Taekwondo summer classes for those aged from 7-17 are starting at St John’s Primary School on Tuesday, July 22.

The classes in the Korean martial art are aimed at beginners but those thinking of a comeback are welcome too.

The sessions run Tuesdays and Thursdays 3.30pm to 5pm and will be led by 3rd dan Katie Meads, an experienced international competitor.

The classes will be followed by evening sessions with new club Tynwald Tigers after the school holidays for all ages.

Email kjmeads@manx.net or text 309435 to book a place.

A vandal slashed two tyres of a car parked in Douglas earlier this week.

The silver Volkswagen Golf was damaged in Campion Way, Abbeyfields, some time between Monday evening and Thursday morning.

Police appealed for anyone who saw the damage being caused or who knows who was responsible to contact any police officer or ring police headquarters.

Vandalism is costing Manx schools dear.

In the current school year government workers dealt with 45 vandalism-related incidents at a cost of £8,500 in primary schools and around 50 in secondary schools and at the Isle of Man College of Further and Higher Education at a cost of £11,000.

Work at Youth Service buildings added a further £5,000 to the bill.

Schools closed for the summer today (Friday) but schools grounds, including playing fields and pitches, remain open for everyone to use.

‘These important amenities are at the heart of our communities and provide space for people to enjoy exercise, recreation and fresh air,’ said Tim Crookall MHK, Minister for Education and Children.

‘It has long been our policy to have school grounds open to the public to use, even when the buildings themselves are shut for summer.

‘However, those using school grounds are asked to respect their surroundings and not put themselves or others in danger.’

Much of the damage is caused by vandals climbing onto roofs via gutters and low eaves, damaging tiles, slates, gutters, downpipes and skylights.

There has also been a rise in anti-social behaviour, with schools being used for drinking, smoking and other disruptive activity.

The public is asked to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious.

Mr Crookall said: ‘Those misusing school grounds put themselves and others in danger. If someone were to slip and fall while climbing, for example, they may not be discovered for some time. If broken glass is left lying around, a child may get hurt.

‘School grounds continue to be used in an orderly manner by the majority users and very few people cause us problems.

‘Fingers crossed we’ll continue to enjoy the good weather we have seen so far this summer and we can all enjoy the use of school grounds this July and August.’

The Minister also reinforced a stark warning from Manx Utilities for young people to stay away from electricity sub-stations, which came after vandals risked their lives by breaking into an 11,000 volt sub-station in Castletown.

As the holidays near, schools have been reminding pupils to stay away from sub-stations.

Mr Crookall said: ‘The “Danger of Death” signs displayed mean just that and I’d appeal to parents to reinforce this message. Let’s not have a tragedy on our hands this summer.’

Repairs to the sea wall in Castletown have been completed – and the local authority is delighted with the results.

In January, a breach in the sea wall led to a collapse of a large section of the car park by the old grammar school.

The Department of Infrastructure has been carrying out repairs since.

The authority heard last week that safety railings will be installed and the area can then re-open for car parking, of which there are more spaces than previously.

It is also hoped to create a viewing area by introducing custom-made benches, possibly a viewing telescope and bronze compass plate indicating places of interest, such as Scarlett and Langness that could be installed on top of the wall.

Children from Belarus, who are currently on a month-long visit in the island, have benefited from the generosity of the Isle of Man people.

A group of children visit annually thanks to the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children charity, which aims to enhance the health of children affected by the lasting problems caused by the explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.

During their visit to the Isle of Man the children have been given free dental treatment at the Tracey Bell practice. They also received advice on dental care and hygiene and goody bags with toothpaste and toothbrushes.

Since the Manx charity was founded in 1999 around 20 children have made the visit each year – staying for a month. Each child usually makes the trip several times and the charity targets children aged seven to 12 who are from disadvantaged backgrounds and are in social situations where it is difficult for them to find the care they need at home. Everyone who works for the charity gives their time for free so all funds raised go to the children.

