Archive

  • Honours for good citizens

    A PAIR of outstanding citizens from Wellington are being honoured next Friday. Janet Meredith and George Bateman will be presented with Taunton Deane Council Citizenship Awards by Mayor of Taunton Deane Andrew Govier. Mrs Meredith has worked as a volunteer

  • Loos safe for now

    MILVERTON'S public toilets have been given a stay of execution. Fears had been growing that they faced closure but Taunton Deane Council is only reviewing the situation with facilities across the area under close scrutiny. No final decision will be taken

  • Pavilion's 'a cut above'

    THEY think it's all over in Churchinford - it is now. After three years of fund-raising and a year's hard labour, the Blackdown Hills village finally has its new £60,000 Sports and Music Pavilion. Among those who have worked hard to see the pavilion become

  • Promises for church

    AN auction of promises is being held next Friday (April 23) to raise funds for the £500,000 tower appeal at St Mary's Church, Bishops Lydeard. People will be able to bid for 44 promises ranging from tea for two in the House of Commons to a vintage car

  • Race on for places at last match

    Tickets for Plymouth Argyle's last match of the season have gone on sale. The club has been allocated 950 tickets for the game against Hartlepool on May 1. Tickets are being limited to one per member.

  • YTISA travel details

    THE Yeovil Town Independent Supporters' Association will be running coaches to Yeovil Town's forthcoming fixtures at Southend United on April 24 and at Lincoln City on May 8. Details are as follows: Southend Utd: April 24. Prices are £10 for members and

  • Vital game looms for Yeovil

    YEOVIL Town are making final preparations for their vital Nationwide League Division Three fixture at home to Bury tomorrow (Saturday). Glovers boss Gary Johnson has said that his team need to win four of their remaining five fixtures to have a chance

  • McLean in season opener

    SOMERSET'S season gets under way in earnest on Wednesday when Derbyshire visit the County Ground in the opening County Championship match of the season. Somerset recorded a thrilling victory last September when the two sides met and they will hope for

  • Flying start to tourist season

    TOURISM businesses in West Somerset reported a good start to the new season. West Somerset Railway reported an 'amazing' increase in visitor numbers compared with last year. Martyn Snell said: "It was an amazing weekend for us. Passenger numbers were

  • Guards to protect SureStart building

    ROUND-THE-CLOCK security has been posted at the beleagured SureStart site in Williton, it was revealed this week. Security guards from a Coventry firm will be on duty 24 hours a day to protect the unfinished building from vandals. Somerset County Council

  • Hobby Horse riding in

    THE Minehead Hobby Horse takes to the streets at the end of April. An ancient tradition featuring accompanying musicians and followers, the colourful 'horse' will be touring the town starting on Friday, April 30. The procession will culminate in 'The

  • Sports teams warned over conman

    A CONMAN is targeting West Somerset sports teams and stealing their property, Minehead police warned this week. They have told sports clubs to be on their guard against a man who has stolen private possessions and valuables after claiming to look after

  • Motorist injured in Plymouth

    A 19-year-old motorist was taken to hospital with multiple injuries after his MG sports car collided with a wall in Plymouth. The accident happened at around 3.20am in Fore Street in the Devonport area of the city, said a Devon and Cornwall police spokesman

  • Council misses out on award

    DEVON County Council has narrowly missed out on award for its work with housing vulnerable people. The Beacon Council Scheme recognises authorities thar perform well. Devon County Council's outstanding achievements included the Discover devon website,

  • Bobby dazzles in pool finals

    BOBBY Foster, treasurer of Wellington and District Pool League, had double reason to celebrate at finals night. Foster overcame Sam Carreau in the singles final and then went on to beat former world champion Jason Twist, eight-balling him in the process

  • Serious assault at country park

    POLICE have issued an appeal for witnesses following a serious assault at the Ham Hill Country Park at Stoke-sub-Hamdon which left a man with facial injuries. The victim left a nightclub in Stars Lane, Yeovil, on Wednesday, April 14, at 1am with three

