about here.”
Dr Rob Knox, Director of Surgery at Orange Health Service, was one of those who spoke to ABC’s 7.30 Report in the episode aired in the last week of May.
“Once that clinical urgency has been assigned by the treating clinician, that clinical urgency category
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should only be changed because there’s a change in the patient’s clinical condition, the policy’s quite clear for that, that it should not be in uenced by the availability of hospital resources or even the surgeon’s availability,” Dr Knox said.
“The reality is cancer doesn’t know what time it is or what day of the week it is: it’s growing so you want to be able to do it as quickly as possible.”
In a statement, the Health District told 7.30 they rejected claims that surgeons had been asked to reclassify surgical procedures and prioritise waiting list targets over patient care.
Health Minister Ryan Park, in
response to Mr Donato, said his expectation was very tight adherence to surgical policies and guidelines.
“That is people who need surgery very quickly on life threatening issues need to be treated before those whose clinical condition allows them to wait,” he said.
“I no way want to give any impression that there is any tolerance of trying to move things around to try and t in particular gures.
“My priority as health minister is to make sure that we provide safe care, e ective care and timely care – and the timeliness has to be based on clinical need.”
Mr Park said he had also asked to meet with clinicians.
State Emergency Service volunteers have come to the rescue of a horse trapped in mud in the river on a freezing morning.
On Thursday 5 June, with temperatures dropping below zero, the team was called to a property near Forbes where the horse had become stuck in the mud and was unable to get out.
Flood rescue and large animal rescue techniques were put to the test as the team helped the horse swim to a safer location to get out of the water.
They then used a rescue glide and some people power to safely move the exhausted horse out of the shallows and into a sunny spot where it could be
warmed with rugs and treated by the vet.
SES volunteer Savannah Bevan said the rescue was safe and e ective thanks to collaboration between SES volunteers, owners, local vet and neighbours.
The SES reported the horse was le in the care of its owner, happy to be higher and drier.
A NSW Parliamentary committee has recommended that the state’s Rural Fire Service eet be legally recognised as state assets in what’s being described as a signi cant win for local government.
The Public Accounts Committee has tabled the report for its “Inquiry into the assets, premises and funding of the NSW Rural Fire Service” with all 14 recommendations warmly welcomed by the local government sector.
President of Local Government NSW and Forbes Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM says the report’s recommendations strongly align with the positions advocated by LGNSW and councils.
“Of course, every council strongly supports the RFS and the incredible work they do for our communities,” Mayor Miller said.
“But the reality is that councils have no say in the acquisition, deployment or disposal of the RFS ‘Red Fleet’ assets so it’s illogical that councils should be expected to account for these as-
sets and manage associated audit obligations.”
“The truth is that the management and oversight arrangements of the RFS have gradually shi ed over many years, and outdated ownership and accounting arrangements need to be updated.”
Key recommendations of the inquiry report include:
Transferring legal ownership of the Red Fleet assets to the RFS
Amending the Rural Fires Act 1997 to recognise that the NSW RFS – and not local government - is responsible for the maintenance and repair of Red Fleet assets.
Amending the Rural Fires Act to clarify that the NSW RFS has primary responsibility for bush re mitigation and hazard reduction, with councils playing a supporting role.
Amending the Rural Fires Act so that the NSW RFS is responsible for the provision of new premises in the future.
Mayor Miller says the report must be followed by swi action.
“We are so grateful to the members of this Committee who have heard that message and have come out so strongly in recommending much needed change,” she said.
“I thank the Minister for Local Government, the Hon. Ron Hoenig MP for referring this matter for inquiry and I now urge the NSW Government to adopt the recommendations and move without delay towards implementation of these long overdue reforms.”
A man has died after the car he was travelling in hit a tree 30km outside of Parkes on the long weekend.
Two others, including a child, have also been hospitalised.
Just after 1pm on Saturday emergency services were called to Henry Parkes Way about 30km east of Parkes between Lake Endeavour Road and Reedy Creek Road, after reports of a single-vehicle crash.
Officers found a sedan had left the roadway and crashed into a tree, a NSW Police statement issued to media said.
A front seat passenger in the vehicle, a man believed to be aged in his 30s, was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics, however he died at the scene.
The male driver and a child seated in the rear were treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to Orange Base Hospital for further treatment.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
POLICE APPEAL FOR INFORMATION
Police are appealing for information following an alleged assault and kidnapping in Orange last month.
About 1.30am on Thursday 15 May 2025, a man was sitting inside his blue MG sedan on Maxwell Avenue, Orange, when he was approached by three men, NSW Police said in a statement to media.
Police were told the group threatened
the man with a knife before they assaulted him and forced him in the back seat of the car.
The group entered the car and drove towards Wellington on Burrendong Way, before forcing the man to exit the car at Euchareena and driving off.
The 54-year-old man contacted emergency services and was treated by paramedics before being transported to Orange Health service for further treatment. He has since recovered.
The car was burned out near Wellington. Anyone with information or dashcam/CCTV vision is urged to contact Orange Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
TEENS CHARGED IN ORANGE
Two teenage boys will face children’s court over a break and enter in Orange.
Just after 3am last Thursday 5 June, police were called to a home following reports of an alleged break and enter.
Officers were told a SUV and a handbag were allegedly stolen while the resident was asleep.
Police located the vehicle, abandoned, in Orange that same morning, and seized it for forensic examination.
Following further inquiries, police arrested two boys – aged 17 and 14. They were both taken to Orange Police Station and charged.
The latest employment gures from Inland Rail’s Stockinbingal to Parkes section illustrate how many people it takes to deliver a major rail project like Inland Rail.
Major works at the Daroobalgie Loop, Lachlan River Bridge, Forbes Station and Wyndham Avenue have now been completed and the number of people needed on site has reduced, re ecting the progress made.
With major works now completed on the section and only a few weeks of minor works remaining, February’s veri ed gures show it took 596 people to complete major works between Stockinbingal and Parkes.
This gure is the total number of people directly employed by contractor Martinus Rail working in the rail corridor to deliver the project.
From July 2023 to February
THE comedian and digital creator from little ol’ Bogan Gate is coming home next weekend to be the official ambassador for the Frost and Fire festival.
And he’ll be bringing his quick wit and down-to-earth charm with him.
Forbes Shire Council announced Mitchell Coombs as 2025 Frost and Fire ambassador on Saturday, ahead of the magical evening under starry skies that celebrates the Winter Solstice on 21 June.
With a 400,000-strong following across social media, Mitchell and his unique sense of humour is adored by audiences nationwide.
Whether he’s sharing funny moments from his personal life, including on the family farm at Bogan Gate, or putting his own
spin on viral trends, Mitchell has been described as someone who always keeps it real, and always keeps us laughing.
Mitchell’s signature style and energy will be on full display to help make this year’s event one of the most unforgettable yet.
We first met Mitchell almost 10 years ago while at university when his entertaining video tour of Bogan Gate went viral, and led to national recognition and an appearance on Sunrise.
He’s since worked in radio, records podcasts and began stand-up comedy four years ago - all while continuing to film content for his social media platforms and living in Sydney.
Forbes Ski Dam on Bedgerabong Road is the place to be on 21 June
from 4pm until 10pm where you can cosy up by toasty fire buckets, indulge in hearty treats from food trucks, and savour boutique brews while being serenaded by Australian music acts on the main stage or immerse yourself in live entertainment and performances around you.
There are complimentary shuttle buses throughout the night and accessible parking (permit required).
Tickets are $30 and are available online on 123tix.com.au
Under 18s are free.
▶ Mitchell Coombs from
2025, Inland Rail from Stockinbingal to Parkes has led to:
596 people employed, of whom 55 are First Nations
184 local residents employed, of whom 34 are First Nations
60 women employed
39 tradespeople employed
129 local businesses engaged
$12.2 million spent with local businesses
$427,400 spent with First Nations businesses Australia-wide
Stephen Jones, Inland Rail Executive Director Program Health, Safety, Environment and Sustainability, said they had been able to complete major works on the Stockinbingal to Parkes section thanks to the workers and businesses.
“We have a stated goal of delivering Inland Rail south of Parkes by 2027 so it is important to be able to nish major works on S2P, and we can only be as successful
as the teams on the ground putting in the hard yards,” he said.
“It is demanding work to upgrade rail infrastructure - it requires accuracy, safety and physical e ort, o en in testing conditions and sometimes while wearing hot and heavy protective equipment.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the many locals who have worked on S2P, some of whom have joined the industry through the Inland Rail Skills Academy.
“The skills which have enabled these local workers to deliver S2P safely and on time will also be of enormous bene t on other parts of Inland Rail when they go into the construction phase later this year.”
Construction begins in the Albury to Illabo and Illabo to Stockinbingal sections of the project later this year.
