Kent’s first elected police commissioner will be paid £85,000, regardless of if the job is part time or not.

The Home Office, of which is responsible for setting the annual salaries, said that the figure is based on a sliding scale compared to the earnings of chief constables.

The candidates for the job will stand for election in November, and the person who is elected will be taking over the job of the 16-person Kent Police Authority.

So far one of the highest profile candidates for the job has already indicated that he could do the job on a part time basis.

The University of Kent was evacuated yesterday after a bomb hoax.

Just before 9.30am police were called to Canterbury, as the staff received a suspect email and raised alarm.

As a result of the email, two residential blocks were evacuated and searched by police. However nothing was found and students were allowed to return into the buildings 2 hours later.

A spokesman from Kent Police said that they were called in the morning by staff all because of the email they had received. Police then attended and evacuated the buildings as a precautionary measure, whilst they carried out standard search procedures.

Thankfully there was very little disruption to the University as they are out of their working term.

If you’re undecided on where to eat or buy your food then Shepway Council have introduced the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme to help you out.

The scheme, which was developed by the Food Standards Agency, provides information about food hygiene standards in cafes, restaurants and other food outlets.

Businesses around Folkestone have all been given a rating from 0 (‘urgent improvement necessary’) to 5 (‘very good’) following inspections by the councils food safety officers. Already 120 food businesses across Shepway have a top rating, including schools and shops.

Businesses are being given a sticker and certificate to display and ratings can be viewed on the Food Standard Agency website.

Some businesses have not yet been inspected; though will be completed over the next couple of months.

The Academy FM Team

One year ago, Dave Sharp started a radio station partly staffed by unpaid children with virtually no broadcasting experience.

Now, we have a radio station that’s entertaining, challenging, life-changing, and at the heart of the community. And it is still staffed by unpaid children!

We are the only Community Radio station for Folkestone, and the only station that is truly local to the area. Our presenters are volunteers, of which many are children from The Academy. We teach radio production to these children, and teach them valuable  self-confidence skills, team-working, and other vital skills to prepare them for the workplace.

Over the course of the year, we’ve trained up nearly 100 people.

We broadcast live between 6:30 in the morning at 9 in the evening every weekday.We have broadcast Community Contacts information slots for local charities around 9000 times in the past year.

We have played music produced by local artists on 10,000 separate occasions times in the past year.

We are the only under 18s event promoter in Folkestone. We put on safe, alcohol free events for young people, and we have run eductional projects that enhance the curriculum.

We have the statistics to show that young people involved in the station are more likely to attend school, and improve academically, and this website gets up to 15,000 hits a month. It is a hub for the local business community, it provides information on the local area, and it carries local news.

We want to thank YOU, the listeners of Folkestone and the surrounding areas, for tuning in to Academy FM over the past year. You’ve been a brilliant audience, and we hope to broadcast to you for many years to come.

On friday, Academy FM hosted a staff party at Halletts lounge & bar in Folkestone. You can see some of the pictures, and see our presenters when they are letting their hair down!

Saturday breakfast presenter Adam Dowling with The Folkestone Chart Show host Emma

From left to right - Co-presenter Colin, Adam Dowling, Chart Show Emma, Breakfast host Craig Hayward, and Urban Playlist host Mr. Payne

Dave Sharp with a slice of the amazing Academy FM cake

From left to right - Live Room & Acoustic Jukebox host Karl Higbee, Breakfast & Urban Playlist host Craig Hayward, and Saturday breakfast host Adam Dowling

Saturday morning host Ben Pearce with Chris Kirkham of Discover Folkestone, Hythe & Romney Marsh

From left to right - Chart Show host Emma, breakfast co-presenter & Chart Show host Hannah, Ben from Ben's Bit In The Middle, All round genius Alice, Tuesday interact presenter Liam Stavley, and Saturday afternoon & Sunday breakfast host Neil Bradwell

From left to right - Morning presenter Bobbie C, local author Lisa Richardson and Friday night presenter Keith Lawes

The team behind the scenes - Liz Baxter, Dave Sharp and Craig Hayward

The amazing Academy FM Birthday cake, home-made by Helen Sharp! Thank you!

Station Manager Dave with wife Helen and the amazing birthday cake!

Team Academy FM

A rise in fake charity collections has been reported after 100,000 fake clothing collection bags were seized in Dover earlier this month.

The UK Borders Agency were alerted to the haul after the bags were found with the name of the charity Cancer Relief UK on them and the charity itself confirmed that the bags were fake. Trading Standards said they could have been used in a significant fraud and that bogus charity collections were booming.

Officers were surprised by the sheer scale of the operation at Dover and Trading Standards said this just shows how much money can be made from second-hand clothes. An increasing number of complaints in the county has led to investigations into bogus charity collectors, as the issue is starting to cause concern.

Kent has received an increasing number of animal cruelty reports, greater than anywhere else in the South East.

Statistics released by the RSPCA this week show that the figures for Kent are worse than Greater London, as 148 people were reported last year with 49 of those being convicted. The number of people sent to prison for animal cruelty doubled last year, compared to 2010, and the South East has seen a 38% rise in convictions relating to dogs.

Reports this week have highlighted cases in Ramsgate, Thanet and the RSPCA’s figures come to mark RSPCA Week, which starts on Monday, and aims to increase awareness and donations. The charity says that they strive to keep animals with their owners wherever possible and offer advice on improving their welfare, and in most cases this is followed.

Businesses in Folkestone have fully booked Google’s sessions in the town as part of a series of one-to-one consultations.

 
Between the 23rd and 24th April, Google will be helping local businesses to get online, set up websites and learn how to sell products. After this, it is hoped that business owners will see a significant amount of their sales coming from online customers.

 
MP Damian Collins spoke of Google’s supported initiative, called ‘Getting British Business Online’, and said he hopes it will transform the fortunes of local businesses as they reach out to new customers.

 
The initiative in Folkestone has been the first of its kind in the South East.

Folkestone will be represented in Brass the Baton, the only London 2012 Cultural Olympiad.

Folkestone Town centre Management and Shepway District Council are exceptionally thrilled to be participating in a first of its kind project, which has been specially created for Brass bands by the London committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympics games.

This project allows brass band musician and conductors of all ages and abilities to take part in a huge relay race involving 5 conductors’ batons.

A bronze crucifix has been stolen from a church in new Romney.

The 15^th century bronze figure was taken from St Nicholas Church in Church Road when it was on show in a glass box screwed to the wall in the St Stephens Chapel area of the church.

The bronze which was missing hands and feet was presented to the church in 1936 after being found during excavations in town’s high street.

A twenty year old man from Dover has been reported missing since yesterday afternoon.

Samuel Found was last seen at 4pm yesterday by his family. He was planning to catch a train to Dover from sandwich but has not been seen since.

Officers from Kent police are growing increasingly concerned about the young man who is described as being 5ft 11, a slim build with dark wavy hair and blue eyes.  He was last seen wearing grey walking boots and a black duffle coat. 

If anyone has any information on the whereabouts of Samuel, they should contact Kent police.