Features

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January 2006

Ronald likes the changes
Two members of staff at a McDonald's restaurant in Stoke-on-Trent say a scheme which means relatives can cover each others shifts - without having to tell a manager first - is working well. The company tested out the idea in the Meir Park restaurant and it's now going nationwide.
Michelle Collins and her sister Denise Lowe both work at Meir Park McDonald's and they say it's really helped them juggle work and home life.

Healthy working awards
The BBC has announced the local winners of its Big Challenge Health Work Awards which encourage workplaces to be healthier, happier places to be. Winners in Staffordshire are:
Healthy Medium Employer - Directorate of Health Promotion; Healthy Small Employer - Yes Direct (where free fruit bowls have been introduced for staff); Most Improved Employer - Aspire Housing, Newcastle; Unsung Hero award - Alex Arrowsmith; Most Improved Employer - Nestle UK, Tutbury.
See www.bbc.co.uk/bigchallenge for more.

Opera moves on
Opera and classical music tunes are being piped from a speaker placed outside Burntwood Leisure Centre in south Staffordshire to deter gangs of youths from hanging around. The music - which the youngsters appear to find unfashionable - is played at night when large groups of teenagers collect around the main entrance to the Chasetown site. Since the speakers have been installed instances of anti-social behaviour have reduced, said leisure and culture chief Colin Ablitt.

Red at the hospital
There could be compulsory redundancies at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire to save cash, says the new Chief Executive Anthony Sumara, but he's confident the hospital can get out of the red. The hospital's in around £18million worth of debt, and team of experts are being sent in to try and sort out problems on a list of eighteen hospital trusts who've been "named and shamed" by the Department of Health. For more on this story, see our BBC Staffordshire News pages. 25/01/06

Reaching for the stars
Pupils at Thomas Boughey School in Audley, are having rocket making lessons, which have been led by Starchaser a local technology company. The company take their thirty foot rocket around schools to show encourage students to study engineering and science.

Pop hopefuls
Agent Blue, Stoke's next tip for top rock success, have been signing copies of their new album . The band have just been signed by a major record company and are now set to embark on a UK tour. Nic Andrews says the release of the album is a major milestone for the band. And you can see more on the progress of Agent Blue on Staffordshire TV in February. 23/1/06

South Cheshire home for Polish
One recruitment agency in Crewe has brought thousands of migrants from eastern Europe to the town over the past year and a half. But schools and public services in Crewe say they're struggling to cope as more than 3,000 Polish people have moved there in the past 18 months. Poland is one of the new "accession" countries in the European Union.
Jason Canny who runs Advance Personnel opened an office in Poland to recruit them and says his company's been inundated with applications and says they did warn the borough council.

Circumcision in SoT
A charity based in North Staffordshire, which helps people who have concerns about circumcision, says more people are getting in touch with them than ever before. "Norm UK", which is based in Stone, is now setting up a pilot scheme in Stoke-on-Trent, where they'll produce leaflets to try and give parents and teenagers more information. David Smith is the charitiy's manager and says the problem is, it's a taboo subject: "Girls are taught everything about their bodies, but this is basic anatomy that's left in ignorance. Nobody is told anything about it, and very simple problems could be very easily solved if people were given the right information."

Lichfield tops
Recycling in the West Midlands is gathering pace, according to the latest figures published by Defr. Data shows that in 2004/05, householders in the region recycled ever-higher levels of household waste such as paper, glass, cans, kitchen and garden waste. People in Lichfield continue to be some of the best recyclers and composters in the country, reaching 46.4% in 2004/05. Meanwhile, Tamworth residents made the biggest leap in the region: nearly a third of household waste was recycled or composted, up to 30.7% from just 9.6% in 2003/04. More information on the rates in full, is available at http://www.defra.gov.uk

New ride for park
An £8million new ride based on the hit film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory will be unveiled at Alton Towers in April. The new attraction will open on April 1st at the Staffordshire theme park. Described as "fantastical and multi-sensory" the indoor ride takes families on an adventure into the world of Willy Wonka and his great chocolate factory. The ride uses a series of special effects and takes its inspiration from Roald Dahl's book and Quentin Blake's illustrations.

