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Councillors storm out over Pounds 36,000 penalty

0 Comments | Evening Post; Bristol (UK), Jul 28, 2010 | by Sam Rkaina

meeting_270710GC-023 A TOWN council has agreed to pay Pounds 36,500 to escape from a contract that would have seen thousands of tons of soil brought in to level off a playing field.

After extraordinary scenes at its monthly meeting last night, Filton Town Council voted to pay up to be rid of the contract with recycling company Churngold, under which lorry loads of soil would have been used to create four new flat football pitches and a cricket pitch on the sloping Elm Park Field.

Dozens of residents were prevented from coming in to the meeting at Elm Park Pavilion by 10ft long security barriers and guards, after the council said only 35 could come in.

Three councillors stormed out in disgust after refusing to take part in the vote to end the contract.

One of them, Judith Hutchinson, said “we’re not being dictated to by the public” as she, her husband Roger Hutchinson and Tony Blake walked out.

Residents had harsh words for councillors, describing the whole playing fields saga as a “farce, a disgrace and totally undemocratic”.

It all began when the council signed a contract in January 2008 with Churngold, which would have seen the company bring up to 30 lorry loads of soil from building sites on to the fields – and pay the council for the privilege, as it would not have to pay landfill fees for disposing of the soil elsewhere.

The money would have been used to revamp the leisure centre and create the new pitches.

But angry residents argued there had been no consultation on the decision and that the agreed contract was poor.

More than 200 people packed into a public meeting last month to express their anger at the situation but despite this turnout, the council held last night’s meeting in a room that only had capacity for 50 people.

This left at least as many more forced to wait outside the meeting as the debate raged inside.

Chairman Alan Tink gave a presentation, following negotiations with Churngold, on how they could get out of the agreed contract.

He said that would require an immediate payment of Pounds 36,500 and a condition that if levelling the fields was ever reconsidered Churngold had the option of matching any quote for the work.

The Pounds 36,500 will come from the council’s Pounds 189,000 contingency fund so it would not increase the council tax precept, Mr Tink added.

During an often heated discussion, Mr Blake presented a petition with 200 signatures calling for a referendum on the issue.

He said the issue had reached the point where no-one could trust the council whatever its decision.

He said: “If people want to keep democracy to themselves, that’s a travesty. “We should put this to all the people.”

Mrs Hutchinson claimed there were “an awful lot of members of the public” who wanted the fields levelled but they were “terrified to put their hands up”.

But when Councillor Terry Pomroy recommended the council paid up and ended “this bloody awful contract”, Mr Blake and the Hutchinsons left the meeting.

Members of the public inside the meeting gave a round of applause when the decision was made by the remaining eight members, as did the dozens of residents who had waited outside for the verdict when it was read out to them.

One of them, Geoffrey Norton, said: “This was definitely the right decision.

“It has been a farce from start to finish.

“They kept us in the dark, hoping it would all go through.”

Another resident, who did not wish to be named, said it was “disgusting” he and others were not able to go inside.

He said: “I feel enraged. They knew we were going to be here. It’s disgraceful.”

The council handed out letters of apology to those who had to wait outside
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Over time this will make

Over time this will make sitting down at the piano to practice feel more natural to your young child or your older beginner and make learning easier.

To help parents do this with as little friction as possible I?ve developed a plan called

WWW I. It?s an acronym that stands for

W ? When

W ? Why

W ? What

I ? Institute

When:

When will the piano practice time be? This is a choice. A choice is very powerful motivator, so get your child?s input on this.

Why:

?Why? is another powerful motivator? Ask your child, ?Why they wanted to play the piano in the first place?? Have your child write this down.
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‘Nervous’ defendant set fire to court toilet

0 Comments | Yorkshire Post (Leeds, England), March 5, 2010

Jeremy Wootton, who has learning difficulties, told police later he was feeling nervous and agitated because he was due to appear in court for shoplifting and failing to surrender to bail.

