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UPDATE RE POLICING ISSUES IN OTTERY ST MARY

Sgt Richard Stonecliffe has advised that the police were still trying to establish the identity of the man who had exposed himself in the town and the police  was currently working on the case. With regards to the teenage boy  who approached a young girl, (asking if she wished to play `a game`); contrary to social media reports, the police  had taken the incident extremely seriously.  They  had spoken to the family of the girl  and also to the boy who was extremely apologetic that his behaviour had caused the girl such distress.  The original statement  on social media of the boy being `silly` was amended in view of the  upset this had undoubtedly caused.  Sgt  Stonecliffe advised that the wording of the statement  had  not intended to diminish the seriousness of the incident.    He  also advised that there would be an additional   PC policing Ottery  shortly, which would assist with   the considerable workload of the officers working the Ottery patch.  He also agreed  that it would be useful for him to attend Council meetings in order to answer questions and to update the Council on relevant police matters. He had agreed to  attend the January Town Council meeting on 6^th January 2020 and thereafter he would try and attend  furthers meetings every six months. 

MAYOR ATTENDS WINDRUSH EVENT 6th October 2019

Devon Development Education has been busy Celebrating Windrush in Devon project which aims to discover and collect stories of Windrush People in Devon, their contributions to life here and to share and celebrate these findings through community events in rural towns. The events are open to all and include poetry reading, storytelling, music and food from the Caribbean culture.

Recently, Mayor Cllr Giles attended a Windrush Celebration at The Institute. Members of the group shared stories of their Caribbean heritage, displayed typical Caribbean foods and everyone shared in a in a Caribbean feast prepared by Yo's kitchen which is based in Ottery. The Mayor congratulated everyone for the event as to date there have only been a few in Devon.

A DATE FOR YOUR DIARIES - FRIDAY 29TH NOVEMBER

LATE NIGHT CHRISTMAS SHOPPING EVENT 

You will soon see the Christmas lights going up around the Town Centre so below is a run down of the activities on Friday 29th November:

• The events will start in Mill Street where at 5.45pm the Brass Band will begin playing seasonal songs to shop by.
• The Christmas Tree Festival will be at the Church to have a look around our most wonderful landmark which will be staying open late.
• The Church Choir will be singing from 6pm and the lights in part of town will be turned on at 6.15pm.  They will hand over to the La La Choir and the Carnival Royal Court to lead everyone down through Gold Street to Broad Street. The main lights will be switched on at approx. 6.45pm by the Council Offices which will be celebrated by a grand finale from the La La Choir. The music then moves down to Mill Street where the Silver Band will perform.
• There will be a treasure hunt for the children and a £200 prize for the best dressed shop as voted for by the public and there will be plenty to keep you occupied as Ottery's pubs and cafes will be staying open to offer a variety of Christmas fayre.
• Santa will be there on his sleigh to meet the children and fancy dress is optional.

So please do support our local businesses and we hope to see you there!

 MAYOR ATTENDS CITIZENSHIP EVENT

Earlier this month the Mayor of Ottery St Mary, Councillor Roger Giles, was pleased to attend a Citizenship event at the King's School. This picture shows him congratulating Isaac, who had been elected as Prime Minister of Year 8.

MAYOR'S SURGERY

The Mayor, Councillor Roger Giles will be holding a Mayor's Surgery at the Council Offices at 8 Broad Street every Friday morning from 10am - 12noon.

Anyone living in the parish of Ottery St Mary is welcome to drop in to discuss issues of concern.

 CLIMATE EMERGENCY

Ottery St Mary has declared a Climate Emergency as it is committed to making changes to ensure that the Town does everything possible to contribute to a cleaner and better future for the next generations.

A group set up will take advice from experts, carry out its own research, talk to their neighbours and work out what Ottery St Mary can do to make a difference.  It will also report back to the Full Council with a series of proposals and ideas for the Council to enact. 

  CITIZENS ADVICE BUREAU 

Sadly, there will no further Citizen Advice Bureau meetings for the foreseeable future in Ottery St Mary. This is due to the entire service being under review. If the situation changes, we shall let you know.