During the visits, as well as the free dental treatment, the children are also given general health checks as well as eye tests.

Megan Woods, head receptionist at the dental practice, said: ‘Any treatment they may need is given free of charge. We see about eight children on each visit and we have interpreters so they know what is happening.’

Economic growth is continuing, there is a move towards rebalancing the budget but progress on strategies to protect the vulnerable, in the light of cuts, has been slower.

This was the admission of the new minister in charge of policy and reform, Chris Robertshaw.

‘It’s not about the next general election, it’s about everyone’s futures,’ he told Tynwald members, adding it would not be enough just to ‘tinker incrementally with the status quo.

‘We need a smaller, smarter government. We must reinvent ourselves.’

The so-called Big Debate, for government focuses on three themes: reducing the size and cost of government and increasing its efficiency, making government more responsive to individual need and modernising the welfare state.

He criticised Government administrative processes as ‘repetitive, expensive, traditional and ‘‘siloed’’ in nature’, and this meant the tax payer was paying again and again for the same data to be repeatedly collected and often individuals were using much of their own time submitting it. According to the UK Office for National Statistics, he said, private sector productivity increased by 14 per cent between 1999 and 2013 but in the public sector it fell by one per cent.

On government responsiveness to individuals, he said he thought the public saw the government as being ‘too big, too self-serving and too insensitive’. More thought should be given to greater investment in localism, he said.

Protecting the vulnerable and modernising the welfare state meant better targeting of funds, greater use of means and needs testing, such as introduced for child benefits, and encouraging greater self-sufficiency.

Public debate on government reform is to be sought via road shows, media engagements, social media as well as a more formal consultation process.

Collective responsibility provides stability and certainty which benefits business and allows the government to be held to account by the public.

That’s the main conclusion of a report undertaken at the request of Liberal Vannin leader Kate Beecroft back in March.

Mrs Beecroft asked the Council of Ministers to investigate alternative systems for ensuring collective responsibility is enforced in a more open and democratic way.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said Jersey had recently voted to introduce collective responsibility and in Guernsey the system had also been advocated.

‘It’s not the Chief Minister dictating what goes on,’ he said, adding: ‘If only.. it would make life so much easier.’

The fourth annual Microgaming Lighthouses Challenge proved the most successful to date on Sunday.

It was the second to be organised by Steve Shimmin of SAS Events and attracted a record entry of 365 riders - including more than 80 travelling over from the UK and Ireland.

Conditions were perfect, apart from a stiff north-westerly breeze, and the split between those riding the full round-island course of 98 miles, those on the regular ‘half-distance’ (57 miles) and those on the newly introduced short-distance ride of 43 miles was - long 252, medium 91, short 22.

The entire field assembled in pit lane for the 9am massed start from the TT Grandstand. A police escort led the field down Bray Hill, along Peel Road onto South Quay, then up Douglas Head Road as far as Marine Drive where the huge field naturally broke up into smaller groups.

The first discernible climb was Crogga Hill on the Old Castletown Road and the initial time check at Fort Island on what was an idyllic morning to be in such a beautiful setting.

The out-and-back stretch to Derbyhaven afforded the rapidly-stretching field to assess how other individuals were getting on with the rigours of the ride. This was also the case after the lung-bursting climb of the Howe on the short, scenic stretch to the Sound. The first rest halt was at Rushen Football Club’s Croit Lowey in Port Erin where mountains of sandwiches and cake awaited the hungry bikers.

They were needed as the infamous Sloc was next on the list.

At Round Table, those on the shorter ride turned right towards Ronague and the descent to Colby, eventually arriving back in Port Erin where they were delighted to discover that their return transport to Douglas was via the steam train.

For those going further there was another stop at the old schoolroom in Patrick, where the middle-distance riders cut through to St John’s and tackled the back-breaking Ballavagher climb from the Hope to Archallaghan.

