Category: More News

do you want to check that your house insulation is up to scratch? Our previous thermal imaging of local houses to improve insulation was shortlisted for a prestigious National Climate Week award earlier this year and using a local authority grant we have now purchased our own thermal camera so we shall be running a bigger and better
project this autumn.

Thermal Imaging- MEETING AND TRAINING SESSION – 8:00pm, Wednesday 16 November ROSE & THISTLE – Haddenham In Transition group – Improve your home insulation and help others do the same!

THIS is a Community Message from Thames Valley Police about some of the latest scams and hoaxes, including those on the web, and what to do about them:

SCAMS

We have received an increase in concerns from residents in the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse area about scams and hoax email messages.

There are hundreds of types of scams and hoax emails, fake lotteries and prize draws, incredible schemes to make money quickly, fake investment plans, the list goes on and on.

A lot of the emails received are urban myths, an example of one email that resurrects itself every year around Christmas time is the PDS (Parcel Delivery Service) scam, where a card is posted through your door asking you to phone a number for delivery of a parcel. This email is passed around every year but when checked no one has actually received a card, so if received please do not pass on again this year.

Before forwarding any emails about scams, please check on the following sites to find out if the scam is true or false.

www.snopes.com

www.hoax-slayer.com

WHAT TO DO IF YOU DISCOVER A SCAM

If anyone thinks they have been the victim of a scam, or suspects a scam is being attempted, please contact Consumer Direct for clear, practical advice.

Tel: 08454 04 05 06 or visit: www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Publications on scams are available free of charge from the Office of Fair Trading.

Tel: 0800 389 3158 or email: oft@ecgroup.co.uk

You can also contact Oxfordshire Trading Standards if you have concerns about scams or hoax emails.

Tel: 0845 051 0845 or visit: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards

Message Ends

THAME Air Cadets are the latest recruits to lend a helping hand in support of this year?s Thame?s Got Talent event, taking place on Sunday, November 20, at the Spread Eagle Hotel, with doors opening at Midday.

The cadets have signed up to provide the ?muscle? on the big day ? assisting with the behind-the-scenes set up, ticket collection, as well as meeting and greeting audience members and visitors to the show, which promises to be a sensational showcase for local talent.

Commenting on the new recruits, Karen Shardlow, Development & Events Manager at FNHC said: ?We are delighted Thame Air Cadets have kindly offered their support on the big day. Their help will be much appreciated by everyone involved with the event ? and we hope they are all looking forward to taking part.?

Acts so far signed up for this fantastic one-day only event include dance troupes, a gymnast, a young drummer, singers, bands and duos? all hoping to follow in the footsteps of last year?s winner Rowan Carter, and runners up, rock group Milk (now Empire) who are also taking part again this year.

All entrants will have to face THE JUDGES, who include Mayor of Thame, Cllr David Bretherton, celebrity chef Lotte Duncan, who runs Lotte?s Kitchen in Chinnor, Sonja Francis, Editor of Thamenews.net, Lindsey Fealey of Florence Nightingale Hospice Charity and Mark Green of Brothers Hair Salon, Thame, who previously appeared alongside Peter Andre in his Here2Help ITV2 show, in support of the Thame Carnival – with Matthew Cundy, Owner of Kismet Jewellers, Thame, once again hosting the event.

Last year?s winner, Rowan Carter, will open the event, which will see a variety of acts battling it out to win some fantastic prizes including a day in a recording session with Black Frog recording studios, a cash prize of

OXFORDSHIRE County Council?s targets for extracting minerals are unnecessarily high according to the local branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE).

The Council has been consulting on its draft Minerals Planning Strategy, which sets out its plans for mineral extraction in the county until 2030.

In its response to the consultation which closed on October 31, CPRE Oxfordshire has called on the County to look again at the amount of sand and gravel to be extracted.

Arnold Grayson, CPRE?s local minerals consultant, says: ?The Council is currently proposing a figure of 1.2 million tonnes a year. We think this could come down by around a third, to 870,000 tonnes.

?Changes in building design and construction methods mean that less sand and gravel is now needed by the construction industry. There is also a greater supply of marine sand and gravel and recycled material available.

?In addition, we are asking the Council to investigate the possibility of bringing in materials by rail, such as china clay sand from Cornwall.?

Helen Marshall, Director of CPRE Oxfordshire, says: ?These figures are important because they translate directly into holes in the ground and trucks on the roads.

?The communities of West Oxfordshire have suffered from the effects of extensive mineral extraction for years, and the County is now looking to open up new sites in other Districts. Anything we can do to reduce these figures to a more realistic level will help take the pressure of the countryside and local people.?

MORE INFORMATION:

CPRE Oxfordshire promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural Oxfordshire by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. Established in 1931, the charity is this year celebrating its 80th anniversary. We are part of the national CPRE charity. For more information see: LINK

The County Council is responsible for minerals and waste planning in Oxfordshire and is preparing a new plan for where mineral working and waste facilities should be located. This consultation document is the Council’s draft plan for minerals to 2030. It includes a strategy and policies for sand and gravel, soft sand and crushed rock extraction. The draft plan also sets out the Council’s proposed policies on provision for secondary and recycled aggregates, aggregate rail depots, safeguarding of mineral resources and infrastructure and restoration of mineral workings. For further details see:
LINK

SOURCE: Press Release

PEOPLE who have lost family members and friends in road collisions in Thames Valley will commemorate their lives at a multi-faith service to be held in Thame.

