Archive
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£10.2m windfall will assist disadvantaged communities
EASINGTON and Derwentside are sharing in a £10.2m windfall to help boost new businesses in disadvantaged communities. Together with Wear Valley and Sedgefield, they will receive funding under Round One of the Government's neighbourhood renewal programme
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What the new Bill means for you
The Govenment published its log-awaited Education Bill yesterdaty. Ahead of a crucial vote later this month, Lindsay Jenning looks a how the Bill will affect parent and schools. IT was defiant talk. Ruth Kelly arrived at a West London school yesterday
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Campaign targeting bogus callers
A CAMPAIGN has been set up to help householders deal with bogus callers. Gateshead Housing Company, which manages 23,000 homes, has launched the No ID? No Way! campaign aimed at those who prey on the borough's most vulnerable residents. Bogus callers
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Comment from The Northern Echo: Sorry? He just hasn't a clue
WE have no idea if the Elton John song "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" is one of Ken Livingstone's favourites. But his inability to see the need to apologise over his insulting remark to journalist Oliver Finegold is serving to dig a deeper and deeper
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Dark day as more than 500 jobs axed
UNIONS last night described furniture group MFI's decision to close its North-East factory with the loss of more than 500 jobs as a "dark day" for UK manufacturing. In an announcement to the City yesterday, the group revealed plans to cut almost 1,500
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Backing for energy centre in the Dales
DALES residents are backing a plan to create a renewable energy centre in the region. A taskforce set up to create jobs in Weardale, County Durham, after Lafarge Cement closed its Eastgate works in 2002, said last night that residents were enthusiastic
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Worker secures £30,000 payout after bouncy castle injury
A DEFLATED bouncy castle has cost taxpayers more than £30,000 after a youth worker hurt his back while putting it away. Community education worker Dean Gibbon said he injured his lower back as he tried to lift the inflatable on to a trolley while working
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Extra car parking space for cup tie
EXTRA car parking spaces have been created as tickets continue to sell well for Crook Town's FA Vase quarter final. About 400 spaces have been secured as the town prepares for the visit of Bury Town, on Saturday. Supporters can use free parking spaces
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Wilks is driven by World Rally dream
GUY Wilks is going full-throttle to earn a seat in Suzuki's new World Rally Championship car. Yesterday's announcement by the Japanese manufacturer that it will be running a WRC team from August 2007 has fuelled the Darlington driver's long-held ambition
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Council chairwoman urged to resign over firing of clerk
CALLS have been made for the chairwoman of a town council to resign over the wrongful sacking of the authority's clerk. It has been suggested that Labour councillor and mayor, Beryl Robinson, chairwoman of Thornaby Town Council, should stand down after
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Hannah amazes after heart transplant
A TODDLER whose will to live astounded doctors is back home at last with a new heart and a bright future. Hannah Carty was being kept alive by a plastic heart after chemotherapy for leukaemia damaged her own and led to a stroke. But thanks to a heart
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Grant of £4,000 to restore memorial
SPECIALIST restoration work on a war memorial will be completed with the help of a £4,000 grant. Thornaby's cenotaph has undergone extensive work on its lettering and has received structural pointing, at a cost of £16,000. Now it has been announced that
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Academy to assist young sport talent to rise to the top
SPORTING youngsters in Tees Valley are to be given extra support to help them realise their full potential. The Tees Active Sports Academy will officially launch on Tuesday in an event at Billingham Forum. The initial intake will see 27 of the area's
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£10.2m windfall will assist disadvantaged communities
EASINGTON and Derwentside are sharing in a £10.2m windfall to help boost new businesses in disadvantaged communities. Together with Wear Valley and Sedgefield, they will receive funding under Round One of the Government's neighbourhood renewal programme
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Guest speaker proves to be big attraction
FORMER Home Secretary Lord Brittan of Spennithorne will be the main speaker at the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce's annual dinner. Almost all 600 tickets for the event, at the National Railway Museum in York on March 30, have now been sold
