A HUGE event to celebrate International Women's Day will be held in Blackburn and Darwen on Friday. The aim is to celebrate the achievements of local women and demonstrate the wide range of opportunities and options open to today's women. Blackburn Mayor
NATURE-LOVING industrialists have suspended a delicate repair operation on a Grade Two listed landmark to allow birds of prey to nest. Brookhouse Composites, of India Mill, Darwen, has asked contractors working on the mill's landmark chimney to remove
A MULTI million pound plan to create an international golfing complex in Burnley was to be given the go-ahead this week. Planning chiefs were being asked to approve the conversion of the 16th century Extwistle Hall at Briercliffe and 300 acres of adjoining
DAVID Batty (pictured) has been cleared to make a sensational appearance for Newcastle United tonight in a situation which makes a complete mockery of the Football Association's disciplinary set-up. Premiership leaders Newcastle have successfully exploited
BLACKBURN Hawks will face Premier Division Milton Keynes and First Division rivals Bracknell Bees and Guildford Flames in the eagerly-awaited British Ice Hockey League promotion play-offs which start at the weekend. Hawks will play the three group rivals
PLANS by Blackburn Council to start shooting hundreds of the town's pigeons are sure to upset bird-lovers in the community. But if rats were the target, few would protest. Hand-in-hand with this proposals, then, should be a little public education - on
SPRING is in the air! I wanna dance, I wanna sing! All through Lent, I shall be at Great Harwood swimming pool trying once again to swim 200 lengths and raise money for the new boiler fund at St James' Street Church, Clayton-le-Moors. On April 6, I will
THE Ministry of Defence is said to be fighting a losing battle over the ban on homosexuals in the armed forces. It is believed to be only a matter of time before the policy is outlawed by the European Court of Human Rights. But it will be odd indeed if
WATERED-down trade union rights have brought a furious response from Burnley MP Peter Pike. He says workers have been put under duress and in fear of losing their jobs by giant public services group United Utilities - formed following the takeover of
ADULTS and children all over East Lancashire joined in the Women's World Day of Prayer. The special day is an international movement involving all the mainstream Christian churches, and takes place annually on the first Friday in March. Services were
DARTS fan Beverley Brunker hit the bullseye when she took part in a national competition for her local pub. And her prize - a full range of equipment - will help her set up an official darts team at the Swan and Royal in Clitheroe where she works. Catering
WORK is expected to start this summer to alleviate flooding problems in Barrowford. North West Water hopes the construction of a sewage pipe to take excess water from the village will begin in July. A trial hole is to be dug in the Lee Street area later
A GOVERNMENT minister has been told to tell the people of Lancashire which land they should be able to walk over because its owners get tax relief. Pendle MP Gordon Prentice is furious that six wealthy landowners in the county are exempted from inheritance
I WAS quite saddened to see the demise of the Boulevard bus shelters in Blackburn town centre. To some extent, I feel as though some of my childhood and teenage memories have been erased with losing them. We always used to meet our friends on the Boulevard
A RESEARCH project into lead levels in children's milk teeth has been put on hold after North West Water refused to pay the lions' share of the cost. Blackburn Council had hoped the water company would join with the council and the health authority to
A ROTARY Club stands to lose out on its biggest charity money-spinner after Burnley councillors decided to stick to their policies. A management plan agreed for Towneley Park last year says that no charges can be made for car parking. But Burnley Rotary
PETER Varnavas dropped a six round points decision against former ABA champion Geoff McCreesh on the Benn-Malinga undercard at Newcastle Arena. The 21-year-old welterweight from Burnley accepted the bout at less than 24 hours' notice and, despite an admirable
TELE-graf!" "Last Sports!" "Read, all about it!" Remember all the characters who sold newspapers in Blackburn Town centre? They all had their individual cry - Cassy, Snotty, Tommy, Les Pollard. Pollard was the king - his pitch was on the "Big Bull" corner
