HNNL February 2003 page 3

February 2003

Series 28 No 1

Parish Council and Cherwell news

Parish Council Notice Board

	NEW PARISH CLERK – 1^ST February 2003 Mr Ken Porter will be taking over the job of Parish Clerk from 1st February 2003. He can be contacted at 'Conifers', Main Street, Great Bourton, Banbury, Oxon OX17 1QU. Telephone: 01295-758352 All correspondence and enquiries regarding the Parish Council and the Memorial Hall should be directed to him. Arrangements for local collection of mail will be announced.
NEW HOUSES IN SIBFORD ROAD The Council suggested the name 'Horse Fair' for the new development of 5 town houses and 2 bungalows on the former vet's surgery site and the developer has agreed.
		PRECEPT The Council has approved a precept for 2003/04 of Ł37,000, an increase of Ł4,000 over the current year. The increase is due to exceptional expenditure in the current year on fallen trees and walls which it is feared may continue.

		MEMORIAL HALL TREES As you may well know, two trees in the Memorial Hall garden, near the top of Bells Lane came down in the October gale. A third large Robinia tree near the telephone kiosk has also been found to suffer from rot and the Parish Council has agreed to have it felled, subject to the consent of the District Council. Replacement trees will be considered during the year.
	MR LES HUMPHRIES Mr. Humphries has resigned from the Council after 12 years service as he is moving to Surrey in early February.

	PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS Elections will take place for Parish Councillors in early May this year. Anybody wishing to apply to become a Parish Councillor should contact Ken Porter – Parish Clerk – 01295-758352. The closing date for nominations is 1^st April 2003.

THE PARISH COUNCIL IS ADVERTISING THE FOLLOWING POSTS
These posts are being advertised because the post-holder(s) will now become employees of the Parish Council instead of being engaged on a freelance self-employed basis as at present.

MEMORIAL HALL CARETAKER. To open and secure the Memorial Hall before and after each booking as notified by the Clerk; to keep the hall, kitchen and toilets clean; to arrange supply of materials; to set out and put away tables and chairs as required; to report defects and attend to minor maintenance as authorised.
RECREATION AREA WARDEN. To keep the recreation area tidy and free from litter; to carry out regular inspections of equipment and complete written report; to carry out minor maintenance as authorised.
ENVIRONMENT WARDEN. To supervise the loading of the fortnightly skips and keep the area clean and tidy; to check bottle and paper banks weekly, to keep tidy and report condition; to inspect bus shelters weekly and clean as required; to keep the cemetery tidy and to move waste bins to the lower gate for weekly collection and return.

All the posts are part-time and may be combined. Hours and remuneration to be agreed.
More information and full job descriptions for each post are available from Peter Fry for post 1, Joe Williams for post 2, or Pip Howe for post 3.
Brief written applications to be received by 24^th February 2003.

OUT OF THE BLUE

I have received several comments from people in the village concerning my article on drinking and driving, all positive I may say. I hope it had a positive effect on those of you who might be tempted to drive. I know of one particular motorist who has been seen walking to the pub rather than driving, so I count that as a success. Long may it last.
Crimes in the village from 1^st November 2002 to 13^th January 2003 were 6 in total. 1 theft of a 4x4 motor vehicle from a location outside the village; 2 thefts from motor vehicles; 1 burglary of a dwelling; 1 burglary of a non-dwelling (garage); 1 drug possession. The 4x4 is one of a number of similar vehicles that have been stolen over a period time not only in the Hook Norton area, in fact another one was stolen from Great Rollright this past weekend, 12/13^th January. These vehicles are often stolen to order and many are used in crime. These crime figures, whilst not being as high as some areas, are six crimes too many so we need to remain vigilant.

To all you horse owners out there, are you a member of Horsewatch? This is an organisation run in conjunction with the police, that deals with all matters relating to horses and their tack. When you become a member (free!) of Horsewatch you will be put onto the Ringmaster computer and will be given up to date reports of equine crime in your area. You will also receive newsletters bringing you the latest events and developments in equine security and receive discounts on security marking. The Horsewatch Committee is under new management, with Sue Burns from Chipping Norton in the Chair, and they are looking to continue the good work of the past and also to move forward and increase interest within the North Oxfordshire area. The Committee hopes to hold a freeze marking session early in the New Year, so please watch for advertising. If you are interested, please contact me on 01608 648715.
Finally, watch out for the Thames Valley Police Mobile Police Station, it is due to visit Hook Norton on 23^rd January and hopefully will visit on a regular basis after that. Thanks for reading!

Rosemary H. Dilsaver, WPC 818, Area Beat Officer

FOOD DIRECTORY

A new edition of The Oxfordshire Food Directory is now available. The Directory is an invaluable source of information about local food producers in Oxfordshire. You can find everything from pork to potatoes, farmhouse cheese to flour!
Get a free copy by sending an A5 sized SAE to: The Oxfordshire Food Group, School of Planning, Brookes University, Headington, Oxford, OX3 0BP. For more information about the Food Group and links to related sites go to www.oxfordshirelocalfood.info

NEWS FROM THE CAG PROJECT IN OXFORDSHIRE
The Community Action Group (CAG) project can help local communities reduce their rubbish and has now been running since early 2002. Several new groups have been created and activities have ranged from junk swaps to garden waste shredding, tool collections and furniture recycling.
With waste reduction and recycling targets becoming ever more strict, local communities can play their part by setting up groups and implementing rubbish-reducing initiatives. Funding is available and there are added benefits for group members in the form of new skills, new friends and added input into the community.
For further information contact Kate Aydin, CAG Development Officer on 01865 815959 or e-mail kate.aydin@oxfordshire.gov.uk

STOP JUNK MAIL – LEAVE THE PAPER ON THE TREES
Residents in Oxfordshire can rid themselves of unsolicited junk mail thanks to a scheme pioneered by Oxfordshire County Council.
500,000 tonnes of junk mail is thrust through letterboxes in the UK every year. Most of it ends up in the bin and therefore goes to landfill. It is one of the commonest gripes by Oxfordshire's residents that they don't want all this junk. However, you can now help to reduce the rubbish going to landfill by contacting the Junk Mail Hotline on 01865 816070 and requesting a copy of their junk mail package. It provides a range of solutions, including taking your name off junk mail databases, stopping the delivery of random junk mail and ensuring that companies stop sending you unsolicited mail.

CITIZEN ADVOCACY COMES TO CHERWELL
The highly successful West Oxfordshire Citizen Advocacy scheme, popularly known as CITAD, has recently enlarged its name and objectives to enable citizen advocacy to be made available within the district of Cherwell as well as in the West Oxfordshire district. CITAD, an independent registered charity 1053209, is now known as 'Citizen Advocacy in Cherwell & West Oxfordshire.' The charity's joint coordinators - Anthony Richards and June Ward - are based at 33a High Street, Witney, OX28 6HP and can be contacted on telephone 01993 704826, or on e-mail info@CITAD33a.freeserve.co.uk.
CITAD continues to look for volunteer citizen advocates to build advocacy relationships with people living in either district who have difficulty in speaking up effectively for themselves. For more information check us out at our Web site www.citad33a.freeserve.co.uk and contact us. Thank you for considering this appeal. We look forward to hearing from you.

ADOPT-A-GARDENER SCHEME
Do you enjoy gardening? Would you like to support your local school by developing/maintaining their grounds? If so, then Emma Murray, the Schools Sustainability Officer at the County Council would like to hear from you. She is trying to match interested volunteers with local schools.
Emma can be contacted on 01993 350458 or by e-mail emma@twohillend.fsnet.co.uk