Latest news with #communitySupport
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Chelmsford PCSO has no plans to retire aged 79
A man who is about to enter his 50th year working for a police force has said he has no plans to Barley was issued with a cape and had to cycle 16 miles to work when he first joined Essex Police in force believes Mr Barley, who is now a police community support officer, is the oldest PCSO in 79-year-old works as part of the Chelmsford neighbourhood policing team and says one of his favourite parts of the job is chatting to the public. "I'm on the town all the time and you get to know people – you're even on first name terms with the bad guys and that's very useful," he said."Regardless of what you might read, there are more good than bad people out there. "People love to see the police, they chat away and they thank you for what you're doing." Things have changed considerably since Mr Barley saw a newspaper advert for the Metropolitan Police 50 years featured an officer pulling off a high-speed skid in a patrol car."At that time, I was living in Stifford [in Thurrock, Essex] and I was posted to Basildon but I didn't have a clue where that was. I had to look it up on a map!"I then had to borrow a push bike and cycle the 16 miles down the old A13, getting up at 03:45 for the early shift."Mr Barley said his early days on the beat were "brilliant"."We'd walk the town centre checking doors – these are Dixon of Dock Green stories – and it was freezing cold sometimes but that's what the job was."I've still got the cape I was issued." Essex Police said Mr Barley - who worked as an officer for 30 years before becoming a PCSO - plans to carry on for as long as Barley said the use of drugs had become more widespread, but that his interactions with the public had not changed."I like to talk, and your mouth is still your best bit of equipment."Times change, but you still have to solve problems and appease people. It's about knowing your audience." Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Crews tackle 'accidental' blaze in pub garden
Fire crews have tackled a large blaze in the garden of a pub which left the area badly damaged. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident at The Falcon on Princes Street in Huntingdon at about 05:57 BST on Thursday, with teams from Huntingdon and St Neots attending. A spokesperson for the service said: "Firefighters arrived to find a large fire in the open involving tables, chairs, fencing and decking. They extinguished the fire using hose reels." The service added that the cause of the fire was accidental. A spokesperson for The Falcon said they had received "a lot of community support" and hoped to get the area restored soon, as well as thanking the fire fighters for their help. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service
BBC News
2 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Crews tackle 'accidental' blaze in Huntingdon pub garden
Fire crews have tackled a large blaze in the garden of a pub which left the area badly damaged. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service were called to the incident at The Falcon on Princes Street in Huntingdon at about 05:57 BST on Thursday, with teams from Huntingdon and St Neots attending.A spokesperson for the service said: "Firefighters arrived to find a large fire in the open involving tables, chairs, fencing and decking. They extinguished the fire using hose reels."The service added that the cause of the fire was accidental. A spokesperson for The Falcon said they had received "a lot of community support" and hoped to get the area restored soon, as well as thanking the fire fighters for their help. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
'Warm, toasty' housing development for seniors opens in North Sydney
A Cape Breton housing project that was imagined by a community group as a way to help struggling seniors has officially opened. Members of a local food bank, who had been hearing from retirees having trouble keeping up with their bills, including high rent and food costs, came up with the idea about six years ago following the closure of Seton Elementary School in North Sydney. The organization led the charge to take ownership of the building and transform it into a multi-use hub. Jimmy MacKinnon and his wife Debbie, among the facility's new tenants, had been finding it increasingly challenging to maintain their rural home. The couple lived in Frenchvale, N.S., for 45 years and regularly cut wood to heat their home. "I couldn't do it anymore for health reasons," said MacKinnon. "We were lucky, like I said, to get this. Just the burden of looking after your own place, the upkeep. It was hard and it got harder as we got older." The MacKinnons moved into the complex a couple of months ago. They have since made the space feel like home by decorating the outside of their apartment with wooden signs and colourful flowers. The former school is home to 19 one- and two-bedroom units. Rental fees, with heat and lights included, range from $625 to $800 per month — well below the market rate for similar apartments in the community. The building also contains a community kitchen, food pantry and hair salon. On the grounds are several garden boxes for seasonal vegetables. "[This] is a fully incorporated and encompassed type of facility that the community can celebrate and be part of," said Cecil Clarke, mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, at an event Thursday to unveil the project. It was built with $1.7 million from the federal government through the Affordable Housing Fund and $1.6 million from Nova Scotia's Department of Growth and Development. Liberal MP Mike Kelloway said housing affordability is an issue his government is trying to address, with the help of organizations like the North Sydney Food Bank Society. "You're the solution," he said. "You're the idea makers, you're the people who are in the foxhole every single day." Lawrence Shebib, co-chair of the food bank society, said there were four times more applicants who were in search of housing than there were available apartments. "So there's a real need in the community for more," he said. MacKinnon said he and his wife have made new friends since moving into the complex and he recommends the style of living to anyone who has reached an age where maintaining their home has become difficult. "There's no stress, there's absolutely none. It is free and easy and warm, toasty," said MacKinnon. "This used to be a classroom, believe it or not. And the job these guys did, the tradesmen, it's unreal." MORE TOP STORIES
CBC
2 days ago
- Business
- CBC
'Warm, toasty' housing development for seniors opens in North Sydney
A Cape Breton housing project that was imagined by a community group as a way to help struggling seniors has officially opened. Members of a local food bank, who had been hearing from retirees having trouble keeping up with their bills, including high rent and food costs, came up with the idea about six years ago following the closure of Seton Elementary School in North Sydney. The organization led the charge to take ownership of the building and transform it into a multi-use hub. Jimmy MacKinnon and his wife Debbie, among the facility's new tenants, had been finding it increasingly challenging to maintain their rural home. The couple lived in Frenchvale, N.S., for 45 years and regularly cut wood to heat their home. "I couldn't do it anymore for health reasons," said MacKinnon. "We were lucky, like I said, to get this. Just the burden of looking after your own place, the upkeep. It was hard and it got harder as we got older." The MacKinnons moved into the complex a couple of months ago. They have since made the space feel like home by decorating the outside of their apartment with wooden signs and colourful flowers. The former school is home to 19 one- and two-bedroom units. Rental fees, with heat and lights included, range from $625 to $800 per month — well below the market rate for similar apartments in the community. The building also contains a community kitchen, food pantry and hair salon. On the grounds are several garden boxes for seasonal vegetables. "[This] is a fully incorporated and encompassed type of facility that the community can celebrate and be part of," said Cecil Clarke, mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, at an event Thursday to unveil the project. It was built with $1.7 million from the federal government through the Affordable Housing Fund and $1.6 million from Nova Scotia's Department of Growth and Development. Liberal MP Mike Kelloway said housing affordability is an issue his government is trying to address, with the help of organizations like the North Sydney Food Bank Society. "You're the solution," he said. "You're the idea makers, you're the people who are in the foxhole every single day." Lawrence Shebib, co-chair of the food bank society, said there were four times more applicants who were in search of housing than there were available apartments. "So there's a real need in the community for more," he said. MacKinnon said he and his wife have made new friends since moving into the complex and he recommends the style of living to anyone who has reached an age where maintaining their home has become difficult. "There's no stress, there's absolutely none. It is free and easy and warm, toasty," said MacKinnon. "This used to be a classroom, believe it or not. And the job these guys did, the tradesmen, it's unreal."
