|
|
CIVIC FUNERAL FOR MAYOR
Mayor of Wigan Bill Smith died at the weekend, halfway through his year in office. No Mayor has died in office in recent times and it was unclear initially how and on what scale his passing would or should be marked. But after consultation with his wife mayoress Evelyne Smith, and his family it was decided to hold a public, rather than a private family, ceremony. The service will take place on Friday 1st October at St George's Parish Church, Tyldesley starting at 10.45am.
Dignity has so far precluded a public debate on who should now be mayor, but Evelyne Smith herself has already been suggested by several council sources as a fitting and worthy replacement should she agree to the task.
73-year-old Mr Smith lost a long battle against cancer in the early hours of Sunday morning at his home in Tyldesley.
His close friend Councillor Brian Strett said, "He was the kind of guy you could trust with your life, he was that honest and upfront. It is nigh impossible to catalogue the major contributions he made to the health and council services of this borough, but his work in improving life for the disadvantaged must take a high place.
"He played an important role in getting the Fourways assessment centre for people with severe physical handicaps off the ground and one of his last acts was to make the Sportsmobility scheme one of his mayoral causes."
PHONE FOR TRIPE
Offal merchants George and Carol Morris have set up a new service....dial a tripe!!
The husband and wife decided to pamper some of their most valued customers by setting up a door-to-door service.
Initially aimed at those who have difficulty
getting out and about, the Morrises say there could be great scope for extending their van sales if the idea catches on.
Black leaf tripe, pig's belly, brawn,
cowheel pie, black puddings, white puddings and pig's feet are on the menu and customers can order them over the phone, just as they would a pizza.
The couple
took over the longstanding Sutcliffe's delicatessan in Wigan Market Hall 18 months ago and they say this is much more than a gimmick.
Carol said, "Some of our
customers are quite elderly or infirm and as the nights are drawing in we thought it would be a nice idea to hep them out and deliver to their doors.
"We only
started up last week when George went out on Wednesday and Friday teatimes with the goods in cool boxes. He has been to sheltered accommodation so far but there
is no reason why he can't deliver our products all over the place.
"It is not only the elderly who like tripe. One little girl who visits our stall always has it
rather than sweets and you would be surprised how many younger people eat it.
"The tripe is cooked and ready to eat so there is no reason why you cannot have it
like a take-away. It would be nice if this idea of ours helped spread the word about tripe- a lot of people who curl their noses up at it have never tried it."
The Morrises deliver free for orders over ten pounds and charge 50p for smaller errands. You can ring them on 01942 244430.
ANOTHER QUARRY TRAGEDY
Teenager Craig Croston is the latest to lose his life after swimming in a local quarry.
17 year old Craig, from Westcroft, Platt Bridge,a former pupil at Mornington High School, died on Sunday after swimming in East Quarry, off Appley Lane North, Appley Bridge.
Craig, who was with one male and two female friends at the time, is believed to have dived into the quarry and swam to the other side. It is then unclear wether he jumped or slipped back into the water. The alarm was raised when he failed to surface.
Twenty firefighters from Skelmersdale together with a rope rescue team surrounded the quarry and a rescue boat was launched in the area that Craig was last seen. A helicopter from Merseyside police, using a thermal imaging camera was also used.
Divers from the Lancashire police underwater search and rescue team eventually recovered the body of a male from the quarry at 2pm. The body was taken to Ormskirk General Hospital and was later identified as Craig.
LIBRARY BOMB WARNING
Staff and members of the public had to be evacuated from Wigan Library after a phone call claiming bombs had been planted inside.
Library staff got a call at 12.23pm on Sunday from a man claiming he had planted a number of explosive devices among the books.
Staff pressed their personal attack alarms, which
alerted a central security station and police and fire crews were called to the scene.
Following a search of the premises everyone was allowed back into the building at 1.15pm.
TEENAGER JAILED AFTER BUS STATION ATTACK.
A teenager who beat up a fifteen year old girl in front of dozens of witnesses in Wigan bus station has been sentenced to the equivalent
of eight months detention.
Nicola Lloyd, 18, will spend 250 days behind bars for the unprovoked attack which has left a Shevington teenager terrified of ever travelling by bus again.
Lloyd, formerly of Brecon Close Platt Bridge, but now of no fixed address, appeared before Wigan Magistrates after pleading guilty to assaualt from the incident last month.
Prosecuting, Lindsay
Thomas told the court that the 15 year-old was waiting for a bus home with a friend when the unprovoked attack took place. The defendant spoke to the victim briefly before launching into the vicious assault.
She punched her in the face, striking her on the nose, then dragged her victim to the floor by her hair. The girl was then kicked in the face, picked up by her hair and had her face pushed into a bin.
She was hit several more times before someone summoned for help. The victim suffered a bloodied nose, trauma injuries to her chest and her jaw was knocked out of line.
Lloyd pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm
and admitted other charges of using threatening behaviour, burglary with intent to do damage, theft, criminal damage and breaching three court orders.
But in her defence Coreena Platt told the court that Lloyd
has had a number of major problems in her life so far. She said, "She is not inherently evil or violent. Throwing away the key isn't going to help. She needs help and serious help at that."
Miss Platt went on
to describe Lloyd's diificult upbringing. At the age of 12 she discovered her mother had committed suicide, then over the next three years she tried to commit suicide herself. At one time she was put into a
children's home and ended up on drugs. More recently she had suffered a miscarriage, lost her boyfriend and then becaome homeless. "She has not a soul in the world to turn to," added Miss Platt.
Justices told
Lloyd she had ignored court orders in the past.
Check here for reports you may have missed
