A NEW town centre casino and bingo club which would create almost 100 jobs has moved a step closer to reality. The former Sainsbury's supermarket which would house the proposed casino, and an enlarged Mecca Bingo set to relocate from its existing Ashburner
I THINK that Bolton justly deserves its "friendliest" tag; moreover it is high time it was recognised nationwide. I recall many years ago, a generation ago, TV reporters visiting our town and interviewing Boltonians about our friendly nature. Both interviewers
COLIN Shepherd of Farnham, Surrey, wonders which planet I come from, after a quote in one of my recent letters about stealth taxes. The quote was from a national newspaper, and referred to a recent report issued, I think, by the Lib Dems, in which they
AS an elected member for the people of Kearsley, I feel I am failing them on the issue of law enforcement. I am in regular contact with the police on these issues, I am also trying to liaise with groups of youths, but with little success. Unfortunately
THESE two pictures have been sent to me by Mr Mike McEwing, who would like to know more details about them, if possible. The picture above was taken at the Croft Laundry, Undershore Works, off Crompton Way, before staff set off on a trip. He thinks it
THE R word made an appearance from Sam Allardyce's mouth within days of the football season starting writes Richard Mulligan After defeat at Manchester United, Allardyce made it clear points would be needed in the following three games before next week's
SAM Allardyce always knew Wanderers were in for a tough start but he never imagined being so desperate as to admit he would settle for just a point from a home game. But if Saturday's Reebok clash with Charlton ends in a scoreless draw, he might just
ADVISORY service Connexions is still offering a raft of advice and support to Bolton students whose A-level results were better or worse expected. The service says that young people who do not know what they want to do, can contact one of their personal
STUDENTS can apply to open a bank account on-line thanks to a new website. NatWest has launched a new site on the Internet -- www.natwest.com/students -- which allows students to view details on the new NatWest student package and apply online. For the
A NEW bus stop will be provided for passengers on the Link Road, Middlebrook, for those wishing to shop at Tesco. The new stop will be provided this year as part of Bolton Council's Highways Capital Programme.
THREE men from Bolton are the latest recruits to the county's fire service. Andrew Yeldon, aged 30, from Westhoughton, Keiran Gillam, aged 25, from Little Lever, and Jason Jones, aged 32, from Westhoughton, recently completed their initial basic training
A RABBIT was safely rescued from its burning hutch. The incident happened after a fence was set on fire in the garden of a house in Wordsworth Avenue, Farnworth at around 12.30am yesterday. The fire then spread to a rabbit hutch containing the pet. The
A PUBLIC inquiry into a controversial scheme for new flats will be held next week, it has been announced. Bolton-based Castlecrest Homes has appealed against the Bolton Council's decision to refuse planning permission to demolish a home in Oakwood Drive
A MEMORIAL service at Manchester Airport on Friday will celebrate the life of one of the airport's most popular workers. John Courtney, aged 47, from Atherton, died suddenly in March, and a plaque was to be placed in the airport to honour his 19 years
AN NHS worker from Farnworth has accepted the challenge of a Moroccan adventure to raise funds for some of Britain's most vulnerable children and young people. Joyce Holden, aged 54, is taking part in The Children's Society's five-day Morocco trek next
BLACKROD councillors are heading a 28-mile charity walk around the village on Saturday. A small group, including Cllr Keith Bowes, Cllr Isabel Seddon and Horwich community officer PC Andy Vernon, will be sent on their way from Blackrod Community Centre
THE next meeting of the Three Towns Community Forum will be held on Wednesday September 3. The forum will be held at Blackrod Community Centre and will start with a drop-in session at 6.30pm followed by the open forum.
