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May 2002

• PROGRESS - Good progress has been made with Rhondda Cynon Taff Council's re-cycling trials - hundreds of thousands of kerbside collections have been made. Allotment holders are also working in partnership to encourage more vegetable gardening.  

QUIZ - Rhondda Baptist Network holds a quiz evening at Ynyswen Baptist Church, Woodland Terrace at 7pm on Saturday 6^th June. All are welcome to come along and enjoy.

• SURGERIES - Treorchy Ward Councillors hold their monthly surgeries at Cwmparc Welfare Hall and Ynyswen Welfare Hall from 10am to 11am, and at Pinewood House (Noddfa), Treorchy from 11am to midday, on Friday, 5^th June. No appointments are necessary. If you would prefer a home visit at any other time please contact our local Councillors - Richard Ashton on 441596, Cennard Davies on 435563 or Edward Hancock on 774785.

RUGBY - The Pontypridd squad will be helping more than 300 kids to kick off a Ford Dragon Rugby Extravaganza at Glamorgan University playing fields on Thursday 23 May at 10.00am before their Parker Pen Final on Saturday.  Boys and girls from a dozen Primary schools will come together to play in an Extravaganza of Ford Dragon Rugby organised by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council's rugby development officer, Danny Wilson. 

• AIR QUALITY - A new Air Quality Archive with up-to-date information on levels of air pollution in Wales can be found at www.airquality.co.uk and an information leaflet is also available from the National Assembly. 

OSTEOPOROSIS - The National Osteoporosis Society has launched a new awareness campaign reminding women not to accept osteoporosis as a natural sign of ageing. For more information e-mail info@nos.org.uk or phone 01761-471771. 

• WINNERS - Year eight pupils at Treorchy Comprehensive School won both the Best Game and Overall Winners prizes in the University of Glamorgan Business Challenge competition - for producing an original educational game called The Brain Triathlon - winning 2 trophies and over £350 of IT equipment for the school. 

CHOIR TOUR - Treorchy Male Voice Choir is preparing for their first tour of Scotland in almost 50 years - and will be their first tour since they visited the West Coast of Canada and the United States of America in 2000. Details of the choir's concert programme can be found on their website at www.treorchychoir.org.uk 

• ROAD CLOSURES - The following roads in Treorchy are proposed to be closed on 3rd June for Jubilee Celebrations - Cemetery Road from 3pm to 6pm and Glynrhondda Street from 10am to 9pm. 

FORUM - The Rhondda Forum for Older People meets on Wednesday, 22nd May at Ystrad Sports Centre. The group meet regularly every two months and new members are always welcome. Contact Jim Bennet on 01443 431941.

• ADVICE - An advisor from the local Job Centre will be at Cwmparc Community Welfare Hall every Wednesday from 10am to noon. Anyone needing help to look for work or advice on benefits can call in. 

ROCK & POP FESTIVAL - Jeff Gregory of Trealaw is arranging a rock and pop festival at Penygraig Rugby Club - to be held sometime in August - to raise funds for equipment for the new Rhondda Special School. Any musicians interested in performing should phone Jeff on 07866 413652. 

• JUBILEE VISIT - The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will make a brief visit through Treorchy on the morning of Thursday 13th June - when she will travel in a Royal motorcade over the Bwlch mountain and stop for a short time at the Park and Dare Theatre - before continuing down the main road to Pentre, Ystrad, Penrhys, Tylorstown, Wattstown, Ynyshir and Porth, stopping again briefly at the Rhondda Heritage Park, Trehafod.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Former Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Molam will be signing copies of her autobiography "Momentum" at Waterstones, The Hayes, Cardiff on Tuesday June 18th from 11.30am to 12.30pm.

• MUSEUM - Geraint Davies AM for Rhondda received an assurance from Assembly Culture Minister Jenny Randerson that a problem within the National Museums and Galleries of Wales - preventing school pupils from undertaking work experience at the institution - would soon be resolved.

INCIDENT - A 36 yr-old man is seriously injured after being knocked down by a white Mercedes van at 6.20am Friday, 17th May at the junction between the A473 and Crown Hill in Church Village, nr Pontypridd. Police are appealing for witnesses to contact them on 01656 655555.

• POLICE - The public is invited to attend the next South Wales Police Authority meeting at the Civic Offices in Bridgend on Monday 10th June at 10am. Contact Alan Fry, authority clerk on 01656 869366 or e-mail swpa.bridgebd@cwcom.net

ORCHESTRA - Rhondda Symphony Orchestra holds a concert at St. Michael's Church, Maesteg on Saturday, 25th May. Tickets are £3.50 on the door. The programme includes an oboe concerto by Mathias, and Finlandia by Sibelius.

