Category: Thame news

THE Managers of both the general Oxfam shop and the Oxfam Bookshop have thanked the people of Thame for their response to the Tsunami appeal.
In a statement issued today, Dick Jennens, Manager of the Oxfam Bookshop in Cornmarket, Thame, and Jane Greig, Manager of the general Oxfam shop opposite, said: “The response was, at times, overewhelming and always humbling.
“The appeal has been one of the most successful ever undertaken and consequently Oxfam will be able to undertake a full programme of work in the affected areas for the next four or five years. May we also say a big ‘Thank You’ to the volunteers in both shops who had anticipated a quiet January, but who have been working very hard to process all the donations be they cash or stock, since December 27.
“Oxfam has now closed their Tsunami Appeal and it would not be right to continue to collect funds that we would be unable to guarantee a use.
“However, Oxfam is still working world-wide in over 70 countries; in 30 of those countries we are handling some emergency that threatens life. Please may we seek your continued support, particularly with Red Nose Day on March 11, and throughout 2005 with the campaign ‘MAKE POVERTY HISTORY’.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses following three burglaries in Longwick, Princes Risborough last Monday, February 7.
A house in Red Lion Lane, and two in Thame Road were broken into between 3pm and 7pm. In each of the incidents offenders forced their way into the houses and made full searches of all the rooms, before stealing electrical equipment, jewellery and cash totalling more than

PLANS are now in place for this year’s Thame Festival, which will this year run for a full six days.
The theme for the festival is ‘Fair Trade’- very appropriate in this year of the G8 summit, and the current ‘Make Povery History’ campaign.
The fun and fund-raising begins on Monday, June 13, with a Fair Trade Fashion Show at Lord Williams’s Lower school, followed by a Scouts’ Gang Show at the Scout hut in Southern Road on Tuesday.
There will be two quizes on the Wednesday (June 15), one for primary schools in the afternoon and the usual evening quiz for adults which this year will be held at Lord Williams’s Lower school. On Thursday, a Teddy bears’ Picnic is planned for very young children and on Friday (June 17), there will be Jazz night, again at Lower school.
The grand carnival and fete will take place on Saturday, June 18, and following the success of last year’s event, the festival will conclude with a rock concert in the Upper High Street.
St Mary’s Church, Thame, will be hold a Flower Festival from Thursday to Sunday.
For the six weeks running up to the Festival, local pubs will be involved in an Inter-pub Game Challenge, between teams of 10 competing at a quiz, darts, pool and Aunt Sally. The pubs fielding a team so far are the Six Bells, the Nags Head, the Two Brewers, the Cross Keys, the Star & Garter and the Snooker Club.
Thame’s Senior Citizens won’t be left out; a Tea Dance is planned for some time during the festival week. Watch this space for details nearer the time.
The serious side of the festival is of course to raise money for a worthy cause and this year’s is a three-way split between Lord Williams’s World Challenge to Peru, Thomley Hall, Ickford and the Oxfordshire Air Ambulance.

YOUNG drivers in Oxfordshire are being targeted in a hard-hitting and thought provoking Valentine?s Day safety campaign aimed at reducing deaths and serious injuries on the county’s roads.
Experts from Oxfordshire County Council Fire and Rescue and Road Safety teams will be launching its ?For my girlfriend? campaign on Monday, February 14. The campaign features a Valentine Card in a sealed envelope with the words ?For my girlfriend? apparently hand-written on it. The card carries the same message on the front but inside the message is: ?I?m sorry, I didn?t mean to kill you. I was driving too fast?. The text is accompanied by a picture of a wrecked car.
The card is being distributed with the help of sixth form centres and colleges throughout Oxfordshire.
Five local authorities have been involved in running the ?For my girlfriend? campaign successfully in the region for the past 18 months – it gained a Prince Michael International Road Safety Award in 2004.
In Oxfordshire in 2003, 10 young men and one young woman (aged between 17 and 25) were killed and 47 young men and 21 young women were seriously injured in road accidents. In 2004, this figure was greatly reduced with 4 young men being killed and 32 seriously injured. One young woman was killed in 2004 and 17 were seriously injured.
David Robertson, Executive Member for Transport and Roads at Oxfordshire County Council said: ?Although it?s very encouraging to see a 50% reduction in deaths of youngsters on our roads in 2004, this still means that there are at least five families and many friends of those five who died who have lost a very special person. We should never lose sight of the fact that each lost individual is a total tragedy for their family and friends.?

