Go Walkabout SCORED! WASTE AWAY DRAIN BRAIN THINGS TO COME SALVATION! HELP YOUR PARISH COUNCIL IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENT. Issue 260 Jan 2007

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1 Issue 260 Jan 2007 Stilton - twinned with St Christol lez Alès Go Walkabout HELP YOUR PARISH COUNCIL IMPROVE OUR ENVIRONMENT p3 SCORED! SCHOOL LEAGUE TABLES WASTE AWAY UPDATE ON THE GREEN WASTE SCHEME DRAIN BRAIN MORE ABOUT THE DRAINS UPGRADE PROJECT THINGS TO COME DIARY DATES FOR OUTDOOR EVENTS SALVATION! MEET OUR LOCAL SALVATION ARMY WORKER p13 p4 p3 p6 p7 SOMETHING IN STILTON NEED REPAIRING? WHY NOT HELP THE PARISH COUNCIL WITH THEIR REGULAR VILLAGE SURVEY?

2 The Parish Pump 2 Local News Care & Maintenance KEEPING STILTON PLEASANT TO LIVE IN Down Below... Readers will be aware that Anglian Water are working on the sewers in Stilton - we listed the affected roads last month. This work is part of a ¾m refurbishment project taking place in Stilton and Yaxley. 5.3km of sewers are affected and are being assessed to identify the most appropriate repair method for each section. The scheme is part of a five-year, 770 million programme to refurbish 139km of sewers. Anglian Water explained that while they try to use no-dig techniques to minimise disruption, there may be areas where excavation work is unavoidable. They will, however, work closely with the highways authority and the Parish Council to keep any disruption to a minimum. Leaflets will be delivered to affected residents informing them about the work and any interruptions to service as the work proceeds. Work started in November, and should be complete by the end of March. The main contractor is Barhale Construction and the specialist lining contractor Insituform Technologies Ltd. Oops! Apologies to Pat Maltman for misattributing her entertaining Mondegreens article in December s Christmas Pudding. SCAN was making an early start on the Christmas sherry!... & Round About Every year members of the Parish Council perambulate around the whole village, carrying clipboards and looking for defects - holes in roads etc. These are then sent to the relevant authorities and the Parish Council harries them until the necessary repairs are made (or not in some instances!) JOIN IN Any resident is invited to join for all or part of the walks: Sunday 4 Feb leaving the village sign, Caldecote Road, at 9am, covering the west and northern areas. Sunday 25 Feb meeting at the main gate of Stilton Church at 9am to walk the east and northern sections. Your chance to point out the problems! GREY BIN DAYS: Mon 8th & 22nd Jan GARDEN BIN DAYS: Tue 2nd, Mon 15th & 29th Jan RECYCLING DAYS: Fri 12th & 26th Jan A Wheelie Good Idea LOCAL RECYCLING PROGRAMME SETS THE STANDARD Stilton having been one of the pilot parishes for HDC's green waste collection, SCAN feels a certain proprietorial interest in how well it's going, so we made a point of sitting in on a visit to the Gardening Club by Chris Jablonski from HDC. Chris has been involved in the waste collection programme for several years and has put considerable energy into rolling out the recycling initiatives across the district. SAVING MONEY Most readers will be aware that EU / government regulations penalise local authorities for using landfill - to the tune of 150/tonne. If HDC hadn't implemented the recycling schemes, we'd be stumping up about 7.5m extra on our Council Tax. I guess we can all think of better ways to spend that sort of money! WAY AHEAD Before the scheme started, our district was recycling about 15% of domestic waste. In 2006 this had risen to a whopping 55% - the highest rate in the UK, and way ahead of government targets to achieve 45% by But HDC are not sitting on their laurels. Waste volume grows at roughly 3% per annum, so there's still a need to keep ahead of the problem and the pressures to recycle more can only increase. EXCELLENT Apart from the public benefit of the scheme, though, it's had some real practical benefits. The green waste becomes a first class soil improver, much in demand by farmers who use it to lighten the local heavy clay. It's also excellent for gardeners, either for soil conditioning or filling planters. Many of you will have tried it already; HDC's occasional give-away sessions have been massively popular - to the extent that they don't publicise them too much because they cause traffic problems! But you don't need to wait for a freeby. Just drive down to Brampton Hut, turn west onto the A14 and take the first exit. Here you'll find Marshall's, the composting contractor, who will sell you a bag for 1. They even deliver if you want a quantity! INVESTMENT Marshall's are now one of the UK's leading composters. A small family business, they began composting waste from their original tree surgery business, so when HDC cast about for contractors, Marshall's already had the right