Archive
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Praise for revival in schools
EDUCATION chiefs in Lancashire have been praised for improvements they have made to schools after admitting they "took their eyes off the ball" in the 1990s. Ofsted inspectors have said that most of what the county does in education, it does well. Schools
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Prentice wins wages battle
EAST Lancashire MP Gordon Prentice has won his battle to get the national minimum wage increased - but now wants to ensure it is raised annually. Pendle's Labour MP led a backbench rebellion against the Government's intention to peg the £3.60 an hour
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Pensioner battered on her doorstep
THUGS have left a woman in her 80s battered and bruised and in need of surgery after attacking her on her front doorstep. Eva Komorek was beaten to the floor as the thieves who robbed her house walked over her to get inside. Police have revealed the 88
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Crunch comes for wind farm decision
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a windfarm on the hills above Bacup could be thrown out by councillors tonight. Plans to build nine massive wind turbines at Hogshead Law Hill have split the local community and environmental groups, with some believing they will
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Chef spices up lessons
A GEOGRAPHY project was spiced up for youngsters at a Pendle primary school thanks to an Indian restaurant. Children at Coates Lane School, Barnoldswick, were given a taste of what they had been writing about during a visit by Shafiq Raj Mia, of the Nila
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£273 bill for flat I never lived in
A DISABLED woman broke down in tears today as she spoke about rent arrears for a flat she never lived in. Clara Jayes, 73 - pictured - says she is being 'persecuted' by Blackburn with Darwen Council for arrears of almost £275, which she claims she does
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Francis shock at switch in Rovers line-up
BIRMINGHAM boss Trevor Francis claimed he had been surprised by Rovers' formation at St Andrews last night, playing with a sole striker in Ashley Ward. And he blamed that, as much as anything, for the fact that it was a dour game with few chances. "It
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Gum spitters cost taxpayers £1m
A CALL has been made for a clampdown on East Lancashire's gum-chewing litterbugs after it was revealed it could cost more than £1million to clear streets. Council chiefs say there appears to be no cheap way of solving the problem of discarded gum trodden
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FORM WATCH
KELLY: No chance with Birmingham's only on-target effort but made a couple of good punches and kicked well...6 GRAYSON: Workmanlike, dealt comfortably with Lazaridis while the Aussie winger was on his flank...7 DAILLY: Very sound, especially in the air
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Wright's ban fear
BURNLEY will have their fingers crossed that the SFA don't throw the book at Ian Wright when he faces a disciplinary hearing in Scotland next month. Wright is facing a misconduct charge relating to an incident after Celtic's match against Kilmarnock in
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Elvis in school's pantomime
ELVIS is alive and well and appearing in Walton-le-Dale High School's pantomime this week. Pupils aged 11 to 14 premiered their show "Jack - The Musical" for children from nearby primary schools yesterday afternoon. Some of the cast are pictured. Jack
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A real-life nightmare or just a bad dream?
