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Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 01282 426161 (Advertising), Burnley 01282 422331 (Classified) 4 ClitheroeAdvertiser&Times, Thursday, M ay 21st, 2009
No gravy train stop at local government
WITH the ongoing scandal over MPs’ expenses still dominat ing the national head lines, borough council lors are stressing that the “gravy train” stops long before it reaches local government.' “The public should
know there is no gravy train in expenses in local government and claims are strictly limited, open to public scrutiny and relegu- lated,” said Ribble Valley borough councillor Simon Farnsworth this week; ■ As well as representing
Clitheroe’s Salthill ward on the council, he is currently very busy as election co ordinator for Conservative candidates in the forth coming county elections on June 4th. He said the expenses row was a key talking point among vot ers. “Emerging in the Lan
cashire County Council" elections are the deep con cerns felt by the public about the expenses scandal engulfing Westminster and it's relevance to local gov ernment,” said Coun Farnsworth. “Lancashire County
Council, Ribble Valley and South Ribble borough councils publish the allowances made to local councillors. They are a ma t te r of public record and designed to compen sate councillors for loss of earnings and pay travel expenses to meetings. With the exception of travel costs, allowances are subject to income tax.
“Council leaders, cabi
net members and commit tee chairmen receive larger allowances to reflect their responsibilities and greater time committment. Lan cashire County Council holds all its meetings dur ing the day and interferes more with work time. “Councils for many
years have published the allowances and requests, ‘ which can be found on " websites and in council ■ minutes. Any elector may request details of expenses , paid under the Freedom of
Information Act. There is no secret culture or gravy train on the modest expenses paid to local councillors. ■ “Ribble Valley council
lors, conscious of the pres sures on families in the recession, did not raise the allowances this year. Some councillors make no claims at all to carry out their public duties. Local coun cillors of all parties are conscientious people, often with full-time jobs, who perform their obligations to the council tax payers in their spare time, driven by a strong sense of public duty and concerns for, their local community.'”
, Senior vice-chairman of Ribble Valley Conserva tives and former, MP Ken Hind added: “Local gov- ernment has an open and tran sp a ren t system of expenses, tig h tly con trolled and bearing no comparison with the secret and often independently unregulated systems of expenses of the Westmin^ ster and European Parlia ments, both of which need drastic reform and regula tion by independent bod ies.
.;
atives condemn the behav iour of MPs who have exploited the rules relating to Parliamentary expenses and support the strong stance taken by David Cameron in removing the party whip from those who are- proved to have breached the rules and claimed expenses to which they are not entitled, thus barring them from stand ing for Parliament as Con servatives. “We respect and under-
stand the public's view th a t fraud is criminal, whether committed by elected representatives or by private citizens, and there is no special rule for MPs, everyone should be dealt with equally by the courts applying the same high standards.” “ ; ■ , Rjbble Valley's Conserv
ative MP Nigel Evans has said he will be publishing his future expense claims on his website. '
,i
CLITHEROE could have its very o™ “Billy Elliot”
in talented 15-year-old Thomas Dickinson. " The Ribblesdale High School pupil is causing a
, real stir in the performing a r ts community after achieving Under 16s cham
pionship s ta tu s for his dancing. Thomas, of Pendle
|3
Road, Clitheroe, who a ttends Nigel Kirks Danceworks at St James’ CE School in Clitheroe, had to progress through the beginner, starter and" intermediate categories to " achieve the Under 16s
Championship Status. And Thomas’ progression through the categories, according to his dance teacher Claire Sullivan, is the fastest the dance school hasever known. Thomas, whose ultimate