skills and experience. As the scheme has grown, they have invested heavily in sophisticated plant. The original outdoor process has now been brought under cover in massive sheds about twice the size of a football pitch. This allows high-temperature composting (up to 70 o C!) which kills off pathogens and can cope with kitchen waste. The composting process is a 12 week cycle, during which the heap is turned several times by high-speed machines. The process is monitored by computer, logging the heap's temperature and providing permanent records of the process - a regulatory requirement. Finer mesh sieves - 10mm - have been introduced to produce a better quality compost. The incoming waste is shredded down to a small size to promote rapid composting. But don't worry about chucking in old tree branches. Anything too big for the sieves just goes round through the shredder again and even massive pieces soon get ground down to size. If it will go in your green bin it will get composted! 3

3 DE-BAGGING You will have had information about what to put in your various bins, Chris's only plea was please DON'T put plastic bags in your green bin. Although they get shredded, they don't rot, which reduces the quality of the compost. It's impossible to tell biodegradable bags from ordinary ones, so they ALL have to be removed by hand, which is a real pain. LOTTA BOTTLE One of the unexpected benefits of the recycling programme has been the huge increase in glass being recycled through the bottle banks. Clear glass finds a ready use in making new glassware, but the UK imports more green glass than we use. The surplus is not just landfilled though. Some of it gets exported, but the majority is processed into road surfacing material, which gets re-used every time a road is re-surfaced. CHIPPING AWAY There has been publicity lately about the use of microchips in wheelie-bins to "spy" on our waste, and scare stories about the "refuse Gestapo" prosecuting householders. Chris explained that HDC had tried using sensors in a pilot number of bins, simply to try and gather more accurate data about how much waste households generate. But the system didn't work! So if you do find a mysterious little device under your bin lid, don't worry, it doesn't do anything and HDC have no plans to waste any more money on the idea. Chris admitted that, with hindsight, the public should have been informed and apologised if the oversight had caused any worry. As for "policing" of refuse collection, this really has been blown out proportion. The arrangements are simple to understand, HDC go out of their way to inform and explain, and if households need advice or extra bins, Chris and his colleagues are happy to help. 4 WOOD FIRED Stilton Parish Council's special collections continue to be popular with residents, and here again the waste collected is not simply landfilled. Much is recycled, either "as is" if it can be re-used, or by re-processing (metal scrap for example.) Wood waste is normally chipped and goes to fuel power stations and commercial heating requirements. BALANCE OF TRADE Trade waste is the next obvious problem to tackle, but it falls outside the scope of local authorities' responsibilities, so it's not just a case of extending the existing arrangements. Index to Advertisers Category Service Page Retail Food & drink IFC Games 29 Watch & clock 18 Pubs / restaurants 10 Fancy goods 17 Health & Alternative 30 Fitness Chiropodist 17 Dentist OBC Optician 17 Financial Insurance 21 Pets Vet 22, 28 Personal Hair stylists 19, 29 Manicure/massage 29 Care services OBC Trades Building services 18, 19, 20, 21, 25, 26, 27, 31 Cleaning services 24 Computer 16,24 Conservatories 23, 25, 26 Electrical 24 Flooring & Carpets 29 Garden care 17, 27, 31 Heating/plumbing 18, 19, 27 TV installation 20 Vehicle 14 Professional Architect 18 Business Services 17 Design & Print 16 Property services 28 Undertaker 19 Childcare After-school club 21 Babysitter 31 Pre-school 27, 31 Recruitment School 14 Outdoor Living NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO ENJOY THE FRESH AIR! Ramblers' Club Following last month's SCAN, an offer has come from a keen walker to help organize a Walking Group locally. If you would like companions to walk with please contact Jan Woodward (243278), 26 Glebe Road, or janluke12@yahoo.co.uk If there is a response to this note then a meeting to discuss setting up a group will be arranged. Diary Dates May Day Monday May 7th Annual World Cheese Rolling! Men's, Ladies, Junior and Special Championships. Stalls, sideshows, fairground attractions, food and drink. In the evening the ever popular Cheese Rolling Concert This year is the 100th birthday of Scouting so our theme will be a celebration of the activities of young people in Stilton. An opportunity for all the groups to show what they do and raise money for their own activities. Family Activity Day Saturday June 16th from noon to 4pm. Stilton Parish Council will celebrate the acquisition of Stilton s new playing field with a day of open air fun and games! There will be the chance to try out a large variety of sports including: Climbing wall Skate board ramp Football Cricket Rugby Martial arts...and lots more - as well as food & soft drinks. In the evening there will be an OPEN AIR CONCERT Live music! Licensed bar! Watch SCAN for details! Stilton Gardening Club Tuesday 16 January 7:30 Church Meeting Room Pat Maltman Foliage in the garden 5

