News


Ken and Eileen


Collins with


their grand- daughters at the


Staplehurst French


Market in


November, where 101


copies of the calendar were sold


Calendar raises funds for floor


A VILLAGE calendar is celebrating a record year, with profits set to help major work to a church floor. The Staplehurst Calendar, which


featured gates and stiles in the vil- lage illustrated in pen and ink by local resident Ken Collins, raised £1,800 this year. This year’s proceeds have gone to


the Friends of All Saints’ Church and will be put towards the remedial work required on the chancel floor, which is sinking. In the 14 years of the calendar, a total of £21,000 has been raised


andMr Collins is delighted. “I would like to thank everyone in


the village who supported the proj- ect, by buying, sponsoring and ad- vertising the calendars,” he said. “We are also grateful to the shops


who sold copies, the carnival com- mittee and the local churches for giving us stall space each year at Christmas events to help boost sales. “And, once again, our thanks go


to theHop Press ofMarden for their help with designing and printing the calendars.”


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Parents given a talking to after boys stop driver


TWO children were spoken to by police after reports of people in cars being approached in Yalding. No crime was committed by the


youngsters, but after officers were calledtoHempsteadLane onMarch 23, the pair, believed to be aged around 13 and 10,were taken home where police also spoke to their par- ents. A Facebook post which was


shared more than 800 times had warned of the pair causing alarmin the villagewith their actions. Anna Keys wrote on the social


networking site: “Two boys started to wave my car down and pointed atmy tyres, and the olderwalked in front of my car forcing me to slow down. “The untrusting suspicious part


ofme quickly locked the doors.As I slowed down, the other tried to open my passenger door and once


Learning Spotlight •


the older one moved to try the dri- ver’s door I zoomed off! “If I didn’t think to lockmy doors


or if I didn’t have the facility I could have lost my bag or much worse. I’m sure they were just chancing. But be careful out there folks, keep your doors locked when out and about.” A Kent Police spokesman con-


firmed that they had been called and that the two children had been found at the scene. “Kent Policewas called at 6.10pm


on Friday, March, 23 to reports of antisocial behaviour in Hampstead Lane, Yalding,” he said. “It is al- leged two young boysweremaking cars stop and attempting to get into them. “Police attended the scene and lo-


cated the boys. They were taken home and their parents were spo- ken to.”


Learning Spotlight


downsmail.co.uk


News


Newbid for lift at train station


CAMPAIGNERS are calling on rail users in Headcorn to help bring their station into the 21st Century. After failing towin cash for plat-


form lifts from the Department of Transport in the last funding round, campaigners say that de- spite the village having had a sta- tion for 175 years, it is still failing to meet the needs of all its customers. MPHelenWhately is backing the


call by the parish council for Gov- ernment “Access toAll” cash. The mother-of-three told Downs


Mail she knows only too well the problem presented by stairs when with a toddler and a pushchair, but this did not compare to the chal- lenges presented to the disabled. She said: “It’s high time a busy


station like Headcorn had proper step-free access to both platforms. I havewritten to Transport Secretary ChrisGrayling urging himtomark the 175th anniversary of Headcorn with the timely installation of lifts.” Parish councillor Simon Elven-


den (54), who has multiple sclero- sis, is one of those forced to travel five miles to Staplehurst to catch a train to hospital appointments in London because of the steep stair- case that cuts himoff fromthe city- bound platform. He said: “It’s not just disabled


people who are affected, but the elderly and mums and grandpar- ents with youngsters. The parish councilwants to hear fromall these people so that we can win support to improve our busy station.”


The steep steps at Headcorn station TheDoT says 40 of 278 access ap-


plications were successful in win- ning Government assistance from 2014-2019 and Headcorn failed be- cause, among other things, of its lowfootfall. But Cllr Elvenden argues: “It is


small wonder footfall is low at Headcorn when commuters with mobility problems are travelling to Staplehurst to catch the train. “Withmore houses being built in


the village,we hope our next effort to secure funding through the new train service provider will be suc- cessful. He has also suggested channelling some money from de- velopments (S106 cash) into the scheme to improve its chances. He said: “We have a good rela-


tionship with Southeastern and a fresh approach will be made for money when the new franchisee is announced in May. The parish council will also survey users at Headcorn and Staplehurst tomake our case for step-free access.” In the meantime, comments can


be sent to the parish council at clerk@headcornpc.org.uk.


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PLENTY of puff was needed by the trustee of a Yalding charity and his daughters at thismonth’s Cambridge Halfmarathon. But the efforts of Paul Fletcher and his daughters Katherine and Nicola


have raised nearly £1,100 for the Ken- ward Trust. Paul Fletcher, a


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trustee of the char- ity, said: “We had a great day, with ideal running conditions and fantastic sup- porters. Thanks to all those who gave in support of the great work at Kenward.” Lynn Hyder, direc-


tor of community services at Kenward Trust, said: “Themoney will help us provide rehabilitation and support services to those affected by alcohol and substance dependency” Kenward is holding a 5kmfun run on July 8 as part of its 50th anniver- sary celebrations. To get involved, visit kenwardtrust.org.uk.


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