Cleaner Marge celebrates 90th birthday at work
KEEPING 90th birthday celebrations a secret from cleaner Marge Rose turned into a military operation at The Mall shopping centre, Maid- stone. However, OperationMangoprovedahugesuc-
cess, with Marge treated to an early morning partywith her colleagues, family and friends. Paul Alcock, general manager of the centre,
said: “Marge has been a cleaner here for 28 years and knows everything that’s going on, everything about her jobandeveryonewhouses the centre; she’s a real character. So, trying to keep her party a surprisewas nomean achieve- ment, especially when she came on the radio asking what Operation Mangowas all about.” Margehas been cleaning at the mall, fivedays
a week, since she was 62. The spritely 90-year- old – thought to be the oldest cleaner in Britain – is proud that she has only taken one day off sick in that time. In fact, Margewasn’t going to lether birthday stand intheway ofherwork and insisted the management hold any get together outside ofwork hours, before she got started! Paul said: “Somany goodworkers likeMarge
areallowedto slip through thenet. Sheis fit and active and very capable. As long as she is able and still enjoying her work she will have a job here.”
Marge worked as a land girl during the war
andspent21yearspicking fruitatFirmins in Lin- ton, aswell as bringing up a large family, before startingwork at TheMall.
The Mall’s regional operations manager Sara Jones, Marge Rose and general manager Paul Alcock
High cost of parish inquiries Church hall plan
THE cost of taking Bearsted Parish Council to task over the misdemeanours of its members could have cost the ratepayer more than £25,000. In 2011, Cllr Geoff Licence is-
sued a code of conduct com- plaint against the then chairman of the parish council,Chris Dyke. Cllr Licence’s wife, Wendy,
made complaints against Cllr Dyke and four members of the parish council. Cllr Dyke and three others resigned. All members, apart from Chris
Dyke, were exonerated, afterMrs Licence’s claim that they had breached the code of conduct by implying she had hacked into the council’s computer whilst acting as relief parish clerk.
The investigating officer found
there had been no breach of the code by Mr Dyke, but Maid- stone’s standards subcommittee referred the matter to a hearing into allegations he had brought his office into disrepute, had failed to treat others with respect and had compromised the im- partiality of those working for the authority. He was censured by the committee. In response to a request under
the Freedom of Information Act, Maidstone Council’s senior plan- ning and prosecutions solicitor Kate Jardine revealed she had spent some 52 hours working on the case, while the council’s head of legal services, Paul Fisher, spent 60 hours.
7 Yeoman Court, Ashford Road, Bearsted Members of the standards com-
mittee conducted two committee hearings, and a full hearing was chaired by independent adjudica- tor DonWright, Kent Association of Local Councils vice-chairman Cllr Bill Stead and Maidstone Cllr Cynthia Robertson. Legal fees would have amounted to between £20,160 and £28,000, and the cost of in- dependent investigator Keith Trowell amounted to £5,447. At the time, Don Wright said: “People need to look, listen and read. We have received far too many complaints relating to this one parish. The cost of two in- vestigations has been high, all of which has to come out of the bor- ough funds.”
01622 738772
THE Victorian church hall in The Street, Boxley, is to be con- verted into two homes. Built in the 19th century as
the village school, the hall has fallen into disrepair.Aproposal to convert it into two homes with gardens and parking, and retain the attached cottage has been accepted by Maidstone Council. The property has a main hall,
office area, kitchen, store, toi- lets and a corridor with access to the back garden. The at- tached three-bedroom cottage has a fenced garden at the back. The building will be divided
to provide two two-bedroom properties. A shared parking area would be provided to the south of the building.
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