St Clair & Erskine Park News

Federal Member for McMahon Phone (02) 9604 0710

chris.bowen.mp@aph.gov.au SEPTEMBER 2018

&

St Clair Erskine Park

News

Join us on facebook: St Clair Community News

Ph: 9834 2966 Em: mulgoa@parliament.nsw.gov.au

ISSUE 35

Open spaces Penrith Council is committed to ensuring there’s plenty of open spaces for recreation for our community, with the official opening of Spica Reserve recently on Swallow drive, Erskine Park.

Pictured here Mayor John Thain, Councllor Greg Daves and Erskine Park High School Students.

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Tom is St Marys’ finest citizen

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he St Marys Spring Festival also gives us the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the efforts of a citizen who has provided outstanding service to the St Marys community by awarding the St Marys Citizen of the Year.

The St Marys Town Centre opened up nominations during the month of June, and from those nominations the selection committee voted on the recipient of the 2018 St Marys Citizen of the Year.

The St Marys Citizen of the Year for 2018 is Mr Tom Thorburn. *Tom has lived in St Marys for 30 years,” said Chair of St Marys Town Centre, Alax Karavas. *He has served as the web master of the st Marys historical society for 22 years.

“Tom has been an active volunteer with the St Marys Spring Festival for over 20 years, including creating a database and assisting with the organization of the event.

“He has been a member of the St Marys Senior Citizens for 10 years, currently he is the Vice president and has also served as President for three years.

“He has stood as a director for the Sydney mechanics school of art for 25 years and is a life member, he has been married to Norma Thorburn for 26 years and is currently employed as her private executive chef,” he quipped.

Congratulations Tom!

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St Clair Erskine Park

News

is proudly brought to you by the Nepean News team.

To contact the team call: Office: 9834 5579 Editor: Kerrie Davies

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0420 319 893 Printer: Pegasus Print Group, Blacktown Letters to the editor: stclairnews@aol.com Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StClairCommunityNews 203 Banks Drive, St Clair

Deputy Mayor Phone 0417 365 313

Greg DAVIES East Ward Councillor

From the Editor’s Desk

by Kerrie Davies

L

IKE many others we sat watching telly on a Saturday night last month when a flock of deafening sirens screamed up the road, their destination obviously quite nearby.

We were horrified to hear that the reason for the commotion was that a man had been fatally stabbed.

The man named Ben who’d died at the scene was a well-known St Clair local. He’d attended local schools and had many friends in the area.

The next morning channel 7 reported on how the tragedy had unfolded: they said the victim had allegedly received a text message from a female friend who was in distress due to the harassment by her former partner. Ben attended the address to help his friend.

It breaks my heart to think all Ben did was reach out to help a mate. It was the last thing he would ever do. Among the hundreds of reactions on our St Clair Community News facebook page, my eyes were drawn to one comment in particular, from a reader named Thomas Jam. “Watch as the good Samaritan slowly fades into history,” he wrote. Sadly, that is a very fair observation of where our future is heading.

“Back in the day” as they say, you’d stop to help someone in a broken down car, scoop up a stranger’s child if you saw them get hurt, hell you’d even march in to try to break up a punch up when you saw one. These days such a simple helping hand offer could cost you your life. It’s a very sad indictment on where society is heading.

Your thoughts? kerrie@nepeannews.com.au

Todd CARNEY East Ward Councillor

Phone 0419 177 259

Phone 0417 762 219 todd.carney@penrith.city

Penrith City Council

Penrith City Council

Fusion Café asks R U Ok? T

hursday 13 September is national R U OK Day and local youth and community organisation, Fusion Western Sydney is showing its support by running an event in the Fusion Café to raise awareness of how we can better check in with those around us and support those who may be struggling.

R U OK Day is the national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day’s the day to ask “Are you OK?”. It’s about giving everyone the skills, motivation and confidence to start a conversation with anyone who might be doing it tough. Deputy Mayor of Penrith, Tricia Hitchen, is showing her support of the day and will be coming along to encourage all of us to play a role in keeping each other safe.