Fabricant anger - 20/01/06
A family-run guinea pig breeding farm in east Staffordshire, which is at the centre of a long-running campaign of intimidation by animal rights extremists, closed today, its owners announced.
Local Conservative MP Michael Fabricant said the closure of Darley Oaks meant guinea pigs would now be imported from Europe where "the tough regime of inspections" designed to safeguard animal welfare did not exist. The MP for Lichfield said: "This must be a desperately sad time for the Hall family who have managed the farm in the face of persecution, vandalism, and attacks on their property, and the desecration of the grave of a relative. "I will be among the first to rejoice when the day comes that animal experimentation for medical research will no longer be necessary. But until that day arrives, it is the duty of our state to protect those who seek to alleviate suffering through illness even if it means that researchers have to experiment on animals."

Walton hopes
Angling enthusiasts are hopeful that a new TV series about Izaak Walton will encourage more people to visit his cottage in Staffordshire. His cottage at Shallowford, near Eccleshall, will re-open to visitors in April after the winter break, but will only be open one day a week, because of a lack of funding. Tony Bridgett, who's a director with the Walton cottage trust, says he hopes the new "Compleat Angler" TV series will attract more tourists there.

History hold up
Work on a reservoir in North Staffordshire is one month behind schedule because industrial artefacts need to be preserved. British Waterways is repairing the dam at Kynpersley reservoir, which was built in 1827 by Thomas Telford, in order to bring safety standards up to date. But anglers fear low water levels while work is carried out could mean fish may suffer. However David Thresh from British Waterways, says they've recovered original teapot valves designed by Telford, and they need to be careful...

Mining area goes eco
Council officials have authorised £850,000 to be spent on an eco-friendly visitor centre for Apedale Country Park in North Staffordshire. It is to have a grass roof and has been designed to blend into the landscape. Work starts on it this summer.

UB40 head for forest - 16/01/06
Following their autumn arena tour, the veteran reggae-rockers UB40 have announced they will be out in the Staffordshire woods this summer as part of the Forestry Commission's Annual Forest Tour. They play in Cannock Chase Forest on 25th June.

County police gay-friendly award - 16/01/06
Staffordshire Police has topped a chart of the one hundred most gay-friendly employers in Britain - in the annual Workplace Equality Index, conducted by gay activist charity Stonewall. A spokesman says it's partly due to the force's record of promoting lesbian and gay officers to a high level - currently one in 10 of the force's 2,309 police officers is lesbian or gay, almost twice the 6% of the general population estimated in a recent Treasury report to be homosexual.
Staffordshire Chief Constable John Giffard said the title was reward for work reassuring the gay community as well as improving the lives of staff; and praised his officers for accepting changes that "would not have seen the light of day" ten years ago.

Staffords get the popular vote - 13/01/06
Tens of thousands of people voted in BBC Midlands Today's Midlander of the Year Award, with thirteen thousand votes going to the winners - The Staffordshire Regiment, who served in Iraq during 2005. They hit the headlines then many times, including when their tank was dramatically set on fire during disturbances.
Sergeant Major Ian Mahan from the Staffords says the award will be in memory of their three soldiers who died in Iraq.
Three of the four finalists were from Staffordshire. As well as the Staffords, two other finalists included Stoke on Trent's Dot Griffiths, who's fought a long campaign to get herceptin for breast cancer sufferers, the brave seven-year-old Olivia Clarke from Cannock, who suffered amputations after contracting meningitis early in 2005 - but who is already back at school. Completing the list was the Asian Tsunami charity worker, Carmen Nash from Shropshire.

The award comes in the tri-centenery of their establishment, but also at a time when the Staffords are to disappear as a regiment. See - www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/culture/venues/n_s/staffordshire_regiment.shtml

Hopes for musical - 11/01/06
A composer from Staffordshire who has written hits for Cliff Richard says he has high hopes for the 'Snow Queen' which is opening at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham. Chris Eaton from Kinver put music to the classic story, marking a move towards theatre rather than the Christian pop which made him a success. The show stars Shirley Anne Field and runs until Saturday.

