2 Clitheroe Advertiser &Times, Thursday, August 25th, 2005
INSIDE YOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER AND TinilES
a Valley Matters ............................... 10,11 I Village News . . . 1 Letters ................ i Weekendplus . . I Weekend TV . . . I Family Notices .. I Readersplus . . . I J o b s .................... I Propertyplus----- 1 Motorsplus......... I Sport ..................
AT A GLANCE...
Castle campaign needs YOU! - page 7 Shooters hit charity target - page 11 Valley man’s Sri Lanka diary - page 17 Clitheroe golfer wins Tour title - page 96
INFORHION
Duty chemist: Boots the Chemist, 15-19 Castle Street, Clitheroe: Sunday, noon to 1 p.m. Bank Holiday Mon day: Boots the Chemist, 15-19 Castle Street, Clitheroe:
noon to 1 p.m.. Police: 01200 443344. Fire: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. Electricity: 0800 1954141. Gas: 0800111999. Water: 0845 462200. Councils: Kibble Valley Borough Council, Clitheroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424722. Hospitals: Blackburn Royal Infirmary: 01254 263555. Queen's P a rk Hospita l, Blackburn: 01254 263555. Airedale General Hospital, Steeton: 01535 652511. Clitheroe Community Hospital: 427311. Alcohol Information Centre: 01282416655. Aidsline: 01282 831101 (7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). Domestic Violence Helpline: 01282 4220M. Cruse Bereavement Care: Kibble Valley 01200 429346. Environmental Agency: Emergencies - 0800 807060. Drugs: Local confidential advice and information line: 01200 444484. National: 0800 776600. Kibble Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200 428604. Samaritans: 01254 66242'L Monthly Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. Lancashire Rural Stress Network: 01200 427771. QUEST (specialist smoking cessation service): 01254 358095. Kibble Valley Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01200 428966.
CONTACT US! News: 01200 422321
Advertising: 01200 422323 Classified: 01282 422331 Family Notices and Photo Orders: 01282 426161, ext. 410 Fax: 01200 413467 editor e-mail:
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castlancsncvvs.co.uk news editor e-mail:
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vs.co.uk sport e-mail:
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WEATHER ■ SLAIDBURN
DUNSOP BRIDGE B
a GISBURN CHIPPING B QCHATBURN
CLITHEROE B DWHALLEY
LANGHOH BREAD B BURNLEY “ ACCRINGTON BLACKBURNO / v &
WEEKEND WEATHER: The rain is expected to contin ue until the Bank Holiday weekend. Some sunny spoils are e.xpected on Saturday, while Sunday will remain cloudy.
SUNRISE: 6-03 a.m. .SUNSET: 8-19 p.m. LIGHTING UP TIME: 8-19 p.m.
. Coriiiriued froiii page/l}; O Ofsted continued to seek fur
ther information about Barl9w’s drinking, via its regional medical officer, in considering her health and suitability to be registered as a childminder. ® Ofsted received information
from her CP which independently corroborated tlie health visitor’s information about her self-report ed drinking. Ten recommendations have
been made. 'The Department for Education and Skills has taken the ACPC’s recommendations into account and is considering revising
13,14,15
...............22 . 37 to 40 . . . 62,63
, . . 30,31 .........32
. 66 to 69
. 41 to 56 . 76 to 92
61 and 93 to 96
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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 422323 (Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified) .........-
Councillors say no to homes sell-off
by Julie Magee
COUNCIL houses in the Ribbie Vaiiey wiii remain under the con- troi of the iocai authority for the
foreseeabie future. In a bold decision taken by mem
bers of Ribbie Valley Borough Coun cil at an emotive special meeting this week, councillors voted 19 to 18 to disregard a proposal to sell off its housing stock. They instead opted to retain own
ership and ask officers to draw up a business plan for the maintenance and improvement of the stock within the reasonable resources of the coun cil.
