NO one can deny that a world in which a regime like Iraq's no longer has "weapons of mass destruction" would be a safer place. Yet ammunition containing depleted uranium was used right across the southern battlefields in Iraq by American and British forces
I WHOLEHEARTEDLY back the marchers supporting our troops (March 27), and their efforts to show the vociferous minority that there is genuine support for our Government's efforts to bring to an end the horrific Saddam Hussein regime. All right-minded people
I REFUTE RW Waring's ranting response (March 27) to my letter (March 24). RW Waring claims that I hope "Britain sustains a few more deaths among our armed services". What I actually wrote was: "I hope the USA and Britain sustain a few severe bruises."
FOR 40 years my husband and I have lived in the same house. But the last few years have been a nightmare, since the council re-routed the buses along our avenue. Single and double decker buses come past every ten minutes from early morning until 11pm.
THE cream of York's tourism profession has been short-listed for its annual awards bash. York Hospitality Association's 2003 Awards For Excellence celebrate and reward the people who work in the city's tourism industry. The winners will be announced at
MOTORISTS who put lives at risk by using their mobile phone while behind the wheel are to be targeted in East Yorkshire. Officers from Humberside Police will crack down on drivers during the month-long campaign which began yesterday. Road-users face a
NETBALL fever is breaking out in York. Scores of girls have taken part in a string of tournaments held in recent weeks. Hot on the heels of the Primary Schools rallies have been a string of York tournaments. Joseph Rowntree 'A' dominated the York Schools
YORK Schools Under-13s continued their winning ways with a 1-0 win over Wakefield at York RI's New Lane ground. Despite chances for Mark Wilson, Danny Penrose and Jack Webster it remained 0-0 at half-time. York pressed even harder after the interval and
YELLOW ribbons have begun appearing in North Yorkshire - and they will not be removed until our troops have returned from Iraq. But "blueys" - special air mail letters used by relatives to write to British servicemen in the Gulf - have run out at York's
SERVING tea to the King of Spain, the Princess Royal and actor Nigel Havers - all in a half-century's work for waitress Stella Dowkes. It was the end of an era at the Black Swan Hotel, Helmsley, yesterday when the 71-year-old finally retired - after a
YORK will be the focus of massive celebrations marking the 200th anniversary of rail locomotion. That is what delegates attending a conference to plan events for the Bicentennial year, in 2004, were told today at the National Railway Museum. Keynote speakers
A GOLDEN invitation has gone out to couples celebrating 50 years of marriage this year. Couples who got married in 1953 are being sought to take part in the annual Golden Wedding service of thanksgiving at Ripon Cathedral. The service, which this year
It was Goldrush Lake that took the honours once again in Saturday's 50-peg sell-out Bob.Co open at the Willows. Tony Hewson (Armley Angling) led from peg 39 on the point with a fine mixed bag of 40lb 8oz (picture attached). He rang the changes to keep
THE fate of 190 jobs at a loss-making factory in North Yorkshire was today hanging in the balance. Administrative receivers at Licentia UK Ltd, in Sherbern-in-Elmet, are fighting to find a buyer for the firm, which makes ready-to-assemble flatpack furniture
YORK RUFC's Under-13s have collected another piece of silverware to their bulging collection. They beat Harrogate 12-0 in the Yorkshire Cup final at Skipton their 17th title out of a possible 18 in then last five years. The final was a physical forward
POLITICIANS of all parties spoke of "the end of an era" today as former City of York Council leader Rod Hills stood down. The heads of York's Tory and Liberal Democrat groups remembered a forceful and committed councillor who served the city as a Labour
QUICK-on-the-draw fans are being urged to don their thinking caps and help design a new club badge for the new York City Football Club. The news that the supporter-owned club is planning to do away with the chequered-flag badge introduced by former chairman
ROWDY students face heavy fines, community service or even being kicked out of university accommodation if they continue to disturb a York village. Extra security patrols have been brought in to monitor University of York students in Heslington as they
HUMAN shield Antoinette McCormick was safely back in York today - to the great relief of her worried parents. The 38-year-old, who spent several nights at a power plant in Baghdad last week in a bid to deter Allied bombing, flew back to Britain yesterday
YOBS have given visitors the worst possible impression of York - right at the start of the new tourist season. Tourists were subjected to a double whammy of shameful behaviour on land and water: A boat trip along the Ouse was spoilt when visitors were
FEATHERSTONE is a poetic, ethereal novel of love, loss and rediscovery in a small country town. Unfortunately it is precisely this airy quality that made my interest float off into the ether after about 20 pages. The author, a New Zealander now settled
FREE Lunch is an imaginative tale about Nick Reed, a disillusioned insurance salesman, who escapes from his boring life to search for excitement and adventure. Launching a new career pretending to be related to Hollywood stars, he travels across America
STILL Marilyn is the fourth biography drama from York writer-director Kate Bramley and her BadApple Theatre Company but the first to be staged here. Another reason to welcome The Studio's arrival. After 1998's high-flying Amy Johnson, the detection work
HUMAN shield Antoinette McCormick was safely back in York today - to the great relief of her worried parents. The 38-year-old, who spent several nights at a power plant in Baghdad last week in a bid to deter Allied bombing, flew back to Britain yesterday
THE mother of a soldier stationed in Iraq today sent a message to the forces fighting in the Gulf - finish the job and rid the world of Saddam. Ann Grundy, of Selby, has not heard from her son, Peter, a staff sergeant with the Royal Engineers, since the
