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From Saturday 4th
- Friday
10th September 2004
(days in reverse order)
Friday
10th September
No decision on RAF civilian jobs No
decision has been made about hundreds of civilian jobs at RAF Stafford,
the Armed Forces Minister has told workers on a visit to the base. See full
story from BBC News
Thursday
9th September
BBC launches healthy Britain campaign "Fat
Nation - the Big Challenge", the BBC's two year campaign aimed at tackling
obesity, launches
officially on BBC 1 tonight. It features the residents
of a street
in Birmingham who will be attempting to turn their lifestyles around.
A range of programming across BBC 3, local radio and regional TV, and interactive
will be encouraging viewers/listeners to do the same. See the Official
Website
Four-legged hopeful A donkey from Sandbach is in for a national
award. Del Boy is in the final of the PDSA's Pet Survivor of the Year competition
after being hit by a car as he escaped thieves who were trying to take him
from a school in the town.
Staffordshire pub chains' new smoking rules Smoking at the bar is
to be outlawed in one in three British pubs, as five of Britain's biggest
pub chains say they will ban smoking in bar areas by the end of this year.
They added that within five years 80 per cent of pub space will become non-smoking.
The chains, Punch Taverns and Spirit, both based in Staffordshire, M&B,
Enterprise Inns and Scottish & Newcastle Pub Enterprises, own more than
a third of the nation's pubs and bars.
Bass to be brewed by Wolves at Burton Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries
today announced a multi-million pound contract to brew millions of pints
a year for its arch rival Bass. The Banks' brewer is to produce 40 million
pints of draught Bass. It hopes the deal will open the door for more lucrative
contracts to brew other brands of beer. W&DB is the UKUs biggest regional
brewer, with breweries in Wolverhampton and Burton upon Trent, and an estate
of 1,500 pubs. It will brew Bass at its Marston plant in Burton, alongside
Marston's Pedigree. Production of Bass, which is Britain's biggest-selling
cask ale, will move to Marston's in March when the current contract with
Burton-based Coors Breweries expires.
V2005 Thousands of tickets for next year's V Festival at Weston Park
on the Staffordshire/Shropshire border have already been snapped up, just
two weeks after bosses hailed this year's event a massive success. Music
lovers are paying 2004 prices to get passes for the 10th anniversary of
the festival before any bands have been lined up to play. More than 6,000
fans have already bought tickets for the concert staged at two sites - Weston,
near Stafford, and Chelmsford.
Wednesday 8th September
Fall in number of pupils excluded The number of schoolchildren
being expelled in Stoke-on-Trent has fallen dramatically while attendance
has improved in the past year. Permanent exclusions from the city's secondary
schools has fallen to 16 compared to 73 for the previous year. Primary and
special schools in Stoke-on-Trent are also showing a similar trend.
Warning for football hooligans Football hooligans in Staffordshire
could face arrest if they breach banning orders for England's match with
Poland. See full
story from BBC News
DNA swabs cut down train attacks Central Trains says equipping staff
on trains in Staffordshire with spit testing kits has dramatically reduced
the number of attacks on workers. See full
story from BBC News
Tuesday 7th September
Rise in homeless asking for help The number of homeless families
asking Stoke-on-Trent City Council for help has almost doubled in the last
three years. Over the past year it has assisted more than 460 families,
of which 254 have been rehoused by the authority. It is taking an average
of 49 days to find each family somewhere to live. But compared with other
cities of a similar size, Stoke has a relatively low number of homeless
people classed as a priority. A shortage of council houses and the rise
in property prices are being partly blamed for the increase in the number
of families seeking help.
Car-owner attacked A Cannock driver was stabbed today in an attempted
car-jacking in Huntington. The victim, from Heath Hayes, is thought to have
tried to stop thieves from stealing his Mercedes when one of them attacked
him. He was stabbed in the stomach and is "poorly" in hospital.
The would-be thieves fled the scene without the car.
Support for mining history Businesses in Cannock Chase have been
urged to lend their support to proposed art initiatives in the district.
The call has been made by Cannock Chase MP Tony Wright and Chase Chamber
of Commerce manager Rob Jones. Mr Wright is chairman of public arts group
CHAPS (Chase Art for Public Spaces), which is spearheading two projects.
There is a proposal to put up a sculpture recognising the area's mining
history at the Queen's Square island in Cannock. The 18ft high artwork,
which depicts a miner toiling beneath a winding wheel, costs £8,000.
