Archive
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Cricket match is just what doctor ordered
DOCTORS will swap hospital whites for cricket whites for a special match later this month. Bishop Auckland's 16th annual charity cricket match takes place on July 29, when Bishop Auckland General Hospital Doctors XI take on Bishop Auckland Cricket Club
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Time called on pub in plans for new housing
A HOUSING association will provide more than 30 new homes as part of a £2.5m development programme. Endeavour Housing Association will build the homes, on Teesside, including some specially designed for the disabled, during the next 12 months. Following
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A final resting place next to your beloved Rover or Tiddles
GRIEVING animal lovers could soon be reunited with their beloved pets after their deaths. Pet Haven Burial Services is hoping to gain a licence to be able to bury owners next to their pets at its cemetery at Kelloe, in County Durham. The company has applied
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Fundraising firefighters to help youngsters
FIREFIGHTERS will open their station for the day to help raise money to send two youngsters on a holiday of a lifetime. Bishop Auckland Fire Station opens its doors from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, to help raise money to send Kyle and Amy Jameson to Disneyland
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Infant school's sports day 'the best ever'
A SCHOOL sports day has been hailed by parents as the best yet. Every pupil at Corporation Road Infant School, Darlington took part in yesterday's sporting event, which placed the emphasis on fun. Headteacher Carol Musztacs said: "We had a wonderful morning
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Passport to culture
A first step in giving people across the region greater access to more cultural experiences has been announced. Culture minister Richard Caborn was on Teesside today to officially launch the cultural strategy for the North-East. The document sets out
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Anger at asylum hostel proposal
PLANS to convert a nursing home into a hostel for asylum seekers has provoked a storm of protest. More than 800 people have signed a petition objecting to the proposal for the Lakeside Gardens, in Station Road, Columbia, Washington. Sunderland city councillors
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Lessons to be learned from school tragedy
ACCIDENTS happen. They happen in the best regulated families. They happen in the most well-ordered school trips. And sometimes they are not anybody's fault. They are simply dreadful terrible tricks of fate. As soon as we learnt that 11-year-old Bunmi
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Seeking change to health service
PEOPLE are being given a chance to have their say about plans to modernise the health service. Durham and Chester-le-Street and Derwentside Primary Care Groups are publishing proposals to becoming Primary Care Trusts from next April. Primary Care Groups
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Police go public on Heron case
DETECTIVES investigating a North-East murder have promised to go public about their progress on the 11th anniversary of the killing. A series of new DNA tests have been carried out on exhibits collected during the investigation into the brutal murder
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Sports minister watches the champions of tomorrow do battle
SPORTS Minister Richard Caborn yesterday gave the thumbs-up to an annual event in the North-East which could help to inspire the champions of the future. The sixth Durham Sport Youth Games, started by former football star Peter Beardsley, saw about 1,300
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Pair open up their gardens for Red Cross
A FATHER and daughter are opening their gardens to the public in aid of the Red Cross. Richard Heron and Susan Winfield, who live in Middle Herrington, Sunderland, have mature gardens full of interesting plants and features. Visitors can stroll through
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Where thousands were due to flock, a handful of children play
THE stark reality of the foot-and-mouth crisis was plain to see yesterday - in the gaping emptiness of what was once its major showcase. It should have been the first day of the premier event in the north's agricultural calendar, the massive Great Yorkshire
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Appeal for groups to seek grant awards
COMMUNITY groups are being urged to take advantage of a scheme which awards grants to help fund their environmental projects. The appeal comes from the County Durham Environmental Trust (Cdent), which administers landfill tax money. One of its latest
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Onyx bites into growing market
FAST FOOD giant Burger King has chosen Internet service provide Onyx to host its website. Web hosting involves using a third party's equipment to manage the space that a website occupies and to guarantee fast access to the site by its users. The burger
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Farmer urged to defy cull as outbreak tightens grip
THE foot-and-mouth crisis showed no sign of loosening its grip on the region last night, as more cases were confirmed in a stricken rural area. Three new outbreaks were revealed in North Yorkshire, taking the total in the beleaguered county to 106 and
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Students clear man jailed for robbery