STUDENTS will take to the streets on Friday to show their support for British troops fighting in Iraq. A group from York St John College will march from the Students' Union, through the city centre to the Minster, waving "Back our Boys" banners and posters
A YORK school has embarked on a three-year fitness drive in an attempt to win a national health award. Poppleton Road Primary School devoted a week to the theme of "healthy bodies" to kick off its effort to win the Healthy Schools Award given by the Department
NORTH AFRICAN teachers are being offered an insight into education techniques in York as part of an international exchange programme. Seven Moroccan teachers are spending a week in the city as part of the scheme, which aims to ease understanding across
Richard Green, who has steered York Art Gallery through 25 years, tells CHARLES HUTCHINSON about the gallery's future as he steps down RICHARD Green is clearing away his compact, neat office this week, a slim, yellow and brown room in keeping with the
MORE than 100 children were sent home today after vandals smashed almost 30 windows at a York school. Carr Infant School in Acomb was last night attacked for the second time in three days. All pupils in the reception and Year 1 classes - 110 in all -
Trainer Paul Nicholls, who looks set to saddle as many as five runners in Saturday's Grand National, can get in the winning mood by taking tomorrow's major prize back to Somerset as the three-day Aintree Festival gets underway. Nicholls saddles Valley
I AM about to suggest something so extraordinary that you may wish to sit down. Perhaps the Queen Anne dining chair would be more supportive than the chaise longue? You might also ask the butler to remove your glass of champagne to a place of safety before
IT was a beautiful spring weekend and York was looking near her best. The many tourists who flocked here should have taken away treasured memories of Minster and museums, Shambles and shops. But for the unlucky passengers on a boat trip along the Ouse
STELLA Dowkes can remember when the Black Swan was just a cygnet. In her 57 years working at the Helmsley hotel she has served royalty, celebrities and all manner of Yorkshire characters with the same grace and charm. It is mind-boggling to think how
FEW Arab leaders have much enthusiasm for the evil Saddam Hussein and they would not be sorry to see him go. Saddam's biographers have written that he wants to be recognised as a great leader who unites the Arab people. It will be ironic if the war to
READING the article regarding the abandoned car was like deja vu. We had the same problem last week. All the council do is quote 'the law', that being the end of all hope of anything being done - at least for the foreseeable future. I think they file
SUSTRANS, the sustainable transport charity, is looking for pupils (aged nine to 18) who are interested in nominating their school, teacher, school champion or local authority for a Safe Routes to Schools travel award. All winners and their nominators
MADE in York: Headed for Bradford - a £7.4 million three-storey healthcare scheme for Bradford Hospitals NHS Trust. The project, being built by Yorkon, the Portakabin subsidiary at its 60-acre production centre in York and later craned into position as
WOMEN whose friendships have survived for more than half a century gathered for a Land Army reunion. More than 30 women attended the annual event at Sherburn-in-Elmet, which has been held for the last 36 years. They were all part of the Land Army at the
NEW powers to crack down on teenage troublemakers have hardly been used in York and North Yorkshire, according to Government figures. Only two parenting orders - a measure to tackle bad behaviour in schools - were issued by the Youth Offending Team (YOT
"A GRAND old Yorkshire lady" is celebrating her 100th birthday.Roma Fawcett, of Connaught Court, St Oswald's Road, Fulford, York, was today being surrounded by friends and family to enjoy her centenary celebrations. Roma has lived in Yorkshire all her
WILDLIFE protection officials are launching a new scheme to study North Yorkshire's bird life. The new project will plot the birds that nest on farmland in the North York Moors to study them in their natural environment. The project is being jointly organised
A YOUTH worker who lost months of irreplaceable work when her bag was snatched has appealed for its return. Helen Jarvis, 21, of Barlow Street, Acomb, said the black canvas shoulder bag contained nine months-worth of papers relating to her work for City
TICKETS for the York Early Music Festival went on sale this week - and the response so far has put a spring in the step of the newly-appointed box office manager. Caroline Sartin was thrilled to open the public box office line for this year's festival
THE North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service is seeking to change its priorities - to provide exactly what the public wants. The service will focus on protecting the community in emergencies, rather than strictly following government performance indicators
FOREST School, Knaresborough, have won the 2003 npower Active Tag Rugby Tournament for children with disabilities. They beat off stiff competition from six other schools across the region at Sandal RUFC's ground. Former England forward Ben Clarke helped
THE mother of a soldier stationed in Iraq today sent a message to the forces fighting in the Gulf - finish the job and rid the world of Saddam. Ann Grundy, of Selby, has not heard from her son, Peter, a staff sergeant with the Royal Engineers, since the
STUDENTS will take to the streets on Friday to show their support for British troops fighting in Iraq. A group from York St John College will march from the Students' Union, through the city centre to the Minster, waving "Back our Boys" banners and posters
PERSISTENT adult offenders are to face a similar speedy justice system to that faced by young repeat criminals in a new North Yorkshire and York initiative. This week the police, probation, court representatives, prosecutors, youth offender officers and
A HEART attack victim has organised a fundraising golf tournament in York to say thank you to the paramedic who saved his life. Richard Hunter, 56, of Navigation Road, York, collapsed at his home in January 2002 after suffering his third heart attack.