It’s been a wintery start to the o cial season with a frosty morning and a cold, damp couple of June long weekend days.
Temperatures dipped below freezing on Thursday 5 June, the airport gauge recording our coldest morning of the year so far with a low of -2.2 degrees.
Friday started cold again with -0.1 degrees but the sun was still peeking through giving an o cial top of 16.5 degrees Saturday.
Damp conditions moved in Sunday and while there was a top of 13 degrees it didn’t feel like it on the hill at the rugby league that a ernoon.
While the o cial temperature at Parkes at 12.15pm was 7.4 de-
grees Weatherzone said the “feels like” was 3 degrees.
It was certainly damp but there wasn’t a lot of rain in the system, the Forbes airport gauge recording a total 3mm between Sunday and 9am Tuesday.
That followed a total 1mm earlier in the week.
The forecast for the weekend ahead is a return to drier but not necessarily sunny conditions with one degree mornings and top temperatures of 15 degrees Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
While the Bureau indicates there’ll be some cloud Friday through to Monday, they’re only giving 20 to 30 per cent chance of 0-1mm of rain for those days.
The Bureau of Meteorology has released its winter outlook and says the long-range forecast shows day and night temperatures are likely to be above average across Australia for this time of year, with winter rainfall likely to be above average for interior and central parts of the country.
This follows an autumn which was much drier than average in many southern parts of Australia, although wetter than average in the north and east of Australia.
Winter rainfall is expected to be above average for much of the state and the ACT, however parts of the state’s east are likely to have rainfall in the typical range.
The tennis community has acknowledged Trevor Drury’s contribution to the sport as he steps back from refereeing.
At a recent regional tournament in Bathurst, the long-time Forbes tennis player, coach and o cial was presented with a gi acknowledging his many years of overseeing regional tournaments.
Trevor’s love of tennis started with lunchtime games at school and he’s picked up coaching and refereeing to keep the next generation in the game in the years since.
The referee isn’t a tennis umpire but they have a critical role in overseeing tournaments and Trevor has been doing this for a couple of decades now, for events including the one-day Regional Matchplay series to three and four-day events in Bathurst.
It’s all for the love of a game he’s been playing for most of his life.
“I’ve had a tennis racquet in my hand since Year 4 or 5 – our school had a court and we used to play during lunch,” Trevor said.
“I just continued playing club tennis – getting into coaching and refereeing came about out of necessity.”
Trevor took up coach-
ing a er his family came to Forbes in 1976, a er his son’s coach moved on with work, and continued through to late 2022.
He attained coaching quali cations – being presented with his certi cate by Ken Rosewall – coaching at the town tennis club a er school and on weekends, and later became involved with Combined High Schools tennis through his role at Forbes High School.
Over the years that followed, Trevor became the central west convenor and managed the western region girls’ team, but one of the greatest thrills was coaching the Forbes High team to win the nal of the Floris Conway Cup in 1989.
That team of four Forbes High girls - Kylie Parsons, Sarah Knox, Caroline Browne and Alexandra Fuge - progressed through the knockout competition which was open to all schools in NSW to win the nal.
“That was to me a good win,” Trevor remembered.
The need for referees for regional tournaments arose about 2022 with changes in the Tennis NSW requirements.
The referee is the expert in all things rules and regulations at a tennis tournament,
supervising all aspects of a tournament from okaying the draws and schedules to making sure everything runs smoothly and in the spirit of fairness.
It’s no small role – but it is made easier by good tournament directors, which Trevor has been privileged to work with.
Trevor was one of a handful from our region to become quali ed so local clubs could continue to have tournaments without the cost of bringing in and accommodating referees from further a eld.
He completed rst his Level B accreditation, then in 2010 his Level A.
One of the changes in regional tennis has been toward universal rankings rather than age groups for these tournaments.
While Under 10s remain separate, older juniors compete based on their ranking rather than their age.
“Everyone’s getting good tennis,” Trevor said, “it’s working pretty well and it will get better.”
While Trevor’s taking another step back from tennis, he’s hardly slowing down as he continues his involvement with U3A and Probus, and as a volunteer community driver.
By CHRISTINE LITTLE
An Energy from Waste plant has been proposed for Parkes and a group of professionals, farmers and business owners have formed an alliance to make sure the community hears both sides of the issue.
They’re called the Parkes Clean Future Alliance (PCFA) and they are actively raising concerns and researching the impacts and risks such a facility could have on human health, the environment and Parkes’ food and agriculture industries.
Plans to burn 600,000 tonnes of Sydney’s rubbish each year in a facility in Parkes to produce electricity, heat and steam were ofcially released in March by appointed developers Parkes Energy Recovery.
The development is proposed for the NSW Government’s Parkes Special Activation Precinct (SAP), west of the township.
“We formed mainly from the community being in such shock,” PCFA committee member Ben Stead said.
“It was a shock of the magnitude of this facility and the impact it was going to have on a town,” added a fellow member who requested to remain anonymous.
built
Ben reached out to everyone he could nd when the proposal was announced, including getting in touch with people who were a ected by similar projects in Narromine, Lithgow and Sydney, and environmental health activist of more than 25 years Jane Bremmer. A co ee shop meeting was organised among those interested in forming a group.
“Then we needed people. We also formed an association,” Ben said.
At the same time, a petition urging Parkes Shire Council to reject the proposal began circling the community.
Ben said it’s close to 4000 signatures now, the total online and on paper.
PCFA’s committee of 12 people includes environmental scientists, engineers, accountants, multigenerational farmers, business owners, teachers, a town planner and some with law backgrounds. They’re also receiving assistance from a bio chemist, chemical engineer and other scientists, and some in law enforcement.
The group’s social media following is much biggerthe Parkes Clean Future Alliance Facebook page now has 2200 members.
PCFA said they’re also shocked at what they described as an “extreme lack of communication” regarding the proposal prior to the March 24 announcement.
PCFA believes very little had been done in the years leading up to this to inform and engage with the Parkes community, when the SAP was being established, and that many people weren’t aware an Energy from Waste facility was being considered for Parkes.
The group conducted a survey not long a er the announcement and 79 per cent of its 420 participants (332 people) said they weren’t aware the facility was proposed for Parkes. Twentyone per cent (88) said they did.
When the masterplan for the SAP was released and later nalised in June 2020, the SAP was divided into six sub precincts - one of them being a Resource Recovery and Recycling sub precinct.
An Energy from Waste facility was not listed in its description that reads “this area is ideally placed to receive and re-process waste and resources, championing circular economy principles”.
PCFA’s Facebook group acts as a virtual community town hall, they said, which is their
goal - a public forum for the Parkes community to share their research, questions and concerns regarding Energy from Waste incineration.
The committee itself is spending weeks researching and referencing information before they put it out to the community.
“We want to approach this very professionally, we don’t want misinformation, everything is thoroughly checked,” Ben said.
“If it’s not substantiated it comes down - we want to keep it accurate and maintain credibility.”
“We don’t want to change people’s view, we want to give them a balanced view so they can make their own decision,” the committee member said.
“It’s not fair when it has such a huge impact on the town.
“This should have been put to the town since 2019.”
The group said they would like to see more representation from Council.
They acknowledged the proposed Energy from Waste incinerator is a NSW Government project and that Council does not have the nal say in its approval.
“However this does not mean they are powerless,” Ben said.
PCFA wants to work with Council, know where councillors stand on the proposal and are asking them to “stand beside them”.
The committee organised a closed meeting between Council and Ms Bremmer, and an online event with the community hosted by Mike Whitney, who has joined the ght against waste incinerators.
Also in the works is a town information night with independent scientists, doctors and other groups.
“We don’t want to be against Council, we don’t want to do this but we’re doing what Council should have already done as our elected representatives,” committee member Jeromie Fitzpatrick said.
“We are getting an overwhelming number of people telling us they’re going to leave town if this goes ahead,” said the committee member.
“We all love Parkes and we don’t want to leave. .. But people just aren’t going to risk it.”
PCFA’s survey revealed that 63 farmers, 43 health and aged care workers and 39 educators indicated they would move away from Parkes as a precautionary measure.
State Member for Orange Phil Donato has taken the ght against a proposal to build an Energy from Waste plant in Parkes to Parliament House.
He says residents’ legitimate concerns about the facility and its potential impacts on health and the environment, “must not be dismissed”.
Mr Donato delivered a ve minute speech on the issue in NSW Parliament on 28 May.
“It is nature and right that the public seeks to understand the impacts, the bene ts and the potential risks from any proposed Energy
from Waste infrastructure,” he said.
“My o ce has taken receipt of a number of emails and phone calls regarding the proposal, some in favour and some against.
“Transparency, rigorous assessment and ongoing community consultation are critical for any development and as an elected representative I owe it to the communities I represent to get all the facts, listen carefully and make decisions which is supported by both science and social responsibility.”
