A group of young children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster were the guests of honour of police in Leominster recently, when they became the first people to take a look round the town’s brand new police station. The group of youngsters from Belarus made the visit to Leominster as part of a summer holiday they were enjoying, organized by the Chernobyl Children’s Project. The UK charity runs around 30 groups across the country, organizing recuperative holidays for children, teenagers and mothers from Belarus.

The former Soviet state, Belarus was among the worst hit areas by the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in 1986 and some two million people still live on land poisoned by the fallout. Holidays abroad give the children a chance to get away from this environment and forget their worries, as well as enjoying the chance to travel and experience a different culture.

Continued . . .

With a number of the children staying with families in the area, the Leominster Local Policing Team took the opportunity to meet with the group and show off their new state-of-the-art police station. During the visit to the Enterprise Way site, the children and their interpreter got to see the new custody block as it undergoes some final finishing touches before becoming operational. They also had the chance to use police radios, try on handcuffs for size (and have them removed!) as well as having demonstrations of how other police equipment is used. As a final treat the children got to check out some of the police vehicles, complete with sirens and flashing blue lights, while one of the group - whose father is a police officer back in Belarus - was presented with a child-sized West Mercia replica helmet.

'It is incredible to think that the Chernobyl disaster should still have an incredible impact on children who were born more than a decade after it happened,' said PC Andy Varden, who organized the visit. 'It was great to see that they were all enjoying themselves during the visit. This was clearly evident from the number of smiles and laughs we got while going around the station - we didn't need an interpreter to explain that to us!'

Members of the public will be able to see the new police station for themselves on Saturday, 8th September, when a special open day is held as part of West Mercia Constabulary’s 40th Anniversary Celebrations. All are welcome to visit the police station at Leominster Enterprise Park, to celebrate 40 years of local policing. As well as tours of the facility, there will be lots of family fun with competitions and quizzes for children, police vehicles from the past and present on display, the police helicopter (weather and operational commitments allowing), a self-defence display, mock crime scenes and ID parades, police dogs and displays showing how uniform and equipment has changed through the ages. People from across the whole of Herefordshire are invited to come and see for themselves the county’s newest police facility between 10.30am and 4pm on the day.

Herefordshire Council has agreed to let Hereford's popular Bank Holiday Market go ahead at the Merton Meadow car park on Monday, 27th August.

To avoid possible conflict with foot and mouth restrictions, the usual site of the cattle market is unlikely to be available for vehicle access and crowds of people. The 140 stalls expected to attend could therefore not be housed on the open market site alone and the only other option would have been to cancel the event.

Councillor Brian Wilcox, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for highways and transportation, said, 'This market has been part of the city's calendar for the past four years and we decided to act now to make sure it could still go ahead despite the foot and mouth restrictions. I know many people enjoy attending the market. Although some parking spaces will now be lost at Merton Meadow, there will still be plenty of free parking available at the multi-storey, Garrick surface and the two cattle market car parks.'

The market will not revert to its normal site now, regardless of the situation regarding foot and mouth. Alternative HGV overnight parking on Sunday will be signed to the south area of Merton Meadow.

Herefordshire Farmer's Market Group had a tractor in High Town at their most recent market to highlight the cost of producing food and emphasize it is business as usual for the county's food and drink producers despite the July floods and foot and mouth restrictions.

Brought into High Town by L. Evans and Son (Hereford) Ltd from Canon Pyon, the CASE CVX 160 tractor, which costs £70,000 to buy, attracted a lot of interest from people attending the popular farmer's market. Mr. David Griffiths, Chairman of the Herefordshire Farmer's Market Group, said, 'This tractor was brought to the farmer's market today so that our customers can see the machinery that is needed by the farmers to cultivate the fields to grow food for their tables. We wanted people to be aware there are all types of expensive machinery needed to do cultivating and harvesting before farmers can then sell their produce to the public'.

Mr Griffiths, who runs a nursery in Bodenham, said the farmer's market was growing in popularity all the time and three new stall-holders are joining from next month selling Mediterranean foods, smoked salmon and plants. To be part of the market, all producers should be within 30 miles of the markets and items sold will have been grown, reared, caught, brewed, pickled, baked, smoked or processed by the stall-holder 'We want to stress Herefordshire is open for business and the county's locally grown produce is available to buy at our regular markets which not only helps to save the environment by reducing food miles but also benefits the county's economy by supporting its farmers," he said.