4 Can Sally Army Help You? A FRIENDLY EAR OR A LIFELINE IN NEED The Salvation Army needs no introduction as one of our most effective and wellrespected charitable organisations. This month we were delighted to receive the following article from Ruth Buchanan, who writes to tell us about her work: REACHING OUT Many of you will know that the local centre for the Salvation Army is in Farcet. However the area under our care is quite vast, encompassing Farcet, Yaxley, Stanground, Sawtry, Holme, Stilton, Folkesworth, Ramsey and a few more. I have recently been appointed Community Outreach Worker for the Corps and would like to introduce myself and tell you a bit about my job. I am married to Kallan; we have two teenage sons and, along with our two dogs and two cats, we live in the village of Yaxley. The basic remit for my job is to take God s message to the community and to spread his love wherever possible. BUILDING LINKS I spend a lot of my time visiting Residential Homes and Sheltered Accommodation within the catchment area, as well as building links with local schools by attending Assemblies and Class talks. I work regularly in our Charity Shop in Desborough Avenue, Stanground. Whilst there I make myself 6 available to chat and have a cuppa in our café with any of the customers who may need a friendly ear, and then act upon any need that comes to light through these times. TUESDAY TODDLERS On Tuesday mornings I can always be found up to my knees and elbows with crayons, jigsaws, story books and craft sessions (not to mention the ride-on toys and climbthrough tunnels) at the Mother and Toddler group which we hold in our Corps Hall during term time. When I'm not doing all this I visit individual people in their homes. BRINGING JOY I consider it a huge privilege given to me by God to be able to work for Him in this way. No two days are ever the same, but each day brings joy to my heart knowing that I may have touched just one person, however young or old and from whatever situation, with the great love of Jesus. If anyone feels I can be of any help then please do not hesitate to call me - Ruth Buchanan - on (01733) , or our Corps Officer Beverley Robilliard on (01733) SCAN says: If you want to find out more about the Salvation Army, what it stands for, what it does and how you could help, visit their excellent website: Community Outreach Worker The Salvation Army have recently appointed a Community Outreach Worker to the local Corps in Farcet working in the areas of Farcet, Stanground, Yaxley, Holme, Stilton, Folkesworth, Sawtry & Ramsey. If you feel we can help in any way then please call : RUTH BUCHANAN (01733) Lock It Up! TIMELY REMINDER FROM PC WENDY ELLIS VILLAINS STILL AT WORK Crime figures November - December 2006: 3 thefts from vehicles 1 criminal damage 1 theft of a shed 2 burglaries This is a reminder to keep cars locked and sat. navs. etc out of sight. Please also remember that the long hours of darkness favour the burglar, so ensure doors and windows are secured. DON T BE DISTRACTED Distraction burglaries are still happening (not in Stilton) so please remain vigilant and report anything suspicious. Put your new police fridge magnet in a clearly visible place so there is no delay in finding the number: WHERE ARE YOUR CHILDREN RIGHT NOW? Reports have been received of children breaking into the old coal yard at the bottom of Fen Street, Criminal damage has been reported. Wendy Ellis reminds us that this is private property and it is an offence to enter the premises. There is also a safety issue if intruders start playing round the vehicles etc that are stored there. Please warn your children that are at risk if they break in. NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING PANEL The first meeting was held on Dec 9th at Sawtry. Three people from Stilton took part in an exercise to determine the local priorities for their Neighbourhood Team in the next few months. These turned out to be dealing with Anti-Social behaviour in Sawtry and Yaxley, and reducing speeding in the villages of the area. This does not mean other issues are to be forgotten; speeding along the B1043 was specifically mentioned, as was illegal parking in Stilton village centre. CRIME AND DISORDER INFORMATION 2005/6 The area covered by the Neighbourhood Team stretches from Wansford to south of the A14 (34% of Huntingdonshire) 16% of Hunts population live here but only 14.% of the crime is committed here. Furthermore there was a 12% reduction in crime between 2004/5 and 2005/6, except in Sawtry where there was 1% increase. Over the same period crime in Stilton fell by 36%. Types of offence in Stilton 2005/6: Criminal damage 25 Theft handling 26 Vehicle crime 17 Violence 10 Rest 22 (incl. 1 drug offence) Total 100 For the year April-August there were 34 recorded crimes. 7