This means that Ribbie Valley will
join around 70 other councils across the country which have said “no” to the Government-led initiative to transfer ownership of housing stock out of local authority hands. Councillors have been considering
options for the future of its entire housing stock, just short of 1,200 properties, since October 2003. Along with every other local author ity in the country, the Government wants the local council to ensure its housing meets the Decent Homes Standard by 2010. That means houses must be in
good repair, have modern facilities and be energy efficient. The issue has proved highly emo
tive and recently led to Coun. Ian Brown resigning from the Ribbie Valley Conservative Party, after claiming the ruling group was bow ing down to Government pressure. The strong feelings were voiced by
Coun. Brown, who is now an Inde pendent and will stand as such at the next local elections, during Tues day’s meeting. He queried figures cited in a report
on the current state of the council’s housing stock produced by consult ants employed by the council. The report’s final valuation of
£1.05 million is the amount the council could expect to receive from a Registered Social Landlord - an independent housing association - on transfer of the housing stock - equating to £898 per property. That figure is not a market value
and the council is not allowed to sell its property on the open market. Instead, the figure reflects the rental income of the property and what a
COUN. JOHN HILL (s)
new landlord would have to spend to bring it up to and maintain it at the required standard. Coun. Brown said he thought it
was “morally wrong” that during a time when local people were crying out for low cost housing, councillors were being asked to sell off the coun cil housing stock at “such a ridicu lous price”. Coun. Charles Warkman (Cons)
added: “Do we go along with some thing that values our houses at £800 each?” Meanwhile, Coun. Margaret Sut
cliffe (LibDem) urged her colleagues to stand up to the Government, which she compared to “playground bullies”. However, Coun. Stuart Hirst
(Cons) said councillors must face facts. He said the council had to deal with an unlevel playing field, where the Government was no longer sub sidising council housing and where housing associations had a lot more financial clout. The Leader of the Council, Coun.
John Hill (Cons), said this was not an issue that was going to be “swept under the carpet” by the Govern ment and the council would at some point in the future be pressured to repeat this costly process again. He warned that the council could
face penalties from the Government, whose officials would be keen to question how the local authority would meet its council tenants’ future aspirations. Speaking after the meeting, Coun.
Worst decision council has ever made- council leader Coun. John Hill
Graham Sowter (LibDem) com mented: “I am pleased, but it’s been a weighted decision to take, and that is taking the council into terrain that should have been explored earlier.” Meanwhile, Coun. Hill said he was
in shock. “I have no explanation for what has just happened. I don’t understand how we have come to that decision based on the argu ments put forward tonight. It has to be the worst decision the council has ever made. “I feel the tenants have been badly
let down. I don’t think their views have been taken into account. I think they were ignored and aban doned. I would not blame them now for not having anything to do with this again.” Mrs Ira Wilkinson, who lives in
council-owned sheltered accommo dation at Lilac Grove, Clitheroe, and was a member of the original com mittee that considered all the options before the council, said she was disappointed by the decision. “This has gone on for nearly two
years and we’ve given a lot of time up to this. I just don’t know what is going to happen now. I don’t know where they are going to find the money from?” she commented. O 'The council’s business plan will
be presented to the Government Office in due course and if it is accepted, the whole exercise will be signed off. If it is not accepted, the council could face repeating the entire process again.
It’s show time at Chipping
THERE will be something for everyone at the Chip ping Agricultural and Hor ticultural Society’s 78th annual show on Saturday. The gates to the show-
ground in Longridge Road, Chipping, xvill open at 9 a.m. for a day of fami ly fun, which includes star attraction Tony Brutus and Amanda - billed as a “comedy strength spectac ular”. There will be livestock
classes comprising cattle, sheep, goats, heavy and light horses, ponies, Shet land ponies plus poultry and pigeons. There will also be horticultural class es, cheese, handicrafts, cakes and preserves, as well as a dedicated pro duce market and craft tent. There xvill also be dis plays by Chipping Young Farmers’ Club, a dog show, children’s section, chil dren’s sports, fell race, baby show, gun dog dis play, vintage section. Hounds and Whips of the Holcombe Hunt, trade stands and egg catching. O See next week’s
Advertiser and Times for a full report.
