Category: More News

THE Mayor of Thame is presented with his official portrait, by Thame Photographer, Tina Hadley.

TWO of Thame’s District Councillors, Cllrs Mike Welply and Ann Midwinter, are to begin holding Surgeries in the town, to address questions and concerns of residents.
The dates are as follows (no appointment is necessary – just turn up: venue to be confirmed):-
Tuesday, October 10
Tuesday, October 31
Tuesday, November 28
Tuesday, December 12

THIS week over 111 people in the UK will take their own lives, and it is estimated that a teenager attempts suicide every 30 minutes.
Tuesday, October 10, is World Mental Health Day and the theme for 2006 is ?Building Awareness ? Reducing Risk: Mental Illness and Suicide?.
To mark World Mental Health Day, Oxfordshire Mind and Rethink will be running information stalls in Oxford City and OXFORDSHIRE MIND has a two month programme of events coming up, including live music and a race night.
See Link

Leaflets and posters will be available in the Westgate centre from Monday, October 9, and on Cornmarket street during the 10th. If you would like to get involved or find out more, contact Claire on 01865 310830 ext 31.

THAME Town Council is concerned about, what it sees as, the under-performance of its investment portfolio.
It is to seek a second opinion regarding its investments with the Bank of Ireland following a verbal report from the Bank’s Asset Management describing the investment’s return as “disappointing, with some lack of focus.”

NB

FOLLOWING a year of planning and fundraising, three teams of Lord Williams?s Year 10 students finally made the journey to Romania recently, for a two week expedition.
In all, 29 students had an amazing opportunity to experience Romanian culture, contribute to an isolated village community, trek in the picturesque Caliman Mountains and enjoy the challenges of work as part of a team.
Working with leaders from World Challenge Expeditions and teachers Will Speke, Roz Poole and Daniel Cuell from school, the students took charge of their expedition and shared different roles each day, organising tasks, arranging transportation, balancing their budget and coping with the highs and lows of being away from home.

The expedition started with an early morning flight to Bucharest and then a sleepless overnight train journey north to Transylvania and into the Carpathian Mountains. There were three main phases to the teams? stay in Romania; we started with a trekking phase that took two teams in to Suhard Mountains and one team into the Caliman Mountains. Students covered over 50 km in five days, carrying all their own equipment and food in rucksacks through some challenging but inspiring terrain. Highlights included sharing a meal with a local shepherd who took pity on the group and whipped up a Romania palenta in record time! Despite struggling with blisters and looking out for snakes and bears, the three teams worked together to overcome a tough physical challenge, for which they were rewarded with a night in a hotel in the town of Vatra Dornei ? and a hot shower!

The second phase of the expedition involved spending a week living in a small village called Lunca Ilvei, a further hour?s train journey into the Transylvanian countryside towards the Ukraine. In the village each team spent five days constructing a piece of playground equipment for one of the four local primary schools. Each team designed a different construction and organised some materials that had to be purchased in Thame and taken with us to Romania. The logistics of building a timber construction without speaking any Romanian was a great challenge, and with the help of local children whose English was very good, we managed to borrow local tools and purchase enough timber, rope and other resources that made the projects possible. This stage of the expedition gave students a real chance to mix with local people and gain an insight into their daily lives.

The third and final phase of the expedition was ?rest & relaxation? where all three teams spent a day white-water rafting and had the chance to see local sights, including some monasteries. This was also a chance for the teams to unwind and enjoy the final days of each other?s company before the train journey back to Bucharest and the flight home to the UK.

Overall the students not only had an insight into a very different and rapidly-changing culture, but faced the challenge of working as a team and taking leadership responsibility for themselves.
All three teams will be organising feedback evenings in September where they can tell parents and supporters more about the expedition and share some of the many photos that were taken to record the experience.

All students would like to thank the parents, relatives, friends and supporters who helped us make this expedition possible, including financial donations from local companies.

THAME Town Council’s Culture, Leisure and Recreation committee met recently and discussed, among other things, some of the town’s green spaces.
The following is a short summary:
* Suitable locations for a bench in memory of Thame resident, Mr Martin Weeks, at the Southern Road Recreation area, are to be considered.
* The Open Spaces Working group reported that Thame In Bloom will take the lead in entering Thame into next year’s Best Kept Village competition.
* It also reported that three quotations have been sought for the replacement of play equipment in the Churchill Crescent play area, and ditto for the Southern Road Rec.
* Consideration is to be given to an offer from SODC to supply free trees to Thame, and to an offer for Thame to participate in a Pilot for a Tree Warden scheme. (Suggestions to the Mayor)
* To consider illuminating the town hall clock at some time in the future. (Point made that a higher priority might be to get it to keep time !),
* That a large tree in the Churchill Play area had to be removed recently, at a cost of

THAME Town Council has recommended refusal of a planning application for an extention to a Thame restaurant.
The plan, for a single-storey restaurant extension and alterations to The Old Trout, High Street, Thame, has upset neighbour, Mr Cecil Wiggs. He told the town council’s Planning committee that the proposed new kitchen would be very near his main bedroom, and that he feared the kitchen was bound to produce disagreeable smells.

