Cllr Eric Drinkwater handing over the cheques

The former chairman of Burntwood Town Council has handed over cheques for to his nominated charities.

Cllr Eric Drinkwater supported the Chase Terrace Scout Group, Chasewater District Guides, 1st Burntwood Scout Group and the Grow Well Project during his year in office.

Each group collected £452.50.

The money was raised through various donations and a charity fundraising event.

A new event is bringing Lichfield and Burntwood companies together to showcase their products and services.

The first Lichfield Business Connect Show follows the success of the group’s breakfast networking meetings.

The event will take place at Lichfield Rugby Club on June 12 and will feature more than 40 local businesses and trade organisations. A free buffet will be available all day for exhibitors and visitors, as well as complimentary tea and coffee.

A programme of seminars will take place throughout the day to add further interest for visitors.

Spokesperson Brian Carruthers, managing director of Tempest Ford, explained: “Although the event is being held in Lichfield, it would be superb if exhibitors from across the West Midlands could take space at the show.

“Our aim is to promote the event to as many businesses as possible so that they can either take a stand or come along and meet the exhibitors and network with others.”

Exhibitor prices start from £50 for a 3m x 2m stand, £75 for a 3m x 3m stand to the largest spaces available at £100 for 4m x 4m stands.

To book a spot contact Simon Roberts on 01543 444470  or 07709 433493 or email enquiries@beautifulgardens.co.uk, or Barry Gwilt at DGS Hygiene on 01543 481055 or email barry.gwilt@dgshygiene.co.uk

Steve Peters (Regional Rugby Manager for Midlands West), Bob Osbourne (BRUFC President), Bill Leason (SRU President), Carole Thelwall-Jones (RFU Volunteer Manager) and Steve Thompson (Burntwood's Valued Volunteer for 2012)

Burntwood RUFC has become one of only a handful of clubs in Staffordshire to achieve the new RFU Club Accreditation status combined with Clubmark Accreditation from Sport England.

The process replaces the RFU Seal of Approval which the club also obtained for its Mini/Youth section.

Club Chairman Martyn Smith, President Bob Osbourne, Chair of the Mini/Youth section Julia Grundy and Treasurer Gerry McGann went through the process with Staffordshire Rugby Development Officer Tom Bartram.

According to the RFU Rugby Development Department, the accreditation scheme is about “strengthening clubs and growing the game in the communities around them”. It provides a framework for a club to show what it is doing, how it does it and where it can improve.

Steve Grainger, RFU Rugby Development Director, said: “In the lead up to Rugby World Cup 2015 we are all aware that our clubs are at the forefront in growing and developing the game.

“We want to help them to make sure they are at the very heart of their communities, welcoming new players and volunteers, while developing those they already have. To do this successfully they will all be looking to provide the kind of facilities that attract members and to a club that is well run.”

Burntwood Dragons suffered disappointment as they were beaten 5-1 by Pelsall Villa Colts in the H Boston Cup Final.

Elsewhere in the Lichfield and District Football League, Burntwood St Matthews secured a third place finish in the Premier Division after a thrilling 5-4 win against ASP Boatmans Rest.

H Boston Cup Final:
Pelsall Villa Colts 5 Burntwood Dragons 1

Direct Sports Premier:
Burntwood St Matthews 5 ASP Boatmans Rest 4

Stretton Paving Division One:
Farmer Johns 7 Prince of Wales 1
Farmer Johns 4 Burntwood Dragons 0 (played May 15)

Maude Sports Division Two:
Longhorn 7 Hazelwood Athletic 2
Shelfield Villa 1 Freemans 0

Division Three:
AFC Kriss 3 The Trident 1
Bowman 1 Shire Oak 3
Dosthill Rangers 0 Burntwood AFC 3
Trent Valley Rovers 1 Lichfield AFC 3

Volunteers are still needed to play a part in the Olympic Torch Relay’s visit to Lichfield.

Thousands of spectators are expected to line the streets on June 30 as the Flame is carried through the city.

Over 60 people have already signed up to be volunteers on the day, but Lichfield District Council still needs to find around 40 more.

Helping hands are needed for a range of roles along the four-mile relay, including route and car park marshals, city ambassadors and street dressers.

Councillor Val Richards said: “I’d like to thank everyone who has volunteered so far, but we still need extra people to help us on the day.

“We are looking for a fantastic team of volunteers. Ideally, they should be friendly and confident enough to talk to spectators, sensible and safety conscious, as well as able to spot potential issues and help to resolve them.”

Volunteers need to be 17 years of age or more and to attend a briefing and training session, where the roles will be assigned and explained.

“Volunteering on the day will give you the chance to be a part of this once in a life time event, and to help others enjoy this special day,” Cllr Richards added.

“We’ll provide volunteers with training, a uniform to wear, as well as a parking space in the city. We hope more people will put them selves forward to join us to help celebrate the Olympic Torch Relay.”