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Placements give taste of work
STUDENT social workers are being given the opportunity to hone their skills with the Tees Valley Housing Group (TVHG). Five social care students from the University of Teesside are to become the first to undertake a short-term work placement with TVHG
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Bride returns - with bridal company
A BRIDE who was the first person to hire a council's marquee for her reception is returning to showcase her own business. Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council has organised a wedding fair to highlight its marquee hire service, and Sam Challenor is using
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£4m investment to boost recovery
BAR and nightclub operator Ultimate Leisure is pinning its hopes for recovery on the £4m refurbishment of its estate. The North-East company said it expected its fortunes to have turned around by the end of the year after yesterday reporting a 67 per
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Rosetown ideally suited to take honours
THE combination of soft ground and the severe test of stamina make a solid case for supporting Rosetown (3.40) at Wetherby this afternoon. The Tom George-trained seven-year-old lines up in the three-mile-and-one furlong Howden Joinery Novices' Handicap
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Fundraisers ready to spring into bloom for charity
CHARITY workers are ready for spring and their biggest fundraising event of the year. Volunteers at Marie Curie Cancer Care hope supporters will buy a silk flower during their annual daffodil campaign, which runs throughout next month, to raise funds
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Natural touch to work by artist
FINDS from the region's seashore have helped to shape a new exhibition. Work by artist Jan Sopher, who takes her inspiration from the North-East coastline and North York Moors, has gone on show at the Durham Light Infantry Museum and Durham Art Gallery
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Florist 'sick' at cash theft
A FLORIST is appealing for help to catch a thief who stole a week's takings when his back was turned. Billy Readman, owner of Pretty Petals, in West Road, Annfield Plain, near Stanley, thinks his cash box was stolen some time between 10.30am and 4.30pm
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£10.2m windfall will assist disadvantaged communities
EASINGTON and Derwentside are sharing in a £10.2m windfall to help boost new businesses in disadvantaged communities. Together with Wear Valley and Sedgefield, they will receive funding under Round One of the Government's neighbourhood renewal programme
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'Town could have elected mayor by 2007'
THE region's fourth directly-elected mayor could be in post by the middle of next year, campaigners say. As The Northern Echo reported yesterday, groups that are fed up with Darlington Borough Council have banded together to force a referendum on the
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Prolific car thief dies in crash
BRITAIN'S most prolific car thief who was on the run from prison has died in a head-on crash in a stolen car. Obsessive Colin Sadd, 44, was branded "the North's most dangerous car thief" and notched up a 155 previous convictions. He hit the headlines
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Law has tobacco boss fuming
BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) took a swipe at the Government's smoking ban in pubs and clubs last night as it announced underlying profits rose nine per cent last year. Chairman Jan du Plessis said the policy was based on an intolerant and paternalistic
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Tait going for gold in Melbourne
NEWCASTLE Falcons' Mathew Tait was yesterday named in the 15-man England Sevens squad for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. They will leave on Sunday, with the competition scheduled for March 16 and 17 in the Telstra Stadium, where all 55,000 tickets
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Online sales lift high-flying snack
BRITAIN'S only pretzel maker has launched its popular airline snacks online. County Durham's Union Snack has seen orders for its own-brand Penn State Pretzels exceed expectations since they went on sale on the company's website. Brand manager Jen Scott
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Porter and Robertson step up return
JOEL Porter and Hugh Robertson will today step up their comebacks from injury. Between them the pair have played just one game for Hartlepool United this season, Robertson starting the game with Bournemouth on December 10. But they will be joined by Michael
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Unsuitable boys are just another test, silly!
CONGRATULATIONS to Princess Beatrice. She has an unsuitable boyfriend. What a wonderfully normal 17-year-old thing to do. We've all been there, haven't we? Mine was an Irish army deserter who used to ring up, drunk on Guinness, at two in the morning.
