What a fantastic MAYOR's CHARITY BALL!!!

Paul Harrison's Kidderminster Mayor's Charity Ball on Friday Night was absolutely superb!

Plyvine provided a really great meal, the band were super and the raffles and Tombola were really fantastic! We gather they raised over £1000 between them! Fran did really well winning a Giant Easter Egg, a bottle of Pussers 54.5% Alcohol Navy Rum and amongst other things a huge radio controlled car (which she had in fact won a last year's Broadwaters Fair and donated to the Mayor!) a rug, a duvet and a huge stuffed white tiger! She auctioned the car off on the spot and Cllr. Sue Meekings partner paid £40 for it! The Easter Egg, Rum, duvet and rug will all go into the raffle at the Polish Club Easter Monday Dance! The tiger came home with Fran!! (as did assorted bottles of wine!)

It was great to put politics aside for the night. As Liberals we had two full tables and the Tories had a good turn out as well! Sadly no Lib Dems or Labour and only Deputy Mayor Mike Shellie from Health Concern!

LATEST UPDATE ON SCHOOL PLACES!

Mother with child at Offmore First in Reception and another at same Nursesry living just outside catchment area is offered CHADDESLEY for the current Nursery child for September! Can't get the two kids to school in opposite directions so asks if the older one can transfer to Chaddesley as well from Sept. ANSWER: No sorry no places, suggest you take BOTH children to either: St. Oswalds (Sion Hill), St. Catherines (Marlpool) or.......wait for it....COOKLEY! From Chester Road North!!!

Also guy in Chester Rd South is refused place at Offmore for his child who is in Nursery...He is going to be a great help with the appeals! He has kept ALL the paperwork including the consultation papers where Offmore Pupil Admission Number was to have been kept at 60 (which would have solved most problems!) what is more he is an.....OFSTED INSPECTOR! Fran has asked the school to put him in touch with her!

Currently Offmore is supposed to have 45 in Reception but as they have a fully equipped Reception area for 60 they will have 45 kids in there with 2 teachers so having the extra 15 pupils would be NO PROBLEM!

Come on County admit you got it wrong and get it sorted!

SCHOOL PLACES, A DISASTER FOR FAMILIES!!

ALL our very WORST fears are coming true with heart-broken parents phoning us in tears about the CRAZY school places allocations.

We have been CONTINUOUSLY warning the County Council that they simply had NOT provided adequate numbers of school places on the EAST of Kidderminster. Well now we are being proved tragically right!

So far we know that:

14 pupils currently in the Nursery Class at Offmore First School have been REFUSED places in the Reception Class at Offmore in Sepetember! Of these 7 of them have older brothers or sisters already in the school. Just how do the petty bureaucrats who CLAIM to administer this crazy mess think that a Mum is going to get her 7 year old to Offmore AND her 5 year old to St. Mary's AT THE SAME TIME without a car!!

A pupil at Comberton Nursery who will have a year 7 sibling on the same site (King Charles 1 Lower School) and who lives in the Offmore Catchment area gets allocated St.Mary's!

A pupil at Comberton Nursery who lives on Hoo Rd. just in the Heronswood Catchment Area and BOTH of whose parents are disabled gets allocated BIRCHEN COPPICE!

A pupil in Offmore Nursery with a 7 year old sibling at the same school who lives just off Offmore Rd. Although in the St. George's Catchment area, Offmore is the NEAREST School, about 500 yds by the safest walking route. Child gets allocated St. George's! Mum cannot get 2 kids to schools in the opposite direction!

Polish kid at Comberton Middle, lives near King Charles 1 and in its Catchment Area. Mum and Dad don't read English well and didn't realise Secondary transfer Forms had to go in by set date! No-one bothered to help get translation. Kid gets allocated Wolverley, parents don't even know where that is!!

