Are speeders driving you nuts?

Community Speedwatch in action

... then why not get involved in cutting this scourge down. A Community Speedwatch foray near the Brewery yesterday morning captured details of 4 excessive speeders in the space of 50 minutes, all of which were passed to Essex Police, earlier in the month even more were caught on the A1124.

The more volunteers we have to mount these random speedchecks the more uncertainty we can put into the minds of frequent offenders who clearly have no qualms in breaking the speed limits on a regular basis.  If you would like to join those already helping to make our roads safer then please contact Anthony Robin (anthony_robin@hotmail.com) and he will arrange training for you.  If you would like to find out more about it first then please visit http://www.drivingcasualtiesdown.org/pages/enforcement/community-speedwatch/

Volunteers - The Heartbeat of our Village

The Parish Council was invited to recognise the volunteers and their organisations that make such a difference to our village. The Colchester Community Volunteer Service held a thank you lunch for those volunteers nominated by the various communities in the Borough. Those attending were greeted by the Deputy Mayor in the Moot Hall and treated to lunch and presented with certificates as a thank you for their community spirit and involvement.

The Parish Council were faced with the difficult task of selecting the volunteers and organisations that make West Bergholt such a special place to live in. We had a maximum of 4 nominee invitations and with more than 20 volunteer organisations in the village this was not an easy task. I am always amazed and proud of the number of people who happily give up their free time to help and assist others. I view our volunteers as the heartbeat of the village whether they have just began to operate a new organisation or are part of one that has operated for many years. Our nominates were David Bowden, Murray Harlow, Bob Gooden and Susan Walby representing the BYG, Youth Football, Luncheon Club, the Church, Allotment Holders and First Responders to name just a few (they are pictured above).

Thank you to all our volunteers.

John Gili-Ross

Youth Volunteers, Amber & Graham, Win Recognition

The recent Colchester Youth Awards saw Amber Harlow & Graham Pullen receive the recognition they deserved for their hours of dedicated volunteering to establish and operate the Bergholt Youth Group.

Sponsored by the Colchester Community Volunteer Service, the award recognises the efforts of young people who give their time voluntarily for the benefit of others. This is certainly something Amber & Graham have done. From very early days, nearly two years ago, when the idea of a Bergholt Youth Group was first discussed with Stanway School pupils, Amber & Graham demonstrated willingness to take on the challenge of forming the group through their leadership and willingness to get involved.

Having been involved in its original inception Graham & Amber are now active members of the management committee and were heavily involved in the successful application for nearly £4,000 in funding from the Youth Opportunity Fund. Between them they now organise the club's activities including arranging for appropriate adult volunteers. The club continues to go from strength to strength under their leadership and now sees over 60 young people attending the fortnightly sessions.

Congratulations Amber & Graham for a well deserved award.