Clitlieroe 22321, (Editorial), 22323 (Advertising). Burnley 22331 (Classified) to th e E d ito r


‘Nervous visitor’


claim is alarmist


I AM writing in response to a letter you published recently which stated that visitors to Queen’s Park Hospital, Blackburn, “risk life and limb when visiting family and f r ie n d s ” because “ psychiatric patients are allowed to walk the grounds” which “can result in a very dis­ turbed and extremely dan­ gerous person being at large in public areas."


incident referred to was extremely frightening and is to be regretted, but it was a single occurrence and to therefore suggest that psychiatric illness


I fully accept that the


equates with dangerous­ ness is both alarmist and,


ous psychiatric illness afflicts at least one per cent of the general popula­ tion, the vast majority of whom are treated by local district services. Transfer' to a more secure unit is arranged only when there is a continuing risk to others, despite appropri­ ate treatment, and even then this is usually for a


more importantly, quite untrue. On a general point, seri­


comparatively short period.


alrically ill are much less likely to act violently than the well population as a whole. It is a sad fact, however, that on those rare occasions when such an association does exist, the media interest is dis­ proportionately great and the myth that the psychi- atrically ill are dangerous is perpetuated. To return to the case in


Statistically the psychi-


What a pantomime at auction mart meeting


show; the size of the cast put us in mind of Ali Baba.


Stage management throughout was well


It was very much ‘Clitheroe behind closed doors’


HOW naive of me to believe that by attending last week’s Ribble Valley Borougn Council’s Planning and Development Committee meet­ ing I would be able to hear a lively debate on the pros and cons of the three proposed devel­ opments for our Auction Mart site, ending ultimately with one of these developers being selected by our councillors.


point, the management of psychiatric patients in hospital is individualised and constantly under review. As virtually all such patients are dis-. charged back into the com­ munity, it is both inevita­


hours through numerous household planning appli­ cations (when actually the Auction Mart site should have been first on the agenda, but due to the late arrival of the Ribble Val­ ley Borough Council’s paid adviser, it was dealt with last) the public were then asked to leave while all discussion on this contro­ versial issue was done pri­ vately — which left one understanding why, at some council meetings up and down the land, some people are sufficiently dis­ turbed to protest — we left like little lambs! The best debate of the


Having sat for two


local Chamber of Trade. This person had come all


the way from London, necessitating an overnight stop, to hear a 10-minute talk by the council’s adviser, who supposedly was guiding our council­ lors on the selection pro­ cess and procedure.


elected representatives and we rely on you to put our views forward in open, honest debate. The public should not have been excluded for the whole of your discussion.


Councillors, you are our THE HUMBLE LIGHT SWITCH.


evening took place on the footpath outside by dis­ gruntled observers, one of these being a representa­ tive of a southern deve­ loper who had come with revised plans to put to the


impel- again, "Nervous Visitor" might do well to reflect on the fact that visiting any town centre is potentially far more dan­ gerous than v is it in g . Queen's Bark Hospital.


DAVID R. FRANKS, Consultant Psychiatrist, Chairman, Division of Psychiatry,


.Queen's Park Hospital, Blackburn.


ble and necessary that they should have increas­ ing “freedom” within the period of hospitalisation, including and going far beyond walking unaccom­ panied in the hospital grounds. When an incident occurs there is an immedi­ ate management review and appropriate changes are made as necessary. Before putting pen to'


council as a result of the firm’s meeting with the


selves to blame if the elec­ torate questions the out­ come of the council’s decision. Thursday, July 5th, was


You have only your­


very much C lithero c behind closed doors!


JOAN PARKINSON, Rccchthorpc Avenue, Waddington.


What a load of bull!


architects are capable of planning a market worthy of the town, without a developer’s need of shops and their attendant bull.


GRACE IIULBERT, 1!) Nelson Street, Low Moor.


Thanks for making fun day success


I IMAGINE that the “Worston Mayor’s” Fun Day, held on Sunday, will be well reported elsewhere in this issue.


Hospital attack — possible outcome


horrifies her WITH reference to last week’s letter about Queen’s Park Hospital, Barbara Wilson entirely missed my point.