RITUAL child abuse and devil worship in the shadow of Pendle Hill - its an idea which seems like a plot for a Hollywood B-movie. But is it true? Harley Street psychotherapist Valerie Sinason has claimed that paedophiles and Satanists in East Lancashire
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Charity theme park fun day
AN East Lancashire based charity is taking over a theme park for the day on April 1 - but it's no April fool! The International Aid Trust is holding a family fun day at Camelot in Chorley to raise funds for its humanitarian work. The trust, based in Lower
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What's On: Events in E Lancs, Thursday Feb 17
Blackburn Artists' Society meet St Gabriel's Church Hall, Brownhill Drive, Brownhill, Blackburn, 7pm. Modern and Sequence Dancing, Chorley Town Hall, 7.30pm. Darwen Library Players present "The Decorator," Darwen Library Theatre, 7.30pm. "Mother Goose
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Youngsters dance to rhythm 2000
YOUNG dancers Mathew Clews, 12, and 11-year-old Lucy Calvert, pictured, are ready to spring into action along with 100 other youngsters in an extravaganza of dance and song for good causes. "Rhythm 2000" will be performed by children aged three to 17
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'Scaremongering' blamed for delay at cement plant
A LOCAL protester has been blamed for a delay of up to a year on £8million investment plans for Castle Cement's Clitheroe plant. The firm has claimed the "scaremongering tactics" of protesters for the decision by the Welsh Assembly to hold a public inquiry
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FIVE YEARS AGO: Showroom to close
BRITISH Gas had confirmed rumours that it was to close its Accrington showroom. The decision to axe the Arndale Centre branch was made after bosses ordered a report into the viability of the shop. Six staff were being moved and another worker had accepted
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We paid for a free society
IN reply to Nick Holt (Letters, February 8) who attacks pensioners for "living off the backs" of taxpayers, yes, we DID pay into a pension scheme for over 50 years - it was a government pension scheme. But instead of keeping the money in a separate account
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Social security 'stupid'
REGARDING Mr J Shackleton's remarks in "Tax system fails the needy" (Letters, February 3), nearly all people avoid the issue of the social security system, as it is said to be sacrosanct. But I must show it down to its roots, because people must be ignorant
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Armed youth gangs clash in street battle
POLICE today ordered a get-tough clampdown on "mindless" violence after gangs of youths armed with home made weapons, hammers, cricket bats and pieces of metal, clashed in a large scale disturbance. Four people were arrested yesterday following the incident
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Snow blast brings road chaos
RUSH hour commuters were gridlocked in Burnley early today after a light snowfall turned the town centre into a "skating rink". Traffic was reduced to a crawl on main routes leading into town as the burst of winter weather caused chaos on the roads. Hundreds
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Hospice lottery kicks off in style
ON THE day a Clarets star in the making grabbed the headlines, a name from the past was on the ball as hospice staff hoped to score a success by launching their lottery draw. Ian Wright grabbed Burnley FC fans' attention by signing for the club as Clarets
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Cubs on tour
THE 1st Clayton-le-Moors, All Saints Cubs are pictured on a tour of Accrington Town Hall with the Mayor of Hyndburn, Coun Bernard Dawson. The visit lasted about one-and-a half-hours and included a look around the mayor's parlour. The cubs were also given
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Clean sweep for town centres
A CLEAN-UP scheme launched in Accrington last year by Hyndburn Council is being extended to neighbouring towns. The Great Hyndburn Clean Up this week moved to Church and Oswaldtwistle. The aim is to smarten up town centres with more street cleaning patrols
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Traders oppose market move plan
ACCRINGTON'S multi-million pound town centre shopping complex has reached a critical stage - with all outdoor market traders opposed to the scheme. Proposals involve building a large Wilkinsons store and between six to 10 shops on the current outdoor
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Wildlife came by canal, naturally
Nature Watch, by Ron Freethy WHAT Foulridge was like before the coming of the Leeds to Liverpool canal it is difficult to imagine. If you look at the cottages towards and around the green, you can visualise first a centre of hand loom weaving. People
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Saw man still ill
A WORKER injured after being dragged into machinery at a Ribble Valley sawmill is still seriously ill in hospital today, 12 days after the accident. Jack Parsons, 44, of Moor Close Farm, Barnoldswick, was working on a conveyor belt feeding a sawing machine
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Death toll from cold homes
CAMPAIGNERS claim hundreds of people in East Lancashire are dying because they cannot afford to heat their homes. The area's MPs are being urged to support a bill to make homes more energy efficient - and therefore warmer in winter - reducing cases of
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Stuck with gum gobs
GOING off the flippancy of Environment Minister Michael Meacher's reply to Burnley MP Peter Pike's call for action to end the mess caused by discarded chewing gum in our streets and public places - "I am certainly not stuck up on these kind of problems
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Taxing out the family
JUST as the eminent American sociologist, who, 10 years ago, coined the expression "underclass" to describe the feckless, criminalised scum in Britain, returns to find we now have more violent crime than the USA and blames the breakdown of the family
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Pensioner battered on her doorstep
THUGS have left a woman in her 80s battered and bruised and in need of surgery after attacking her on her front doorstep. Eva Komorek was beaten to the floor as the thieves who robbed her house walked over her to get inside. Police have revealed the 88
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Airtours losses double
HOLIDAY group boss David Crossland today admitted the industry had been wrongfooted by the new millennium celebrations. His comments came as Airtours today reported a doubling of losses in the firm's winter trading period. Mr Crossland, chairman of the
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Couple's love life lit up by Neon!