He said after noticing scorch marks in a toilet near a waiting area in the court on April 1 last year he decided to set light to a toilet roll.

Minutes after he left the toilet a solicitor opening the door to see flames and a lot of smoke.

He raised the alarm and a decision was made to clear the building.

Mark Bursell prosecuting told Leeds Crown Court yesterday a security officer, who was a retired fireman, realised it was not safe to try and combat the fire with the equipment on hand.

Firemen wearing breathing equipment eventually extinguished the blaze which had extensively damaged the male toilet.

Security staff then watched CCTV to see who had gone into the toilet and Wootton was spotted. When the building re-opened later that day he was spotted in the queue waiting to get back in and was arrested.

Wootton, 23, of Noster View, Leeds, admitted arson.

Adrian Pollard, representing Wootton, said he now realised he should not have done what he did, was very sorry and was extremely frightened at the prospect of prison.

Recorder Nicholas Campbell QC said Wootton had accepted starting more than 10 fires in rubbish skips and bins in the past.

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Bikers go hell for leather for charity [Edition 2]

0 Comments | Brentwood Gazette, Jul 28, 2010

SMELLS of leather and petrol floated over Ongar on Sunday when a gang of bikers came to town.

But instead of bringing chaos and destruction like Marlon Brando’s gang in The Wild One, these bikers were all doing it for a good cause.

Hordes of black-clad riders, all on their British-made Triumph bikes, gathered at the Norton Heath cafe early on Sunday morning before hitting the road for a charity ride.

The group met at 9am for breakfast at the cafe, just off the A414 at Norton Heath.

The cafe reopened earlier in the year with new owner Georgina Whitney, who played host to the 80 bikers at the weekend.

She said: “It was a fairly spectacular sight seeing them all ride off together.

“Some of the riders come here every week, which is how it came about.

“But it was very impressive to see so many people come along, before setting off on their ride.”

The bikes ranged from classics made by the British manufacturers, to modern sporty racers. The bikes, which are still made in the company’s Leicestershire factory, are popular across the world, and still have a special place in the hearts of many British enthusiasts.

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Gran’s advice bags Genevieve cash prize

0 Comments | News (Portsmouth, England), The, July 23, 2010

The 29-year-old was convinced by her grandmother to text her answer to The News – and now is very glad she did.

‘My gran can’t really text,’ said the mother-of-two. ‘So she asked me to enter instead on her behalf, and when I won I said we’d split the money but she wouldn’t hear a word of it.

‘I got the message while I was sitting on a bus, and when I heard I’d won A[pounds sterling]250 I shouted out “oh yes” and everyone turned and looked at me.

It was a bit embarrassing.’

As well as taking her gran out for a nice meal, Genevieve, of Tunstall Road, Cosham, said she will be putting the rest of her winnings to very good use.

‘I’m going to buy my husband and children passports so we can go on holiday,’ she said. ‘I’ve already got one but they haven’t and it costs A[pounds sterling]170 for three.

‘We’ve been wanting to go and visit my sister in Bulgaria for ages, so now we will finally get the chance.’

>> Vote in our latest web poll.

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Hodgson makes best of a bad job

0 Comments | Herald, The; Glasgow (UK), Jul 29, 2010 | by steve nailor

Roy Hodgson admits there was never much chance of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole playing in tonight’s Europa League qualifer.

Hodgson takes his side to Macedonia for his first competitive match in charge with a makeshift team. Gerrard, Cole and fellow World Cup players Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson are among the notable absentees for the third qualifying round, first leg against FK Rabotnicki having recently returned to training.

Alberto Aquilani, Lucas, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and David Ngog were among a handful of recognised senior players to make the trip.

Hodgson said: “We were never close to that because they have only been training for four days. It would have been folly to try to play 90 minutes’ football in an important competition in difficult conditions with players who have only been training for four days.

