Category: More News

THAME Town Council will be holding its 2007 Christmas tea party on Friday, December 7, at the town hall, between 2 – 4pm.
The party is open to all senior citizens who live in Thame and Morton, and those who wish to attend need to register their name and a contact telephone number with the staff at the town hall, by Friday, September 21.
The list will close when it reaches 100 definites, with a reserve list of 10, who nearly always get in.

FAMILIES and individuals from the Thame area are being invited to spend a weekend in the town’s French twin town, near Paris.
Thame’s five-year old connection with the town of Montesson is thriving and this year’s annual September visit by coach will include a visit to the beautiful and historic Chateau d’Anet, which was used as a film location in the 1965 James Bond film, Thunderball.
There are still some spaces left on the coach which leaves Thame early on Friday morning, September 14, and returns to Thame in the evening of Sunday, September 16.
Contact a member of the Twinning committee, via the website
for more information.

Photo: Chateau d’Anet, on the Seine, which is on the itinerary for this year’s twiining visit to Montesson.

THAMES Valley Police has appealed to GCSE students who get their results tomorrow (23/8,) not to drink alcohol when celebrating or commiserating over their grades.
The force is reminding GCSE pupils that, despite reaching another milestone in their education, they are still not old enough to buy alcohol or go out drinking unless they are having a meal.

Chief Supt Shaun Morley, the police commander for Oxfordshire, said: ?My officers don?t want to spoil the fun of celebrating passing your exams, but they will not tolerate drinking by those under 18.
“Underage drinking leads to anti-social behaviour and drunken teenagers are more likely to become victims of crime. You are also putting your health at risk and there are strong links between high levels of alcohol consumption youth offending, teenage pregnancy, truancy, exclusion and illegal drug misuse.
“Deaths from liver cirrhosis have also risen in the 25-34 age group, which is thought to be a consequence of increased drinking starting at an earlier age.”

GCSE students are reminded that it is an offence to:
? Sell alcohol to a person under 18
? Buy alcohol for a person under 18 on licensed premises
? Deliver alcohol to a person under 18
? Buy or attempt to buy alcohol by a person under 18.

Police officers have the power to confiscate alcohol from anyone they know or reasonably believe to be under 18 who is drinking in a public place.

THE people of Thame are to be given the opportunity to decide the future of the town’s annual fair.
A draft document setting out changes that the town council wants to see under a current agreeement with the Showmen’s Guild to 2009, is expected to be ratified by full council soon, but what happens after that will largely depend on public consultation about a subject that divides the town more than almost anything else.
Residents will be asked their opinion in the Town Council’s newsletter due to go out in February 2008.
Some feel that the fair should remain in its tradional location in the town centre, while others feel it has grown too large and noisy and would prefer to see it moved to an edge of town site, possible Thame Show ground.
The proposed amendments to the current agreement include a limit on the number of decibels allowed for music and announcements and a cut off time of 11pm.

* THE roundabout that was vandalised at Elms Park in Thame, is to be replaced with a vandal-proof one with a metal floor, that is level with the ground to make it useable by disabled people.
* Thame Town Council is to increase hiring charges for the changing rooms at Southern Road Recreation, by 10%. The council says that the charges have not been reviewed for four years.
* A section of the ramp at the skate park which has rotted, is to be repaired by the facility’s installer, ‘Fearless Ramps’ and screws that keep popping out are to be replaced with something more substantial. The facility will be painted twice a year and a concrete path between the two ramps is to be provided before the winter.
A recent inspection by ROSPA stated that the facility was safe to use.
* Thame Town Council is to spend

PLANNING Applications to be considered by Thame Town Council?s Planning Committee on Tuesday, August 07.
8290
P07/E0717 13 PRIEST END
Demolition of annex wing and outbuildings. Erection of two terraced cottages, conversion of barn to dwelling. Ground floor extension to existing dwelling, skylights in loft conversion to first
floor apartment. Erect new garden wall.
Amendment No. 2 shows reduction in height of new unit by

