Audit inspectors have given Oxfordshire County Council a "fair" rating as part of a nationwide review of local authori- ties. The Audit Commission published Comprehensive Performance Assessment figures for all county and unitary councils on December 12
The Abingdon and District Musical Society is holding a Christmas Charity Concert at Trinity Church, in Conduit Road, on December 14, at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from Modern Music, in High Street, or on the door.
Teenagers in Wallingford have welcomed a proposal to build a skatepark on town council-owned land. In-line skaters and BMX riders have campaigned for it, but finding a suitable location has been a problem. Demand for a new skate area increased when a
A concert of seasonal music will take place at the Methodist Church, in High Street, at 7.30pm on December 14. Tickets cost £5, or £2 for children.
Engineers have said they do not know what caused a blackout in west Oxfordshire. Thousands of people were without electricity from 7pm to midnight on December 10 after a power cut hit villages near Chipping Norton, including Charlbury, Chadlington and
Waste action groups in Charlbury and Finstock played their part in protecting the environment by holding a plastics recycling collection day. The Charlbury group has been going for three years and holds monthly collections of materials for recycling.
A consultation process is under way to ensure that all homes for older people conform to the latest Government standards by 2007. Councillors and social and health care managers at Oxfordshire County Council will work with partner organisations including
Head into East Hagbourne on any school day morning and you will hear American military-style chanting from a stream of pupils wearing fluorescent tunics. Children take the 'bus' The marching song goes: "Hagbourne Walking Bus is cool, it takes us to our
The Neasham Lloyd solicitors partnership in Sheep Street, Bicester, raised about £1,700 for Will Aid during November. Clients donated the cost of having wills drawn up, and the partnership works for free. Will Aid raises money for seven charities including
Homelessness charity the Bridge project is appealing for volunteers to help out in the day centre in Iffley Road, east Oxford. Donations of toiletries and tinned or dried food are also welcome. For details, call 01865 201818.
Cash was snatched from the till of the Spar shop in Dunnock Way, Blackbird Leys, shortly before 8.30pm on December 9. The offender was white, 5ft 4in, thin, with dark hair. Anyone with information should call Oxford police on 01856 266333 or Crimestoppers
Pupils at a Banbury school were forced to miss lessons after faulty pipes left much of the school without heat. Engineers earlier had found the 40-year-old pipework of the Blessed George Napier School had perished in several places. Two year groups have
Volunteers are needed to work two hours a week at the Oxford Night Shelter, in Luther Street. The charity is running a winter shelter at weekends and is appealing for donations of money and food to help homeless people move into new accommodation. For
A man has been acquitted of indecently assaulting a girl over a six-year period. On December 11, a jury at Oxford Crown Court acquitted Charles White, 53, of Milton Gate Road, Deddington, near Banbury, of eight charges of indecent assault between December
Street wardens are to help police tackle rising car crime in Banbury. Figures from April to November this year show a sharp rise in thefts from vehicles, up from 412 incidents last year to 498. To cut the figures, police and wardens employed by Cherwell
The Neasham Lloyd solicitors partnership in Sheep Street, Bicester, raised about £1,700 for Will Aid during November. Clients donated the cost of having wills drawn up, and the partnership works for free. Will Aid raises money for seven charities including
Internet publisher Ingenta saw its shares tumble after its profits were dented by changes to its accounting practices. The company, which recently moved its headquarters to Oxford, has changed the way it recognises the revenue from long-term deals with
Old Fire Station, Oxford The Oxford Theatre Guild's seasonal offering is Christopher Denys's version of the medieval plays, The Mysteries, which can be seen at the Old Fire Station until December 14. Assisted by a small choir who provide musical interludes
Didcot Citizens Advice Bureau is seeking volunteers to act as advisers and help run the office. Manager Janice Haynes said: "If you are interested in people, and local and national issues -- and have about eight hours a week to spare -- the CAB would
A bogus caller claiming to be a council worker entered an elderly woman's home and stole her pension book. The woman let the man into her home in David Walter Close, Cutteslowe, at about 10.45am on December 9. He was white, in his 20s, of medium build
Ian 'Digger' Beesley claims a loophole in the law means he can legally rip up a road hump outside his Oxford home if council workers decide to re-lay it. Yesterday, the builder was charged with criminal damage to the road surface in Ferry Hinksey Lane
A digital gateway opening up Oxford's archaeological heritage has been launched by Oxford City Council and English Heritage. The project, launched on December 10, is the culmination of more than 10 years' work and brings together archaeological information