If the project is approved, Mr Donato said, it will reduce pressure on Sydney’s land lls, which are ex-
pected to run out of space by 2030, while also providing energy and steam, and create skilled local jobs.
“But with opportunity must come assurances and accountability,” he said.
“Residents of Parkes have raised legitimate questions about air quality, emissions control and longterm safety of the Energy from Waste plant being proposed for the Parkes Special Activation Precinct.
“These concerns must not be dismissed - they must be thoroughly addressed through the planning and environmental assessment processes.
“The consultation and planning processes cannot be rushed, and if a er balanced and informed consideration the Parkes community decide they do not want an energy from waste plant it in their backyard - then their wishes need to be respected by the state.”
Mr Donato said he is continuing the dialogue with the o ce of the Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe MLC, seeking to have an EPA-led community consultation process to assist with questions regarding the health and environmental aspects of the proposed facility.
The Forbes Magpies’ reserve grade grand nal win of 1975 was one to remember and members of that team marked the 50th anniversary with a reunion on the long weekend.
They had dinner at the club with the chance to look back at some of the photos and newspaper clippings of the time, which told of the game that pushed into extra time with three disallowed tries.
To set the scene for just how intense the competition was, the Magpies had had had a close 20-17 grand nal loss to CYMS in the 1973 grand nal before they earned their place in the big dance again in 1975 and this time held the trophy high winning 13-11.
Twelve months later, a hungry Macquarie side got their own back over Forbes, winning the 1976 premiership 11-10.
There were plenty of stories to tell, and of course a new generation of Forbes rugby league representatives to cheer on in Sunday’s derby against Parkes.
State Emergency Service volunteers have responded to 8895 incidents, completed 806 ood rescues and 416 resupply missions in response to heavy rainfall and severe ooding in the Hunter and Mid North Coast.
The numbers have been released as the NSW SES concludes its operational response and hands over to NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Homes, businesses and infrastructure have sustained extensive damage in the natural disaster.
More than 2200 NSW SES volunteers mobilised to support communities a ected by heavy rainfall and severe ooding from 14 May, working with volunteers and partner agencies including NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, NSW Police, NSW Ambulance, Surf Life Saving NSW, Marine Rescue NSW, and VRA Rescue NSW.
During the response the SES carried out resupply operations to isolated communities, delivering essential supplies including food, water and medicine, as well as conducting hundreds of ood rescues.
Hundreds more emergency service partners and community members have tirelessly assisted with damage assessments, as well as undertaking cleanout and washout of damaged properties.
NSW SES Commissioner Mike Wassing thanked SES volunteers and emergency service colleagues from across Australia and New Zealand for their dedication and commitment during the crisis.
“As we transition into the recovery phase of this operation, our priority remains delivering essential supplies to residents who remain isolated,” he said.
“While the SES hands over the recovery operation to the Reconstruction Authority, I thank the thousands of community members who mobilised to support and assist with the clean-up.”
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said thousands of people had come together in support of the disaster-a ected regions with many more putting their hand up to join volunteer ranks.
“I’ve met dozens of volunteers on the ground in Kempsey, Maitland, Port Macquarie, Taree and Wingham in the past week, and witnessed first-hand the exceptional support from across NSW, as well as interstate and internationally,” he said.
To nd out more or to register your interest in volunteering with our State Emergency Service, visit www.ses. nsw.gov.au/volunteer
A Forbes engineering student is among recipients of a $20,000 Transgrid Scholarship.
Transgrid has awarded 21 scholarships to students at Charles Sturt University as part of a program to skill up leaders of the renewable energy transition.
Shayne Trevorrow, Forbes, has been named one of the recipients.
Students are from communities where critical energy infrastructure is being planned or built to enable the state’s renewable energy transition.
Operations of Major Projects
General Manager Daniel Banovic said scholarship recipients would have the opportunity to be at the forefront of the renewable energy transition in NSW and Transgrid was proud to ease the nancial burden so they could focus on their studies.
“We are committed to delivering
Forbes’ Shayne Trevorrow is
the critical infrastructure required to enable the NSW and Commonwealth governments’ renewable energy future and empowering young engineers from regional Australia will help deliver these projects and
set them up for future careers in the industry,” he said.
Transgrid is delivering a 2500km energy “superhighway” including the EnergyConnect, HumeLink and VNI West projects, he said.
“These projects will require hundreds of skilled personnel and world-class engineers now and in the years to come and we are committed to investing in the energy workforce to address jobs and skills
Forbes Business Chamber has extended a very practical thank you to our local State Emergency Services branch for their assistance.
SES volunteers helped our business chamber with traffic control for the annual Christmas carnival last year, and secretary Emma Gaffney had the happy task of presenting them with a new wet and dry vacuum as thanks.
SES Controller Roc Walshaw said the vacuum, purchased locally, will be extremely useful for all their vehicles.
Forbes SES has three trucks as well as boats and trailers they keep serviced, maintained and ready to respond to emergency.
shortages in regional NSW,” Mr Banovic said.
“We’re delighted to support another 21 engineering students this year, bringing the total number of scholarships awarded to 58 so far under the $2 million program.
“I congratulate the very worthy recipients of this year’s scholarships and wish them all the best in their studies over the next four years.”
Charles Sturt University Manager of Development Justin Williams said Transgrid’s support was helping keep engineers in regional Australia where their skills were needed.
“This program is a remarkable example of what sustained industry partnership can achieve,” he said.
“In just three years, we have already seen lives changed, ambitions realised, and a growing pipeline of regional engineering talent.”
President Mal Smith chaired the May meeting of Forbes Probus and opened with a moment’s silence in remembrance of David Morrison and Fred Vogelsang.
With Secretary Lloyd Gerdes and Treasurer John Bruce on vacation, Trevor Drury deputised for both po-
Prashanth Rangaswamy was a guest of Neil Gilmour.
Following the usual club business Noel Jolli e introduced Michael Walker as our
Born in Farrand Street to Molly and Dardanelles (Darda) Walker, lived in Farrand Street and worked in Farrand
He attended Red Bend Catholic College where he loved sport, cricket, footy, tennis and was good at Maths.
For someone who had only travelled as far North as Dubbo and South to West Wyalong a train journey to Sydney in 1969 to commence his National Service was quite something.
Following 12 months training, he was dra ed into the Engineering Corp own to
Vietnam and acted as a storeman (Quarter Master) was something else.
Observing the living conditions of the Vietnamese people was a cultural shock.
Humans and livestock living under one roof.
He served his country abroad until 1972.
From his military experience he gained comradeship, to care and share, don’t worry you’ll get by.
On completion of his tour of duty he returned to Forbes working for his father where he appreciated living in the central west.
During 1981 he and his brother David, who had been
working in the wool industry as a wool classer and shearing contractor, borrowed money to purchase the business and relocated to new premises in Sam Street.
However, owing to the ensuing early eighties drought, times were tough.
The family enterprise has been operating since 1915 started by his grandfather who came to town to work in a our mill.
In partnership with family members as of 2025 they now have 70 stores in four states employing 500 people.
David Williams gave an appreciation and a small gi to Michael.
Aspiring young judges will gather at Bedgerabong Showground on Wednesday 18 June to learn from the experts as we lead into the 2025 Show season.
Experienced judges and industry leaders from all around our region will run workshops in judging eece, meat sheep, Merino sheep, beef cattle, dairy cattle, fruit and vegetables, grains and poultry on the big day.
There’s an anticipated 150 students booked in to attend, to learn about handling sheep
for the ring, showing cattle and preparing poultry before our local central west show season starts.
A public speaking workshop will help aspiring young judges prepare to present their opinions to the over judge at shows. Young judges can be up to 25 years of age, and event organiser Anne Earney encourages people interested in gaining judging skills to support their local shows to get in touch by emailing bedgerabongshow@ hotmail.com Group nals are held at lo-
cal shows through the season, with winners getting the opportunity to qualify for Sydney Royal.
Most categories also have the opportunity to go on to national.
Our local show season starts with Bedgerabong Show on Saturday 16 August.
Peak Hill follows on 19 and 20 August; Parkes on 25 to 27 August.
Forbes Show is on Saturday 14 September and Eugowra Show follows on Saturday 20 September.
By MARG APPLEBEE
With just over a month until school holidays, teachers are welcome to use one of our Educational Kits for end of term engagement.
We are looking forward to distributing our resources with schools in the Parkes and Forbes Shires.
Our Landcare Learning and Landcare Literacy programs consist of 12 Literacy Kits and 14 Learning Kits covering a range of topics from Plants to Lifecycles, through to Ants and Composting.
These kits are available for use by a school and on a term basis.
Kits are an opportunity for a class to gain additional reading and activity resources to add to an existing learning module.