5 ANTI-SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR 47 incidents were reported in Stilton 2005/6. The village centre on weekend evenings has been identified as a hot spot. These figures, while interesting, need to be interpreted with caution. The team hope that residents are now more likely to report incidents as they feel more confident they will be listened to, and some action will be taken. You don't need to dial 999; every month SCAN prints details of the policing team and how to contact them. VIGILANCE PAYS Even if it sounds trivial something may be part of a larger whole. A lady from Glatton took down a car number that she was doubtful about, only to find it later on Crimewatch. The driver was accused of abducting young girls in the West Midlands and East Anglia. Radio Days An evening of nostalgic entertainment from the 1950s Live music, drama, comedy Performed by No 7 Dot Com Productions & guests Introducing new talent Re-live the halcyon days of BBC radio! This new group, mainly of Stilton people, will soon be putting on this show to raise money for good causes. To find out more, or to get involved, call: (01733) (01733) (01733) Contacting our Local Police MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU... Yaxley Office: 1 Queen Street Yaxley PE7 3JE Call and ask for the Yaxley office: Ext: 4162: Yaxley Neighbourhood Policing Team Sgt. Shaun Ryan Ext: 4171: Yaxley NPT Community Officers (Voice mail facility) Stilton and Villages: Keep this somewhere safe! PC Wendy Ellis: (mobile) PCSO Barry Chamberlain: Yaxley and Villages: PC Sue Walker: PCSO Gill Goodfellow: any of the community team using the following example format: wendy.ellis@cambs.pnn.police.uk 8 9 Who ya gonna call? MEP Mr Robert Sturdy MEP Yaxley Group Practice Landsdowne Rd 153 St Neots Road, Hardwick, Cambs CB3 7QJ Fax Wellside Surg'y Sawtry MP Mr Shailesh Vara MP Peterboro' Hospitals PDH & Edith Cavell House of Commons London SW1A 0AA Hinchingbrooke Hosp Co. Councillor Cllr Bill Hensley Health Info. Service Cllr Mac McQuire Shire Hall Cambridge Dist. Councillor Cllr Mr Peter Mitchell Benefits Agency Clifton House 1 Walnut Way, Stilton, Cambs Street Lighting Parish Clerk Mrs Mary Croll Eastern Electricity Cust'r Services 10 Caldecote Road, Stilton Cambs Power Loss ONLY Cambs Police Non-emergency: Gas ESCAPES Cust'r Services Anglian Water ( 24hrs ) Crimestoppers (Freephone) Stagecoach Buses Samaritans Train information Childline (Freephone) Royal Mail Cust'r Services NSPCC (Freephone) ( 24hrs ) Hunts Dist Council General Enquiries RSPCA Environment/Refuse Dairy Crest milk delivery Recycling

6 The Winners Podium! On the Run MORE SUCCESSES FROM YAXLEY RUNNERS Happy New Year! 2006 was a great year for Yaxley Runners, writes Sean Murphy. Our 20th anniversary; the return of the Great East Run; and gaining 100 members were all highlights. GOING TO TOWN Mixed feelings about the London Marathon entries. Not a single club member who entered via the normal channels was successful in their application; I suppose it's not the East of England's turn to be lucky this year. Fortunately, the club does receive a number of guaranteed entries from the organisers and we traditionally have a draw for these. Four slots were up for grabs this time and two Stilton residents, Stuart Reed and Karen Freeman, were clearly overjoyed to get places - a peculiar concept considering the hard training ahead! You'll spot them training around the area so a wave and words of encouragement will surely be appreciated. MARCH HARES Numbers were a bit down for the 3rd Frostbite on December 10th, perhaps because of the new location in March, or the off-road course, or just the fact it was very cold! However, Yaxley turned out 24 seniors. Richard Pawlak won a tough junior race; his last as he turns senior over Christmas, so good luck to him for Our 100th member, John Ackroyd, showed his obvious talent for one who only started running this year, by leading the seniors off the line. He eventually finished 51st out of 376 and our first man home. Alison Sinclair returned to 10 racing by leading our women home; hopefully there's more to come from her and it should lead to more competition amongst the women and therefore even better results. The previous weekend was the Nene Valley Harriers 10 around Bretton. 