Hope for the Future.

There were two occasions recently which gave me cause to think that the future of our county is in safe hands.

The first instance was when I attended a meeting of West Bedlington Town Council and heard a young man by the name of Callum Appleby give a short presentation in support of his application to the Council for funding.  This young man spoke to a fairly large gathering and explained why he would like help to visit Ecuador in 2018 in order to assist local communities with various projects ranging from building schools to installing fresh drinking water systems.  I wish him well in his efforts and have added a link to his Just Giving page if you feel you are able to help Callum in his very worthy project.

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/callum-appleby?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Yimbyprojectpage&utm_content=callum-appleby&utm_campaign=projectpage-share-owner&utm_term=dDJ67qR3N

The second occasion was when I was invited to attend the Northumberland’s Finest Awards at East Bedlington Community Centre.  I was asked if I would present the award for Innovation in youth work, which of course I was delighted and privileged to do.  It truly was inspiring to hear what some of these young people have overcome in order to achieve what they have, and when looking at the list of presenters it shows in what high regard these awards are taken.

6.45pm – Introduction – Welcome Her Grace, The Duchess of Northumberland

1. Enterprise Award:  Her Grace, The Duchess of Northumberland.
2. Volunteer Award:  Cllr Anthony Murray Civic Head of Northumberland County Council.
3. Community Impact Award:  Paul Hebron, Partnership Manager, NCS North East.
4. Innovation Award:  Cllr Bill Crosby County Councillor – Bedlington East Ward.
5. Participation Award:  John Dickinson High Sheriff of Northumberland.
6. Tackling Barriers Award: Dame Vera Baird QC Police + Crime Commissioner, Northumbria.
7. Health Promotion Award:  Cllr Wayne Daley Deputy Leader of Northumberland County Council + Cabinet Member for Children’s Services.
8. Youth Project Impact Award:  Mr Ian Lavery MP Member of Parliament, Wansbeck.
9. Special Awards:
Margaret Tench & Patrick Boyle Children’s Services, Northumberland County Council.

Closing Remarks

The staff at the Community Centre should also be congratulated for contributing to what was an excellent event.

On Monday, I attended a flag raising ceremony to commemorate Armed Forces Day and there were representatives there from various branches of our uniformed services.  This event helped to reinforce Northumberland County Council’s commitment to support our armed forces and long may it continue.

On a sadder note, there have been instances of damage caused in Bedlington Town Centre over the last couple of weekends where plants have been ripped out from planters destroying the hard work and effort undertaken by the volunteers involved in Bedlington in Bloom.  Also, on Friday night windows were broken at three premises in the Town Centre; this sort of behaviour is intolerable and my fellow Councillors and I will be having discussions with the relevant agencies to see if we can come up with a solution in order to combat this problem.  Our hard working team of Community Support Officers no longer work past 10.00pm, which is an area of concern, but in the case of the broken windows, which apparently occurred at 3.00am, we have been informed by one of the shop owners that the Police were able to apprehend the culprit at or near the scene of the crime.  Let us hope that there is enough evidence to charge the offender and put him before the Magistrates and see if they can make the punishment fit the crime…..

Other than these highlights, it’s been a case of attending County Hall for various meetings and training sessions as well as trying to help residents who have contacted me regarding various local issues.