Pendle Club
BRIDGE winners at the Pendle Club sessions were Mrs .Anne Cooper, Mr Brian Holden, Mrs Eileen Wood, Mrs Doris Blunt. Solo whist winners were
Mr A. Hartley, Mrs M. Parker, Mr D. Grant. Domino winners were:
Mr R. Knight, Mrs R. Kiddie, Mrs L. Green. Joint 4th, Mrs S. Barker, Mrs M. Parkes.
Bridge results
WINNERS at Clitheroe Bridge Club on Monday were: N/S Mr J. Pawlicki and Mr J. Renton, Mr and Mrs R. Atkinson. EW Mrs M. Parker and Mrs D. Blake, Mrs M. Allen and Mrs S. Johnson. On Thursday winners
were N/S Mr A. and Mr W. Norris with Mr J. Pawlicki and Mrs P. Murray. E/W Mrs D. Atkinson and Mrs D. Blake, Mrs J. Cowling and Mrs F. Porter.
Joshua death: Childminder rules may change current regulations regarding
■ childminding in light of the report findings. Ofsted has already progressed
with a number of the report rec ommendations. Joshua’s mother, Emma Massey,
said yesterday: “I’m angry and pleased. It’s mixed emotions real ly. I am really angry that Joshua’s death could have been prevented, had someone done their job prop erly and said that Wendy Barlow was a binge drinker. “However, at the same time, I
am pleased that we can now con tinue with the campaign and pre vent this from happening to another child. There are a lot of
good childminders out there and we are not disputing this. However, the ones that are not doing their job properly need to be found.” Joshua’s grandmother, Mrs
Cathy Massey, added that Ofsted had been to see the family, but demanded to know who Ofsted was accountable to. “TV viewers e-mailed and asked if Ofsted was going to face criminal charges,” she said. MP Mr Nigel Evans welcomed
the report and added: “Lessons must be learnt from this tragic event to prevent this from happen ing to another young innocent vic tim. “The family has conducted
themselves throughout this terri ble time with great dignitj'. I was pleased that at a recent meeting with Ofsted and the family ol Joshua, Ofsted said it would take up all the report’s recommenda tions and gave a full apology to the family.” He added that he would be
pressing the Government to look at fresh ways by which childmind ing is treated as a legitimate pro fession with recognised qualifica tions. It was one of the most responsi
ble jobs anyone could do and, as such, should have training leading to recognised qualifications, he said.
MONDAY
9.30-10.45 11.
00-
6.00-7.00 6.00 7.05-8.05 8.15-9.15
12.00
Weight Man 1 & ExerciseRachel Aerobics 4 All
Rachel
Experienced Pilates Kerry Running Club from 5th Sept Claire Circuit Training Bums & Turns
Rachel Rachel
The Clitheroe Litwe
rp vertiser and 1 imes including Barrow, Biiiington, Langho, Calderstones and Brockliail . . ^ ^
Report says Joshua need not have died
Vi,- by Julie Magee
THE death of Clitheroe toddler Joshua Massey- Hodgkinson (pictured) could not have been predicted, but it is pos sible that it could have been prevented. That was the stark con
clusion of the report by the Lancashire Area Child Protection Committee into the death of the 19- month old child who drowned in a bath at the home of his Sabden child minder in April last year. Yesterday the family
WMJ
claimed that Ofsted had “publically admitted cor porate responsibility” for Joshua’s death during a TV interview, and said that the family was now’ seeking legal advice. The serious case review
report states that Ofsted had been warned that reg istered childminder Wendy Barlow had a
Joshua’s registered child minder, W
’as asked to act
as a babysitter in her own home. O At the time, under
Ofsted’s conditions of reg istration, she W’as not act ing as a registered child minder. O On April 16th, 2004,
drink problem, by her health visitor in 2002. She is currently serving a three-year sentence tor manslaughter. The report has recom
mended tighter regula tions and guidance for agencies working w’ith childminders after it w'as revealed that Barlow’’s self-reported drinking problem was not properly investigated before she W'as registered. Key findings of the
report state that: © Joshua and his family
w’ere not known to any child protection agencies before the incident. ® Barlow’, already
she took Joshua into the bath W
’ith her, w'here he
drow’ned. ® In the early hours of
April 17th, some time after the incident, the emergency services w'ere called and Joshua was taken to Accident and Emergency at Blackburn Royal Infirmary. 0 Barlow was not regis
tered to provide overnight care. © Information received
by Ofsted from Barlow’’s health visitor on October 31st, 2002, indicated con cerns about Barlow’s alco hol consumption.
