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r? “V Thursday, October. 24th^r2002>v No.>6,068


Pumpkin monster on show


page 5 AT A G LAN C E


The-terrorist attack on;-.the: island of Bali has claimed the life of a former Stonyhurst pupil.


. ........ • ....■■ ■■ page: 14


A sharp-eyed teenager has received a £250 reward from a crown court judge.


n mi ~ .... page 3


Voters turn out in force to elect a new councillor.


........... . ■ Hill IM . I I . I . ......... . • ....... . page 5


A headmaster praises a record- breaking year, but. slams the A- level fiasco.


M i i r i . i page 13


A key personality and ' diarist ' in Read village life, for several decades has died at the age of 77.


..... i .........


FOGGITT’S WEEKEND


WEATHER:


;MiJder th a n o f 'but;wet


SUNRISE: 7-51 a.m, SUNSET:: 5-56 p.m. LIGHTING UP


TIME: 5-51 p.m.; . . ........ page 2


Two GRGS. students have gained music scholarships to Oxford University.


.....page 3


Former England manager Kevin Keegan has a big date in Glitheroe tonight.


"' »■■ page 34 CALLUS .


■■ •News:


01200-122321 Advertising: 01200 422323$<?g}(:i Classified: : ■■■'


0l262-122331>^f':-‘ !


01200443467 '! Editorial e-mail: vivien.mcath@ ' castlancsnews.co.uk-


new s andviews'ifrom'the Centre ofiithe -Kingdprri . 3 iiu S rM ’: ’


Stars p a r tribute to our heroes


by John Turner


THE outlook is black for adequate fire and emer­ gency cover in the Ribble Valley when the national firemen's strike begins next


week. ■ The re ta in e d firemen a t


Clitheroe have decided to join their full-time colleagues in a series of actions aimed a t per­ su adin g th e Government to give in to their demands for a 40% rise, taking their pay to £30,000 a year.


This means that Clitheroe and


the Ribble Valley will have to rely for cover on a badly-equipped and out-of-date Army Green Goddess, which will carry no breathing apparatus nor rescue and cutting gear. ,The nearest


- This is a far cry from the two fully-equipped modern appli­ ances and all the latest gear car­ ried by the Clitheroe station's two


tioned at Blackburn and Accring­ ton. ■


...'■■■■'■'■■ machines. Lancashire as a whole has to : , ,


rely on 18 Green Goddesses, said Lancashire Fire and Rescue


si . ; j www.eastlancashireonline.co.uk ■j:<


SAVE £££’s with all the fun of the fair


spokesman Mr John Taylor on


Tuesday. . As'back-up throughout the


county will be 10 machines from th e Royal Navy which carry breathing apparatus and rescue gear: And there will be one heavy


. day night after a meeting of all 17 fire-fighters' at Clitheroe Fire Sta­ tion decided to join the strikes. He said: "I t was unanimous


that, unfortunately, they will be going on strike. .They are taking this action with great sadness


Green Goddesses will be s ta - rescue tender based where it can ■, and upset because it is a national '


likely there won't be fire cover in Clitheroe, other than what the military can provide. I t is looking very bleak". Clitheroe's Station Officer Mr


cover as much of the county's . action. We are all in the Fire motorway system as possible. Brigade Union. We are fighting Mr Taylor said: "It seems very, for better conditions and service. "We will not be available for


Dave McGrath spoke to the Advertiser and Times on Tues-


Petition launched after •* 'A< ’ •• - ■*'•■** j--j . , , • •, '


injured OAP’s two-hour wait for an ambulance


THE plight of a pensioner with a badly-broken leg who had to wait for two hours in damp night air for an ambulance to arrive has sparked off a campaign in the Ribble Valley. . Already close to 400 people have signed a


petition.in Waddington calling on the South Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority to increase ambulance cover in


--- One of the candidates,- Mr. Edward le Bre-' ton;' took up the cudgels when a Waddington.