  • Appeal total tops £1/4m

    THE total raised for the Somerset County Gazette's 'Cash for Cancer Relief' campaign now stands at £250,456. The County Gazette has teamed up with charity Macmillan Cancer Relief to run the 'Cash for Cancer Relief' campaign to raise £485,000 to improve

  • Charity trek's a triumph

    JOHN White and his two dogs battled through rain and wind when they took to the hills in aid of the Somerset County Gazette's 'Stop It Before It Starts' drug education campaign. John, who holds the title of Lord of the Manor of Taunton, tackled the 20

  • Evening meet to end season

    THE curtain goes down on another National Hunt racing season at Taunton this evening (Friday). There is a predictably good card for this first evening meeting on the course in three years, on which the stand-out race is the last, The Wickes Power Tools

  • McLean in season opener

    SOMERSET'S season gets under way in earnest on Wednesday when Derbyshire visit the County Ground in the opening County Championship match of the season. Somerset recorded a thrilling victory last September when the two sides met and they will hope for

  • Cricketer's benefit event

    TAUNTON football referee Martin Baldock is hosting a sports quiz with great prizes in aid of Somerset cricketer Keith Parsons' benefit year. There is still room for a few four-a-side teams to take part in the event at the Railway Club, Taunton, at 8pm

  • Cash pours in for cancer campaign

    The Somerset County Gazette's Cash for Cancer Relief campaign for Macmillan Cancer Relief has now raised £250,000. Donations have been pouring in to support the campaign, which aims to raise £485,000 to improve the lives of hundreds of people living with

  • Chard's future hangs in balance

    CHARD Town face a tense wait for the Screwfix Direct Western League's April board meeting this Sunday (April 18) - as their future could hinge on it. The league will be discussing the issue of how many, if any, clubs are relegated from Division One, with

  • Chard's future hangs in balance

    CHARD Town face a tense wait for the Screwfix Direct Western League's April board meeting this Sunday -- as their future could hinge on it. The league will be discussing the issue of how many, if any, clubs are relegated from Division One, with a number

  • Cricketer's benefit event

    TAUNTON football referee Martin Baldock is hosting a sports quiz with great prizes in aid of Somerset cricketer Keith Parsons' benefit year. There is still room for a few four-a-side teams to take part in the event at the Railway Club, Taunton, at 8pm

  • Marathon run for holidays charity

    KEVIN Jones from Taunton is running in the London Marathon so disadvantaged families can go on holiday. The hotel consultant at Booking Services International is hoping to raise sponsorship for the Family Holiday Association, a charity that helps provide

  • Race to the Pole

    ANYONE noticing a shortage of Yorkie bars in Taunton's supermarkets last week can blame a team of intrepid adventurers from a Taunton health insurance firm. The three WPA workers bought up 230 of the chocolate bars before heading off to northern Canada

  • Wanted: ManKind worker

    A TAUNTON charity for male victims of domestic violence has received funding to recruit a project worker. The successful applicant will be paid £6,000 a year for 11 hours a week to set up projects nationwide for the ManKind Initiative. The Body Shop has

  • Treatment call for addicts

    TAUNTON MP Adrian Flook is demanding action after reading the shocking revelations in last week's Somerset County Gazette about treatment waiting times for drug addicts. The article focused on a 22-year-old heroin addict who had to wait 18 months to get

  • Woman relives car park horror

    A TRAUMATISED young woman has relived the moment another woman landed in front of her following a death plunge from Taunton's multi-storey car park. Steps have since been taken to stop people throwing themselves off the Paul Street stack, an inquest into

  • Public plant sales plan slammed

    Council bosses at Taunton Deane are looking to make extra cash by selling plants to the public. The council is looking to branch out into plant sales from its nursery near Vivary Park in a struggle to balance the books. But the move has been slammed by

  • Gangshow was great

    EMILY Littler's review of the Taunton Gang Show (Gazette, April 9) implied that if you were not related to members of the cast you were less likely to enjoy it. Well, I attended last Saturday's presentation and I had a ball and I didn't know any of the

