Category: More News

THE Rotary Club of Thame is asking local people to check their sheds and lofts for old or unwanted tools to help people in Africa get a ‘leg-up’ to self-employment.

The tools can be taken to the main car park in Thame, near Montesson Square, near the Market House, on Saturday, May 12, from 9am to 1pm.

Every year the Rotary Club of Thame runs a collection point for unwanted tools. These are then taken to ‘Tools for Self Reliance’ (TFSR) collection centre in Southampton. Here they will be refurbished by the charity and sent to NGO’s in Africa. The NGOs then distribute them FREE to men and women to help them to obtain work.

All the tools sent to Africa are used to provide training and to equip trainees with their own start-up kits to set up their own businesses after completing training, not only in their chosen trade, but in business management, financial, and life skills.

One such trainee is Susan Anena who is 32, and lives a few miles outside Kitgum Town, Uganda. She started her primary education, but this was disrupted by the civil war and Susan was forced to go into a camp. In 2007 she was abducted on her way to school by rebels and kept captive for six years. She was subjected to abuse, which resulted in her becoming pregnant and having a child. Thankfully she managed to escape, but returned home to find that her father had been shot during the war and was paralysed on one side. Just a couple of years after her return, Susan’s mother died from malaria.

In 2017, she joined a Tools for Self Reliance project run in partnership with a local organisation, Green Ribbon Foundation of Uganda. Throughout the training Susan learned how to make women’s and men’s clothing, alongside receiving business and life skills training. The counselling sessions she had helped her to cope with the trauma she experienced during her abduction. She has now graduated and has learnt a practical skill that will help her become self reliant and support her child and her family. Susan plans to set up her own tailoring business, using the tools she was equipped with when she graduated.

Susan said: “I want to be the best tailor in this sub county. After I fully acquire this skill, it will be mine forever. I want to give the community my very best.”

Items that would be very welcome at the Thame collection point include sewing machines, tools for plumbing, carpentry, metalworking, building, bicycle repairs, shoe repairs and car repairs. Unfortunately, no garden tools will be be accepted.

For more information, visit www.thame.rotary1090.org or www.facebook.com/thamerotary

Rotary International was funded in 1905 in Chicago and is now one of the largest international service organisation with 1.2 million professional men and women as members. There are 33,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary Clubs are open to men and women who want to use their experience for the benefit of others. Rotary initiates local and global projects to promote world understanding and peace and improve conditions for people of all ages and cultures. For more information, visit www.thame.rotary1090.org

FOLLOWING a report in The Sun newspaper, about an incident involving drug-taking at Lord Williams’s School, in Thame, the Headteacher, David Wybron, has issued the following response: (SINCE this article was posted, Mr Wybron has confirmed that some pupils were excluded from the school)

“In response to the article in The Sun newspaper last week, it was very disappointing to read such false reporting concerning a prescription drugs incident at the school. The report was inaccurate in many areas:

No student was coughing up blood
No student was taken to hospital
No student passed out.

“The truth is that staff were very professional in how they dealt with the incident, recognising that a small group of students were unwell. Paramedics attended our Oxford Road site and parents were contacted immediately. They were very appreciative of how a team of staff supported their children. On the day of the incident, which was Thursday, March 15, the parents/carers of students in Years 10, 11, 12 and 13 were contacted by the Headteacher with the following message:

“Dear Parents/Carers

A small group of Year 11 students were taken ill this afternoon having taken prescription medication, supplied by person(s) unknown, at lunchtime in Thame.

The students received medical attention in school and are all now safely at home. We do not know if other students may have taken this substance. Medical advice is that we alert parents/carers of Upper School students to what has happened. Symptoms seen today included severe lethargy, slurred speech and sluggish movement. If you are concerned about your son/daughter, please contact the NHS 111 service for medical advice.

I am grateful to the staff members who dealt with this incident in such a professional way. It is a pity the report in The Sun newspaper was not constructed as professionally. The school sends very clear messages to students about the dangers of drug taking and the sanctions of doing so. What we cannot control is the availability of drugs, including prescription medicine, outside school, and the fact that a very small minority of students are prepared to risk taking something, which can cause harm.

David Wybron.”

The report in the Sun Newspaper on April 8 (updated on April 9), followed a press release from Thames Valley Police, reported on Thame.net on March 29, 2018 – LINK HERE

AFTER the threat of closure and a long search for a saviour, Thame’s Community Equpment Bank has a new Supervisor, just in time for the busy hiring season.

Robert Nisbet will be taking over the liaison between the hirer and the keyholders, joining the current team. This is a task that has to take place most weeks and in the summer when there may be multiple bookings each week.

The Thame Community Equipment Bank provides equipment for events at extremely reasonable prices to allow local events like fetes, festivals, fundraisers and celebrations raise the maximum funds for their respective charities and groups. Since 2006 the equipment bank has supported almost every event that you will have heard of in Thame and many more that will have taken place in the surrounding villages.

