Thursday, March 10th, 2005 No. 6,190 news and views from the Centre of the Kingdom


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Riliblc Viiilcy Explorer 2005


Flagship rail line facing the chop?


by Vivien Meath


THE Ribble Valley's flagship railway line could be under threat. Concern'is growing that


the line, successfully re­ opened 11 years ago, could fall foul of the Govern­ ment's new Railways Bill. MP Nigel Evans this


week vowed to campaign vigorously to ensure the line is retained and, if any­ thing, enhanced. "This is a busy and pop­


ular line and the Govern­ ment must now come clean before the General Election in order to tell the people of the Ribble Valley whether or not their line is for the chop," he added. "The Beeching axes


must not be allowed to fall again on our vital rural rail services. Has this gov­ ernment learnt nothing?" Mr Evans is to table


some written questions to the Secretary of State for Transport. A Clitheroe business­


man expressing concern about the line's future has offered £50,000 to under­ pin the extension of the


passenger service to Helli- field, while Ribble Valley Rail chairman Peter Moore is to ask former Home Secretary and for­ mer Ribble Valley MP David 'Waddington for his support. "Use it or lose it," is the


message from RVR's Mr Moore as fears grow that the Manchester to Black­ burn line could already be at risk. Meanwhile, the busi­


nessman, who prefers to remain anonymous, has told the Clitheroe Adver­ tiser and Times that he is prepared to sign a legally


binding agreement stating that if an experimental five year extension of the current passenger service from Clitheroe to Helli- field fails and it reverts to DalesRail, he would pay Northern Rail £50,000 in compensation. If, after five years, the


line did prove to be com­ mercially unviable, then he says it would still have been better to have tried than to do nothing at all. "It would be better to


spend a little effort on making it work and expanding it rapidly than to s it back and think


about what could have been," he said this week. In the letters page of


this newspaper Saturday, deputy chairman, of the Rail Passengers Commit­ tee North "West, Clitheroe resident David Butter- worth, revealed how the country's RPCs, which have been in operation for half a century, are to be abolished. The new Bill, he


warned,'is seeking to "simplify" the process for the closure of stations and rail routes.


liuuma l P'(


Brave loses


by Julie Magee .


A CLITHEROE man, aged 26, who was one of only two people in the world to be born with the fatal genetic disease Lysozyme Amyloidosis, has died. A pupil at St Michael


and St John’s Primary School in Clitheroe, Edward Thomas John­ ston Turner, whose natu­ ral father Peter Johnston also died from the disease, first felt the effects of the cruel condition at the ten­ der age of eight. Despite his ill health,


tion


Edward managed to con­ tinue with his studies and subsequently went on to attend St Augustine’s RC High School, Billington. However, as his condi­ deteriorated,


Edward’s parents Paul and Jan Turner, of Parson Lane, Clitheroe, had to decide whether their son should undergo a liver transplant, which they hoped would improve his health. But unfortunate­ ly, the operation failed to bring the improvements they had hoped for. Edward had to admit


defeat with subsequent studies at Blackburn Col­


lege and became mainly housebound for the rest of his life. But despite facing such


adversity, Edward made the most of his life, espe­ cially in most recent years, and was a gentle, loving and caring son who showed particular affec­ tion to his younger broth­ er, Jamie (22), and sister Susie (25). One of his proudest


moments was being asked to be best man at the wedding of his best friend, Aiden Smithson. He also managed to attend his sis­ ter, Susie’s wedding on November 5th last year accompanied by local dis­ trict nurse Sarah Smith. Jan, a former manager


of Clitheroe’s Sue Ryder charity shop and Edward’s main carer along with Paul, said she could not put into words the amount of gratitude


Edward (26) fight for life


they both felt to all those people who had helped look after Edward and gone out of their way to improve his quality of life. They expressed partic­


ular thanks to Dr Will Mackean, based at Clitheroe Health Centre, Dr David Grimes, a con­ sultant at Blackburn Royal Infirmary, who used to regularly pop in to see Edward in his free time, as well as all the Macmillan and district nurses who cared for him. The couple have asked


for any donations to be made to East Lancashire Hospice, where Edward died, which they said had been “fabulous” with Edward and family mem­ bers. The funeral, which


family want to be a cele­ bration of his life, will be held at St Hubert’s R.C. Church in Dunsop Bridge, tomorrow (Fri­ day) at 10-30 a.m. fol­ lowed by burial. His family are asking


those attending not to wear black, but to wear something they feel com­ fortable in. The funeral will be followed by a gath­ ering at the New Inn in Parson Lane, Clitheroe.


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