Judy Tweeddale from Fusion said, “We want to get our community asking, ‘Are you OK?’ and to reach out to anyone they’re worried about.” “We’d love to see people pop into the Fusion Café during the day to enjoy a free bbq and fun activities to help us become better at checking in with those around us.”

Recent national omnibus survey commissioned

by R U OK? revealed one in three people don’t feel comfortable asking the question, “Are you OK?” The

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leading reasons include: “I don’t know what to say”, “I wouldn’t want to make it worse”, I’m worried they might get angry, I’m not an expert”, It’s none of my business”.

CEO R U OK? Brendan Maher said, “We know that some conversations can be really tough. But in reality, you don’t have to be an expert to ask the question. Asking shows someone you care about them and that can make a really positive difference in their life and be a stepping stone to accessing appropriate support long before they’re in crisis.

Fusion is a youth and community organisation which has a deep and ongoing commitment to developing resilience in individual lives and the community. Each week the team at Fusion Western Sydney run programmes and activities to support vulnerable young people and families.

Visit the Fusion Café, cnr Queen and Station Streets, St Marys from 8am for R U OK Day on Thursday 13 September. All welcome. For more information about Fusion Western Sydney go to www.fusionwesternsydney.org.au and R U OK go to www.ruok.org.au

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Council’s General Manager retires

enrith City Council’s General Manager, Alan Stoneham, has retired after 43 years at Council.

Mr Stoneham has held the General Manager’s role for 10 years. During that time, he has worked with 8 Mayors and helped shape Penrith as a world-class city.

When Mr Stoneham joined Council as a planner in 1972, Penrith had a population of just 60,000.

Today, Penrith is home to over 200,000 residents and a leader in our region.

During his years at Council, Penrith has grown to include many new suburbs, including Glenmore Park, Claremont Meadows, Jordan Springs and Thornton and our Children’s Services expanded from 2 to 26 centres, during a time when many other councils stopped running child care centres.

Mr Stoneham introduced a Sustainability Team and the award winning 3-bin system, recently profiled as a leading example of sustainable practice in ABC program, The War on Waste.

Indeed, over the past 10 years, Council has diverted 275,000 tonnes of waste from landfill and turned it into compost, planted more than 48,600 plants, installed 300kW of solar panels on 34 Council facilities and recycled around 180,000 tonnes of plastic, cardboard, paper and cans.

As General Manager, Mr Stoneham was also instrumental in securing federal and state funding, including the first Greenspace Grant and other ongoing grants that continue to deliver much needed infrastructure for the City.

In addition, he played a key role in securing the Whitewater Stadium as an Olympic venue, oversaw the approval of the Penrith Lakes Scheme, provided vital input in the planning of Western Sydney University and oversaw development of the Erskine Park employment area.

During Mr Stoneham’s tenure, Penrith has become a leading tourism destination in the West, hosting a wide range of national and international events which have boosted the local economy. This growth is evidenced by the fact that 10,000 new jobs have been created across a wide range of industries and sectors in Penrith since 2012, bringing us closer to Council’s 2031 jobs target of 55,000.

Importantly, Mr Stoneham’s strategic approach to planning saw Council create an inspiring vision for the future Penrith, as captured through the Penrith Progression Initiative and being realised through our New West initiative.

Most recently, Mr Stoneham and outgoing Penrith Mayor Cr John Thain led negotiations for the landmark Western Sydney City Deal. This

20-year agreement between the three levels of government will deliver a once-in-a-generation transformation of our region.

“Penrith Council’s strength lies in the fact that it thinks and acts strategically to secure the best future for our City and region”, Mr Stoneham said.

In line with the City Deal, much of the anticipated growth and investment in our region is centred around the airport, enhanced transport, jobs, housing and sustainability.

