The Clitheroe v e r t i s e r a n


The paper that champions the Rlbble Valley cause


Major ‘surgery’ for Castle plan


page 2 AT A = GLANCE =


The Kibble Valley's library service is suffering, with bookworms being driven away, due to cuts in funding from Lancashire County Council.


n M M H i page 7


A teenage martial arts expert who "put the boot in” during a Christmas Eve fracas appears at Blackburn Youth Court.


page 3


Car parking charges are introduced a week on Monday — and a reader asks whether Ribble Val­


ley Council employ­ ees will have to pay the standard fees.


pages 12,14


Two local schools hold their awards evenings — and one head questions the importance of league tables, while the other hits back at Government crit­ icism that schools are neglecting less able pupils.


pages 2,6


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND WEATHER:


Winds will be from the west, bringing more wet condi­ tions.


LIGHTING UP TIME: 7-12 p.m.


CALLUS


News: 01200 422324


01200 Classified: 01282 122331 Fax: 01200 143467


by Sheila Nixon


RIBBLE VALLEY MP Mr Nigel Evans has had a brush with a TV production com­ pany over a move to blacken his. . . face. Mr Evans was duped into being


“cheap and nasty and a massive waste of time”, has written to the Independent Television Commission to demand that the footage should


Mr Evans, who branded the stunt as


never be shown. He told the Advertiser and Times


daubed with black face-paint as he was being questioned about racism during a pre-recorded show. The stunt happened when a cosmetics artist was called on to the film set on the pretext that his make-up needed attention.


that the stunt was pulled by Mobius Productions, an independent TV company which had invited him to express his views on law and order for a programme being filmed for show­ ing on Channel 4.


which has since gone out of business, has written to the MP to apologise, saying that the episode was down to


Meanwhile, the boss of Mobius,


Walker’s crisps offer this week


page 12


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3rd, 1996 No. 5,752 Price 42p


i m e s page 7 MP in brush over TV ‘black face*


high-jinks. He confirmed that the film would not be shown and that a donation to Preston Victim Support Group was being made as part of the apology.


Camden, North London, for the recording session, said: "I take law and order and drugs abuse very seri­ ously, as the people of the Ribble Val­ ley know, and I thought the pro­ gramme would give me something worthwhile to say about the matter.


Mr Evans, who attended studios in


ing me about racism in Britain he suddenly said I needed more make­ up. I told him I was perfectly all right


High Court injunction to stop local strike by Vivien Meath


es in the area have faced major disruption as the


SERIOUS difficul- ties have hit adult education classes in the Ribble Valley. As national further edu­


cation inspectors arrived a t Accrington and Rossendale College this week, they were met by the news that the college


acliun oy leaching stall.


local centres have had insufficient teaching staff to cover. At Ribblesdale School it is understood that as many as 147 students have been unable to attend classes due to the lack of tutors. In the villages, two out of three classes were said to have closed each night last week, the first week of the


had won a High Court in 'n r r i ’inn h.-rnn’n.'r “ "iin1


The judge stated that the union, NATFE, had failed to carry out the correct bal­ lot procedure.


Meanwhile, evening class-


in favour of strike action following a postal ballot last week. The part-time teachers are


new term. MVrnbTV 'T (ho lecturers’ NAi’FK, voted 2-1


Night school classes chaos hits Valley


He said that he had


received letters from Rib­ ble Valley students, stating that it was not the kind of service they expected. “I have asked for a report from centre heads, detail­ ing the difficulties encoun­ tered,” he stated. Mr Austin said that the


problems were “unprece­ dented” and “temporary" and reiterated that the majority of classes were running normally. A number of former part-


unhappy over the transfer of their teaching contracts to an agency. The action taken by the


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college at the beginning of the term led to a cut in hourly pay for the.350 part- timers. A NATFE spokesperson


confirmed that, following Monday’s injunction, NATFE would be instruct­ ing its members to work as normal this week. There were, he said,


“major problems” in the Ribble Valley in terms of providing teachers in front of classes. “As of Thursday last week, we were aware of more than 300 students who did not have teachers.” He was critical of the deci­


time adult education teachers, who elected to take redundancy rather than sign on for an agency, have already indicated their intentions to set up private classes in their sub­ jects within the Ribble Val­ ley. Mr Austin said he was unaware that was the case, but added that people were free to set up private class­ es — it was not a new phe­ nomenon. The problems encountered in the Ribble Valley were, he said, nothing to do with the agency involved. “We need to find out what has gone wrong and why.” Teaching staff and union


sion to employ an agency to deal with teaching con­ tracts, adding that evening classes were the hardest hit with teachers being con­ tacted, some many miles away, at short notice and asked to travel to the area. The union representative added that the inspectors were likely to find classes without teachers when they visited the Ribble Valley this week, and, in some cases, classes with teachers who did not know what they were doing. Describing the situation as “appalling,” he said that


the action was upsetting some “very fine and respectable people who should not be treated in that way.” Mr Michael Austin, the


representatives have expressed surprise at Mr Austin's apparent “about- turn” with regard to the use of agencies. Last year he wrote a col­ umn in The Times Educa­ tion Supplement denounc­ ing agencies as a negative step. It is believed that Accring­


ton and Rossendale Col­ lege is the only one in Lan­ cashire using an agency.


