Category: More News

WITH the county council elections due on May 2, 2013, there are nine candidates for Thame & Chinnor seat. In the first of a series biographies of the local candidates, the first is of Mary Stiles, who is currently a Thame Town Councillor.

Mary has lived in Thame for 45 years and before retirement worked in education with the community in Thame, Chinnor and the surrounding villages for several years and so she knows the division well. She is a trustee of four local charities, a school governing body Chair and Chair of the local Children?s Centre advisory group, as well as being a town councillor in Thame and a director of the local partnership, 21st Century Thame, which includes the surrounding villages.

She is active in, and supported by, the Co-operative movement and currently is working hard as a town councillor to investigate the possibility of co-operative housing schemes, which can provide genuinely affordable homes for local people. Having worked with young people for much of her working life, Mary was appalled when the Thame Youth Centre closed in 2011 and the qualified youth worker was made redundant. Having secured a one-off grant from Thame Town Council, she is now delighted that the Youth Caf

IN the second on our series looking at the various candidates for the County County elections on May 2, we feature the Green Party candidate, standing for the Thame and Chinnor Seat.

Colin Grenville has lived in South Oxfordshire for forty years, the last eighteen in the Chinnor area. He is an energy and environment professional, delivering renewable and energy efficiency consultancy to businesses and the public sector nationwide.

A passionate environmentalist, he co-founded in 2011, and currently chairs, the Greening Chinnor Campaign to deliver environmental projects: resulting in over 600 hours of community volunteering in 2012 alone.

A strong awareness of the imperative need to rapidly transform our society to one which lives within its means led Colin to the Green Party, the only party, he believes, with credible policies to deliver such a change whilst creating employment. He is also active in other community groups in Chinnor and in Kingston Blount.

EUROSCEPTIC MEP, Daniel Hannan, is holding an open discussion at The Spread Eagle, Thame, on Saturday, at 10 am.

He will be joined by ‘Day of the Jackal’ author, Frederick Forsyth, to talk about Europe.

PHOTO: Frederick Forsyth

BARLEY Hill School in Thame is this year celebrating 40 years of serving the local community, and on Friday, May 17, the school will be commemorating this milestone with a Ruby Ball at the Spread Eagle Hotel.

To date 120 tickets have been sold but there are still another 30 to sell, to help make the event all the more worthwhile for the School.

Tickets per person for a table of 10 are priced at

THE unseasonably cold weather in March may have delayed the blooming of spring flowers, but it also seems to have put a chill on the passion of the Chilterns red kites.

The popular birds are normally sitting on eggs by early April, but so far, it appears that on average, they have started laying their eggs around 10 days later than normal, with some still yet to lay. Last year was a poor breeding year for the birds, so experts are hoping this delayed start won?t adversely affect this year?s productivity.

Red kites tend to use the same nests year after year, but will sometimes move to a new site if a nest has been unsuccessful, so many of the birds whose nests failed in last year?s wet weather may have changed location this year. Also, as the population is still increasing, new pairs will establish breeding territories each year.

With so much potential for new nests, it?s likely that there could be one near you. If you?ve seen a nest but aren?t sure if it belongs to a pair of red kites, a new page on the Chilterns Conservation Board?s website www.chilternsaonb.org/reporting-red-kite-nests-and-sightings.html could help you with useful information on how to recognise a red kite nest and spot the breeding behaviour of the birds.

Confirmed reports of red kite nests can then be made via a link to the Southern England Kite Group?s website www.sekg.org.uk or by calling Pete Stevens on 07761 205 833. They are also interested in hearing about any birds seen with coloured plastic wing tags (especially if the colours and numbers on the tags can be read as this confirms the identity of individual birds) or any red kites found dead.

PHOTO: By Gerry Whitlow – Copulating kites

THERE will be nine candidates running for two seats on behalf of Thame and Chinnor in the County Council elections on May 2, 2013

They are:

David William Bretherton Liberal Democrat Party
Nick Carter Conservative Party
Colin Dennis Grenville Green Party
David Arthur Laver Liberal Democrat Party
Michael Montgomery UKIP
William Parkinson UKIP
Mary Honora Stiles Labour Party Candidate
Simon Stone Labour Party Candidate
David Noel Wilmshurst The Conservative Party

A full list of the candidates for all divisions is available at Oxfordshire County Council’s website

THE Planning committee of South Oxfordshire District Council will, on April 17, consider an application by Thame Town Council for retrospective planning permission to leave out a pedestrian gate, contrary to plans originally submitted and approved by the district council.

