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A GLANCE Clitheroe Commu­ nity Hospital's future is secure — a n cl t h e r e a r e ])lans to keep it as the jewel in the new Communicare T ru s t crown.


— - page (i


Near disaster was averted at the weekend as work got underway to make secure the front of a building on C a s 11 e g a t e which could have c o l i a p s e d a n d brought tons of rubbie on to the pavement.


■ page 3


It was a black day on local roads, as t w o e r a s h e s occurred within an hour of each other — and our photog­ rapher was there to capture the scene.


m m page 12


A red card offence by a local foot­ baller ended in a £1,-100 court bill.


i page (i


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_vertiser and 1 imes rp ’ Resignation 3 ^ ^% : shock at


ilk Shawbridge page 23


Child Support Agency wrecks


couple’s marriage plans


Demands almost half man’s weekly_wage by Theresa Robson


THE cherished wed­


ding plans of a Clith­ eroe man have been left in ruin by the Ch ild Supp or t Agencv, which has demanded he pay his ex-wife £92 a week —


years ago. Since then he has dili­


Alma Place, was divorced from his wife nearly five


Support Agency wrote to me demanding £71) per week, plus back payments of £13, a total of £92 per week. I couldn’t believe it. That adds up to nearly half my monthly earnings.” He continued: "They


nearly half his wage. Mr Stephen Baines, of


gently paid maintenance, as agreed in court, as well as the mortgage payments on the couple’s former marital home, endowment policies and household insurance.Life was fine, said Ste­ phen, until his ex-wife g a v e u p w o rk an d returned to her native Northern Ireland with their 12-year-old daughter


late last year. He said: “The Child


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have refused to take into account the fact that I pay the mortgage, which was an agreement sanctioned in court, and the only allowance they have made is the £2S.50 per week I pay in rent. They have even refused to take into account my car payments and suggested I sell it. As I work in Preston, how on earth do they expect me to get there?"Mr Baines hoped to marry his fiancee, Miss Karen Christopher, this summer, but has had to


cancel the wedding. Miss C h r is to p h e r ,


clearly upset, told the “Advertiser and Times" that, as a result of the CSA’s demand, the couple were now facing financial


THE di sappointed couple wi th thei r petition


ruin. She said: “All our plans


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have gone haywire. How can we afford to ever have children? I am 35 years old and I can’t even marry the man 1 love, or even live with him. It’s so wrong.”


yet more sinister twist, for he is also faced with hay­ ing to default on his mortgage.


Mr Baines’s case has a


He said: “The house is up for sale, but if it isn’t


sold soon i may have to cancel the mortgage and go down as a bad debtor.


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missed a single payment, but if I don’t pay the £92 they will deduct it from my wages. How am I sup- | posed to survive?"


I’m not against paying maintenance. I have never


. Mr Baines has peti­ tioned the House of Lords


and the House of Com­ mons about his case and the unfairness of the Child Support Agency.


agency was set up to pur­ sue those fathers default­ ing entirely on mainte­ nance payments, not create havoc with those who pay.”


He commented: "The


Evans acknowledged on Monday that the contro­ versial Child Support Agency, which was due to be debated in the House of Commons yesterday, was causing problems.


Ribble Valley MP Nigel


at Mr Baines’s case. There is no doubt that this well- intentioned piece of legis­ lation has caused prob­ lems. It is absolutely insane that Mr Baines’s mortgage payments aren't being taken into account.


He said: "1 am alarmed


As for the suggestion that he sell his car, quite frankly that is ill-placed." He continued: The last


thing we want to do is dis- courage people from remarrying. 1 will be more than happy to fight on this couple’s behalf." A defiant Miss Chris­


topher added: "This agency is heartless. 1 am


angry and upset, because it has taken away my future. It is putting us under a lot of strain, but we love each other and they will never take that away from us. 1 will stand by Stephen always.” A R i h h 1 o Vail e v


REGULARS at a Clitheroe town- centre pub have won themselves two


Pub fund-raisers on a high by Vivien Meath


lifelong friends. When they discovered that their new land­


lady, Mrs Mary Hodgkinson, was suffering from cancer, they quickly “jumped to it” to


from a crane, suspended 200ft. above water at the Jetski Centre, Brandesburton, near Hornsea. However, it was not without controversy, for the


give what support they could. The result was a nerve-shattering bungee jump


mother of one of the 20 regulars from the Dog and Partridge Hotel planning to take part, penned a poi­


gnant plea to the letters page of the "Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times," urging her son not to do it.


1 public house, Mrs Hodgkinson s husband. Petei , was ouick to pav tribute to him, telling a packed audience that, if anything, it took more nerve to agree not to go ahead with the jump and still travel to support the


In the event, he agreed to toe the line, but on Sun­ day, during a speciaf “Cookridge Day at the popular


°l Sundav’s celebrations were twofold: a cheque for a bumper £1,810.50 was presented to Cookridge Hospita representative Christine Wood, but even better still was the news that Mrs Hodgkinson is well oil the way


to winiiinK her fight against cancer.


For the Hodgkinson family of mother, father and children Luke and Leah, the last two years hate been


.


'l m e n genial giant "Hoppy," as Mr Hodgkinson is affectionately known in the trade, came to Clitheroe.


fathers who feel they are being unfairly treated by the Child Support Agency can receive advice from “ DADS: Dads After Divorce,” on its special helpline number (0701 212117).


