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Maidstone’s Bigger Society


MAIDSTONE Council has set aside £100,000 of government funding to help empower com- munities as part of its plan for the ‘Bigger Society’. The cash could be used to


help community groups, chari- ties and social enterprises work together in a way that benefits the local neighbourhood and does away with much of the present local government bu- reaucracy and ‘red tape’. A neighbourhood action plan


has already been produced in Park Wood as part of a pilot scheme, which has identified several improvements that resi- dents would like to see, and a similar exercise is about to get underway in Shepway. The council will now be


asked to decide which actions should be carried out and how the community can be enabled to complete the remainder.


The borough is already work-


ing on ideas for a website for Maidstone’s Bigger Society, which will pull together advice and links for community groups and individuals. It is also to set up a panel to consider applica- tions for funding. Budgetary cuts mean Maid-


stone Council has had to priori- tise its services and some services, considered crucial to local communities, have had to be reduced. Part of the ‘Big Society’ plan


is to allow local people to have more control over public fi- nance, deciding how public money is both raised and spent. A community does not neces-


sarily have to be geographical – it could be a group of people with a common need, such as the elderly or those living in re- mote rural areas.


Asbestos led to pensioner’s death A RETIRED prison governor who had spent much of his life work- ing with asbestos died as a result, aMaidstone inquest heard. Joseph Anthony Goodair (77) began his working life with an elec-


trical company in Holmfirth,West Yorkshire. He routinely worked in a small office, without ventilation, repairing irons and electric fires, which contained asbestos components, the inquest was told. He trimmed asbestos-covered wires with a knife or clippers in a


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dusty environment, with no gloves or protective clothing. As he grew older, he worked in a series of mills, laying electrical cabling alongside asbestos-lagged pipes and often had to remove chunks of asbestos which were breaking away. Even when he moved to the Isle ofWight, where he began work


in Parkhurst prison in 1967, he continued to be exposed to as- bestos. He worked there as an electrical contractor during the evenings and weekends in cramped conditions under the floor, where there were asbestos-lagged pipes. Mr Goodair, who lived in Otteridge Road, Bearsted, was diag-


nosed with sarcomatoid mesothelioma – a rare form of lung cancer and generally only found in people who have been exposed to as- bestos – in late 2010. He failed to respond to treatment and died in the Heart of Kent Hospice on December 14, 2011. Coroner Mrs Patricia Harding recorded a verdict of death by in- dustrial disease. She said: “During his working life, from 1943 through to the 1970s, Mr Goodair was exposed to asbestos and I am satisfied it is more than likely that the mesothelioma he contracted was as a re- sult of that asbestos exposure.”


Walk off the weight with a police pup


PEOPLE are being urged to get off the sofa and become police puppy walkers. Dog enthusiasts are required


to help rear and develop a num- ber of German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois puppies. Puppy walkers need to be at


home most of the day and a home check is required before a puppy can be placed with them. Once a month they attend the Kent Police kennel with their pups for training classes. Inspector Preston Chalk said:


“Our puppies develop best when broughtupwithinfami- lies. This allows them to meet and socialise with people in a variety of different conditions. In order to prepare the pups for a career in policing, our puppy walkers are asked to expose the pups to the every day sounds, smells and experiences so that their confidence develops. All food, equipment and vet- erinary costs will be met by


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Helpers are wanted to train puppies for police work


Kent Police.


 Police are renewing their ap- peal for German Shepherd pup- pies. Officers are asking for dogs aged between 12 and 18 months to join the service. Info: 07980 770597/kentpolicegift- dogs@kent.pnn.police.uk


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