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www^fhtieroSib&Sy.(Jo\u Letters to the Editor Write to: The Editor, Clitheroc Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroe BB72EW Editorial e-mail:
vivien.meatli@
castlancsnews.co.uk — Postcode lottery
hits free transport THE concept of the postcode lottery, often quoted in discussions regarding health service provision and other national services, has now spread its wings to free transport. Since April 1st district councils in
England have been funded to provide free bus travel for the over
60s.This is itself a belated attempt to go some way to matching the policies of Scot land and Wales, where nationwide free bus travel has been available for some time. As is the case with many Govern
ment inspired schemes there are already many evident anomalies in its implementation. Over the whole of England it clearly depends on where you live as to what free transport is available. As a resident of Clitheroe I am now
entitled to free off-peak transport on local buses, but only within the con fines of the Ribble Valley borough. Contrast that with a senior resident
of one of the Greater Manchester bor oughs who now has the option of using not just buses, but also trams and trains at no cost over a very wide area. Hence a resident of Rochdale can travel the 45 miles to Buxton (beyond the Greater Manchester boundary) using, if desired, a mixture of all three forms of transport at no cost. Greater Manchester Public Trans
port Authority has extended the min imum statutory provision by includ ing free trams and trains, as has Merseytravel and South Yorkshire. In West Yorkshire it will cost the prince ly sum of 35p to use the train over a wide area. The contrast in provision between
English metropolitan areas and their neighbouring shire counties is star tling and is bound to result in consid erable resentment. It would not be so bad if the residents of metropolitan areas paid more council tax for the privilege, but the very opposite is gen erally the case. The average household council tax
charge in Lancashire’s districts is £998 (in Ribble Valley district it is £1,155), in contrast to Greater Manchester’s £866 and West Yorkshire £832. A comparison specifically for Band D properties shows identical disparities. (The amounts quoted refer to 2005/6, but the principle still applies for the current year). I would not seriously consider mov- '
ing from the green fields of Clitheroe to the built-up conurbations around Mancheser just to get better free transport, but the iniquity of the new system leaves a bitter taste.
DAVID J. BUTTERWORTH,
, Fairfield Drive, Clitheroe
I’ve tried my best,
but I’ve failed! OUR refuse collection in this part of Whalley is usually bn a Friday. For the collection day of Friday, March 31st, a new refuse collection service was introduced by Ribble Valley Bor ough Council. Instead of black and green sacks we
were told to use two or three small wheeled bins supplied by RVBC. In the information pack sent to us
prior to the launching of this service was a pamphlet of “frequently asked questions” (with the answers) 24 in all, to help clarify the dos and don’ts of this proposed scheme. Question number 13 was: “Will I
have to put the bins out on collection day?”
Answer - “Yes, you will need to put
your bins where you currently leave your refuse, which is normally at the front or rear boundary of your proper ty.”
We have left our refuse at the rear of
our property for 40-odd years, and on March 31st I left the burgundy- coloured bin at the rear of our proper ty at 7 a.m. and by late afternoon it had not been collected. I called the helpline number sup
plied with the instruction pack and the lady said the shift for that day had finished, but she would contact some one and ask them to collect it the next day, Saturday. It was not collected. I rang the helpline again on Mon
day, April 3rd, and was told that it would be picked up that day. It was not picked up. I rang the helpline again on Tues
day, April 4th, and was told again it would be picked up. It was not. I gave up and decided to leave it until our next normal collection day. Early on Friday morning I rang the
helpline again and asked them if they could remind the refuse team to pick up the bins at 36 Mitton Road, but was informed that the wagon used by the household waste collection team had broken down and there might not be a collection at all that Friday, and this would mean them having to work Saturday, but she would pass the mes sage on to the appropriate supervisor. Late Friday afternoon the bin men
were on our stretch of Mitton Road, but our bins were left again. I managed to contact a member of
the collection team as they were work ing further up the road and I asked, him why they were leaving the refuse at number 36 and, of course, he did not know anything about it and as the wagon started moving away he had to run off to catch it up. There was no collection on Saturday
so I emptied the contents (full bin) of household refuse into two black bags and the contents of the blue bin (recy cling material) into three black bags, one for plastics, one for glass and one for metal. These I put into our car and
took them to the refuse centre at PetreArms. Since I have, now done two weeks
work for RVBC in the refuse depart ment area, I hope that from now on our bins will be emptied on the appro priate dates especially since I have fol lowed the pamphlet guidance to the letter. If there is a small refund from the
council tax for services not rendered by RVBC could they please donate it to the War Memorial Trust?