The committee’s recommendation for refusal was on the following grounds:
1. Over-development
2. Noise and smell pollution
3. Loss of parking space
4. Major change to a listed building

FOLLOWING recent reports that national truancy figures have risen, the number of pupils truanting in Oxfordshire has fallen for the third year running. .

According to provisional pupils absence data published today by the Department for Education and Skills, in Oxfordshire the unauthorised absence rate in both primary and secondary schools has fallen from 0.64 per cent in May 05, to 0.58 per cent in May, 06.

The unauthorised absence figure for all schools in England rose from 0.78 per cent in 04/05 to 0.79 per cent in 05/06. This figure relates to the percentage of half-days missed by pupils in both the primary and secondary sector.

Barry Armstrong, the County Council?s Officer for Attendance and Pupil Welfare, said: “We are heartened by the continued reduction in the levels of truancy from our schools.
“Our figures are better than the national average and we have one of the lowest levels of truancy in the South East region but we cannot afford to be complacent.
“While truancy rates continue to fall levels of absence because of illness, holidays and other forms of unauthorised absence continue to be a concern. We have much work to do to impress on parents the importance of ensuring that their children attend every session possible. The links between a child?s level of attendance and their attainment in school are very clear, high absence correlates with poor achievement.
“The improvements reported in Oxfordshire are an indication of the continued efforts being made by our schools and all agencies working together.”

Analysis of pupil absence data for Oxfordshire:

The secondary picture shows the unauthorised absence rate fell from 1.01 per cent in 04/05 to 0.88 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at secondary level fell from 1.23 per cent in 04/05 to 1.22 per cent in 05/06.

The primary picture shows that levels of unauthorised absence fell from 0.30 per cent in 04/05 to 0.28 per cent in 05/06. The national rate for unauthorised absence at primary level rose from 0.43 per cent in 04/05 to 0.46 per cent in 05/06

POLICE and South Oxfordshire District Council have signed a dispersal order to tackle anti-social behaviour in an area of Wheatley.
Officers have been gathering information to establish where the main problems are and have been canvassing local residents to find out what issues most affect them. Vandalism, graffiti, littering, abusive or threatening behaviour and loud music coming from cars have all been reported by local residents, as well as cars being driven in an anti-social manner.

There has been over a 30% rise in reports of anti-social behaviour in the area between January and June when compared with the previous year. Local residents were asked what they thought of the situation and 27 of the 33 who responded to a questionnaire said that anti-social behaviour is getting worse.

The areas identified from the survey as being hotspots for antisocial behaviour were High Street, Church Road recreation area, Wheatley Primary School, Wheatley Park School, Moreland Close, The Park Sports Centre and Crown Square. Local shop keepers have told their local beat officer that anti-social behaviour is affecting business.

The dispersal order will run from 25 September for six months. Its gives police powers to move groups away from the designated area. It will be enforced between 5pm and 6am each day. Where two or more people are acting in an anti-social way, or officers have reason to believe they may do so, then officers can ask them to leave the dispersal area. If they refuse or return within 24 hours they are liable for arrest and prosecution.

Pat Dawe, who is responsible for community safety at South Oxfordshire District Council welcomed the joint working between the police and the council to introduce the dispersal order. She said: ”The residents and traders of Wheatley have been experiencing significant problems of anti-social behaviour for a long time. We cannot allow this to continue to blight people’s lives and I have no doubt that this is most appropriate action to take.?

PC Paul Gregory, area beat officer, said: ?It has previously been difficult for police to deal with this sort of behaviour, especially with under 18?s, but the dispersal order gives us specific powers to deal with the culprits, particularly those who persistently cause nuisance to others.

?We can use the order alongside other measures such as Anti-social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs). It helps us work in partnership with the council and the community to stop anti-social behaviour in the areas affected.

?Orders have been extremely successful elsewhere and we are committed to ensure this order has a very positive effect for the community and businesses in the area.?

A THAME businessman who trekked the Haute Route to raise money for charity has returned safe, well and triumphant from the Alps.
Between August 29 and September 12, Haddenham man, David Handley trekked along the Haute Route, a well known alpine trek from Chamonix to Zermatt ? Mont Blanc to Matterhorn.

David’s wife, Hilary, a well-known Thame businesswoman, said: “David enjoyed every minute of his trip and has some stunning photographs as souvenirs. He and eight companions enjoyed fabulous weather most of the time and he claims that his dodgy hip has never felt so good!
David has raised almost