Submissions are being sought from aged care providers following last months announcement of the Aged Care Bill which is currently before a Senate Inquiry. Anyone who wishes to have a say about these proposed reforms, should get in touch with Community Affairs Legislation Committee, although submissions were due to close on 30 September, they are still seeking further input from the community and will accept more submissionsHearings are scheduled up to 16 October and it is recommended to provide the Committee with submissions by this date to ensure their inclusion in the final report which is due by 31 October 2024."I strongly encourage all aged care providers, family members and elderly people in the Parkes electorate to make a submission to this inquiry, voicing your concerns with the issues surrounding these reforms which effect regional services. It’s so important that our regional providers are considered as part of these reforms." says Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton.For further information, visit: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Community_Affairs/AgedCareBill2024 or email [email protected].

Fire agencies and land managers are developing a Bush Fire Risk Management Plan for the BFMC areas listed.The Central Darling Shire community is invited to participate in this process by having a say on how bush fire risk is managed.The plan will map and describe the level of bush fire risk across an areas and sets out treatment strategies to reduce the risk of bush fires and better protect the community over five years.The Have Your Say survey is the way the Bushfire Management Committees to gather feedback from the community to assist with the risk planning.Scan the QR code or follow the see the web address in the below photo to Have Your Say on your local area.For more information or assistance call 02 6836 1226

Police are appealing for public assistance to find a man reported missing from the Griffith area.Israel Metcalfe, aged 22, was last seen travelling on Tabbita Road, Carrathool, Tuesday October 15, during the evening.When Israel could not be contacted or located, he was reported missing to officers attached to Riverina Police District who commenced inquiries into his whereabouts.Police and family have concerns for Israel’s welfare due to him acting out of character.Israel is described as being of African appearance with a medium build, about 178cm tall, with black short hair, unshaven face, and brown eyes.He was last seen wearing an orange high visibility work top, blue pants and work boots.Israel was last seen driving in a white 2006 Toyota Hilux dual cab utility with a steal tray and a black bull bar and the NSW registration FJS15P.Israel is known to frequent the Griffith area.Anyone who may have seen or who have information about Israel’s whereabouts are urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.Pictured is Israel Israel Metcalfe, aged 22, was last seen travelling on Tabbita Road, Carrathool, Tuesday October 15. Image: NSW Police.Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.

Chocolate aficionados may need to buckle up, with prices of the silky goodness expected to rise, due to a continuing cocoa catastrophe. The cost of the little magic bean which is a key ingredient in our beloved sweet reached a record peak in April. A report has suggested the climbing prices will hit customers by early next year.Rhiannon Druce, whose family runs an organic chocolate factory in Junee, NSW, said the industry has been bracing for the impacts of the crisis.She said the business had increased its prices a little, and would have to reassess those amounts in the new year."We do want people to be aware of the price rise of the raw ingredients in general, but to not worry too much about it impacting their Christmas," she told ABC News.Experts say the chocolate calamity was triggered by manufacture problems in West Africa, the origin of 70 per cent of the world's cocoa. The big problems are plant disease, farmers leaving the industry and trees aging and therefore producing less product. The price of cocoa has started to decrease, but we aren’t out of the woods yet as consumers.The big guns of the chocolate making world lock in buying prices set as far back as 18 months ago.This means while there is a delay between the big boys paying the higher price and it showing on your shopping docket, but it will get there. Although the Junee Chocolate Factory attains its cocoa from the Dominican Republic and Vanuatu, Ms Druce told ABC News the decreased supply from Africa was having flow-on impacts."We never thought it would touch the organic side as much as it has," she said.Cocoa is not the only component rising in cost, with sugar values also high for well over a year.Ms Druce said every part of creating chocolate is now more costly as a result. "There's a lot of products that are just on the rise in general," she said.

BREAKING: Daryl Jardine from Hillston has been elected Mayor of the Carrathool Shire, at the first meeting of the new council, held October 15.Bev Furner from Ward B, from the Goolgowi area, had been elected Deputy Mayor.

Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville Published by Text Publishing, April 2024.Sarah Catherine of Currabubula, better known as Dolly, did not grow up in a time meant for her.Born in the late 1800’s with a 21st century mind, Dolly was not a woman who endeavoured to be played as a man’s pawn or settle into life as a wed woman with little right of her own to land, money, business or education.Dolly grew up in rural New South Wales in a poor farming family.Little to no money, it was expected that Dolly would marry for stability and learn quickly how to be a good wife, mother and maintain a household.Bert wasn’t her first choice. In fact, he was her parents' choice and not one made out of love. Bert showed strength over a set of shearing shears and had a twinkle in his eye that kept all those in conversation engaged with him, captivated almost. Down the line, Dolly finds out this twinkle is more of a curse than an attraction.One thing Dolly can admire about Bert is that he’s a fellow who isn’t afraid of a woman, or his wife, driving business decisions, financial ventures or risks. This leads Dolly, Bert and their three children to buying, living and managing numerous pubs and boarding houses throughout New South Wales.There are times of gushing financial profit, infidelity, and relationship tension, and there is also the extremely unexpected Great Depression.Kate’s fictional recount of her Grandmother explores and digs deep into the intergenerational distance between the women in her family, and the impact that this had on Kate’s own childhood. This novel and many more are the reason why Kate Grenvillie is one of Australia’s most well-known and cherished authors.Find more book reviews from Mel on www.melreviewsherbooks.com

Parts of Central Darling Shire are suffering a power emergency which could last up to 20 days. Wilcannia, White Cliffs and Menindee are isolated without power and the Telstra mobile coverage is a major incident with limited or non-existent phone coverage. Fuel supplies are affected, particularly with the need to power generators. The local Emergency Management Committee has been meeting since the situation occurred to ensure any issues are quickly identified to protect the wellbeing of residents. Issues identified so far surround access to communications, fuel supplies and food security due to refrigeration systems not working. The Local Emergency Management Committee brings together organisations including Police, RFS, SES, Heath, Education, Transport, Welfare Services, Aboriginal Affairs, NSW Reconstruction Authority, WaterNSW, Essential Water, National Parks and Wildlife and Regional NSW. Organisations are being briefed with the latest information about the situation and sharing ideas and resources to assist where they can. At this stage organisations are working on a number of issues including sourcing additional communications devices to provide service, sourcing additional generators, resolving a fuel issue with service station pumps not working, planning for potential food security problems, monitoring information regarding schools and whether they will stay open, and clarifying the situation with aviation fuel at airports.With communities still without power there are locations available for residents to charge their mobile phones. Residents in Menindee, White Cliffs and Wilcannia can charge their mobile phones at the following locations: Menindee SES from midday, White Cliffs SES, White Cliffs Hotel (also residents can talk to Matt and Sarah about available freezer space), Wilcannia Council Chambers, and Wilcannia Golf Club after 1pm daily. People can talk to the SES about small generators for essential services up to 5KVA ONLY.

TAFE NSW Hay has helped a former florist raised in suburban Bathurst make an unlikely career pivot to wool classing, as the spring shearing season hits full swing.Rebecca Owen, 35, was trained at TAFE NSW as a florist and an aged care assistant-in-nursing in her 20s, before falling in love with the wool industry and moving to Hay.After taking a job as a roustabout in local sheds five years ago, Ms Owen this year turned to TAFE NSW Hay to take her career to the next level, enrolling in a Certificate IV in Wool Classing.It comes as demand surges for wool classers nationally as the shearing and lamb marking season ramps up.Hay is at the centre of what is regarded as one of the best Merino wool-growing regions in Australia, with 26 studs found on the Riverine Plains.“From the moment I stepped inside a wool shed, I’ve loved the idea of a career in wool,” Ms Owen (pictured above) said. “The energy, drive, ambition and physical side of the job is just addictive.”Ms Owen is currently working as wool handler for Willshear in Hay and hopes to use the practical skills and experience learned in her wool classing course to progress her career.“I want to eventually work as a wool classer but the course is giving me better skills and a deeper understanding of my current role as a wool handler,” she said. “My TAFE NSW wool classing teacher Kayla is a wonderful teacher and I truly believe if you learn from the best, you become the best.”Ms Owen is one of a growing number of “townies” – people from a non-rural background – turning to TAFE NSW to help them retrain to a career in ag.NSW Farmers workplace relations chair Chris Stillard said new data showing more students from non-farming backgrounds were studying agriculture at TAFE NSW was a positive for the industry.“TAFE NSW will play an important role in helping the industry have a skilled pipeline of workers into the future,” he said.Certificate IV in Wool Classing graduates can register with the Australian Wool Exchange to receive an Australian classer registration, allowing them to work as registered classes in shearing sheds across Australia.TAFE NSW Hay wool classing teacher Kayla Garner, who was crowned Australian National Wool Handling Champion in 2013 and has nearly 20 years of experience as a wool classer, said TAFE NSW graduates in the industry were in high demand.“The overwhelming majority of our wool graduates walk straight into jobs and the industry offers a great lifestyle and opportunity to earn good money,” Ms Garner said.Ms Garner said graduates typically found work as wool classers or wool brokers, assessing the quality of fleece or estimating its value and on-selling it.