Mr Stoneham said he is confident Penrith is up to the task.

“It’s not always easy to embrace change, but it’s crucial if we are going to continue to thrive. We’re a leader in the region and Penrith has a bright future,” he said.

Asked to reflect on his years at Penrith Council, Mr Stoneham said: “We’ve embraced so many opportunities and seen so many positive changes.

In leaving Council it feels like I’m farewelling my second family. I grew up in Penrith and I couldn’t be prouder of the city we’ve become and where we’re going.”

Warwick Winn is Penrith Council’s new General Manager. Mr Winn’s most recent role was as CEO of Manningham Council in Victoria, a role he took following his time as General Manager of North Sydney Council.

$15,000 to support St Clair and District Men’s Shed

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ember for Mulgoa, Tanya Davies and Minister responsible for Volunteering, Ray Williams announced St Clair and District Men’s Shed will receive $15,000 to support building a bigger shed to accommodate the growing number of volunteers.

“This funding will go a long way to help build a more effective weather proof shed for our members. Thank you to the NSW Government for recognising this need and supporting us to continue to deliver our services to the community,” Mr Vasilescu said.

Mrs Davies said she was proud to be returning to the organisation to provide much needed funding for a larger and more effective weather proof shed.

Mr Williams said in NSW, there are more than 2.1 million volunteers contributing more than $5 billion to the NSW economy annually.

“St Clair and District Men’s Shed has nearly 50 volunteers from across Western Sydney who offer services to local schools, charities and clubs,” Mrs Davies said.

“The Liberals & Nationals Government is committed to supporting volunteers across the State,” Mr Williams said.

“This funding will support members of the Men’s Shed continue to work on projects and give up their time so other members of the community benefit.

“It has been a privilege meeting some of St Clair and District Men’s Shed volunteers today who all make a remarkable contribution to their community.

“Not only do members of the group give back to our community, but they also have the opportunity to meet others and gain new skills.”

“For individuals wanting to follow the lead of St Clair and District Men’s Shed members and contribute to the community, a great starting point is to visit the NSW Government’s Volunteering Website.”

President, Aurel Vasilescu, said the organisation was grateful to receive support from the NSW Government.

To find information about volunteering or to find volunteering roles, visit: www.volunteering.nsw. gov.au

Pink it up! Passion. Pride. Penrith.

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or the month of October, Penrith has a very important job and that is to turn the whole town PINK. The McGrath Foundation selected Penrith as the first metropolitan area to head up the Pink Up Your Town Campaign.

“It’s a great honour that the McGrath Foundation chose the Penrith LGA to lead this fantastic cause. We have such a tight-knit community here and I know we will band together to raise money for Breast Care Nurses that help individuals (and their families) affected by breast cancer,“ said Chairperson Gai Hawthorn.

To achieve this mammoth initiative, a super committee consisting of business owners from Penrith and St Marys is dedicated to bringing the town together to create and encourage local businesses, groups and schools to plan fundraising events to fund specialist McGrath Breast Care

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Nurses in communities across Australia.

And no idea is too big or too small. From colouring your pooch pink to hosting a pink cocktail night or selling pink coloured food - the ideas are endless.

“Cancer doesn’t give anyone a choice unfortunately, so any way we can help to make life that little bit easier for individuals and their families experiencing breast cancer is the least we can do,” explained Gai. The Pink Up Penrith Committee (P.U.P) will be reaching out to the whole town to think pink and pink up the town.

Individuals, families, community groups or local businesses you are all needed! Please start the ideas and conversations to help McGrath Foundation this October. Register now Website: pinkuppenrith.com.au or 0437 506 517 or admin@penrithcbdcorp.com.au

Oooh ahhh have lunch with Glenn McGrath!

By GAI HAWTHORN

J

oin us for our inaugural launch at Panthers for “Pink Up Penrith.” We are proud to support the McGrath Foundation with their initiative to Pink up our town.

