Brothers head off to European dance contest
TWO boys from Sandling are seeking support to get their fantastic fancy footwork featured at a higher level. Brothers Jordan andSasha Shepherd have al-
ready accrued a string of accolades for their dance moves, and now face opportunities on the European and worldwide stage. The boys, who are pupils at Sandling Primary
School, started dancing in Maidstone but for the past two years have joined some of the top names in Britain’s street dancing scene. Both boys were chosen by Unity’s Tashan
Muir to join his team ‘Clique’ – the current British champions–and they also travel to Lon- don and Essex to get tuition from the dancers in Diversity, Olympic choreographer Nathaniel Jones who is Jordan’s mentor, and Sugar Free. Later this year, they will be off to
Amsterdam in June to represent Great Britain in the European Championships and the world championships in Copenhagen in October. Jordan (11) has successfully auditioned for
Solicitors name
their charities STAFF at Brachers solicitors in London Road,Maidstone, have chosen three local charities to support this year – Headway, The Heart of Kent Hospice, and Demelza. West Kent based Headway
helps people affected by brain injury and celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. TheHeart of Kent Hospice, in
Aylesford, specialises in pallia- tive care for people in the sur- rounding area, supporting 350 patients and their families. Demelza is a hospice sup- porting families of terminally- ill children across Kent, South East London and East Sussex. Individuals and teams at Brachers have organised vari- ous fundraising events for the charities, including a charity golf day at Chart Hill and a cycle ride to Paris. The firm will also be organising a larger event later in the year.
Furniture theft POLICE officers in Maidstone are investigating a theft from B&Q in Maidstone. Garden furniture and barbe-
cue equipment worth more than £1,000 was reported to have been stolen from the Barker Road store. Officers are now askingmem-
bers of the public to be on their guard, should they be offered garden furniture such as table and chair sets, or gas canisters. Anyone with any informa-
tion should contact PC Dilger at Maidstone police station on 101, quoting crime report YY/10436/13.
Canopy plan A PLANNING application has been submitted for a freestand- ing canopy at Poplar Pre School in Allington. The canopy would be erected
at the Giddyhorn Lane Pavilion. Maidstone Council will deter- mine the planning application.
30 Town
Sasha (left) and Jordan right with pal Bailey Ereira from Clique
several reality TV programmes, which are cur- rently under wraps. He recently came second in the solo All-England Championship and in the solo British Championship, and represents Great Britainwith another dance troupe, Crew Troopers. Mum Angelika, who runs a business from
Downs View Farm, Boxley, with her husband Richard, has started selling sweet cones around local pubs to help raise cash for the team’s trip to Amsterdam and Copenhagen and is hoping local businesses will step for- ward with offers of sponsorship. She said: “It costs £1,500 per child to take
part in the competitions in Europe, andmost of that goes on transport. These children are the ‘best of British’ and really need our support. They haveworked so hard to reach this level in such a short space of time.” Jordan and Sasha, the youngest of Mr and
Mrs Shepherd’s six children, train between four and six times a week. Sandling Primary school head teacher Mrs
Downs and class teachers Mrs Gibbs and Mrs Smith are very supportive of their endeavours. Mrs Shepherd has set up a website to raise funds and a following of supporters for the young dancers. For more information go to
www.gofundme.com/2ygakk
Record year for leisure centre
RECORD numbers of residents are flocking to Maidstone Leisure Centre, following last year’s fascination for the Olympics and all things sports- related. There were more than 9,000 additional visits in January and February 2013, compared to the same period last year. The 67,059 visitors in Febru-
ary made it the busiest month since records began in 2003 – a
sign that Maidstone folk could be getting more active, accord- ing to John Wilson, the town’s cabinet member for community and leisure services. Much of the increase is down
to a rise in the popularity of swimming lessons, following the appointment of a swimming coordinator to increase aware- ness and availability of swim- ming for all ages and abilities. A total of 8,702 lessons were
delivered in February 2013 – al- most double the number deliv- ered in February 2011. Cllr Wilson said: “The Lon-
don 2012 Olympic and Para- lympic Games were a great inspiration to all of us to be more active, and I’m delighted to seethatsomanymoreresi- dents are keeping the momen- tum going by taking advantage of the fantastic facilities at Maidstone Leisure Centre.”
Mums get to bottom of charity stunt
MUMS showed some bare- faced cheek on a charity buggy walk around Mote Park, Maid- stone, to raise more than £350. They wore special shorts from
the charity Beating Bowel Can- cer to raise money and aware- ness of the disease, in memory of one mum’s best friend. Robyn Gennari, from Loose,
lost her pal, Emily Rose, to bowel cancer in 2007, aged just 22. Robyn (28), and Emily, from Reigate, met at school. At 19, Emily started experiencing stomach pains which were first thought to be period pains, even though she had a family history of bowel cancer. The pain be- came so severe she had an oper- ation and a tumour was found. The initial prognosis was
A TOVIL primary school that was placed in special measures by Ofsted earlier this year will be federated with nearby schools to help raise standards. Archbishop Courtenay Church of England Primary School in Eccleston Road will join forces with St Michael’s In- fant School and St Michael’s Junior School, both in Douglas Road,Maidstone. AKCC spokesman said: “Staff from St Michael’s infant and
good but she developed severe complications,
including
MRSA and died in September 2007, days before her 23rd birthday. Robyn said: “Bowel cancer
didn’t come into people’s minds because she was so young. I want people to be aware that it can affect young people too.” Robyn, who is married with a two-year-old son and an eight-
Schools link to raise standards
junior schools will be involved in leading improvements at Archbishop Courtenay.” Head teacher of both the in-
fant and junior schools, Lorna Priddle, who will be executive head teacher of the new foun- dation, is a National Leader of Education. Catherine Taylor will be in-
terim head teacher until a re- placement can be found following the departure of for- mer head Louise Stubberfield.
year old stepson, has written to MP Helen Grant urging her to back the charity’s service pledge, setting out the care and treatment every bowel cancer patient has the right to expect from the NHS. The buggy walk mums are all
from Maidstone. To sponsor them, go to www.justgiving. com/teams/beating-bowel- cancer-buggy-walk-Mote-Park.
Diner agreed RESTAURANT chain Waga- mama has been given permis- sion to open Japanese restaurant at the Waterstones site in Earl Street, Maidstone. Waterstones says it will con- solidate its operation from its FremlinWalk branch. The restaurant would create
32 full-time equivalent jobs. Maidstone Council granted planning permission,with open- ing hours restricted to 11am– midnight Monday to Saturday and 11am–10pm on Sundays.
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