A NORTH-EAST man was last night cleared of a crime for which he spent eight years in prison - thanks to the tenacity of a group of students. The youngsters, from Northumbria University Law School, spent four years fighting to have the case reviewed. And
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Comment from The Northern Echo - The party with a death wish
THE tendency for the Conservative Party to press the self-destruct button shows no sign of abating. The first round of the leadership ballot demonstrates that the lessons from humiliation at successive elections remained unlearned. Only a party in utter
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Police seek witnesses
Police are appealing for help and attempting to track down two men after a savage attack on a teenage boy. The 15-year-old was assaulted in Thirsk early last Wednesday evening and detectives hope the public can help them trace two men they need to speak
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Mixed blessings of the curate's life
LIKE his egg, which proverbially was good only in parts, the curate's life may also have offered mixed blessings. The egg was immortalised - if not necessarily well preserved - by an 1895 Punch cartoon. A bishop, having served the young cleric an egg
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'Get in touch' plea to teenager
A father has made an emotional appeal for his runaway daughter to come home, after two weeks away. Kelly Hetherington, 15, left home on June 26, when she went to exchange a personal stereo at a Dixons electrical store. She got in touch with her father
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Relief for family as date set for balcony fall inquest
THE family of a man killed on a Mediterranean holiday say they are relieved that a date has been set for his inquest. Chris Rochester, 24, from Chester-le-Street, County Durham, died in a Greek hospital after plunging 40ft from a hotel balcony, in June
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Michelangelo fetches £6m
A drawing by Michelangelo which lay unrecognised for more than 250 years was sold today for nearly £6 million, auction house Sotheby's said. The study of a Mourning Woman was bought by British fine art dealer Colnaghi in a sale which could see the work
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Michelangelo fetches £6m
A drawing by Michelangelo which lay unrecognised for more than 250 years was sold today for nearly £6 million, auction house Sotheby's said. The study of a Mourning Woman was bought by British fine art dealer Colnaghi in a sale which could see the work
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Judge rejects man's police assault claim
A MAN who said he was assaulted by police in a cell after being arrested at his mother's wake has lost his claim for damages. James Pennock, 54, was arrested outside the Colliery Hotel in South Shields, South Tyneside, in March, 1999, after a family dispute
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Award-winning school teacher proves he is a class act
IT WAS not a few months working on a film that earned County Durham man Ron Thompson an "Oscar" in his chosen profession. Instead, it was a working lifetime as a teacher that led to him being named BT North-East Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School
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Ministers tell college bosses to shape-up
Ministers are threatening to step in after an official report has criticised the management of Teesside Tertiary College. The Middlesbrough-based college has been told by Ofsted and the newly-set up Learning and Skills Council to draw up an urgent action
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Payout for sacked virus victim
A COMPUTER expert has won a substantial settlement after he was sacked when he told his bosses that he had the potentially deadly hepatitis C virus. Simon Sharp, 32, was diagnosed with the virus five years ago after he was pricked with an infected needle
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Bearing down on the shame of a nation
IT has never been clear, at least to me, exactly why Nick Brown was dumped as Minister of Agriculture. Though sharing the countryside opinion, if not the usual reasons for it, that his handling of the foot and mouth epidemic was a disaster, the truth
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Woman tells of 'sex attack' by ex-husband
A MOTHER woke to find her ex-husband having sex with her, a court was told yesterday. The 30-year-old woman said that she froze because she was so shocked by what was happening, a jury at Teesside Crown Court was told. She told police that her ex-husband
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Mugger snatched womans bag in daylight
A MUGGER snatched a woman's handbag in broad daylight. The incident happened last Wednesday, although details of the attack have only just emerged, after the 59-year-old woman was walking along Thames Avenue, in Guisborough, at about 6pm. A man had been
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17ft Floral display to celebrate reopening of pier
A FLORAL model replica of a seaside town's newly-refurbished pier will greet visitors. The display is part of Saltburn's preparations for its big day on Friday - when former Culture Minister Chris Smith visits the town to officially reopen the pier and
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Youngsters line up for gold awards
TEESSIDE youngsters will be among the 2,000 people from all over the country being presented with Duke of Edinburgh's gold awards this month. Judith Braddy and Helen White, both 19, from Linthorpe, will receive their awards from celebrities during a ceremony