Penrith, St Marys and everywhere else in the Penrith Local Government Area, lets go pink and raise awareness and funds this October for breast cancer nurses to help those in need.

The launch will include special guest Glenn McGrath as key speaker, joined by 2016 Olympic Rowing silver medal winner Cameron Girdlestone plus some other surprise guests!

Tickets are $125 or you can get a table of 10 for $1000, which includes a 2 course meal plus beer/ wine/soft drink.

Limited tickets available, you’ll have to be quick!

For more information see page 19.

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Pet Dental Month, Part 2: The Bone Debate

By Dr Richard Miller

Following the principle that you are given teeth to enable you to chew, and chewing is the activity that keeps your teeth clean, we come to the Bone debate.

There are plentiful chewing aids and some foods out there that help keep teeth clean, but none are as effective as chewing/gnawing on raw bones. It happens in nature every day. It wouldn’t happen if it was a dangerous thing to do, so on that basis, I am a firm advocate of it. Some vets may differ, but in my experience, it is extremely rare (winning Lotto sort of rare) for the correct type of bone to result in problems.

There are some don’ts with bones, the 3 C’s; Cooked, Chop and Chicken. Cooked bones are brittle, sharp fragments can be swallowed and bone is harder to digest once cooked so is a common Mamre ROAd

Veterinary Surgery

cause of constipation (not my favourite job). Chop bones can cause problems because the middle spinal bit is too tough to chew, and the sharp spines can result in it getting stuck in the digestive system if swallowed. Chicken bones are contentious, my view is that they’re fine raw but not cooked. In fact, I recommend wings and necks for small dogs and cats.

The earlier you start your pets chewing bones the better and I think the bigger the bone the better…I prefer ones that are gnawed rather than eaten as being most effective at cleaning teeth.

Just like an apple a day keeps the dentist away for us, raw bones keep the dentist at bay for our pets.

If you have any queries regarding dental care for your pets, give our friendly nurses a call or make an appointment to see one of our vets.

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CROSSWORD

ACROSS 1. Shouter (8) 5. Shuttlecock (6) 9. Traces (8) 10. Very sad (6) 12. Slopes (9) 13. A literary genre (5) 14. Vend (4) 16. Giving a speech (7) 19. Entry (7) 21. Beer (4) 24. Black (5) 25. Common black European thrush (9) 27. Makes skin soft (6) 28. The backline of a tennis court (8) 29. A finger or toe (6) 30. Without shelter (8)

DOWN 1. Barbaric (6) 2. Rogue (6) 3. Proof of innocence (5) 4. Lasting forever (7) 6. Expose to radiation (9) 7. Narrow-minded (8) 8. Entrust (8) 11. City in Norway (4) 15. All the people (9) 17. Slandered (8) 18. Uncertain of religious truths (8) 20. Weeps (4) 21. Swaggering show of courage (7) 22. A figure of speech (6) 23. Layabouts (6) 26. A tub or vat (5)

Solution: August

Performing across the Pacific

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t Clair dance company, Dance Industrie is set for an adventure of a lifetime when nineteen students will perform on board the Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas cruise ship in January 2019.

Dance Industrie is the first ever dance school to perform on board the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship since its launch in 2016. These special nineteen students will perform two shows for the guests, whilst taking part in workshops with professional choreographers and dancers on the ship.

Over the past year Dance Industrie has worked tirelessly to raise the funds to make this adventure possible. Through trivia nights, raffles, mother day stalls, bake sales, carnivals, pie drives, jellybean guessing competitions and more, Dance Industrie has already raised an astonishing $15,000 towards their trip.

Member for Mulgoa, Tanya Davies was pleased to support Dance Industrie with a personal donation of $500 to assist with funding the student’s expenses.

“This is truly such an incredible opportunity for these young dancers. I am pleased to be able to support them through my sponsorship and encourage the community to support them as they continue to raise funds for this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Tanya Davies said.

