The Environment Agency is preparing for more heavy rain and potential flooding problems in West Sussex.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for heavy rain for today with up to 20mm expected in the area from midday Friday.
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More rain is forecast in West Sussex over the weekend
Crews are using pumps to lower river water levels to provide capacity for even more rain that is expected over the next 48 hours.
A flood warning remains in force in various locations in Bersted. Eight flood alerts were in place earlier in the week and though this has been reduced, the Environment Agency said that more could be issued if there is further significant rain.
West Sussex saw major flooding problems earlier in the week, in particular at Littlehampton and Bognor and the surrounding areas. 250 homes in the village of Elmer were flooded by around six foot of water and residents had to be rescued by boat and taken to temporary accommodation.
Other areas that saw floods were Worthing Hospital, Havens' Church Farm holiday camp, near Chichester and access to Butlins in Bognor Regis was prohibited. Several schools and colleges in the area were also shut.
Peter Quarmby, South East flood and coastal risk manager, said: "We are focusing all efforts in working in areas that have been affected by flooding over the past few days to lower river levels and will continue to work alongside our emergency partners to assist flooded communities with immediate response and recovery.
"Latest forecasts indicate that heavy rainfall is again expected to cross the South East on Friday and into the weekend. We urge everyone to remain vigilant."
Frank Saunders, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: "We are working closely with colleagues in the Environment Agency and other agencies to ensure that we are all aware of the latest weather forecast."
Arun District Council is holding information days for communities in areas that have experienced the worst of the flooding. They are being held at Felpham, Elmer, Littlehampton, Barnham, Wick and South Bersted, from Friday until Wednesday, visiting one location each day.
Source: www.thisissussex.co.uk
Chicago Matrimonial Attorney Jeffery Leving Praises Michigan Governor for Signing Law Increasing Fathers' Legal Rights - Yahoo Finance
CHICAGO, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Chicago Matrimonial Attorney Jeffery Leving (http://dadsrights.com) announced his support for a new Michigan law that expands legal rights for biological fathers.
This week, Governor Rick Snyder signed legislation into law giving biological fathers the right to parent their children, even if the mothers were married to other men at the time of birth.
"Governor Snyder is to be commended for recognizing the moral right of biological fathers to be parents to their own children," said Attorney Leving.
The new law makes it easier for biological fathers to challenge Michigan's legal rebuttable presumption that a mother's husband at the time of a child's birth is the child's father.
"Biological fathers will now have the right to file suit and seek a court order determining who the actual father is," said Attorney Leving. "Even more importantly, they will have the opportunity to secure a court-ordered DNA test validating their biological relationship to the child."
The law also modifies the Estates and Protected Individuals Code and allows for children to inherit the estate of their biological fathers.
The legislation will weaken the rebuttable presumption under a 1956 Michigan law that a woman's husband at the time she gives birth is the father of the newly born child. The presumption not only places the responsibilities and obligations of fatherhood on men who are not biologically connected to the child—it is also archaic and unconstitutional.
For more information contact Jennifer Whiteside at (312) 296-3666.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
Council will help ‘troubled’ families - wscountytimes.co.uk
West Sussex County Council has pledged to help more than 1,000 ‘troubled families’ turn their lives around under a Government scheme launched this week.
WSCC is bringing together the Government’s Troubled Families Initiative (TFI) with their West Sussex Think Family Programme to help 1,165 families classified as needing help in the county.
The Government claims that across England there are 120,000 such families with multiple problems including truancy, poor health, anti-social behaviour and worklessness and WSCC says it has already started working with those in the county.
The cost to the public purse of these families nationally is estimated to be £9 billion every year or £75,000 per family.
The majority of these resources are currently focused on dealing with problems caused by troubled families rather than trying to reduce and prevent the trouble.
The Government has said the aim of the TFI is ‘to help local authorities get to grips with whole families and deal with their problems at root cause’ and some 388 families in West Sussex will be helped in the first year.
West Sussex’s Think Family Programme has already identified a similar cohort of families and has started work with a number of these families.
It is a three-year programme and WSCC has agreed to appoint a coordinator to oversee how it works in West Sussex.
WSCC has agreed the TFI will work with families in West Sussex who have two or more of the following problems together with an issue of local concern:
1. Young people involved in crime and children, young people and adults involved in anti-social behaviour
2. Children who are truanting or excluded from school
3. An adult on out-of- work benefits in the household
The TFI will provide a range of intensive interventions over a specified period of time.
The outcomes expected are two fold - to stop the impact these families are having on communities and to halt the cycle of disadvantage families are trapped in.
The estimated cost per family would be £10,000 and the Government has said it will pay a £175,000 per year start-up grant for three years and £4,000 towards each successful intervention.
The council will measure the success of the programme by looking at a number of factors including whether the children have returned to school, whether their offending behaviour has reduced or if they are on a pathway back to work.
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Print this pageSource: www.wscountytimes.co.uk
Bonfire society to hold open day - Lewes Today
ONE of the 50 official beacons to be lit across East Sussex to celebrate the Jubilee belonged to Seaford Bonfire Society.
