The Citizen 51 - Page 2
Page 2
For England and St George's Day!
Scotland takes a day off for St Andrew's Day and the whole of Ireland stops for St Patrick's Day. So why shouldn't England get a holiday on St George's Day?
Tameside Council has resolved to help campaigners in pressuring the Government to make St George's Day a public holiday.
To that end, Cllr Jackie Lane, the project head for heritage and tourism, has been asked to chair a cross-party committee which will also look at how St George's Day will be celebrated in Tameside in future.
Ready to Take a Chance?
Community groups are set to monopolise a near £1M windfall thanks to the green efforts of the borough’s residents.
The scheme will see the groups given a share of the money the council saves through its recycling efforts, including all the recyclables collected from homes across Tameside.
Community Panels will be charged with awarding funds to local groups from a Community Chest which will hand out £200,000 in the first year and £380,000 each year for the next two.
Each panel will be made up of a local councillor and representatives from a range of community groups, including sporting groups, churches and the scouts 
and guides .
Through the scheme local groups will be encouraged to apply for grants which could be for anything related to their local communities such as a new roof for a scout hut or a CCTV camera.
Once each panel has decided on which applications to recommend they are sent on to the overarching Selection Panel, made up of the Chair of the Tameside Strategic Partnership (TSP) and Executive Leader of the Council, Cllr Roy Oldham, Executive Member for District Assemblies, Cllr Jim Fitzpatrick and an opposition member who will decide which applications have been successful.
Panels were appointed in November to begin deliberating on applications with projects getting under way in January and February.
Cllr Roy Oldham, who has promoted the scheme, said: “This is a win, win situation for everyone as far as I am concerned. We are consistently telling our residents how well they are doing when it comes to recycling their household waste and here’s the proof.
“Handing the money back to community groups should not only encourage more residents to recycle, but it will also help the council’s recycling rates and mean, of course, less waste going to landfill which benefits everyone.
“I would encourage everyone to get involved whether it be as a member of a panel deciding on how the money gets spent or by putting in an application for something that would benefit their locality.”
War Dead Honoured
Since 1945 Britain has had only one year – 1968 – in which no forces personnel have died in action. Across the country there are few memorials to these individuals, but Tameside Council has announced plans to honour their memory.
Cllr Jim Fitzpatrick, Executive Member for District Assemblies, said: “It stands to reason that among the more than 4,000 casualties since 1945 some must have been from our borough.
“Tameside Council wants to salute these people but we can’t do that without the help of the public. We know about the more recent casualties like Guardsman Tony Downes, Sgt Mark Stansfield and Cpl Joseph Etchells, but we want to learn about as many of the others as we can.
“We want to include their names on the new memorial. So, if you know of someone from Tameside killed on active service since 1945 - perhaps a member of you family - please let us know.
“E-mail me at jim.fitzpatrick@tameside.gov.uk or write to me at the Council Offices, Wellington Road, Ashton-under-Lyne, OL6 6DL. Make sure you include your contact details and as much information as possible.”
It is hoped to have the new memorial in place for Remembrance Sunday , 2010.
Beyond the new memorial, Tameside Council is erecting a tablet in each of the borough’s major towns and villages in memory of service personnel who have died since 1945.
The wording has been agreed with Tameside and District Ex-Services’ Association and reads: “In proud memory of the men and women of this town/village who gave their lives at the call of their country in the years since 1945. We will remember them.”
What's Your Limit?
Do you know how strong your favourite beer, wine or spirit is? Do you know how much drink your glass can hold? Do you have at least two alcohol-free days a week?
As well as reducing the longer-term health risks, cutting down on your drinking could help you to get in better shape
More than a quarter of the population of England (10 million adults) drink above the guidelines for lower-risk drinking. Of these, 2.6 million adults (eight per cent of men and six per cent of women) regularly drink at higher-risk levels.
The chief medical officer's guidelines on lower-risk drinking recommend that men do not drink more than 3-4 units daily (about two pints or two cans of normal-strength lager or beer on a regular basis) and women do not drink more than 2-3 units daily (roughly a large glass of wine or three single measures of spirits).
