TERRORIST BOMBING OF WORLD TRADE CENTRE
Sincere condolences and deepest sympathy goes out to all the people who have lost loved ones in this atrocity.
Also to the American people as a nation.
Our thoughts are with you
COUNCIL TO SPLASH OUT ON POOL IMPROVEMENTS
Plans for a major refurbishment of Wigan's town centre swimming pool are set to be put to the council's cabinet committee.
Proposals will be put forward to breathe new life into the International Pool which officials believe is is in desperate need of refurbishment to bring it into line with some of the borough's other top sports facilities, such as those at Robin Park.
The pool, which is now 30 years old was last upgraded to meet criteria for 'international' status.
The Metro has recently published details of its five year sports strategy which includes initiatives aimed at encouraging more people to get the most out of the area's leisure facilities.
The possibility of opening up school's sports halls is also to be considered to create more opportunities for people to lead more active lifestyles.
Despite its lapsed conditiion, the pool has been used recently for the Greater Manchester Youth Games along with other sports centres in the area.
Improvements will begin wit a major repairs and maintainence plan before major improvements can take place.
A Metro spokesman said, "Wigan International Pool is now reaching the end of its expected lifespan and requires significant investment to ensure its future position as a district facility and community asset. In order to protect and sustain the future of this excellent facility, the authority will undertake a detailed analysis of the pool's current condition, including plant and equipment."
Plans will be discussed at one of the forthcoming monthly Council Cabinet meetings.
MUM'S BID TO FIND 'STOLEN' GIRL
A desperate mum has pledged to find the 'stolen' daughter she has not seen for three years.
When Vicky Pervaiz allowed her estranged husband to
take their four year-old daughter to Disneyland in France, she never dreamed she might not return.
But little Zira Pervaiz was not taken on holiday, she was sent jy her father, Sajid Pervaiz, 31, to his family in Pakistan.
In August
Mr Pervaiz was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court to four years in prison for abducting his daughter and although his conviction brought some comfort to Mrs Pervaiz, it has not brought her daughter back.
A close friend of Mrs Pervaiz,
who lives in Dale Street Leigh, said she was desperate to see her little girl, but concerned about whether she will be able to raise the money to pay for legal fees.
He said, "She has been told she is not eligible for legal aid if she
wants to fight in the Pakistani courts. She can't afford the fees hersel, so she doesn't know what to do. She just wants her little girl back. This is very cruel to her."
A touching poem, written by Mrs Pervaiz, who has three younger children from
a different relationship, revealed how she longed to hold Zira again.
An extract said, "When you're back in my arms, and I see your face glow, one thing is for sure, I'll never let you go"
In court, Mr Pervaiz claimed that his wife had agreed to let
Zira, now aged seven, to go on a holiday to Pakistan in 1998.
He insisited that although Zira did not return when she should have done, it was none of his doing.
But Judge Robert Atherton branded him a liar.
He said, "You say you have done all you
can to get her back. I do not believe you. I think you are a cunning, arrogant liar."
FIRM TO SACK 55 WORKERS
A long-established Wigan cardboard plant has shocked workers with plans to make a quarter of them redundant.
Management called production, sales and management staff together inside the sprawling SCA Packaging (formerly Reeds Corrugated) Marus Bridge factory to warn them of job cut negotiations.
they were told that the comopany, which has more than 200 employees in Wigan, was struggling because of changes in packaging demand from their major customers, foods giant Heinz, of Kitt Green and breakfast cereal company, Kellogs, at Trafford Park. Because 25 of the 55 jobs under threat are engineers and maintenance staff, shared between Marus Bridge and its sister Ellesmere Port SCA Packaging works, the number of local people eventually losing their jobs may be diminished.
Most of the affected workers are members of the General Media and Printing Union, whose local official was informed of the job threat half an hour before the general announcement.
A spokesman for the GMPU confirmed that they were prepared for ongoing negotiations and remained hopeful that the redundancy figure could be significantly reduced.
