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A THAME woman has spoken of her anguish and relief after her son and daughter-in-law had a dramatic escape from the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka on Boxing Day.
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 she has decided to raise money to build a school in the area. Mrs Oakman told ThameNews.Net how her 27 year-old son Ben and his wife Hannah jumped into their jeep and sped inland when they saw the giant wave approaching the beach at Tangalla, in Sri Lanka.
They managed to get up to a first floor balcony of a hotel where they stood and watched as the other balconies around them collapsed. They managed to get to a road where a taxi picked them up with 9 other people who were then taken by the driver to the safety of his home.
Mrs Oakman took up the story: ?The taxi driver fed and clothed them for two days and his whole family even gave up their beds to them. He then hired a car to take them to Colombia airport from where they returned to England.
?That man was a complete stranger and yet he did so much for Ben and Hannah and the others. I want to do something for him and his community.?
Ben and Hannah had sold up their home in Bristol and intended to stay for four months back packing in Sri Lanka. Three weeks later they have found themselves homeless and have lost all their personal belongings.
After spending a week with Nina in Thame, they have now gone to stay with Hannah?s mother in Cardiff for a week to continue their recovery.
Nina Oakman has spoken to the Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Dodds, about the town council supporting her efforts to raise money for a school and as a trained Reflexologist, she intends to set up a practice in her home as a way of raising money herself.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses after a wallet was stolen from a house in The Square, Brill, near Thame.

Sometime between midnight and 6am on Sunday, January 2, a kitchen window was forced open and a brown leather wallet containing around

OXFORDSHIRE’S Chief Fire Officer, John Parry, has given his view on the disagreement between the Government and the Fire Brigades Union on the controversial subject of fire and rescue service control rooms.

Yesterday the Fire Brigades Union’s concerns over the risks and benefits of the project were widely publiced nationally.

The minister responsible, Nick Raynsford, responded saying: ?The Fire Control programme will provide a more effective and efficient service that will protect the public better and save more lives.?

He added that Fire and Rescue authorities’ own estimates of their control room costs over the next few years, show that regional control centres will achieve, on average, a saving of some 30% over existing arrangements.

John Parry believes there is a valid issue regarding the capability of single brigades to respond adequately to a large-scale incident such as a terrorist attack.

He believes there is valid concern therefore about the ability of existing control rooms to be able to respond at the right level of magnitude and for a sustained period and this project, if enacted successfully, could be one way of responding to such periods of exceptional need.

He said: ?There are other concerns including the overall cost-effectiveness of a new regional control centre and in the consequent level of service provided in responding to emergency incidents.

?Whilst nationally the project could result in an overall reduction in expenditure, I am concerned that Oxfordshire, as one of the most cost-efficient services, will not benefit and that future costs could be higher for Council Tax payers locally.?

Chief Fire Officer Parry said the Service’s main priorities currently are to:

1. Ensure that current professional standards, high performance to the public and ongoing low costs are maintained

2. Support and retain staff while providing opportunities to broaden skills and consider potential redeployment opportunities

3. Contribute to national and regional projects, ensuring the financial, functionality and performance interests of Oxfordshire are fully considered

4. Plan for transitional arrangements, including the effects on other aspects of local service delivery, e.g. requirements of standardisation of systems and procedures

5. Continue to report fully to the County Council, other stakeholders and the public.
On November 2,Oxfordshire County Council unanimously passed a motion opposing the plans of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) to replace the current system of 49 county-based fire control rooms with one based in each of the 9 regions, until all issues have been satisfactorily resolved.

The motion asked the Leader of the Council to express to the ODPM the Council’s lack of confidence in the ability of the proposed new system to improve efficiency in the Fire Service, and its belief that the change will have an adverse effect on quality of service -particularly response times – to the detriment of the people of Oxfordshire.

County Councillor John Farrow, Executive Member for Community Safety said: ?We will ensure that the best interests of Oxfordshire are continually brought to the fore to ensure any future system is robust, efficient, cost-effective and delivers a high quality service to the public.?

ACCORDING to local charities, the response by the people of Thame to the terrible disaster in South East Asia has been “overwhelming.”
The Oxfam Bookshop in the Cornmarket took over