Category: Thame news

THAME’s traffic warden and a local newsagent have received special awards following their involvement in a robbery at the shop in February.
Annette Lazaruk, who manages The Chocolate Box newsagents in Thame, grappled with a knife-wealding robber in an attempt to stop him grabbing the shop’s takings, and chased him out of the shop.
Whilst cycling home from work, Traffic Warden, Peggy Long became involved after she noticed a car parked at the entrance of the Thame Cattlemarket, acting suspiciously and memorised the registration number. Then she noticed a man with a scarf over his face running along the road towards the car.

Seeing Annette on her mobile phone waving her down, Peggy stopped and after learning what had happened, phoned the police with the registration number. They were then able to apprehended 33 year-old James Scott, who received a three year sentence for the offence in April.

This is not the first time Peggy Long as been recognised for her contribution to fighting crime in Thame. In 1992, she was commended by the then Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police for her part in the arrest of criminals in the town. In 2000, she received a Shrivelty award for “bringing great credit” to Thames Valley Police.

But the pinnacle for Peggy was her trip to Buckingham Palace in 2003 to receive an MBE for “outstanding service to the community as a traffic warden.”

Peggy and Annette were presented with their Commendations at a special dinner and award ceremony at Police Headquarters, Kidlington, last Thursday.

Photo: Annette Lazaruk receives her award from Chief Superintendant O’Dowda. Inset, Peggy Long MBE

THE southbound carriageway on the M40 between junctions 4 and 5 has now reopened, following a fatal collision involving two articulated lorries in the early hours of this morning.
Junction 9 remains closed to allow built up traffic to disipate.
The M40, the main transport route through Oxfordshire, has been closed all day, causing massive tail backs of traffic, while an investigation was carried out into the crash, and a spillage of lard was cleared from the carriageway.

The police say that the northbound carriageway, between junctions 4 and 5 however, will remain closed until 11pm at the earliest.

Supt Richard List from Thames Valley Police said: ?Please start thinking about your journey home. We want to keep the A40 and other roads parallel to the M40 open but traffic will be very heavy on all these roads and if you can avoid the area and the M40, please do so. Traffic will also be very heavy in High Wycombe, Amersham and Beaconsfield town centres as traffic leaves the M40.?

The police are appealing for witnesses to the incident. Anyone with any information should contact Sgt Bryan Smith or PC Sian Pringle via Thames Valley Police Enquiry Centre on 0845 8 505 505.

If you don?t want to talk to police and don?t want to leave your name, call the Crimestoppers charity anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Library Photo: Courtesy of BBC news on-line

HALLOWEEN is nearly here and can be a great time for children to get dressed up, have parties and play trick or treat.
The majority of trick or treaters are harmless, supervised by adults, and will not cause any problems if residents do not wish to take part.
However, each year a few people throw eggs or flour at houses and there in an increase of anti-social behaviour during the evening. This can be distressing for elderly of vulnerable people.

Extra officers will be patrolling the area throughout the evening on October 31, to ensure that the evening can be enjoyed by everyone.

In advance of Halloween, police are also urging shopkeepers not to sell eggs or flour to youngsters in the run up to the day.

Crime Reduction Adviser, Julia Wheeler, said: ?Halloween is a great time for children, youths and some adults to dress up and go out into the night to knock on doors to play ?Trick or Treat?. The majority of your callers will be harmless and will be happy even if you say no thank you.

?We would like to make sure that everyone has a happy and safe Halloween and I would like to offer the following tips to avoid being tricked this Halloween:

? If you don?t want to be disturbed, display a Thames Valley Police poster that says ?no trick or treat? available from local police stations, libraries, town and parish council offices or download it from www.thamesvalley.police.uk
? Don?t open your door if you are unsure who is there. Use your spy hole, look out of a window, and use your door chain if you decide to open your door
? Have a contact number of a close relative or good neighbour to hand by your telephone, just in case you need to phone them
? If you feel threatened or vulnerable call the police
? If you are in a Neighbourhood Watch scheme let your co-ordinator know that you will be on your own at Halloween. Likewise, if you are a co-ordinator you can identify people within your scheme that may be vulnerable, and offer them some reassurance
? In an emergency phone the police on 999.

We also recommend that children out trick or treating should follow these safety guidelines:
? Always take an adult with you or tell an adult where you are going
? Never knock on a stranger?s door
? Never go out on your own; always go with friends or family
? If someone says no thank you or doesn?t open the door to you they are probably frightened, so walk away and don?t be a nuisance to them
? Don?t disturb someone displaying a notice that says ?no trick or treat?
? Never accept an invitation to go into house
? Avoid dark and lonely places.

?Police across the county are working in partnership with local shop keepers and schools to reduce the number of anti-social behaviour related incidents at this time of year.

?Please help us to help others by not sending your children along to the local shops to buy items, like eggs and flour, as these may cause a nuisance to others over Halloween, and ensure they don?t take these items out of the house. Some shops will be displaying posters this year stating that they reserve the right not to serve anyone under the age of 16 with such items.

?Always remember that those intent on going out at Halloween to throw eggs and other substances at houses and cars could be committing an act of criminal damage and this is an arrestable offence.?

