HNNL April 2007 page 3

April 2007

Series 32 No 2

Parish Council and Cherwell news

NORMAN MATTHEWS COMMUNITY HALL The Parish Council took a lease on this property, originally to provide a home for the Youth Club and the Out-of-School Club and an extension to the library. Unfortunately both groups have now left the premises and we can no longer justify the running costs. Therefore, unless we have formal proposals which will enable us to meet rising costs, we will have no alternative but to close down the building with effect from 14 April 2007.	PARISH COUNCIL ELECTIONS Elections for the new Parish Council will be taking place on Thursday 3^rd May 2007. Anybody interested must be at least eighteen years of age and have lived in the parish for at least twelve months or be on the Electoral Roll. Application forms can be obtained from the clerk, Ken Porter [kenneth_i.porter@virgin.net or 01295 758352] or from the Elections officers at Cherwell District Council [01295 221601]. Please hurry, however, as nominations close at noon on 4 April.
HEATH ALLOTMENT TRUST The trust dates back to the 1770s, and was set up to benefit the “poor and needy” in the parish of Hook Norton. Its revenue comes from renting farm land. The trustees meet two or three times a year to discuss rent reviews and the distribution of funds. A trustee has left the district and so there is a vacancy. If you would like to fill the vacancy please contact the clerk, Brian Clay, at 01608 737622.
LOCAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK Cherwell District Council held a consultation evening at Bodicote House on 6 March to bring parishes up top date with progress on the LDF. It was reported that the Issues and Options Paper for site allocations is now closed but consultations continue in respect of Bicester and Central Oxfordshire and, as a result, it is not expected that the Site Allocation Supplemental Consultation will take place before December 2007 with the Preferred Options being presented to Government by August 2008. At this stage adoption is planned for December 2009. CDC continue to stress the importance of representations from the public and these can be in writing or on-line. If you wish to use the on-line system use the following website and select “help”: http://consultation.limehouse.co.uk/index.do?identifier=cherwell Representations in writing should be addressed to Nigel Evans (Planning Policy Manager) at Planning & Development Services, Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury OX15 4AA. All personal details must be made available for any representation to be registered and previous representations can be viewed on the limehouse website above. Clarification regarding submissions can be made to Astrid Blackburn, the Community Engagement Officer at CDC, on 01295 227970 or by email to Astrid.Blackburn@cherwell-dc.gov.uk

CEMETERY WALL

I would like to congratulate Mr Dennis Mills and his team on the wonderful job they have done on rebuilding the Cemetery Wall. It is so nice to finally see the wall looking so great.
It has taken such a lot of hard work and I for one, just wanted Mr Mills and his team to know how very much appreciated their hard work has been.

Kim Woodward

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

There is no new news on our services so I thought that it would be useful to draw attention to the services that work very well from Hook Norton.
The hourly service into Chipping Norton arrives in time to catch the hourly bus into Oxford. This service costs £5 return.
This service is also useful to drivers as the last bus does not leave Oxford until 23.40 so you could park the car in Chippy.
This same service also calls at Woodstock – good for shopping or a trip to Blenheim Palace.
Another service that connects with he Hooky bus in Chippy is the bus to Shipston on Stour and Stratford. This bus leaves at 10.05 and returns at 15.00
The Witney (Charlbury) bus also leaves Chippy hourly, again connecting well with the Hooky service.
Ring me for more details, or the Traveline on 0870 608 2608 which I find very helpful.

Isita Pickering

VILLAGE FORUM WEBSITE
For news and views as they happen, don't forgot to have a look or participate in the forums at www.hook-norton.net