• MATHS - Mathamagic has been launched at Cardiff's Techniquest to show youngsters that learning maths can be fun. For more information contact Laura-Mae Brown on 029 20 475 475 ext 220 or visit www.techniquest.org 

BALLOONS - To mark the launch of Tiscali 10.0 internet service company, up to £100,000 is being given away in 1,000 balloons simultaneously launched at midday on Monday 20th May at Cardiff Bay. Ten balloons will contain a code number worth £10,000 each - anyone finding a balloon can enter the code number on the Tiscali website at www.tiscali.co.uk/10 and discover whether your code has won a prize.

• CENTRES - Rhondda Community Business Initiatives Ltd has been awarded more than £350,000 in European Objective One funding to create and run four neighbourhood regeneration centres based at Pentre, Llwynypia, Ystrad and Tonypandy. The centers will be linked via the internet, and open to the public for 20 hours each week, providing computer access and information on developing neighbourhood ideas.

COLLECTION - The Motor Neurone Disease Association is appealing for volunteers to help with a charity street collection taking place in Cardiff on 15th June. If you would like to help for an hour or two, please contact Lyn Hallet on 029 2020 9563. 

• BABY BEREAVEMENT - A new Baby Bereavement Support Group has been launched at Pontprennau, Cardiff. The group is run by parents who are suffering the loss of much-loved babies and who understand the feelings of loneliness, isolation and grief. The group will meet every second Tuesday of the month at Pontprennau Community Centre at 8pm. Phone Andrea Brown on 029 2073 5541 or Bernadette Byrne on 01633 665102 for details.

CALLS REJECTED - Calls for a "Minister for the Valleys" to be appointed in the National Assembly have been dismissed by First Minister Rhodri Morgan. Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales - the main opposition party at the Assembly - has already appointed Rhondda AM Geraint Davies as its own Valleys spokeperson.

• GARDENING - A free eight-week course for people wanting to become organic gardeners will be held from 25th June at Fairwater Community Gardens, Cardiff. For details of the free course - run by the Welsh College of Horticulture - phone 0800 0749133. 

MINERS - Miners who were dismissed for strike-related offences during the 1984-5 strike - or their widows and dependents - are urged to claim for an enhanced pension. Phone the helpline on 0845 7591562 or write to Dismissed Miners Claims Department, PO Box 2063, Queens House, Sheffield. S1 2UQ.

• EXHIBITION - The works of two of Rhondda's almost exact contemporaries, painter Ernie Zobole of Ystrad and sculptor Robert Thomas of Cwmparc - who both died in 1999 - are exhibited together until 24th May at the University of Glamorgan, to mark the university's 10th anniversary. Thomas is known for his sculpture of Aneurin Bevan in Cardiff's Queen Street and Rhondda Miner, Wife & Child sculpture in Llwynypia, while Zobole's paintings are to be found in the National Museum and Gallery, Cardiff and at Swansea's Taliesin Arts Centre.

APPEAL - Marie Curie Cancer Care wants adventurous volunteers to abseil 150ft from the roof of the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on July 7th for a £10 entry fee. Please contact 01884 703540.

• ANIMAL CLINIC - Work on the new RSPCA animal clinic will be underway in June and should be completed by the end of the year - to help provide less well-off pet owners in the Merthyr, Gwent and the Rhondda Cynon Taff areas with affordable medical care and emergency treatment for their pets.

CONCERT - A Celebration concert by the Treorchy Comprehensive School Band & Past Members with the famous Treorchy Male Choir will be held at the Parc & Dare Theatre on Thursday July 18^th 2002 . Tickets available from the box office on 01443 773112 - Circle-£5.00, Stalls-£3.00, (Concessionary stalls £2.00), Gallery-£2.00. Doors open at 6:30pm, concert begins at 7:00pm. Proceeds will go towards the School Band’s invitation to the Italian Youth Band Festival in Imperia.

• TWINS - Identical twins of all ages and sexes are required by Aberdare-based TANTRWM for auditions in July and August to star in a film production this summer. The thriller entitled "Doubles" will be shot in and around South Wales. Previous acting experience is preferred but not essential. Contact Andrew Chainey on 01685 886546.

TEACHERS - A free and confidential helpline to offer advice and support to teachers has been launched in an effort to reduce stress-related sickness and help stop the exodus of teachers leaving the profession. A similar service has operated in England for over 2 years, with 60% of teachers who used the service reporting it had improved their attitude to work and 45% believed it had improved their performance. The 24-hour bilingual Teacher Support Line Cymru is on 0800 085 5088.

• BIKE RIDE - Rhondda to Romania Charity holds a weekend sponsored cycle ride from Bedwas to Bath beginning on 8th June. The 60-mile ride is restricted to 75 entrants - on a first come. first served basis - and participants will spend the evening relaxing in the city before returning by coach the following morning. Entrants must pay £25 to cover the cost of accommodation - and also raise a minimum of £25 in sponsorship. All proceeds will go to Save the Children Street Children Project, to help orphans and equip maternity units. Phone David Rees on 01443 776361 or Roger Lewis on 01443 431627 to take part.