■


made the threatening attack on me had not been given any medication at all that day. I was told by the nurse in charge of the ward that “ no one had managed to catch him that day. to have his medica­ tion” and that “ had he been given it, he probably would not have behaved in such a way.” His abusive, agitated and aggressive behaviour was well known by staff. Barbara Wilson said in her letter that if lack of


The mental patient who


of one of the people so quick to defend mental patients. Perhaps then the words “No need for fear” would read “Every need for fear."


happened to an elderly relative of one of the face­ less people who make these decisions, or indeed


ceived to help local volun­ tary organisations to come together and have an enjoyable time, while rais­ ing funds for their own charitable purposes. We were delighted when around a dozen local chari­ ties, together with most of Clitheroe’s service organi­ sations, joined in.


This event was con­


the first attempt, almost everyone made them­ selves available for the second time and, thanks to their ingenuity and enthu­ siasm, well over £2 ,0 0 0 was raised.


Although rained off at


S T I L L V E R Y N E R ­ VOUS VISITOR.


. m e a n b y “ s tep s ,” I wonder? The attack was at


medication results in anti­ social behaviour, “steps are taken to remedy this.” What a great shame that “steps” were not taken that night. What does she


8-25 p.m., yet when I spoke to the ward sister at 10-30 p.m. it was known that he was missing, but no one had tried to find him. Because of the slack­ ness of the medical staff in charge of the ward that day, my safety was put at risk. It could easily have been


' entrance; as it was raining (all doors on the front of the hospital being locked) and so went alone to my car. If she had come with me, she could not have run as‘ I did and we would have had to face this man and the consequences. Believing himself to be a


far worse. I arranged to pick up my 76-year-old mother at the rear


member of the “Gestapo," the possible consequences fill me with horror. The hospital grounds were deserted, so no help would have been forthcoming had


I sought it. The shock of such-a confrontation could


. mental patients have to be before they are “ con­ sidered” for detention in a


have given my mother a heart attack. Just how dangerous do


secure ward? This attack should have


Unrealistic to want car park from'


,'Jrorn MriK.'BodcriM'- " f .


S’todast',week’s letter- If a car owner.'V.


.-'.buys'a house ■Iwlthoutagarageon; - aihaln roadjho “hfust.be aware that;-,.; (ilfhe parks'overnight ■ “ onthatroad, he . -


:


-Imust display IlghtsT"! ■ •He hasno.legltlmato; ■Scbrhjjlalhtjwheh'they^ '-lawJs'enforced.U” '"


fchlldreh'playlng S^'ffip.h'.Jiroa and'v. t'


fepublldmohey bo-VvA*’


p f f d j t b t a l l y M ^ ^ S ' J feuhreallstlc,;as;lflndrri most'of, hls'letter.,,:;;;


Ipkiiydifoneilwouldi^t!! ^ MARY JACKSON, '


i’ the speed llmlt on' ;3»Whalley.New.Road.y:^


'stronglyrosistany v-1 attempt to, reduce^i


5'used',6!pfo'vIde’d\%j-'-; p riviate' car, pa rk l , j :■


-public funds i;WRITE In’response'''


tee is most indebted to the major sponsors of the e- vent: the “ Clitheroe Advertiser and Times,” the Marsden Building Society, the Call's Head Hotel, Griffair and the GT Flying Club. Our thanks to everyone who partici­ pated in any way in this most enjoyable day.


you to Clitheroe’s Town Crier, Roland Hailwood, who, despite having to recourse to the PA sys­ tem, ensured that every­ thing went with a real swing.


Finally, a special thank


ROY DEWIIURST, Mayor of Worston 1989/90, Arnsidc House, Old Back Lane, Wiswell.


Ran drapery shop for


many year


A WOMAN who ran a drapery business in Read for many years, Mrs Doris Muriel Wyld, has died at 81. . Mrs Wyld was still run­ ning her shop in Whalley Road earlier this year until she broke her hip in an accident. Arrange­ ments were being made for her to go and live with her son', Robert, in Derby­ shire, when she died and the business is now being sold. Her husband, Arthur,


died a number of yenrs ago.


I takes place today at the I United Reformed Church, ! Read, prior to cremation at Accrington.


The funeral service The “Mayor’s” commit­


CLITHEROE is always described as a market town, but the farming heart of that market was tidied away out of sight and now the remainder is to be replaced by a developer’s pipedream. Surely the Ribble Valley Borough Council's own


Simple isn't it.