Farmers' markets are held throughout the county, run in

partnership with Herefordshire Council. Jeff Owen, Herefordshire Council's manager for Markets and Fairs and street trading, said, 'The farmer's markets are popular and we would encourage people to keep on coming and supporting our local producers.'

Hereford's High Town market takes place on the first Saturday and third Thursday of every, in Ross on Wye market place, it is on the first Friday of every month and Leominster's Corn Square is the venue on the second Saturday of every month.

Herefordshire Council's learning team is holding two free workshops in September aimed at giving people a chance to try something different.

The first event is a basket making workshop which will take place at Madley Environment Centre on Saturday, 1st September between 10 am and 5 PM All materials and tuition are supplied and people attending just need to bring a packed lunch. During this day, people will be taught the various skills needed to make a basket which they can then take home.

The second workshop is an introduction to herbalism which will again be held at Madley Environment Centre, this time on Thursday, 20th September, between 7 PM and 9.30 PM This workshop will explain what herbalism is and how to use herbs to ease various ailments.

Karan McKelvie, Herefordshire Council's Learning Champion, said, 'These workshops not only offer people a chance to try something different but we also hope they will inspire those taking part to look at other opportunities to learn new skills. Herefordshire Council's Learning Champions can help those interested by pointing them towards suitable courses.'

To book for these events, please contact Louise Murphy at Madley Environment Centre on 01981 512561 or email louemurphy@hotmail.co.uk.

To find out more about Learning Champions contact William Dereham on 01432 383658.

Herefordshire Council closed a railway bridge in Colwall Green on Wednesday, 15th August due to safety concerns.

The bridge on the B4218 has been subject to travel control measures since an assessment of the bridge by the council's highways and transportation department revealed doubts about its capacity. A further assessment by council's consultant Owen Williams resulted in serious concerns about the capacity of the bridge.

'The council apologizes for any inconvenience as a result of the temporary closure, which is for safety reasons.' said Clive Hall, highways network manager. 'The council's concern for public safety is paramount in such situations and closing the bridge was unavoidable. A further assessment will be done as soon as practical but the bridge will need to remain closed to all traffic, including pedestrians, until this work is done and repairs or other remedial work completed. Thankfully at this time of year, alternative routes are in good condition and are safe so we hope residents and businesses will bear with us until their bridge can be reopened.'

The council undertakes the assessment and repair of all bridges in Herefordshire as part of its local transport plan, which aims to maintain a high quality, safe road network. Network Rail has been consulted over the condition of the bridge and the road closure. The closure will not affect rail services.

Access to Colwall can still be gained via the B4218 Wyche Cutting or via the signed diversion route, which uses the A449, the C1167 at Ledbury and the C1165, Mill Lane, Colwall.

Herefordshire Council is encouraging parents to consider kitting their children out with recycled stationery for the new school term.

The county council's waste reduction team is asking mums, dads and children to think before they stock up on new stationery and consider choosing recycled options, such as:
Coloured pencils made from recycled CD cases or plastic cups
Pencil cases made from recycled car tyres
Rulers made from plastic cups or squashed plastic bags
Pens made from recycled computer printers
Notebooks made from recycled paper and circuit boards
Purses made from recycled juice cartons
Backpacks made from recycled plastic bottles
Key rings and notebooks made from squashed plastic bags
Clipboards made from recycled juice cartons and plastic bottles.

The waste reduction team is encouraging schoolchildren to have a waste free day by reusing their lunch box and drinks bottle daily. It is also encouraging people to make it their mission to choose items with little or no packaging and compost their leftover apple cores and banana skins.

Laura Preece, Herefordshire Council's recycling officer, said, 'Simply replacing a disposable drink carton with a reusable drink bottle can significantly help to reduce the amount of waste created.' A whole host of recycled goods can be found at www.recyclenow.org.uk.

Residents can be in with a chance of winning one of ten sets of cool recycled stationery by logging on to www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk and clicking on the Pledge to Win link. People will be asked to pledge to have a waste free day and tell the team five key things they will do to achieve it.