THAMES Valley Police will be launching its annual, summer drink drive campaign on Monday (30/7), aimed at people who drink a drive around parties and BBQs that take place at this time of the year.
The month-long campaign is part of a national crackdown by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Department for Transport (DfT) aimed at reducing the number of people killed and injured on our roads by people who drink and drive.
The theme of this year?s campaign is enforcement and Thames Valley Police and ACPO are hoping that the consequences of their offending will deter people from being so irresponsible. A night in the cells sobering up, followed by the possibility of being charged and going straight to court, followed by a lengthy ban are the reality.
The campaign will also link closely with the major year-long campaign, launched in May, which aims to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking too much. This initiative, which is being run by Thames Valley Police, Hampshire Constabulary and NHS South Central, is a two-pronged campaign, combining education initiatives with police enforcement. Activity will target under age drinking, anti-social behaviour, binge drinking, violent crime, the health effects of drinking and the impact on the NHS.

During the Christmas campaign (1 December 2006 to 1 January 2007), 1,926 drivers were breathalysed, with 251 drivers (13 per cent of those tested) providing positive results.

Officers will also be carrying out field impairment tests alongside the roadside breath tests to see whether drivers are under the influence of drugs. Last year, 148 tests were conducted and 26 people arrested, around 17.5 per cent.

Officers will also be recording additional information about those stopped relating to what age bracket they fall into. This data will be sent to ACPO, who will analyse it to understand the level of drink driving nationally and the correlation between age and drink driving behaviour.

Superintendent Mick Doyle, head of Thames Valley Police Roads Policing Department, said:”If you drink and then drive home you are not just putting your own life in danger, you are jeopardising the lives of other road users. We will be carrying out targeted, intelligence-led roadside tests and we also test every driver involved in a collision regardless of the time of day and whether they have been drinking or not.
“We need the help of the public to put pressure on people who are considering driving home, when they are not fit to do so, to keep themselves and the public safe. Each year around five hundred people die in Great Britain as a direct result of drinking and driving. Ask yourself, if you killed a child because of your selfishness, could you face their mum and dad? And if someone died because you didn?t stop your friend or partner from driving, how would explain your inaction to their grieving loved one?
It is not difficult to avoid drink driving, take a taxi, stay at a hotel or friend?s house or just don?t drink. If you know anyone who drinks or takes drugs and drives, call police or call the charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

So far this year, provisional police figures show that seventy four people have lost their lives in collisions on the roads of Thames Valley.

All drivers who provide a positive breath test, refuse to provide or fail to provide, face losing their licence for at least 12 months. They could go to prison for six months or pay a fine of up to

A NATIONAL Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ) Course is to be held at Thame Leisure Centre.
The course will run from July 30, to August 4, from 9am to 6pm every day with the Examination on Saturday, August 4, time to be confirmed.
The cost will be

IN September, October and November some of the officers from the neighbourhood team in Thame Police Area will be visiting outlying villages to engage with the residents there.
This will be an opportunity for residents of villages to speak in confidence with their local officers about issues from neighbourhood disputes, to problems with litter and speeding – any issue that affects their quality of life.

Below are the times and venues when the mobile police station will be visiting in September:

Monday, September 3 –
Stanton St John Village Hall ??????. . 10.00am ? 11.30am

Garsington Shops Elm Drive ??????.. 12noon ? 1.30pm
Sandford on Thames Village Hall ????..2pm ? 3.30pm
Chalgrove Village Hall in the car Park??? 4pm ? 5pm

Tuesday 4th September 2007

Tetsworth Village at Marsh End????10.00am ? 11.30am.
Chinnor Village Centre ???????…12noon ? 2pm
Watlington Hill Road Car Park?????. 2.30pm ? 4pm

THAME town councillors are unhappy about the number of new permanent sites that must be found for Gypsies and Travellers in South Oxfordshire.
Cllr David Dodds, who is also a District Councillor, told other members of TTC’s Planning committee last night that in his opinion, the 28 new sites that south oxfordshire has to find is “disproportionate” to the 58 that must be found throughout the county.

A report about the provision of pitches for Gypsies and Travellers, currently out for consultation in the county, is to be looked at by Town Cllr Beatrice Dobie who will report back to all councillors before their response is officially decided.