THE car which fuelled romance between neighbours Tricia Barnfield and Steve Darlington-Case, pictured, will take centre stage when the couple marry later this year. Steve's black Chrysler Neon will be the bridal car which takes Tricia to their October
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Quarry death legal fight
THE family of a quarry worker who died of horrific injuries in a "poorly guarded" part of a stone-crushing machine is planning to take civil action against his bosses. An inquest was told how John Barry, 43, a secondary plant operator, had apparently
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Death toll from cold homes
CAMPAIGNERS claim hundreds of people in East Lancashire are dying because they cannot afford to heat their homes. The area's MPs are being urged to support a bill to make homes more energy efficient - and therefore warmer in winter - reducing cases of
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Solution to beds crisis
HEALTH chiefs in East Lancashire have been told they do not need to find a solution to the NHS beds crisis - because one already exists on their doorsteps. The Lancashire Care Association said today that extra hospital beds were not needed because there
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Kirsty's parents call for horsebox seatbelts
THE devastated family of an 11-year-old girl who died after falling from a horsebox have called for seatbelts to be fitted in similar vehicles. Kirsty-Lee King, of Fallbarn Crescent, Rawtenstall, died after a door of the horsebox opened on the M62 near
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Building scheme tree fears
A DECISION on the future of a former church hall in Colne has been delayed to allow council officers to look at the possible impact on neighbouring trees. Pendle Council's Colne area committee deferred a decision on whether to grant planning permission
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Signs firm goes into extra time for Clarets
WORKERS at a Blackburn factory have been working overtime - to help welcome Burnley's new signing Ian Wright. The Clarets contacted Douglas Signs yesterday morning to order a special sponsors' sign ready for today's press conference where Ian Wright will
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Former matron dies suddenly
A FORMER matron of Queen's Park Hospital whose nursing skills helped people around the world has died suddenly, aged 77. Joan Kathleen Hobkirk (pictured) died at her home in King Street, Whalley. Born in Cairo in 1922, Mrs Hobkirk returned to England
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Parkes faces up to play-off challenge
BLACKBURN Rovers must bridge a massive nine-point gap if they are still to make the promotion play-offs and manager Tony Parkes admitted after last night's 1-0 defeat by rivals Birmingham: "We are desperate for a win now." Parkes knows that the odds are
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Wright's pledge
LEGENDARY goalscorer Ian Wright has pledged to keep on finding the net in a claret and blue shirt to help Burnley achieve their promotion dream, writes PETE OLIVER. With over 300 career goals to his name, the former England and Arsenal striker is one
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Claret blues for Malcolm
ROVERS fan and council boss Malcolm Doherty would have been forgiven for feeling claret and blue about a raffle prize he won at an Ewood charity dinner. For the leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council won an autographed Burnley FC football and an invitation
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Birmingham 1 Rovers 0
AS the Brummie battle anthem "Keep Right On To The End Of The Road" echoed round St Andrews on a foul and filthy Black Country night, it sounded more like a threat than a promise to the Blackburn visitors. For, with a third of the season still remaining
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Blight of too many empty homes
A PRESSURE group is calling for builders to put a brake on new houses in East Lancashire - because there are already too many empty homes. The Council for the Protection of Rural England wants the Government to take into account the rise in empty properties
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April in Paris for Richard's run
FRENCHMAN Richard Pissochet is supporting a local charity by returning to his native land to run his first marathon. Richard, 37, of Clitheroe, will run the 26 miles in Paris in April with his twin brother Sylvain, who still lives in France. Richard ran
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10 YEARS AGO: Poll tax bills shock
POLL tax bills in Rossendale could have been as much as £335 per head, the council's controlling Labour group had forecast. The figure would have come as a shock to householders, who had been told by the Department of the Environment the previous year
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Grateful to the NHS
MAY I thank Blackburn Infirmary and Queen's Park Hospital, for the care I received during my recent stay after being suddenly taken ill? Thanks to the doctor who attended me at home, paramedics and medical and catering staff at both hospitals. We have
