Clitheroe Advertiser &Times,Hn]rsday, December 16,2010


INSIDE YOUR CLITHEROE ADVERTISER >NDT™


■ Valley Matters................. ...................6 and 7 ■ Village News...’: . . . ! . . ......‘.....15,16 and 17


-■Letters........... .............................. ...........;.„14 ■ Weekendplus............■.;.;.....:...;...22 and 23 ■ Family Notices-.;'.....;.................„20 and21-‘ ■ Readersplus....'........................... .';....r...'...37 ■ Motors Today


. 25 onwards,^ '■Sport..................! ..............■............ .........48- INFORMATION


DUTY chemist; Heyes Chemist, 35 Moor Lanej'i Clitheroe: Sunday, noon to 1 p.m.‘'V’‘ POLICE: 01200'443344. .


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FIRE: In emergency 999 and ask for fire service. -: ! ELECTRICITY: 08001954141. GAS: 0800111999. “ > ' WATER: 0845 462200.


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COUNCILS: Ribble Valley Borough Council, Clit-- heroe 425111. Clitheroe Town Council, 424722. HOSPITALS: Royal Blackburn Royal Hospital." 01254 263555. Airedale General Hospital, Stee- ton: 01535 652511. Clitheroe Community Hospital: 427311.


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ALCOHOL Information Centre: 01282416655. : - AIDSLINE: 01282 831101(7 p.m. to 9 p.m.). ■ DOMESTIC Violence Helpline; 01254 879855. ’ \ CRUSE Bereavement Care: 01772 433643. v : • . ENVIRONMENTAL Agency: Emergencies - 0800 807060. DRUGS: Local confidential advice and information line: 01254 226200. National; 0800 776600. .


RIBBLE Valley Talking Newspaper: 01200- 428604.


- SAMARITANS: 01254 662424. - MONTHLY Volunteer Helpline: 01200 422721. ■


LANCASHIRE Rural Stress Network: 01200 - 427771. - ' •


QUEST (specialist smoking cessation service); > 01254358095.


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CONTACT US! NEWS: 01200 422324


ADVERTISING; 01200 422323 Classified: 01282' 422331 .


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FAMILY Notices; 01282 478134 PHOTO Orders: 01772 838026 FAX: 01200 443467


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EDITOR,e-maiI;,roy.prenton@eastlancsnews.’ co.uk NEWS editor: duncan.smith@eastiancsnews.co.uk-


News online 24 hours a day, seven days a - week at www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk'


The recycled paper content of UK;:; - newspapers in 2009'was 76.2% ^


WEATHER


I Dunsop Brid] ■ Chipping'


Slaidburn: l l : by Faiza Afzaal ■


A GLITHEROE man who pointed an imi- ; tadon firearm towards a male in his own - home has been jailed. - Mark Howarth was said to have made a -


remark like “Tm going to blow your brains ‘ out”. '


> ^ He had got involved in a dispute involv-/ 'Court. Langhi urnleyv I Blackburn Accrington


: Weekend weather: It will be bitterly cold -s with strong nqrtherly winds and significant: snow showers with drifting in places.'


Sunrise:’8-23 a.m'. Sunset: 3-49 p.’m. Lighting up time: 3-19 p.m; ^ ‘ ■


ing others arid his behaviour landed him an ' eight months jail term at Preston Crown : -


‘j , ■,>,The 40-year-old, of.Talbot Close, Clit-:' " , ' The court ,heard .’that-anothertman :';


- was found not guilty by a jury over his al- '' .-•-. leged involvement’in what took place la s t : December..'"


Neighbour in fear for his life


when the'man and Howarth turned up at


V the door. A verbal altercation took place. -■ . Howarth was said to have been seen holding what looked like a small handgun; He pointed it at Mr O’Brien and shouted


- something like: “I ’m going to blow your brains out.”


. .heroe, had pleaded guilty to an offence o f '- ri'possessing an imitation firearm with intent ■ . to cause fear of violence.


'. .iThe victim feared for his life. Plastic pel- '


, lets were later found at the defendant’s ad- -' : dress when it was searched by the police.' " '


:-i,-':Mryy an Wolstenholme (defending) said . the incident had been relatively short lived.’ -


:Mr,Tim Ashmole (prosecuting) said a ■


: man called Aaron O’Brien had lived in a ^ itflat for a couple of years before a dispute-- , occured with a neighbour. " .• ; ■ -The neighbour may have been a friend of ■' ; the defendant. On the afternoon of Decern- •' ■ her 29th, Mr O’Brien had a disagreement ■ ' with a man, the one who was later acquitted • ?


