Page 63 - Phonebox Magazine April 2013

COUNCILLOR CORNER
A contribution from Cllr Debbie Brock and Cllr Peter Geary
Potholes to be Filled will be a number of other roads to be
collection of poems called “Somewhere South of Normal”.
On his World Tour of Milton Keynes Mark visited and read in every MK library from Olney down to Woburn Sands. The day finished with an hour-long special at the CMK Library where Mark was joined by other Milton Keynes poets.
A difficult budget in difficult times
At the time of writing we had hoped that resurfaced this summer and we will let you
winter would be long gone but it seems to A
know when this will be happening so that the obvious disruption can be minimised as much as possible.
It is quite obvious that over the past decade nowhere near enough has been invested in our road and footpath network. Generally, if a small amount is invested regularly this can keep the network in good shape. If however this is not done then whilst the impact may not be evident immediately when they do start to show the cost of undertaking the works is much larger.
have returned with vengeance. The snow is falling and the roads are once again becoming frosty. The frosty weather whilst hazardous for driving also sees the dreaded potholes appear which are caused primarily with water getting into cracks, freezing, expanding and breaking up the road surface. This is made doubly bad as Tarmac cannot be laid in frosty weather and the crews that normally go around filling in holes are re- deployed onto snow clearing and gritting duty. If holes are filled in the frosty weather, due to an urgent safety need, these often reappear quite quickly as the quality of repair just cannot be kept to a high enough quality in the cold weather. When the weather does finally warm up the council will be sending 11 crews out across Milton Keynes for at least 6 weeks to fill in every pot hole they find, not just the ones that have been recorded on the system. They will start in the areas where the most have been reported so continuing to report potholes should mean that area is done as soon as possible. We report as many potholes as we can through the Milton Keynes Council system but if we do not see them then we do not know if they are reported therefore please report potholes if and when you see them and within the next while, hopefully, all our roads will be looking a whole lot better than they do now. If you see a pothole or a pavement in poor repair you can report it on the Milton Keynes Council website under Potholes or by calling the helpline on 01908 252353.
The administration announced that last year it would be borrowing and investing over £50m in the road and pavement network to help improve it and protect for the long term. This scheme does make financial sense and therefore the council is procuring a partner organisation to deliver these works across the borough in the coming years. This will see large improvements in our infrastructure which will be befit all.
World Poetry Day was first declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1999. The purpose of the day is to promote the reading, writing, publishing and teaching of poetry throughout the world and, as the UNESCO session declaring the day says, to "give fresh recognition and impetus to national, regional and international poetry movements".
Plans for the Salt Box, Lavendon
Mark has been heard on BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 and has a weekly feature on Helen Legh’s Sunday morning show on BBC Three Counties. Mark is also Poet in Residence for the MK Dons and works with their Sports and Education Trust (MK Dons SET) organising Poetry Slams in MK schools.
We joined Mark, along with Mayor of Milton Keynes, Cllr Catriona Morris and other library goers to enjoy his performance at Olney Library, he’s a brilliant performer and if you get the opportunity to see him in action we’d really recommend the experience.
Long Term Improvements
A developer is bringing forward plans to develop the site known as the Salt Box in Lavendon. A public exhibition will be held in Lavendon’s Village Hall on Saturday 6th April from 10am-2pm. Attending will provide an opportunity for residents to inform themselves about the proposals, no planning application has as yet been submitted although it is expected that this will follow. If and when this does come we will do our best to support residents in representing their views to the planning authorities. No decisions have yet been made on this so please do make yourself aware of the plans and also then make your views known as and when a planning application is submitted.
MK Poet Laureat visits Olney Library
Some roads, paths and red ways across the whole area are getting beyond the point of repair. As part of the works to improve the roads, the Council will this year be resurfacing some roads here in the Olney Ward, including the High Street in Olney and also the Weston Road in Ravenstone. There
On Thursday 21 March it was World Poetry Day and Milton Keynes’ Poet Laureate, Mark Niel (right) chose the day to launch his first
We wish you a Happy Easter. Our surgery is held at the Olney Centre on the evening of the first Friday in the month, in April that is Friday April 5th from 7.30-8.30, please feel free to at- tend or contact us at any time at the details given.
Charity Raffle
1 Come and Play Junior Cricket for Olney
Lui & Lei Hair Studio in Olney is organising a great raffle draw on 6th April 2013, with the purpose of raising money for deafblind people and support the local runner Stephen Dicks reach his London Marathon target.
Besides making an important contribution to charity, you have the chance to win some great prizes: three capped and signed Ronan O’Gara rugby shirts and one Spurs shirt signed by the Legends such as Osvaldo Ardiles, Martin Chivers, Martin Peters and Pat Jennings. In addition to this, sport lovers also have the chance to win a fee free entry to the sprint triathlon at
Are you aged between 8 and 17 and interested in playing cricket in Olney?
Olney Town Cricket Club coaches boys and girls to play cricket and runs a number of competitive junior sides every year.
many local teams.
If you’re interested, why don’t you come and register your interest at the Club’s Youth Registration Evening to be held this year at the cricket pavilion from 6:30pm on Friday 19th April.
Alternatively, you can contact either our Chairman, David Harrison on dvdharrison@aol.com or our head junior coach, Dave Hurley, on hurleysgd@yahoo.co.uk to receive a registration form and get all the joining details.
Phonebox Magazine 63
Emberton. Tickets are £5 raffle ticket from Lui & Lei – 4 Fountain Court, Olney, MK46 4DG, 01234 714 900. The draw will take place on 6th April and all the money raised will be donated to Sense, the leading national charity looking after deafblind children.
All our coaching sessions and home games are played on our superb facilities at the Recreation Ground.
More information about their work can be found at www.sense.org.uk Lui & Lei Team
Coaching sessions are supported by qualified coaches and our competitive games are played in the Buckinghamshire County Cricket League against