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Pass the swear box please, Winnie
WINNIE Richardson, now 73 and for 35 years a music teacher in south Durham, rings from Bishop Auckland on an indignant note. Though now back home, she's recently had respite care after a knee operation at the Timothy Hackworth care home in Shildon - still
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Pass the swear box please, Winnie
WINNIE Richardson, now 73 and for 35 years a music teacher in south Durham, rings from Bishop Auckland on an indignant note. Though now back home, she's recently had respite care after a knee operation at the Timothy Hackworth care home in Shildon - still
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Boss with a dry sense of humour
THE boss of a hairdressers knew exactly what to do when he arrived early at his salon to find a trainee's dirty underwear swishing away in the company washing machine. He hung them out to dry - boxer shorts and all - on a historic monument for all the
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Husband killed wife with hammer
A JEALOUS father bludgeoned his wife to death with a paving hammer the day after he received a letter telling him she wanted a divorce. Michael Luke, 45, also discovered his wife, Johanna, was having an affair minutes before he attacked her in the living
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Warning to drivers as more snow is predicted for region
DRIVERS were last night warned not to venture out in parts of the region with further heavy snow predicted to be on its way. The Met Office issued a severe weather alert for Eastern coastal areas and said that icy blasts, which brought overnight snow
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The charade of power to the people
IN my village, like many others, there's a proposal to erect a mobile phone mast. No-one I know supports the plan, and the mood at a public meeting last year was strongly against it. Though no official news has come through, rumour has it that an appeal
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Silverwood leaving Tykes
YORKSHIRE'S leading wicket-taker, Chris Silverwood, is set to sign a contract with Middlesex which will take him to Lord's for the next two years, writes David Warner. Silverwood, 31 on Sunday, he has been given permission to talk to Middlesex and will
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Football chairman in talks over takeover deal for club
TALKS are taking place over the future of Darlington Football Club - but no deal has been finalised. Rumours have grown over recent days that chairman Stewart Davies has been locked in talks over the ownership of the club. Last night, the Quakers' official
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On TV
Jimmy's Farm (BBC2) Love Lies Bleeding (ITV1) No Angels (C4) Thin Ice (BBC2) Jimmy's Farm is notable as the only series in which many of the cast get eaten. It sometimes seems like this is going to happen in Brat Camp but hasn't happened yet. The pigs
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Production finally begins at Biofuels
TROUBLED biodiesel producer the Biofuels Corporation may have turned a corner with the announcement it has begun producing fuel at its Teesside plant. The Billingham company had expected to start production at its Seal Sands plant - the largest of its
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Lucky escape for shoppers as roof shatters
PART of a glass dome at a North-East shopping centre shattered yesterday, only narrowly missing shoppers as splinters fell about 100ft to the ground. The lower level and stairs of the Cornmill Centre, in Darlington, were cleared at about 4pm, after a
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Stolen cars involved in collision
POLICE are appealing for information after a two stolen cars collided in Sunderland. It happened on Monday at about 6.40pm in Rhodesia Road in the Red House area of the city. The collision was between a Vaxuhall Vectra, which had been stolen in a burglary
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Burglar facing a prison sentence
A MAN is facing a prison sentence after admitting burglary and assault charges yesterday. David Richardson, 23, pleaded guilty to burglary and attempted burglary, at homes in Windermere Avenue, Chester-le-Street, on December 19 last year. Durham Crown
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Tributes paid to a fighter for education
TRIBUTES have been paid at the funeral service for a community worker. Relatives, friends and colleagues gathered at All Saints and Salutation Church, in Darlington, yesterday to pay their respects to Jennifer Boddy. Mrs Boddy, who died from cancer last
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New chairman will represent tenants
TENANTS' champion Norman Button has been elected chairman of a company managing 5,000 council homes in the Wear Valley district. Dale and Valley Homes takes over responsibility for management, repairs and improvements of the homes from the authority's
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Councillor goes the extra mile
A Councillor has boosted the coffers of a mayor's charity appeal by completing a marathon - in the gym. Councillor Vince Crosby, who represents the Greenfield Middridge ward on Sedgefield Borough Council, used the treadmill, cross trainer, bicycle and
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Elections held to give carers a bigger voice
ELECTIONS are taking place this week to choose carers who will have a say in services for people with learning disabilities. Durham County Council's Social Care and Health service is holding the election to find carer representatives for groups that plan
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Legal eagles win award for sixth time
A COUNCIL legal team has secured national recognition for its service to the authority for the sixth year running. Sedgefield Borough Council's legal department is the only district authority in the region to retain the Law Society Lexcel Quality Accreditation
