Page 21 - Phonebox Magazine April 2008

Councillor Corner
A contribution from Councillor Steve Clark
continued on page 23
New Ambulances for Milton Keynes
The Council’s Health Scrutiny Panel, which I currently chair, received welcome news from the South Central Ambulance Trust during a presentation at the March meeting. A number of new vehicles are being added to the fleet which covers the counties of Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, including Milton Keynes. The Trust has taken delivery of the first six of 21 new ambulances made by Ford Iveco in Italy. These are five tonne vehicles incorporating a tail lift, which will ease manual handling issues considerably. Two of the new vehicles were already on the road and fully operative by mid March with the other four to follow once radios and other equipment had been installed. A further 15 of these vehicles are due to arrive over the coming weeks, at the rate of three per week during April and May. Milton Keynes will be getting a good share of the new ambulances, with five going to the Bletchley depot and five to the Milton Keynes depot. Additionally there will be eight new Volvo Rapid Response Vehicles, with two going to Bletchley and two going to Milton Keynes. Recognising the age of some of the old fleet of ambulances, inherited from the Two Shires Ambulance Trust, the intention is now to have a five year rolling programme of replacement.
On The Road
A new Highway Maintenance Officer for the Milton Keynes north area has recently been appointed and has lost no time in catching up with a backlog of repairs to various potholes and other issues. Meanwhile, the rolling programme of resurfacing of the minor roads around the rural area continues with the recent completion of another stretch of the road between Clifton Reynes and Newton Blossomville. A further section of the B565 between Olney and Cold Brayfield is scheduled for resurfacing in the near future. Future works in the rolling programme will include road improvements in Weston Underwood, Ravenstone and Emberton. A number of signage projects are under way at the moment. The temporary yellow signs warning of the double bend on the B565 by Lavendon Road Farm and “Uncle Jacks” will be replaced by permanent vehicle activated signs hopefully by the end of the month.
Ten Marathons for Deirdre!
My Town Council colleague Deirdre Bethune has announced that she will be participating in her tenth consecutive London Marathon this year. Once again, Dee will be aiming to raise funds for MENCAP. I honestly don’t know where she manages to find the energy but I am sure that she will do extremely well. Dee is aiming to finish the course within four hours, her best ever time being 3:48:12. Dee is currently aiming to raise £1,200 in sponsorship, but I am sure we can do better that that with the support of readers of Phonebox Magazine! If you would like to sponsor Dee you can do it on line by visiting: http://www.justgiving.com/deebethune
Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor Dee: Mencap will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you!
South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SCAS) is part of the NHS. It was established on 1 July 2006 following the merger of four ambulance trusts in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire. This area covers approximately 4,600 sq miles with a resident population of around four million. The emergency call centres handle more than 340,000 emergency and urgent calls a year.
New Deputy Head appointed at Olney Infant School
The Governors of Olney Infant School are delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Janet Linthwaite as the new Deputy Headteacher, following their meeting on Thursday 13 March. Janet has been acting Deputy Head since the departure of Elaine Cox to Beaudesert Lower School in Leighton Buzzard and will take up the post permanently with effect from 1 September 2008. I am sure that Janet will continue to be a tremendous asset to the school and I wish her every success in her new role.
Play Area at Lavendon
The revamped play area at Lavendon School was opened on Tuesday 18 March and has received an enthusiastic welcome from the children. In addition new block paving stones replace the cracked and broken paving slabs on the entry path into the school. The pathway is now separated from the driveway by a very smart ascot railing. Graham Mabbutt, Chairman of the school governors, is understandably delighted with the improved facility.
Steve with Deirdre – photo by Bill Bethune
A Moveable Feast
The very early Easter this year has resulted in numerous discussions and debates about how exactly the date is derived. I am given to understand that the date of Easter continues to be calculated on a system which used a hypothetical moon devised by an Athenian astronomer as long ago as 432 BC, but there are many variations on this theme! Essentially, Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the Full Moon on or following the Spring Equinox on 21 March. Easter is thus never earlier than 22 March or later than 25 April. The last Easter Sunday to fall on 22 March was in 1818 and the next is due in 2285! For a fascinating calculator that will enable you to calculate the date of Easter in any given year, I would heartily recommend a visit to the
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