Of course, we have some guidelines for use to ensure that these are used and distributed to keep our resources clean between each use.
We have set up a booking system that can be easily ac-
Landcare Learning kits contain a mix of resources that are based on a particular topic.
cessed via our website.
I have put up a quick link from our home page and it will be shared via social media.
This link can also be accessed via our Sustainable Schools Landcare Learning and Literacy option via Projects tab.
The Landcare Learning kits have been developed by the volunteers and sta of Central West Lachlan Landcare with the aim of providing schools with
in a half hour presentation on a particular topic, please email me at cwllandcare@gmail.com and I would be keen to discuss
Our Landcare Learning kits contain a mix of resources (mainly books and some puzzles) that are based on a particu-
Our Landcare Literacy Kits are a mix of mostly books with a focus on science, agriculture,
Kits are available for Stage 1
This is another way that we can share with our local schools about the many forms of Landcare.
the opportunity to access additional educational resources to educate students on a range of environmental topics.
We hope that these kits prove to be a valuable resource for children and educators alike, and we welcome any feedback that our organisation can use to improve the environmental education programs we have in place.
If your school is interested
Education is key to having a successful and caring group of young people.
We look forward to sharing more information regarding some of our other programs soon.
Click here for further information and to book resources. For further information on this article, please go to www. centralwestlachlanlandcare. org, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram @cwllandcare
lift $15 to $20
SHEEP SALE
Tuesday, 10 June
Yarding 37,150 (down 2600)
Numbers eased this sale with both lamb and mutton showing the change.
There was 29,100 lambs penned and quality was similar to previous sales.
There were some good lines of grain assisted and finished lambs offered along with the secondary types.
The usual buyers were present and competing in another stronger market.
Trade weight lambs 20-24kg lifted $15 to $20/head to sell from $225 to $280/head. Heavy lambs to 26kg were up $10 to range in price from $253 to $20/head.
Extra heavyweights were $10 to $15 better to sell from $272 to $400/head.
Carcase prices averaged from $10 to $11/kg. The best heavy hoggets reached $230/head. There was 8050 mutton penned and quality continues to vary.
Prices stayed strong with Merino ewes selling from $124 to $287/head.
Crossbreds received from $128 to $276/head. Dorper ewes topped at $299.20/head. Merino wethers reached $256/head. No cattle sale Monday due to the June long weekend public holiday. FROM MLA’S NATIONAL LIVESTOCK REPORTING AGENCY
6.00 Morning Programs. 2.35 Doctor Who. 3.20 Would I Lie To You? 3.50 MythBusters. 5.30 George Clarke’s
And Friends. 5.45 Kangaroo Beach. 7.05 Gardening Australia Junior. 7.35 Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures. 8.00 Be Cool, Scooby-Doo! 8.30 MythBusters “There’s Your Problem!”. 8.55 Robot Wars. 9.55 Walking With Dinosaurs. 10.45 Late Programs.
6.00 Rage Charts. 7.00 Weekend Breakfast. 9.00 Rage. 12.00 ABC
6.00 Morning Programs. 12.00 Horse Racing. Winter Cup Day, Sportsbet Sandown Saturday and The Star Stradbroke Day. 1.00 Football. AFL. Brisbane v GWS Giants. 4.00 Border Patrol. 4.30 Motorway Patrol. 5.00 News. 5.30 Border Security. 6.00 News. 7.00 Border Security. 7.30 MOVIE: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. (2018) 10.00 MOVIE: Inside Man. (2006) 12.40 Late Programs.
6.00 Shopping. 8.30 Better Homes. 11.00 Harry’s Practice. 11.30 GetOn Extra. 12.00 Escape To The Country. 1.00 Horse Racing. Winter Cup Day, Sportsbet Sandown Saturday and The Star Stradbroke Day. 5.00 Escape To The Country. 6.00 Dog Patrol. 6.30 The Yorkshire Vet. 8.30 Escape To The Country. 11.30 The Yorkshire Vet. 1.30 Late Programs.
News. 7.30 Call The Midwife. Final. 8.30 Midsomer Murders. Final. 10.05 Bergerac. Final. 10.55 Reunion. Final. 11.55 Rage. 6.00 Kids’ Programs. 3.00 Play School. 3.30 Kiya
6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 Rides Down Under: Workshop Wars. 3.00 Motor Racing. National Drag Racing C’ship. Top Fuel C’ship. 4.00 Storage Wars: Barry’s Best Buys. 5.00 Counting Cars. 6.00 Pawn Stars. 7.00 Storage Wars. 7.30 Pawn Stars. 9.30 American Pickers. 10.30 Air Crash Inv: Accident Files. 11.30 Late Programs.
Gardening
And
Isadora Moon. 7.05 Andy And
6.00 Morning Programs. 11.30 Swimming. Australian Trials. Day 6. Heats. 1.00 Find My Country House Australia. 1.30 Great Australian Detour. 2.00 LEGO Masters: Grand Masters Of The Galaxy. 4.30 Explore TV. 5.00 9News First At Five. 5.30 Getaway. 6.00 9News Saturday. 7.00 A Current Affair. 7.30 Swimming. Australian Trials. Day 6. Finals. 9.25 MOVIE: 27 Dresses. (2008) Katherine Heigl, James Marsden. 11.35 Late Programs.
6.00 Morning Programs. 10.30 Weekender. 11.00 Jordie, Sam & Ted’s Adventures. 11.30 Holistic Living. 12.00 Ed And Karen’s Recipes For Success. 1.00 Australia’s Cheapest Weddings. 2.00 Zumbo’s Just Desserts. 3.15 Starstruck. 4.30 Dodger. 5.30 MOVIE: Abominable. (2019) 7.30 MOVIE: Braveheart. (1995) 11.05 MOVIE: The Social Network. (2010) 1.35 Late Programs.
6.00 Morning Programs. 12.10 Everyday Gourmet. 12.30 The Yes Experiment. 1.00 Roads Less Travelled. 1.30 What’s Up Down Under. 2.00 Buy To Build. 2.30 Food Trail: South Africa. 3.00 Silvia’s Italian Masterclass. 3.30 Farm To Fork. 4.00 My Market Kitchen. 4.30
7.30 Kids Baking C’ship. 8.10 Chopped Jnr. 8.55 The Piano. 9.55 Fresh Off The Boat. 10.35 Dragon Ball Super. 11.00 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 ER. 2.45 Doctor Who. 3.30 A Bite To Eat. 3.55 Penn & Teller: Fool Us. 4.40 MythBusters. 5.30 George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations. 6.15 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent. 7.05 Hard Quiz. 7.35 QI. 8.05 Guy Mont Spelling Bee. 8.55 Nath Valvo: Anyway, Back To Me. 9.45 The IT Crowd. 10.10 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 2.00 Sailing. SailGP. H’lights. 3.00 Cycling. UCI Masters Mountain Bike World C’ships. H’lights.
6.00 Morning Programs. 10.00 Wide World Of Sports. 11.00 NRL Sunday Footy Show. 1.00 Fish Forever. 1.30 Business Drive. 2.00 Beach 5’s Superstars Of Origin. 3.00 Rugby League. NRL. Round 15. South Sydney Rabbitohs v Canterbury Bulldogs. 6.00 9News Sunday. 7.00 LEGO Masters: Grand Masters Of The Galaxy. 8.40 60 Minutes. 9.40 The Killer Interview With Piers Morgan. 10.40 9News Late. 11.10 The First 48. 12.00 Late Programs.
Bite To Eat. 4.05 Would I Lie To You? 4.40 MythBusters. 5.30 George Clarke’s Remarkable Renovations. 6.15 Phil Spencer: Secret Agent. 7.05 Hard Quiz. 7.35 QI. 8.05 The Piano UK.
The Fishing Show By AFN. 1.00 Fishing Addiction. 2.00 Fishy Business. 2.30 AFL Pre-Game. 3.00 Football. AFL. Round 14. Port Adelaide v Melbourne. 6.00 The Wash Up. 7.00 Border Security. 8.30 MOVIE: Predator. (1987) 10.45 MOVIE: Predator 2. (1990) 1.00 Late Programs.
6.00 Morning Programs. 11.00 Skippy. 11.30 Edgar Wallace Mysteries. 12.55 MOVIE: Barnacle Bill. (1957) 2.45 MOVIE: I Was Monty’s Double. (1958) 4.50 MOVIE: The Kentuckian. (1955) 7.00 Rugby Union. Super Rugby Pacific. Semi-final. 9.30 Super Rugby Pacific Post-Match. 9.45 MOVIE: Lethal Weapon. (1987) 12.00 Late Programs.
GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) A slight setback in plans is nothing to worry about. Use this delay to deal with a number of matters you might have ignored for too long. Expect news from someone in your past.
CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You’re entering a period of stability. Use it to straighten out any outstanding problems related to a very personal situation. Also, pay closer attention to financial matters.
6.00 Morning Programs. 9.00 Turning Point. 9.30 TV Shop. 10.00 AFL Sunday Footy Show. 12.00 Getaway. 12.30 Dad’s Army. 1.10 Edgar Wallace Mysteries. 2.30 MOVIE: Outcast Of The Islands. (1951) 4.30 MOVIE: Invitation To A Gunfighter. (1964) 6.30 M*A*S*H. 8.30 MOVIE: The Equalizer. (2014) 11.10 The Closer. 12.10 Late Programs. 6.00 Morning Programs. 10.00 Jordie, Sam & Ted’s Adventures. 10.30 Holistic Living. 11.00 Behave Yourself. 12.00 Australia’s Cheapest Weddings. 1.00 Starstruck. 2.30 Home And Away. 4.30 Baking It. 5.30 Extreme Animal Transport. 6.30 Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly. 7.30 Law & Order: Criminal Intent. 8.30 Law & Order: S.V.U.
LEO (July 23 to August 22) As much as you love being a social Lion, you might well benefit from staying out of the spotlight for a while. You need time to reflect on some upcoming decisions.
VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) A difficult family situation improves, thanks to your timely intervention. You can now start to focus more of your attention on preparing for a possible career change.
LIBRA (September 23 to October 22) An on-the-job change works to your benefit by offering new opportunities, but it’s up to you to check them out. Meanwhile, a stalled romantic situation starts up again.
SCORPIO
ACROSS
4 Name a kind of soup or stew (7)
8 Name a sour liquid (7)
9 To depart in a sudden manner, is to do what (7)
10 Which newspaper is about one half of the broadsheet page size (7)
11 Name a form of pasta cut into flat sheets (7)
12 What are heavy oneedged swords (6)
14 What is a number of puppies brought forth at one birth (6)
18 When one reduces to an average, one does what (7)
21 What is the official proving of a will as valid (7)
22 Which term describes one who mends shoes (7)
23 What is the first letter of a proper noun (7)
24 To be merciful, is to be what (7)
DOWN
1 Which gods come to earth in a human form (7)
2 What do we call those who seek social rank (5)
3 To not be distinguished by birth, is to be what (7)
4 What is another term for a crib (6)
5 What is a fertile place in a desert region (5)
Letters have a number
Some
Create
6 Which term describes dry weather (7)
7 What is a chain of hills known as (5)
13 Name a kind of distilled whisky (7)
15 To be senselessly foolish, is to be what (7)
16 Name a brilliantly coloured parrot (7)
17 What is another term for lively intelligence (6)
Letters A to Z have a number value. Some are shown in the right-hand cells. Create remaining values using clues in centre cells.
18 To surpass others, is to do what (5)
19 Name a thin silk net, used in millinery, dressmaking, etc (5)
20 What do we call a Hindu religious ascetic (5)
Find the following words in the grid. They may be read in any direction, even diagonally. Some letters are used more than once.
1 DOUGHTY (a) Not confident (b) Brave (c) Dull-looking
2 EURO (a) A wallaroo (b) A ditch round the arena in a Roman amphitheatre (c) A brilliant discovery
Build it yourself using the clues and each of the twenty-four letters once only to form ten words: five across and five down. A key word (bold clue) builds on the letter set in the grid.
CLUES:
Atomic particle (7)
Describe sentence parts (5)
Garden tool (3)
Graze for payment (5)
Man whose wife became salt (3)
Meadow (3)
Neighbouring (5)
Speaking style (7)
Tear (3)
Uneven (5)
Solve the crossword. Each answer has four letters.
By DROP SHOT
Wednesday June 4, week
six Teams Hardys remain ahead now with 108 points, Jones are next on 98, Markworts now third for 88 and Cogswells follow that with a close 86 points. And there’s still time for catchups, players.
Highlights for the night: Nate Markwort won the initial set 15-11 against Luke Bilsborough but Luke was on a roll from then on taking the win; 15-8, 15-9, and 15-11.
Harry Bilsborough lost set one 10-15 to Lucy Robinson only to take the next three and claim the match 15-6, 15-11 etc.
Court one: Markworts v Jones 17 points to 9. Lucas Jones v Noah Brown 6-1.
Court two: Hardys v Cogswells 15 to 18.
Marcus v Christine: Mar-
cus played well but Christine’s court coverage and well placed returns gave her a convincing 3-0 win.
Shane Moxey v Bella Henry 6-1.
Thursday evening Teams: Millers still lead, now on 147 points, Dawes follow with 137, H Krosses next for 129 then Pipers 122, Joneses now on 114 have moved ahead of J Krosses on 106.
Highlights: Sub Kimberley Chudleigh and Ken Bryant entertained us as they see sawed through four sets of solid squash until the h when Kim nally won the drawn out battle 15-8. And in a match with very interesting scores, Oliver Paterson won the rst set 15 points to Denn Haynes’ 13 but a er that Oli was three times unlucky tasting defeat 13-15, 13-15 and another 13-15. That’s squash folks.
Court one: Jones v J
Krosses 25 points to 15.
Regan Acret v Alex Doyle, where despite Al’s excellent stroke play, Regan’s tight, good length side wall lobs took their toll gaining him a 3-0 win.
Mark Webb v Shanna Nock 1-6, Sandy Paterson v sub B Thomas 6-1 and John Ridley v Adam Chudleigh 2-5.
Court two: Pipers v Millers; 18 to 23. Sam Hornery v Dan Bayley 5-2, Lockie Jones v Lawry Brayne 6-1 and Pete Cowhan v Max Ridley 1-6.
Court three: H Krosses v Dawes 23 points to 26. Henry v Ollie 6-1, Jono Cannon v sub D Bayley 1-6, Cam Dale v sub L Brayne 5-2, Will Markwort v sub A Chudleigh 3-4, sub Stuart Thomas v Alex Cowhan 1-6, Claire Bayley v Anthony Trotter 6-1, Deb Bryant v T J Markwort 1-6.
This week: team 4 v 5, 2 v 3, 1 v 6 both nights.
Aussie Croquet was played on Saturday 7 June 2025 on a very cool morning with a small number in attendance.
Welcome back to Allan Jones who has been away for a short time taking a well deserved break ne tuning in the mineral pools at Moree. Runaway scores on Saturday were by David West & Bill Scott who defeated John Farah & Neville Spry 14/8, Vince Roberts & Peter West who defeated Ros Rennick & Frank Donohoe 14/9.
Close scores were 14/13 recorded by the following: Peter West (solo) def Sally Perry (Solo), Marie Spry (solo) def Rex Toole (solo), Peter West & Enid Baker def Rex Toole & Frank Donohoe, Neville Spry & May Jones def Kevin Wenning & Elvy Quirk, Enid Baker & Kevin Rubie
def Robin Pols & Sally Perry; 14/11 scores as follows: Rex Toole & Barry White def Lyn Simmonds & Noel Jolli e, Marie Spry & Elvy Quirk def Kevin Rubie & Frank Donohoe, Kevin Wenning & Allan Jones def Ros Rennick & Robin Pols, Sally Perry & Elvy Quirk def David West & Robin Pols, May Jones & Vince Roberts def Cheryl Toohey & Enid Baker; 14/10 scores were: John Browne & Bill Scott def Vince Roberts & Barry White, Kevin Rubie & Noel Jolli e def Lyn Simmonds & Kevin Wenning, Marie Spry & Allan Jones def John Farah & Cheryl Toohey, May Jones (solo) def Neville Spry & Ros Rennick, Bill Scott & Noel Jolli e def Lyn Simmonds & John Farah, Cheryl Toohey & Allan Jones def Barry White & David West. All three games were won by
Peter West, Bill Scott, Allan & May Jones & Marie Spry. Well done to all those players.
Golf Croquet was played on 10 June on a very cold day.
Many thought it was perhaps the coldest day playing croquet that they remember.
There were 26 players only today. Guess it was too cold for some and once again some are away on holidays.
There were many 7/6 scores as follows: Vince Roberts (solo) def Kevin Rubie (solo), John Farah & Mal Smith def Enid Baker & Allan Jones, Graham Falconer & Noel Jolli e def Lyn Simmonds & Lyall Strudwick, Ray Martin & Neil Gilmour def Marie Spry & Rex Toole, Vince Roberts & Elvy Quirk def Peter Mackay & Allan Jones, Lyall Strudwick (solo) def Noel Jolli e
(solo), Peter West & May Jones def Marie Spry & Peter Mackay, Kevin Rubie & Sally Perry def Lyall Strudwick & Elvy Quirk, Frank Donohoe & Neil Hawke def Allan Jones & Neville Spry; 9/4 scores as follows: Marie Spry & Peter Mackay def Margaret Dent & Frank Donohoe, Margaret Dent & Neville Spry def Helen Lupis & Mal Smith, Neil Gilmour & Sally Perry def Graham Falconer & John Browne, Kevin Rubie & John Farah def Frank Donohoe & Enid Baker, John Farah & Mal Smith def Ray Martin & Neil Gilmour, John Browne & Noel Jolli e def Vince Roberts & Rex Toole.
