Archive
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Income tax reasoning
THE policy of the Liberal Democrats is to replace the council tax with a local income tax but there has been no explanation as to how it would work. Would it entail a separate income tax return from each working member of the household (say mother, father
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Homes crisis realisation dawns at last
HURRAY! At last Stroud Labour have realised there is a housing crisis in the district. They, of course, are partly responsible for the situation we find ourselves in. If Stroud Labour, helped by David Drew, had not supported the 'No' campaign for the
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Ace trainer Baimbridge hails the wizardry of Ossie
BERKELEY trainer Dick Baimbridge sent out two winners during a bitterly cold Duke of Beaufort Point-to-Point at Didmarton on Saturday. The renowned trainer was on the mark in the second race, the Hiscox-sponsored Intermediate, with the hat-trick seeking
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Price to pay for freedom
GRAHAM Bartlett (Gazette letters, March 4) queries the cost of keeping our MP, David Drew. That is the trouble with democracy - it's expensive. It would be much cheaper if we didn't expect MPs to respond to our letters, or take up problems on our behalf
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Coburn is the rocket man
Cam Bulldogs 3 Chalford 2 AN early rocket from Jer Coburn set up Cam for their first win in six games. Just four minutes had elapsed when Coburn smashed Loz Dorman's pull back into the Chalford net from fully 25 yards. The goal filled the Bulldogs with
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Courageous councillor dies
A STALWART of the Cam community has died after a long battle against the MRSA superbug. Cam Parish councillor David Winsor died in Stoke Mandeville Hospital on Thursday, March 3. He was 65. Mr Winsor was wheelchair-bound for more than 40 years after being
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(Northern) Monkey Business
Tuesday: 3.15 Smurfit Champion Hurdle (2 miles 110 yards). Selection: Macs Joy. Each-way: Rooster Booster. Wednesday: 3.15 Queen Mother Champion Chase (2 miles). Selection: Moscow Flyer. Each-way: Armaturk. Thursday: 2.35 Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy
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Three-way Champion Chase tussle is the highlight of four-day festival
FOUR is the magic number for National Hunt fans heading to the 2005 Cheltenham Festival. Next week, for the first time in the history of the championship meeting, racing will take place over four days. Four races have been added to the old 20-race schedule
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Superbug cases are down
A COLLECTIVE sigh of relief was breathed this week as Health Secretary Dr John Reid announced hospitals were winning the battle against the potentially fatal disease MRSA. Reporter Hannah Swingler investigated whether these national statistics ring true
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School wins £2million rebuild
A DILAPIDATED Yate school is to be demolished and completely rebuilt in a major multi-million pound project. Wellesley Primary School fought off fierce competition for South Gloucestershire Council's backing for the three-year development and staff and
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Cup heartache for North
Powergen Junior Vase semi-final North Bristol 13 Solihull 18 IN a fiercely contested game, North Bristol came up just short as Solihull progressed to the final and a dream trip to Twickenham. On balance the Midlands side deserved to move on as they took
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Our local MPs should help save hospital
I AM writing to publicly appeal to local our local Members of Parliament to show their public support for Cossham Hospital by signing the Early Day Motion 622 tabled by Conservative Party co-chairman Dr Liam Fox. The motion was the initiative of our prospective
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Bakery rises to the occasion for TV
ONE of Chipping Sodbury's most successful small businesses has revealed the secrets of its success for a television programme. Hobbs House Bakery was selected to take part in the 20-part BBC series Mind Your Own Business because of its award-winning status
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Our local MPs should help to save hospital
I AM horrified by the councillors' decision to approve the new headquarters in Yate, at a cost of £21million, and folks it will take the council 21 years to pay for this project. The councillors also agreed a sum of £400,000 to be allocated to the project
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Town feel the force of mighty Fairford
Almondsbury Town 0 Fairford Town 4 ALMONDSBURY followed on from last week's nightmare 5-4 home defeat to Abingdon United with another disappointing display at Oaklands Park. Fairford Town have long been considered to be one of the most dangerous teams
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(Northern) Monkey Business