;■ by a j u r y . " . -• Mr;0’Brien was in his flat later that day ■


; ', ‘‘He had taken the imitation firearm to the house as an attempt to frighten; It went ■


. no further than that and was no more sinis-: ter than that.


i; “He over-reacted, but perhaps had not; appreciated the: gravity of;what he was


-about to do. He didn’t appreciate the seri­ ousness of what he became involved in. 5 i’ ‘


;-,' ,‘‘I t -;was a one-off incident; He' is ' contrite


Judge Pamela Badley said the case was so ' » serious that a prison term had to follow; ;-'?,;,;:


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BUSY PACKING: Cub scout leader Jenny MacDowall helps one of her cubs; Millie Algeo-Brown, with the packing.’ (s) -


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RIBBLE Valley, Citizens’ Advice Bureau: 01206 .428966.


gun earns


Youngster dig in to improve their gardeii


"VOLUNTEERS and pupils alike joined ,forces'.fo,-give the wildlife garden at


,'iPendle Primary School a much needed! facelift ' ’ With the help of local company John!: son Matthey, a small team of pupils and -


' their parents; with guidance from the ; ; school’s science cb-ordinato'r Mr Ri-. ■'chard^Waterhouse; cleared the wildlife ; pond and the' surrounding garden areas.- ■ V Help was also provided by E;S. Wil- v


’ hams who supplied diggers and barrows, ' Ambsol, who took" down the trees and :-


• pumped out the pond; and Rumble-v turns, who ensured the team of workers-'


-.were well-fed and watered. - . • . ‘ The makeover took about four hours ’ and in that time, trees were taken down, -' the willow tunnel was trimmed back and ':


; a brand new pathway was created. • ':: •Mr Waterhouse commented: “We"


were so lucky to have a sunny autumnal morning and to have achieved so much. Claire Thompson from Johnson Mat­ they .was instrumental in ensuring the- success of the day, and their help was- much appreciated.


,. “We use the wildlife garden extensive-


POOLSIDE: Pupils admire what . : their hard work has achieved, and (right) the overgrown gardens and pond before the project, (s)


ly all year round. Children at the school really do value the opportunities outdoor activities can provide-to enhance their;; learning.”


Scouts have charity support in the bag


. ST Mary Magdalene Scout Group has been bag­ packing at Sainsbury’s supermarket raising a grand total of £323-88 for ShelterBox. ShelterBox is a charity that sends boxes full of . essentials to disaster areas.


- -The boxes contain items like tents, water puri­


fiers, cooking equipment, plates, cutleiy and edu­ cational supplies.


:The cubs and scouts:were very pleased


with their result, and give| thanks'to everyone who donated and to Sainsbury’s for making this possible.


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www.clitheroeadverti8or.eo.uk


Blaze death w a s jn o t


suspicious^; NO! suspicious circum4 stances'nave been found in the death of a 54-year- old woman following a fire at her home in Mellor.-' ■ Lancashire-Fire and


. Rescue Service and Lan­ cashire-Constabulary conducted a joint inves­ tigation after Julie Rich­ ardson was found-dead inside her house in. Glen­ dale Drive at around 4-25 p.m. on Thursday,


i- Firefighters from Black­ burn and Preston fire sta­ tions dealt with the blaze and.on arrival were met with flames leaping from the windows.


;:-They searched the property wearing breath- mg'apparatus, but despite their best efforts nothing could be done to save Ju­ lie’s life. , Police subsequently made inquires with Julie’s family-’and friends and a detailed forensic examina­ tion conducted by police in conjunction with the Forensic Science Service and Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service investiga­ tors found there were no suspicious circumstances toherdeath., ' : Det Insp. Mark Win-


stanley, of Blackburn po­ lice,- said: “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts are with Julie’s family and friends at this sad time.” A file will now be pre­ pared for the coroner.


£im. cash cut for the borough


TOUGH financial times are ahead at Ribble Val­ ley Borough Council after the Government this week announced how m'uch cash it will grant to local councils over the next two years. . Local councils are.fi-'


nanced through'a com­ bination of cash grants from central government and money raised locally through the council tax. - .: Although the Govern­ ment is slashing its grants as part of its wider aus­ terity measures, councils cannot make up the short­ fall by increasing their council tax.The inevitable: result is that councils will be forced to make savings, with the worst hit predict-


• ing extensive job losses and cuts in services. - Commenting on the lo- :


cal situation,'Ribble Val--. ley. Borough: Council’s ■ chief executive Marshal


. Scott said: “ The,settle-; ment is significantly worse than we anticipated. ■: ■


i . ?‘In real terms, after ad­ justments, our grant will: be reduced by £500,000 :


:next!.year.and'£lm. or:' 25%; the year after. ‘


?:-.‘‘Although we are not:? a.high-spending author-jv; ity, these figures are sig- j nificant and we,will be' looking at;our budgets,; •carefully to consider how '


we can best accommodate - thp. shortfall !n fiindinii ” -


ON STRIKE; the picket line out­ side the grammar school’s York Street site.


