Group highlights town health issues

CHAT (Community Health Around Torpoint) has a new treasurer.

At the organisation's annual meeting, Chris Isaacs stood down from the position and Anne Moore was elected in her place. All other officers agreed to stand again and were re-elected.

Chairman Margaret Hall reported on the year's activities, which mainly centred around the organisation's applications for a One-Stop Shop in the town and Millennium funding, work involving Youth Health Action, and a Healthy Living Day.

The various groups attached to CHAT continue to flourish, in particular the Over-Sixties Exercise group. And the CHAT community shop in the town centre, which has its annual meeting in May, continues to make donations to various organisations in the area.

CHAT volunteers are now included in the Cornwall Directory of Volunteers, the volunteer bureau having had more referrals of late.

Meanwhile, the meeting heard a report on a social inclusion conference which had mainly been about accessing funds.

The organisation raised the problem of litter in the town earlier in the year. Its letters about the problem have now produced three replies from the town's schools. Carbeile Junior School is interested in a CHAT member talking to its pupils about the problem. Pat Rochester is to be asked if she would like to do so since she brought up the issue. The meeting was told it is now planned to employ a youth worker for Torpoint for two months to help in deciding if this is what the town needs and that CHAT is planning to produce a display for the forthcoming Maryfield and St James Church flower festivals.

The campaign against mobile phone masts in Torpoint and Millbrook was also highlighted. It was suggested that an anti-mast campaigner should speak to the next CHAT meeting.

Everyone is welcome to any of CHAT's meetings which are held on the first Wednesday of each month at 7.30pm at the Torpoint Community Clinic in Hooper Street.

The Community Liaison Lunches continue on the last Friday of each month. Members of any voluntary or statutory group are welcome to attend and inform the meeting about their organisation and what it offers. Lunch, which needs to be booked, is available from 12.15pm or participants can take their own. It is planned to have themes for some of the meetings. These will include primary care groups and housing.

Recently, the Bright Hour Group at Crafthole Methodist Church held a successful coffee morning for CHAT.

For more information on CHAT, ring 01752 812850.

Call for a 'green' centre

Local voluntary groups in Millbrook have asked if a 'green' information centre can be established in the village.

Caradon Council officers say the centre would provide a base for numerous local projects running in the village, and would help in improving communications between active groups.

Suitable premises are said to have been found in Millbrook, and a request has been made to Caradon's LA21 officer for an interest-free loan of £300 to secure the building for the next three months during the set-up period.

The group intends to register as a charity, and is developing a fund-raising strategy to sustain the centre which would help prompt interest in projects such as making organic seed and vegetables available to the local community, and planting willow at selected sites to use as a future 'craft crop'.

Other aims include encouraging residents to deal with kitchen/garden waste individually at home or by participating in a community composting scheme currently under investigation; recycling; providing a base to help young people develop their own schemes; boosting local car share projects and public transport facilities; and improving local facilities for the disabled.

The proposed centre would also provide a base for an existing biodiversity group linked to Millbrook School whose projects include creating an island on the lake for nesting birds and planting wildflower meadows - and for discussions on a community orchard plan for which the grafting of local varieties has already began at Millbrook School.

The development of land for an orchard is currently being investigated.

The centre would also be part of the introduction and promotion of a Caradon local exchange trading scheme into the village - this an extended bartering project.

Beacon to stay in park

The beacon which blazed brightly during Torpoint's highly successful Millennium celebrations at the turn of the century is to be kept permanently in Rendel Park by the River Tamar.

The town's Millennium Committee won the 12ft high beacon last year in a competition run by a national newspaper.

The win enabled the town to be part of the Beacon Millennium Festival which saw chains of beacons being lit across the country on New Year's Eve.

At the time, the Millennium Committee hoped the beacon, which is powered by liquid petroleum gas, could be used at future major events in the town.

Since then the beacon has been given to the town council which has added it to its fixed asset register.

The town council has agreed that the beacon can be kept in the park next to the Torpoint Ferry lanes and has received an offer from the Deputy Town Mayor, John Crago, to rustproof the metal section and apply preservative to the wooden supports.

At present much of Rendel Park, which is due for a revamp, is closed to the public.

Lent lectures

A number of high-profile local religious leaders are giving a series of talks in Torpoint.

The Churches Together in Torpoint group is holding Lent lectures at St Joan of Arc Church in Moorview Terrace on Tuesdays at 6.45pm.

The Superintendent of the Plymouth Methodist Circuit, the Rev Edgar Daniel, will be speaking on March 28. A week later the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Bill Ind, will be the speaker. The final lecture in the series will be given by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, the Rt Rev Christopher Budd, on April 11.

The events begin and end with prayer and a hymn. The talks are designed to last for half-an-hour and will be followed by question time sessions.

The talks are open to the public.

Millennium photograph

More than 400 pupils and staff feature in a Millennium photograph taken at Torpoint Infants School.

The pupils and staff sat on a stand with six tiers for the special picture.

A framed copy of the photograph, which is about 18 inches long, will hang in the reception area of the school while another will be placed in the Torpoint town archives. Prints are available for purchase.