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The Clitheroe ^1


Thursday) March 22nd, 2001 No. 5,985


Red alert tor Comic Relief


There is nothing to ju s t i fy the wide- ranging claims made against Stonyhurst College, an inquiry decides.


A Lottery award is helping to develop a Saturday play sche­ me for the children of working parents.


A Valley pensioner is in training for her 14th London Mara­


thon. - page 9


It looks likely that the Government


will meet the cost of a new CCTV sys­ tem for Clitheroe


and Whalley. ammmmmmm page 20


Rowdy youngsters who are a nuisance are being targeted by the police.


-- page 2


Remember that the clocks go forward at 2 a.m. on Sunday


with the start o f British Summer lime.


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND


m


WEATHER: Remaining dry and sunny, but cold with a strong easterly


wind. CALLUS


News: 01200 422324 Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified: 01282 422331 Fax:


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Editorial e-mail: clilhcroc.cdilorial® rim.co.uk


fk


u o H ' i c p i ’ a n d imes _ w The paper r.hamoions the Ribble Valley cause^ WWW.easttancashireonline.co.uk Price 48p


Out today - our award-winning


m page 3 claims that years of neglect have turned scenic road route into death trap


__________________________________ b y J u l i e F r a n k l a n d


---------— road nas now p roau ucu> liuw


T H E R E are claims that a scenic ^ rnad has now lapsed into a potential


, ,


death trap because pleas for help from its regular users have been ignored for years.


------ - . . , , . f


According to Ior“ er . pJ®s\4®n*f ° f Clitheroe Chamber of Trade Mr Jim Met­


calf, the now closed but for access j ? “ fn?hg Bridge to Langden Intake stretch of the C477 Trough road should be repaired and Opened immediately, but withwe.ghtand width restrictions to prevent its use by


H VLMetcalf blames the vibrations from heavy wagons for land slides along the bank bordering the road.


•


Times, Lancashire County Council s area surveyor (east), Mr Denis Wright, told a alley


As revealed in last week's Advertiser and Tamcarfiire County Council'S area


surveyor in


meeting of Ribble V ^ y Borough Co^n- cils Community ouiuim**''''-


avai not d eam of driving his fa m i ly ivin ~ u


route in a million years for fear that further sudden slippages could lead to a lav^-hke mud flow, with the potential to engulf any


vears for fear that further is family along the


PT b l Im “ d t r ren t ia l rain last October for the problem, adding that surrounding


land was still too wet for any repair engi­ neering work to be undertaken. Yet Mr Metcalf claims that the road has been more or less in its cu rrent


state since 1997. He said: "I have been in c o n ta c t with L an ca shire C ou nty Council over the sub-standard state of this stretch of road for the last four


Valley tops country when it comes to the skills stakes


Survey shows that area effectively beats even the City of London


ARGUABLY the most important survey result


ever for the Ribble Val­ ley bathed it in the golden light of achieve­


ment this week. No comparable bor­


ough in the country, has as high a proportion of resi­ dents with proven profes­ sional and work skills! There are 408 lo ca l au th o r it ie s in Great


Britain and research con­ sultancy Local Futures has found several ways of assessing the ability levels of their populations - and its efforts have unearthed the fac t that the Ribble Valley is effectively top m the country’s skills stakes. One method uses Govern­


ment figures which, although public, are gener­ ally unknown and need un­ earthing and analysing by professionals skilled in such


research. On this basis, the consul­


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tancy’s "Regeneration and Renewal" survey showed that 95% of Ribble Valley residents have work-place qualifications and skills, compared to as few as 40 A in some places and about 33% in many others.


"The City of London has


the same figures as you, but that is regarded as a 'rogue borough for survey and sta­ tistical purposes, due to the population make-up, Local Futures told the Advertiser and Times this week. "Effectively, the Rib­ ble Valley is top."


.


The relatively small size of the borough clearly plays


a part in the result, but Local Futures is adamant that it is neverthless a fair


and true one. It makes such surveys to


help advise local authori­ ties, development agencies


and companies oh strategy. The latfest one is an


answer to 'a Government white paper on the future of the country, and is designed to show that op t im ist ic plans may be difficult to carry through in some places because of skill


shortages. The local MP, Mr Nigel


Evans, has hailed this latest la


anything possible to be done to spread the Valley s


out, H v *. ' ’' I


Community committee that he would ^ ^ dream 0


Deueve 01lc


vibration irum (j


not cope wit 70


----------- -


vibration from heavy wagons, which use ancas


the road as a short cut to Lanc^ter. Th.s originany a carttrackand 1 '


by ^ weather, but rather the — ' .


ed vn such vehicles using this road in one day. To stop them, I have asked the coun y council repeatedly to impose weight and I have Deen


ith today s HGVs. icle


sin width restrictions, but


iBNow through the road's closure notice, Mr Metcalf is facing business ruin. On win ter weekends and daily from Easter and throughout the summer, he sites a snack van at Langden Intake to provide refresh-


ml ! fdM ^M e tS l f : "The drive along this


stretch of road is beautiful and has always attracted visitors. I took o v e r the Langden


GVs, I hav is


ave count­


weather, but rather the used to workfor himm the 19b0s, w n e ^ told me that in his early days, .the road was


used to wont lor mm m tuc ------------


just a dirt track. "Now it is becoming that way again, as


the lorries have made so many potholes in its surface it is even becoming dangerous


for cyclists." a road's demise. l ie reuuaicu Mr W ig h t s | ^ dedsi to pUnth e


Council dismissed the role of HVGs in the the fo o t ana m d


isasL? °


view that problems were the fault of geolo­ gy and heavy rainfall. He added: "There are no plans to introduce any restrictions at this time, although that is not to rule


out the possibility in the future. "We are also unable to make repairs, as


our engineers have confirmed that, cur­ rently, the land at this site is too wet to


safely send in contractors."