Clitheroe Advertiser & Times,Thursday, December 16,2010


by Duncan Smith


STRIKING teachers pick­ eted Clitheroe Royal Gram­ mar School’s Sixth Form Centre in York Street on Wednesday. A one-day strike was staged


by members of the NASUWT and NUT teaching unions in protest at a claimed lack of con­ sultation over a proposal for the school to apply for Academy School Status. ' ■ ‘If granted, it will give_^the


management of the school more freedom to run its affairs, including setting the pay and conditions of its employees. It would also mean extra


funding, but unions argue that will be at the expense of other schools. • .


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picket line outside the school’s York Street site from 8 to 10 a.m, on Wednesday, although the decision had been taken to close the school for the day on health and safety grounds. John Girdley, spokesman for


the NASUWT, commented: “Management have failed to consult adequately with staff or parents on the issues involved. The vast majority of staff are vociferously against these pro­ posals. They have been entirely ignored. The school is making a dash for extra cash that will come at the expense of all other schools in Lancashire. “ The governors will get their extra cash, but the price that they will pay in terms of staff goodwill will be very high.” Mr Girdley added that ex­ pressions of support for the


Strikers decided to set up a ■ day of action had been received


from other NASUWT and NUT branches across the country. On Tuesday evening, at the school’s carol service at Clitheroe Parish Church, union members gave out fliers at the church gates. In response to the indus­ trial action, grammar school


. headteacher Judith Child and its governing body issued the following press statement. “The Governing Body has


considered and discussed at length the whole range of views expressed by all stakeholders, including parents, students, members o f its staff and the unions. The Governing Body strongly believes that conver­ sion to Academy School Status will yield very significant op­ portunities for Clitheroe Royal Grammar School to be abje to maintain and develop the qual­ ity of education provided for the


Populcir Gary (36) dies on South American trip


A FUNERAL will be held for popular Clitheroe man Gary Knowles on Tues­ day following his sudden death while holidaying in Guatemala.' : ; Gary (36), of Park Street, Clitheroe,


was on a three-week holiday travelling through South America when he was taken ill. His sister, Tracey Jones, of Rishton, told the Advertiser that Gary had died of a brain aneurysm which he had probably had since birth. H e ’d had no iptoms before, but


then started to suffer from headaches and had been sick when he was travelling on a coach out there. He thought it was just travel sickness, but then a doctor on the coach said he thought that Gary had a fever and told him to go to hospital,” she said. ' - Gary subsequently


had a brain scan, which confirmed he


transferred to Guatemala City Hospi­ tal where they thought he would have a better chance, but he never regained consciousness,’! Tracey added. - Tracey and her husband David flew -


out, but when they eventually arrived in Guatemala Gary was on a life support machine and they only spent a couple of hours with him before he died. ; -; ■, >


Brought up on George Street, Clit­


heroe, Gary was the son of the late Mr and Mrs Michael and Frances Know- •Jes. ■


• ' A pupil at St Michael and St John’s


RC Primary School, Clitheroe, and St Augustine’s RC High School, Bil- lington, Gary worked as a printer for Graham and Brown at Blackburn, then travelled all over the country working as an electrician’s mate, before most' recently working for United Utilities fitting Smart : meters.-,


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. Tracey described her, brother as someone


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who loved life and lived it to the full-“


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" A devoted uncle to his 10-yeaf-old niece, Phoebe, Gary was’a familiar;sight riding' his Vespajsebofer and passed his big bike li-


■ GARY KNOWLES. (S)


cence last year. ‘‘He- loved kayak-:


ing, scuba diving; snow boarding and cycling.


had a b’rain haemorrhage. “He was He loved music and wai just learning


to play the guitar,!’ said Tracey. ; A funeral will be held on Tuesday, December 21st, at St Michael and St


, John’s RC Church, Lowergate, Clithe­ roe, at 11 a.m. followed.by Accrington Crematorium. ' : A celebration of Gary’s life will then


be held at Clitheroe Catholic Social Centre. ■ .


. Full English;Breakfast Served All Day?: ' : . ..


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benefit of the whole school and the local community. “A unanimous resolution was passed to complete the process


■of conversion of the school to Academy School Status with a target conversion date of Janu­ ary 1st, 2011. Throughout the process the Governing Body has been mindful of the views expressed by some members of its staff, in particular concerning future Terms and Conditions of employment. “In this respect the Govern­


ing Body has always stated that it could not envisage making any


. future changes to its staffs cur­ rent contracts of employment. Additionally identical Terms and Conditions of employment to those enjoyed by its current staff would be offered to any new members of staff appointed after the conversion date.” .


Referring specifically to the-


strike, the statement added: “The Governors were given no­ tice last week that the teacher unions, NUT and NASUWT, would be calling upon their members to commence dis­ continuous strike action with a day’s strike action on Wednes­ day December 15th, 2010. “Although approximately


one third of the members of the teaching staff voted to take this action, it was recognised that a larger number, up to two-thirds, were eligible to strike on that day.


' “Following a risk assessment


the Headteacher was mindful of the possibility of a significant


, reduction in teaching staff levels ■ and the consequent health and safety implications. A decision was made to close the school on that day.”


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