Pupil at Sladen, lives well within King Charles 1 Catchment Area. Parents fill in forms and think they sent them back to school but aren't sure. Parents check with school. Told "Yes, don't worry all is OK forms have gone in to County!" Later parents told, no forms received, kid offered Baxter! Middle School says "Sorry Our Fault!" Thanks for the APOLOGY but WHAT ABOUT A PLACE AT KING CHARLES 1 PLEASE?

There are at least 30 more cases like this.

The County MUST admit it got it wrong! They MUST URGENTLY consider raising the Pupil Admission Numbers for Offmore and Comberton. Little kids MUST be educated in their communities they are NOT pieces to be moved around on a chess board!

No family needs this sort of heartache!

CHAIR OF BANGLADESHI FORUM TO CONTEST BROADWATERS FOR THE LIBERALS!

Wyre Forest Liberal and Radical Association are absolutely delighted that Shazu Miah, Chair of the local Bangladeshi Forum has agreed to be the Liberal Candidate for the Broadwaters Ward in this May's local Elections.

Shazu lives on the edge of the Ward in Leswell Lane, he was educated locally at St. Marys First, Sladen Middle and King Charles 1 High Schools before gaining a Law Degree at Staffordshire University. He now works as a Solicitor dealing with Civil and Commercial litigation for a Birmingham Legal Practice.

In his youth Shazu played football for Broadwaters Sports Club and he has now been actively involved in getting football coaching arranged for local youngsters.

Shazu is an active member of the Horsefair, Broadwaters, Greenhill Neighbourhood Partnership and has been campaigning alongside Liberal County Councillor, and District Council Liberal Leader, Fran Oborski to improve the quality of life for all local residents.

Shazu's 3 year old son attends St.George's Nursery and Shazu is delighted that the former Radford Avenue Child Centre is to be used as a Headquarters for the Horsefair, Broadwaters, Greenhill Partnership and as an Outreach Centre providing Children's Centre facilities for the St. George's Primary School community.

Shazu shares the local Liberal Team's  concern that the Tory County Council's Wyre Forest School's Review is going to force some local children who would previously have gone to King Charles 1 to go to Wolverley! Shazu wants to know just how parents WITHOUT cars are expected to get there for Parents' Evenings etc?

CLAIMING THE CREDIT WHEN YOU WEREN'T EVEN INVOLVED IS DISHONEST, MARK!

Ok, so in Election Leaflets people are sometimes prone to exaggerate; but most of us DON'T tell downright lies!

According to the letter of endorsement which Mark Garnier, Tory PPC, has issued to Broadwaters residents in support of theTory candidate in that ward for May's Election that candidate has been "working to secure a CCTV camera for The Horsefair....securing improved redevelopment of Weavers Cottages and a positive use of Sladen site for all our community"

Right now let's have the TRUTH!

The CCTV camera which is going to be installed at the junction of Radford Avenue and The Horsefair has been negotiated and organised by local LIBERAL County Councillor FRAN OBORSKI and NO-ONE ELSE!! Fran got the costing done; Fran persuaded the Horsefair, Broadwaters and Greenhill Neighbourhood Partnership to put up half the cash; Fran got the other 50% from the Community Safety Partnership; Fran, as Chair of Wyre Forest Community Housing Board persuaded the Housing company to monitor the CCTV FREE OF CHARGE via the Hurcott Rd. flats and it is Fran who is now sorting out details of the Planning Permission. NO Tory involvement!!

The Weavers Cottages are being redeveloped by Wyre Forest Community Housing Chaired by Cllr Fran Oborski, the local Tory candidate is NOT involved!!

Sladen School site: there have been TWO Councillors involved in this activity: local Liberal County Councillor Fran Oborski and local Health Concern District Councillor Howard Martin; NO involvement from the TORY Candidate!

Likewise it was Fran who got road resurfacing done in the Turton St, Vine St area.

We are surprised at Mark, we didn't realise he had sunk to this level!!

LYONS REPORT INTO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE!

Well it would appear that all Sir Michael Lyons fine words and some really good ideas like making Council Tax Benefit into an automatic rebate and having new lower bands PLUS extra bands for the most expensive housing the Government is going to TOTALLY IGNORE a report IT commissioned!!