Motorway Protest - 11/01/06
Rural campaigners voiced anger over plans for a 60 mile new tolled motorway through acres of countryside. The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) has described the proposals which would cut through Staffordshire and Cheshire - as a "countryside munching monster." The criticism follows the first of two stakeholder seminars by the Highways Agency to consider whether to build the M6 Expressway or widen the existing M6. No non-road building options were considered.

Titanic idea goes down a storm - 5/01/06
A museum dedicated to the ocean liner the Titanic could be built in Stoke-on-Trent. The Titanic Heritage Trust is raising money to create a permanent exhibition to commemorate the ship and the disaster in which she sank. It says the city would be ideal, because the captain of the Titanic, Edward John Smith, was born in Hanley.

Fining by text - 03/01/06
A scheme which sent text messages warning people in Staffordshire to pay overdue fines could be used in the rest of the country. The text said 'Pay up or Get locked up' and convinced around three quarters of those contacted to pay their fine. The idea could now be rolled out across England and Wales; and would include people who fail to turn up at court or for community service. The Government says it's quick, easy and doesn't cost much and is helping the courts stay one step ahead of the criminals. 03/01/06

Sneyd memories
People in North Staffordshire who have been campaigning for years to have a fitting tribute to the 57 men and boys who died in the Sneyd Pit mining disaster on New Years Day 1942, are about to see their dream come true. Work has now begun on a memorial which is due to be unveiled in Burslem, near the site of the old pit, this month.

Ups and downs of labour! 01/01/06
A woman from North Staffordshire had to give birth in a lift, after she didn't make it to a maternity ward. Michelle Rogers, who's from Doxey near Stafford was on her way to the labour ward at Stafford's main hospital on at 12.07am on New Year's Day. She didn't get there in time though, and baby Paris was delivered in the lift! Her partner Toby Boulton, was in a separate lift - and arrived on the maternity floor to find himself a father...

Bishop condemns "outlaws"
The Bishop of Lichfield, whose diocese covers most of Staffordshire, says Britain and its allies are acting like outlaws in the way they're dealing with terrorist suspects.
The Right Reverend Jonathon Gledhill has used his new year message to condemn the way people are being left in prison camps or sent to countries where they might be tortured.

Honours 01/01/06
The New Year's Honours List produced its crop of recipients from the county. Here's the full list...
CBE - Alan Doig, QFSM, the Chief Fire Officer of Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
OBE - Carole Lady Bamford, the Vice-Chair of the FULL STOP Campaign (NSPCC); Charles Richard Cameron Dennis for services to the Staffordshire Pottery Industry.
MBE - Van Roy Heflin Barrett, Programme Manager of Alternative Skills for Life at Stoke-on-Trent College: Ms Sarah Elizabeth Beeson, Health Visitor, for services to the community in Stafford; Brian Raymond Broughton for charitable services in Tamworth; Dr Eileen Mary Court, ex-Deputy Headteacher at Rising Brook High School in Stafford, for services to Education; Selwyn Henry Gibson, for services to the community in Newcastle-under-Lyme; County Councillor Frank William Lewis of Rugeley, for services to Local Government; Frank Lightfoot. Site Supervisor at Summerbank Primary School in Tunstall, for services to Education; Mrs Marjorie Machin, for services to the British Red Cross and to the Douglas Macmillan Hospice in Stoke-on-Trent; Stephen Meakin, Member of the Aspire Housing Management Board, for services to the community in Poolfields, Newcastle-under-Lyme; Robert William Odlum, for services to the community in Newcastle-under-Lyme; Mrs Jacqueline Pountney of Rugeley, Chair of the Walsall Equestrian Society, for services to the Equestrian Industry; Owen Thomas Powell, founder and leader of the Keele World Affairs Group, for services to Adult Education; Gerry Robinson, for services to the communities in Staffordshire and Cheshire.
QPM (Queen's Police Medal) - John Horace Wood, Chief Superintendent in Staffordshire Police.