One flick of a switch and you’ve got light. Flick another for heat Another for cooking. Another for entertainment . It sounds easy becai


designed to t>e. But bringing you the power that is such an essential part of our everyday lives is far


0 from straightforward. As a Norweb customer,


every time you turn on a lamp, a heater or a television set, you draw power from our electrical network consisting of cabl ing over 35.000 mi les in length, from the Scottish border to the Peak District of Derbyshire. Whenever you use electricity, you’ re in touch with a business whose turnover exceeded 1 billion for th


>\ year ended 31 March 1989. \ \ ^ Norwob distribute


and supplies electricity to over two million customers In on area covering more than 4,800 square mi les in the North West. It I one of the 12 regional electricity companies of England and Wales.


YOUR DIRECT CONNECTION TO A £1 BILLION BUSINESS.


THE Ribble Valley Council’s Planning and Development Committee, by its performance on Thursday night, managed to extend the pantomime season in Clitheroe. 0 There was some doubt as to the title of its


confidence in it by paying more attention to the unpaid experts, such as the Chamber of Trade? Failure to do so over the shopping development might well lead not to a bull being set up on the Auction Mart site but a white elephant.


M. BRIDGE, 18 Waddow Grove, Waddington.


to the guidance of paid experts and promises fur­ ther public consultation. Not a lot of time will be available for this and, as previously, some restric­ tions may be imposed. Perhaps the committee will try to restore our


London, attend a public meeting on such an important matter as the development of the Auction Mart site, they should at least be allowed to hear the comments made oh the plans under consideration. No valid reason for excluding the public was given. At this stage the committee is now submitting


very polished performance, but left us wishing for “more matter and less art.” Interest was mounting, however, and the climax was reached — the audience, at this stage, was asked to leave. How the private performance went will be revealed — later. Audience reaction indicated disappointment, despair, anger and contempt at the cavalier treatment thus meted out. Seriously though, when people, some from


contrived. One of the leading players needed a few prompts, but the chorus kept pretty well in line. Unfortunately the lead was “unable” to arrive on time, so the whole programme had to be rearranged. This meant that the audience had to endure an exceedingly dull two hours before the plot began to unfold. When at last the leading man came on, he gave a


ClithcroecAdvertiser & Times, J u ly 12th, 1090 9 & wc ruttihefrecordstratiffhtOn V - ; i - - a ' :


WITH reference to your article regarding the discussion by the gover­ nors of Clitheroe Royal Grammar School of the grant maintained issue, you state in your first paragraph that “CRGS could decide to opt out of the state education system. This is emphatically not so!


and Science and not via t h e l o c a l e d u c a t i o n authority.


to pursue grant main­ tained status, CRGS would remain a state school serving its local community in Clitheroe and Ribble Valley, as it has always done. The main difference would simply be that its funding would come direct from the Department of Education


IF the governors decide


pret your opening sen­ tence to imply that CRGS would become an indepen­ dent school charging fees, as in the private sector. Nothing could be further from the truth.


Parents might misinter­


In your last sentence you state that “opting out


LETTERS fo r publica­ tion are accepted only on the understanding that, they may be edited o r condensed at the Editor's discretion.


will need approval from a majority of the parents as well as from the gover­ nors.” The fact of the mat­ ter is that it is parents only who decide, by ballot, whether to submit an


application to the Secre­


tary of State for grant maintained status. I hope that this helps to clarify the situation.


J. B. PARKER, Chairman of Governors, Clitheroe Royal Gram­ mar School.


Dereliction of duty


the people in authority who are responsible for the appalling condition of the town (and, seem­ ingly, Whalley) should be brought to task for their dereliction of duty in failing to ensure that the highways and byways of this fine Ribble Valley of ours are as clean and tidy as they ought to be. As for the ridiculous sum charged to empty the


large litter bins, I for one, would be prepared to do this task for much less, because my car already has to be used as a refuse truck and I, for one, do care about this town.


Clitheroe.


D. A. BRASS, Highficld Road,


WHILE browsing through the columns of your publication, it came to my attention that a young man had been fined for throwing a chip paper over- the wall into the Castle grounds. While it is acceptable to fine the offender, surely


POWER BEHIND THE NORTH WEST NORW N O R W E B -P I c . R e g I n t o r o d O t t lc o . T a lb o t R o n d . M a n c h e s t e r M 1 8 O H O . R e g is t e r e d N o . 2 3 6 6 0 8 8 (E n g la n d ) Is s u e d b y NO RW E B p ic e n d - p p r o v . d b y NM R o th s c h ild * S o n s U rn , te d . n m em b e r o l .T S A a n d l ln n n c la , e d v ls e r ,o th e Tw e lv e R e g io n a l E le c t r ic i ty C om p a n ie s o , E n g la n d a n d Wale


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