The county council's waste reduction team is out and about at locations across Herefordshire and Worcestershire this summer in a bid to encourage more people to reduce, reuse and recycle their waste. Residents can find out more about meeting members of the team and climbing aboard its recycling bus by visiting www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk or calling 01905 766883.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire's waste reduction team, which covers Herefordshire, will be asking Herefordshire residents to give some feedback on their use of compost bins, giving them the chance to win £200.

Over 71,000 subsidized bins have been sold throughout Herefordshire and Worcestershire since 2004 and a random sample of 2,000 residents who bought bins as part of the scheme are to be sent a short questionnaire about composting and asked to tell us about their composting experiences.

The scheme has been running for three years now, so the team is interested to know how people are using their bins and if they are having success with their composting. The results of the questionnaires will be used to help the team keep on top of what's happening with people's household waste in the two counties and to help improve services to customers who have shown such support for the scheme.

Questionnaires are being mailed out to residents during this week and all returned questionnaires will be entered into a prize draw to win £200.

Viktoria Salisbury, County Council Project Development Officer for Composting, said, 'Home composting is a great way of reducing the amount of waste put out for collection and we want to make it as easy as possible for our residents to continue making the most of their bins. By filling in the questionnaires, householders can let us know about their experiences and about any support they feel will help them to continue composting. We can then target these areas, improve our services and make sure that the bins which have been distributed are being used to their full potential.

Last year we did some similar research and had a fantastic response. The completed questionnaires helped us to focus our composting campaign.'

Residents who would like further information about composting, or would like to find out how to get hold of a reduced price compost bin, should call the Mission Impossible hotline on 01905 766883 or log on to www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk.

Herefordshire Council's waste reduction team is reminding residents that they can make space for the post they want this summer by jilting their junk mail. People can still get their hands on a popular free pack that has been put together to provide households with simple advice to stop unwanted post.

The packs contain postcards to register with the Mailing Preference Service and the Royal Mail's Door to Door Opt Out Service, a 'no junk mail' letterbox sticker and two envelope reuse stickers.

Project Assistant Catherine Hines, said, 'The free packs provide the necessary tools to give everyone a choice about what gets posted through their letterbox. We are urging residents to use the packs and take the simple steps to reduce waste. We are also reminding people that if they do still receive junk mail, they can recycle it through their kerbside recycling collection, at local recycling banks or even compost it at home.'

Each year, 550 tonnes of junk mail is generated in the UK with the average household receiving 224 pieces of junk mail. A staggering £50 million items of junk mail are also sent to the deceased in the UK. Most scams, including prize draws and clairvoyant scams, are conducted through unsolicited mail. Residents wanting to report scams being operated via junk mail should call Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Further information about 'Jilt the Junk Mail' and cutting down on waste can also be found on line at www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk.

A total of 8,000 packs have so far been given out at road shows, events and on request across Herefordshire and Worcestershire since February this year, when the pack was launched. Further packs have now been printed and people can request their free copy by logging on to www.wastemissionimpossible.org.uk or calling the Mission Impossible hotline on 01905 766883.

As part of its commitment to keeping Herefordshire's streets clear of dog mess, free poop scoop bags are going to be made available at Herefordshire Info Centres.

The bags, which come in a pack of five, can be disposed of in any of the council's litter bins not just the special dog waste ones. Dog owners wanting to take advantage of the free bags, (one pack per household) should pop into one of the Info in Herefordshire centres.

Councillor John Jarvis, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for the environment and strategic housing, said, 'One of the major complaints we still get from members of the public is about the amount of dog mess on the county's streets and pavements which is not only unpleasant but can also pose a health danger. We are offering these free poop scoop bags with the aim of educating people and getting them into the habit of clearing up after their dogs, hoping they will continue to bag their waste, perhaps by reusing any plastic bags they may have. Dog owners who allow their pets to foul the streets face a £50 fixed penalty notice and this figure can rise to £1,000 if the case goes to court, so it really is in their interest to get into the habit of carrying plastic bags with them so waste can be disposed of safely.'