The service, organised by Thames Valley Police, will be held on Sunday 20 November at St Mary the Virgin Church in Thame at 3.00pm.

The memorial service is an opportunity for the emergency services to come together with members of the public who have lost loved ones to remember those that have died on the region?s roads, or in road collisions elsewhere.

Police officers, fire and rescue workers, paramedics, ambulance technicians and hospital staff will lead readings and prayers from different religions during the service. Family members will be invited to take part in an act of commemoration during the service.

The service will be led by David Wilbraham, Force chaplain of Thames Valley Police. The Bishop of Reading, The Rt. Revd Andrew Proud, will lead the Act of Commemoration.

Chief Constable Sara Thornton said: ?The Road Death Memorial Service is always very moving but I know that it also provides a great comfort for those family and friends who have lost loved ones in road traffic collisions.

?We have always held the service in Thame Parish Church, which is a lovely old and peaceful building where the bereaved can spend some special time treasuring memories and finding the strength to move forward. The service brings together all the emergency services and many families from across the area and it is our way in Thames Valley of marking the United Nations Day of Remembrance.?

Supt Chris Brown, head of Roads Policing, said: ?The Road Death Memorial Service is held on the third Sunday of November each year in recognition of the tragic loss of life on our roads as part of the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims .

?In 2010 (Jan ? Dec), 96 people were killed on the roads of Thames Valley and the effect of these collisions is felt by many hundreds of people. We aim to offer support to the families of those who have been killed and we organise this service to mark this very important day.?

Force chaplain, David Wilbraham, said: ?The third Sunday of November is set aside by the United Nations as a special day of remembrance for victims of road death.

?However, while clearly a global issue, the death of someone on the roads is intensely personal and impacts greatly on their families and friends. This service provides a safe, supportive place for those affected to come together to remember and commemorate their individual loss.

?For some, this service has become an annual event, we welcome them and extend the invitation to others whose lives have been affected by death on the roads to join us.?

This is the sixth year that the service has taken place, and it is believed to be the only service of its kind in the UK organised by a police force.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event, and can reserve a space by contacting Elizabeth Richardson on 01189 231802 or, alternatively, email Elizabeth Richardson.

SOURCE: Press Release

CARDS for Good Causes will be holding its Christmas card shop at Christchurch in Upper High Street, Thame, from November 15 to December 3, from 10am to 4pm.

Cards for Good Causes Ltd (CFGC) pays the participating charities (or their trading subsidiaries) at least 75p in every pound from their card sales, less the VAT payable on the amount retained by CFGC. The retained amount covers CFGC’s costs of running the temporary charity Christmas card shops. In addition to these costs, the participants have to pay for the production and distribution of their cards.

For details of shops nationwide, call 01264 361 555 or shop online at www.cardsforcharity.co.uk

THE staff at BROTHERS hairdressers in Thame are running a week-long raffle and will be ‘in the pink’ today and tomorrow, october 28 & 29, and donating their tips. One of the girls, Sarah, has gone as far as to dye her hair pink and to attract sponsors.

All the proceeds will go to Florence Nightingale Hospice, their chosen charity because one of the staff’s aunt died recently from breast cancer and it was the wonderful staff their who looked after her.

The salon will also be selling limited pink GHD’S the sale from which

PEOPLE living in Oxfordshire will soon be a able to find advice on how they can dispose of unwanted items through a new on-line initiative.

Oxfordshire Waste Partnership, a collaboration between Oxfordshire County Council and the county’s district councils, has come up with a new recycling A-Z website to help people reduce, re-use and recycle almost anything.

The site is due to be launched tomorrow, October 26. It will enable residents to select an unwanted item and discover various ways to avoid sending it to landfill.

The new site will also help people learn how to repair broken items rather than just throwing them away.

SOURCE: http://www.publicservice.co.uk

IMAGE: Courtesy of euinfrastructure.com

THAMES Valley Police is due to go live with 101, the new national single non-emergency number on November 14, 2011, which will replace the 0845 8 505 505 number. Both numbers will run side by side until the end of March, but if demand for the 0845 8 505 505 number drops it may be discontinued earlier.

Calls to 101 (from both landlines and mobile networks) cost 15 pence per call, no matter what time of day the call is made, or the duration of the call.

Everyone calling the police for non-emergency matters will now know exactly how much a call will cost them, and can be assured of equal access whether they are on a pay-as-you-go mobile or a home landline.

The routing will be based on the same system as 999 calls. If a caller is using a landline the routing will be based on the caller?s postcode and the call will be directed to the same area?s force. If a caller is using a mobile, the call will route using the mast that the phone is transmitting from.

If a call is made to 101 within a force area that has not yet ?gone live?, the caller will hear a recorded message telling them to redial using the relevant non emergency number.

THE hospital trust responsible for providing mental health services to children, adults and older adults in Thame and across Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, is holding its annual review in the town on Thursday.

The Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Annual Review Event will be held at the Thame Barns Centre, on Thursday, October 27, from 6pm ? 8pm.

Ali Neary, Communications and Involvement Manager, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, told ThameNews.Net: “The annual review event will be an opportunity to come and meet our staff, ask questions and find out a little more about the Trust and the services that we provide.

“There will be information stands on Foundation Trust membership, adult and older adult mental health services, children?s mental health services and specialist addictions services and a presentation on: ‘The development of the model of clinical care in Buckinghamshire.’

The trust’s services are based in both the Community Hospital and provided via the Community Mental Health Team also based in Thame.