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Scene set for drama group's magical trip
Members of a drama group have once again been broadening their horizons - this time across the Irish Sea. Bishop Auckland Theatre Hooligans (Bath) have made their name in their home town with their hard-hitting productions on subjects such as anti-social
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Share of £10m to start in business
WEAR Valley and Sedgefield are sharing a £10.2m windfall to bring new businesses to disadvantaged communities. Together with Derwentside and Easington, they will receive funding under round one of the Government's neighbourhood renewal programme Local
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Residents opt for a greener Christmas
HOUSEHOLDS celebrated a green Christmas in County Durham last year after figures show record levels of recycling during the festive period. Over Christmas and New Year, kerbside recycling teams collected more than 20,500 tonnes of cans and glass bottles
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Sex change surgery 'not to blame for woman's suicide'
A WOMAN killed herself with a drug overdose a year after she had a sex change operation, an inquest heard. Kali Bomar, 41, who was born as a male, had been very pleased with the operation, but was upset at being unable to find a job or a boyfriend. Her
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Off-duty police officer saves man after love rival stabbing
AN off-duty police officer helped save the life of a man who had been stabbed in the neck by a love rival. John Raper, 36, was jailed for six years yesterday for stabbing Paul Davies, 34, with a kitchen knife. Detective Sergeant Jim Cunningham performed
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Nosworthy's still got a touch of the Blues
NYRON Nosworthy admitted he is still fuming over the nature of last weekend's defeat to fellow relegation strugglers Birmingham City. The 25-year-old defender was adjudged to have fouled Jiri Jarosik in the lead up to the Emile Heskey's match-winner at
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Daughter tells of chilling threat to burn down house
THE daughter of a man accused of killing his wife has told a court that he threatened to set fire to their house. Michael Luke's daughter told Teesside Crown Court how her father threatened to burn down the house only hours before battering his wife to
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Unsuitable boys are just another test, silly
CONGRATULATIONS to Princess Beatrice. She has an unsuitable boyfriend. What a wonderfully normal 17-year-old thing to do. We've all been there, haven't we? Mine was an Irish army deserter who used to ring up, drunk on Guinness, at two in the morning.
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'Extremely cautious' rise of three per cent in council tax
SENIOR councillors said yesterday they were being "extremely cautious" in setting this year's council tax levels. Arthur Barker, leader of Hambleton District Council, was speaking after the authority agreed a three per cent rise. It equates to a £2.23
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Prizes offered in World Book Day campaign
WORLD Book Day takes place tomorrow - and North Yorkshire will be playing its part. The county council is joining in with the BBC's biggest-ever adult literacy campaign, Read and Write, known as RaW. The county's library and information centres will be
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Wilks is driven by World Rally dream
GUY Wilks is going full-throttle to earn a seat in Suzuki's new World Rally Championship car. Yesterday's announcement by the Japanese manufacturer that it will be running a WRC team from August 2007 has fuelled the Darlington driver's long-held ambition
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Advice about careers as child carers
PEOPLE in the Chester-le-Street area looking to make a career in childcare can find out more details today. The Childcare Information Service (Cis), which is part of Sure Start County Durham, managed by Durham County Council, will be at Chester-le-Street
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Big band sounds helping to raise funds for theatre
MUSIC from the big band era has been recorded on a compact disc to raise money for a popular but crumbling theatre. Each of the 11 bands featured on the CD have appeared at the grade II*-listed Royal Hall, in Harrogate, where work on an £8m restoration
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Green Christmas - with record levels of recycling
HOUSEHOLDS celebrated a green Christmas in County Durham this year after figures revealed record levels of recycling during the festive period. Kerbside recycling teams collected more than 20,500 tonnes of cans and glass bottles in the county, compared
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£4m investment to boost recovery
BAR and nightclub operator Ultimate Leisure is pinning its hopes for recovery on the £4m refurbishment of its estate. The North-East company said it expected its fortunes to have turned around by the end of the year after yesterday reporting a 67 per
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Telecoms workforce to be halved
TELECOMS group Cable and Wireless (C&W) warned yesterday that it could halve its UK workforce during the next five years. The group, which acquired Energis last year, said it envisaged its workforce of 5,500 would be reduced to between 2,500 and 3,500
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Silverwood leaving Tykes
YORKSHIRE'S leading wicket-taker, Chris Silverwood, is set to sign a contract with Middlesex which will take him to Lord's for the next two years, writes DAVID WARNER. Silverwood, 31 on Sunday, he has been given permission to talk to Middlesex and will
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Football chairman in talks over takeover deal for club
TALKS are taking place over the future of Darlington Football Club - but no deal has been finalised. Rumours have grown over recent days that chairman Stewart Davies has been locked in talks over the ownership of the club. Last night, the Quakers' official