There were a small number of 8/5 scores also.
Two games on the day were won by John Browne, Neil Gilmour, Neil Hawke, Noel Jolli e, Sally Perry,
Vince Roberts, Kevin Rubie, Bill Scott, Mal Smith & Neville Spry whilst three games were won by Peter West, May Jones & John Farah. Congratulations to all those players. It was reported that on 3 June 9/4 scores were recorded by Peter Mackay & Frank Donohoe def Peter West & Kevin Wenning when it fact it should have been recorded that Peter West & Frank Donohoe def Peter Mackay & Kevin Wenning. It was corrected on 10 June by one of the players.
I ask that a winner and a loser of each game come to the score book at the end of each game so that scores are recorded correctly as that does save a lot of work for me. Stay warm, stay safe. Be kind to each other.
By ELVY QUIRK
By SHORT PUTT
Last Saturday dawned with bright but chilly conditions to welcome the Forbes golfers. Some light rain overnight made the greens receptive to close shots which helped the players to warm up with good scores.
The event on Saturday was the Annual Can-Assist Charity Day, a 4-Person Medley Ambrose, with all proceeds going to the Forbes CanAssist Support Group.
The eld was down due to the onset of wintery conditions and the threat of rain, nevertheless the 102 players spread over 26 teams put much enthusiasm into their play and produced great results.
The presentation was run by H/Pro Will with assistance from John Shrader for Can-Assist. John thanked the many sponsors who had supported the event and thanked especially the golfers for their participation.
A balance is yet to be nalised but the money raised from the golf, sponsorship, ra es and ‘paid drives’ is upwards of $3000.
The best handicap score went to the team of Alister Carlisle, John Darcy, Jade Page and Ryan Dunn who nished with a nett 54.5. Starting on the 4th tee they had a couple of pars then scored three birdies in a row. They started the back-9 with a birdie and birdied the 15th before they stumbled with two bogeys.
the 11th hole so was well synced when he played the 3rd.
On the way home they birdied the 2nd hole to nish with a scratch 68.
The handicap runners-up on 55.5 were Grant Tanter, Sam Sykes, Archie Quirk and James Grierson. They started on the 2nd hole and used James’ tee shot to record an opening birdie.
This was the rst of 11 birdies that coupled to no bogeys led to a scratch score of 61.
Other team prizes went to: 3rd – (55.75) Peter Dawson, Todd Callaghan, Nicole Death and Alison Hearn; 4th – (56.12) Clayton Alley, Paul Pymont, Michael Bayley and Liam Fraser; 5th – (56.75) Jonathon Cutler, Glen Hooper, Dave Cutler and Jerad Wooldridge.
The best scratch score went to the team of Caleb Hanrahan, Lee Grierson, Seb Tind Simmons and Seb Minehan with 58. They also started on the 2nd hole and used Caleb’s tee shot to start a run of seven birdies but the 9th yielded only a par. They started the back-9 with a run of six birdies before a couple of pars and a birdie.
The nal hole, on the 1st, returned a meagre par. It did take them 16 holes to get all required 3 tee shots per player and they did complain about only scoring a birdie on the 15th when they had a chance for an ‘eagle’.
The NTP’s went to: Ladies – 1st Nil, 3rd J Fletcher, 9th J Fletcher, 18th – S Grierson; Men - 1st D Burton, 3rd P Dawson, 9th D Burton, 18th D Mylecharane. Of those Jennifer, Daniel, Peter and Dave had their tee shots converted for 2’s.
There were twenty one 2’s overall with the 1st conceding only one from a Jacob Bernardi tee shot, while the other holes were evenly peppered.
The 3rd hole Super-Pin went to Ecky Dawson. He had started on
His shot nished at 110 cm and was well inside the only other name on the sheet. That person, playing their rst tee shot of the day, recorded their proximity as ’40 ’. That would seem to imply that those nine teams that followed and were before Ecky had terrible shots.
This Ambrose format, as demonstrated by the best scratch team, built upon the multiple opportunities to either play a good shot or to convert a putting opportunity.
But of course if all players fail to strike on the same shot then the team score can mount.
On Saturday there were a couple of teams at a disadvantage from the start.
Two teams only had three players and unfortunately both nished at the tail of the eld despite some generous handicaps. But it is really not about shooting the lights out but is about having fun while contributing to a local community group.
The day was about having fun.
One group did just that having the bene t of a modern take on the ‘boom box’ in their cart, a good proportion of refreshments on hand and some talent among the players.
They were so relaxed that they scored brilliantly and took the Best Scratch honours. Perhaps it was their style of ‘LIV Golf.
One way for individual players to contribute was to ‘buy a drive’.
Head Pro Will was stationed on the 10th tee and for a $5 donation he would hit a tee shot for you.
In all 45 players, both men and ladies, made the donation.
A er an unpolished start where some shots resulted in a hook or a slight du Will did get into his swing and powered some drives down the fairway.
One player was pleased to use the paid tee shot and advance to only 64 metres from the green. Unfortunately, Stevie G miss-hit the next shot.
A number of ladies ‘bought’ a
drive which Will hit o the ladies tee. Try as he might Will did not quite make the green on these shots, with his best shot nishing barely a metre short of the green. On a dry day with mown grass it would easily have nished close to the pin.
Having good strategy is also important in this format. It is not always the longest shot that is the best option. A medley team used their noggin well, nominating the 7th, 8th, 13th and 17th holes o the Ladies tees as their drive. And it yielded dividends with an under par score on those holes.
Their nal score of scratch 70 was higher than hoped, but then maybe Max Haley’s chatter put them all o .
With the requirement to record three tee shots each some teams cruise through quite easily but others run things close to the wire.
One team was all done on their 13th hole but a couple of others extend to their 17th or 18th holes. That is pressure.
There were no elds for the Sunday or Monday Stableford Medleys. The squally weather and cold temperatures put most golfers o , although a few hardy souls were out there playing a social round.
Here is the news:
The Lachlan Valley District Championships and Pennants will be held at Trundle on Sun 15 June. We need good numbers to represent the Club in the Pennants teams. There is a nomination sheet in the Pro Shop or contact Steve Betland asap.
On the weekends of 21 and 28 June there will be the 4BBB Stroke and Foursomes Champs. Select your partner wisely.
Players are advised that they should receive their annual membership renewal Invoice this week. If you have any questions about it please contact the Secretary. And a reminder to either clear or reduce your Pro Shop account.
It is crystal ball time:
This Saturday 15 June, the event is the June Monthly Medal, spon-
sored by BWR Accountants and Advisors. Sunday has the usual Stableford Medley comp while the men will attend the LVDGA Pennants at Trundle.
VETS GOLF
The weather was kind for this time of the year, the course presented in excellent condition while the ‘sangers’ a er were a hit to all who played in last week’s twin towns veterans golf competition staged in Parkes.
None were more so happy than local ace Nym Dziuba who was the only player to break handicap posting 38 points, getting the best of the challenging greens.
Larrikin Kim Herbert from Forbes lled runner-up with 35 points only a er a count-back from fellow club member Ken Sanderson. Keeping it in the visitors family Les Little took home the encouragement award.
Nearest the pins, 4th A grade Nym Dziuba (P), B grade Frank Hanns (F), 11th A grade Don McKeowen (F), B grade Richard Hamilton (P).
As has been the case recently Forbes took out the twin towns shield with 198 points to Parkes 193.
Ball sweep winners – 35 points Ken Sanderson (F), 33 Tony Hendry (P), Ross Williams (F), Bruce Chandler (F), 32 Dave Keirie (Port Macquarie), 31 Richard Hamilton (P), Ian Ward (P), Don McKeowen (F), Andrew Norton-Knight (F), Alex Mackinnon (F), Frank Hanns (F).
Forbes host vets this week with noms from 9.30am for a 10m shot gun start.
A er several majors recently the Forbes course is in excellent condition while the re in the club and ‘sanger’ a er is a welcome addition. O cials are hoping to build on the 23 which played last week.
On a sad note it has been revealed that one of the favourites in twin town vets golf Graham Cooke passed away Friday night. Graham wasn’t the ashiest golfer but more importantly a gentleman to all,
loved and respected by everyone. One of his fellow Parkes club members commented, “A simple man just living his life.” So true. At the time of print funeral details were unknown.
