Applications close at 4pm on Friday, April 24. Visit www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au or call council on 6333 6523.

Bathurst Library: Are you a family history fanatic? Do you normally use Bathurst Library to access Ancestry.com? Ancestry.com and Bathurst Library are working together to offer Bathurst Library members temporary home access during the COVID-19 closure. Log into your library account via the library's catalogue and scroll down to the Family History Ancestry link.

Macquarie Care Centre Auxiliary: Meetings are postponed until further notice, due to the current health situation.

Photography competition: Regional Development Australia Central West has announced the return of the Central West Is Best photography competition. The theme for 2020 is hometown pride - icons of the Central West. Follow the RDA Central West social media and see if your photos are featured with the hashtags #centralwestisbestphotocomp and #rdacentralwest. Entries open Monday, April 6 and will close at 5pm on Friday, May 8. Entry is free and open to all ages and photographic abilities, as long as you live in the Central West. Visit www.rdacentralwest.org.au/projects

T.arts Gallery: The George Street gallery, which has temporarily closed, is in the midst of getting its pieces online for purchase. Also, any locals who see anything through the window that interests them are asked to contact the gallery. The window will be kept updated during the temporary closure.

Central West Women's Health Centre: The Rainbow Express, a series of creative workshops where LGBTIQA+ young folk can meet, make, and share, has gone online. The group is overseen by Central West Women's Health Centre and facilitated by Karen Golland, CJ Baldry and Hannah Cheers. For more information, call 6331 4133 or email healthed@cwwhc.org.au. The project has been made possible with funding from Country Arts Support Program and Westfund Community Grants Program.

Funding: Applications are now invited for small grants for the following funds:

Bathurst Region Heritage Fund. Provides small grants for the repair and maintenance of older buildings in the region. The program is supported by the NSW Heritage Branch of the Office of Environment and Heritage.

Bathurst CBD Main Street Improvement Fund. Provides small grants to assist property owners and tenants to improve, repair and maintain buildings within the Bathurst CBD.

Bathurst Region Interpretation Fund. Provides small grants for the preparation of Conservation Management Plans, historic publications and interpretation projects to promote and interpret the region's history.

Applications close Friday, May 29. Applications for funding must be made on Bathurst Regional Council's application form which is available on council's website at www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au.

Supporting local businesses: The Bathurst Business Hub website has been updated to provide assistance to businesses in these challenging times, as well as give some simple tips for consumers to help small business in Bathurst. Visit https://bathurstbusinesshub.com.au/ for more information.

Bathurst Legacy says it has stopped selling its raffle tickets in front of the Bathurst Shopping Centre in William Street until further notice due to the government's coronavirus restrictions. The tickets were being sold on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Sales will resume when Department of Health advice says it is safe to do so.

The Bathurst Visitor Information Centre is closed. Manning Aquatic Centre is closed. A number of council facilities have closed including the Bathurst Library, Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre, Bathurst Regional Art Gallery, Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, Chifley Home, Bathurst Rail Museum and the National Motor Racing Museum.

Open: The Small Animal Pound remains open by appointment only. Call 6333 6190 for more information. Council's parks and outdoor areas remain open at this stage. The Civic Centre remains open with appropriate social distancing methods in place and please only visit if you are well. Alternatively, you can call us on 6333 6111 or email council@bathurst.nsw.gov.au.

Kelso Community Hub - NSW Health are continuing use for their clinics, however, other BRC and third party services have been suspended. Bathurst Children's Services remains open with appropriate social distancing and please only visit if you are well.

Aerodrome remains open with appropriate social distancing. Regional Express Airlines (REX) has flagged that flights will cease from April 6.

Council's essential services: including water, sewer and waste, are priority services and council will ensure these continue. Other services like building and food inspections will occur when necessary and appropriate. Please visit https://bit.ly/2Ucr56E for official advice from the Department of Health.

Bathurst Library: Staff are available to respond to calls or emails Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm on 6333 6281 or library@bathurst.nsw.gov.au.

The return chute remains open. Extend your items via the online catalogue https://bathurst.spydus.com/ or call the library. See the eLibrary for eBooks, eAudiobooks, eMagazines, and film streaming: https://www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/community/library

Monitor the Bathurst Library Facebook page to keep up to date about the online library services and activities being prepared during the closure. Wish you were a member of Bathurst Library so you could access our eLibrary and online resources 24/7? Now you can be!

Due to COVID-19, residents in the Bathurst region who are not already members can now become temporary eMembers. This gives you access to our extensive online collections, including our:

. eLibrary apps (thousands of free online eBooks, eAudiobooks and eMagazines)

. Kanopy film streaming (over 30,000 free films, documentaries and training videos)

. eResearch resources (such as Encyclopedia Britannica and the History Reference Centre)

. Kids Online (includes Story Box Library, online learning games, coding and more).

It's easy, simply sign up online here: https://bit.ly/39gf1FI

If you are a member of Bathurst Library, you can already access these resources with your membership number and PIN. See our website for details https://bit.ly/3bptkJn and contact us Mon-Fri 9am-5pm if you need assistance.

Water - let's make it last! Time to get the broom or blower vac/leaf blower out. Washing of outdoor hard surfaces such as driveways and footpaths is not permitted, except for health and safety purposes. If you do need to wash something down for health and safety purposes, only was the immediately affected area and with a high pressure/low volume water device. www.bathurst.nsw.gov.au/waterrestrictions

Events that are cancelled or postponed: