Soham On-Line - Local News 2008

Children’s Centres are places where parents and carers of children under five years old can receive information and advice about support, services and activities. Earlier this year, a Children’s Centre opened in Soham with a temporary base at Soham Health Centre just off Pratt Street which will eventually move into two new buildings located at The Weatheralls Primary School and St. Andrews CE Primary School in early 2009. Services and activities will be delivered at the centres in Soham but also in all of the surrounding villages including Fordham, Kennett, Wicken, Isleham, Chippenham and Snailwell. Activities that are currently running are as follows:-

A weekend of celebrations is to be staged to mark the occasion of this important anniversary of Soham Village College. Displays of memorabilia and personal souvenirs will provide a chronological account of past events and life at the Village College. Four main display venues will be used:-

The weekend will be captured on DVD and computer facilities will be used to keep records of the many items that will be brought along. It is expected that large numbers of people will attend and want to bring their own archives or contribute to the displays. Please do bring your own photographs and please pass this information to your relatives and friends, especially those who have had a connection with the College.

Please E-Mail: svc@soham-college.org.uk if you would like to contribute or to receive further information and details.

Soham Village College
Opening Ceremony
Lodeside Hall, Soham Village College - 7.00pm for 7.30pm Start
This is a FREE Event. Tickets are required and numbers are limited
For a Ticket Application Form, Please Tel: 01353 724100
Ticket allocation will be dealt with on a strictly first come first served basis

Soham Village College
Public Exhibition
Lodeside, Soham Village College from 12.00pm Onwards
Public Displays Open to the Public, Guest Speakers, Cream Teas, Tours of the school
This is a FREE Event

Soham Village College
Celebratory Meal & Concert
Lodeside Hall, Soham Village College - 7.00pm for 7.30pm Start
This is a Ticket Only Event. Tickets are Priced £12.00 Each (Prices Includes Meal)
For a Ticket Application Form, Please Tel: 01353 724100
Ticket allocation will be dealt with on a strictly first come first served basis

The Viva Centre in Churchgate Street, Soham have some offices to let for a very reasonable monthly rate with a minimum six month lease available. For more information contact Miss Lisa Hunt on Tel: 01353 722228, E-Mail: or visit The Viva Centre, 7 Churchgate Street, Soham.

The first in-store police office in Cambridgeshire is now open for business. The police office in Soham's Budgens store - only the second of its kind in the country - will allow shoppers to discuss concerns with beat bobbies. It was officially opened on Monday 3rd March 2008 by South East Cambridgeshire MP Jim Paice and will be open three times a week, twice a day for a trial period. The hours may be extended later. Soham's full-time police station was closed in 2000 because it was not "cost-effective".

Councillor Chris Palmer, Chairman of Soham Town Council, said: "We used to have a full-time office in Soham, with about six officers here, but that seems like a very long time ago now. I think it's vital to have somewhere in the community to tell police about incidents and general worries about crime, so I'm glad that is now the case again." He added: "It's an issue on which we've campaigned for many years, so we're delighted that it's finally happened."

The opening day saw more than 60 schoolchildren visit the office for a talk from police. They had their fingerprints taken for fun. Jonathan James, owner of the Clay Street store and a former Special Constable, was one of the driving forces behind the community police office. He said: "It will bring the police into the heart of our community. This base for the neighbourhood policing team will mean the community of Soham will be able to access officers more readily and in a familiar environment."

Mr Paice said: "This is a great example of the police and the local community working together. "Having a permanent police presence in the centre of Soham will provide reassurance to local people and help to deter the kind of anti-social behaviour that has proliferated in recent years." Inspector Alan Savill, who runs the Ely District Police Force, said: "The office was established after listening to residents' views during panel meetings and after local officers asked for a way in which to be more involved in the community and visible in their areas. "This is an ideal opportunity to come and meet the team and take positive crime prevention measures, which will allow officers a far greater opportunity to reduce crime, as well as apprehend offenders and recover stolen items."