dream is to become a dance teacher, performs disco in freestyle, solo and pairs, as well as rock 'n' roll, and streetdance. He is hoping to study Performing Arts and Dance at Accrington and Rossendale College. Our picture • shows
Thomas Dickinson and his dance teacher Claire Sulli-" van. (T130509/4)
www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk Clitheroe4223’24 (Editorial),01282 426161 (Advertising), Burnley 01282 422331 (Classified)
Exciting times ahead as Valley hotel reopens
By, Julie Magee
A LANDMARK hotel, which closed its doors just over a fort night ago, has been taken over. Guy Cornwell, who operates
a company called Great British Inns th a t has venues in the Ribble Valley and Rossendale, will reopen 'The Moorcock Inn (pictured), Slaidburn Road, Waddington Fell, next Thurs day, May 28th;
■ . “r will honour any deposits
from people who rebook any : function vrith me, whether that be a restaurant table, a hotel room or a wedding,” said Guy, who is also hoping to offer employment to sortie of the hotel's original members of staff. , ' “I want to welcome back all
the clubs and organisations th a t have been involved with the Moorcock over the years,” added Guy (45), of Rossendale. ‘Tve also a number of exciting plans for the future, which include opening a coffee shop along with a deli/wine shop.” Head chef will be Martin"
“Ribble Valley Conserv Yates, of Mellor, who has Farmer Tom
is a winner! AN outstanding entry of 447 cattle, 1,154 sheep and 23 pigs marked the anniversary show and sale a t Gisburn Auction Mart. In the cattle section, it
was a double victory for Slaidburn farmer Tom Robinson when he picked up both the champion and reserve rosettes with his pair of 10-month-old British Blue heifers, which sold for £1,300 and £950 to William Timm, of Goole, East Yorkshire. John Stapleton, of
Skipton, picked up the championship award with his outstanding' pen of Texel hoggs with Beltex lambs at foot. They sold for £215 to John Dewhurst, of Whitting- ham, Preston. The reserve award went
worked at The Bay Horse Inn at Osbaldeston. “We will focus on producing
traditional English recipes using locally sourced ingredi-' ents with a modern trvist,” Guy explained. The hotel, which ceased
trading on May 5th with the loss of around 17 jobs, will con tinue to be owned by Stephen
and Andrew Thornber. Nestling on the side of Waddington Fell, in the heart of the Forest of Bowland, the 100-year-old hotel and restau rant has long been a focal point tor the local community. , The Moorcock boasts many
famous names among its clien tele including members of the Royal Family, Winston
Churchill and George Formby. With luxury en-suite bed
rooms, private gardens and a restaurant and bar, the hotel has been a popular choice as a wedding venue for generations of local families. The h o tel's closure was
blamed on the current econom ic climate and a withdrawal of support from the banks.
Writing group’s meeting
A WORKSHOP on “Life Writing” will be held when Clitheroe Writing Group holds its monthly meeting next Wednesday, May 27th. I,t will be led by Sara
Hymas, a poet, pup peteer and editor of Flax Books, the publishing im p rin t of “Litfest”, Lancaster’s annual litera tu re festival. Sara has worked in literature development for 10 years, especially “life writing”, which encompasses auto biography, biography, journals, diaries, prose
and poetry. Anyone interested in
this subject is encouraged to go along to the free workshop, which takes place a t Clitheroe Library, beginning at ( p.m. ■ The aim of Clitheroe Writing Group is to offer stimulation and support to members with
their writing. The group welcomes
new members and inter ested "visitors to its meet
ings, which are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month a t Clitheroe
Library. For more information .
contact Gary Wilson on 01200 427988.
to Arth u r Maude, of Bradley, near Skipton, with his pen of Mule Hoggs which sold for £188 to Michael Hall, of Airton, near Skipton. Sheep auctioneer Rachel Capsticksaid: “The trade for ewes and lambs was buoyant, this being due to the continued confi dence in the prime lamb market, with buyers from Northallerton to Somer set buying sheep today.” In the pig sales, a pair
of Large White gilts from Amanda Simpson, of Bolton-by-Bowland, sold for £112 to butcher Steven Taylor, of Bamber Bridge.