So what is new?

BUDGET OR CON JOB?

Well we've all seen Gordon Brown's last budget and what a tangled web he weaves.

Cut two pence of the "standard" rate of Income tax, great BUT by removing the 10% bottom tax band he hits the very poorest! It's NO GOOD saying that they can get working families tax credit THAT is a benefit yoy have to APPLY for; under PAYE Income Tax just gets taken at source!

Help for pensioners by raising their tax threshold, great BUT no additional help with Council Tax and ANYWAY exactly who WAS the Chancellor who caused the pensions crisis by raiding Pension Funds?

What's the point of raising to £400 per year the vehicle excise duty on "chelsea tractors"? If you can afford £30,000 for a car £400 a year is not exactly going to hurt is it? The only people this will HURT is large, low income families who need old, cheap, large cars. Nice One!

Even the Corporation Tax changes don't help Midlands Businesses! Most employers in this region are SMALL. They are hit with an INCREASE not a cut!

11 pence a packet on cigarettes is good for health but what about the thousands of cigarettes legally brought into the country from other EU states by holiday makers?

Thank you SO much for raising the 40% tax threshold to £43,000 Gordon, pity that, by increasing the limit for paying NI Contributions to the same level you make sure that it IS NOT a real tax cut!!

If this is meant to buy popularity it doesn't wash with us!!

DISSENT IN THE RANKS?

So many Tory Councillors have now phoned Fran and other members of the Liberal Team to say how disgusted they are at the way their Party called the St.Chads By-Election that we are beginning to wonder how many, if any, of them are actually proud to be members of their District Council Group?

CONGRATULATIONS MIKE AND MARCUS

At tonight's Charter Trustees meeting Cllr. Mike Shellie (Health Concern) was nominated to be the next Mayor of Kidderminster with Cllr Marcus Hart (Conservative) as Deputy.

HEALTH CONCERN DON'T KNOW WHERE THE ST.CHADS DIVISION IS!!

According to their website a "significant part of the old Hoobrook Division" (previously represented by their Candidate until the electorate threw him out) was "absorbed in St.Chads when the boundaries changed".

Lets get it straight NO SIGNIFICANT PART OF ST. CHADS WAS EVER IN HOOBROOK!! The MAJOR change in boundaries at the last County Election moved the boundary between Mike Oborski's St. Chad's seat and Fran's St George and St. Oswalds seat so that instead of being "horizontal" across part of Greenhill (running from behind Lea St across to the Birmingham Rd) it became "vertical" (the centre of Offmore Rd. is now the boundary). Below the railway line the centre of Comberton Hill remains as the boundary!

The main part of Greenhill which WAS in Hoobrook, the area at the top of Aggborough including the new developments on the former College and Cattle Market sites, is now in the St. Mary's Division which the Health Concern Candidate LOST to Labour at the last County Council Elections!!

What is now in St. Chads is off course the WHOLE OF OFFMORE COMBERTON, part of which used to be in the Aggborough Spennells District Ward!

What is the point of putting up a Candidate who doesn't even BOTHER to find out where the area he seeks to represent actually is!!

PLEASE CALM DOWN! CLLR CAMPION!

On the Tory Party website Cllr John Paul Campion seems to be in severe danger of getting his underwear in a right old twist about the fact that as Cllr Graham Ballinger's Candidature was announced on the day the By-election was called he must have been selected in advance.

For heavens sake! We KNEW Mike was dying! Of course we had selected Candidates for both seats in advance! Mike was ACTIVELY INVOLVED in selecting those Candidates; having been County Councillor for 34 years and District Councillor for 31 years is there likely to be ANYONE who be better placed than he was to know the qualities needed in the Candidates to replace him?

He is also attacking Tavis Pitt for signing Graham's Nomination Paper. Tav is NOT, as far as we are aware, a member of ANY Political Party and has as much right as anyone else to sign a Nomination Paper.

Are ONLY paid up Tories allowed to sign their nomination papers?