event was made on Monday at a meeting of the Jockey Club in Portman Square,


London. It was agreed that the


UK's entire point-to-point race calendar should be scrapped this year but, for


But a spokesman for Lancashire County - ™ n Valley magazine mm----- ---MHMHWWWfr"w Gisburn Races


called off due to foot and mouth


FOR the second year in succession, there will be


^ T h e^ ea g eH y A w a ite d the Craven Hunt organisers o o in t - to -p o in t meet, a of the Gisburn meet, cancel- r i r v “ r ' . = , w.y


t i s s ' i * “ T ? I irsss rsaw


toot and mouth ou t - major annual fund-ra sing activities, its loss would be


felt. Yet with the disease crisis


continuing, it may not be the only loss of the Ribble Valley "season". With the organising committee of nearby Trawden Show, an event not due to be staged until August, already announcing its abandon­ ment, the future of similar local farming and agricul­ ture-rooted festivals is now


in the balance. Already the fo o t and


-s-r


mouth outbreak is begin­ ning to take its tol l on tourism in the Valley. Many farmhouse bed and break­ fast places are preparing to write off Easter, the tradi­ tional start of the visitor season, as a loss. Even long- established hotels with national reputations for comfort and cuisine cannot keep bookings, as guests, knowing they are barred from surrounding land,


decide to stay home. All rooms at Gisburn s


Stirk House H otel were occupied for Easter at the start of the crisis. Now it is only 20% full and an alter­ native "open" entertain­ ment programme of special events, dinners and a non­ walkers' package to include a barge and other trips is being worked up so that staffing levels can be main­ tained, despite the loss at current levels of £25,000 worth of holiday business. Other attractions are also


feeling the bite, with Ribch- O continued on page 20


Hi-tech help with problems ™


accolade for the borough asn as i SCHOOLS in Clitheroe and sun rounding villages have received extra help to prepare pupils break-ups.


a tribute to everyone, espe- daily the local educational set-up. But he is keen for - -- |


Clitheroe and Ribblesdale Rotary


success outwards. An important feature of


local development efforts is to try and create more jobs


tu wy S.'SSSfti'SJS led.


Clubs have distributed a Rotary Interna­ tional-produced CD-ROM, "Coping with Family Change," to 30 junior and sec


--------------------- | °nmi!7 discs were prepared by Rotarians being developed at Barrow * '


‘Don’t turn your back on us’ pleads the Blues


chief after FA Vase blow


CLITHEROE FC chairman Steve Rush is appealing to the town’s peo­ ple to not turn their backs on the club despite Saturday’s disastrous semi-final first leg defeat by


Taunton Town. The Blues all but saw their chances .


of reaching the final of the Carlsberg FA Vase at Villa Park blown away during a crazy 30-minute spell, which saw five goals conceded, in the first half of their semi-final clash at


Wordsworth Drive. But, with the second leg scheduled to


take place at Shawbridge on Saturday, Rush is still hoping the occasion will be something for the club and the town to


He said: “People will, quite naturally, have written us off after this dis^trous


result. But there is a saying - >ta 'n “ till the fat lady sings - and 1 ^ o w the players will be doing their utmost to make sure pride, if nothing else, is restored to the


CllWVe areonanational stage and cannot be embarrassed by a poor turn-out of sup­


port. After all, we have performed bril liantly to get to the semi-fmalstageofa national competition. I am, therefore, appealing to every sports fan in theareato make the effort and come down to Shaw


bridge. The town’s pride is at stake. The match will be the only live game of


football to kick-off at 3 P-m- Burnley’s home encounter versus QPR has


a 1 p.m. start, while Blackburn Rovers have no game.


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Valley vicar aims to break world speech record


HAPPY talking, talk­ ing will be the mission of a Ribble Valley cler­


gyman this summer. At 6-30 a.iri. on June


29th the vicar of Whalley Parish Church will start his attempt to break the record for the world's longest speech - the cur­ rent time to beat stands at twenty- seven-and-a-half


hours. ; However, the Rev. Chris


Sterry hopes to talk non­ stop for 36 hours, finishing his record breaking sermon around 6-30 p.m. on Satur­ day, June 30th. . During his unscripted


marathon he will be unable to pause for more than 10 seconds, but will be able to take a "comfor t" break


every eight hours. Initially he had hoped to


use his sponsorship money to help fund the refurbish­ ment of the parish church, , work which will be complet­ ed by Easter. However, church members, having raised enough cash to pay


' for the renovations, have now decided to keep up with their fund-raising efforts in a bid to clear a £9,000 debt to the diocese. Money from Mr Sterry's fund-raising effort will be used to help


pay off that sum.


is one example of the way c l l “ V nf mtheroe Rotary Club, said: this problem is being tack-


b S e(heN a t i .n . lC h : id „ » 'sH .m» » » h® yor Coun. Alan Tearing, a ^ C l second c d _r o M. Last year


we gave schools one dealing with bullying in schools.


30 schools were keen to take the second CD-ROM.


"Separation and divorce, and the conse­ quent creation of step families is a major


, ’ ,


social issue today. Children are often neglected while relationships are rearranged," he said. Our picture shows Samantha Murray


(11), a Year Six pupil of Brookside Prima­ ry School, Clitheroe, receiving the disc on behalf of her school from Rotarians Tear­ ing, Mike McGlynn, Peter Spencer and


Graham Claydon. (K130301/2)


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