At last week's parliament, Federal Member for Parkes, Mark Coulton paid tribute to Narrabri’s Ian and Wanda Dunnet, who have recently retired after selling their family heirloom, The Narrabri Courier and its associated papers. It is the first time in 104 years that The Courier has had a change in ownership which is an incredible achievement in this day and age."Rural newspapers have been dealt a shocking blow by corporate takeovers, but our locally owned papers are in safe hands. It's people like the Dunnets, Lucie Peart from the Gilgandra Weekly and Lee O'Connor from the Coonamble Times who understand the importance of local journalism and are committed to their communities." says Coulton"I thank the Dunnets for what they've done in 104 years, and I wish the new owners, Mark and Susie Slack-Smith, all the best with their endeavours to keep local journalism alive and thriving."Photo: Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton pictured paying tribute to Ian and Wanda Dunnet from Narrabri in Parliament last week.

A Victorian man wanted on sexual assault offences was arrested on a warrant in Hay on Friday and remains in custody.The man is charged with sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.It is alleged the offence occurred in Victoria.Bail was refused when the accused appeared via audio visual link before Griffith Local Court on Saturday.The matter has been listed for further mention (committal) on December 5 at Griffith.

Reminder that 3G services will be shut down from the 28th October. It is important to check that your devices will not be impacted by this to ensure yours and your families safety.Devices that may be impacted may include: phones, smartwatches, tablets, in-home personal emergency alarms, EFTPOS terminals and fire and security alarms.You can check if your mobile phone will be impacted by texting ‘3’ to the number ‘3498’. For all other devices, contact your service provider. For more information about the 3G closure, visit: https://www.3gclosure.com.auFor additional assistance, contact your service provider.

Head down to the Hay Services Club car park. Foodbank are distributing free fresh fruit, vegetables and free vaccinations for COVID and flu, and offering free health checks until 12.30 p.m.

Community views are being sought for the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan. Central Darling Shire Council has engaged consultants to undertake the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan which will focus on the townships of Wilcannia, Menindee, Ivanhoe, Tilpa and Sunset Strip. The Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan aims to build community resilience towards flooding through informing better planning of development, improving emergency management procedures and increasing community awareness of the existing flood risk. The outcomes of the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan will assist Council in refining strategic plans for mitigating and managing the effects of existing flood risk (associated with existing development on flood prone land), future flood risk (associated with any new development on flood prone land) and continuing flood risk (the risk remaining in both existing and future development areas after floodplain risk management measures are implemented). The Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan will build on the results of the recently completed Darling River Flood Mapping Study, which defined the nature of flooding on the Darling River where it runs through the local government area. Above: The flood study area.The hydraulic model that was developed as part of the Darling River Flood Mapping Study will be updated as part of the present study to include details of the December 2022 flood, after which time it will be used to define the nature of flooding on the Darling River floodplain for a wide range of design flood events. The Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan is being undertaken by Council with funding assistance from the NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. Council has established a Flood Risk Management Committee which is comprised of relevant council members, state government agencies and community representatives. Have Your Say on Flood Risk Management An important step in the preparation of the Central Darling Shire Flood Risk Management Study and Plan is the gathering of information on historic flood behaviour and an appraisal of what flood related issues are important to the community. The attached questionnaire has been provided to residents and businesses to assist the Consultant in gathering this important information. All information provided will remain confidential and for use in this study only. Community consultation closes on Friday 29 November 2024. A questionnaire to provide your feedback is available from Council offices or can be downloaded from the Council's website.

The Riverine Grazier has made a decision to not publish images of children under the age of 13 online, in a move aimed to protect local kids.At the invitation of the NSW Government and representing Country Press NSW, Grazier manager Krista Schade attended the Social Media Summit in Sydney last week.The summit was a joint initiative of the NSW and South Australian governments and brought together national and international experts in reducing harms to young people caused by the pressures of social media expectations and cyber bullying. “The eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant spoke of the hazards of sharing images of children online, on open pages, which prompted Tertia and I to reconsider how our newspaper handles images of young children,” Ms Schade said.“Going forward we will publish images of kids in print, as always, but will not share them on our social media accounts or in our free-to-read stories online.“It’s a small step, but we think it is an important one,” editor Tertia Butcher said.“There has already been an incident involving a local family and images of their child being used to extort money, and we want to ensure we don’t put anyone in that situation.”The Riverine Grazier also has plans to workshop a concise yet comprehensive photography policy for the company, after seeking input from the team at the Grazier and the eSafety Commissioner.“We will continue to cover all our communities events and capture as many local faces as possible but we will keep photos of children for our print products only,” Ms Schade said.“With the rise of AI and online predators we will change how we manage or website, digital newsletter and social media pages.”