"Just as the interviewer started ask­


was standing behind Mr Evans as she applied the make-up, so he could not see what she was doing. Mr Evans continued: “I realised something could be wrong when she did not go near the the other person to re-apply his make-up. I got up to go to the toilet and they tried to talk me out of it. I knew then I was the victim of some sort of set-up. “The toilet was locked so I peered


but the make-up girl appeared and started on my face.” There were no mirrors and the girl


when MPs voluntarily agreed to take part in lighthearted shows and some companies did them very well, but he had been asked to take part in what he thought would be a serious discus­ sion.


into a window and saw my black face staring back at me. I was furious.” Mr Evans said that there were times


stunt, it was a massive waste of time. I could have been doing something much more useful,” he said. Mr Evans added that he felt that Channel 4 had some responsibility in the matter. A Channel 4 spokesman said nothing was known about the programme­ making company, adding; “This stunt had nothing to do with us”.


“As well as being a cheap and nasty RIBBLE VALLEY MP Nigel Evans


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Memories of a fire-fighter


7


MYSTERY initially surrounded the girl, said to be from Clitheroe, who was crowned Miss Europe *96 on Sat­ urday in the unlikely surrounds of


Albania. Who is she? was (he question asked by (be nation’s Press, as i( was revealed (hat Ribble Valley beauly Claire-Marie Harrison (23) was already Miss England, a former Miss London and had been placed third in the Miss United Kingdom contest. Watched by 200 million European TV view­


ers, Clairc-Maric beat 37 contestants to take the £14,000 prize, along with a tradi­ tional folk costume from Tirana city council.


The streets of the Southern European country were said to be deserted as people jostled for television viewing positions to


watch the final stages of the contest, held at the Palace of Congresses.


The attractive brunette, who spent much of her life in Whallcy and attended St Augus­ tine’s RC School, Billington, defeated Miss Belarus to take the crown. At home in Simonstonc, proud mother Mrs Virginia Speak, expressed her delight during an emotional telephone call following (he contest. "She was crying with excitement,” said Rib­


ble Valley’s proudest mum, who added that the entire family was planning a welcome- home party at the weekend. “This should open a lot of doors for her and


we arc all very excited, but she takes it al! in her stride.” The daughter of Mrs Speak and Mr David Harrison, Claire-Marie left St Mary’s Col­ lege to work for a solicitor in Darwen before moving to the Clithcroe Job Centre. She decided to try modelling three years ago, following in the footsteps of 27-year-old sister Juliette, who, aged 16, had won a com­ petition to be a cover girl for the teenage magazine “Jackie” and subsequently won a modelling course in London. Described as “very determined” and “strong willed” by her mother, Claire-Marie is employed by a Manchester agency and works frequently for underwear company “Gossard."


Live hand grenade scare at school A PRIMARY school was evacuated when a group of children brought a


live hand-grenade into their classroom. Most of the children, who attend Read CE Primary School, were on their way home


Liverpool. They arrived at 6 p.m. and cordoned off a 200m area around the school, in Straits Lane,


with the long-handled grenade. She evacuated the school and called the police, who then called the bomb squad from


when the grenade was found behind a garage on Tuesday at 3-30 p.m. Headteacher Mrs Carole Harrison was taking a choir class when she was confronted


and told residents in that area to remain in their houses. Insp. Stuart Boothman, of Colne police, said: “It was a 1917 Mills hand-grenade, which was in a clean condition. It was live, but it had no detonator. Perhaps it was disposed of by someone who kept it as a memento.”


Air qu ality monitoring to start next week


by Theresa Robson A MAJOR programme of


principal of Accrington and Rossendale College, who last week denied that there had been major problems and described teacher ill­ ness as the reason for can­ cellation of classes, apolo­ gised to students affected. “If classes have started a


air quality monitoring in Clitheroe has been announced by Govern­ ment watchdogs and bor­ ough chiefs. The programme, which is the


week late, the time will be made up at the end of the course,” he promised. “This is not something I would have wished to happen.”


brainchild of the Environment Agency and the Ribble Valley Council, will measure pollu­ tan ts from Castle Cement, I Cl and Tarmac.


The results will provide valuable


information about air quality in the Ribble Valley, a spokesman for the Environment Agency said.


starts next week, will see eight per­ manent monitors and three meteoro­ logical stations established at sites throughout Clitheroe. A mobile labo­ ratory will also visit the town for two weeks.


The two-month programme, which


Sulphur dioxide and respirable par­ ticulates from stack emissions will be tested, while special laser equipment will be used to track the plumes.


The project, which has been described as massive, will follow on


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from air pollution monitoring com­ missioned by Her Majesty’s Inspec­ torate of Pollution in August, 1995. It will include daily testing of clinker


and raw material, as well controver­ sial Cemfuel, at Castle Cement’s Rib­ blesdale works. Mr Ian Handyside, of the Environ­


ment Agency, said: “Results from the monitoring will significantly improve the agency's understanding of air quality in the Ribble Valley and help the borough council develop a long­ term monitoring strategy for the area.” A exhibition about the monitoring


programme has been set up in the foyer of the Ribble Valley Council


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