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Suspect of 'sneak-in' burglaries escapes after high-speed chase
A TEENAGER suspected of carrying out most of Chester-le-Street's recent sneak-in burglaries has slipped through police's grasp after a high-speed car chase. The 17-year-old is still on the run after evading officers in patrol cars, on foot and in a police
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European footballers in region
DOZENS of teenagers from Europe arrive in County Durham this weekend to take part in a junior European Championship football tournament. The 60 youngsters from Russia, Hungary, Germany and France will get a taste of life in the North-East. Last year,
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Traders enlisted in anti-litter campaign
A COUNCIL is planning to enlist the help of businesses in an anti-litter campaign to tidy up a town centre. Businesses in Darlington town centre are being encouraged to support the battle against litter by the borough council. Officers have drawn up an
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Pot-holes campaigner in sweat over judge's ruling
A CYCLIST could face thousands of pounds in legal bills because of his one-man campaign over pot-holed roads. Consultant Alan Kind will be left with a huge bill if he fails to convince a judge that his previous court success, forcing Newcastle City Council
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Robert deal hits problems
NEWCASTLE United's £10m move for Paris St. Germain forward Laurent Robert has hit a cash snag. United chairman Freddy Shepherd has been camped in the French capital trying to push through a deal after agreeing a fee with PSG. But the transfer has been
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Ships sculpture setting sail
A DESIGN company has unveiled a piece of artwork which will be displayed on one of Europe's largest sculpture trails. L&JB Designs, of Hurworth, Darlington, won one of 25 commissions to produce a piece of public art for the Irwell Sculpture Trail,
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Move to overt hospital crisis
HEALTH chiefs have responded to a looming crisis in the Richmondshire area, confirming public services are to be upgraded to balance the closure of acute facilities at a leading private hospital run by monks. A surgical ward, operating theatres, as well
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Region's councils 'failing to hit energy targets'
COUNCILS throughout the region say they are likely to fail in their efforts to hit new government targets on energy conservation. MPs passed home energy Acts in 1995 and 1996, and have dictated that councils bring about a 30 per cent reduction in energy
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Trapped by the cruelty of litter louts
CARELESS litterbugs who discard everything from fishing lines to plastic bottles have been blamed for an alarming rise in the number of wildlife casualties. Figures reported by the RSPCA today paint a worrying picture of animals having to be rescued after
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Lancet inquiry report faces disciplinary hearings delay
A REPORT into alleged police corruption may have to wait until disciplinary proceedings against suspended officers have been completed. The Police Complaints Authority (PCA) revealed yesterday that its report on the three-year Operation Lancet inquiry
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Buy-out hope for microwave factory jobs
HOPES are high that at least 150 jobs could be saved at a threatened North-East microwave oven plant if a management buyout is successful. Talks are taking place in a bid to persuade Sanyo Japan to hand over the running of its Newton Aycliffe operation
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Spin may be the answer on slow Bristol track
DURHAM desperately need someone to emulate a bowler they released two years ago when they tackle holders Gloucestershire in the fourth round of the C & G Trophy at Bristol today. Martin Saggers took five for 22 to rout the one-day kings for 86 at
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18th Century mill could foil farmer's building plans
AN argument over the structural state of an 18th Century mill could stop a farmer building two houses on his land. Stockton Borough Council has received an application from farmer Jeff Horn, who wants to demolish the mill at the Little Marsh Farm, in
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Charlotte, eight, in games tragedy
A MOTHER told last night of her struggle to come to terms with the death of her apparently healthy daughter who died suddenly during a school games lesson. Charlotte Turnbull-Adams collapsed last Thursday while practising for sports day at St Margaret's
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Lessons to be learned from school tragedy
ACCIDENTS happen. They happen in the best regulated families. They happen in the most well-ordered school trips. And sometimes they are not anybody's fault. They are simply dreadful terrible tricks of fate. As soon as we learnt that 11-year-old Bunmi
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Lament for loss of Spiky Tree
THEY came at night and wrecked a part of childhood... My childhood, my children's childhood, my as-yet-unborn grandchildren's childhood. It was a vicious act of vandalism which has robbed South Park, in Darlington, of one of its prizes. I know that on
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Fun and frolics on Mela menu
