Free park-and-ride
for festive season
by David Skentelbery
A FREE Christmas park and ride service will operate in Warrington town centre during the festive season.
The borough council, Warrington Borough Transport and North West Development Agency have joined forces to deliver the service – a first for the town centre.
The weekend service will operate from the NWDA Centre Park car park, at the blue bridge off Chester Road.
On Saturdays, buses will run every seven or eight minutes between 10am and 6pm from October 29 to December 31. On Sunday, there will be a 10 minute service between 10am and 5pm between November 20 and December 18.
The service offers a quick way into the town centre, the route covers all the main shopping areas and users can get on and off at any bus stop.
Users can leave their cars, for free, in the supervised car park, where there are plenty of spaces, CCTV and security patrols – and jump on a bus into town.
A new fleet of single decker buses with wheelchair access is being used to provide the service and the destination signs will read ‘Park and Ride’.
Coun Jeff Richards, the borough council?s executive member for Sustainable Environment, said: “The service aims to make it easier for people, especially those coming to the town from the south, to get in, around and out of the town centre during the Christmas period, whether they are shopping, eating out or visiting attractions. It also shows what can be achieved by working together with other agencies to help deliver services.
“This is a first for the town and if it is successful we will consider running similar services in the future.”
Leaflets about the service will be available from Legh Street car park and on buses operating across the borough.
Top award for caring
veterinary nurse
by David Skentelbery
A VETERINARY nurse from Warrington has won a top award – not just for caring for pet animals but for their owners as well.
Animal charity Blue Cross has presented their Veterinary Nurse Award 2005 to Cathy Preedy, a nurse at Elliot’s Veterinary Centre, Knutsford Road, Grappenhall.
She received the award for her work with the elderly and their pets after being nominated by Deborah Bell, whose mother has suffered severe ill health for the last two years.
Cathy has cared for her West Highland terrier Arran and also spent time comforting his owner.
She said: “I am absolutely delighted to be given this award. I have been a veterinary nurse for 14 years and I am thrilled to get an award for a job that I enjoy so much. Looking after Arran and her owner is a pleasure”.
Deborah said: “Cathy has exceeded her professional duties ten-fold. She comes to pick up Arran when she needs the vet and spends hours of her own time reassuring my mother. I believe quite strongly that my mother’s health would have deteriorated more rapidly were it not for Cathy, as Arran means the world to her.”
The award was presented at the British Veterinary Nursing Association Congress at Harrogate.
Blue Cross provides practical support, information and advice for pet and horse owners, rehomes thousands of animals through a network of animal adoption centres and runs hospitals providing veterinary care for the pets of people who cannot afford private vets’ fees.
Pupils quiz MP and
Mayor on democracy
SCHOOLCHILDREN from Beamont Junior School were given an insight of the importance of democracy when they visited Warrington Town Hall.
They were invited by Warrington North MP Helen Jones and were able to quiz the MP and the Mayor and Mayoress, Couns Hans and Karen Mundry, about their work.
Their headteacher, Ivor Morgan and his deputy, Elaine Langford, accompanied the youngsters.
The party was received in the Mayors’ Parlour and signed the visitors’ book before going to the council chamber where they learned about its history and how the council operates. They also received a booklet about the Houses of Parliament.
Ms Jones said: “It is important that young people have some understanding about how our democracy works and it is never too young to start learning about these things. The trip to the Town Hall was both educational and enjoyable and I would urge more schools to visit or ask the Mayor to come to their school to do a similar session there”
Nasty Girls ready for
a shocking performance
by John Hendon
CONTROVERSIAL comediennes Nasty Girls are to appear at Warrington?s Pyramid centre for the arts on Saturday, November 12.
The four disabled women are to stage Time Troopers, an unsettling trip through time during which they bump into disabled characters who never quite made it to the history books.
Was it really Dickens who penned those classics? Did Shakespeare worry about making his plays accessible to the blind? Will Orcs one day rule the caravan sites of North Wales? Nasty Girls reveal all.
Nasty Girls were formed when some frustrated, bitter and cynical disabled/ deaf women got fed up about a lot of things and decided to ridicule everything that annoyed them.
When they hit the comedy circuit some critics loved them and some hated them. They have been described in reviews as “hilarious”, “a breath of fresh air” and “disgusting”. Their confrontational, controversial brand of humour centres on disability and attitudes towards it. They devise, write and perform their own material, which has a distinctly Northern feel.
They have featured on radio and TV, won the DADA (Deaf and Disability Arts) Award for two years running and last year were the only British act to be invited to perform at Vancouver’s prestigious KickstART Festival.
The Nasty Girls are Cerrie Burnell, Sarah Caltieri, Anne Cunningham and Natalie Markham. All performances incorporate spoken English and British Sign Language. Music and vocals are by the hunky non-girl, Keith Alexander.
“Stay-on” students
get a ?100 bonus
by staff reporter
A GROUP of students at Warrington Collegiate are celebrating after each receiving a ?100 cash bonus.
Those who qualify for a weekly Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) received the bonus on returning to college after their first year. It is one of a series they will receive for performance and good attendance.
The EMA is paid to students who stay on in education after the age of 16 and whose annual family income is less than ?30,000. It is aimed at encouraging young people to continue to study after leaving school and offers a means-tested allowance of up to ?30 a week.
Student Hellan Owens, 18, from Orford is in her second year of a Beauty Therapy NVQ Level 3 and says the grant helps pay for her books, travel costs and equipment.
She said: “Because the course is full-time, I would find it really hard to juggle my studies with a part-time job – so the EMA enables me to receive an income while being able to concentrate on my education. It’s a great scheme, which is helping a lot of people to come to college.”
She hopes to be a mobile nail technician and to eventually open her own make-up salon.
Former Beamont High School pupil Kellie Griffiths, 16, also received the allowance. She is studying for a BTEC in Health Studies Level 3 and wants to train to become a midwife.
She said: “I live at home with my parents and my young son. The EMA means I have some income to spend on my studies, thereby freeing up other money for day-to-day living costs and the baby.
“The EMA is a great idea because it makes it easier for people who might otherwise struggle to afford to go to college. I would have continued with my education anyway, but it would have been much harder financially, without the EMA.?
New exhibition
by local artist
by David Skentelbery
A NEW exhibition of work by artist Valerie Wright is to be held at the council chambers in the Village Hall, Pepper Street, Lymm, near Warrington on
Saturday and Sunday, November 19 and 20.
Titled “Near and Far” it will consist of watercolours, textiles and prints and will reflect the artist’s recent interest in Moroccan embroidery.
The pictures will be available for purchase and a donation will be from sales to the Poulton Archaeology Project, a long-term programme based in Cheshire which has already produced evidence for almost continuous human activity over a period of 9,000 years.
Valerie Wright has lived and worked in Lymm as a professional artist and teacher since 1984 and has produced many pictures of local landscapes. But she has a keen interest in travelling and the new exhibition will reflect this.
She has been interest in history and archaeology all her life. She is vice president of the Society of Botanical Artists and a member of the Society of Women Artists. Her paintings are in private and corporate collections in many parts of the world.
Youth in court
on rape charge
by court reporter
AN 18-year-old youth has appeared before magistrates at Warrington charged with rape.
He was charged with raping an 18-year-old girl in the Fearnhead area of the borough.
He will be tried at Warrington Crown Court at a later date.