recent by-election: for the .Waddington ward of Ribble VaileyBorough C o u n c i l : 7 , -:}}■'


throughout the rest of the Ribble Valley. - ' >.■ The campaign was sparked off; during the I


the area. Now the. demand for action' is set to spread


their tether and the system is close to breaking


point." Mr John Calderbank, spokesman for Lan­


cashire Ambulance Service, said this week that Lancashire's performance standards in the area are above national standards. "I know staff are under immense pressure in


maintaining response times ahead of national standards but we are one of the best-perform­ ing ambulance services in the country," he said. Mr Calderbank said the Government


required they reach 75% of life-threatening calls witliin eight minutes. The Lancashire fig-',


iure'is 77.%: Lancashire was aIso l% ahead of -/the'gdvernrnent'requirement of rea'ching;95%,


. ambulance was on another call and an altema- ■ tive ambulance was being called in from Altham, claimed Mr le Breton. ; Defeat at the by-election has not prevented


voter told him how her 72-year^old husband : had to wait outside.their home in the village.} i? . When she phoned the ambulance control'a : second time, she was told the Ribble Valley


Mr le Breton from continuing his campaign to provide greater night cover for the Ribble Val-


ley. He said: "One lady came up to me on polling


day to thank me} Two years ago she had a brain haemorrhage. The ambulance came with­ in five minutes to, the centre of Waddington and she lives to tell the tale and'knows that had our ambulance been elsewhere she would have


died. I ic - -nr J t ft 4 y Sie’-


Want to know M m


"Another one told me that she Had watched ; '


her husband die from an embolism as she wait­ ed half an hour for an ambulance. "Many people asked me on polling day to take the petition further afield through our


Valley," he said. ; In a leaf let attached to, his petition, Mr le Breton claims: "For many hours there is only one ambulance covering the 30,000-plus peo­ ple, 250sq. miles and hundreds of winding rural lanes of the Ribble Valley. "Our ambulance and rapid response teams


do a marvellous job, but no wonder when demand is great they are near to the end of


of life-threatening calls within 19 minutes. They, needed extra resources just to main-. •■ tain their position, he added; ^


. • ,\ Mr'Hugh Laniont, speaking for the South


Cumbria and Lancashire Strategic Health Authority, told the Advertiser and Times'that no problems with the ambulance service in the Ribble Valley had been expressed by partner organisations in the National Health Service or ambulance service. "Occasionally, ambulances will fail to meet


times and it will sometimes take longer in rural areas. Generally, they are meeting government


targets for responding to calls. I t is not strictly true to say there is only one ambulance cover­ ing the Ribble Valley. '.'There are ambulances in Burnley, Accring­


ton, Barnoldswick and various other places which work together as a team. They are not confined to geographical areas. The nearest ambulance is.sent into the area-where it is needed,"hesaid.-


: ' He mentioned the new First Responders


organisation in which people in local commu­ nities were being trained to attend to people at the scene. The scheme was launched.despite the ambulance service's good record, not because of any problems in responding; he said. Mr Lamont Added:. "Obviously when con­


cerns are made, they are treated seriously and looked into. If necessary there will be discus­ sions with the ambulance service." •;


7H


fire cover. I t is very unpleasant, it really is. But we have been left behind in the pay sector. We are multi-skilled." He said the full- timers were seeking parity with shift workers in heavy industry.


He urged people m the Ribble


Valley to be extra vigilant. "The Valley won't be covered.


People have to start looking at the risk assessment of home premises, examine things like smoke alarms and means of escape. We can replace property, we can't replace human life. In the event of a fire, people should get themselves out and stay out." The firemen have planned an


escalating programme of strikes, beginning on Tuesday at 9 a.m. and going on until 9 a.m. on Thursday. Other dates for strikes are November 2nd to 4th, November


Pr ice 50p -


Valley out today


see inside


Fears for safety as Valley’s part-time fire-fighters vote to join national strike


6th to 14th, November 22nd to 30th, December 4th to 12th and December 16th to 24th. Ribble Valley Borough Council


leader, Coun. Chris Holtom described the situation as "extremely worrying". He said the Ribble Valley "sur­


vived reasonably well" with the help of the Green Goddesses in 1977 during the last strike because people in the Valley took special care: " I t would be my wish th a t


everybody is as careful and cau­ tious as they possibly can be with fire hazards. I don't think it is a desirable situation," he added.