AN ornamental bunny with wanderlust has returned home to its bewildered owners. Bunnykins is now back in the garden in Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, after a worldwide trek. The rabbit disappeared last month without informing its owners. And within days
Bed on fire FIREFIGHTERS warned of the dangers of electrical appliances after a hairdryer was left on and set fire to a bed. Officers were called to a house in Ainsworth Lane, Bolton, where the hairdryer had been left by its owner when she set off for
THREE new firefighters will be tackling blazes in Greater Manchester after completing their initial training course. Andrew Yeldon, aged 30, and Jason Jones, aged 32, both from Westhoughton, and Keiran Gillam, aged 25, from Little Lever, were among 24
A FUN day is being held in Great Lever to celebrate the launch of a community directory. There will be activities for children and adults at Sunnyside Park, Moisant Street, between 1pm and 4pm on Sunday September 14. The booklet will list local groups
CHART topping boy band Blue will be switching on Blackpool Illuminations this Friday. The band will turn on the light at 9.25pm, after music from Liberty X, Atomic Kitten, Louise, and Robin Gibb, which will be broadcast on BBC Radio 2. The six miles of
A NINETY-year-old former fireman has finally received a medal for serving in the brigade during the Second World War -- nearly 60 years late. Stanley Norris, who worked as a fireman in Bolton in the 1940s and 1950s, received the fire brigade medal during
A WOMAN who lost her father and a brother in the space of three days has paid tribute to "two of the world's best gentlemen". Marie Hardman told of how her family is coming to terms with the devastating period last week in which her 90-year-old father
A SUPERMARKET is recalling bottles of salad cream amid fears they may contain pieces of glass. Morrisons is urging customers to return the store's own brand of salad cream and say the products should not be eaten. A manufacturing fault may have caused
THE diets of people in Bolton will never be the same again, if one man gets his way. Alan Brown, aged 39, the co-ordinator for Bolton Primary Care Trust's Five-a-Day campaign wants people to make long-term changes to their diets. He hopes people will
BOLTON Wanderers are set to host part of a learning and development course to help unemployed young people get their lives back on track. The Prince's Trust scheme, which will start next month, is being funded by a £750,000 donation to the Trust from
A NEW town centre casino and bingo club which would create almost 100 jobs has moved a step closer to reality. The former Sainsbury's supermarket which would house the proposed casino, and an enlarged Mecca Bingo set to relocate from its existing Ashburner
THE mother of a terminally ill teenage girl has spoken spoken of her torment at seeing her condition deteriorate. Doctors told 18-year-old Amanda Gifford, from Halliwell, that she is not getting better despite bravely battling against three tumours. She
CAMERAS should be placed at Bolton's road junctions to stop drivers going through red lights, according to a motorists group. Careless drivers are failing to stop at red lights on an "all too regular basis" says Les Wardle, secretary of Bolton Advanced
MOTORISTS in the North-west are taking unnecessary risks as lengthy journeys to and form work interfere with their home life, a survey has found. Commuting pressure is causing more than half of drivers in the region to drive recklessly, with 30 per cent
BLACKBURN Rovers soccer bosses have accused Bolton Wanderers of "unnecessarily" giving out details of a row involving their club doctor. Wanderers' chairman Phil Gartside sent a bill to their Premiership rivals for £200 after an incident in which their
WITH 10 goals conceded, and Charlton boasting a reasonable away record Wanderers will have to be alert at the back for the second home match of the season. Chief Soccer Writer Gordon Sharrock will be filing team news, a half-time report and a full-time
A STUDENT keen to get quicker access to the Internet is urging local people to sign up for broadband. Rick Box, aged 16, has started a campaign in Edgworth and Chapeltown to get broadband installed but he needs the support of about 400 residents before
HAVING read that Bellway want the soon-to-be redundant cricket pitch in Westhoughton, and of the lack of skateboarding facilities in the Bolton area, may I suggest the blindingly obvious? Turn the cricket pitch into an extreme games park for the dudes
HAVING just returned from my holiday in Tuscany, Italy, I find myself, for probably for the first time in many years, having to agree with Tony Blair. Tuscany is a beautiful place and well worth a visit, but that's where our agreement stops. While in
From the Evening News, August 29, 1903: WE have made arrangements to publish in the Journal and Guardian, a series of articles on Billiards. Each article will be about a column in length, and will be illustrated with good diagrams. It will consist chiefly
BOLTON Library's Archives and Local Studies Services boasts some true gems -- including correspondence from Robert Louis Stevenson and George Bernard Shaw. Frank Elson reports DID you know that Samuel Crompton's mother had a very successful recipe for
A DRIVER was subjected to a 20 mile terror ride after being hijacked at knifepoint while driving a hearse. The man, who has not been named, was driving through North Wales on his way back to Eagle Specialist Vehicles in Westhoughton when the young attacker
MARIO Jardel did not look the most impressive of sporting specimens at Portsmouth but he is likely to appear on the bench at the Reebok against Charlton. For he will continue to figure in Sam Allardyce's squads - just on the strength of his goalscoring
BOLTON Wanderers are set to host part of a learning and development course to help unemployed young people get their lives back on track. The Prince's Trust scheme, which will start next month, is being funded by a £750,000 donation to the Trust from
PER Frandsen will roll out the red carpet to welcome an old friend back to the Reebok ... but Claus Jensen knows he can expect as fierce a midfield contest as he is likely to get all season. For Frandsen is fighting to keep his place in Sam Allardyce's
THE work of medical mercy ships which provide treatment in Third World countries is the subject of a talk at Cornerstone Baptist Church, in Lord's Stile Lane, Bromley Cross, next week. Sue Lord, will talk on "A World In Need" at 2pm on Monday.
