Week ending 14th August

Our Friday miscellany of the week's news and events
Grubbiest building in town ... We've complained about the state of some of the town's shopfronts in the past, but were more than taken aback during a walk down West Street in the week when we noticed how neglected and filthy the mirror glassed Lubianka that comprises the municipal office extension is. Cobwebs and muck in equal amounts jostle for pride of place. Seems like there's more than one clean-up needed at the council.
Anniversary card ... Still lurking in the bowels of the Lincolnshire Independents website is one of the only two entries made by Boston Borough Council Leader Richard Austin back in the glory days when he also had a seat on Lincolnshire County Council. On August 12th 2006 - three years ago - at 2-13am (way past his bedtime we would have thought) the dear leader published his first thoughts. They read: "test1." There was a test two in May 2008 ... and since then ... silence. Oh, and did we say "back" in the day? According to the website, Councillor Austin is still "Independent councillor for Boston South." We wonder what his recently elected Conservative successor Paul Skinner might have to say about that!
Protesting too much... We love the advert in this week's locals from estate agent Bruseless Mather after a BBC television expose showed the firm to be one of three agents who rejected a Polish worker sent by the BBC to rent a property, while a BBC employee was allowed to view the properties. In characteristically wordy style, the advert even goes so far as to thank the Beeb for showing the company up. And they say that you shouldn't believe an estate agent....
A big boy did it and ran away ... Bypass Independent Councillor Richard Lenton takes over where colleague Major (Ret'd) Ramonde Newell has mercifully left off by writing to the local press following comments from Tory Councillor Peter Bedford and Labour activist Paul Kenny on the borough's recent damning (rather than "poor") report by the Audit Commission. He says the report for the year commencing April 2007 was for the period just after the BBI landslide, which makes it a reflection on "years of mismanagement by their receptive (sic) parties." We had hoped that the portfolio holder for financial management might have been better at doing his sums. The year commencing April 2007 covers the first eleven months of the BBI's tenure - which represents almost half its term in office. We're starting to wonder when the BBI is going to be big enough to own up to its own mistakes and stop trying to pass the buck.
Plodding along ... Good to see that Lincolnshire Police are undeterred after coming bottom in the national league of public confidence; having to write off almost 10,000 crimes that they've no hope of solving, and getting a slating from the government inspector for not having the specialist skills needed to solve serious crime. Their latest recruitment advert in the local papers seeks an ICT Applications Support Officer to help integrate business systems, an Information Sharing Officer, and a Reprographics Officer to run the force's print room. The total annual wage bill for these vital posts is more than £50,000. We're sure that once they are filled, crime will fall and confidence in the force rise.
Hacked off .... Like many people, we pick up our Standard when we head into town on market day, then read it at home whilst waiting for the Target to arrive. This week was one of those that show how hopeless our papers sometimes are. We patrolled the town with the shrill of the flood warning sirens threatening world war three or worse, then got home to read the paper only to find that that all the noise was just a test. We also discovered that we'd missed out first chance to take part in the Market Place consultation process. Some hours later, the Target's arrival rubbed salt into the wound. Certainly, the siren testing could and should have been in last week's papers - or is that too obvious?
Coming up on Monday ... Boston gets £52,632 from the government as one of the 57 areas hardest hit by the recession - to find creative ways to reduce the negative impact empty shops are having on the high street. We'll be finding out more.

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