Last Tuesday’ social 12 hole winner in Forbes was the BG scribe Steve with 28 points from a host of others headed by Barry Shine two points in arrears and only one point from most others.
While the weather was a big chilly last week the co ee and ‘how good did I hit ‘em’ was a favourite a er at the Van.
You too can be part of Tuesday golf this week or a er, all welcome for the ball toss at 9am.
LADIES GOLF
Wednesday June 4 was a Four Ball Better Ball, Congratulations Wendey Simmons and her sister Ann coming into the club house with a score of 5, then the old count back was brought into play to decide the winners.
Runners up also with a score of 5 was Rose Carrol and Heather Davidson.
Ball winners were Kerry Stirling and Robin Lyell 4, Jenny Hubbard and Lynette Kennedy 3.
Pin winners were Margaret Woodburn on the 9th and Heather Davidson.
Forbes Pennants team of Heather Davison, Jennifer Fletcher, Kerry Stirling, Robin Lyell and Sally Crosby Reversed the Favor to the Girls from Cobar winning 5/0.
It doesn’t happen verry o en when all the girls in a team played very well and the other not so well. Games set down for play this week include on Saturday June 14th The 4BBB Scratch and Handicap and Stroke Championships + NSW Bowl and 4BBB Stableford comp, sponsored by Carolyn Duncan. Wednesday 18th 18 Hole Stroke 4th round of Golf NSW Medal + Dropout Stableford Sponsored By Robb’s Jewellers with play in 2 Divisions. That’s a wrap ngers crossed for the weather to improve.
Good gol ng everyone.
By TONY BRATTON
Results of the Forbes S.S.A.A. sporting shooters .22 calibre rimfire rifle shoot held on Wednesday 4 June 2025.
The results of the 25metre deer target shoot were: Dennis Christey, 100/100; Scott Burton, 100/100; David Morrison, 98/100; Doug Shead, 98/100; John Dean, 97/100; Wayne Burton, 96/100 and Ernie Shankelton, 80/100.
50m crow target: Scott Burton, 243/250; John Dean, 242/250; David Morrison, 241/250; Wayne Burton, 233/250; Doug Shead, 233/250; Dennis Christey, 203/250 and Ernie Shankelton, 188/250.
75m rabbit target: John Dean, 112/120; David Morrison, 108/120; Ernie Shankelton, 104/120; Doug
Shead, 96/120 and Dennis Christey, 74/120.
100m bear target: John Dean, 105/120; Dennis Christey, 104/120; Ernie Shankelton, 97/120; Doug Shead, 93/120 and David Morrison, 79/120.
The weather was cold with light breeze from the south west at 3kph and a temperature of 16 degrees.
The Forbes sporting clay’s held their monthly shoot on 8 June 2025.
The weather was cold with a temperature of 14 degrees and a light breeze from the north west at 8kph.
There were nine members in attendance, from Forbes, Dubbo and Parkes. Ben Smith and Tony Bratton ran the shoot.
The results of the 100 target five stand shoot were:
Glen Bloink (Dubbo) 17-13-21-21 total 72; Clinton Duffy (Parkes)12-19-14-14
total 59; Dan Morgan (Parkes) 15-11-8-11 total 45; Jarrod Foote (Parkes) 8-9-6-8 total 31; Adrian Hodges 15-12 total 27; Joey Reedy 13-14 total 27; and Bruce Dent 9 total 9.
The next shoot for the Forbes S.S.A.A. sporting clays will be their monthly shoot on Sunday 13 July 2025 this will be a 100 target field shoot starting at 10am at the Bedgerebong road range. If wet a five stand shoot will be held.
For all information on clay target shooting contact: Norm Brook 0458664541; Tony Bratton (02) 68523349; Ben Smith 0427524151; Doug Davis (02) 68523249 and Phil Picker (02) 68516494.
Any person wishing to obtain a long arm firearm licence can contact
Wayne Facey on 0414524059; Norm Brook on 0458664541; Tony Bratton on (02) 68523349 to do a firearm safe shooting assessment course which is a requirement for a firearm licence application.
The next S.S.A.A. sporting shooters .22 calibre and other rimfire rifle (.22 magnum or.17HMR).
The next Sunday will be held this Sunday 15 June 2025 starting at 10am, the centre-fire shoot will take place at 2pm on Sunday after the rimfire shoot.
Centre-fire shooters names in by 1.30pm so the targets can be placed on the Centre-fire range.
The next Wednesday shoot will be on Wednesday 18 June starting at 2pm.
All events at the Bedgerebong road range, turn right off the Bedgerebong road onto Dr. Young Drive.
All target shooters are welcome to attend.
Any person wishing try rifle or shotgun shooting can attend any of these shoots to take part after filling out a P650 form at the club, junior shooters must be 12 years or over.
For all information on .22 calibre rimfire shooting contact: Wayne Facey 0414524059; Norm Brook 0458664541; Ben Smith 0427524151; or David Coleman 0427401263.
SSAA members should check the Forbes Sporting Shooters facebook page for shoot details for dates and times, or cancellation of shoots due to wet weather.
Also check the local community radio station 2LVR 97.9 FM for any changes.
Members are reminded that Local Range rules apply to all Forbes SSAA ranges.
BOWLS
By TARA SHAW
PRESENTATION
Don’t forget the presentation for the 2024 Championships will be held this Sunday 15 June, at 1pm. All welcome to attend.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
It’s happening this weekend so mark your calendar; the Minor Singles Championship 2025 will be played on Saturday at 1pm. Who will win?
The consistent and can pull out the tricks when needed, Robert (Pooch) Dukes or the underdog, you can’t let down your guard against him Geo Brown?
We are winding down our Minor Pairs and getting to the pointy end now. Two games were scheduled to play but only one game was played last week due to illness.
A er re-constituting the team Ange Dwyer and Kerry Roach played Ben Parslow and Dale Scott.
The girls started out strong but dropping a 6 on the 3rd was going to hurt. 13-4 on 9, the girls had to dig deep and start their comeback. Taking the 4 ends the girls clawed back to trail by 3, 10-13.
Ben and Dale showed no signs of slowing down but Ange and Kerry were not rolling over and made them work for every point.
Ben and Dale were 20-14 on 18, with the girls taking the last 3 ends it unfortunately wasn’t enough to take the win.
Ben and Dale progressing through with a 20-17 victory.
Clint Hurford and Brett Davenport play John Baass and Cli Nelson on Sunday morning at 10am for their minor pairs game.
SOCIAL BOWLS
Wednesday – In Wednesday morning bowls you play with and against those drawn from the ‘hat’. Not so last week.
“What a ogging we got this morning. Draw against a
visiting champion, she could play,” was how our man commented a er play. Checking the score card this shouldn’t have been.
Let’s explain. Two skips are drawn matched with two leads. Skip 1 naturally plays with lead 1, skip 2 with lead 2.
Easy, not so. Skip 1 takes lead 2 and vise versa so skip 2 now drew Polly Lay from the Stanthorpe Bowlie. Read on to nd out more, just part of Wednesday bowls. You never know who you are going to play with or against. Sometimes.
Card draw winners were Robyn Mattiske and Laurie Crouch with a 19-14 victory over Gail McKay and Tim Everest in 20 ends. They were never headed leading 8-1 after six but did drop a ve on end 18 to see the score 17-14.
Runners-up Ann Mackay and Lyall Strudwick in 22 over Wayne Wright who was
making his maiden game on Wednesday vowing to be back leading for Kerry Dunstan. It was only 11-8 a er 11 before experience told on the run home.
Another to play his rst Wednesday game was Phil Bayley who showed he has ‘that Bayley’ sporting talent leading for Phil Hocking and Paul Doust but had to settle for second best going down to Cheryl Hodges, Terry Molly and Barry Shine in triples over 16 ends. In a game featuring plenty of ‘ones’ had the winners only leading 8-7 a er 11.
Eddie Gould and Ross Williams won 16-13 in 20 over Bill Scott and John Baass after it was 7-all a er 11.
Sue Smith and Billy Cowell showed no mercy early winning 27-15 over Geo Coles and John Gorton in 20 leading 26-4 a er 13.
Polly Lay and Geo West were smiling a er play win-
ning 29-8 over Anne Nixon and Peter Mackay in 20. They lead 15-6 a er 11 to run away late once our city visitor got the pace of the green. In-club winners, Wayne Wright and Kerry Dunstan.
Thursday – with the chilly weather gracing us with it presence, it didn’t show on the greens. 14 bowlers braved the chilling winds for an a ernoon of bowls.
Terry Molloy and Glen Kearney won by 6 when they came up against Alan Hilder and Al Phillips. The Alans were o to a ying start picking up a 4 on the 2nd.
Terry and Glen fought back and answered to the level the score board on the 8 at 10 all.