  • M&S duck scandal

    I WAS appalled to see that a recent investigation into one of Marks and Spencer's major duck suppliers uncovered shocking scenes of animal suffering. The filmed report, by animal group Viva! found ducks crammed into dirty, stinking sheds in their thousands

  • Blues face Paulton in cup final

    ILMINSTER will play Paulton Rovers Reserves in the final of the Somerset County League Premier/Division One Cup. Top flight outfit Rovers defeated runaway Division One leaders Cheddar 5-1 to set up a showdown with the Blues who beat Hengrove 3-1 the previous

  • Evening meet to end season

    THE curtain goes down on another National Hunt racing season at Taunton this evening (Friday). There is a predictably good card for this first evening meeting on the course in three years, on which the stand-out race is the last, The Wickes Power Tools

  • Boxer going 'pro'

    TAUNTON Amateur Boxing Club star Courtney Thomas is turning professional. The current Western Counties welterweight champion has been granted a professional licence and will make his debut in the paid ranks in about three weeks. Thomas, 26, is a carpet

  • Accident victim's thank-you

    A WELLINGTON woman whose life was saved by the Devon Air Ambulance said a big thank-you by handing over a whopping £900 to the charity this week. Anne Halliwell, of Barn Meads Road, was involved in the near-fatal accident in Tiverton, on August 1, 2002

  • Bank holiday festival fun

    WELLINGTON'S Children's Festival is just over a fortnight away but there's still time to get involved. Organised by the Friends of Wellington Park and Wellington Toy Library, the event is set for Bank Holiday Monday, May 3, in the park. Among the events

  • Racing ducks coin in cash

    DOZENS of bright yellow rubber ducks took to the River Tone for the race of their lives on Easter Sunday. The 200 competitors were thrown into the river at Bradford-on-Tone and headed downstream, as fast as they could to Allerford Bridge, where they were

  • Relief road judgement day

    BATTLE lines are being drawn ahead of a crucial meeting on the future of Wellington's northern relief road. The Somerset County Gazette's Fighting for Wellington campaign has almost 1,000 signatures backing plans to free the town centre from heavy traffic

  • School bids farewell

    WIVELISCOMBE Primary School bid a fond farewell to a long-standing member of staff at the end of the spring term. Fran Carter left after nearly 30 years as a teacher and her departure was marked first by a special whole-school assembly - the first in

  • Talks on run-down Corn Hill

    DISCUSSIONS are under way regarding the redevelopment of Wellington's Corn Hill. Taunton Deane Council is working with owners of the historic street's run-down buildings in an attempt to bring new life to the struggling shopping area. In his monthly report

  • Honour for two townsfolk

    A pair of outstanding citizens from Wellington are to be honoured. Janet Meredith and George Bateman will be presented with Taunton Deane Council Citizenship Awards at a ceremony next week. For full story see this week's Wellington edition of the Somerset

  • Rugby fans turn out in force

    Rugby fans have been flocking to catch a glimpse of the Webb Ellis Cup. The Rugby World Cup trophy has been touring Devon to give fans the chance to get a closer look and to raise the profile of the sport. The cup went on show at Barnstaple, Bideford,

  • Evening meet to end season

    THE curtain goes down on another National Hunt racing season at Taunton this evening (Friday). There is a predictably good card for this first evening meeting on the course in three years, on which the stand-out race is the last, The Wickes Power Tools

  • Minehead lose basement battle

    Screwfix League, Div 1: Ilfracombe Town 2, Minehead 0 MINEHEAD dropped three crucial points when they lost to fellow strugglers Ilfracombe on Easter Monday - in a match described by joint manager Charlie Lewis as "our cup final." Lewis said after Minehead

  • Buster booked for carnival

    WATCHET Carnival organisers have confirmed the date of the 2004 event. This year's carnival on July 23, 24, and 25 on the East Quay will feature live pop groups Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners, and Brotherhood of Man as the headline acts. Throughout