GEORGE HARDMAN, Mitton Road, Whalley
Good news for a
concerned resident I AM pleased to be able to reply to the letter from the Whalley resident ("Remove these ugly containers quickly" March 30th) .who expressed concern about the cabins that have-
appeared on the Whalley CE School playing field. The containers are not, as assumed
by the writer, changing facilities for the children. They belong to Rail- track, who require temporary facilities for their staff, currently working on Whalley Viaduct. I have received assurances that the
containers will be removed as soon as the work has been completed.
BRIAN BERESFORD, Headteacher, Whalley CE Primary School, Church Lane, Whalley
Top-quality health
care for everyone I WISH to respond to Howel Jones’ letter in last week’s edition of the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. I did mention in my previous letter
that many people will have the high est of health care, but if there are only a couple who, for whatever reason do not receive this same equality of care, then that is a couple too many. Sadly, my mother didn’t have a
quality departure from this life. How many other elderly loved ones experi ence the same difficulties? I would welcome Howel Jones to
come with me when I face the senior management of the East Lancashire Hospital Trust to justify their treat ment. They will do well to justify to me
their reasons for the degradation they inflicted on my mother. Even in the minutes prior to her death we were in a single room that was splattered with another person’s blood, with dirty floors and dead roses left from the last poor soul to encounter their treat ment. If anything comes out of my
attempt to reconcile the poor treat ment given to my mother then it will be to hopefully help any other elderly person who enters the “system” of the NHS in the East Lancashire area. Twill state as I have done in my
reports to the hospital executive that there were at least three wonderful nurses who were like shining lights and dedicated to their respective roles and did all they could. No mention is made by Howel Jones
to reason with me as to why there should be the poor standard of cleanli ness on the corridors or filth in the lifts, or food trolleys littered with rub bish or the ward being under quaran tine because of infection. The staff morale was low due to the
threat of bed closures and the pending jobs losses even at nursing and doctor level. The NHS shouldn’t be a lottery in
which you take your chance of being treated by the most skilled surgeon, the quality nurse, the brilliant cleaner or fantastic receptionist. They should all be of the highest standard, no mat ter what time of day or night one enters the “system”. This area of death I now know to be
known as “palliative care.” Palliative care is concerned with
enhancing the quality of life right up until the end.
Regrettably there are simply not
enough trained palliative care profes sionals in the system.
Perhaps Howel Jones will come back at me about priorities on spend
ing on limited budgets and money directed to new-born babies or the drunk who gets hurt hitting his fist against a lamp post, compared to an elderly person at 84 who some medical people may well feel has achieved a good age and no more! The NHS is under-funded in respect
of palliative care. Palliative care is also heavily
weighted, it seems, towards cancer treatment. According to Marie Curie Cancer
Care, more than 155,000 people die of cancer every year, yet Help the Hos pices points out that there are only 3,250 hospice beds available and that 2,489 of them are supplied by the vol untary sector. Half of all patients diaposed with
motor neurone disease die within 14 months of diagnosis, yet a survey car ried out in 2005 found that only 39% of such patients were referred to a spe cialist palliative care service! It is clear to me that we do not have
a joined up health service and it is sadly letting a good number of people down. I do hope that others will join in
this debate and if a meeting can be arranged to take on all the views, experiences good and bad, to help us all in the future then let’s make a start!
MEL DIACK, Milton Roud, Whalley
I feel like a prisoner
in my home town I CAME to live in Clitheroe in 1962 and, much as I love living in Clitheroe, I feel a prisoner in my own town. The reason being that I cannot
drive so if I want to travel out of town to see friends or go to a concert I can’t because just after 10 p.m. the transport network, bus, trains etc. finish. I don’t expect the trains or buses to
run till the early hours of the morning, it would be nice till 11-30 p.m. or mid night. Please could the transport people
give me an answer why? I thought we lived in the 21st Century. In closing, every time I go to the
tourist information or the interchange for advice they are brilliant.
ALAN JOHNSON, Langshaw Drive, Clitheroe
Bird flu - act now
before it is too late I AM concerned that the DEFRA Exotic Animal Disease Contingency Plan, insofar as it relates to Avian Influenza, only concerns itself with domestic poultry and pheasants and partridges reared or kept in captivity. Animal Aid (
www.animalaid.org.uk)
says that 35 million pheasants are . released into the UK countryside each year.