The sculpture and has been paid for by the Express & Star and Pritchard
Holdings.
There is also a planned monument in Hednesford town centre where people
are being asked to buy a brick and have it engraved with the name of a Cannock
Chase miner. It is likely then that the bricks will then form the base of
a monument supporting a giant Davy Lamp.
Staffs Regiment man honoured More than 80 UK Servicemen and women
are to be honoured this week for their role in operations around the world,
including in Iraq, where Colonel James Kenneth Tanner of the Staffordshire
Regiment served. He's awarded the OBE.
Award for lorry protection scheme Staffordshire Police win Home Office
plaudits for cutting lorry thefts by 62% in two years with Operation Nightowl.
See full
story from BBC News
Railway jobs concern Unions at Crewe Works say they still don't know
whether their 1,100 jobs there are secure. Earlier this year the staff at
Bombardier Transportation's train engineering works in Crewe were told their
work would be checked for efficiency. The company now says the 90-day Turnaround
Plan has been a success, but that it's part of a bigger "site improvement
programme" which will carry on until Crewe Works is deemed efficient enough.
The Amicus Union says that staff have met all the targets that were set
for them, but still don't know if their jobs are secure.
Monday 6th September
Stoke road dropped from auction The whole of one side of a street
in Stoke-on-Trent which went under the hammer on Monday, failed to be sold.
Numbers 2 to 28 of Crystal Street in Cobridge were withdrawn by property
auctioneers Butters John Bee at the Moat House Hotel in Festival Park. The
lot had a guide price of £500,000 but the reserve was not reached. The auctioneers
said there had been safeguards in place to protect the street's tenants,
none of whom would have risked losing their homes. It is estimated that
the houses could make a yearly rental income of £40,000.
Workman injured A workman's been airlifted to hospital after a brick
kiln collapsed on top of him at a ceramics company in Cheadle. Paramedics
say the man - in his 30s - was lucky to escape serious injury - suffering
only injuries to his leg. Investigators at the firm, Vulcan Refactories,
on the Brookhouses Industrial estate - are trying to find out how the accident
happened.
Lord Lichfield's pet charity A new calendar of 'pawtraits' of celebrities
and their dogs is published today. Jay Kay of Jamiroquai with his two German
Shepherds is one of the portraits. All proceeds will go to the PDSA, Britain's
veterinary charity. Lord Lichfield, who lives in Stafford, who shot the
calendar, said: "My life would not have been the same without my wonderful
pets and I am very pleased to help raise funds". See Shuborough
Hall Pictures
Sunday 5th September
Truth wanted about Iraq death The mother of a Staffordshire soldier
killed by friendly fire in Iraq says she believes the army's hiding the
truth about her son's death. Trooper David Clarke from Stafford was killed
along with Corporal Stephen Allbutt from Stoke-on-Trent when they came under
fire from another British tank. David's mother Beverley says a report they
were shown last year gave them grave concerns but 18 months on they're still
waiting for the official version of events. She says if she doesn't get
the full story she'll consider a private prosecution.
An MoD spokesman said: "The Board of Inquiry's investigation is still ongoing
and it would be inappropriate therefore to speculate on what the findings
might be."
See our Iraq War Timeline
Saturday 4th September
Major roadworks behind schedule The recent bad weather has hampered
the long-term roadworks on the A500 in Stoke-on-Trent. The next phase of
work is starting this weekend, on 4 September, a few days behind schedule.
This involves diverting drivers going north onto a temporary carriageway
between the City Road and Stoke Road roundabouts.
Nursery schools plan to go ahead The county council is to press ahead
with plans to close two nursery schools. Education officials from Staffordshire
County Council have said that keeping Banbury and Birchwood nursery schools
in Kidsgrove open would be too costly. They have met parents, nursery staff
and governors from the two schools to hear their views. Both schools can
each take up to 80 children, but after the reorganisation of nursery education
both schools are struggling to fill places. A nursery unit is due to open
at Reginald Mitchell Primary School in Stoke-on-Trent in the new year.
Crystal gazing into the future One of East Staffordshire's best known
companies is on the verge of moving. Tutbury Crystal, which has occupied
Victorian buildings in the village for more than 20 years, will soon move
to more modern premises elsewhere in the area - though it hasn't yet said
exactly where. It'll increase production and expand its workforce. The old
factory buildings will be replaced by a modern housing development.
FULL ARCHIVE OF 2002, 2003 & 2004 STORIES -
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