The 21st Century Thame Partnership set up the Equipment Bank with funding originally from SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) to purchasd the bulk of the equipment, and receives funding each year from SODC and Thame Town Council as well as ploughing any profit back into replacing and fixing the equipment. The equipment bank has helped many events take place over the last 12 years. Since 2014, Sue Martin-Downhill has run the equipment bank with help from David Laver and Peter Harris and the support of the rest of 21st Century Thame. Having taken on the chairwomanship of 21st Century Thame and continuing to run the Thame Carnival, the equipment bank had become too much work.

Sue said: “We are very pleased to welcome Robert Nisbet to the team. I am so pleased that someone has been able to take over as without this pivotal role the equipment bank would not have been able to continue.”

21st Century Thame is a group of volunteers from the community that works in partnership with Thame Town Council and SODC. It works to ensure the vitality of Thame and its surrounding villages.

“We are always looking for volunteers to help with the many projects that our community needs,” explained Sue. “Thame Tidy was a recent success and we’re looking forward to Thame Carnival in June and we’re currently updating the Shopping Guide cabinets in the car parks.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about 21st Century Thame and getting involved, and meeting like-minded people around Thame, is invited to email admin@thame4me.co.uk

THAME Activists and supporters from Open Britain, the European Movement and Britain for Europe were in Thame town centre on Saturday, April 14, as part of a day of action throughout the UK.

The ‘Open Britain Thame’ group visited other parts of Thame’s MP. John Howell’s Henley and South Oxfordshire constituency including Chinnor, Henley, Watlington and Kirtlington and, with the support of the ‘Thame For Europe’ a street stall was set up in front of Thame town hall, which included a ‘Brexitometre’ on which people were invited to stick on a plastic letter in either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to whether they ‘Still want Brexit’ and leaflets distributed throughout the town. The leaflets asked local people to ask John Howell MPto support the Customs Union Amendment ‘to avoid a hard, destructive Brexit’.

This, the largest ever pro-European National Action Day, preceded the launch on Sunday, April 15, of a new People’s Vote campaign, calling for the British people to be given a vote on the Brexit deal.

Robin Storey of Open Britain Thame, said: “I’m delighted with the launch of the campaign for a peoples vote on the final Brexit deal in Thame. We signed up over a hundred supporters in two hours and then drove to Henley and launched a group there with similar results. We also visited other areas throughout John Howell MP’s constituency and will be asking John Howell MP for a meeting.

“Volunteers have been delivering 4000 leaflets in the Thame area asking John Howell MP to back the customs union amendment ‘to avoid unnecessary economic damage’. This is a logical and measurable first step for him to take, but the Peoples Vote on the final Brexit deal is the real solution to this mess – as there are so many new facts about the cost of Brexit such as the £40Bn exit bill, broken promises on NHS funding and a likely bad deal.”

Phillipa Tawn, of the Thame For Europe Group explained: “Once we know the terms of the Brexit deal we should have the right to decide if we still want it or not. We campaigned for nine hours on Saturday all around the Henley constituency and in that area it is clear that people are not at all happy about the way Brexit is looking right now.”

There were however, some voices from Thame who are on the opposite side to Saturday’s activists. Tony Rushforth stated on Twitter: “We had a vote; stick by it! You can’t have best of three! We voted and gave our politicians the mandate to deal with the terms of the Brexit. Just let them get on with it and stop crying foul !”

James MacCleary, Campaign Director of European Movement UK, said: “The pro-European movement is gaining in strength and momentum and that progress was reflected this weekend with a huge demonstration of grassroots power in favour of a People’s Vote on the Brexit deal.”

Anne Weyman, Vice Chair of Britain for Europe, said: “We may come from different political parties, different traditions and different groups, but we are united by our desire for the people to have their say on the Brexit deal and we are determined to make sure their voice is heard loud and clear.”

TWO Fire crews from Thame Fire Station were called to a Road Traffic Collision involving two private cars yesterday, April 11, 2018, on the B4445 Chinnor Road, Thame.

The driver and passenger of one car managed to get out of the vehicle suffering only minor injuries. The driver of the other vehicle was assisted from their vehicle by a passing motorist and suffered an injury to their leg.

Medically trained firefighters provided first aid to all three casualties until the arrival of South Central Ambulance Service. Fire Fighters made the vehicles safe and liaised with Thames Valley Police to close the road. The driver with the leg injury was conveyed to hospital by South Central Ambulance Service. The driver and passenger of the other car were discharged at the scene.

Further investigation into the cause of the collision being carried out by Thames Valley Police

Safety message:

Incident Commander Crew Manager Kevin Morgan said, “This was a considerable impact to both vehicles and fortunately on this occasion the drivers and passengers only suffered minor injuries, I would like to take this opportunity to remind all road users to wear their seatbelts and to take extra care whilst driving on rural roads. This incident had the potential to be life-threatening and life-changing. Oxfordshire has one of the largest ‘rural’ road networks in S.E.England. Almost 60% of road deaths in Oxfordshire occur on a rural roads.”