Forging ahead and picking up 3’s and 4’s Terry and Glen were just to good for the Alan’s 26-20.
Nothing was working well for Tara Shaw and Scott McKellar when they drew Ivan
Hodges and Cherie Vincent.
Ivan was having a blinder of a game as a lead and Cherie backed that up as skip and it showed on the board.
Ivan and Cherie lead 10-3 on 11 and continued to pick up 3’s and 4’s to take the game 22-6.
Our triples games was played by Bobby Grant, Grant Stevensen from Merimbula and Bruce (Posso) Jones drawing Lyndy Bokeyar, Billy Cowell and Wayne Burton.
Wayne’s team were marking their territory early leading 14-3 on 9 when Posso’s team gained a 4 to trail by 4 in 12. Posso’s team got a 3 on the last end but it wasn’t enough for the gold with Posso’s team taking the win 21-13.
Resting touchers: Tara Shaw, Terry Molloy and Alan Hilder. Raspberries: Lyndy Bokeyar, Posso Jones and Scott McKellar.
Jackpot of $70 was won by Terry Molloy.
Super Saturday – We held
Super Saturday on the weekend where 12 very keen bowlers tried their luck at taking home the prize money.
Two games of 10 ends were played and teams drawn at random, there were some great bowls and a lot of luck spread across the greens.
The victors of the day were Grant Stevenson, visitor from Merimbula who lead for Bobby Grant. Runners up were Ange Dwyer and Christian West. Sunday – Early showers prior to the game must have scared a few players o but it didn’t stop 12 die hard bowlers on Sunday morning.
Kelly Stringer teamed up with Bobby Grant to take on Tara Shaw and John Cutler. Going into the break on 8, Tara and John had a handy lead 15-2.
They say half time makes or breaks you and Kelly was hoping it would x them. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case and Tara and John took the win 22-7.
Jax Murphy and Al Phillips proved to be a well oiled machine together when they played Ross Williams and Terry Murphy.
Going into oranges, Jax and Al had the upper hand of 12-3 and hoped to keep it a er they returned to the greens. Jax and Al picked up 2 4’s and they sprinted to the nish line 23-6.
Our last game of the morning was between Darryl Burley and Alan Hilder who played a stalwart of our club which we welcomed back for the day, Denis Byrnes who was paired with Terry Molloy.
Denis played well for having some time o and only trailed by 3 at half time. Darryl and Alan topped up the tank and put the pedal to the metal to take the game 16-5.
The only resting toucher recorded was Jax Murphy. Chicken ra e winners: Juss Sci eet, John Cutler x 3, Jax Murphy, Bob Grant, Terry Molloy, Luke, Chris Hodge.
Forbes won four from four as they dominated the long weekend contest in all grades. Scores were:
RESERVE GRADE: PARKES SPACEMEN 4 Darcy Dawson FORBES MAGPIES 26 Jonah Little (2), Coby Ryan, John Darcy, Hugh Scott. John Darcy 3 conversions.
UNDER 18S PARKES SPACEMEN Oakley Fliedner 6 FORBES MAGPIES 46 Jai Wheeldon (2), Max Hartwig (2), Jett Rudd (2), Coby Hall, Riley Mylecharane. Joe Nicholson 7 conversions.
BLUES TAG PARKES SPACECATS 6 Leni Constable. Alahna Ryan 1 conversion FORBES MAGPIES 14 Summer Hurford, Erin Naden, Charlotte Hoey. Jada Hartwig 1 conversion.
Forbes Magpies reserve grade are in sixth on the western premiership ladder, with three wins and a draw from seven games so far.
Dubbo CYMS hold top billing on the reserve grade ladder with Bathurst St Pats second, then it’s Macquarie, Nyngan and Orange CYMS.
Magpies Under 18s hold third place on the ladder with ve wins and two losses from seven games. Dubbo CYMS lead with six wins, Orange Hawks are in second also with ve wins.
Our league tag side sits in sixth of the 11 teams in the western premiership blues tag competition, with three wins and three losses to date.
By COL HODGES
Critically injured in a race fall at Tomingley in 2019, jockey Michael Hackett from Parkes has not ridden since but maintains an interest in racing as the part owner of Way To Divine, winner of the Parkes Services Club-Coradgery Cup on Saturday at Parkes.
Hackett, who rode nearly 300 winners, is now a committee member on Parkes Jockey Club and shares ownership of Way To Divine with local trainer Sharon Je ries and her husband former jockey Dale Je ries and for the big crowd it was a popular win.
Settling near last in the 1400 metres feature race, the strongly supported Way To Divine ($3.10 to $2.80 favourite) was sent forward from the 500 metres point by top jockey Mathew Cahill and down the straight wore down Geostorm (Clayton Gallagher, $3.50) to win by more than two lengths with Loud ((Kody Nestor, $8) over four lengths away in third place.
very happy when Pontoon Prince which he owns and bred won the opening event, the 800 metres Central West Credit Union Maiden Plate.
Chris Foyster from Dubbo was
O spring of the former speedy mare Gillie Mooch which won rac-
es for Foyster, the Troy McCarney, Dubbo trained Pontoon Prince (Zoe Hunt, $4.20) raced close to the lead before scoring by a length from Ufana (Shayleigh Ingelse, $1.80 favourite) and Ransom’s Girl (Jordan Quince, $3.70).
Canberra trainer John Rolfe was disappointed when Prairie Legend was slowly away and nished unplaced however he had better fortune when William won the 1200 metres McPherson Parts & Services Benchmark 50 Handicap.
William (John Kissick, $6) raced outside the leader and edged ahead to beat Candid (Jake Pracey-Holmes , $2.80 equal favourite) and World Reign (Ken Dunbar, $6).
Ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes for Orange trainer Melissa Harrison, Hasime ($2.80) resumed from a spell in the 1200 metres Agriwest Maiden Handicap and a er being four lengths behind the leading trio approaching the home turn was a game winner from Phils Colours (Ken Dunbar, $2.60) and Sheza Widgee (Mathew Cahill, $11).
The well named Shaddup (from Demand Attention) won the 1000 metres Telescope Tyres Class 1 Handicap for Bathurst trainer Dean Mir n.
Swilken Bridge and Lockdown Lad led for home before Shaddup (Shannen Llewellyn. $4.60) swept to a convincing win over Satashi (Jake Pracey-Holmes, $5) and the $1.70 favourite Media Coverage ridden by Clayton Gallagher.
Bligh Picnic races at Mudgee on Saturday with the Coonamble Cannonball TAB meeting on Sunday.
put their stamp on the 2025 season with a crushing 6-50 win over rivals Parkes in a derby clash in wild weather at Jock Colley Oval.
A er more than 20 minutes of back-and-forth play in freezing rain and even light hail, Forbes broke the deadlock in style - scoring three tries before the break and taking a commanding 0-14 lead into hal ime.
From there, the Magpies never looked back.
“We knew that Parkes were
Nick Greenhalgh said.
“They charged through the middle there and it was back and forth for a long time but we knew if we stuck to our structure and stuck to our defence, once we got on top we’d stay on top and that was the case.”
The Forbes fans on their hill rose to their feet as the Magpies burst down the ground for back to back tries early in the second half - and Greenhalgh pointed to this run of momentum as putting
the dent in the Spacies on the
This second-half blitz saw Forbes extend their lead to 0-38 before Parkes nally got on the scoreboard with a converted try in the nal 15 minutes.
Forbes responded immediately, tightening their grip on the game in the closing stages.
Standouts Jack Smith and Chad Porter thrilled the travelling Forbes supporters: Smith running the length of the eld to score under the posts, and Porter diving over
in the nal minute to seal his hat-trick and cap o the commanding win.
Greenhalgh said the win had been a team e ort but both those players were outstanding.
“They were unbelievable,” he said, as well as crediting the forward pack for laying the platform.
The Magpies now sit on top of the Peter McDonald Premiership ladder, level on points with Mudgee Dragons but ahead on for-andagainst.
Forbes has been a talk-
ing point of the competition since pre-season, and with this performance, the hype only grows.
“It’s an exciting group, it’s exciting to be a part of and we’re looking forward to what lays ahead,” Greenhalgh said.
It comes with expectations across the Peter McDonald Premiership, but Magpies are taking it a week at a time.
“I think there was a bit of expectation at the start of the year with the squad we’d assembled, so we’ve got to meet those expectations eve-
ry single week,” Greenhalgh said.
“But the boys are turning up to training with a great attitude, a great mindset, and we’re taking on the challenge every week.”
Next week, the Magpies are away again to Orange Hawks.
FIRST GRADE: FORBES
MAGPIES 50 Chad Porter (3), Jack Smith (2), Nick Greenhalgh, Farren Lamb, Jordan Hartwig Conversions Nick Greenhalgh: 7 conversions PARKES SPACEMEN 6