FUNDRAISING - The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association are inviting people to raise money by celebrating the Queen's Golden Jubilee with a Barbeque Bonanza. Contact the charity's hotline on 0118 983 8207 or visit www.bbqbonanza.org.uk - the first 1,000 applicants will receive a free barbeque kit, posters, recipe from chef Ainsley Harriot, a £5 food voucher and fundraising tips.

• AMD - An estimated 1000 people in Wales go blind each year due to a little known disease that can cause severe and irreversible sight loss. Age-related Macular Degeneration common symptoms can include distortion and blurring in the centre of vision - e.g. straight lines appearing wavy. For further information on AMD phone Macular Disease Society on 0800 328 2849 or RNIB Cymru on 029 20450440 or Wales Council for the Blind on 029 2047 3954.

SURGERIES - Geraint Davies AM Rhondda holds surgeries throughout the Rhondda with local Councillors.  for details.

• TALKSHOW - Rhondda band "Talkshow" announce more live gigs. 

SPRING FETE - Friends of Treorchy Primary School hold their Spring Fete & Car Boot Sale on Sunday 19^th May from 10.30am to 1pm in the school yard. If the weather is bad - the event will be postponed until the following week (Sunday 26^th May) when the school canteen will be utilized if necessary.

• OFFICE - Peter Hain will be opening Rhondda MP Chris Bryant's new constituency office at 5 Cemetery Road, Porth at 10am on Friday May 17th. The office also houses the GMB and the Rhondda Labour Party. Allan Garley, GMB's South Western Regional Secretary and Rhondda CLP members will attend the opening, along with other invited guests.

ISRAEL - Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has told Plaid Cymru the Party of Wales Euro MPs Jill Evans and Eurig Wyn and Rhondda AM Geraint Davies that he has documented evidence that an Israeli attack on Gaza is imminent, possibly to be launched this evening.

• ARCHAEOLOGY - Anyone interested in attending the informative meetings of Archaeology Cymru should phone 01446 781585.

APPEAL - At least £5,500 was raised at a "gentlemen's evening" at Ystrad, Rhondda Labour Club in aid of the Johnny Owen Memorial Appeal - which aims to erect a statue in Merthyr Tydfil, in memory of the boxer who suffered a fatal blow in a world title fight in 1980. Donations can be made to the "Johnny Owen Memorial Appeal" and sent to treasurer Fred Rees, 180 Tyntyla Road, Llwynypia, Rhondda CF40 2SP or paid in at any branch of the HSBC bank.

• HIT AND RUN - A 37 year-old Penygraig woman died after a hit and run car crash at the junction of Manor Way and Birchgrove in Whitchurch, Cardiff at 12.30pm on Friday, 3rd May - when three men in a black Ford Fiesta hit a green BMW. Anyone with information about the incident can contact police on 029 2052 8013.

SUSPENDED - A former colleague of the late John Owens has been suspended indefinitely - following a police investigation into recent claims made at the Clywch Inquiry. The inquiry was investigating allegations that the creator of "Pam Fi Duw?" Welsh drama television series, had sexually abused some pupils while working as a drama teacher at Ysgol Gyfun Rhydfelen. The inquiry has been suspended while police investigations continue, and the Welsh Joint Education Committee has launched an investigation. Mr. Owens committed suicide last October.

• DIED - A young man died after being stuck by a train near the Old Mill Crossing, Ystrad, Rhondda at around 11.30pm on Monday, 29th April. He is described as white, in his late teens or early twenties, 5ft 5 - 7ins tall, of thin build with short dark hair, clean shaven with two studs in his left eyebrow, one above and one below. He was wearing a blue denim jacket, dark jeans, black Levi belt, blue jumper with motif and white trainers. Anyone who can help police identify the man should ring 0800 405040 quoting ref no IMF863/29-04-02 or ring Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111. * since identified as Daniel Walsh, aged16, Trafalgar Terrace, Ystrad.

WATCHDOG - Rhondda Cynon Taff County Borough Council has joined with other agencies to form an adult protection committee. Research across the UK has shown that up to 5% of people over 65 and 10% of people with learning disabilities have suffered from some form of abuse or neglect. Anyone witnessing or suspecting abuse can contact Community Care Client on 01443 486731, 01443 431513 or 01685 875481.

• ART - Ystradyfodwg Art Society have an open demonstration evening on Monday 13th May - with local artist Emlyn Hole from Porth - at 7.15pm Abergorki Hall Treorchy. All welcome.

SNOOKERTHON - The eleventh annual snookerthon will be held - in aid of the Rhondda Macmillan Nurses - [registered charity number: 261017] at the Ton Pentre football club on Friday 24^th May 2002 at 7:00pm, when 12 dedicated snooker players will play throughout the night. Donations can be sent to "Rhondda Macmillan Nurses" c/o Mr C. Prosser 58 Parry Street Ton Pentre, Rhondda, Mid Glamorgan.

• SURGERIES - Chris Bryant MP for Rhondda holds the following advice surgeries -

SHORTLIST - Rhondda Constituency Labour Party's Committee voted 30 - 15 against having an all woman shortlist when choosing a candidate for next year's Assembly elections.

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