To find out more about the roles and to apply to be a volunteer, visit www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/olympictorch. The deadline to apply has been extended to May 27.

Rod Campbell

Rod Campbell has been named as Burntwood Town Council’s new chairman.

Cllr Campbell also confirmed that his chosen charities would be St Giles Hospice and the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children.

Cllr Ron Bradbury was elected as vice-chairman and Cllr Diane Evans was elected as leader of the Town Council.

People living and working in Lichfield and Burntwood are being urged to show their demand for faster, more reliable broadband.

A demand registration survey is being launched this week following a £7.5m investment by Staffordshire County Council to ensure every property in Staffordshire has access to basic broadband and at least 90 per cent have access to superfast broadband by mid-2015.

Cllr Mark Winnington said: “It is very important that people complete the survey so that we know where the untapped demand is for superfast broadband and can demonstrate this to providers.

“When people visit our survey page online, they can find out more information about why this project is so significant and the impact it will have on increasing opportunity and prosperity in Staffordshire.

“Superfast broadband enables people to have access to business, education, health and leisure they need for everyday living. This is an investment which will see a positive return for Staffordshire by 2015.”

County councillor Winnington said that his aspiration is that ninety percent of premises will have access to broadband speeds of 24 mbps or more.

The new demand survey can be found at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/broadbandconsultation.

Last month the Government approved the county council’s broadband project plan. While the Government has agreed to match-fund local broadband improvement plans, this is dependent on projects securing funding. Cabinet members agreed that they needed to invest where it mattered and not allow Staffordshire to be held back any longer.

Government’s approval of the local broadband plan for Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is a major milestone as it means the project can move to the next stage of taking on a supplier which will install the infrastructure.

The county council is also looking for ‘broadband champions’ across Staffordshire who will spread the word about the project in their communities and how people will benefit. Broadband champions will also be asked to help identify the demand for faster broadband in their areas – and to help provide paper copies of the demand survey to people in their community who can’t complete it online.

By the end of 2012 a company will have been selected to carry out the project with work set to begin by spring 2013. Currently there are 178,000 properties across Staffordshire without basic broadband (at least 2 mbps) and the chosen supplier must ensure that all properties have access to basic broadband, and ninety percent able to access superfast speeds, by mid-2015.

Chasetown FC  have confirmed appointment of former Scholars midfielder Craig Harris as their new first team manager.

After Chris Brindley parted company with the club in the days leading up to the Scholars’ relegation from the Evo-Stik League Premier Division, it is hoped that Harris will bring a turnaround in their fortunes when the season kicks off in late summer.

Over 30 candidates applied for the role and a shortlist of five was drawn up.

After much deliberation Harris, who made 94 appearances for the Scholars from 2004 to 2007 scoring three goals, was appointed.

St Giles Hospice is launching a new 12-month pilot scheme to give patients improved access to care in their own homes – thanks to a £39,000 grant from a private charitable foundation.

The money was awarded to the Whittington-based charity by Help the Hospices – an organisation which distributes funding from the St James’s Place Foundation.

It will be used to expand St Giles Hospice’s Hospice at Home service, which sees nurses and healthcare assistants provide specialist care in the community for local people living with cancer and other serious illnesses.

Previously, St Giles did not have sufficient funding to support Hospice at Home visits during the evening. Following the award of the grant, however, nurses will now be available to attend patients’ homes between 4.30pm and 10.30pm, seven days a week for the next 12 months.

Louise Savage, Hospice at Home manager, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been awarded this grant because it means we can now bridge the gap between our existing daytime and overnight services, providing complete continuity of care and support for our patients and their families.

“This has been on our wish-list for quite some time after we completed a short and successful pilot scheme last year, but couldn’t continue it due to lack of funding.

“This underlines just how much we depend on charitable support to provide our care across the community – both from generous local people and through grants such as this – and we would like to thank Help the Hospices and the St James’s Place Foundation for making it possible to extend and enhance our Hospice at Home service.”

Burntwood Dragons will be hoping to lift the H Boston Cup when they take on Pelsall Villa Colts in the final of the competition.

Meanwhile, in the Lichfield and District Football League Premier Division, Burntwood St Matthews can snatch a third place finish if they beat ASP Boatmans Rest.

Direct Sports Premier Division:
Burntwood St Matthews v ASP Boatmans Rest

Stretton Paving Division One:
Farmer Johns v Prince of Wales

Maude Sports Division Two:
Longhorn v Hazelwood Athletic
Shelfield Villa v Freeemans

Division Three:
AFC Kriss v The Trident
Bowman v Shire Oak
Dosthill Rangers v Burntwood AFC
Trent Valley Rovers v Lichfield AFC

H Boston Cup Final:
Pelsall Villa Colts v Burntwood Dragons