Festival delight despite fund cut
Hockey champions MAIDSTONE Ladies’ first team have been promoted back to the national hockey league. Two seasons ago they were relegated to East Region Pre- mier League, but have bounced back. They beat Holcombe 7-1 in
their last match of the season to take the title by eight points, having won 21 and lost only one of their 22 games. The ladies face Canterbury
Annual river festival now set to go ahead as planned
MAIDSTONE Council is cut- ting its financial support for the town’s river festival and the multicultural Mela. Funding for both events will
come from a budget previously set aside to support the St George’s Day parade plus an uncommitted arts development budget. River festival chairman Mar-
tin Cox said it was “ab- solutely fantastic” to get £10,000, which means the event can go ahead for the 32nd year, on Saturday July 30. The cost to the council of the
river festival over the past three years has been £12,552 (2010), £11,341 (2009) and £13,178
(2008). In previous years, the council
has funded the Mela to the tune of £23,017, £17,423 and £21,906. It is to get £16,000 this year. Last year, a Saturday after-
noon event supporting St George’s Day, which was held in Brenchley Gardens, cost the council £8,753. It attracted up
in the Kent Cup final on Sun- day May 8, at Canterbury. This is their fifth consecutive final, having won three.
to 3,000 people, though a coun- cil officer’s report said the eco- nomic benefit was not thought to be high. The council will support the Scouts’ parade and church serv- ice as a key civic event but, as they do not require a financial contribution, the £15,000 budget will be transferred to the other two events.
AFORMER assistant chief constable of Kent has been found hanged. David Ainsworth, who left the county in 2008
after four years in the post to becomeWiltshire’s deputy chief constable, was being investigated for professional misconduct.
Help for head injury victims
PEOPLE living with the long- term effects of brain injury are to get their own drop-in centre in Maidstone town centre. The local branch of the Head-
way charity is opening a new weekly facility at the Switch Café, off the High Street, to mark Action for Brain Injury week (May 9-15). Service manager Di Drum-
mond said: “Over the years we’ve assisted very many peo- ple who are coping with this sometimes very complex con- dition.
“Recognising a need for sup-
port in the Maidstone area, we are delighted to open a new service on Thursdays, com- mencing May 12, from 11am to 2.30pm.” Initially, Headway will have a drop-in service for people with brain injuries and their families and also some activities at the café. A buddy service will be developed so that individuals can visit the facilities in the company of a friend.
‘Nothing suspicious’ about ex-county police chief’s death Mr Ainsworth was removed from regular du-
ties last September. He was said to be facing up to 24 allegations, mostly from women. His body was discovered at his rented accom- modation. His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Summer
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