Rotary honours foster care couple
A COUPLE who have fosteredmore than 40 children and hardly taken a holiday in the past 25 years, have been recognised for their dedication. Norman and Doreen Springett, of Sutton
Road, were awarded Paul Harris Fellow- ships by the Maidstone River- side Rotary Club. It is one of the highest awards Rotary makes and usually goes to members of particularly long or distinguished service but can also be awarded to community members who fulfil the Rotary ideal of ‘Service above Self’. Norman, the club’s longest serving treasurer, and his wife were described by Rotary as “two of society’s unsung he- roes”. A citation said: “It is a privi-
lege for the club to recognise their dedication.” This year the couple managed
five days away together for the first time in more than 15 years. Norman’s commitment to Maidstone Riverside Rotary
Seasonal
choral concert KENT County Junior Choir re- cently sang on television to help raise funds for the BBC Children in Need appeal. The choir, whose members
are aged 11-14, is to hold a Christmas concert at All Saints Church,Maidstone, on Satur- day, December 10, at 5.30pm. Tickets, priced £6, will be available on the door, with funds going to support the choir’s activities.
Hi Kent clinics
until Christmas HI Kent, the county’s charity for deaf and hard of hearing people, will be running free hearing aid clinics in the Vol- unteer Shop at 314 Dukes Walk, The Mall, Maidstone (the corner shop next to the ice cream stall) until Christ- mas.
Clinics are taking place on Mondays (from 10am to 12 noon) and Thursdays (from 2pm to 4pm). Information will also be available on volunteering op- portunities with the charity.
Doreen and Norman Springett (centre) with Lynn Mitchell, Rotary district governor, and Martin Carter, president of Maidstone Riverside Rotary Club
Olympics MP to honour young sports heroes
LOCAL MP Hugh Robertson, who is Minister for Sport and Olympics, will be guest speaker at Maidstone’s annual Youth Sport Achievement Awards (YSAA) ceremony. Parents, teachers and sports coaches have until December 30 to nominate any young person who has shown effort, dedica- tion and commitment in 2011. There are 11 categories open
to individuals, teams and schools, plus the opportunity to apply for training grants. Categories include: YSAA
gold, silver and bronze awards; team of the year; outstanding youth service to sport; out- standing personal achievement; Maidstone disability sport award and club of the year. There will alsp be awards for
primary and secondary schools. Maidstone Council’s cabinet member for community and leisure services, Cllr John Wil- son, said: “I hope people will take the opportunity to recog- nise the talents of the borough’s young sporting stars and reward those behind the scenes that make it all happen. With the Olympics just round the corner it’s even more reason to get be- hind our young sporting suc- cesses. They may not be competing in London but they are the future and, who knows, in 2016 they could be standing on the podium.” Further details at
www.maid-
stone.gov.uk/sports, pick up a form from the Maidstone Gate- way in King Street, or call 01622 602222.
DAN Mackelden Ltd has proposed to erect two stores to facilitate the storage of pumpkins and squashes at Lested Farm, Plough Wents Road, Chart Sutton. The farm currently grows the vegeta- bles on 140 acres of land.
Club was described as “second to none”. Aspokesman said: “His attention to detail
and timeliness has bought accolades for his accounts and financial acumen on more than one occasion. “In addition to his role as treasurer, Nor-
man works tirelessly behind the scenes for every club function, giving up a lot of his spare time.” Doreen’s fellowship award was in recognition of her unstinting support for Norman and for her foster care work. The spokesman added: “For
25 years they have demon- strated the patience, commit- ment and passion to look after in excess of 40 foster children of different ages, temperaments and race.” Also on the awards night, Ro-
tary district governor Lynn Mitchell – its first female DG – spoke about her involvement in the Cambria Trust, which has re- stored a Thames sailing barge for sail training and educational purposes. Lynn is particularly keen on working with young carers and the maiden post-restoration voyage of Cambria included a group from the local Crossroads Care, sponsored by the Maid- stone Riverside club.
Residents moan most about green waste sacks
WASTE collection was the Maidstone Council service that received the highest num- ber of complaints this summer. The reason the total, 25, was higher than normal was due to issues over the supply of garden waste sacks, which have since been resolved. A report to a council scrutiny committee said: “New procedures are in place to pre- vent the same problems re-oc- curring.” There were also complaints
about missed collections not being rectified. But there were “valid rea-
Archdeacon receives a warm welcome in his new diocese Plan to put up pumpkin storage units
THE new Archdeacon for Maidstone, the Venerable Stephen Taylor MBE, was officially welcomed to the county by a host of guests at a special service in All Saint’s Church, Maidstone. The service followed his installation
at Canterbury Cathedral, presided over by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr RowanWilliams. KCC chairman Cllr Paulina Stockell
and High Sheriff of Kent Georgie Warner joined other guests, including Maidstone Council chief executive Ali- son Broom, local clergy and church members, to welcome the new archdeacon. The Bishop of Dover, The
Rt Rev TrevorWillmott, led the serv- ice.
Archdeacon Stephen (55), previously
the Canon Provost of SunderlandMin- ster and an Honorary Canon of Durham Cathedral, officially started his new role in mid-October. As well as helping clergy and congre- gations in the Maidstone area, Archdeacon Stephen will work across the whole diocese to help churches to better support their local communities. Maidstone mayor Brian Mortimer cut the ribbon to open the new archdeaconry offices in Redcliffe Lane, Penenden Heath, on October 31.
sons” for these non-collec- tions, including contamination, use of the old plastic garden sacks, the bin being broken and blocked ac- cess. The report said that in the July-September period the council responded on time to 108 of the 112 complaints – 96%, up from 87% in the pre- vious quarter.
The Venerable Stephen Taylor with High Sher- iff of Kent, GeorgieWarner
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