FOLLOWING a threat from the district council to withdraw funding from the Thame Information Centre, Thame Town Council has today reported a reprieve.
In a statement today, the council said: “A recommendation is being made by South Oxfordshire District Council to continue the funding that supports Thame Information Centre for 2009 ? 2010. This will be confirmed at the District Council’s Cabinet meeting on December 4.
A long with other town and parish councils in the district, Thame Town Council feared a reduction in the service they offer from information centres, and staff redundancies.
See earlier report
from October 24.

URGENT WARNING: A man is currently going around the town centre in Thame trying to pay for goods using counterfeit

THAME’S MP, John Howell, has asked Thomley Hall’s young people to design his Christmas card.
Thomley Activity Centre is for children and young adults with disabilities and specific needs such as autism. and is based near Worminghall on the Oxfordshire/Buckinghamshire border.

The front picture for John Howell’s Christmas card will be selected from designs prepared by the children and young people in a competition which will take place at the Centre during October.

The winning picture will be selected by Henley resident, Dame Stephanie Shirley who, through The Shirley Foundation, is helping to facilitate scientific research into the causes of autism, by 2014 and to halve its global costs by 2020.

John Howell said: “I am delighted to use my Christmas Card to promote Thomley Activity Centre and am particularly pleased both that the young people at the Centre will be producing the picture for the front cover and that Dame Stephanie, who has pioneered so much work into autism, has agreed to select the winning picture.
“This is a constituency filled with examples of exceptional charitable activity. I have seen the impact Thomley Activity Centre can have on the lives of families in which a young person is disabled or has specific needs and it is a pleasure to be able to work with it on this project.”

Claire Acworth from Thomley Activity Centre added:
“We were pleased that our new MP came up with such an original idea to support us and the work we do. Thomley Activity Centre provides a unique recreational facility for disabled children who attend with their families, schools, respite carers, play schemes and groups. We are delighted that this Christmas card will reach people who do not yet know about the Centre.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

(1) A PHOTO OPPORTUNITY WILL BE NOTIFIED SEPARATELY WHEN DAME SHIRLY PICKS THE WINNING DESIGN

(2) Contact: John Howell MP ? 0207 219 6676 or 07889 646845

(3) For information about Thomley Activity Centre – contact Claire Acworth on 01844 338380 or claire@thomleyhall.org

Thomley Activity Centre is the only facility of its kind within a 35 mile radius. Set in 7 secure acres of countryside, Thomley enables children to learn through freely exploring our soft play room, music room, computer room, chill-out room, craft room, play rooms, swings, roundabout, aerial zip wire and a cycle track.

The aims of the centre are to achieve the following outcomes.

o To increase the self esteem, health, confidence and social skills of disabled children and their siblings through accessible play and recreation.

o To provide parents with an opportunity to meet others who have disabled children, to lessen their isolation and to increase their ability to support their children through play.

o To help the community gain understanding and acceptance of disability issues so they can include disabled children within their own community activities.

Due to the uniqueness of the centre, families, schools and groups come from 13 different counties to use the facilities offered, with the majority coming from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Thomley is seeing a trend of over 30% annual increase in centre usage and expect approximately 6,000 child visitors this year, not taking into account the increasing numbers of parents who also benefit from support through the centre.

(4) For information about Dame Stephanie Shirley and the work of the Shirley Foundation visit www.steveshirley.com. To see the work of Autism Speaks visit http://www.autismspeaks.org.uk

Photo: Staff and children from Thomley Activity Centre

A 55-year-old man has been charged with sexual assault on a child aged under 13-years-old.
Nicholas Graves, from Manor Road in Towersey, appeared at Oxford Magistrates? Court on Thursday (23/10), and will be appearing there again on November 6.

THAME Town Council is to fight a move by the district council to cut grant funding for the Thame Information Centre.
South Oxfordshire District Council wants to base its funding to the centre on footfall, just for enquiries about its, SODC’s own services, and try to drive more enquiries through its website.
Town Councillors and the Town Clerk are to have a meeting with other angry town and parish councils in the district on Monday, to co-ordinate pressure on the district council to at least guarantee funding for a further year from April 2009, to allow them to budget for the drop in funding.
Thame’s Town Clerk, Helen Stewart, said: “The Information Centre offers a lot of help and advice to local people about the services provided by all of the councils that serve Thame. It is particularly important to those who do not want or are not able to access the web to do business. With the District Council offices being so difficult to get to, it is very important that a local office in Thame is not only retained but developed, so that problems can be dealt with at the first point of contact and not put on hold or passed onto another voice”.

She added today: “It is just not on to pull the funding now. We have already budgeted for next year for the information centre, so any drop in funding could mean redundancies.”

Photo: Thame town hall which houses the Thame Information Centre.

THIS is part of a Ringmaster message from Thames Valley Police. There have been a series of thefts from
vehicles between Thursday, October 16 & Saturday, October 18. Incidents were reported in Woodeaton, Beckley, Thame and Stanton st John.

Car doors were forced and windows smashed to gain entry. Items stolen included cd/radio, games consul and cash. Please be extra vigilant and try to park your vehicle in a garage or in a well lit area. Do not
leave anything of value on display or in the car boot.

If you have any information relating to this message, please call the Police on 08458 505 505 and state you are responding to a Ringmaster message. If you have information but wish to remain anonymous, please call
Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you have any information about the above message that is of an urgent nature, please contact our police enquiry centre on 0845 8 505505 and state you are responding to this Ringmaster message.