The society was proud to have built the bonfire to mark the occasion on Seaford Head, which was lit after a laser show at the Martello Fields.
At the end a shaft of green laser light struck the beacon, which burst into flames.
Boys and belles from the bonfire society ran a stall selling cakes and pirate themed items and also joined in the Jubilee parade, their first procession of the year.
As there has been an increased interest in joining the society, there will be an open day at the headquarters, the White Lion Pub, Claremont Road, Seaford from 11am to 4pm on Sunday June 17.
There will be advice on costume making and clothes and accessories for sale.
Society chairman, Steve Russell said: “It is great fun to be part of the society so why not come along to our open day and learn how you can dress up, and march in processions in Seaford and all over Sussex?”
Visit www.seafordbonfire.co.uk or email seafordbonfire@gmail.com.
Source: www.sussexexpress.co.uk
Matrimonial sites becoming new crime spot - Times of India
In the last one year, Cyber Crime sleuths recorded two cases where con artistes successfully used matrimonial sites to dupe people. The recently arrested B Tech graduate B Ravi Kishore duped 54 women by posing as an IIT graduate with a Master's degree from University of California.
His predecessor, V Deepti Reddy, who was arrested by CID sleuths in 2011, lured high earning professionals by posing as an MBBS graduate. "Though there are many such instances, only a handful of the victims approach the police as the media attention might further dampen their chances of getting a suitable partner," a CID official said.
CID sleuths who investigated both these cases found striking similarities in the modus operandi of the two criminals and the profiles of their victims. The victims in both these cases were high earning professionals, mostly software engineers, doctors, architects and management professionals.
Despite being well educated, none of the victims bothered to verify the genuineness of the profiles of the accused and police believe that the not so easily available 'suitable' partner is the reason behind it. The victims were blinded by the polished English and well respected professional life of the accused.
"Kishore, who worked in a BPO earlier, used to talk to the victims with an American accent. So, the victims never bothered to cross check his claims of being a Microsoft employee with degrees from IIT Mumbai and University of California," CID additional SP, U Ram Mohan, said.
To further push the victims into trusting him, Kishore always used to travel in a hired AC cab and meet the victims at five star hotels only. "In reality, Kishore used to share a flat with some others at Miyapur in the city outskirts and he just had two pairs of formal wear," the investigating officer said. None of the 54 women whom he befriended through his profile on the matrimonial site knew his actual residential address but he successfully exploited 22 of them.
Same was the case with Deepti Reddy who borrowed money from just over 20 people by befriending them through her doctor profile on a matrimonial site. Deepti was already married twice before she posted her profile on the website and she has two children, police said. Deepti took lakhs of rupees from several of her prospective grooms, whom she never met personally, by saying that the money is for performing surgeries on poor children.
As there are lakhs of educated youth registered on these matrimonial sites, CID sleuths have suggested some steps to identify such con artistes:
Always verify the profile details of the individual before becoming close to that person. Employment verification can be easily done by calling up the concerned company or by paying a personal visit.
Don't give money to people with whom you become friends through online profiles even if they emotionally blackmail you.
Do not indulge in online chatting, dating or get emotionally involved with people without verifying the truthfulness of their claims.
None of the victims bothered to verify the genuineness of the profiles of the accused and police believe that the not so easily available 'suitable' partner is the reason behind it.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Bogus traders warning to West Sussex flood victims - BBC News
People affected by severe flooding in West Sussex are being warned against falling victim to rogue traders.
West Sussex County Council said trading standards had received reports of cold callers offering to carry out repairs to damaged properties in Littlehampton.
"Whenever an emergency of this nature occurs, it seems to bring unscrupulous traders out of the woodwork," said Councillor Christine Field.
The council said it had a list of approved and reputable builders.
"If you do need emergency work done to your property, ignore the claims of bogus callers if they turn up at your door," said Ms Field.
On Saturday, only two flood alerts remained across the whole of South East England, with six flood warnings and alerts lifted by the Environment Agency (EA) in the last 24 hours.
However, it said further rain could lead to more flooding in areas already vulnerable.
Butlins blockedThe EA set up an incident command centre at Bracklesham Lane car park in Bracklesham Bay to co-ordinate its response after many hundreds of people were affected by flooding.
About 250 homes in Elmer were flooded, with residents rescued by boat and taken to rest centres and temporary accommodation.
More than 20 people, including several children, were rescued from flooded caravans at two holiday parks in Bracklesham Bay and flood waters also reached the Manorfield care home in Earnley.
Havens' Church Farm holiday camp, near Chichester, was also flooded and access roads to Butlins in Bognor Regis were closed.
Worthing Hospital's basement and lift shaft was flooded, several schools and one college were shut and many roads were impassable.
An emergency channel had to be dug through sea defences to release flood waters and firefighters used pumps to lower river levels.
Arun District Council officers are continuing to staff a flood recovery vehicle to give advice to residents.
It is stationed in Elmer's shopping area on Saturday until 21:00 BST.
It will be in South Terrace, Littlehampton on Sunday, in Barnham near the railway station on Monday, Wick on Tuesday and South Bersted on Wednesday.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
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