Archive
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Hospital league tables 'a waste of money'
A HEALTH watchdog leader in East Lancashire today blasted the NHS league tables as a "complete waste of public money." And Nigel Robinson said performance charts could be having an adverse effect on patient care. His fierce broadside comes on the day
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Top teacher's new curriculum glass engraving
GLASS engraving and wood-turning are on the curriculum for teacher Mr Eric Whittle, who retired after notching up 37 years at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School. Mr Whittle, 60, joined the Blackburn school on West Park Road at the end of
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CRICKET: Crawley in Lord's final fitness race
JOHN Crawley is facing a race against time to prove his fitness for the Benson and Hedges Cup final. Crawley has been out since pulling his hamstring in the Sunday League game against Essex at Chelmsford on June 9. He was hoping to return in last week's
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Shareholders beware
THE "FAT CAT" obscenity goes on - as bosses at North West-based power and water giant United Utilities stick their noses deep into the pay trough. Up goes the salary of chief executive Brian Staples by a thumping 27 per cent to £300,000. Chairman Sir
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Shake-up of legal aid is long overdue
THE MAJOR shake-up of the legal aid system, unveiled today by ministers, is said to be the biggest in its 46-year history. It does not come before time. This is not only because of the need to limit the spiralling burden on the taxpayer - now £1.4billion
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Linda discovers her hidden talent for the dance floor
TWO months ago Linda Morris was so awful on the dance floor that her granddaughter refused to dance with her. Seven-year-old Stephanie's embarrassment at her granny's not-so-fancy footwork prompted the 47-year-old to seek help - with private tuition from
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£1bn Euro aid for beef aftermath
MORE than a billion pounds worth of Euro aid could be on the way for people whose livelihoods have been threatened by the beef crisis. The cash could offer a lifeline to towns and villages, including those in Lancashire, which have been hit by the crisis
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Itsy bitsy fifty
MANY happy returns to the bikini! It's hard to believe but on Friday it will be 50 years since the first itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikini changed the look of summer forever. The inventor, civil engineer Louis Reard, created the most famous two-piece swimsuit
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Cobbles are unrealistic
MUCH has been made of the wish of residents of Finsbury Place, Ewood, to retain their heritage by keeping the cobbles on the street and the (not so traditional) concrete paving. But though I would like to live on a street with cobbles and an authentic
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Up, up and away for pupils
THEY might not make it across the Atlantic but the mini hot air balloons made by Hawthorns Junior School pupils were only powered by hairdryers. Pupils made their own hot air balloons using recycled materials and then launched them using the dryers. The
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'There's no going back to the past'
RADICAL reforms are needed to bring local government closer to the people, including the possibility of elected mayors, Blackburn Coun Peter Greenwood told the Association of District Councils annual conference. Coun Greenwood, who is the ADC chairman
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Heath set for Turf shake-up
ADRIAN Heath (pictured) is expected to announce a backroom shake-up this week - with the appointment of a new Turf Moor number two. Heath has spent several days mapping out his new strategy and will make his decision public before the weekend. I understand
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Sheath your claws
WITH regard to your editorial in which you castigate the AEEU union under the title 'Now who's the fat cat?' I think that the paper should sheath its claws until all the facts emerge and the union has had the right of reply. Even if the story is partially
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Clean bill of health!
HOSPITAL chiefs were today celebrating five-star success after hitting the heights in the NHS Performance League Tables. Both hospital trusts in Blackburn and Burnley, which includes Pendle and Rossendale, recorded much-improved performances on last year
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A salt and battery at chip shop
POLICE were called to a town centre fish and chip shop when staff began scuffling during the busy lunch hour yesterday. Customers watched in amazement as two members of staff began fighting inside the Hake Boat chippy on Railway Road in Blackburn. A member
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Wilcox deal
JASON Wilcox has committed himself to Blackburn Rovers until the next century by signing a new five-year contract. It crowns the tremendous recovery by the Ewood winger who battled back from career-threatening cruciate knee ligament surgery to win his
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Losing our history
I am infuriated and saddened by the discovery that an important piece of Nelson's history could soon be lost to us. The Irish League Club on Walton Street is one of the oldest in Nelson, with a colourful history over the years. Founders of the Welfare
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Fountain is spouting back to life
A DERELICT fountain is to be brought back to life for a day, as a sign of increased confidence in a park which became a no-go area for some local residents. The great fountain, just inside the main entrance of Blackburn's Corporation Park, could be spouting
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Fewer fatal acccidents on farms
THE number of farming deaths in the last year has dropped, according to new figures. In the North West, there were only three deaths in the agriculture industry, including one in Lancashire where a farmer was killed after being struck by lightning while
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5 YEARS AGO: Staff on short time
ONE of East Lancashire's most successful businesses put its 250-strong workforce on short-time. Karrimor International, the leisure equipment company, imposed the reduction in overtime and standard time working which affected all workers at its premises
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10 YEARS AGO: Grim record of abortions
BURNLEY schoolgirls led the North West league for gymslip abortions - for the second year running. But now health experts hoped a brand-new clinic would end the grim record that had baffled doctors in Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale. "We don't know why
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Can both sides be right?
WHAT neat irony! For just as the Tory Party admits its strategy so far has "failed to land punches" on Tony Blair and reaches for a new tactic, Labour's Left-wing begins to make trouble for their leader - claiming his programme is not radical enough.
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Fury at water 'fat cat king'
UNION leaders and local MPs today condemned a 21 per cent pay rise awarded to the boss of the combined Norweb and North West Water utility giant. Sir Desmond Pitcher, chairman of United Utilities, was dubbed the new "king of the fatcats" after being paid
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Meeting cost of school travel
PARENTS are being urged to act quickly to get help with transport costs for the next school year. A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "With about 25,000 bus or rail passes to issue countywide it is imperative that all parents get their completed
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Council hopes pinned on £1m land sell-off
A CASH-STRAPPED council is hoping to sell off land to housing developers and businesses to raise £1 million. Sites across Pendle have been earmarked for development and council officers are hoping to attract buyers by including planning permission in
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Drugs booklet is a must
The Prime Minister has launched a new free booklet called 'A Parents' Guide To Drugs and Solvents.' It is now more than six months since our daughter, Leah, died after taking Ecstasy and we are doing everything we can to inform both young people and parents
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Old pals remembered
AN EXHIBITION is being staged at Accrington town hall in honour of the famous Accrington Pals regiment. Hyndburn's mayor Councillor Mirza Yousaf unveiled the special display on the 80th anniversary of the start of the World War One Battle of the Somme
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Fears over lack of doctors
HEALTH bosses have expressed concern that budding family doctors are beginning to turn their backs on East Lancashire. Richard Crail, chief executive of East Lancashire Health Authority, said he had no idea where the "next generation" of GPs were going
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Grand day out with Charlie
WHO'S the Charlie making heads turn at the start of a three-month tribute to entertainment? It's amateur actor Tod Hunter, leading light at Colne Dramatic Society, dressed up as famous film tramp Charlie Chaplin to launch the latest exhibition at Colne
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Rotten ending to home dream of flood-lit Esther
A PENSIONER'S delight turned to dismay when she found her lovely new flat would have no carpets nor bed because she could not get a second DSS loan to replace her flood-ruined furniture. Esther Stanton, 70, was over the moon when she was given a flat