The leading riders on the long route were well past Point of Ayre by the time most of the mid-distance riders had completed the final slog over Scollag Road, but for long-time leader Steve Franklin he lost out on his aim of being the first rider to complete the full distance when he missed the new loop off the top of Lhen hill in the far north-west of the island.

It meant that Andrew Roche, who heads off to Glasgow for his seventh consecutive Commonwealth Games in a few days time, recorded the only sub-five hour time of the day for the near-100 miler containing 2,810-metres of ascent.

Half-a-dozen riders or so wrong-slotted the right-turn in Patrick, but other than that there were very few problems with route finding on what is a superb, challenging route taking in some of the island’s most picturesque roads.

‘The post-race feedback and comments from the visiting riders in particular has been amazing,’ said Steve Shimmin on Tuesday.

‘The beautiful weather obviously played its part, but many regular Sportive riders claim this to be among the best in the country and have vowed to return with additional friends and club-mates next year.

‘Obviously, if conditions had been poor as they were on Saturday we would have to change the route over the highest points, but I have a contingency plan in case of such a situation arising.’

The organiser had one gripe, and that was the fact that a few local chaingang riders had joined in without paying or registering for the event.

This is pretty miserable practice, especially as the event is a fundraiser for local charities, notably Hospice Isle of Man in this instance.

Hang your head in shame if you are one of the small number to do this.

A big thankyou goes to sponsor Microgaming, all marshals and helpers, Brenda Skillicorn and her catering corp, Isle of Man Constabulary (in particular Pete Dyer), St John Ambulance (Martin Blackburn and John Gill especially), Bikestyle, travelling bike technician Richard Cuffright, Green Mann Springwater (Shane Martin), Robinsons, Olie Last, Gary Slack, Bill Dale, Ramsey RUFC, Rushen FC, Patrick parish hall trustees and many more.

The event is rapidly rising in popularity with a hike of more than 130 riders on 2013. Steve Shimmin is already thinking about capping it at 500 next year as he doesn’t want the growth to be too rapid, but potential is huge with similar events across the UK attracting 1,000 and more.

‘It is primarily a social day out and I don’t want anyone going home with a bad experience, so we have to be careful how we develop it.

‘Two of the visitors went way off the back on the northern segment and didn’t finish until gone 9.30pm with 110 miles on the clock!

Another, well-known island-based Irishman Peter O’Shea, who has a passion for doing things the hard way, completed two laps of the big course (196 miles) having started at 6am and finished at 9.45pm. He is training for the Round Ireland event in a few weeks time. More on that soon.

Hospice Isle of Man benefitted to the tune of £1,000 and IoM Cycling Association £800 towards Team Isle of Man.

Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation (CHF) is set to complete its 5,000th screening at the charity’s session over the weekend of September 27 and 28.

The charity, which, alongside Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), tests people between the ages of 14 and 35 for heart defects, recently donated four defibrillators to the island’s amenity sites in a presentation at Noble’s Hospital.

The Foundation was established following the death of 25-year-old Craig Lunt, who died suddenly in 2005, and has given out 115 defibrillators around the island.

Craig’s mum, Paula Lunt, who is the charity’s secretary, said: ‘In Craig’s memory we will continue to provide free heart screenings and donate as many defibrillators as possible to make our island a safer place.

‘Craig was never given this chance to find out if there was anything wrong but now all people between 14 and 35 have the chance to get checked out. Hitting the 5,000 mark at our next screening weekend is a credit to everyone who has ever supported us – but there are still so many more hearts out there for us to check.’

Dr Steven Cox, director of Screening at CRY, said: ‘Craig’s Heartstrong Foundation and Cardiac Risk in the Young have now screened almost 5,000 young people between the age of 14 and 35 in the Isle of Man.

‘Of those screened, 16 “fit and healthy” young people will have been diagnosed with cardiac conditions that could have killed them at any time.