“We have pressed one or two players into service who were back one or two days earlier than that but in an ideal world we would not have used any of the players that played in the World Cup. But, quite frankly, we are not in a strong enough position to do that.”

Hodgson, who guided Fulham to the final last season, has to rely on inexperienced players such as Diego Cavalieri, Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing.

The 62-year-old said: “It would have been nice if the game was played later and we were able to play what we feel is our strongest team but we can’t.”

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Ask yourself these big questions

Ask yourself these big questions and then write out your responses. Reflect on your responses. Ask yourself: What do I value most in life? What do I value most about myself? What do I value most about others? What do I think is the point to life here on earth? Who is my biggest hero and why? What impact do I want to create in the world?

As you reflect on the answers to these questions think about the implications they would have on your behavior, your choices and the type of people you would choose to be around. What changes would you need to make the life you are living now to become consistent with these values?

Remember it is people with clear boundaries and a strong sense of who they are that have the greatest impact in this world.
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Teen pregnancy for the eighteen to nineteen

Teen pregnancy for the eighteen to nineteen year old age group shows an increase to eighteen percent in the number of pregnant smokers.

Smoking during pregnancy has been proven to result in increased complications, premature birth, and even stillbirth.

Pregnant teenagers have also been shown to seek out and receive less prenatal care. In 2002, nearly seven percent of teenage mothers between the ages of fifteen to nineteen have received prenatal care that is considered late. Many have received none at all.

For a young mother, teen pregnancy presents a greater risk of suffering from high blood pressure and anemia, when compared to women aged twenty and above. Pregnant teenagers fifteen years of age and below are at even greater risk. Not only from experiencing the above complications, but they also may be more likely to die from pregnancy related complications when compared to mothers aged between twenty and twenty- four.

Another risk that the pregnant teenager could be facing is that of possibly contacting a sexually transmitted disease.
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Four Out of 10 Recent Buyers Relied on FHA Loans, Says NAR

Market Wire, December, 2009

According to the most recent
Realtors Confidence Index , 39 percent of recent buyers purchased a
home with a Federal Housing Administration-insured loan. Realtors who
took part in the November survey also reported that the number of
first-time home buyers continued to climb to 51 percent.

“FHA helps provide affordable mortgage financing to homeowners,
particularly first-time home buyers who are so important in drawing down
inventory to help stabilize the current housing market,” said NAR President
Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tucson, Ariz.
“These recent survey results reaffirm that, despite its current challenges,
FHA is a critical part of the American housing fabric.”

The RCI results also indicated that distressed sales increased to 33
percent of all home sales last month, and that both investors and
first-time home buyers are competing for these properties. The
preponderance of distressed properties on the market has also influenced
buyers’ perceptions of other homes for sale. Realtors report that many
buyers have pricing expectations that treat every property as if it were in
foreclosure.

In addition, Realtors expressed ongoing concerns with the impact of the
Home Valuation Code of Conduct on recent appraisals
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Never again would I

Never again would I be worked over by ‘ Nagging Guilt ‘ for very long as I then recognized it for what it really was.

Or, had I? Had I really isolated Guilt’s origin, or had I simply “Seared my conscience?”

Either way, I had discovered a wonderful way to examine, and to often resolve, troubling dilemmas through writing poetry, a way by which to connect the dots that were often so scattered in my rattled brain.

Now, in 2006, I hope I have a little better understanding. I feel that “Guilt” is not a simple this or that issue. Rather, that “Guilt” involves having a conscience, which is a good thing. I have read that Ted Bundy didn’t have one. And yes, the scriptures do suggest that it is possible for one to “Sear” or turn off ones own conscience.

Perhaps, it really comes down to “Love?” If we truly love, we will not knowingly do those things that cause pain to others, emotional or otherwise. If we do, intentionally or accidentally, we should feel “Remorse,” taking action, if possible, to alleviate the problem.
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