Tuesday: 3.15 Smurfit Champion Hurdle (2 miles 110 yards). Selection: Macs Joy. Each-way: Rooster Booster. Wednesday: 3.15 Queen Mother Champion Chase (2 miles). Selection: Moscow Flyer. Each-way: Armaturk. Thursday: 2.35 Daily Telegraph Festival Trophy
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Changing tunes
THORNBURY FM - the town's embryonic community radio station - showed signs of stirring this week as supporters signed up to be there at the birth. Around 40 people attended a special meeting to back the idea and pledge their help in turning a dream into
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Three-way Champion Chase tussle is the highlight of four-day festival
FOUR is the magic number for National Hunt fans heading to the 2005 Cheltenham Festival. Next week, for the first time in the history of the championship meeting, racing will take place over four days. Four races have been added to the old 20-race schedule
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Lions' pride in mane event
THORNBURY Lions will be celebrating a landmark in the club's history this weekend when they host a major convention. Around 300 guests will be attending special events at the town's leisure centre, marking the 30th annual gathering of Lions clubs in Wales
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Incensed by hospital decision
I AM a war widow, pushing 75 years, rather disabled with the most questionable health requiring medical attention. I am incensed with anger over the high handed decision to close Frenchay Hospital without as much as a by your leave from the 30,000 odd
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Pupils' paintings on offer
THE work of talented young artists at Thornbury's Castle School will soon be adorning the walls of local shops and offices thanks to a pioneering new scheme aimed at introducing school art to a wider audience. The school's Art for Offices scheme will
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Time to speak out
A LAST-DITCH bid has been launched this week to save Frenchay Hospital from being downgraded to little more than a community health centre. A decision on the much-loved hospital's future is being made on Monday by the bosses of six regional health trusts
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Chapel's keeping its secrets
With rumours of body snatching and the belief it was a trail-blazer in the USA, the modest-looking Frenchay Chapel has a remarkable history. But now the building, which dates from the 1600s, is suffering from the ravages of time. Gazette feature writer
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School for 21st century
OLVESTON Primary School, already one of the best in the South West, is set to get even better. Work is to get underway this summer on a desperately needed new school hall after council chiefs answered appeals for almost £900,000 to fund a unique self-build
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Coaching sessions
FORMER Bristol City Academy director David Burnside, who now runs his own football coach education company, is directing an FA Level One coaching certificate course for junior team managers and coaches. David, who set up his company when he left Bristol
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Zoo's bid for funds
PLANS to create a £30 million conservation park in Easter Compton will be funded over the next four years. Last week the Gazette revealed what Bristol Zoo Gardens is hoping to create at Hollywood Towers - a world first eco-attraction and environment learning
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Lib Dems contest bypass decision
LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have pledged to continue their fight against a Winterbourne bypass, despite £60,000 being ploughed into the scheme. Since South Gloucestershire Council gave the green light for a study into the controversial road at its budget-setting
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Tax collection is poor in area
SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE is one of the worst ten regions in the South West for collecting council tax, according to new figures. The authority collected 96.6 percent of tax in 2003/04 but failed to rake in the outstanding £2.7 million and reach the national
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Streets will be safer
THERE will be two new faces on the streets of Dodington and Yate thanks to a new policing scheme. Two Police Community Support Officers have been employed by Sodbury Police to increase police presence on the streets in a bid to reduce crime. The PCSOs
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Planning policy under fire
THE planning system is becoming increasingly unfair, rigged in favour of unauthorised traveller encampments and illegal developments, claims Chris Butt, the Conservative's prospective parliamentary candidate for Northavon. He said the problem was highlighted
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Work starts on Civic Amenity
These notes, prepared by Thornbury Town Council, are intended to provide a more detailed insight into the work the council does for the town. With co-operation from the Gazette, councillors are submitting the column on a regular basis after each cycle