10 miles is a tough distance at this time of year, with most people either resting from a hard summer or competing in shorter cross-country or Frostbite races. But the club s faster men developed a winning tactic. (I hope you're writing this down, Rob from Bushfield Joggers!) Karl Mills, John Ackroyd & Simon Perkins all paced each other faster than their predicted splits to finish in the top 40 - well done guys. Chris Hodgkin and Des Owens were not far behind, both well in the top 100 out of 233 finishers. A really good day for the Yaxley men. CHEER THEM ON! This year s Folksworth 15 Race takes place on 21st Jan at 11:00. We are negotiating the closure of a small part of Apreece Way in Folksworth for the duration so please bear that in mind if you're travelling in the area that day. It would be great to see some Stilton residents out watching the racing. The route leaves Folksworth, heads out to Morborne turning left at the cross roads at the foot of Morborne hill. It then follows this road, over the Washingley-Lutton cross roads turning left towards Caldecote, up the hill and left again down towards Folksworth. This is completed twice! A convenient place to cheer the hardy souls on is the top of Caldecote School Report LOCAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS TEST RESULTS Cambridgeshire is 39th in the Local Authority Performance Chart; below Rutland, but above Northants, Lincolnshire and Peterborough. LOCAL SCORES Children sit the tests in their final year of primary school. Most are 11 years old, but Hill. Trust me - all 500 will be very grateful of the support! Expect the first runners through here around 11:30. HAVE A GO! Why not join us at the Hampton Sports Facility at 6:30 on Mondays to keep that New Years resolution to get fit? We cater for all abilities and and always have people taking beginners out for gentle walking / running. You'll be amazed how quickly you can be up and running and feeling good! Just call Gary (810033) or visit: some are 10. The percentages are calculated on the basis of all eligible pupils, whether or not they took the test. The percentage is those children reaching Level 4 (the expected level for an 11 year old in English, Mathematics and Science.) Last year's aggregate score is given for comparison. The schools are listed in alphabetical order. % of pupils at Level 4 in: English Maths Science Total Total Farcet (23 pupils) Folksworth (12) Gt Gidding (12) Holme (19) Stilton (26) Mobile Library Jan 4th & 18th 3:15-3:45pm Outside The Talbot Renewals & enquiries: (0845)

7 Male? Female? Young? - or not? Whatever you are, if you re sporty, competitive and like a challenge then you could shine with: Stilton Carpet Bowls Interested? Then call: Gill King (days) June Jones (eves) Peter White (day/eve) Stilton Memorial Hall Bookings Booking Secretary: JADE SMITH 63 CHURCH CLOSE Sewing Tuesdays Church Meeting Room Tuesdays from 2:30 pm Bring your own sewing, knitting, crochet - whatever. Chat and have a cuppa with other enthusiasts. The ideal opportunity to finish off that project you have had in the cupboard for years! Very informal. Just come along, but if you want any further information give Pat Maltman a ring on (01733) What s on in & around Stilton! St Mary Magdalene, Stilton Wednesday Worship at Lunchtime Holy Communion followed by a soup & bread lunch Every 3rd Wednesday in the month 12:30-1:30pm Jan 17th Break the bread of fellowship with us in tranquil surroundings Workers Educational Association Eastern Region, Yaxley Group, Reg Charity PRESENTS The Story of Farming A ten week course by David Bond of Cotterstock Commencing Tue 9th January at 7:30pm Royal British Legion, 210 Broadway, Yaxley Learn about the changes in farming in England since mediaeval times, and discover the evidence for these changes in the landscape. For full details contact: R A Dudley, Branch Secretary 43 Atherstone Ave., Peterborough PE3 9TU Tel: (01733)

8 A little bit of space this month for some mental exercises. Flex those little grey cells! SCAN is published by The Stilton Community Association. All articles, original artwork and the SCAN name & logo are copyright. All trade marks recognised. Views of contributors are not necessarily endorsed by The Stilton Community Association. Reprints available from the Editor on request. Editor: Advertising: Production: Distribution: Olive Main Doug Maltman Kelvin Davis Carol Warren Advertising Rates: Monthly Annual Full page: x 12.7cm Half page: x 12.7cm landscape - 19 x 6 cm portrait 1/3 page: x 12.7cm landscape x 6 cm portrait 1/6 page: x 6 cm All advertising copy or instructions by 10th of month prior to publication. Payment in advance to Stilton Community Association - NO PAY, NO DISPLAY! Advertisement orders MUST be accompanied by the advertiser s name, address and telephone number. All copy to the Editor, 8 Caldecote Road, Stilton by 14th of month prior to publication. Digital material in a neutral PC format please. scan@stilton.org Printed by: 14