lG61dtinuedvon page 2t Young gardeners scodp national award
GREEN-FINGERED pupils at a rural primary school are reaping the fruits of their hard work - after scooping a national aw’ard. By growing vegetables in w’eird
and wonderful objects, such as car tyres, buckets, drainpipes and even a pair of wellies, youngsters at St Leonard’s Primary School, w’ere voted overall w’inners in the catego ry of the wackiest project. The after-school garden club,
consisting of 30 children aged between four and 11, used strange objects to plant the seeds for the project called “Crazy Crops”. They grew potatoes in rows of
car tyres, carrots and flowers in sawn-up drainpipes and strawber ries in a discarded pair of w’ellies - which are now successfully flower ing. The school in Whalley Road, Langho, was awarded £300 by the
Environment Agency under its Agency Action Earth Campaign. Speaking about the prestigious
aw'ard, keen gardener and project leader, Mrs Jean Lord, said: “We are over the moon. “My daughter used to W
’ork at
Hunter Wellington Boots and when they heard about the crazy crops project, they very kindly sent us seven pairs of w’ellie boots. Meanw’hile, I visited various other places to collect car tyres and other strange objects. All the children enjoyed getting their hands dirty and taking part in the project.” Mrs Lord (64), of Brockhall Vil
lage, said the money will be spent to further the project and to buy a wooden compost bin. Environment Agency Action
Earth is a national environmental campaign, which supports people
across England and Wales to become volunteers and improve the environment they live and work in. This 3’ear’s campaign has seen
thousands of volunteers from all over England and Wales get involved in a record-breaking 1,000 local environmental projects. Ground Force presenter for the
BBC, Kirsty King was one of the judges for the Action Earth awards. She praised the high standard of
projects this year and stressed it was very important to make the public more aware of their emdron- ment and ways in which they can easily make changes to improve it. Our picture shows children from
St Leonard's Primary School Gar dening Club who have won an envi- romental award. (A220805/7)
September 2005 - O P EN TO NON MEMBERS New Classes Underlined
FITNESS CLASSES L e a d in g t h e W ay
TUESDAY 10.30- 11.30 6.15- 7.15 7.30- 8.45 WEDNESDAY 10.00-11.00 6.00-7.00pm 7.05-8.05pm 8.15- 9.15pm
BALL (core stability cond.l Kerry Serious Circuits
Chris Weight Man 1 & Exercise Rachei
Exercise Lightly Karate Experienced Pilates Beginners Pilates
THURSDAY 9.15-10.15am Body Conditioning 10.30-11.30 Mixed Level Pilates
Ali
Andrew Kerry Kerry
Rachel Kerry
4.30- 6.30 6.30- 7.30 7.30- 8.00pm 7.00 FRIDAY 6.00-7.00pm Karate SATURDAYS 2.00 -2.45pm Family Kick-box
Running Club
3x40 min Special Kids Classes Dave Body Conditioning Rachel Abs/BIast
(£1.50) Rachel Vicky
Andrew Dave
Ring for more information Te l : 01200 4 2 4 4 75
Daytime Classes = £3.00 Evening Classes = £3.50 Karate = £2.20
SPECIAL CLASSES Pilates = £4.00
Ball Class (TUesday limited places) Kids (40 mins) = £2.00 ALL 3 for £4.00 Kick-box = £230
Running Club = £1.00
MEMBERS £1.00 OFF FITNESS CLASSES
No Discount for Pilates • Kick-box • Karate & Kids
Weight Management £75.00 for ten week course.
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