March 1: Councillor Ron Gander called for a forum into parking after council decided to scrap parking contributions for developers when the use of buildings is changed. The $50,000 external study was to address problems in many car parks across the city, as well as the hospital carpark shortage.
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March 2: Records were broken with the most amount of rain recorded in Orange's history. In the 24 hours to 9am on March 1, a whopping 103mm fell at the Orange Agriculture Institute, 4.4mm more than the previous record set at the institute on January 24, 1992.
March 4: More than $1 Million worth of birds were on show at the PCYC in one of Australia's biggest bird shows. Hosted by the Orange Bird Society, the show attracted a record number of sellers, buyers and trade exhibitors.
March 5: Locking toilet facilities at recreational areas in the city was flagged as a poor reflection of Orange's status as a sporting and tourist destination by CYMS Cricket Club President Peter Snowden. Other concerns with the facilities include hygiene issues, shower heads in change rooms not in working order, and disabled access.
March 8: Nearly one in three women in Orange had a caesarian section birth in 2012, and local mums-to-be debated the benefit of electing to have the procedure instead of natural child birth. Many women had their say on our Facebook page, with a trend towards supporting each individual mother-to-be's choice.
March 11: Orange and District's Relay for Life was an event evoking strong emotions. From tears at the survivor's walk and the ceremony of hope, to cheers when the final tally was read out. It was an event that brought together 1000 people from all walks of life in our community.
March 12: Up to five people in one week were rushed to hospital after smoking synthetic marijuana. Orange health health professionals were gravely concerned after the spike of use of the drug in Orange. Various types of the synthetic cannabis were sold legally, often marketed as incense even though it could kill someone.
March 14: Three travelling con men with a track record of deception are understood to have been targeting elderly and vulnerable Orange residents, offering to undertake household jobs, despite not being qualified or licensed to do so. The NSW government department of Fair Trading said the three young men worked individually or as a group, offering services from tree lopping to re-surfacing driveways.
March 15: There was a real buzz of excitement among Orange's devout Catholics when they turned up for early morning mass after hearing the news Catholics across the world have a new leader, Argentinean- born Pope Francis. News of the new Pope brings hope to locals that controversial issues facing the Catholic Church will be addressed.
March 19: A local charity worker was targeted by hackers via a scam email. One of the founders of the successful Vinnies Van Initiative, Rosie Frecklington, had her computer hacked and her contacts list compromised. The hackers then send emails to her contact list, claiming Mrs Frecklington was in trouble, and asking for money.
March 20: A vicious assault on a 15-year-old schoolgirl in the bus bay at Canobolas Rural Technology High School left the victim in hospital with head injuries, and a second female student facing court on serious assault charges.
March 21: About 200 Orange children who would have gone without had something to smile about on Easter Sunday, after a chocolate delivery from some very generous Easter bunnies. James Sheahan Catholic High School students saved the money they raised from their school disco to buy 200 chocolate rabbits.
March 23: Huge numbers of Orange's drink drivers were taking up valuable court and police time. On just one day, 28 drink-drivers appeared in Orange Local Court, accounting for a third of the cases before the magistrate. Scathing rebukes for their behaviour were delivered as drivers stood to be sentenced.
March 26: Concern over alcohol related violence after a man was critically injured outside the Royal Hotel, leads to an attempt to convince local licensees to close their doors early. Meanwhile Australian Hotels Association NSW director of policing and membership, John Green, says he is confident Orange publicans are complying with legislation to keep their premises safe.
March 28: The family of a baby girl who died during childbirth say they have been told by senior hospital staff recommendations from an internal investigation into the baby's death are to be implemented at the hospital following the tragedy.
THE TEN MOST READ STORIES ON THE CENTRAL WESTERN DAILY WEBSITE IN MARCH, 2013:
1. Cricketers trash rivals car
2. League player critical after king hit
3. VIDEO: Wedding flashmob
4. Schoolyard assault victim tells friends: I'm never going to be the same
5. CYMS six agree to pay for damage
6. That'll be the phone Reg: Has Orange council referred a complaint to the corruption watchdog?
7. Just go at home: park toilets on the nose with former mayor
8. Caught short: city's locked public toilets create a stink
9. Family waits for answers on baby's death
10. Travelling con men target Orange
THROUGH MY EYES: TRIBUTE TO A GIVER
By TRACEY PRISK
ORANGE is a city that's built a reputation for having a fantastic network of volunteers and you'd be hard pressed to find one better than Rosie Frecklington.
Rosie is the brains and the brawn behind the Vinnies Van initiative, a twice-fortnightly service that provides food and friendship to those in need.
Rosie works tirelessly to ensure the rosters are filled, the food is donated, purchased and co-coordinated and that her band of volunteers are happy and safe.
As someone who has seen Rosie's generosity in action I was appalled to learn she'd had her personal computer hacked and her list of contacts, many of them charity workers like herself, had been contacted and asked for money.
Thanks to an organised group of scammers, Rosie's friends, colleagues and associates were told she was in Manilla, and in trouble, and needed money to be sent to her immediately.
Of course Rosie hadn't requested the money and was distraught to hear her name was being used as a means of extracting money from innocent people.
Mrs Frecklington told the Central Western Daily she was "sick to the stomach" about being caught in the scam and wanted to warn people to delete any emails sent from her Yahoo account.
When ever people talk to us about being scammed, conned or mislead, they always do so in the hope that they will save others the same heartache and in some cases embarrassment.
We rely on people people to be candid and honest when they tell their stories and we always appreciate it when they do.