The plan to leave out the pedestrian gate has been opposed by some local residents on safety grounds. The town council however, has denied that failing to provide a pedestrian gate to the side of the main gates, would not constitute a danger.

You can read previous news items on this subject here and

GARDEN waste customers in South Oxfordshire are being given an extra brown bin collection for one week as we enter spring.

Nearly 9,000 tonnes of garden waste was recycled last year and the district council is hoping to beat that statistic this year with residents’ help.

Residents will be able to leave out an extra brown bin?s worth of garden waste on their collection day. It should be placed by the brown bin in a sturdy box, or an open bag or sack.

The extra collection will take place during the week of 15 April and is to compensate for the one that is suspended over Christmas.

Cllr David Dodds, cabinet member for waste at South Oxfordshire District Council, said: ?The garden waste service has been very successful and we are giving residents the chance to recycle extra garden waste when people traditionally start giving their garden surgery after the frosty winter period.?

The extra week is only available for existing customers of the council?s subscription based brown bin service, more details of the garden waste scheme can be found here

SOURCE: Press release

THAME folk are being asked to sign up to raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust by getting one million people nationwide bouncing on the same day.

Get Britain Bouncing is calling for clubs, schools, businesses and individuals in the town to take part in National Get Britain Bouncing Day on June 27, during Cystic Fibrosis Week.

Martin Schofield, Chief Executive Officer of Super Tramp, which is supporting the safe trampolining campaign, explained: ?We are hoping to get one million people bouncing during National Get Britain Bouncing Day so we are calling on people in Thame to sign up.

?You don?t need a trampoline to take part, you could be on a rebounder, space hopper or pogo stick, you just need to bounce. Get Britain Bouncing aims to publicise trampolining as a fun and safe activity for all the family and we think this is a great way to highlight how much fun bouncing is.”

To sign up for the event and for further information, visit www.getbritainbouncing.org.uk

The initiative is supported by the national trampoline manufacturer, supplier and retailer, Super Tramp, which is committed to helping the nation enjoy bouncing safely. The company helped found the organisation by bringing various bodies together and is sponsoring it.

The Cystic Fibrosis Trust will be involved with the initiative too and will highlight the health benefits of bouncing to cystic fibrosis sufferers. Get Britain Bouncing will also help to raise funds for the charity.

Martin added: ?National Get Britain Bouncing Day is an awareness day but we have organised it during the Cystic Fibrosis Trust?s fundraising and awareness week, Cystic Fibrosis Week, which runs from June 24 until 30. We are encouraging people to raise money on the day through a

A Draft agreement between Thame Town Council and the Showman?s Guild to enable this year?s Thame fairs to go ahead, includes two new clauses laying out fines for late or non compliance with necessary paper work and excessive noise, following problems last year.

TICKETS have now gone on sale for this year?s Music In The Park event on May 12, 2013. Tickets cost Adults – £7, Concessions – £4 and Family Ticket – £20. More information available at: Music In The Park’s website

It is expected that some of the money raised from Music In the Park will go towards the installation of lamp posts in the Elms Park. Clarification of where the £27,000 quoted to the town council for the lighting will come from will be sought from Thame Town Council at its next full meeting.

FUNDING for refurbishment and additional equipment at Thame Skate Park, is to be sought by the town council, including looking into the criteria for South Oxfordshire District Council?s Community Investment Fund. A total of £275 was raised at the Thame Christmas Event towards the work and the council says it will seek costings before raising tenders for the work.

FOLLOWING an annual review by Thame Town Council?s Policy and Resources Committee, the allowance paid to Thame?s Mayors is to go up from £1,500 to £2,000, and the allowance for the Mayor?s Civic Ball, from to £750, from £500. The current Mayor, Nigel Champken Woods, told the committee that because of the extra commitments brought about by his being Jubilee year, he ran out of money and had to turn down three events.

THAME Twinning Association is planning for the visit in May of a group of residents from our twin town of Montesson, near Paris. They could still do with some more host families to put up one or two people for the weekend, May 17-19. Contact: jm@telot.wanadoo.co.uk
01844213004.

THAME Town Cricket Club, which is planning a total refurbishment of its Club house, is to challenge RAF Halton, which received Freedom of the Town last year, to a cricket match.

THAME Barns Centre, which is jointly owned by St Mary’s Church, Thame, and the Town Council, continues to be popular as a venue, including for wedding celebrations, and has a wedding booked every Saturday between May and September.

THERE will be a meeting of the Thame Carnival Committee on April 4, at the Black Horse Pub in Thame, at 7pm. Anyone who would like to be involved in planning this year?s carnival is welcome to go along
.