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Revenues fall at cable operator
CABLE operator ntl reported a five per cent fall in fourth-quarter revenues last night as it prepared to complete its merger with smaller rival Telewest. Ntl, which has also made a £900m offer for Virgin Mobile, blamed the fall in turnover on lost contracts
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Tegan back home after a successful liver transplant
LIVER transplant baby Tegan Ross is back at home after a successful operation. Nine-month old Tegan was discharged from St James' Hospital, Leeds, after gaining enough strength to return home. The Darlington baby and her mother, Michelle Greene, and her
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Hammer killing of love-cheat mother
A JEALOUS father bludgeoned his wife to death with a paving hammer the day after he received a letter telling him she wanted a divorce. Minutes before he attacked her in the living room of their home, Michael Luke, 45, also discovered that his wife, Johanna
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Production finally begins at Biofuels
TROUBLED biodiesel producer the Biofuels Corporation may have turned a corner with the announcement it has begun producing fuel at its Teesside plant. The Billingham company had expected to start production at its Seal Sands plant - the largest of its
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'Five per cent of N-E jobs at call centres'
IN keeping with recent trends, the overall turnover figures and employee numbers from businesses in Darlington and South-West Durham are continuing to show positive signs. The average confidence figure is still negative, however it is not such a bad outlook
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Only play-offs will satisfy in-form Valentine
DARLINGTON defender Ryan Valentine insists a season of personal achievement will provide scant consolation if Quakers fail to make the play-offs. Now in his fourth season with the club, the 23-year-old has been arguably the most consistent performer in
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Durham's Ashes bid gathers strength
THE public is batting for Durham in its bid to bring Ashes cricket to the North-East on the next Australia tour to England. Nine days after launching its campaign to secure a Test match in the 2009 England versus Australia series, Durham County Cricket
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Grant bid decisions
NEARLY 50 community groups are waiting to find out if their applications for a grant have been successful. A panel of judges is poring over the applications made to take the final money from Darlington Borough Council's Community Resource Fund. The fund
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01/03/06
SMOKING LAWS: I THINK it is a very good idea to ban smoking in pubs and restaurants, but the ban is not necessary in certain clubs. All the arguments about the health and anti-social nature of smoking are well known and believed by most people now. As
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Gas leak disruption
RESIDENTS have received an apology over works to repair a gas leak on a busy main road. The engineering work, in Grange Road, Darlington, has caused a headache for people living nearby and motorists since last week. Temporary two-way traffic lights were
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Protest over pensions
ANGRY union members in Darlington tossed pancakes yesterday in an effort to drum up support. Members of public sector union Unison asked shoppers in the town's High Row, - who gives a toss about our pensions?" The Government's consultation period for
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Rosa bites off more than she can chew
A HUNGRY dog got a real mouthful after eating a corn-on-the-cob core. Rosa -a one-year-old crossbreed -needed surgery to save her life after guzzling the vegetable while out walking. Owner Jane Irving became worried after Rosa had been off food for a
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Teenage mother rate is lowest
TEENAGE pregnancy rates in Darlington are the lowest in the North-East, according to health chiefs. Darlington Borough Council's social affairs and health scrutiny committee heard yesterday that rates in the town were continuing to decrease. An update
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New committee 'is rationing NHS treatment'
DOCTORS in the region have condemned the setting up of a "referral management committee" as a way of rationing access to NHS treatment. This claim has been rejected by NHS officials in North Yorkshire, who argue that the exercise is intended to inform
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It's mathematics - but not as older generations know it
BRAINY pupils have been putting their heads together to compete in a race of skills. Hartburn Primary School is celebrating receiving an "outstanding" Ofsted report, with an entry into a national maths competition. The Stockton school, with 534 pupils
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Agency plans expansion
AN estate agency on Teesside is planning to open another office after seeing the business take-off in its first year. Homes and Finance, in Yarm High Street, was set up by husband and wife Dave and Jackie Bassett in 2004. In the past year, it has increased
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Wall Street Bagel store closes down
A BAGEL retailer who planned to open ten outlets across the region has closed his only store. Mike Wall, founder of Wall Street Bagel, in Darlington, has closed the shop only seven months after investing £100,000 in the business. Mr Wall said yesterday
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Campaign targeting bogus callers
A CAMPAIGN has been set up to help householders deal with bogus callers. Gateshead Housing Company, which manages 23,000 homes, has launched the No ID? No Way! campaign aimed at those who prey on the borough's most vulnerable residents. Bogus callers