A TOWN is preparing to host one of the North-East's largest and most spectacular multi-cultural events. The Middlesbrough Mela, which attracts more than 20,000 visitors, is on Sunday, from noon, at Albert Park. Organised by Middlesbrough Council and the
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Plea for calm as gipsies attacked
A REFUGEE support group has called for calm after mob violence forced a family of Romanian gipsies to flee. The asylum seekers' refuge was targeted by youths firing airguns and throwing stones. A concrete paving slab was thrown through the front window
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Boro hernia jinx hits new striker Nemeth
MIDDLESBROUGH new boy Szilard Nemeth is set to miss the start of the season after yesterday undergoing a shock hernia operation. The Slovakia striker, recruited from Inter Bratislava by former Boro boss Bryan Robson, was expected to begin training this
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Lovable Cody in search of a new owner
A TWO-year-old German shepherd-cross dog is in need of a new home. Cody has been at the Ramshaw Rescue Centre, near Bishop Auckland, for five months. When she arrived she had had very little contact with people but her stay at the centre has transformed
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A River to make waves
THERE could be a big upset on the cards at Newmarket this afternoon when Scottish River (2.35) takes on a bunch of southern hot-pots in the Group 3 TNT July Stakes. On bare form alone - one win in a poor Thirsk maiden -- the bookies' are likely to chalk
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Green Howard soldier gets four years
A Green Howard private from Teesside who admitted killing a man was today sentenced to four years detention. The solider, Wayne King, last month pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Glyne Agard at a trial at Bristol Crown Court. Mr Agard, 34, was black
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Visitor 'stabbed man in buttock'
A MAN was stabbed after a visitor to his partner's home pounced on him from behind, a court heard yesterday. Steven Spedding suffered a stab wound to his buttock when Wayne Jones, 28, allegedly attacked him last November. Newcastle Crown Court heard how
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Five arrested in connection with killing
THREE people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a nightclub bouncer five years ago. Two men, aged 37 and 28, and a 27-year-old woman were detained for questioning following a series of dawn raids over the gangland-style murder of Kevin
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Plans to tackle anti-social behaviour
PLANS to tackle anti-social behaviour more effectively by adopting a joint approach have been announced. Cleveland police superintendent Graham Strange, who recently took over as chairman of the Neighbourhood Nuisance Group, announced the aim during a
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Winning hat-trick sends town lottery crazy
LOTTERY fever is gripping a North-East town after it emerged yesterday that it is home to yet another winner. Darlington's third lucky punter scooped more than £4,000 on the Irish Lottery last Wednesday, the same week that Anita Wynne won £3.6m and three
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University scientists welcome new equipment
SCIENTISTS are using new technology to help them take a closer look at the natural world. Equipment worth £600,000 was delivered last week to the Arthur Holmes laboratory at the University of Durham. The two mass spectrometers, which weigh up to one ton
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Mixed blessings of the curate's life
LIKE his egg, which proverbially was good only in parts, the curate's life may also have offered mixed blessings. The egg was immortalised - if not necessarily well preserved - by an 1895 Punch cartoon. A bishop, having served the young cleric an egg
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Women to unveil crafty sheep at agricultural show
CRAFTSWOMEN aim to provide their own sheepish creation to help an annual agricultural event take place despite the foot-and-mouth crisis. Members of the Durham Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers are staging a public demonstration at the weekend, when
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'Get in touch' plea to teenager
A father has made an emotional appeal for his runaway daughter to come home, after two weeks away. Kelly Hetherington, 15, left home on June 26, when she went to exchange a personal stereo at a Dixons electrical store. She got in touch with her father
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Dead heat for last in Tory leadership ballot
Michael Portillo last night won a chaotic first ballot of Tory MPs for the party leadership - but a re-run was immediately ordered after two candidates tied for last place. Former party chairman Michael Ancram and "dark horse" David Davis finished bottom
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£200,000 scheme to prevent or reduce road accidents is cleared
A £200,000 scheme to make accident blackspot roads in east Cleveland safer has been approved. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has chosen nine schemes that will help reduce the number of fatal, serious injury accidents and child casualties on the
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Dixons finds new man
ELECTRICAL retail group Dixons has announced the successor to veteran chairman Sir Stanley Kalms. Sir John Collins, who has been chief executive of shipping, farming and food group Vestey since 1993, is expected to take the helm in September next year