Pupils brought some festive spirit to an Oxford visitor attraction as they entertained staff and customers with a selection of Christmas carols. Singing at the Oxford Story About 55 youngsters from Radley Primary School performed a series of seasonal
Costume-clad actors from the Oxfordshire Touring Theatre Company, pictured, added even more fun to going home time when they appeared at the gates of Rose Hill First School, in Oxford. The company, which is performing The Little Prince at the Pegasus
Oxfordshire is being told to increase the number of people undergoing drugs treatment, while receiving the region's smallest increase in Government cash. Ministers have said the number of criminals sentenced to drug treatment and testing orders (DTTOs
Santa Claus dumped his sleigh and caught a bus to visit children in south Oxford. Santa drops by at Rose Hill He took a trip on the new-look Stagecoach buses being used in and around Rose Hill, after the company invested £100,000 to improve services to
Schools can apply to BT for a £15,000 award to mark the introduction of citizenship studies as a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Schools can apply for the award by logging on to www.bt.com/education/schoolsawards
The county's Chief Fire Officer John Parry has promised a dramatic reduction in the number of false alarm calls. Mr Parry's vow followed recent strike action over pay by firefighters, which saw a dip in the number of false alarms. He told members of the
Researchers at Oxford University claim they have discovered a drug which could become the male contraceptive pill within the next decade. Unlike the female pill, which mimics a woman's hormonal balance to prevent her becoming pregnant, the male equivalent
The Friends of All Saints Church are holding a Yuletide Evening on December 14, at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay, from 6.30 to 8.30pm. For tickets call 01235 848330 or 01235 848235.
Plans for a new family centre in south Abingdon have won planning permission -- and work on the project, costing more than £500,000, should get under way next Easter. The new building, due to open in the summer, will be on the Caldecott School site, which
Wallingford's youth club has been given a £500 grant by the town council to complete the refurbishment of its home in Clapcot Way. Youth leader Dave Leggett had asked for more funds for the project, which is due to be finished in January.
A retired electrician who worked on power stations in Africa died as a result of a disease caused by exposure to asbestos, an inquest in Oxford heard. Peter Drewett, 79, of Quarry Road, Witney, died in hospital on May 1 after he was diagnosed last year
Truancy patrols visited over 20 homes in the Carterton and Burford area, but did not find a child who should have been at school. The visits were made by police officers, accompanied by an educational social worker. Twelve visits were made in the Carterton
Workers are being offered the opportunity to take on their colleagues behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Mike Yeats at the wheel Mike Yeats has set up Racing Challenge, based at Alvescot, near Witney, to give up to eight people the chance pit their skills
A Witney nursery has raised money for charities by organising play activities. Kindergarten, at the Thorney Leys Business Park, has been using a multi-surface outside play area to collect about £2,500. The play area was laid earlier this year, thanks
Thieves targeted cars in Thame town centre and took laptops and briefcases. A Silver Volkswagen Golf, parked in Upper High Street, was broken into between 9.30pm on December 3 and 7.30am the next day. On the same night a briefcase was stolen from a BMW
The National Childbirth Trust will be serving mince pies at a Christmas coffee afternoon on December 13 for any parents in Wantage with young children. Call Natalie on 01235 771117 for more information.
The Wilts and Berks Canal Trust will be restoring a section of the waterway at Wantage from 9am on December 14. For details of where to meet, call Roy on 01864 820140 or visit www.wantage-waterway.co.uk.
Women are being offered the opportunity to update their computer and English skills. The Oxfordshire Basic Skills Service is running a Women in Technology course, which consists of 11 daytime sessions on Wednesdays in Wantage, from January 15, or Thursdays
Wantage Silver Band has recorded its first CD to mark its anniversary. Entitled Celebrating 30 Years, tracks include traditional brass music and film themes. Band members with the CD Pictured with the CD are, from left, band members Katherine Kowalski
Wantage Town Council wants answers about plans for the future of secondary education in the area. The town's mayor has asked for a report by Oxfordshire County Council to be made public and is seeking assurances that a decision about a 'superschool' for
A Wantage town councillor, who has worked for the Conservatives since 1945, is standing down because of a "difference of opinion" with the party. John Coates, 76, has served as a town and district councillor for nearly 40 years. In his resignation letter
The Ex-Services Club, in Sheep Street, Bicester, is holding a Christmas cabaret evening with a disco and raffle on December 13, from 8pm.