A Private Members Bill put forward by Member for Murray Helen Dalton was passed into law last night (Tuesday).Ms Dalton says the The Water Management Amendment (Water Access License Register Reform) Bill 2024 will stop money-laundering and end the secret buying up of Australian water by overseas buyers.“The water register that this Bill creates will mean that we will now finally know who is buying and selling water in New South Wales,” Helen said“For too long, it’s been too easy for criminals to launder the proceeds of crime by buying and selling water that should be used for farming,” Helen said.“And at the same time, we have had anonymous foreign buyers purchasing NSW water for reason they are not required to explain."Ms Dalton thanked the Water Minister, Rose Jackson, for helping turn this Private Members Bill into law.“I note in her speech Rose called me “tenacious" and “determined. I think that may be a polite way of saying I can be in a pain in the you know what when I’m fighting for things I think are important.”“Rose may have a point. But ultimately, I will always do whatever it takes to get proper water reform for our State.”

BY KIMBERLY GRABHAM Guides recently enjoyed a trip to Flip Out in Wagga, to have a great time bouncing on the many trampolines and sliding on the big slide.Sweet little faces were shining, the children marvelled at the countryside on the three-hour bus ride to Wagga. They chatted amongst themselves, wondered where they were, and one remarked they thought they were in Canada. On arrival at Flip Out, they all listened to Guides leader, Shirley Hajeck as she instructed them on what to do.They waited patiently while Shirley sorted out admissions, and then disappeared onto the trampolines with fervour.Watching them have fun was like watching little balls in a pinball machine; they were rocketing around. Flying down the slide, all having a marvellous time.They then clambered back into their seats, tired but happy.There were minimal issues, and with a busload of young children, that is a feat in itself. Hay Guides Unit is largely the last man standing in the district, and even surrounding districts. Units in places such as Junee, Leeton and more have closed, and others are perilously close to shutting down.Shirley Hajeck devotes far more than the two hours a week for Guides meetings to keep Hay Guides alive. Countless hours of preparation, research, fundraising, trips away on the weekend, and more. She does this without fuss, need for accolades or thanks. She is always there. That pillar of the community people just know has always been there.She is so invested in our town’s children and their livelihoods, and knows what a great facilitation of fundamentals Guides is as she was one herself, up until the age when she took over as leader.So often people extol the virtues of sport; the mateship, good values, respect and many other benefits, all of which are highly valid. Guides teaches the future young women of our community what some might consider old fashioned values and skills. From baking, craft and games, being in the outdoors, and volunteering and contributing to their community.Entering submissions into the show, and the value of these age-old institutions and traditions.Skills you just cannot go past when it comes to shaping a child, experiences and knowledge which writes on the slate of who they are as they grow.Learning how to sit and listen to instruction, to be a part of something bigger, teamwork, and interacting in a setting with others, independent of parents.It would be so wonderful to see families reaching up and out to match Shirley’s passion, and get behind this wonderful opportunity we are still lucky enough to have, the Guides.

A man faced court, charged over an alleged shooting in Hillston.In October 2024, Strike Force Bettles was formed to investigate the circumstances around the shooting.Officers of the Murrumbidgee Police District came to the Burns Street, Hillston home, 2.30am, September 20.Police were told one male and two females were in the home when three people allegedly entered the home, one armed.The 46-year-old male resident was allegedly shot in the abdomen before the intruders left.The man was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics before being taken to Griffith Hospital. He was airlifted to a major metropolitan hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.On Monday October 14, a 22-year-old old was arrested at a hospital in Edward Street, Wagga Wagga.He was transported to Wagga Wagga Police Station and charged with special aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence; inflict grievous bodily harm, shoot with intent to murder and knowingly direct activities of criminal group.The man appeared in Wagga Wagga Local Court October 15, and was formally refused bail to reappear in Griffith Local Court on December 12.Investigations under Strike Force Bettles are continuing.

A trough extending from southern QLD to northwest Vic is generating areas of severe thunderstorms over western NSW in a moist and unstable airmass. Severe thunderstorms are likely to produce damaging winds, large hailstones and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding in the warning area over the next several hours. Locations which may be affected include Nyngan, Lake Cargelligo and Hillston.

For the first time under the Labour Government, applications are now open for Round 4 of the Regional Airports Program, with up to $7.5 million in funding available for regional airports to undertake essential works to improve aviation safety, access and transition to net zero emissions.The Regional Airports program was originally established and funded by The former Coalition Government."The Dubbo, Broken Hill, Narrabri, Narromine and Gilgandra airports have each received funding under the first three rounds of this program, so I’m hopeful that the Parkes electorate will also be successful in this latest round." says Federal Member for Parkes Mark Coulton.Further information, including grant guidelines, eligibility requirements and the application process, is available at: https://business.gov.au/grants-and-programs/regional-airports-program-round-4