‘Fifty “fit and healthy” young people will have been diagnosed with cardiac conditions that may not have been immediately life-threatening, but can now be monitored to avoid major complications. This is an incredible achievement.’

Barbara Scott, hospital manager, said: ‘We would like to take this opportunity in congratulating CHF and CRY on reaching such a wonderful achievement of 5,000 people screened, as well as providing essential defibrillation equipment to organisations across the Isle of Man.’

Paul Healey, CHF chairman said: ‘We are very grateful for the assistance that Noble’s Hospital have given us by allowing us to use their cardiac unit for the screenings, the venue is fantastic and some of the technicians from CRY were amazed by the facilities. We stress to everyone within the age bracket to sign up and get yourself checked’. To book a place at the next screening visit www.craigsheartstrongfoundation.co.uk

Tynwald has voted to spend £1.362m for the second phase of the Douglas promenades improvement scheme.

Member for Infrastructure John Houghton MHK told the court phase two involved the reconstruction of the road, footways and drainage on a short section between Peveril Square and just before the junction with Regent Street.

It will pave the way for the next phase of the scheme which will see the horse tram track moved from the centre of the road to the seaward side of the carriageway.

This will mean that horse tram operations will not be affected this year but they will be suspended altogether for the whole of the 2015 season.

Mr Houghton said a dedicated corridor would be set aside on the seaward side of carriageway ready for a relocated tram track and an area by the Bottleneck car park would also be set aside for a tram terminus and shelter.

He told the court: ‘It is regarded by many as a gateway to the island.’

He said its neglected state was perceived as a block on investment.

But Peter Karran (Lib Van, Onchan) tabled a motion, calling for a delay pending an assessment of flood risk. He argued all the ‘superficial work’ would be in danger if the issue of flooding was not addressed first.

David Quirk MHK (Onchan) said he wanted an assurance that Douglas Corporation, as owner of the horse trams, was committed to the scheme.

‘If we touch those rails are we committed to a £3m expenditure?’ he asked.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said he felt ‘totally demoralised by the negativity’ which he branded ‘appalling localism at its worst’.

He said government was also about to go public on proposals for the redevelopment of Lord Street and central Douglas.

Mr Houghton said the sea wall had a lifespan of well in excess of 30 years with an ongoing programme of maintenance.

And former Infrastructure Minister David Cretney MHK (Douglas South): ‘We should get on with this.’

Alex Downie MLC said the state of the island’s ‘shop window’ was a ‘disgrace’.

Geoff Corkish MLC said the work was long overdue and praised the work completed in phase one as ‘remarkable’.

Dudley Butt MLC said he wished the revamp had started at the Queen’s Promenade end.

The scheme was ‘largely cosmetic’, he suggested, and safety should take a priority.

Mr Karran’s amendment was rejected and phase two of the Douglas Promenade improvement scheme subsequently approved, with just Mr Karran and Mr Quirk voting against.

Police are searching for a missing 14-year-old girl.

Anyone who can help police to find 14-year-old Shannon Bateson should contact police headquarters on 631212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Ramsey’s improved Courtyard Gardens proved a focal point during the town’s recent National Week.

Among the entertainments which took place there were a food fair, a music and dance group and a zumba session from Ramsey schools, performances by classical musicians from Bayreuth and Andreas School’s Flashmob.

Ramsey commissioners’ chairman Nigel Malpass said: ‘The regeneration works have reinvigorated the area which is not only drawing praise from local businesses but now also provides a vibrant social meeting place offering an ideal setting for performance artists and community groups.’

He added the gardens had been designed specifically for use by the public and they welcomed enquiries from anyone wanting to use the area.

Students from the island’s high schools took on the role of politicians on Monday for the annual Junior Tynwald sitting.

Year 12 pupils from Ballakermeen, St Ninian’s, Ramsey Grammar, Castle Rushen and Queen Elizabeth II schools all got stuck into some controversial subjects.

