Are We Empowered?
Is Sleaford Democracy fully active?
At the same time as all the hoo-ha in the local press about the Town Poll has been going, I decided to take a closer look at the July Issue of the Lincolnshire Association of Local Councils (LALC) Newsletter which had popped through my letter box.
Ok, looks like a cure for insomnia for some, but worth reading to get the gist of where we are heading. Other parishes too within Lincolnshire are going in that direction. On democracy it offers free web-sites to Councilors to correspond with residents: in addition to good employment practices for the workforce – creating youth councils and much more.
What we should be doing surely, instead of using resident’s money on polls, whose results have no legal enforcement, is to move onto ensure these empowerment ideas are not lost but developed in the way that suits Lincolnshire as a major agricultural area of the UK.
Published Date:
06/10/2008
Modified Date:
06/10/2008
Credit crunch: debt crisis?
Stay Focussed Sleaford!
As it was a very warm, end of September, Saturday (after the fog had cleared)I agreed to have a family day out at Meadowhall shopping centre near Sheffield.
The A1 has been improved near the junction with the A57 so, apart from the large amounts of litter that cover the hedgerows of the A57 into Sheffield and the M1, it was a pleasant journey. It was nice also to see petrol prices at 107.9 at some garages on the way.
To say that there is a credit crunch, and we are all supposed to be suffering, the car park was almost full by midday when we arrived. The stores too were full and shoppers spending as per normal despite all the gloom in the press and on TV. No sign of prices being lowered to persuade shoppers to part with their money.
The International Credit crunch is still a bit of a mystery to me. I spent all last week glued to the Internet to check if the value of my shares (the few I have) were worthless or not. Then, and now, I gaze at the media pages telling me that this weekend is make, or break, for the World economy. If agreement is not reached in the USA to solve the debt mountain we are doomed as Private Frazer used to say in Dads Army.
Sorry to be flippant but it helps: why has it come to this with reports of the USA Treasury Secretary down on one knee pleading with politicians to allow the rescue package through? All this against a backdrop of the USA Presidential election and suggestions that China, perhaps Russia, may have a role to play. The world is changing but where is Europe in all this? On the sidelines by the sound of it!
The politicians have known of an impending crisis for ages: with headlines of trillions of debt something had to give. Is it because they were powerless to do so and couldn’t intervene until the last minute - or what? If so then, whatever happens, it surely cannot go on like this!
Perhaps confused.com and others should extend their advice!
Published Date:
27/09/2008
Modified Date:
01/10/2008
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No not that sort of affair: engaging young voters!
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Healthy Eating for Sleaford Schools
Chips even Jamie Oliver might
Published Date:
19/09/2008
Modified Date:
20/09/2008
Any Problems in your street?
Can Sleaford residents get their problems fixed quicker?
I was intrigued by an article in the Sunday Times about Politicians using the Internet to harness our bright ideas! Nothing new about that really - its been going on for some time.
However what interested me most, after the local media coverage of the problems in the Nags Head passage, was the use of such ideas for Sleaford. Apparently by inserting the problem in our area, using the correct postcode, problems can be resolved much more quickly. Whether or not this applies to Sleaford I do not know. But when I have contacted the Council direct I have always had a good response.
Anyway the site is Fix My Street and I have put in a postode that covers the Boston Road area.
Published Date:
12/09/2008
Modified Date:
12/09/2008
Lincoln and Sleaford 2012 Olympians?
I have spent much of the last fortnight glued to the television and Internet looking at the UK sporting achievements in Beijing. 47 medals in total: and swimmer Rebecca Adlington from Mansfield, along with Doncaster’s Sarah Stevenson in the Taekwondo event, giving us a "local" sense of achievement.
What a difference a fortnight makes: at the beginning the news seemed to be about International Politics in Georgia, terrorism and our own problems with young people and knife and Gun crime.
Even Private Eye parodied the situation with one of its spoof media apology notices: along the lines of:
The Youth of Britain
In common with other newspapers we may have given the impression in recent reports that we regarded the nations youth as obese, lazy and obsessed with binge-drinking etc.