Farm milk success continues apace


THE Ribble Valley’s trailblazing milk marketing success story is continuing apace. A new four pint container has now been launched in Booths’ 29


supermarkets, and pictured at the launch is marketing director Mr Chris Dee, with farmers Mr Ian Porter, Mr Harry Whitwell and Mr William Slinger. (B171002/1)


ONLY your Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times gives: you the chance to meet the stars! Some of television's best­


A nigh t to m in g le w ith th e stars! Join Corrie's Norris Cole,


loved actors and actresses, .whose faces are familiar, from their starring roles in'dramas such as “CoronationStreet”, “Born and Bred” ■ and “Merseybeat”, are our’guests this Saturday a t our charity Heart of the Valley Gala Evening.


1


Merseyheat's Sgt. Connie Harper and “Born and Bred's” Will Bradshaw, among others, a t what will be the event of the year, as we cele­ brate some of our communi­ ty's bravest, kindest and most thoughtful citizens. They have awards to col­


lect, hut you too can join in the party. To find out who else Will be there, turn to page 3.,


Strikes by train drivers threateh on-going success story of Clitheroe’s local line


by Vivien Meath


STRIKES by train drivers are disrupting services to and from Clitheroe and threatening the continued


ley rail passengers look like ■being inconvenienced for some


• time yet. During the past three


success of the local line.: ■ Having worked h a rd 'fo r many years to make sure that


the Ribble Valley is served by a regular railway service, mem­ bers of the area's rail user group are particularly angered by the current situation.


;


: With little prospect of an early, settlement in the rail dn- :


- 0 h, a n d w e p rom is e - no t to lo c k y o u in


" a ro om ,'o r p e s t e r -'.. you with phone calls!-


vers' pay- dispute, despite an offer on the table of. £28,000 from January 2004, Ribble Val­


months, First North Western services have been seriously affected by the industrial dis-} pute over the drivers' pay awairi. Numerous trains have failed .


• During the week, several trains have been missing on a


to run over the Clitheroe line throughout the pa s t three weekends. . .!


* .■ .-


daily basis. FNW drivers currently earn a basic salary of £23,333 for a


■ working payments and Sunday ■v. . .The latest offer involved a


35-hour, four-day working week. With overtime, rest day


working, the drivers earn on average £26,000. The dispute began with FNW drivers want­ ing parity with Arriva Trains Northern. T h a t company agreed to pay drivers £28,000 including Sundays from April 2002. A settlement was reached this week: ' A' three-year pay deal was agree'd with ASLEF on July


. 26th this year, proposing an immediate increase to-£25,000 and a final salary of £28,000 on April 1st, 2004. Payment for


Sundays was not included. The deal was rejected on. the grounds of unacceptable' pro-,


ductivity initiatives on'August 5th.


final salary of £28,000 paid to drivers from January 26th-,. 2004. That was rejected two weeks ago. Currently there seems to be little’prospect of an early settlement.'1.. - • According to FNW's manag­


ing director, Mr Vernon Barker, the company cannot afford any more and neither can the tax­ payer. He is callingior the offer to be put to arbitration or a bal­ lot of union members. Mean-;


1 while, rail passengers are look- ’ big at other forms of transport. . "I fmd it quite disturbing and feel very sorry for members of1 the travelling public," said Rib­ ble Valley Rail chairman Mr Peter Moore this week. "Who gives these people the right to


tell me when I can travel? Peo­ ple use the trains to travel to work, to visit relatives or see people in hospital and they are all being vastly inconvenienced. I find i t quite frustrating. Groups like ours have worked so hard to get a regular train ser­ vice and, just as things have set­ tled down again, this happens". The weekend strikes


announced by ASLEF are to continue until November 24th. Details of cancelled trains are


displayed a t Clitheroe Inter­ change and on the company website at www.firstnorthwest- ern.co.uk Passengers should check their journeys before trav­ elling with First North Western on 0845 6001159.


Don’t forget that clocks go BACK an hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday;


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