DEVELOPERS who failed to get planning consent to demolish an old house in Thame and build eight flats in its place, are to appeal to the Secretary of State.
South Oxfordshire District Council refused Rectory Homes permission to demolish 16 Priest End, Thame, which is in a Conservation Area, and build the new properties, late last year. However, neighbours in Priest End fear that, if the Appeal is upheld, the flood gates could be opened to replace any large house within the area of the High Street, with blocks of flats.
Coupled with a concern that limited parking provision has been made in the proposal, neighbours also fear a potentially massive increase in vehicular movement to their present access and that their properties will be overlooked and subject to noise and pollution from the proposed car park.
In a recent letter to the district council, they stated: “This site is within the conservation area and so any new building should retain the character of its surroundings. There are listed buildings nearby i.e. The Tythe Barn, Striblehills, 54 High Street,the Prebendal and of course St Mary?s Church. The view across the field to the church is of particular importance.
?We feel that it is a great shame to demolish an attractive, well-built house and replace it with a mediocre development. The only people who will gain anything from this proposal, should it be granted, would appear to be the developers.?
Anyone wishing to make written representation about the appeal, can write to The Planning Inspectorate, Room 3/04b (Kite Wing), Temple Quay House, 2 The Square, Temple Quay, Bristol BS1 6PN

A THAME woman, whose daughter and son-in-law had a miraculous escape from the recent tsunami, has successfully formed the ‘Thame for Tangalle’ project to re-build a school destroyed in that town in Sri Lanka.
Mrs Nina Oakman, of Mitchell Close, Thame, was so grateful to a Tangalla taxi driver who took her daughter and son-on-law into his home after their escape, that decided to raise money to build a school in the area.
Nina and a small group of enthusiastic supporters, met last night (Thursday) and agreed to proceed with the project in two stages. Nina told ThameNews: “The school children in Tangalle have lost everything – they have no books, shoes, uniforms, school bags etc. We propose to equip them ready for school again as our first priority.
“Secondly, we propose to rebuild a destroyed school, five miles away in Kudawella, for which we have already sought a quote.”
John Hampden school has collected

THAME Police are warning householders following a spate of burglaries in South Oxfordshire to houses with integral garages.
Lesley Nesbitt, Crime Prevention Officer at Thame Police station, warned householders with this type of property to make sure that internal doors from integral garages into the house have secure locks. This follows a series of burglaries where offenders have broken into homes via connecting doors from garages.
Anyone requiring security advise can contact Lesley at Thame Police Station or by email: lesley.nesbittt@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

ANNUAL figures reveal that there has been a 4% reduction in offences committed by young people in Oxfordshire.
Oxfordshire?s Youth Offending Service say that it has put together a series of strategies that have helped bring down the crime figures for youngsters aged between 10 and 17.

The Youth Offending Service is a partnership between Oxfordshire County Council, the National Probation Service, Thames Valley Police, Health Services and the Prison Service.

Since the Service was set up, there has been an overall reduction in crime in the 10-17 age group of 17.3% in four years.

Oxfordshire County Council?s Head of Community Safety and Youth Offending Service, Mike Simm, said: ?An incredible amount of hard work on the part of several agencies has gone into bringing about this further reduction.

?It is very encouraging that for the fourth year in a row since the establishment of the Youth Offending Service this downward trend is evident. We are confident that the wide range of interventions for which we are responsible, ranging from early intervention with children under 10 to work with 16 and 17 year olds convicted of the most serious offences, is having a real impact.?

OXFORDSHIRE has the lowest rate of crime per head of population in the Thames Valley, it was revealed today.
This is lower than Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Milton Keynes and less than the national average.
At a seminar at County Hall on Monday, January 24, Chief Superintendent David McWhirter revealed that the number of crimes per police officer is also well below the national average of 1:120, at just 1:59 for Oxfordshire, again the lowest rate for the Thames Valley.
Councillors had met to hear what the key Community Safety priorities for the next three years are likely to be. The latest audit of crime, anti-social behaviour and other issues affecting residents? quality of life, have revealed a range of key issues which are likely to form the basis of Community Safety Strategies for the next three years.
Members heard that vehicle crime was falling and that there had been a decrease in road accidents. However for acquisitive crime, including burglary and shoplifting; anti-social behaviour – litter, graffiti and abandoned cars, as well as dangerous driving,the picture was not so rosey.
Cllr John Farrow, Executive Member for Community Safety said: ?We work closely with partners including the police, district councils and Primary Health Care Trusts.
?At Monday?s seminar, councillors focused on the role the county council can play in reducing anti-social behaviour. By working in a preventative way through schools, the Youth Offending Team and Children?s Services, for instance, we are able to intervene to support and work with young people and families at risk to reduce anti-social behaviour at source.?
John Parry, Director for Community Safety added: ?Actual levels of crime in the county are relatively low, but fear of crime continues to be disproportionately high. Tackling fear will be an important aim in the new three-year strategies, which are being drafted by the county?s five Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnerships at the moment. Following consultation, the strategies are set to be approved in early April.?

THE public’s views on car parks and public conveniences run by the district council, are currently being invited as part of a consultation exercise.
South Oxfordshire District Council is currently reviewing the way it manages these facilities and questionaires are available at the One Stop Shop at Thame town hall. All responses must be received by SODC by Friday, February 4.
In the past the town council has looked into the possibly of taking over the responsibility of the public toilets in Thame themselves, and are currently in discussion with SODC about the possibility of replacing them with an automatically cleaning-type booth.