Weardale Community News June Edition

www.wcng.org
Fly-tipping continues
during the lockdown
PCSO Jess Hall with fly tipped rubbish
By Jack Vincent
THE Government website
describes fly-tipping as the
“illegal dumping of liquid
or solid waste on land or in
water. The waste is usually
dumped to avoid disposal
costs.” Those who have
been the target or victim of
these despicable acts are
often left considerably out of
pocket and frustrated with
Councils.
During the Covid
lockdown, most of the
commercial and household
tips around the county have
been closed at the same
time as many of us have
undertaken maintenance
around the home and
garden, leaving us in
desperate need of licensed
waste carriers to dispose of
our rubbish.
At one location in the
county, residents witnessed
two males dispose of a van
load of builder’s waste in
broad daylight; they duly
reported the individuals,
backed up with CCTV and
photos, to the Council, only
to be told that “The Council
do not investigate fly-tipping
on private land”. However,
after further calls from the
residents the Council did
take up the investigation
alongside colleagues from
Durham Constabulary and
the investigation is on-going.
In response to calls
from the WCNG, Ian Hoult,
Durham County Council’s
Credit: Crook Police
neighbourhood protection
manager, said: “We do not
want to see our beautiful
county marred by selfish
acts of fly-tipping so take
any reports of it extremely
seriously.
“Whenever we receive a
report, be it about a fly-tip
on public or private land, we
will look to investigate with a
view to taking action against
those responsible. In this
case, we visited the location
as part of our enquiries and
discovered the fly-tip to be
on private property.
“As with any incident
on private property the
responsibility for clearing
the waste lies with the
landowner although we did
leave stickers on it to make
them aware that we were
investigating.
“We will be contacting
those responsible for the
property as part of our
efforts to get the waste
removed, and asking for
sight of CCTV footage which
has been mentioned to us.
We have been successful
at bringing down the
amount of fly-tipping in
County Durham overall
and will continue with our
work on this. Residents
can help by ensuring they
dispose of their waste
responsibly and we would
welcome information about
those that tarnish the
environment by dumping
their waste.”
Financial support during
the Covid-19 outbreak
THE Covid-19 pandemic
and lockdown is having an
unprecedented effect of
the finances of individuals
and families throughout the
area.
In order to support people
through the crisis, Durham
County Council have put
together a list of the support
that is currently available
during this fast changing
situation.
The list includes a number
of key areas such as council
tax, housing benefit and
other benefits.
To find out more visit:
http://www.durham.gov.uk/
covid19money
Weardale Community News, June 2020
Page 7
‘Kind Kids’ praised during the
Covid-19 pandemic
THE Weardale Community
News invited readers to
nominate children who
have been helping their
communities during the
lockdown.
We’ve been running
the campaign through our
Facebook page and have so
far awarded three children
a ‘Kind Kids’ certificate and
gift pack.
Grace Clark, the eleven
year old daughter of local
businesswoman Kim Clark
from Evenwood, undertook
a 5 mile sponsored run to
raise money for NHS staff.
“My little princess took it
upon herself to set this up on
her Instagram.” Kim said to
the WCNG, “It’s a mammoth
5 mile run. Up to now, she
has raised £95 and it’s all off
of her own back. It’s her own
idea and is completely out of
her comfort zone. We are so
proud of her.
“Grace is autistic so we
are making arrangements
for the run to be in her
grandparents’ garden at
Bolam. We’ve measured a
full circle at 1.1 miles. Grace
will attempt to run 5 full
circles at noon - so she can
eat lunch afterwards”.
Kim herself set about
cooking and providing meals
to vulnerable people and
front line workers shortly
after lockdown. As of May
4th, she had provided nearly
8000 meals out of her
10,000 target. With the kind
support of her family, friends
and volunteers, ‘Team Kim’
have never stopped. You can
see the many kindnesses on
Facebook page by searching
‘Kim’s Kitchen Evenwood’.
Sponsorship for Grace’s
run can be through
Mum’s PayPal account:
Kimberleyppp@aol.com or
by contacting Grace & Kim
on 07793 974182.
Kristina Marie Wilson
from Bishop Auckland has
found an ingenious way of
curing boredom, and a way
of raising money for the
NHS during lockdown at the
same time.
Kristina is making rainbow
keyrings from her Hama Bead
Kit and is selling them for £1,
including postage, to friends
and family through her mum
Jane’s Facebook page. These
creations are inspired by all
of the rainbows appearing in
the windows of neighbours,
friends, and family.
Her proud parents have
been overwhelmed by
the interest and support
that people are showing
in Kristina’s handmade
creations. “It’s been so
popular that we have
had to order more beads
and keychains” said Jane.
“Kristina has been hard at
work making these keyrings
and popularity is growing by
the day. She has raised over
£230 for the NHS so far and
orders are still coming in”.
Handmade keyrings can
go for much more online and
WCNG suggested to Kristina
that she should charge a
higher price. Kristina replied
“I would rather make more
and sell for less but people
have been so generous and
sometimes pay a little more”.
Well done Kristina.
Orders for Kristina’s
Rainbow Creations: please
email admin@wcng.org and
we will pass on your request
to Jane.
Sarah Harris contacted
us to nominate her niece
Jessica Walsh, from Crook.
Sarah told us
“She’s only 13 but has
the biggest heart and is very
selfless. Last night she left
a tea break box on my door
step for my husband and his
work colleagues. He works
at 3M in Newton Aycliffe,
working 12 hour shifts to
supply Europe with medical
grade face masks, as we
fight this pandemic. They
are some of the forgotten
heroes but she didn’t forget.
I’m very proud of her. “
If you know someone
who you think deserves a
‘Kind Kids’ award, then get
in touch via Facebook, or
send your nomination to
newsdesk@wcng.org.
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Grace undertaking her sponsored walk
Kristina with her certificate and prize
Jessica Walsh, nominated for a Kind Kids award