Visit www.365alive.co.uk for Community and Road Safety advice.

If you have a Community or Road Safety question please call the free phone helpline on 08000 325 999 or email: community.safety@oxfordshire.gov.uk

THAME’S Lord Williams’s School, alongside thousands of other schools, is having to deal with a funding crisis that is not of their making. As confirmed by the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies) LWS faces a real terms cut in funds of 8% over the next three years, which amounts to around £800,000.

In an effort to close the funding gap to help with increased staffing costs, and the loss of money the school received as an academy to deliver services, previously provided by the Local Authority, LWS launched a School Fund Appeal. Launching the appeal back in September, Head Teacher, David Wybron, told parents in the school’s newsletter: “There are some challenges ahead! We cannot rely on government funding. However, we are confident that, with our close partnership with parents/carers, local businesses, and supporters of the school, we will find ways to address them.”

Six months later, Mr Wybron reports that: “Our School Fund Appeal has received a positive response from many parents and carers and our thanks go to everyone who has already committed to making a monthly donation to support our school.

“In recent weeks the government has made a commitment to provide extra funding for schools. This is welcome news. However, indicative allocations to this school still fall short of covering our basic operating costs. In addition, the end of the pay cap for public sector workers is likely to have a serious impact on our staffing costs this year and beyond. We are already facing increasing staffing costs through National Insurance and Pension contributions. We estimate that a 1% increase in staff salaries would add approximately £100,000 to our running costs.”

Parents and carers are able to choose the amount they give each month. For example, the mother of a Year 10 pupil has chosen to give £20 a month. She explained: “I give the equivalent of the cost of two takeaway coffees a week and I’m pleased to support the school in this way. We’re very lucky to have such wonderful opportunities offered to our children at Lord Williams’s and by giving a little each month, it’s not only a way to say ‘thank you’ but also a way to help the school plan for the future. I am able to Gift Aid the donation too, which means the school receive an extra 25p for every £1 I donate.”

Mr Wybron concluded: “Whilst we continue to campaign at a national level to redress the inequity, our resolve now is to double our efforts and close as much of the funding gap over the next three years as we can.”

Lord Williams’s, which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, is the largest Academy in Oxfordshire with over £2,000 pupils. Anyone who would like to help the school by making a regulation donation, can learn how by clicking on this LINK https://secure.edirectdebit.com/Lord-Williamss-School-/schoolfundappeal/Desktop-Form-Page/

POLICE in Thame will have new powers to tackle group related anti-social behaviour from Tuesday, May 1, subject to a final nod from South Oxfordshire District Council’s Scrutiny committee.

The new Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) will allow police to prohibit groups of three or more from congregating in public areas of the town, if they are behaving anti-socially, or likely to cause alarm, distress or a nuisance to those nearby. Anyone causing a problem could be fined if they fail to disperse when requested.

South Oxfordshire District Council is introducing the PSPO in Thame following concerns raised by the local community. The Order received strong support during a public consultation last year and was approved by Cabinet on Thursday, April 5. It will only target anti-social behaviour and will not prevent groups from gathering together peacefully.

Cllr Elizabeth Gillespie, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The new Public Spaces Protection Order gives police in Thame greater powers to address anti-social behaviour caused by groups congregating in public areas. This could include those intimidating passers-by or anyone repeatedly causing a general nuisance.

“PSPOs can be tailored to the needs of a specific town. The measures we have included to tackle group related problems in Thame received significant support from the local community.”

The public consultation

Last year members of the public were asked to comment on the proposal to create a Public Spaces Protection Order for Thame. South Oxfordshire District Council received 241 responses during the four-week consultation, with 92 per cent in favour of giving police powers to tackle anti-social behaviour. 92 per cent also supported setting the age range for the new powers to start from those aged 16 plus rather than from 18.

The Thame PSPO also includes powers that were previously covered by the town’s Designated Public Places Order (DPPO) which allows police to tackle alcohol related anti-social behaviour. Police can take alcohol off anyone who is behaving anti-socially in a public area – if they refuse to hand the alcohol over they can be fined. The Order only applies to public areas and not to licensed premises, and people drinking responsibly will not be affected.

THAMES Valley Police’s Thame Neighbourhood Policing team have reported a dramatic down-turn in rural crime in the area, partly due to the use of civilian, local ‘spotters’.

Rural Crime includes such offences as fly-tipping, illegal off-roading which can cause damage to the environment and disturbs local wildlife, theft of agricultural machinery, hare-coursing and cannabis cultivation.

Thames Valley Police attribute this drop to ‘high visibility proactive patrols and operations organised by the Thame Neighbourhood Policing Team’ and team work in partnership with local landowners who, using their local knowledge and themselves patrol rural areas, act as ‘spotters’.

The neighbourhood team has future overnight operations planned in the area aimed at preventing and detecting rural crime. This involves joint work between the neighbourhood team and the Special Constabulary.