Organised by the Isle of Man branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in association with the Department of Education and Children, the court brings together 16 and 17-year-olds from the island’s five state secondary schools who serve as elected politicians for the sitting.

Among the topics debated were the legalisation of marijuana and assisted suicide.

The whole process was carried out in accordance with standard Tynwald conventions, order papers were circulated and the would-be politicians discussed genuine contemporary issues affecting the Isle of Man.

Students also took on the role of the press and reports from three of the students – Jordanne Ken from Castle Rushen, Tom O’Connor from St Ninian’s and Abigail Harris from Ballakermeen –will appear in Tuesday’s Examiner.

Politicians including Tim Crookall, Phil Gawne, Kate Beecroft and Juan Watterson were also grilled by the students asking questions about the toilet tax, same sex marriages, MHK pay increases, the Legislative Council and driving safety among young people.

The sitting was overseen by President of Tynwald Clare Christian, who had taken the group on a tour of the legislative buildings that morning.

See how the students got on and more pictures in Tuesday’s Examiner.

Police are advising motorists to take care after a diesel spiil.

The spill happened today (Saturday) on the Eyreton road at Crosby. Workers from the Department of Infrastructure are taking steps to deal with it but police have warned drivers that the road surface is very slippery.

A giant loaghtan sheep looks out over the grounds of Marown School, thanks to the creative efforts of pupils taking part in an Island of Culture 2014-inspired project during National Week.

The project was the idea of teacher Emma Huxham, who was inspired by the art installation on the Mountain Road created by local artists Stephanie Quayle and Darren Jackson.

Their imposing Loaghtan has been standing guard over the Bungalow on the Mountain Road since just before this year’s TT racing began.

To begin the project, the whole school visited The Grove Museum of Victorian Life in Ramsey, touring the house and learning about bee-keeping and butter-making.

Jim Middleton, who manages the livestock at The Grove, encouraged the children to understand more about loaghtan sheep on the island.

He demonstrated shearing a sheep, and told them about the uses of wool and some of the history of the wool trade on the Island. Being a farmer and private wool trader, when Jim heard about the project he arranged to donate all the wool required including some from his sheep at The Grove.

Emma built the frame of the sheep and each class made hundreds of woollen felt shapes, during National Week, to create the fleece.

Ian Longshaw, headteacher at Marown School, said: ‘The project has been a creative learning experience for all involved. The sheep looks striking outside school.’

Emma said: ‘Having seen the huge loaghtan sheep on the Mountain Road, I knew we could create one at school. I am grateful to The Grove Museum for the donation of loaghtan wool. The finished sheep is better than I had imagined. Well done to all the pupils who took part.’

Health Minister Howard Quayle said he could not hide his disappointment, in Tynwald this week, that no money had been set aside to cover a staff pay award.

Mr Quayle said the Treasury had agreed additional funding of £2.08m to help cover the cost of a binding pay award made after a local pay claim was referred to independent arbitration.

The cost of the award to the former Department of Health was £400,000 a year with back pay estimated at £2.25m.

He said: ‘I will not attempt to hide my disappointment that although the department was aware some form of payment was likely to arise it didn’t create a sufficient reserve to meet any such liability.’

Weather forecasters’ predictions proved correct and the first Douglas carnival for years went ahead in fine weather.

The steady rain from earlier in the day fizzled out in time for the 6.30pm start and people lined the edges of the promenades for the parade which took around an hour to pass.

A variety of organisations were represented from Hospice Isle of Man to Douglas Town Band, Ellan Vannin Gymnastics, Vagabonds’ rugby club and the Green Centre.

Robinsons was giving away oranges and the Filipino Association put on an impressive display of marching and dancing. There were people on stilts, people on bicycles and a miniature penny farthing, not to mention old folk fighting in slow motion on Segways. A number of classic car owner had clearly spent hours polishing their pride and joy to a mirror finish specially to join the parade and these were joined by a number of vintage buses, some from Jurby transport museum, the oldest being a 1928 former Douglas Corporation single decker.