Drinking above these levels can increase your risk of heart disease, breast cancer, liver disease and stroke. Drinking above lower-risk guidelines can impact on your ability to get a good night’s sleep and affect your general health.
Tameside Council supports the Government’s Know Your Limits campaign by encouraging people to take stock of how much they are drinking by keeping a drink diary for a week.
Debbie Bishop, head of the Health Improvement Team, said: “We’re behind the Know Your Limits campaign because alcohol is one of the leading causes of health problems in Tameside.
“It’s so easy to get into a routine of regular drinking which is above the lower-risk guidelines, without realising you might be putting your health at risk. For example, if a man regularly drinks a couple of pints of beer most days of the week, he is drinking above the lower-risk guidelines.
“Keeping a drink diary for a week is easy, and can really make you stop and think about whether you ought to be cutting back.”
For further information and a drinks diary - visit www.nhs.uk/units
These are the unit strengths of some common drinks:
| Type of drink | Size | Strength | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine | 175ml standard glass | 12% | 2.1 |
| Wine | 250ml large glass | 12% | 3 |
| Wine | 750ml bottle | 13.5% | 10 |
| Beer/lager | Pint | 4% | 2.3 |
| Beer/lager | Pint | 5.2% | 3 |
| Strong cider | 440ml can | 9% | 4 |
| Strong cider | Litre | 9% | 9 |
| Alcopops | 275ml bottle | 5% | 1.4 |
| Spirits (e.g. vodka/gin) | 25ml single | 40% | 1 |
| Spirits (e.g. vodka/gin) | 50ml double | 40% | 2 |
Burglary Rate Comes Down
Burglary rates are coming down in Tameside but the dark nights can provide easy pickings for burglars, especially if you’re out celebrating at Christmas time. Follow these simple steps to make sure your house doesn’t become a target:
- When you go out leave a light on, or the radio, so that it looks and sounds like somebody is at home.
- Use time switches. These are cheap and effective and available from most DIY shops.
- If possible, ask a neighbour to close your curtains when your house in unoccupied so that it’s not obvious you are not at home.
- Good external lighting can deter burglars.
- Fit locks at the top and bottom of patio doors.
- In the run-up to Christmas, make sure that all valuables and presents are kept out of sight.
- Visible alarms make burglars think twice. But make sure you switch them on when you go out and when you go to bed.
- Lock your windows and doors, even if you are only nipping out.
- Never leave garages or sheds unlocked.
- Stop thieves from getting to the back of your house by fitting a strong, high gate across ginnels.
- Be alert to strangers. If you see someone you don’t know acting suspiciously, contact the police.
Hard Working
Tameside Council is determined to stamp out anti-social behaviour. This is just some of the work that the council, police, fire service and other partners have done in the last year:
- More than 1,600 letters sent to parents/carers of young people found to be acting anti-socially and in possession of alcohol. Almost 6,000 letters have been sent in total.
- 155 young people were referred for further intervention through the Early Intervention Group
- 92 acceptable behaviour contracts signed by young people who agree not to behave anti-socially. In total 277 have been signed.
- 22 anti-social behaviour orders obtained against persistent offenders. In total, 154 have been made to date.
- 1,025 fixed penalty notices issued by our patrollers for litter.
- 50 fixed penalty notices issued for dog fouling.
- Visits to primary schools as part of the RESPECT programme, educating pupils about the effects of environmental issues and anti-social behaviour.
- Crucial Crew is an annual programme for Year 6 children, covering such areas as road safety, the environment, anti-social behaviour and fire safety.
- Young people are referred to the Positive Activities for Young People programme through the Youth Service
- Operation Staysafe - partners work together to identify young people at risk on the streets and they are taken to a place of safety. Their parents/carers are called to collect them and given advice.
- Joint operations such as Safe4Summer and Treacle are carried out over the school holidays. This involves extra patrols by police and patrollers, test purchasing for alcohol, diversionary activities for young people and safety messages.
- PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meetings are held on a monthly basis in all Tameside wards to tackle issues of concern.
- Four neighbourhood action teams meet every month in Tameside. A range of partner agencies discuss issues affecting communities and on action to tackle them.
