record FOUR local men will attempt to break a world record by em- barking on an epic 60-day trip down the Yukon River in Canada to raise £1m for Help for Heroes andMarie Curie Cancer Care.
Quartet aim for world
From left, Dazza Ratchford, Jay Ratchford, Nick Hunter and Tom Raper.
Veteran cyclist dies, aged 100
PETE Avis, the longest serving member of the local San Fairy Ann Cycling Club, has died aged 100. He was only the second VTTA (Veteran Time Trials Associa-
Maidstone man Nick Hunter (28) came up with the idea and invited three friends – Jay Ratchford from Leeds, Dazza Ratchford from Boughton Monchelsea and Tom Raper from Maidstone – to join him for the challenge. During their time in the wilderness the team will have to use their survival
training by living off the land and practising their craft skills. The journey begins in Atlin in Canada, from where they will travel 3,185km down the river to Alakanuk in Alaska. They are recording the
whole trek and plan to raise more money for the charities by commissioning it as a doc- umentary. The final stretch of the trip will be televised. You can follow them on Facebook by searching Yukon Canoe, or at www.up-
theyukon.com.
Web meetings save on travel costs COUNCIL officers can save money by holding web meetings rather than running up travel expenses. Maidstone is trialling a system of virtual meetings on the in- ternet, said Dave Lindsay. head of ICT services. Documents can be discussed without officers having to leave
their desks. A web camera costs £30, so the travel savings can soon kick in. Mr Lindsay said that, depending on the outcome of the pilot scheme, there could be opportunities to interact with ratepayers. He was answering a question by cabinet member Cllr Eric Hot- son about engaging more with the public via the web.
tion) member to reach the 100. A special certificate was pre- sented to him on his birthday in January. Born in Sutton Valence, Pete spent most of his life in the Maid- stone area, most recently in Queen Eliza- beth Square. He wasmarried for 65 years to Nora, andwas father to Christine and Andy. He served in Detling as an anti-aircraft gunner in the war and went on to work for many years at Alabaster Passmore’s paper works in Tovil before moving to Fleetway Press in Northfleet. He rode to work at Fleetway, giving him-
self exercise that made him extremely com- petitive in the veteran races for which he was then qualified. Pete raced for most of his cycling life. His
friend and fellow San Fairly Ann member Dick Bradley said: “Cycling was his pas- sion,hewasagoodracingman andvery
dedicated to the club.” Pete and Nora lived in Florence Road for many years. From
1967 to 1975 the cellar of their home – which Pete and son Andy had converted into a bar – doubled as the San Fairy Ann club room. In the mid-1970s, he and Nora moved toWales. Andy said: “He had time for everybody, he was very sociable.” Pete had a fund of great stories.One of themost celebrated con- cerned his first ever outing with San Fairy Ann, aged 15, when he caused an accident that brought down everyone riding around him. Widowed in 2006, Pete leaves his children, six grandchil- dren and 16 great-grandchildren.
Medical centre looks to remove tree MARDEN Medical Centre has applied to remove a liquid amber tree next to its Church Green premises. Planning permission has been sought because of fears that the
tree, which is located in the Marden conservation area, will com- promise the proposed extension of the existing building.
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