These pheasants, once released from
their pens, provide an extra pathway for the transmission of H5 N1 Avian
Influenza that is now present in the UK. It is also highly improbable that an
effective cull of pheasants could take place, in the event that a decision is taken in the future to cull released game birds, because the Game Conser
vancy Trust estimates that 16% of released pheasants survive after the shooting season. I am a resident of the Ribble Val
ley and during the foot and mouth outbreak of 2001 was able to take the specified biosecurity measures. Alas, biosecurity measures will be ineffec tive with gamebirds once they are released and wander over mine and other people’s properties excreting infectious faeces. The mains water supply of Clitheroe, has in the past transferred the disease vector causing outbreaks of the stomach bug Cryp tosporidium and will also be suscep tible to contamination of H5 N1 caused by pheasants. The only effec tive measure to control the risk of game birds transmitting H5 N1 Avian Influenza is to take precau tionary action now and introduce measures to stop the release of these pheasants prior to the commence ment of the 2006 shooting season. The interest of the small minority of the shooting fraternity should not take precedence over the certain large increase in mortality rates that will occur when, not if, H5 N1 transmutes into a communicable human disease.
JOHN MAYNARD
B.Sc.,
M.Sc., LLM, MIOSH, MIEMA, C.Env., Chatburn Nab Road, Grindicton • Copy to Nigel Evans MP
Locked out on a
freezing cold night DOES Ribble Valley Borough Coun cil know it has two bowling teams? We went to the Castle bowling
green this week to find no cafe open, so no toilets. Having no tea or coffee or no toilets is disgusting. I was ashamed having to tell our
opposition team members our predicament, as it was a freezing cold night. We give a lot of pleasure to the peo
ple of Clitheroe who watch us play, so come on council do something.
M. ROSTRON, Castle Bowler, Derwent Crescent, Clitheroe
Will you help with
worthwhile work? I AM appealing to readers for help. The number of contacts to Samari
tans from local people is increasing every year. To inake sure that there is someone
there to answer every call, we need more help. Our volunteers are just ordinary
people who give a few hours each week to listen to those who have no one else to turn to. If you would like to know more
about becoming a Samaritan then training for new volunteers begins on Tuesday, May 2nd, or please call the recruitment line on 01254 682266 and leave your name and number (before April 24th). Who knows, the next voice a des
perate person hears when they ring Samaritans could be yours.
JOHNKILLIP, Deputy director, Samaritans, 105 New Park Street, Blackburn
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MARINE,FISH CORALS
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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 4?2323.(Advertising), Burnley 422331 (Classified)
Louise is living her life dream
by Tracy Johnson
A LIFE coach who is finally fulfilling her dream wants others to follow in her footsteps. Mrs Louise Yates (39), of Paythome, is
currently in training for her life-time ambi tion to run the London Marathon. The mother-of-two, who is running in
aid of a friend’s young boy dia^osed with leukaemia, wants to inspire others to take up the exercise, regardless of their fitness level. “I was not sporty at school and at one
stage I couldn’t even walk up a hill with out being out of breath,” said Louise, who took up jogging 10 years ago. Beginning with two to three miles, Louise has gradu ally increased her fitness level and now trains four times a week on various length runs. The owner of a company which spe
cialises in coaching people with their own business, Louise said it was through encouraging others to live their dream, that pushed her to achieve hers. “My job is to help people to live their
dream, so I decided it was time that I started living mine.” Now a competitive sportswoman, Louise
has already completed two half-marathons and said anyone can run as long as they follow a programme. Passing on the fitness bug to her family,
Louise’s husband Paul (40), has joined in on the act, along with her daughters Han nah (eight) and Lucy (seven), who have both competed in mini race events. With more than £1,500 already raised
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for leukaemia, Louise hopes to exceed her £1,000 target set for the 26-mile race on Sunday, April 23rd, which she says she is excited, but nervous about. Anyone who would like to sponsor
Louise can: email; louise@manchester-life- coach-com,
log on to
www.justgiving.com/runningforedward3 or collect sponsor forms from Gisburn post office and the Buck Inn, at Paythome. Our picture shows Louise, with guests at
a charity coffee morning she organised at her friend’s house in Gisburn. (B050406/2)
m
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www.clitheroetoday.co.uk
Clitheroe Advertiser.&times,.Thursday,^April13th,200& 19 • MP slams more cash on speed cameras
THE Ribble Valley’s MP has lam basted the £2.8 million that has been given to Lancashire to keep the existing network of speed cam eras running. The cash is part of almost
£110m. given to the 38 safety Camera Partnerships for 12 months from April 1st. Mr Nigel Evans said that this
money would be better spent on road safety initiatives, which Lan-. cashire County Council claims it does not have the money to finance. Mr Evans commented: “I am
saddened that this money has been given to keep the current net work of speed cameras in Lan cashire in place.
“Speed cameras, in many cases,
are an ineffective tool in tackling road safety. “Cameras that have been there
for a long time, which this money is going to support, are even less effective at saving lives as drivers know where they are and slow down for them, before speeding off after them.
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w w w . A q u c i $ € o p e . e o . i 01254 884833
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