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Future looks stable for ancient barn project
ALMOST 200 people defied icy wind at the weekend to attend a food, farming and landscape day at Winterbourne Medieval Barn. Event organisers, Kathleen Marsh and Christine Harding, were delighted at the high turn-out - just three weeks after a successful
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French flyer Benoit is the toast of Bristol
THE 33rd staging of the Severn Bridge Road Race on Sunday saw a breathtaking solo finish as well as a fine showing from several Bristol-based riders. The titanic cycling race, which began at Olveston Sports and Social Club and ended at Old Down while
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Developer casts doubt over PO future
THE future of Wotton-under-Edge Post Office has been plunged into doubt after a developer delivered an ultimatum to council planners. Nick Davis, who owns the former butcher's shop at 16 Long Street, told a meeting of the town council's planning committee
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Widow slates hospital
A FURIOUS widow has blasted the standards of cleanliness at the hospital where her husband died after contracting the MRSA superbug. Janice Winsor, 68, of Fairmead, Cam, told the Gazette that the isolation unit at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in which her
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Majority oppose this plan
YOUR article "Residents are Berkeley's Future" (Gazette, March 4) gives entirely the wrong impression of how the people not only of Berkeley, but also of the surrounding district, feel about the proposal that Berkeley should become a "principal settlement
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Town without Jobcentre
ALTERNATIVE Jobcentre Plus services may not be in place before Dursley Job Centre closes at the end of the month it was revealed this week. The Gazette reported last week that the Parsonage Street branch would close on March 31 and in an official announcement
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Cam on for development
A MIXED development in Cam of shops, houses and flats has been given the go-ahead, much to the delight of the parish council. Stroud District Council planners resolved not to refuse the application for Chapel Street at their meeting on Tuesday, leaving
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A masterful performance
Cirencester 2nds 7 Dursley United 39 DURSLEY fielded a classy second team in this big derby match, with the absence of captain Alan Smith through injury the only omission from what would have been a full strength line-up. The ageing squad boasted a plethora
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Ambassador visits only school in Cotswolds with Chinese classes
THE plight of bile bears in China was firmly off the agenda during a visit by the Chinese ambassador to the south Cotswolds this week. Zha Pei Xin, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, visited Katharine Lady Berkeley's School at Wotton-under-Edge on Friday
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Disastrous job centre closure
AS Job Club members and therefore unemployed, we feel that the proposed closure of Dursley job centre at the end of this month is an absolute disaster for us. We come from rural areas all around Dursley, such as Cam, Wotton and Berkeley, as well as Dursley
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Last gasp goal sees Rovers' points slip away
Accrington Stanley 2 Forest Green Rovers 2 A PRICELESS three points turned into a frustrating one as Forest Green Rovers were denied a victory that would have seen Alan Lewer's relegation-threatened side climb out of the bottom three. Rovers led thanks
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Special Constables provide special results
AN OPERATION launched by Special Constables to improve road safety and tackle anti-social behaviour in the Dursley area has been hailed a success. The operation, carried out as part of the Home-Office backed National Specials Weekend, saw a group of 12
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Pool goggle ban is safety gone mad
PRIMARY school children taking part in school swimming lessons have been banned from wearing goggles, the Gazette can reveal. Judith Pemberton-Bennetts, whose son is a pupil at North Nibley Primary School, rang to say she had received a letter notifying
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Mystery boat owner sought
A MARIE Celeste-style mystery is being investigated by police after an abandoned narrow boat was found stuck on a weir in the River Severn - with only the owner's cat on board. The boat's owner, Clinton John Taylor, from Slimbridge, has not been seen
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Gazette comment
IT IS no wonder that the state of the National Health Service, created with such enormous optimism by the Labour Party in 1948 and for almost 60 years the envy of the world, is now so high on the list of the priorities of British voters. Until a few years