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Not only the perverts must be held accountable
IT IS with both utter revulsion and intense anger that people will react to the Waterhouse Report into Britain's worst-ever scandal centred on 40 child-care homes in North Wales. For what happened was sheer evil on an horrendous scale. Some 650 young
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In memory of The Pals
ON behalf of the Church of St John the Evangelist, Accrington, and the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, I would like to invite readers to the memorial service for the 11th (Service) Battalion (Accrington), The East Lancashire Regiment, "The Accrington Pals
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Beef on the Dome
I COULD not believe my eyes when I read that following the "resignation" of Dome supremo Jennie Page (did she fall or was she pushed?), Tony Blair personally sanctioned the appointment of a top Disney executive to replace her. The man appointed is a foreigner
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Long may Big Brother reign
WHY is it whenever anybody talks or thinks about identity cards for UK citizens, out comes the Big Brother brigade who scream: "Foul!"? Let me tell Vernon Clarke (Letters, February 9) that every day of our lives we are watched by community cameras and
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Blinkered view on pensions
DOES Nick Holt (Letters February 8) think that the present retired generation slipped from school-days to retirement without any financial input into the country, not to mention that there are still a few of the people who placed their lives in mortal
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M-way delays until June
DRIVERS face more delays on the M65 from another multi-million pound resurfacing programme aimed at improving the carriageway and reducing noise. But Darwen householders plagued by the sound of vehicles have been told it could be five years before the
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Atomic Kitten gig thrills pupils
POP stars Atomic Kitten performed their new single to thrilled children at a school and vowed "We'll be back". The gorgeous girls belted out See Ya, which is to be released in March, creating a party atmosphere at North Cliffe school , Great Harwood.
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Sparks fly as welders show skills
WORKERS showed their mettle to promote the skill of welding. Gases firm BOC staged a welding roadshow at its Clayton-le-Moors site and offered to weld broken metal objects for people. "The roadshow was aimed at people who already weld or would like to
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Scapa moves into China
SCAPA is heading behind the bamboo curtain. The Blackburn-based firm has set up a joint venture with a Hong Kong and China sales and distribution company, Mei Wei. Scapa has a 75 per cent shareholding in the new joint venture which will sell Scapa's range
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Engineering pay rises steady
PAY rises in the engineering industry are holding steady according to the body which represents dozens of East Lancashire firms. The Engineering Employers' Federation said the average pay settlement level for the three months to the end of January was
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Get the 'Full Up' signs out!
IF the unfunny farce of the Afghan hijack did not prove the already-evident fact that this country is seen as a soft touch by the hordes of economic migrants equipped with just one word of English - 'asylum' - then the forthcoming failure of Home Secretary
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Blunt's Bullets
FUNNY, I thought politically-correct, nannyish New Labour Blackburn with Darwen Council had a policy to promote the health of its townsfolk. So why is its travel and information centre promoting "cheap booze and cigarette" coach trips to Calais "including
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M65 is made quieter - but not in Darwen
DRIVERS face more delays on the M65 from another multi-million pound resurfacing programme aimed at improving the carriageway and reducing noise. But Darwen householders plagued by the sound of vehicles have been told it could be five years before the
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Flood of calls to police about gunman
DETECTIVES hunting a mystery gunman say scores of people have contacted them with information on possible suspects. They have had a number of tip-offs and are planning to question several people in connection with the shooting of student Adam Hayes, 17
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Snow blast brings road chaos
RUSH hour commuters were gridlocked in Burnley early today after a light snowfall turned the town centre into a "skating rink". Traffic was reduced to a crawl on main routes leading into town as the burst of winter weather caused chaos on the roads. Hundreds