MINDLESS VANDALISM &
A DISREGARD FOR THE PROPERTY OF OTHERS
It is with much disappointment and not a little annoyance that I have to report recent incidents of mindless vandalism and an associated disregard for the property of others at the premises of Hook Norton Sports & Social Club.
Our club exists at The Bourne Playing Field, as it has done for many years in the past, for the recreation and social enjoyment of those people from Hook Norton and the surrounding area who choose to become members and thereby contribute to the cost of the provision and maintenance of the club's not inconsiderable facilities. In the last year or so, its committee and members have made a concerted and determined effort to enhance the club in a number of ways and not least in attempting to become an accepted and valued part of the community by the way it is seeking to conduct itself, especially in relation to its attitude and responsibility towards our young people. Indeed, in this connection, most leaders and organisers have volunteered themselves for screening by the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) as well as becoming trained in child protection procedures and against this background the club is extremely proud that its Cricket Club has been awarded ECB Clubmark recognition, whilst its Football Club, due to the combined efforts of its Senior and Junior Sections, has only fairly recently been elevated to the status of a FA Charter Standard Club.
In short, the club is now working extremely hard to provide excellent sporting and social facilities for our community, especially with the needs of our young people being uppermost in our minds, since these young people represent the future for Hooky and its surrounding area. It is against this background that I have been saddened to discover bench seats from the dug outs on the old football pitch removed from their proper resting places and subjected to being trampled on, including a memorial seat which is greatly revered by the local football fraternity. Additionally, stones have been thrown onto the pitch itself, the railings surrounding the tennis hut have been damaged, graffiti has appeared on the high wall and various signs elsewhere have been both damaged and defaced with a wanton disregard for our facilities.
Whilst most of us at some time in our lives have not always been angels, especially in our younger days, I nevertheless feel that what I have described goes beyond the realms of horseplay. Suffice it to say that the pattern of what has happened so far, and I sincerely hope that we will see no more of it, suggests that the offenders are probably local. Accordingly, if my suspicions are correct, I ask that all of us who are able will endeavour to play a part, in whatever way we can, to remove this unacceptable face of Hooky from the community that we all love. As you would expect, I have notified the local police of my findings and they have promised to give attention to the matter.
Thank you for reading this article and I trust you share my sentiments.

Geoff James
Secretary of Hook Norton Sports & Social Club & Secretary of Hook Norton FC

HOOK NORTON PRIMARY SCHOOL – ECO SCHOOL – YEAR SIX

HOOKY'S GONE “GREEN”! At our school, we are “Eco”. Eco means environmentally friendly. We are also a Healthy School. Here are a few things that we do.
As a Healthy School eating the right amounts of different foods is very important. At our school we have our own vegetable patch and we have our own kitchen: our cooks cook us delicious, nutritious food for lunch. As well as that we have a fruit stall that runs at morning break times, supervised by the year six pupils, and in science we learn about the ways of keeping a balanced diet.
Also, as a Healthy school, we make sure we have lots of exercise. To do this we have P.E. (Physical Education) lessons regularly, we participate in “Walk to school week”, as a school and encourage each other to walk- even when it's the coldest and wettest days!

As an Eco School we recycle in many different ways. We have four compost bins dotted around the school grounds, and we have paper bins in every classroom. Some of us have made posters on the computers telling us to turn off the lights and to save electricity. Every day one pupil from year six goes round to each classroom to check if the lights and overhead projectors are turned off. Furthermore, we have Hippo's in our toilets. Real ones? No, Hippo's are a bag with a small hole in the bottom. You put the bag in the system and then fill the bag up with water. What happens is when you flush the loo there is an extra supply held in the bag, so you don't run out of water! Great Idea!
To make all this happen we have an Eco Committee who meet once every other week. A boy and girl from each year represent their classmates. In the meeting the Eco committee discuss various points on saving the environment and different ways on improving. Eco Schools get awards. We have been awarded our Bronze Award and we are working towards the Silver Award. After Silver there is the “Green Flag” Award. (You will know when we have got our Green Flag Award, because we will be flying a green flag on the flagpole.)
In conclusion, we hope you are proud of us and think we are an important part of the community. We are glad that we are an Eco and a Healthy School, and we hope we can be even better. Anyone can be Eco and Healthy if they just believe in the environment and finally, themselves!