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Ferry good fun on river
PLEASURE trips on one of the region's rivers are taking place this summer. The Shields Ferry is running afternoon pleasure trips along the Tyne until September and include free children's entertainment. The trips leave the South Shields ferry landing
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Safeway follows rivals with discount drive
SAFEWAY has upped the stakes in the supermarket price war by giving customers an extra £120m in savings. The supermarket chain is offering more discounts after seeing sales surge at its stores. Prices of products included in a series of weekly promotions
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Reopening of fell paths is postponed
A KEY phase in the reopening of footpaths on County Durham's fells has been postponed following new outbreaks of foot-and-mouth in Cumbria and Yorkshire. Durham County Council was due to lift the blanket closure on footpaths in Teesdale this week. But
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New people take the chair
THREE new chairmen have been elected to the board of Service Challenge. Jacquie Potts, principal of Durham-based Marketwise Strategies, is the new chair of the Marketing Sector, succeeding Caroline Metcalf of Yellow M. John Burns, partner at Newcastle
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Hear All Sides
Letters from The Northern Echo RURAL ISSUES ONCE again (HAS, Jul 7) Hugh Pender gives voice to his obvious and ill-formed dislike of all things rural and agricultural. Regarding his comments on farm subsidies, a few facts might not come amiss. Including
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When it's not always good to talk
AVID viewers of Coronation Street have been watching with interest the events which have been going on with Sarah-Louise Platt. Sarah-Louise has not had a particularly easy life, becoming a young teenage mother is difficult enough, but she, like many
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High risk but may be time to buy
In these difficult market conditions, surprises, and typically nasty surprises, are unfortunately rather too common. However, the recent performance from Marconi wrong- footed even the hardened pessimists. The company's problems stem from the slowdown
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Pampering day to raise funds for hospice
ROSEBERRY Topping is the dramatic backdrop for a special pampering day at Pinchinthorpe Hall, near Guisborough, to raise funds for Butterwick Children's Hospice. The event, tomorrow, has been arranged by Virgin Cosmetics Group sales manager Jane Braithwaite
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Internet centre may help library to expand
AN Internet centre could lead to further development at one of Teesside's smallest libraries. The Government Office for the North-East (Gone) is being asked to consider creating a UKOnline Centre at Dormanstown Library, near Redcar. Redcar and Cleveland
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Engineering encouraged to young women
SIXTH-form girls from around the country visited the North-East last week for a course designed to encourage more women to go into engineering. Forty students are attending Insight 2001, a week-long engineering taster course for young women, at Newcastle
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Crackdown on fouling is stepped up
COUNCIL chiefs have pledged to continue a crackdown on irresponsible dog owners following a second successful prosecution. Hambleton District Council says it will keep up a campaign against dog fouling after Richmond magistrates ordered a Stokesley woman
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Nick is free sailing on return from Gulf
A STOCKTON sailor is on his way back to the UK after a long, hot patrol in the Persian Gulf. Chief Petty Officer Weapon Engineering Artificer Nick Carter, 30, is on board Type 23 Frigate HMS Lancaster after four months in the Gulf. While on board, Mr
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Music fund sends Clare on tour
A FIDDLE player from Darlington will be taking part in a musical tour of a lifetime, thanks to a grant from the Young Musicians Fund. Clare Gale, 15, plays a fiddle which has see two world wars and a bow passed down to her from her father. She is the
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Youngsters take creative role to keep roads safe
YOUNGSTERS have taken a creative role in a campaign to curb the actions of speeding motorists on a town's roads. Pupils from Mill Hill School, in Northallerton, are the first in North Yorkshire to design their own road signs to act as warnings to drivers
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Return of farm markets are welcomed
A BELEAGUERED rural community recovering from the devastation of foot-and-mouth has held its first farmers' market since the epidemic began. Shoppers in Teesdale have been without their regular monthly farmers' market for almost six months. But despite
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Whessoe's whaling links to Antarctica
DECEPTION Island, on the edge of the frozen wastes of Antarctica, could easily be mistaken for the very end of the Earth - but there, rusting and rotting in the blizzards, is a chunk of Darlington's history. The island is part of the South Shetlands chain
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Exam shake-up
A radical shake-up of the controversial new AS-Level exam was to be announced today. Education Secretary Estelle Morris was expected to introduce longer but fewer tests, reducing the risk of clashes with other subjects. Ms Morris ordered a review of the