Drink-driver
crashed car A CLITHEROE moto r is t found to be three times the legal drink- drive limit after crashing into another car said she had no recollection of the incident. Sheila Watson (52), of
Bolland Prospect, told Blackburn magistrates she remembered sorting through some photo graphs at home and then nothing else u ntil the moment of impact. But she admitted
drinking nearly two bot tles of wine a t home, which resulted in a read ing three times the legal limit. After pleading guilty to driving with excess alcohol she was fined £200 with £80 costs and banned from driving
. for three years. . Pat Bramley (prose
cuting) said police called to the accident in Peel Street found Watson sit ting on the bonnet of her car. She told the court she had no reason to go out and could not'explain where she was going. . “I have no recollection
of getting into the car or driving u ntil I hit the other car,” said Watson. “I am very, very sorry.”
A DRIVER was treated for shock after a rush-hour collision between two cars in Sabden which caused one of the vehicles to flip onto its side. A silver Vauxhall Corsa and a silver
Vauxhall Vectra were involved in the collision outside the White Hart Inn, in Padiham Road, a t 7-54 a.m. on Tuesday.
• ' . The impact caused the Corsa to
overturn. Three fire engines, police cars and an ambulance rushed to the' scene where the woman motorist was treated for shock. , A police spokeswoman confirmed
the woman was treated for minor injuries. It is not known whether she was taken to hospital. .
• . » t . * Jelephone 01282 611450
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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, May 21 st, 2009 5
United starlet John wins England call-up
Equestrian theft: police
to get tough POLICE are reminding horse owners about keeping tack and other equestrian items secure. With th e ar r iv a l of
summer, th e renewed plea has been issued by Whalley’s Police Com munity Support Officers (PCSOs) Jane Pearson and Di Bloletti. They ■ are currently distribut ing letters to horse own ers in the Ribble Valley ensuring they have tight ened up on their security. p e s o Pearson said:
by Faiza Afzaal
A CLITHEROE schoolboy is being dubbed one of the country’s hottest young soc cer talents. John Cofie has become the
envy of his friends at Moorland Independent School after being selected to represent England under-16s. And the talented young foot
baller is gearing himself up to show off his fancy footwork
when he plays his first game for his country. The 15-year-old, who is the
first pupil from the school to be picked for England, left Burnley FC when he was signed up to play as a centre forward for Manchester United’s under-16s and under-18s. Moorland’s director of foot
ball and PE teacher Charlie Jackson is proud of John’s achievement so far. He said: “We are very proud that John is the first Moorland lad to be
picked to play for England. He is an extremely talented young footballer and we are pleased to have played some part in his development into a junior inter national. “I am certain he will go on to
win caps at all levels. We have quite a crop of exciting young footballers a t Moorland and hope there will be others select ed to represent their country in the years to come.” John is a boarder a t the school and is currently studying
Car overturns in village smash
for his GCSEs and training with United. His father, Sam, who hails
from Ghana, is a regular in the British Army with the 2nd Bat talion of the Yorkshire Regi ment. He, along with his wife, Dina and younger son Jeremy (three), live in the Sale area of Manchester.” Our pictures show young soc
cer talent John in his England Under 16s training gear, (B180509/2c), and in school with his peers. (B180509/2a)
“Over "the next, few weeks, we will be giving information and ad"vice on stable, horse, tack, trailer and wagon securi ty. We are urging people to ensure th e i r horse, tack and saddle is either chipped or marked, their trailers and wagons have suitable security devices - more than one de-vice is more of a d e te r r e n t - and to make sure their tack room is kept locked at all times.” p e s o
Pearson
revealed she w i l l be arranging tack marking sessions, times and dates of which will be adver tised in th e Clitheroe Advertiser and Times. I f anyone would like
fu r th e r informatioii, they are asked to contact either PCSO Pearson on 01200 458772 or PCSO Bioletti on 01254 353016.
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