Richard Stevens

I think we are very fortunate in Stone to have a dedicated Anti Social Behaviour group sponsored by the Borough Council but drawing upon the input  of, amongst others,  the police, Connexions, the Alcohol and Drug Advisory service, the Town Council and the Youth Service. I’ve attended several meetings and have always been interested to see how effective inter agency co-operation can be.

This afternoon’s meeting was not so well attended as most but nevertheless progress was made on several fronts. It was very gratifying to hear compliments being made about how well Stone is regarded in the County for it’s various actions in relation to the young people of the town. I think ventures like the fishing initiative, Reel’em In and the boxing training programme, the Right Stuff are being viewed with interest. And the imminent opening of the youth cafe, the Den, is yet another innovative project which is attracting attention.

For too long the youth of this town have been complaining of being bored because there is nothing to do. Now that they are responding positively to these various projects and are actually taking positive roles in these schemes, I think we should be proud of them. The more I meet and talk to these young folk the more I realise what potential they possess.