Five people have been nominated to stand in the Hereford and South Herefordshire parliamentary constituency for the general election which takes place on Thursday, May 6.

The candidates are:

• Sarah Jane Carr – Liberal Democrats
• Jesse Norman – The Conservative Party Candidate
• John Oliver – British National Party
• Philippa Louise Roberts – The Labour Party Candidate
• Valentine James Smith – UK Independence Party (UKIP)

Residents who have chosen to vote by post should receive their ballot papers in the next week or so as the council is aiming to send out postal votes by Monday, April 26 at the latest.

Residents who have chosen to vote by proxy - this means they have appointed someone to vote on their behalf – have until 5pm on Tuesday, April 27, to return their completed application form to the electoral registration team based at Hereford Town Hall.

The application form can be found on the council’s website and is available from Info shops and libraries. Applicants may need to have their application vouched for, depending on the reasons.

If someone is unable to get to the polling station due to a medical emergency that has arisen after the normal deadline, they can apply to vote by proxy up to 5pm on the day of the election.

Six people have been nominated to stand in the North Herefordshire parliamentary constituency for the general election which takes place on Thursday, May 6.

The candidates are:

• Lucy Ann Hurds – Liberal Democrats
• John King - Independent
• Felicity Mary Norman – Green Party
• Jonathan Paul Oakton – United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP)
• Neil Sabharwal – The Labour Party Candidate
• Bill Wiggin – The Conservative Party Candidate

Residents who have chosen to vote by post should receive their ballot papers in the next week or so as the council is aiming to send out postal votes by Monday, April 26 at the latest.

Residents who have chosen to vote by proxy - this means they have appointed someone to vote on their behalf – have until 5pm on Tuesday, April 27, to return their completed application form to the electoral registration team based at Hereford Town Hall.

The application form can be found on the council’s website and is available from Info shops and libraries. Applicants may need to have their application vouched for, depending on the reasons.

If someone is unable to get to the polling station due to a medical emergency that has arisen after the normal deadline, they can apply to vote by proxy up to 5pm on the day of the election.

Girls in South Wye Hereford have raised nearly £200 to help grant magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses.

The girls’ group was set up by Herefordshire Council’s youth service and meets on a weekly basis at Hinton Community Centre.  Every term the group gather together with the council’s youth workers to agree a programme of activities. Cooking, drama, arts and crafts, volunteering, outdoor education, days out and fundraising are all on offer amongst other things and on this occasion, the girls decided to hold a bag packing fundraising event at the Tesco Store in Belmont.  In just two hours they raised nearly £200 from members of the public for the Make-A-Wish Foundation UK.  The young people decided on this particular charity as they wanted to help children and young people who may be a similar age to themselves.

Sarah Melia, Herefordshire Council youth worker, said:  “The girls worked really hard to plan the event, and make sure all went smoothly on the night.  Many thanks to all the generous shoppers who supported them and a big thank you to Tescos for letting them hold the fundraising activity in their store.

Raising funds for other young people is a great way to bring young people together and put something back into society.  They learn a whole range of skills in organising such events, totting up the cash and arranging donations to the charity of their choice.”

“We have a great group of young women aged 11-19, who are great fun and are always coming up with new and exciting ideas.”

The Girls’ Group meets on a weekly basis from 6:30-9:00pm at Hinton Community Centre and new members are most welcome.  Just turn up or ring Sarah Melia for details on 01432 383376 or 07792 880199.

The twelfth annual Flavours of Herefordshire awards scheme has been launched - giving the county's best chefs, restaurateurs, publicans, accommodation providers and food producers another chance to “get creative with local food”.

Flavours of Herefordshire is one of the longest-running schemes in the UK, recognising and rewarding the use-and-promotion of local produce.

And the full list of categories for the 2010 Flavours of Herefordshire competition is now featured at www.visitherefordshire.co.uk.

As well as being one of the longest-running, the scheme is also one of the very best examples of how an area of Britain can celebrate its regional flavours.

"The award scheme recognises quality and excellence in the marketing and use of the local food and drink that is served here in the county, and how that distinctiveness is promoted to the wider public," said Jane Lewis, of VisitHerefordshire.

"The annual highlight is the Food Festival, in October, where – as well as creating an incredible showcase for the very best food and drink in the county – we also celebrate our Flavours of Herefordshire award winners at a gala presentation evening on the eve of the Festival.”

As such, the 12th annual Flavours of Herefordshire competition will this year reach its conclusion on Friday, October 23, when popular TV chefs “The Hairy Bikers” will be the guests of honour at the prize-giving dinner.

Awards in ten separate categories are up-for-grabs in this year’s Flavours of Herefordshire competition which sees the appearance of a prize for the county’s best cider and perry producer for the first time.

Also new for 2010 will be an award for best co-operative venture (aimed at showing the benefits to be derived from individual small businesses working together); and the naming of a “Herefordshire food champion”, with nominations being invited from the residents and visitors to Herefordshire.

Copies the current Flavours of Herefordshire Food Festival leaflet can be obtained free of charge by telephoning 01432 260621.

For full details, visit www.visitherefordshire.co.uk

NHS Herefordshire has begun a trial of new security devices designed to help protect its “lone workers” – staff who work on their own in the community such as district nurses and health visitors.

The new system allows NHS staff to signal discreetly for assistance should they feel vulnerable or distressed when working alone – for example due to aggression from patients or their relatives.

Wendy Huxley Marko, head of corporate risk at NHS Herefordshire said: “It should be noted that such incidents are extremely rare in the county and staff already have safe systems of work in place to ensure that others are always aware of their whereabouts and work schedule.  However, we do not want to be complacent and feel that it is beneficial to test these new devices to see if they provide our staff with additional security”.

As part of a national initiative from the Department of Health, personal security alarms are made available for NHS lone workers to monitor and record incidents where they feel their safety is threatened in any way.  The devices are able to track a staff member’s location via a postcode, and should an incident occur the alarm is raised with a national call centre, who can locate the individual via a GPS-style system.   The call centre staff are specially trained to handle the calls, including being able to recognise when an alarm has been raised by accident.  Where appropriate, the emergency services can be contacted and sent to the location.  

The training for nominated staff began in Herefordshire in January 2010 and the new devices went live as soon as training was completed.