Supporters of Hospice ended their parade with a technicolour powder paint fight by the Jubilee Clock.

Tynwald voted overwhelmingly to spend £720,000 on renewing trackwork on the Snaefell Mountain Railway.

Member for Infrastructure Kate Beecroft (Lib Van, Douglas South) explained this was the third phase of a project to replace trackwork that was in critically poor condition.

The third phase will replace all of the points on the running line and renew the last section of poor condition plain track.

Tynwald voted in October 2010 to spend £1.5m on replacing the worst affected areas of life expired track to allow the railway to operate safely during 2011. Further works were carried out in 2012.

Bobbies in the south are feeling the power of the pedal and cycling on patrol thanks to sponsorship from Shoprite.

The store bought one bicycle and lights for two others already owned by the police, which will be used in patrols of Castletown, Port Erin, Port St Mary and the surrounding areas.

The scheme has already been launched, with Shoprite’s support, and is operating successfully in the police’s western region of the island.

Andrew Thomas, Shoprite chief executive, contacted police inspector Darrill Pearson saying they would like to donate money to the team with a view to replicating the bike scheme in the west.

Last year, bobbies in the south had long-term use of two bikes from Port Erin business The Bike Hut. With the Shoprite donation they bought one of those and new lights for two bikes they already owned, giving them a fleet of three.

Inspector Darrill Pearson of the southern neighbourhood police team said: ‘Shoprite’s support has enabled us to upgrade our existing equipment to ensure that we are able to provide a local service. The cycles increase the accessibility of my team, allowing them to engage more freely with the community so they can better understand and respond to their needs, whilst affording the officers the opportunity to patrol their beats effectively.

‘My team are keen to get out in the southern region on the cycles, which will be liveried so they are identifiable and used across the entire neighbourhood. Officers will transport the cycles to villages and other remote areas in vans, which they will park up and then patrol on the cycles.’

Andrew Thomas, Shoprite chief executive said: ‘This is a great community initiative and one that Shoprite is proud to support both from an environmental as well as a social point of view.

‘We have close links with the south of the island with our stores in Port Erin and Castletown and everyone in the local area will benefit from this excellent scheme.’

A new generation of ‘forest parks’ is planned as a way of encouraging more use of government-owned green spaces for recreation.

Things are already going with a swing at South Barrule Forest Park, where visitors are flocking to popular Segway, Laser Mayhem and the recently extended Ape Mann attractions.

The car park has been extended and there are plans to redevelop the former forestry depot, with ideas under consideration include camping pods, a café and a shop and offering cycles for hire.

The Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, which manages 7,000 acres of plantations, alongside 18 national glens, is working with the Manx Mountain Bike Club to construct a mountain bike ‘skills loop’ at South Barrule to complement the existing 1km and 5km bike trails.

South Barrule’s ponds will be improved for the benefit of wildlife and visitors.

Archallagan, the island’s largest continuous woodland, has been christened the Forest of A Thousand Trails. While most of the routes are via unmarked paths, Archallagan boasts a newly created junior mountain bike track, an exercise trail and a play area thanks to volunteers from the End to End Legacy project and Zurich International.

The recently opened orienteering course at Archallagan is already attracting visitors of all ages.

Conrhenny, on the outskirts of Onchan, is a community woodland project where the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has created two new ponds, picnic areas and a way-marked exercise trail. There is a series of mountain bike trails created by a local volunteer group called Loaghtan Loaded.

It is also home to the Children’s Wood, where primary school children have grown and planted 3,000 broad leaf trees over the past six years in the Trees for Life initiative.

Improved road signage will soon point the way to South Barrule Forest Park, Archallagan Forest Park and Conrhenny Community Woodland.

New Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture Richard Ronan said: ‘With all the recent improvements, it may really be a case of “if you go down to the woods today,you are sure of a big surprise!”.’