….. in the light of recent events … we are happy to accept that there was not a jot of truth … etc .. super-fit British beat the World etc .. etc.
All good knockabout stuff! We need our young people for our future as a nation and we seem to spend a lot of time criticizing them. Too much I think. We are all responsible.
I was pleased to see Lincoln celebrating the achievement and looking forward to providing Lincolnshire athletes for the London 2012 Olympics.
Sleaford too I hope will have athletes, and the necessary training facilities and support, that can be considered good enough to get us there.
Published Date:
24/08/2008
Modified Date:
25/08/2008
Sleaford Under 20's: the future?
Sleaford has changed rapidly over the last couple of decades. Nothing new in that I suppose! But knowing the way in which it has changed, and how it will change in the future, is very important to many people in Sleaford.
So the 2001 National Census and other research since then, provided by the Lincolnshire Research Observatory, offers good advice. Added to that, the next Census in early 2011 will be very interesting indeed: it will reveal these changes and added complexity of our Society and the scope of the problem in ensuring a well balanced Community.
With that in mind I looked closely at the information available of the make up of each Ward of the under 20's age group as an example. This age group comes under constant attention in the media and providing for their future is so important. There are some good kids in Sleaford.
% of Total Population by Ward under 20's with comparison to NK and England/Wales
| Holdingham |
Westholme |
Castle |
Navigation |
Quarrington |
Mareham |
| 28.0 |
22.3 |
26.1 |
18.2 |
27.2 |
29.5 |
NKDC and England/Wales
| North Kesteven |
England & Wales |
| 23.6 |
25.1 |
Of interest: four Wards had a greater share of Young People than the national average.
Other information, and residents views, includes Crime levels: Housing: Education & Qualifications: Economic Activity: Health provision: Ethnic Groups.
These studies, and the changes they indicate, are very interesting!
Published Date:
09/08/2008
Modified Date:
09/08/2008
Young people and Local Affairs
Engaging Young Voters
One welcome development in Sleaford is the information available, not just in the press such as Sleaford Today, but that put out in the Local Government newsletters such as County News, NewsNK, Town Council Newsletter and Whats on Diary for Sleaford.
One interesting item, in NewsNK, was the report about Students from St Georges's helping the Council and, in particular, why so few voted in political elections. Only 11% apparently vote! Many are interested in the issues that our society promotes but not in doing anything about it. A good article.
A wider report on Yahoo suggests that many youngsters can't get help from parents because parents don't understand computers!
Click on Image!
I realise that there are serious issues of fraud, and voter turn-off, at using computer terminals as polling booths but perhaps, just perhaps. there is a generation gap here which if addressed might resolve the problem.
Just a thought!
Published Date:
19/07/2008
Modified Date:
19/09/2008
DANGEROUS PAVEMENT CYCLISTS
I write this shortly after two unpleasant cycling incidents: one near Tennyson Avenue and the other coming up to the exit of Church Lane in Northgate. Both involved irresponsible and illegal cycling.
The first involved two teenages coming up from the direction of Galley Hill behind us (a girl on the crossbar with legs draped over the handlebar and a youth pedalling) asking my wife and I to move out of the way so they could pass. When I refused and asked them to get off they just carried on and we received verbal abuse.
The second occasion, a few minutes later, involved what appeared to be a "middle-aged" man cycling towards us from the Town Centre at great speed (up to 10 times faster than our walking speed). He made no attempt to slow down and brushed past. Had we collided there could have been a serious accident which might have included a collision with passing traffic.
I met Laura Rowley, the Community Support Officer, in Town shortly afterwards. She confirmed that the cycling was illegal and cyclists can and will be fined. This is not the first incident of such dangerous behaviour. I realise the roads can be dangerous for cyclists but recent incidents have caused fatalities and serious injury both in Lincolnshire and elsewhere.
It is time for firm action!
Published Date:
11/07/2008
Modified Date:
14/07/2008