WE was robbed - that was the justified claim of Nelson's North West Counties reserves when they returned to the dressing room to find hundreds of pounds worth of cash and property had been stolen. After battling to a 0-0 draw away to league leaders St
A SPECIAL survey has been carried out into why people are getting a poor reception at Turf Moor . . . on their televisions, that it. The club - beset by boardroom troubles, discontent among fans and poor results - has another problem after the new Longside
THE vultures were hovering over Maine Road on Saturday, eager to feast on one of two potential carcasses. Manchester City's struggle to survive in the Premiership could have been on its last legs if they had lost this game. And there would have been easy
IAM writing to you about the imminent closure of the art department at Accrington and Rossendale college. The college's annual art exhibition at the Haworth Art Gallery this month was well represented with excellent work from all the lecturers in addition
WHY have you changed the crossword. I liked the old one better when both sets of clues got the same answer. After all, if I wanted to do that sort of crossword I would buy the Sun. LIZ ASHWORTH, Rimington Close, Brandyhouse Brow, Blackburn. Footnote:
A FIRE "hotspot" is still smouldering on Darwen Moors, seven months after a raging fire which took two weeks to bring under control. Blackburn Council, the fire service, North West Water and police, have agreed an action plan after holding meeting to
PIGEONS may be blasted to death in a council pest control programme. Blackburn public services committee will decide tomorrow night whether a programme of shooting and trapping should be used to control the borough's feral pigeon population. Councillors
ANOTHER dose of higher prescription charges was on the way and with it a new political row. East Lancashire health experts voiced dismay at the move. Health Secretary Norman Fowler planned to put up the cost of drugs, appliances and dental charges by
SPECIAL in-school "sin-bins" are to be set up as part of a government-backed crackdown on disruptive pupils. The initiative, costing nearly £million initially, is in response to teachers' concerns about classroom violence and troublemakers. But though
YOUNGSTERS flocked to Nelson Dance Festival - the 49th annual event which has become very much a family affair. Mums, grans and doting dads turned up to support more than 200 young dancers displaying their talents at Colne's Hippodrome Theatre. But, with
THE Turf Moor clock is ticking towards a momentous landmark in the history of Burnley Football Club. Not since a dark May day in 1987, when Burnley fought to save their Football League status, will there be a more significant or vital episode. This week
THE STORM at the Arena is the ice hockey equivalent of United at Ewood - hatred may sound a touch strong, but it's deadly accurate. Love 'em or loathe 'em, they packed the place - a section of Saturday's home contingent sporting a banner which ventured
AMONG the many mistakes that the government has made, I regard the privatisation of the water industry as the greatest. The introduction of the profit-motive into the provision of a national resource upon which all life depends and placing it in the hands
THREE passengers from a Land Rover were taken to hospital after it collided with a minibus and car in Whalley. Police said their injuries were probably more serious because of the lack of rear seatbelts in the vehicle. Jolene Clark, 15, of Kingsmill Avenue
SMITH & Nephew, one of East Lancashire's biggest employers, today reported profits of £176 million. The firm, which employs more than 500 at its Pendle sites manufacturing bandages and cotton wool, also saw sales grow by eight per cent last year.
REGARDING your report "Extortion!" (LET, February 14), if Blackburn MP Jack Straw has nothing better to do than complain to Home Office ministers about a company carrying on its legitimate business of placing wheel clamps on vehicles that are parked on
A DRAMATIC late equaliser for Boreham Wood denied Chorley a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Umbro Trophy. The Magpies, given magnificent vocal backing by close on 200 travelling fans, came through a searching test of character and nerve against
A MAIN road through a village is not busy enough for a pedestrian crossing to be installed even though up hundreds of vehicles an hour use it. Councillors have been campaigning for the crossing on the busy Gisburn Road, Barrowford, near to Pendle Brook
ADRIAN Heath and Steve Coppell are the two names who are expected to dominate the Turf Moor short-list. But sources in Grimsby say their player-boss Brian Laws has ruled himself out of the race for the Burnley job. The board of directors met on Friday