A worker, who didn't wish to be named said, "There are always rumours knocking around but when we heard the bosses wanted us for a meeting at the start of the shift, people were bracing themselves.
"having said that, a quarter of the workforce going is still quite a shocker. They said the future of the plant was assured and that they were investing in new machinery here, but the changes in specifications for the Heinz and Kellogs orders meant that some lines were going to be finished."
A company spokesman said that it had undertaken an extensive review of its asset base and had then decided to bring together the operations of Wigan and the Ellesmere Port plants as a regional business.
But he insisted that both Marus Bridge and Ellesmere Port factories remained key to the firm's strategy in the North West.
He said, "The company will be consulting with employees and their representatives about the plan and the implications for their future.
"All employment rights will be fully respected and the company will, as part of the consultation process, be reviewing possibilities for redeployment."
END OF AN ERA
Wigan's last clog maker is hanging up his hammer and closing the family's 104 year-old business.
A drastic fall off in trade has persuaded Walter Hurst to put up the shutters for the last time.
But he's proud that the very last pair of clofgs he made are on the feet of his two year-old grandaughter, Molly.
Walter, 62, has spent his life making clogs and repairing shoes. But in a new century, the demand for the traditional Lancashire footwear and for shoes to be repaired,
has almost disappeared.
Said Walter, "We've been making clogs for over a century, but what's the use of going on?
"my son didn't want to come into the business and although I have been trying to sell the shop as a going concern for a couple of years, it's been futile. It's time to go."
Walter, who has appeared many times on TV demonstrating the art of clogmaking, is one of Hindley's most enduring shopkeepers and the premises on Wigan Road have remained unaltered for decades.
He laughed, "Once, the Health and Safety people tried to get me to put things straight.
"I did a
bit of dusting and they siad Ok."
Walter who still uses the hammer belonging to his clogmaking randfather, said the business used to have six clogmakers when the heavyweight footwear was in demand from miners and mill workers.
He added, "The industry disappeared years ago, so I concentrated on making clogs
and have had orders from all over the world.But it seems even clog dancing is going out of fashion."
Walter and his wife, Pam, both agreed that the last pair of clogs should be made for their first grandchild who has been staying with them with mum, Ann, 29, and her partner, Keith, 36, who live in Victoria
Australia.
BILL STAR TO TREAD BOARDS
Former Bill favourite Russell Boulter is to star in the British Theatricl sensation of the year.
The actor, who was brought up in Wigan, rose to fame as the police soap's det Sgt John Bolton, has landed the leading role in Star Quality- the only Noel Coward play never previously to have been staged.
And not only will he be playing a key role in this unique world premiere, he will be joined at the head of the cast by Penelope Keith and Una Stubbs.
It is a new challenge he relishes. Having hung up his Sun Hill badge last year, he has since appeared in the popular hospital drama A&E as a drug-taking male nurse and has toured Australian theatres-including Sydney Opera House- to huge acclaim with a number of Bill colleagues in a comedy western called Lone Star.
And he crops up on telly twice this week as well- fistly in an epsisode The Darling Buds of May. Then he appears in flashback during a Bill spin-off Beech, which follows the fortunes of the rogue cop who murdered Bolton last year and then escaped justice by fleeing abroad.
But the 38 year-old's sights are firmly set on the months ahead. Satr Quality has just opened in Windsor and then tours the country before spending several montrhs in the West End. Every single performance of the play on tour has already sold out.
Russell, who, as a child lived in Shevington, said, "This is the last chance people will ever have to see a new Noel Coward play. It was written in 1967 towards the end of his life when his work had gone out of fashion.
"These two factors mean that he was less inhibited about the subject areas he was prepared to deal with, including his own homosexuality.
"It's a real warts and all playbut it is also uproariously funny and it is awesome working alongside two such wonderful actressesas Penelope Keith and Una Stubbs.
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