When Richard Taylor beat David Lock both Fran and Mike Oborski signed his Parliamentary Nomination Papers but NEITHER of them ever joined Health Concern!

MP appears to be breaching County Protocol

According to the Health Concern website Richard Taylor MP is to visit Wolverley, Sebright First School accompanied by Nigel Addison, Health Concern's apparent Candidate for Wolverley at May's District Council elections and Howard Martin Health Concern Leader on Wyre Forest.

Funny that! There is supposed to be a protocol that the local County member AND the Chair of Governors are invited to be present at any MP visit; as far as I am aware these visits are NOT allowed to be for election purpose!

Can somebody tell us what is going on please?

PARTIES TO CO-OPERATE TO ENSURE MAXIMUM SPREAD OF CANDIDATES.

Wyre Forest Liberal and Radical Association and Wyre Forest Liberal Democrats are to forge a unique partnership to ensure that electors in every ward in the Wyre Forest District where there are Elections this May will be able to vote for a "Candidate from the Liberal Heritage".

Speaking today, Cllr. Fran Oborski, Leader of the Liberal Group on Wyre Forest DC and Sam Walker, Chair of Wyre Forest Liberal Democrats emphasised "We are NOT fighting as one party. Liberal Candidates will, as usual, stand under the title "Liberal Party - Focus, Save Our Hospital" whilst Liberal Democrats will stand simply as Liberal Democrat; each party will have its own Manifesto and leaflets but we will not waste time, energy and money opposing each other. Instead we will maximise the votes for Liberalism by, between us, putting up Candidates across the District.

Politically there are far fewer differences between us as Parties than there are between individual candidates of "Independent Health Concern". It is therefore eminently sensible for us to pool resources in this way!

So many residents from across the district have complained to both parties that they did not have a candidate for whom they could bear to vote that this seemed the logical way to proceed.

Liberal Party - Focus, Save Our Hospital Candidates will stand in Offmore Comberton, Broadwaters, Greenhill, Franche and Habberley Blakebrook Wards whilst Liberal Democrats will contest Aggborough Spennells, Sutton Park, Bewdley, Wolverley, Cookley and the three Stourport Wards of Lickhill, Mitton and Areley Kings.

SO NOW WE KNOW WHO CALLED THE BY-ELECTION!

One of the local residents who signed the letter has admitted to Fran that the TORIES called at the house in the week and gave them a letter to sign! If they are going to force a by-election they might at least have had the guts to use well known members of their own Party, such as their local Candidate or even Cllr. Campion, not a couple of "innocent"local residents!

COUNTY BY-ELECTION CALLED!

Well so much for let's all be sensible and hold the by-election for Mike's County seat on the first Thursday in May, along with the District Council Elections.

Surprise, surprise, this morning letters were received from two local residents (stooges) requiring the by-election be be called in advance of the District Council Elections so the Council Taxpayers of Wyre Forest will be paying out £3,000 on an unnecessary election; money that would be far better spent on more taxi tokens for our most vulnerable senior citizens....but that's Politics for you!!!

Wyre Forest Liberals are absolutely delighted to announce that Mike's very dear friend and our long serving fellow Councillor, Graham Ballinger has agreed to stand as the "Liberal Party - Focus, Save Our Hospital" Candidate for the St. Chads Division.

Graham knows this area well and has worked alongside Mike and Fran campaigning on local services.

He is the right man for the job!

FAREWLL TO MIKE, A FITTING TRIBUTE!

We would like to thank everyone who attended Friday's Civic Funeral for Cllr. Mike Oborski.

It was a memorable service which was a wonderful tribute and greatly helped to ease the pain for Fran and the family.

Particular thanks go to Mike's cousin Wojtek for flying over from Warsaw and supporting Fran and to Annie for looking after his Mum, Floss; to Charles Talbot, Town Clerk of Kidderminster for organizing the "Civics", (and to the many Civic Reps from as far afield as Liverpool, Oxfordshire and Sandwell who came to be "organized"), also to John Hemming Lib Dem MP for Yardley and his wife who "skipped" the first day of their party conference to be with us, and former Tory MP Anthony Coombs, a fellow fighter for Solidarity in the 80's.

Father Jan Gora for the Service; Father Lamb and St. Ambrose for being such generous hosts; Father Edward for rushing up from Devon; Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority for the Pall Bearers; Kidderminster SPK for the Standard Bearers; Steve Atack for making us all laugh (and cry) with his eulogy, Tadek Jarski (Jarzembowski) for coming all the way from Warsaw with his wife, Basia, to add his tribute for Mike's work with Solidarnosc; The Consul General of the Republic of Poland, Dr. Janusz Wach and his wife; the Honorary Polish Consuls from Hull and Sheffield and the West Midlad Consuls for Estonia, Spain and Lithuania; Dr Jan and Mrs Magdalena Mockrzycki from the Federation of Poles in GB; The National President of SPK; to the Kidderminster Polish Club and Plyvine for the Reception; to Jan Roskowski from Warsaw; to Mike Price and Paul Simpson for hours of organizing, to Graham, Charles, Rev Peter, Paul and Danuta for the readings; to Andy, Esther, Emilia and "Vicky" for the offertory; to Wyre Forest DC for providing the Stewards; The Community Housing Group for printing and of course to Edwin Harris and Co for getting Mike and the family there and providing such comforting service and to West Mercia Police for ensuring a smooth traffic flow.

Henry Lemiech is still receiving donations in Mike's memory and we hope to get some great equipment for the Saturday School.

But the final thanks are to the wonderful people from across the District and beyond who came to the funeral or have sent cards etc to support Fran and the family!!

LIBERAL BUDGET PROPOSALS ACCEPTED BY THE TORIES!

TACKLING THAT TOWN CENTRE TOILETS ISSUE...

The Tories have accepted LIBERAL proposals to spend £175,000 on a new Public Toilet Block in the New Road area of Kidderminster...

A LIBERAL VICTORY !!!...

ACTION ON LOCAL CAR PARKING..

Tory Budget proposals changed to accept LIBERAL proposals for first hour free Car Parking at Comberton Place as soon as possible and at Vale Rd. Stourport and The Horsefair when they become Pay and Display

A LIBERAL VICTORY!!!...

ACTION TO PROVIDE SAFE DOG WALKING FACILITIES...

Tory Budget proposals changed to spend £40,000 on safe fencing in Parks to provide safe dog walking areas away from kids! A LIBERAL proposal. We have a promise that Baxter Fardens will be top priority!!

(We are disgusted that the two Broadwaters Health Concern Councillors did NOT vote for this even though they have publicly said it is needed)

A LIBERAL VICTORY!!!...

SAVINGS ON NEW OFFICER APPOINTMENTS

Tory Budget Proposals changed to accept LIBERAL proposals to fund new officer appointments for two years only with future funding to depend on savings made by partnership work, e.g. with Wyre Forest Community Housing....

A LIBERAL VICTORY!!!...

PENSIONERS TAXI TOKENS

A phased increase at £5 per year to gradually get from £25 to the £50 worth of tokens requested by the LIBERALS.

A PARTIAL LIBERAL VICTORY!!!...

HELP TO CURE SMELLIE WHEELIE BINS

Although they refuse to accept Liberal Proposals to restore weekly wheelie bin collection in the hot summer months, the Tories have agreed to spend £50,000 on cleaning etc to reduce the problem.

If ALL opposition parties, Liberal, Liberal Democrat, Labour, Independent AND Health Concern had agreed to vote together on thios we would have had enough votes to force the change through at Council. Sadly although Liberal, Lib Dem and Labour Councillors could see that this change was badly needed AND supported by the public HEALTH CONCERN m,ade it clear at the budget scrutiny process that they WOULD NOT support us!!

A PARTIAL LIBERAL VICTORY!!!...

We hope you will agree with us that we have altered the TORY Budget to get better services for YOU...At NO extra cost...

LIBERALS IN ACTION!!!