“I am certain this will be an experience each and every student will cherish forever.”

Tanya Davies was joined by Studio Director Kellie Price, Fundraising Committee member Jodie King and dancers who will be performing on the ship at the dance studio in St Clair where the cheque was presented.

“We want to thank Tanya Davies MP for generously donating $500 towards giving our students this chance to make their dreams come true,” Dance Industrie Studio Director, Kellie Price said.

Dance Industrie has been operating for 3 years at the St Clair Leisure Centre, specialising in a number of dance styles and cheerleading.

For more information about their classes, becoming apart of the Dance Industrie Team, or to help fund raise please contact Kellie on the details on the ad below.

Bring this ad to their studio for 1 week FREE trial classes.

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The G SpoT

o you remember growing up and ya mum used to say, “ wear clean undies” just in case we got hit by a bus and you needed to go to hospital?

Mums were so caring in those days. No seriously they were. Dumb, but caring!

Now, I am no rocket scientist or brain surgeon, however I am not sure what condition your undies will be in after you have been hit by the 478 heading to Sydney on the fastest route on a time schedule from hell, but it isn’t going to be pretty, that’s all I am saying.

Having said that, I had the enlightening, wonderful, exuberating (big word attack with no idea of the meaning but it looks good for the column) day of riding on a Sydney bus - oops sorry buses (Plural). I swear the driver was a frustrated wannabe retired racing car driver in a previous life. He felt compelled to drive up everyone’s tailend and then slam on the brakes every 15 seconds, placing my neck into whiplash and the dude next to me to spill his coffee. I was seriously considering sticking my OPAL card where the driver’s sun didn’t shine with a couple of round-house kicks and an upper cut thrown in.

Anyway, sigh, getting back on track, one of the many many things I did notice was the amount of people on social media - smartphones, ipads, laptops you name it - they were friggn on it. I reckon I could have done a nudie run up and down the aisle, and no one would have noticed.

The great thing was that I was able to actually see what people were viewing. One lady was actually transferring funds through her online bank account and had quite a healthy bank balance, I must say. I was also very blessed to have viewed her account details and work out the password. Pretty scary!

I was trying to work out if she was a bonehead or just complacent? At least it took my mind off contemplating my navel for the trip.

Oh hint, if you are going to watch, well let’s just say, 18+ educational movies (Cough Cough) make sure your headphone jack is all the way in the computer socket and so the rest of the bus can’t

13 With Gina Field, Nepean Regional Security

hear it. At first I thought that two wounded hyenas had entered the bus.

I was lucky enough to attend a Cybercrime training course and whilst I am no expert in the field, one of the many things that I learnt is that the online scammers are pretty darn advanced. I saw so many people on emails that morning and all it takes is one click on an attachment and bingo, whammy or whatever you want to call it, the scammers are in.

Click! that quick. Be very very careful of what you open. Its mind boggling how many people really believe that a Russian Heir have left them millions of dollars in a will and click the attachment and get the ball rolling. Rule of thumb if you don’t know who the email is from, delete! If it is legit they will contact you somehow.

These scamming mules, and I will call them that - mules, because they are usually working for a syndicate group and leader. These mules send out hundreds if not millions of emails, hoping that someone clicks open an attachment in an email or someone responds. Some of these mules, feed off the more vulnerable folk, ones looking for love or down in their luck in life needing companionship.

Some people have lost millions on scamming dating sites thinking that they are assisting an online love interest (that they have never met) when in actual fact its just a mule, that in many cases are doing it to feed a family in a poverty stricken country. Many of these cases are not reported because people are too embarrassed to report that they wired $500,000 to a person that they had never met, in the hope of (one day) return love and got ripped off. Whilst we can judge and call these people stupid, it truly happens daily and is happening right now as I type this.

So to close off, its okay to ride a bus naked , no one will notice anyway, the bus driver survived his trip, my OPAL card doesn’t need sterilising, the guy watching his educational movie had a great day and its okay to look like a constipated duck whilst sending emails.

