Tuesday 8th February 2011 Oxford towpath work completed
A £1.75m project to repair Oxford’s crumbling Thames towpath has been
completed. The 40 year old towpath had failed in several places along
a three-mile stretch of the river and, as work began and more problems
were revealed, it was soon realised the project was bigger than first
expected. Rodney Rose, county council cabinet member for transport,
said: "I feel certain that the substantial improvements to the safety
and accessibility of the towpath as well as to its appearance will be
of significant benefit to both residents and visitors to our city." Oxfordshire

Thursday 27th January 2011 Rare goat’s horn hacked off by callous raiders
Raiders at a site in Launton, near Bicester have hacked off part of
the horn of a rare Bagot goat during a thieving spree. The site, which
has previously been hit by scrap metal thieves, was broken into and a
lorry and equipment stolen. Landownder Derek Turner has offered a
£5,000 reward to try to find the perpetrators. Police said the way the
animal was harmed showed the raiders lacked “basic humanity”.
Landowner Mr Turner said: "It says these people are not very nice
people. It's like a pick-your-own, they just steal anything they want.
The value of scrap is so high it's an easy fix." Oxfordshire

Wednesday 28th July 2010 Oxfordshire council ditches speed cameras
Oxfordshire council has joined others around Britain in accepting that speed cameras are not the answer to road accidents. The council have withdrawn funding for Speed camera Oxfordshire's 72 fixed and 89 mobile camera sites and could now be switched off by the end of the July 2010. The move comes after the council approved £13m of cuts, including road safety funding. £600,000 from their road safety budget would have been given to the Thames Valley Road Safety Partnership to enable it to operate the the county's 72 fixed and 89 mobile camera sites. The move has, predictably, led to calls of joy from camera critics and howls of derision from their supporters. No one was able to explain why the cameras, previously described as ‘self funding’, needed to burn £600,000 of a cash a year. Oxfordshire

Monday 5th July 2010 The world-famous Henley Royal Regatta a success
The annual event on the water at Henley has been a complete success.
Problems with youths drinking excess alcohol during previous years saw
the age limit in local pubs raised to 21 for the period of the regatta
and extra police officers were on patrol to reassure the public.

The event itself was host to the world's top class rowers who
performed at Henley, on the stretch of River Thames where it crosses
Oxfordshire-Berkshire border. More than 500 rowing crews from 20
countries competed in the five-day regatta.
Some competitors took the opportunity to visit nearby Dorney Lake,
which hosts rowing events in the 2012 Olympics. Oxfordshire

Wednesday 19th May 2010 Oxford road sign warns drivers ‘For Fox Sake Slow Down’
A sign has appeared on a rural road in Oxfordshire pleading with
motorists to slow down because of foxes. The sign reads “For Fox Sake
Slow Down” was put up at the side of the road between the villages of
Wheatley and Waterperry. The sign looks professionally done although
it isn’t legal and wasn’t placed there with the relevant legal
permissions.

The sign was spotted by Jo Abbot, a member of the RAC Foundation who said:

"It seems someone has got fed up with speeding cars and decided to try
and do something about it. Despite its rural setting, this is a busy
and fast bit of road. To that extent the sign has worked - I certainly
slowed down for a second glance." Oxfordshire

Friday 16th April 2010 M40 service station burns down
A huge fire has devastated the Cherwell Valley Services which lies
just north of Bicester on the M40. The fire took hold on Thursday
afternoon and by 1300 BST around 120 firefighters were called to the
scene. Visitors were evacuated and there were no reports of
casualties.

Sgt Peter Gill from Thames Valley Police said: "The roof has collapsed
inwards. The whole building is completely gutted and has suffered very
serious damage. The fire service are expected to remain overnight,
damping the blaze down."

Andy Leatham, spokesperson for Moto who are the operators of this and
many other British motorway service areas, said: "Once the fire is out
the focus will be getting the area open as quickly as possible.” Oxfordshire

Thursday 11th February 2010 iPhone app for Thame is world’s first
The world’s first dedicated town iPhone application is to be launched
in Thame, Oxfordshire, in February.

