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From Saturday 10th - Friday 16th
January 2004
(days
in reverse order)
Friday
16th January 2004
Pensioner
killed in collision An 83-year-old man who was hit by a car as he crossed
the road in Newcastle-under-Lyme has died.
He has been named as James Turner
from Wolstanton. Read
the full story from BBC News
Thursday
15th January 2004
Fugitive
sought over attacks A convicted burglar on the run from prison is being hunted
by police investigating robberies in three elderly people's homes in Shropshire.
Read the full
story from BBC News
The
best and worst secondary schools Newcastle-under-Lyme School (IND), Stafford
Grammar School (IND) and Walton High School near Stafford are the top-ranking
schools in the latest "league tables" in the county, while St Joseph's
College gets the number one spot in the city.
See full results for Staffordshire
and Stoke
on Trent
Read
the full story from BBC News
Wednesday 14th
January 2004
Fears over
football centre's future The National Football Centre, at Rangemoor near Burton-on-Trent,
appears to be far from completion four months before it is supposed to open. Read
the full story from BBC News
M6 Toll Road Traffic Figures released today suggest on average 34,490
vehicles have used 26 miles long new road which runs from South Staffordshire
to near Birmingham - 21 per cent of the amount of traffic using the M6. The traffic
volume figures cover the 18-day period between the full opening of the road on
December 14 and New Year's Eve. The busiest day over the period saw 47,033 vehicles
use the road while the quietest day saw 10,326.
Woman murder An
inquest has heard that a woman from Staffordshire was strangled on a visit to
London. The body of fifty eight year-old Josephine Abell, from Wolstanton, was
found at a house last Friday. A man's been charged with her murder.
JCB
saves The Staffordshire firm JCB has had a twenty-five million pounds fine
reduced by a quarter after The European Commission originally fined the company
for restricting the sale of excavators in several countries.
The Rocester-based
manufacturer is now considering whether to lodge an appeal on the remaining charges
with the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. The Commission carried out an
investigation into JCB after a French company, Central Parts SA, made a complaint
to them in 1996. It found JCB had severely restricted sales of its machines in
France, Italy, Ireland and the UK, and that this affected the markets in these
countriesin the ten years up to 1998.
Tuesday
13th January 2004
Football
man for axe? The Port Vale vice-chairman Charles Machin could be voted off
the board of directors. A group of the Stoke on Trent-based club's biggest shareholders
has got together to force him out - Charles Machin and another director Geoff
Wakefield have been sent letters asking them to resign. They say they'll consider
their position. An extraordinary general meeting will be held in 28 days time.
51%'s needed to vote directors off, and ten of the Vale's biggest shareholders
with a voting power of 58% have signed a petition asking the pair to go. Charles
Machin and Geoff Wakefield recently supported a recent takeover attempt by the
Italian businessman Gianni Pallidini. This was against the rest of the board which
backed life-long fan Peter Jackson. Read
the Port Vale Takeover story
Robbie helps out autistic people A new Autism Resource centre has opened
in North Staffordshire. Based at Andrews Place in Newcastle, the centre was funded
by the Robbie Williams charity "Give it Sum" and Lottery money. Kevin Healey from
the Autism and Asperger Association said that many people are due to benefit from
the centre.
See more about Give
It Sum
Monday 12th
January 2004
Woman attacked by teenagers The police say
three teenage girls viciously attacked an 18 year old woman, making comments about
her Catholic religion. The woman from the Chesterton area of Newcastle-under-Lyme
in North Staffordshire, was assaulted as she walked through an alleyway near Castle
Street. Read
the full story from BBC News
Porn
man jailed The husband of a Staffordshire headteacher is starting an 18 month
gaol sentence for downloading child pornography. Susan Harvey's husband Sydney
was today sentenced to 18 months after pleading guilty to downloading more than
twenty thousand images of children. The 59 year old was also banned from working
with children. Stafford Crown Court heard that his wife, the head at Hutchinson
Memorial Church of England First school in Checkley near Cheadle, was standing
by him. After the hearing parents who'd been present called on her to resign with
dignity. But the church and the education authority said they'd continue workign
with Mrs. Harvey to ensure the school thrives after being assured by police that
none of the pupils, and no school equipment, had been involved.
Polite
Uttoxeter A racecourse in East Staffordshire has won a top regional award
courtesy of its fans. Punters have voted Uttoxeter Racecourse as the best in the
north midlands. Over six thousand racing enthusiasts regularly visit Uttoxeter
and it was one of nine regional contenders up for the award.
Porn man
jailed An East Staffordshire man's been jailed for 18 months for downloading
child pornography off the internet. Sidney Harvey from Smithfield Road in Uttoxeter,
pleaded guilty at Stafford Crown Court to downloading more than 20 thousand images
of pornography featuring children as young as five. There've also been calls for
his wife to resign as a head teacher although no link between her husband's offences
and the school has been found.
Memorial for pit disaster victims
A pit wheel memorial is being erected at the Minnie Pit site in Halmerend, near
Newcastle-under-Lyme as a permanent tribute to the 155 men and boys who died in
North Staffordshire's worst mining accident. Read
the full story from BBC News.
Sunday 11th
January 2004
Future plans for historic chapel The Historic
Chapels Trust, owners of The Bethesda Chapel in Stoke-on-Trent, said the building
could be used for religious conferences in the future. Hanley's 'Cathedral of
the Potteries - which lost out in a public vote for a £3m prize in BBC Two's Restoration
- has been closed for 20 years and fallen into disrepair. Read
the full story from BBC News
See our Bethesda
pages
Church windows smashed smashed by vandals The congregation
of Kings Church in Burton arrived on Sunday morning to find broken glass surrounding
the building inside and out. The service was cancelled and the windows have now
been boarded up. The church has suffered a number of attacks but officials say
this is the worst yet.The church says only one window was left unbroken.
Adverts to attract business An advertising campaign by developer Henry
Boot has been launched to attract business and industry onto a development site
next to the B&Q superstore on the A50 at Meir in Stoke-on-Trent. Read
the full story from BBC News
Clean
up praised Environmental officers have praised the hard work of people living
near a marshland site in Stafford after they helped to clean it up. Councillors
now hope to declare Astonfields Balancing Lakes a nature reserve later this year.
Saturday 10th
January 2004
Museum buys pottery collection The Potteries
Museum & Art Gallery - has purchased the Lindridge Collection of post-war
British pottery, for £80,000. Read
the full story from BBC News
See our City
Museum Page
Fines save police time Staffordshire Police said
56 on-the-spot fines have been handed out in the county in the first three weeks
of a scheme with more than half issued in Stoke-on-Trent. Police said 31 fines
for £80 were given out in Staffordshire for public order offences such as threatening
and abusive behaviour. Another 25 fines for £40 were issued across the county
for drunk and disorderly behaviour during the three-week period.
A police
spokesman said the majority of the fines were handed out in custody suites a few
hours after people were arrested and they have saved the force more than 100 hours
of staff time.
FULL
ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES - CLICK
HERE
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