Roger that? Over and out!

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Dunheved to host Farmers Drought Relief Fundraiser event Action from the NSWVGA Stroke-Play Championships, which were played at Dunheved in March this year . Photos courtesy of Noel Rowsell (www.photoexcellence.com.au)

By NOEL ROWSELL

D

unheved Golf Club will be running a FourPerson Ambrose Event for Veteran Golfers (over 55) on Wednesday 3rd October, 2018 in support of the Farmers Drought Relief Appeal.

Pricing has been sent at an extremely reasonable $10 per head, with Cart hire at $20 ($10 per player) and pre-ordered lunches at $10.

The event will be an 8am Shotgun start, with organisers anticipating a field in excess of one hundred and forty players on the day.

The Dunheved course is one of the finest in Sydney’s western suburbs and in addition to constantly rating highly in Club rankings, was one of the host Clubs in this year’s NSW Veteran

Golfers Association Stroke-Play Championships.

Nominations can be addressed to the Club on email office@dunhevedgolfclub.com.au or by phone on 02 9623 0239.

The Jack Newton Junior Golf Foundation (JNJG) recently held the NSW State Age Junior Championship’s in Newcastle over four rounds, in which Stonecutters Ridge Golf Club juniors figured prominently.

Ryan Cadle was the 13 Years Nett Winner; Brielle Manapao Runner-Up 14 Years Scratch and third in Nett; Ray Costello third in 17 Years Nett Plate; Allana Assagby Runner up 10 Years Scratch; Harry Wilde Winner 16 Years Plate Scratch and third in Nett.

SUDOKU: EASY

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SUDOKU: HARD

Solution: June

Makayla reaches for the sky

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By CONNER LOWE

T

he Penrith Valley Sports Foundation has awarded Makayla Saia from Erskine Park the Reach for the Sky Encouragement Award for her amazing development and skill in Netball.

Makayla has been playing Netball for four years and plays for St Clair Netball Club. Recently Makayla was selected to represent the Sydney West P.S.S.A team who competed in the NSW tournament in Homebush this month. She has also been selected to represent NSW at the Indoor Championships in Queensland later this year.

Makaylah spoke about how she felt when she received the award and her greatest achievements so far in Netball.

“I was very excited when I found out that I won this award. There are so many kids that do awesome in their sports,” she said.

“I train and work hard to improve all the time. It’s great when your hard work pays off.

“I recently played for the Sydney West Netball team at the NSW P.S.S.A State Championships at Homebush. We finished in third place after a long three-day competition.

“I also was recently selected as part of the NSW Indoor Netball team. We will be travelling to QLD in December to compete at the National Championships.”

When Makaylah isn’t playing Netball on Saturdays she is spending her time coaching and

umpiring. Makaylah lives and breathes the sport and this has helped her develop her amazing skills in the sport.

Makaylah also spoke about how much she loves Netball and her commitment and drive to achieve big goals in the future.

“I love Netball because I enjoy playing a team sport with great friends. We play hard but have fun at the same time and I have made many friends from all over the state,” she said.

“I play Netball six days a week currently, which includes training for outdoor Netball twice a week and training for indoor once a week. I play indoor two nights a week and on Saturday I coach a little U/8’s team, then play and umpire which I love!

“I would love to play for the Sydney Swifts and someday the Australian Diamonds. But for now, I would like to continue to improve and hopefully get badged for my umpiring.”

We would like to congratulate Makaylah on her award from Penrith Valley Sports Foundation and to continue her incredible dedication in Netball.

Contact Michelle for

Pre-Planning & Pre-Paid Funerals Michelle Latham 1300 HEVNLY ( 1300 438 659 ) michelle@heavenlycelebrations.com.au

PH: 9623 6656 MOBILE: 0418 250 242 Office address: 196 Queen Street, ST. MARYS ( Directly Opposite Library )