A site manager for housing developer Ambrosden Court was presented with one of the Top 100 seal of excellence awards in the National House Building Council's Pride in the Job Awards. Chris O'Driscoll won the award for his management skills and ability
A man who had worked in the building trade since leaving school, died aged 45 as a result of an asbestos-related disease, a coroner ruled. An inquest in Oxford heard that Anthony Cooper, of North End, Wendlebury, near Bicester, first complained of pain
An asylum seekers' centre could only be closed if a catastrophic event happened once it had been given permission to open, an inquiry heard. Surplus Ministry of Defence land between Piddington and Blackthorn, near Bicester, is one of two sites chosen
Guests at the Turnpike Inn, Kidlington, will be served free glasses of mulled wine made to a family recipe throughout December. Landlady Emma Holmes has banned tacky Christmas accessories. There is a charity fine box for anyone who brings them in.
More than 100 children from schools in the east of the city designed their own Christmas cards as part of a competition run by the mental health rehabilitation charity, Restore. The winning designs will see their cards printed at Restore's workshops.
Three teenagers have been questioned about a burglary at a Banbury school. Nine laptop computers were stolen from St Leonard's Primary, in Overthorpe Road, Grimsbury, on December 4 or 5). Information about laptops offered for sale in suspicious circumstances
The pleasure was in the giving and the receiving for Banbury mayor Tony Mepham. At a reception in the town hall, he received hundreds of toys donated by members of the public, local businesses, and the General Municipal and Boilermakers Union. The toys
Schools can apply to BT for a £15,000 award to mark the introduction of citizenship studies as a compulsory part of the national curriculum. Schools can apply for the award by logging on to www.bt.com/education/schoolsawards
Continued expansion of the personal tax department at James & Cowper's Oxfordshire office has resulted in the promotion of Marie Caulfield to manager. Ms Caulfield relocated to the firm's Oxfordshire office almost two years ago to develop its personal
A site manager for housing developer Ambrosden Court, Bicester, was presented with one of the Top 100 seal of excellence awards in the National House Building Council's Pride in the Job Awards. Chris O'Driscoll won the award for his management skills
Ian Hunneyball has been appointed president of discovery services by drug discovery firm Evotec OAI. He will lead the chemistry operations in Abingdon and the biology services in Hamburg, Germany. Evotec OAI has created the position because of increasing
Workers are being offered the opportunity to take on their colleagues behind the wheel of a Ferrari. Mike Yeats at the wheel Mike Yeats has set up Racing Challenge, based at Alvescot, near Witney, to give up to eight people the chance pit their skills
DIY enthusiasts are fuelling sales at B&Q-to-Comet group Kingfisher. The company, which has three B&Q outlets and two Comet stores in Oxfordshire, said sales in the three months to November 2 were up 9.8 per cent on the same time last year, at
The jury in the trial of a man accused of raping a cancer sufferer, beating her and hacking out chunks of her hair is considering its verdict. Richard Day, 21, of Brightwell-cum-Sotwell, near Wallingford, denies two counts of rape. The jury at Oxford
Teenagers ran riot through Didcot town centre, smashing telephone kiosks, damaging cars and bombarding dinner dance guests with beer bottles outside the Civic Hall. Frightened staff who dialled 999 as teenage hooligans entered the foyer and went into
Runners donned fancy dress and flocked to Christ Church Meadow in Oxford to raise money for charity. About 150 people lined up at the start line for the city council's annual two-and-a-half mile Christmas fun run on December 11. They were sent on their
The Winter Green Fair takes place at Oxford Town Hall on Dcecember 14. Organised by the Oxford Green Party, the event is expected to be packed with entertainment and stalls. The traditional fair is in its 20th year and runs between 10.30am-4.30pm. Last
Ian 'Digger' Beesley destroys the Ferry Hinksey Road speed hump Humps designed to slow traffic along Oxfordshire's congested roads are the latest political hot potato, after sleep-deprived builder Ian Beesley dug one up outside his home. Speed humps are
Crows and starlings are to be enlisted by a new Oxford University spin-off company which aims to advise businesses how to manage risk. Oxford Risk Research and Analysis (ORRA) has been set up by Oxford University zoologist Sir John Krebs, who is also
A woman with a history of mental illness hanged herself in her Oxford home while her husband was in the shower, an inquest heard. Manjit Kaur Dhami, 33, of Mandlebrote Drive, Littlemore, was found hanging by a scarf from the bannister by her husband Jasbinder
Anyone arrested for robbery, burglary, theft or drug offences in Oxford will be asked to take a test and offered treatment if they prove to be users of class A drugs. Civilian gaolers will carry out the tests on people charged with 'trigger offences',
NHS inspectors are concerned that paramedics are often prevented from dealing with 999 calls because of hold-ups at Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital. A report published on December 12 by the Commission for Health Improvement said crews waited up to six
Crows and starlings are to be enlisted by a new Oxford University spin-out company which aims to advise businesses how to manage risk. Oxford Risk Research and Analysis (ORRA) has been set up by Oxford University zoologist Sir John Krebs, who is also