The poop scoop bags will be available from Tuesday, 28th August at:
Info Shop, Swan House, Edde Cross Street, Ross-on-Wye
Info Shop, 11 Corn Square, Leominster
The Bromyard Centre, 1 Cruxwell Street, Bromyard
Info Shop, St Katherines, High Street, Ledbury
The Hereford Centre, Garrick House, Widemarsh Street, Hereford
The Kington Centre, 2 Mill Street, Kington
Newton Farm Information Centre, Hereford.

A special event which is being organized by Herefordshire Council and the Pension Service is being held in Hereford's High Town on Wednesday, 5th and Thursday, 6th September, to offer help and information to older people, enabling them to maximize their income and stay independent.

Running from 10am until 4pm on both days, the event, 'Older People's Information Day' is aimed at anybody over the age of 60. There will be a wealth of free information on offer that can help older people to live independent lives in their own homes. Staff will be on hand to offer help with claiming a range of benefits, including getting help towards the cost of care, council tax and rent payments as well as topping up your pension.

A range of Telecare products that provide home safety and personal security will also be on view, and energy efficiency tips will be available. Free energy saving light bulbs will be given out on a first come, first served basis.

Representatives of organizations such as Age Concern, and ABLE (Access, Benefits, Leisure and Employment) will also be attending. ABLE is a disability information and advice service.

Councillor Olwyn Barnett, Herefordshire Council's cabinet member for social care adults and health, said, 'The longer people can stay living in their own homes, the better it is both for their own health and quality of life. However, as people get older, they may need extra support to stay independent and I would encourage them to attend this event to find out more about ways they can continue to live happily at home.'

Cash is being made available to either create new or continue existing activities, facilities and services to improve the quality of life for older people aged 65 and above and help them continue to live independently for longer.

Herefordshire Council has allocated £50,000 per year for three years to expand services that promote well being and prevent the need for formal care services among older people.

Herefordshire Council is urging community and voluntary groups to apply for the grants of between £250 and £10,000 per year for a maximum of three years. The money is to be used to improve existing facilities and / or create new ones which could include providing support to carers, access to services such as community transport, improving physical safety within the home and staying healthy through exercise.

Only non profit making organizations can apply and they must be able to show genuine evidence of need, not duplicate existing services and must demonstrate value for money. The kind of things that a grant could be spent on are venue hire, computers, transport costs, volunteer expenses, equipment and staffing.

Councillor Olwyn Barnett, cabinet member for social care adults and health, said, 'We know there are a lot of organizations already providing valuable services for older people who struggle for funding. We are hoping this grant will help them continue their good work as well as develop new activities and projects. Herefordshire has a high percentage of older people and we want to make sure they live full and rich lives independently for as long as possible.

The council's investment in these services aims to support the growing number of Herefordshire's older citizens in a way they prefer and in a way that is sustainable.'

The next deadline for applications is 5th October 2007. For an information leaflet or an application form please contact the delegated grants and programmes team on 01432 260753.

Food waste disposers are an effective and inexpensive way of disposing of kitchen waste, according to a County Surveyors' Society study.

The County Surveyors' Society and Worcestershire County Council, working with Herefordshire Council, commissioned an independent report into the efficiency of the disposers as part of its work to encourage residents to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Environmental Consultant Dr Tim Evans was asked to look at the financial and environmental impact of the disposers.

Dr Evans' report claims that, 'They provide a cost effective, convenient and hygienic means of separating kitchen food waste at source and diverting it from landfill.' Dr Evans also said that Worcestershire County Council and Herefordshire Council had been pioneers in promoting the installation of food waste disposers. They are convenient and hygienic for householders and do not discourage home composting.

Jeremy Howell-Thomas, Worcestershire County Council's project development officer, said, 'The report is great news as it shows disposers play a demonstrable part in reducing much of the biodegradable waste we currently send to landfill. It also shows how installing a disposer could save the equivalent of nearly £19 per household per year against the cost of dealing with the waste. 'On top of that, there's evidence that food waste disposers have a lower carbon footprint than other methods, meaning that they're good for the environment and good for council taxpayers' pockets.'

Herefordshire and Worcestershire can claim up to £80 towards the cost of a food waste disposer as part of its Sink Your Waste scheme.

People wanting to find out more or make a claim, should visit www.sinkyourwaste.com or call 01905 766883.

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