VANDALISM attacks on Bolton schools have plummeted over the summer holidays. Many schools that have had major problems in the past, are reporting only minor damage -- such as glass bottles being thrown on to playgrounds --and one or two smashed windows
THE next meeting of the Three Towns Community Forum will be held on Wednesday September 3. The forum will be held at Blackrod Community Centre and will start with a drop-in session at 6.30pm followed by the open forum.
FIFTEEN young people from Europe and Africa joined members of The Rotary Club of Bolton were taken sailing and canoeing at High Rid Reservoir. The group -- part of an annual Rotary invitation to young students from abroad -- included a series of supervised
A FUN day is being held in Great Lever to celebrate the launch of a community directory. There will be activities for children and adults at Sunnyside Park, Moisant Street, between 1pm and 4pm on Sunday September 14. The booklet will list local groups
DEPUTY mayor of Bolton Cllr John Walsh will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of Bolton Family History Society. Cllr Walsh's subject for the talk next Wednesday will be 750 Years of Bolton History. All are welcome to the meeting at Bolton Cricket
BLOOD donor sessions will be held on September 18 at Walmsley Parish Hall, Blackburn Road, Egerton, between 2pm-4pm and 5.30pm-7.30pm; on September 24 at Walker Memorial Hall, Ridgeway Gate, Bolton, between 1.30pm-3.30pm and 5.30pm-7.30pm, and on September
THE Three Towns Community Forum has given a £500 grant each to the Wingates Tenants and Residents' Association and the Chew Moor Bank junior football team. The residents' association will use the money to take elderly residents and their carers to Smithills
A FORMER Bolton teacher has been awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in historical research. David Holding, from Adlington, is a former teacher of Smithills Moor Grammar School. He has been awarded the doctorate by Manchester Metropolitan University. Dr Holding
THE search is on for volunteers in Bolton to serve as the first members local health forums. Groups are being set up across the country which will have powers to check the standard of health services, giving people real influence in NHS decision-making
THE work of medical mercy ships which provide treatment in Third World countries is the subject of a talk at Cornerstone Baptist Church, in Lord's Stile Lane, Bromley Cross, next week. Sue Lord, will talk on "A World In Need" at 2pm on Monday.
DEPUTY mayor of Bolton Cllr John Walsh will be the guest speaker at the next meeting of Bolton Family History Society. Cllr Walsh's subject for the talk next Wednesday will be 750 Years of Bolton History. All are welcome to the meeting at Bolton Cricket
A SERVICE to mark Merchant Navy Day will be held in Bolton town centre on September 3. The day commemorates the loss of life at sea, when a passenger ship was sunk by a tornado on the first day of World War Two. It also honours the people who have lost
A STUDENT keen to get quicker access to the Internet is urging local people to sign up for broadband. Rick Box, aged 16, has started a campaign in Edgworth and Chapeltown to get broadband installed but he needs the support of about 400 residents before
NEW signing Emerson Thome has been cleared to make his Wanderers debut against Charlton Athletic at the Reebok on Saturday. The Brazilian defender was signed from cash-strapped Sunderland just two days before the transfer deadline and the 31-year-old
EMERSON Thome brought a dramatic end to Sam Allardyce's search for a centre-back at lunchtime on Friday writes Gordon Sharrock Less than 24 hours after the Wanderers boss feared he had missed out in his bid to sign the Brazilian defender from cash-strapped
A FORMER Bolton teacher has been awarded a Doctor of Philosophy in historical research. David Holding, from Adlington, is a former teacher of Smithills Moor Grammar School. He has been awarded the doctorate by Manchester Metropolitan University. Dr Holding
The largest rocket ever launched from the UK mainland will go on display at Southport Air Show next weekend prior to embarking on its next mission - winning the coveted $10 million international X Prize competition. The resort's own spaceman Tony Meadows
YOUNGSTERS had lots of fun as they raced electric cars around Victoria Square. Around 20 children aged between eight and 11 years-old built and raced small buggies in the marquee on the square. The event, which was part of Bolton Festival, was organised
THE 750-year-old Charter granting the town of Bolton le Moors free borough status could soon be recognised as one of the most important archive documents in the North-west. Voted number one by the public from a choice of three historical events in the
BIG Sam Allardyce is not a man used to taking orders -- but he will be answering to another manager this weekend when he plays in a charity football match. The Superwhites boss and coach Phil Brown are due to play for a team of Wanderers representatives
THE leader of Bolton's black cab organisation has denied that drivers will be forced to sit written English tests before they are handed a licence. Charles Oakes, general secretary of the Bolton Taxi Association, has denied English exams will be introduced
THE Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside has moved to a new £1.7 million visitor centre and offices in Cuerden Valley Park. The building features a number of innovativations to make it more environmentally friendly, and it