Bike theft ring smashed


|have recovered a I cache of stolen bicy­ cles and parts follow­ ing an investigation into a suspe cted


POLICE at Clitheroe


juvenile bike ring. A dozen bicycle frames


have been recovered and Clitheroe police have interviewed eight Clith­ eroe youths suspected of stealing and handling sto­


len pedal cycles and parts. Sgt David Davenport


it’s all down to PC Wood­


explained that PC Cliff Woodcock had begun the investigation following a spate of bicycle thefts dur­ ing the past few months. “It’s a problem which


out and detect these offences. We have had


cock," Sgt Davenport said. An invitation has been


has come to our attention recently and we have done what we could to stamp it


extended to anyone in the Clitheroe area who has had a bicycle stolen in the last few months to attend the police station from 7 p.m. on Monday evening to assist police in identify­ ing the bicycles and parts. Individuals should ask for


considerable success and Woodcock. ------


Sgt Davenport or PC £ - •


Missing girl back safely


THE Clitheroe teenager who disappeared from the area in October lias arrived home safe and sound.


of West View, was spotted in Blackpool on Monday night and soon afterwards her overjoyed parents, Mi­ ami Mrs Cordon Blezard, were on their way to meet


Katherine Blezard (10),


her. Clitheroe sergeant


David Davenport explain­ ed that a police officer who had met Katherine on a previous occasion in Black­ pool recognised her and asked her to go to the


police station with him. Katherine, who had not


been in contact with her family once during the


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time she was missing, will- ing 1 y accepted. Her family, who had been dis­ traught with worry, were tremendously relieved when they heard the good news. “She’s home. She’s fit


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also counting their bless­ ings that the teenager was found unharmed and had been reunited with her parents, apparently none th e wo r s e for h e r experience.


Mass carve-up concern


A WILPSHIRE vicar had to open the doors of his church after hundreds of villagers worried by the pros­ pect of a merger with Bl ackburn in the forthcoming Local Government Review at tended a publ ic meeting.


to take place in the vil­ lage’s Methodist School


The meeting, scheduled Hall, was transferred at turned up.


the last minute to the vil­ lage’s Methodist church, when over 300 people


David Jones allowed the anxious villagers to use his church for their packed and vociferous meeting when it became obvious they would not all fit into the original venue. Miss Jane Wrigley, who is a member of the Ribble Valley Council's Local Government Review team and who helped to organ­ ise the meeting, said: “By 7-15 p.m- l


Wilpsliiic cicar me Kev.


was so full that we had to transfer to the chapel it-


the school hall m


feeling was very much against a merger with Blackburn and in support of either a Ribble Valley unitary authority or a merger of the whole bor­ ough with another.” Miss Wrigley said she


t u i i l i i iU e J : "The


Blackburn Council’s grit ting operation on Friday


nuu tu wbw 44


was “very pleased” with the response of villagers to the meeting and said it proved that there was a great deal of interest and concern in the outlying vil­ lages about the prospect of


self. Everyone present Concern about a Black was very concerned about burn merger was also the prospect of losing their expressed this week b> a rural identity.”


th e a re a being cai ved up. * s Mellor man, in response to


morning.The operation caused traffic tail-backs anti long delays to motorists, but, said Mr Christopher Swan, of Glendale Drive, Mellor, the Ribble Valley’s roads we r e ' g r it te d


overnight. He commented: "The


police informed my wife that warnings were given to Blackburn Council that there would be hazardous weather conditions, but gritting operations in the Lanimack and Pleckgate area did not start untiflate morning, causing long


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Ribble Valley, with the majority of the villages roads having been gritted during the night. If Black­ burn Council is unable to ensure that its present area is properly main­ tained, what hope is there for extra localities that may be gr abbed by


Blackburn? “Considering that Mel


lor is one of the villages at the extreme end of the Ribble Valley, the council is to be congratulated for its prompt attention,” he


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his former public house, The Buck Inn, Paythorne, was


still on the market. The family coped with Mrs Hodgkmson s ill health, a


new public house and keeping the Paythorne connec­ tion going until a buyer was found. It was not easy and Sunday incorporated the family’s heartfelt thanks to all who had supported them. “I have a lot of mates 1 have taken under my wing,” Mr Hodgkinson told custom­ ers and friends.


rier and Son" supplieclmusical fun. The programme included a video of last year’s bungee jumpers (which was virtually guaranteed to make anyone thinking ot undertaking'll similar episode to think twice): a raffle for a beautifully dressed doll donated by Hurst Green resident Pete Shoosmith, who, learning of the appeal through the "Advertiser and Times,” took a taxi to the public house to hand over his gift; am* the announcement of the result of a collection on Friday, added to the proceeds of the weekly darts card. The bungee jump sponsorship money of £l.t>0t> was


Fund-raising activities continued, as The Oddcar- . , ...... ,__


quicklv topped up to £1,810.50. Mrs Hodgkinson has been treated by both Cookridge .


and St James’s hospitals, both in Leeds, and, during a check-up last week, heard the welcome news that she will not need to make another visit for four months. And, determined not to let the grass grow under


in reverse!


his feet, Mr Hodgkinson announced that this year s fund-raising was likely to be for a baby unit and among stunts planned could be — a bungee jump


Camp aign ing Against R ib bl e Vall ey s Ex ti nc tio n page 11


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