Chesterfield’s mayor, Councillor Steve Brunt, has launched the Ride to Rio initiative at Chesterfield Borough Council’s sports centres.

Users of Queen’s Park Sports Centre and the Healthy Living Centre in Staveley can take part in the virtual charity journey of 5,820 miles from Chesterfield to Rio costing £2 per person.

Entrants will be given a log diary to add their distance each time they visit and this can be cycling (spinning), running, swimming or simply walking. They will also be entered into a prize draw.

All proceeds will be donated to the mayor’s charities; the Macmillan Cancer Support Appeal for the new Macmillan Cancer Centre at Chesterfield Royal Hospital and Accessible Derbyshire.

The new £8.9 million Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre will transform cancer services for people across North Derbyshire.  The new centre is planned to be open at Chesterfield Royal Hospital by Autumn 2016.

The Chesterfield Royal Macmillan Cancer Centre will combine the current outpatient chemotherapy and day unit services in one purpose-built centre  The new chemotherapy suites will have the space and equipment to treat 25 people at one time, a marked improvement on the current oversubscribed capacity of 8.

Visitors to Chesterfield Museum can find out more about animals with links to Chesterfield with a new exhibition that has recently opened.

The exhibition, named Chesterfield Menagerie, runs at the popular Chesterfield Borough Council attraction until Saturday 1 October.

A wide variety of objects ar eon display, including a horse’s head cast at Staveley Works, animal themed pottery made in Brampton and the royal coat of arms that was on display in the former Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court.

There are also a range of photographs, including elephants marching down Chatsworth Road when the circus came to town.

For younger visitors, there are activities including guess the animal sound in the sound wall or follow the animal paw print trail.

Councillor Amanda Serjeant, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Town Centre and Visitor Economy, said:-

“Many of us love animals but we would be surprised how many of them have links to Chesterfield’s past.

“This exhibition is a fun way for young and old to learn how animals have featured in the borough’s history.”

Chesterfield Museum is open each Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 4pm. Admission is free.

Chesterfield Borough Council and Derbyshire Sport are appealing to athletes, coaches, clubs and volunteers in Chesterfield to enter the Active Chesterfield Sports Awards this month.

Entries for the awards close on Monday August 1 – so those interested are urged to get their nominations in now. The awards also feed through to the Derby Telegraph Sports Awards – the countywide awards.

The Active Chesterfield Awards have 23 categories which range from Sportsman and Sportswoman to Club and Junior Team of the Year.  Winners will be announced at the awards evening at the Winding Wheel in Chesterfield on September 29.

Isobel Ashley, who won Sportswoman of the Year at the 2015 Active Chesterfield Awards, said:-

“It’s nice to get the recognition, as people see the hard work that goes into training. Winning my award was a really proud moment.”

Special Olympics Derbyshire is hosting a ‘come and try’ event at Queen’s Park Sports Centre in Chesterfield for people with learning disabilities.

The event on Sunday July 31 welcomes participants, along with their families, friends and carers, to have a go at basketball, boccia, golf and football – all for free.

Information will be on hand so that people can find out where and when they can play a range of different sports in their local area, as well as opportunities further afield in Derbyshire.

The Special Olympics movement is worldwide and provides people with learning disabilities the opportunity to train on a regular basis and compete at a county, regional, national and even international level.

Special Olympics athlete, Matthew Dalley, from Alvaston, is encouraging others to take part in the event:-

“I would like to see more people giving it a go. It is a great opportunity to see what Special Olympics is all about and we are excited to see you there.

“I have represented Special Olympics East Midlands Equestrian for two of the Special Olympics Great Britain National Games; I won two golds and a silver Medal in 2013, which is one of my greatest achievements.”

Jacob Meaton, Special Olympics Derbyshire Basketball coach, is also looking forward to the event. He said:-

“It is the perfect opportunity for anyone to come and try a number of sports and find out about opportunities to play, officiate, coach, volunteer, or support Special Olympic Sport.”

During the summer of 2017, Special Olympics Great Britain are holding the National Games in nearby Sheffield, at which athletes from across the country, including Derbyshire, will compete in the largest multi-sports event for athletes with intellectual disabilities.

People in the Chesterfield area are being urged to give their unwanted household electricals a new lease of life for a chance to win £50.

Everyone who brings an appliance to Derbyshire County Council’s Bright Sparks re-use and recycling event will get the chance to enter into a prize draw to win shopping vouchers. The event run in partnership with Chesterfield Borough Council will take place on Sunday 24 July at Morrisons, Staveley. For more about the event click here.

Councillor Dean Collins, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport and Infrastructure, said:-

“We ran one of these events in Hasland last year and it was very successful. More than 200 items of electrical equipment were brought to the event for re-use or recycling.

“Dealing with waste which residents put in their non-recycling bin costs us £20 million per year at a time when we’re getting less money from central Government to run council services. So it’s increasingly important that we recycle as much as we possibly can and all the electricals we collect at our Bright Sparks event will be put to good use.”

Councillor Chris Ludlow, Chesterfield Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, said:-

“We are always keen to work in partnership with the county council to support events like this because they help to get out the message about the importance of recycling.

“Recycling makes sense from an environmental point of view but for tax payers there is also a financial incentive for doing it because it helps keep council tax rates lower if less money is wasted on paying landfill tax charges to dispose of waste that could be recycled instead.”

Chesterfield borough residents can also now recycle small electrical items such as irons, mobile phones and hairdryers by placing them on top of the lid of their blue bin on collection day. Personal data from items such as phones, laptops and sat navs should be removed first.