It was silver fish all the way again in the York Tackle match at Poole Bridge Farm for Sunday's 25-pegger, writes Darren Starkey. Doug Featherstone (Malton and Norton) led from peg 2 where he offered chopped worm at 11 metres for 13lb 12oz of skimmers
A SHOCK in the York FA Sunday Morning Senior Cup semi-finals saw Nestl Rowntree unable to raise a team for their tie against Severus SC. The other semi saw Hounds have a tough 4-2 win over Ainsty at Pocklington. The Selby side took the lead after only
SOME of Ryedale's less conventional homes will be hitting the small screen tomorrow in two TV programmes. Flamingo Land boss Gordon Gibb features in Yorkshire TV's Home series, showing viewers round his log cabin-style bachelor pad, set in the theme park's
HARROGATE Karate Club's 53-strong squad picked up 14 trophies at the North West Open Karate Championships in Wigan. Highlight for the the club was a clean sweep in the fighting (kumite) event, a feat no other club has managed in the tournament's 34-year
BOSSES at a North Yorkshire theme park have been ordered by a Government inspector to "tone down" one of their top attractions. Inspector Paul Morris's decision means that Flamingo Land, near Malton, must remove distinctive red-and-white cladding from
THE coming local elections are well and truly a family affair, with seven husband and wife teams joined on party lines as well as by marriage lines to fight seats. In the blue corner in York are Conservative group leader John Galvin and his wife, Valmai
University Students kept their grip in the race for second spot in ladies division one of York Badminton League. Their 5-4 home win over Clifton was due to the good form of Nicky Roe and Alex Darlington, whose three wins, totalling 90-44, included a 5
ENVIRONMENTAL activists today claimed they had caused "very significant damage" in an attack on a genetically-modified crop under trial in North Yorkshire. An unnamed spokesman for the activists said they had successfully targeted GM oilseed rape being
THE Jorvik Warrior is being urged to deliver a telling knockout blow when he returns to the ring tomorrow. York's Jamie Warters will be looking to get his British title ambitions back on track at Willerby Manor, near Hull, when he takes on the vastly
WORRIED York athletes are taking legal advice amid fears they will be booted out of Huntington Stadium and made homeless. Nestl Rowntree Athletics Club, who helped pay for the track when it was opened in 1989, are seeking legal advice about ownership
YORK RUFC's Under-13s have collected another piece of silverware to their bulging collection. They beat Harrogate 12-0 in the Yorkshire Cup final at Skipton their 17th title out of a possible 18 in then last five years. The final was a physical forward
CHARLES HUTCHINSON picks up some enjoyable riffs from Nick Hornby's 31 Songs and dips into other new music books... WHEN people ask Nick Hornby what music he likes, he says he finds it difficult to reply, because they usually want names of people, and
'THE Romantic Rhine', that much-loved phrase of travel writers, proved to be The Bloody Rhine for the many thousands of Allied troops who fought and died for mastery of the great river in 1944-45 to deliver the final killing blow to the exposed heart
QUICK-on-the-draw fans are being urged to don their thinking caps and help design a new club badge for the new York City Football Club. The news that the supporter-owned club is planning to do away with the chequered-flag badge introduced by former chairman
YELLOW ribbons have begun appearing in North Yorkshire - and they will not be removed until our troops have returned from Iraq. But "blueys" - special air mail letters used by relatives to write to British servicemen in the Gulf - have run out at York's
AMERICAN ground forces have been taking on Iraq's Republican Guard in fierce battles south of Baghdad. The US troops became engaged with the Iraqi elite forces at Kerbala, 70 miles south-west of Baghdad, from about midnight British time. They were supported
A YORK businessman returned to his old school to help budding entrepreneurs. Paul Blanchard, who left All Saints' Roman Catholic School seven years ago, now runs his own business. He has been visiting the school over a ten-week period as part of a business
TWO schools are celebrating after been given the Investors in People award. They are Stockton-on-the-Forest Primary School and Sherburn-in-Elmet High School. Stockton-on-the-Forest Primary School gained its award after only deciding to try for it in February