Esther Mead

HOOKY GOES GREEN! At Hook Norton school we are an Eco-school, and a Healthy school. “Eco means, trying to things to help the environment. These things are: saving energy, water, composting, and generally helping the environment. “Healthy school” means: having healthier school dinners, growing our own fruit and vegetables, and participating in walk to school week.
As a school, to be Eco Friendly - we save energy: we have regular energy checks. We have an in-school Eco committee – with members from each class attending regular meetings. We compost as much as possible and have four compost bins. Furthermore, we have paper recycling bins in each class room. Half of the class have sent a letter to Oxfordshire county council asking for renewable sources of energy. (We also have hippos in our toilets).
Firstly, to be a Healthy school, we have made our school menu healthier, with a salad bar, and in addition, we have removed all the fast food from the menu. At play times we have a fruit stall that has been running successfully for four years. We have a small vegetable patch that has triumphed (especially at strawberries). Regularly, the school attends walk to school week where everyone tries to walk to school for a whole week. We do this because it encourages people to walk to school.
Hook Norton school is classed as an Eco-school. We have achieved our bronze award and are trying really hard on the way to getting our silver award. We have got our Healthy Schools Status ( a very smart wooden plaque). In addition to our bronze we have got the level one and two in “energy saving”. (perhaps you could call us black belt Eco warriors!!!!!!!).
In conclusion , I think that being Eco and Healthy schools is fantastic, and feels great. We also want other schools to be Eco friendly and Healthy. We want more people to enjoy being Eco friendly. (In addition, the bonus is that it is fun to learn about.) It's our world and we want to keep it healthy. I think Hook Norton should be proud of us and the effort we have put in to helping the environment and being healthy.

Jonathan Roberts

HOOKY SCHOOL IS AN ECO SCHOOL!
We are proud to be an Eco and Healthy school. As an Eco school, we do our bit to help the environment. We have compost bins for putting vegetable and fruit waste in. And outside the school gates, we have bottle banks and can banks, so we can recycle. And every morning we have checks of the classrooms, to see if we've left the lights on. There is also an Eco Council, held every other week. Also, hippos have been placed in the toilets (I'm not sure how they got past customs!), which save 1/2 the water from a toilet flush, they're hungry, hungry hippos!!
Being a healthy school, we have a fruit stall, outside, every playtime. We sell fruit and vegetables such as apples and carrots. And the school cooks make healthy and nutritious meals. Plus, every year, we have Walk to School Week. No prizes for guessing what you do!! It's easy to save energy! The first step, is to just turn of lights and computers when you don't need to use them. We're doing it, and we already have our Bronze award for Eco Schools! The top award is the green flag, and you'll know when we have got it because we will be flying it from the flagpole.

Owen Kay

HOOKY SCHOOL GO “GREEN!
We are an Eco School/Healthy School, and to prove it we have an Eco/Healthy Schools committee. This committee is made up of two pupils from each class who get together and help to make Hook Norton School more Eco-friendly and Healthy. In this report you will have a mere taste of what we do as an Eco/Healthy School.
As a Healthy School, we obviously need to eat healthily. So, we provide our own school dinners containing three types of vegetables, and fruit for pudding if the children what it. If that wasn't enough we also have a fantastic salad bar, all of which are nutritious and delicious! What do you do when you are finished with the school dinners? You may ask. Well, we have compost bins, four of them dotted round the playground and near the kitchens.

The list of what we do doesn't stop there. It is endless, simply going on for ever! We also have fruit on offer every morning break we call this our Fruit Stall. The Fruit Stall has been running for four years, and it is still in full flow. As well as having a Fruit Stall we also grow our own vegetables at raised beds at the back of the school, occasionally we have our own, home grown vegetables to eat at the dinner hatch. We recycle too. Hook Norton School have bottle banks outside, which are used not only by us but the whole village!
As well as being an Eco School and a Healthy School, you could say that we were a Friendly School as well. For example when we are out at play year sixes have play-leaders who scoop children up that have no one to play with and play a game with them, this way they can have fun and exercise. Hook Norton School also encourage children to walk to school with a group of friends or with their parents/carers. To make sure they are safe when crossing we have a lollipop lady who helps them cross the main road outside school. As an Eco- School we have achieved our bronze certificate and are how racing towards their silver. We are also very weird and wacky in our own way, such as having hippos in our toilets! Just joking-we only have bags in our toilet system that (when we flush the toilets) saves litres of water at a time. So, now you've heard about just some of the things that we get up to as an Eco/Healthy School.

By Victoria Childs Carlisle