The office opening hours are: Wednesday 9.00am-10.00am and 1.00.pm-2.00pm, Thursday 9.00am-10.00am and 1.00pm-2.00pm, Friday 2.00pm-3.00pm and 6.00-7.00pm.

New St. Andrew's Church Website

www.sohamandwicken.org.uk

St. Andrew’s Church, together with St. Laurence’s Church in Wicken, now has its own website. On it you can find information about our worship and activities including news of special services and social events. You can also find out about weddings and baptisms and how to book them. There is a regularly updated calendar which has service times as well as meetings and fund raising events on it and a map to help visitors find us. You can even download Lodestar if you want to. We hope that it will be useful for visitors and newcomers looking for basic information and for our regular worshippers who can check for news and event details. Do have a look at it if you can and see what you think. If anybody has any ideas about other things that might be included please E-Mail the vicar, Tim Alban Jones MBE, at vicar@soham.org.uk or speak to Edward Green or Alison Evans at St. Andrew’s Church.

Thank you to our curate Edward Green for designing the website and doing all the technical bits! The content has been written by Alison, Tim and Eddie. Thanks too to Chris Scurrah for including St. Andrew’s Church on the excellent Soham On-Line Community Website www.soham.org.uk. Our site includes a link to Soham On-Line as well as to other local Churches and the Ely Diocese.

Want to communicate with your local Neighbourhood Policing Team???
Do you want to know what is happening in your local area???
Would you like to receive regular crime and community information that is local to you???

E-Cops is the answer!!!

E-Cops is an E-Mail scheme from Cambridgeshire Constabulary for your community. Cambridgeshire Constabulary is extending its successful E-Cops scheme to cover the Soham area. Your local Neighbourhood Policing Team would like to inform you what is happening in your area. E-Cops gives us an opportunity to do just that and gives you an opportunity to communicate with us.

Complete the on-line registration form by visiting:- www.cambs-police.co.uk/myneighbourhood/ecops/

When you sign up you will receive an E-Mail confirming that you have joined E-Cops. From then on you will be sent regular E-Mails from your local Police Officer. You will be able to respond to these e-mails with information and feedback.

Cambridgeshire Constabulary
Creating a safer Cambridgeshire

CCTV Texting Alert System

CCTV has been involved in partnership working for some time, but one of the most important partners we need to work with are members of the public. It is generally agreed that the most effective way of tackling crime, anti-social behaviour and terrorism is through a vigilant public who report suspicious activity. Members of the public, who see something wrong within an area covered by CCTV, will be able to contact the CCTV Control Room in Cambridge directly by texting 62288.

All messages will be acknowledged and CCTV Control Room Operators will prioritise the messages received and then carry out follow up action.

A couple of points to remember: always call the Police first to report a crime on 999 when life is in danger, a serious offence is in progress, a suspect is at the scene, there is danger of violence or damage to persons or property or there is a serious road accident.
0845 456 4564 should be used to contact the Police in all other cases, only then text the CCTV Control Room.

The text to CCTV should include the location (Street/Town) and what is going on e.g. 'High Street, Soham, Fight'.
Text messages to 62288 cost 12p on Vodafone and 10p on other mobile networks.

Stub It Out - For Good

Giving up smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health, and the benefits will start to show very quickly. Smokers who want to kick the habit can now get access to NHS services by contacting their local GP surgery in East Cambridgeshire & Fenland Primary Care Trust, or by calling the new ‘Quit Smoking’ Freephone Number - 0800 1690169. For the first time, all 17 GP surgeries within the local Primary Care Trust area now provide advice and support to any patient who wants to give up smoking through trained smoking cessation counsellors. If you are a smoker why not contact your local surgery to find out more, or call the helpline on 0800 1690169. Alternatively please call: Claire Mead, Healthy Lifestyles Co-ordinator on: 01353 654208. For further information about the Healthy Living East Cambridgeshire (HLEC) initiative please contact Kate Nichols on 01353 616349 or alternatively E-Mail: .

LOCAL NEWS 2008