Going live on the world’s most
popular mobile smart phone application store, Apple, iThame is
intended to provide useful information to visitors and residents
whenever they want to access it, via their mobile phone.

iThame will be free to download and will offer information on the move
that includes local amenities, heritage and historical walks, sports,
accommodation, travel, news (RSS feeds), business, events in Thame,
music and local information for young people.

Users will be able to provide feedback on services they want to see
introduced in new versions, as well as receiving directions to points
of interest in the town.

iThame has been put together by local businesses consultants, Andy
McDonald and Simon Ralphs with the assistance of www.Thamenews.net
editor, Sonja Francis. Thamenews.net has supplied a large part of the
content including text, images and links to its own site and external
sites of interest.

Andy told ThameNews.Net: "Our intention is to promote Thame as a
vibrant place to visit and spend money.

"The App is funded by leading businesses in Thame, including Thame
Service Station, Newitts Butchers, Racquets Fitness Centre, Brothers
Hair Salon, the Thatch pub and restaurant and Kismet Jewellers,
demonstrating how the town has embraced the new age of consumer demand
for information on the move through an entrepreneurial spirit not seen
anywhere else in the country."
Commenting on iThame, the Mayor of Thame, Jeannette Matelot Green,
said: “This initiative is the first of its kind and I am proud to
represent a town that has pulled together such a unique initiative. I
am sure it will be followed by most other towns in the UK, and
possibly worldwide, that want to increase spend within their
communities."

iThame will soon be introduced on the new Google Android platform
which is predicted to rival the success of the iPhone. It is expected
that many other businesses and services will be introduced on the
iThame application once they see the widely expected interest and
usage of the application.

iThame has been built using the unique mobile content management
system from MDB Consulting who have a proven track record in
delivering iPhone applications live on the app store.

The app will be live in two weeks and will also be available on the
new Google phone operating on the Android store, widening the usage
rates. Oxfordshire

Tuesday 9th February 2010 £9m for Bicester eco-town
A cash incentive of £9m has been made available for a proposed
eco-town in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The government funding will help
build a six-form college and affordable homes for the community. The
funds will also be used to promote green transport in the new
development, such as cycling and walking. Cherwell council have said
that further funds could become available next year to continue to
develop the site’s potential.

Councillor Michael Gibbard, council member for planning and housing,
said: "This money will help us turn our aspirations for Bicester into
a reality. We want to make the most of this fantastic opportunity and
will ensure we put forward a strong case for any future funding made
available." Oxfordshire

Thursday 21st January 2010 Protection for dinosaur tracks
Dinosaur tracks first uncovered in Oxfordshire in 1997 are to be given
protection. The set of up to 40 tracks found near the M40 at Ardley
Trackways, near Bicester, belong to large dinosaurs related to
Brachiosaurus and Tyrannosaurus. Confirmation has come from Natural
England that they wish to have the location declared as an area of
special scientific interest or SSSI.

"Such extensive and relatively complete dinosaur trackways are
otherwise unknown in England and are rare internationally," a Natural
England spokesman said. "This means that the site's owner, or anyone
else with reason to make changes to the site, must ask Natural England
for permission before such changes can be made.” Oxfordshire

Monday 18th January 2010 Facebook support for sledging cops
Police officers reprimanded for posting a video of themselves having a
riot in the snow using their shields as makeshift sledges now have a
Facebook group as support. The group, “The Policemen who used his riot
sheild (sic) as a sledge is a genius” was created last Thursday by an
obviously grammatically challenged Facebook user and has already
gained hundreds of thousands of members.

Supt Andrew Murray of the Thames Valley Police told the officers that
using the riot shield in this manner was a “bad idea” after footage of
the tobogganing rozzers having fun at the aptly-named Boars Hill in
Oxford appeared on the Internet. Oxfordshire