  • Council HQ costs double

    SERIOUS engineering problems could scupper dream plans for West Somerset District Council's new showcase offices in Minehead. Difficulties associated with ground water, underlying soft blue clay and existing services have pushed estimated costs of the

  • Exmoor promotes great outdoors

    EXMOOR National Park Authority flew the flag for Exmoor at Birmingham's NEC. The Authority joined forces with the Association of National Park Authorities and the National Association for Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to exhibit at the OS Outdoor

  • History of a sheep rustler

    SHEEP rustling in Wiveliscombe got John Hawkins packed off to Australia as a convict 200 years ago. Now his descendant, David Hawkins, has set up a display, which lasts a month, telling the story. David, of Jeffreys Way, Taunton, is staging the exhibition

  • Web move for council meetings

    WEST Somerset's politicians could soon be reaching for the greasepaint and hair mousse if plans to web-cast council meetings go ahead. Video cameras and microphones could be installed in a project to broadcast council meetings live on the internet. If

  • Villagers split on radioactive waste

    SERIOUS concerns were expressed by campaigners this week that Hinkley Point could become a permanent dumping ground for radioactive waste. Stop Hinkley campaigners claimed the plan would mean thousands of tonnes of 'intermediate waste' being dumped on

  • Music lined up for carnival

    Plans are taking shape for this year's Watchet Carnival. Now in its seventh year as a weekend event the carnival will take place over three days from July 23. The carnival will also include live performances from Buster Bloodvessel and Bad Manners and

  • Speeding train attacked in Mid Devon

    A TRAIN driver had a lucky escape when a block of concrete was thrown at from a bridge near Cullompton. The train was accelerating to 100mph when the object struck. The male driver based at Exeter was said to be badly shaken after the attack.

  • Welly leak more goals

    Screwfix League, Div 1: Wellington 1, Clyst Rovers 5 WELLINGTON'S nightmare 2003-04 home season finally came to a merciful end on Easter Monday morning when Clyst went home with a big win to their credit as the Tangerines went down by this margin for

  • Escape group's 'divi'

    THE Escape Support Group in Taunton has received £480 for fun mornings from the Co-operative Group's Community Dividend Fund. The support group aims to create stimulating and fun activities for children with special needs, their parents, siblings and

  • Health chief stepping down

    A "TIRELESS champion" of Somerset's patients and health services is stepping down at the end of next month. Keith Pearson has chaired the South Somerset Primary Care Trust since it was set up two years ago and has taken on various public roles throughout

  • Illegal raves clampdown

    POLICE across the South-West are joining forces to stop illegal raves. Officers from the Avon and Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire forces have launched Operation Hartley to run in the spring and summer. Around the time

  • Schools boss calls it a day

    AFTER six years working to keep Somerset's schools among the best in the country education director Michael Jennings has retired. Changes to the national system and the stable position of the education authority meant Mr Jennings felt it was the perfect

  • Warning for dog owners

    RANGERS and farmers on the Quantock Hills are urging dog owners to keep their pets on a tight lead to stop sheep worrying. Many are eager to get the message across to those who walk their dogs near heavily pregnant ewes and newly born lambs that are so

  • Antiques event for church repairs

    A SPECIAL fundraising evening will be held at Middlezoy Village Hall to help towards the restoration costs of work to the Holy Cross Church. Around £28,000 is needed to repair the building, so an antiques valuation evening is being held as well as a bric-a-brac

  • Bid to save post office

    A MASSIVE petition calling for a Taunton post office to be saved has been sent to the chief executive of supermarket giant Tesco. Taunton's LibDem parliamentary spokesman, Jeremy Browne, and local councillors Hazel Prior-Sankey and Fran Smith collected

  • Coroner slams drinking culture

    THE West Somerset Coroner is calling for tighter controls on binge-drinking promotions following the death of a Taunton drink-driver. Michael Rose is writing to the Home Secretary after an inquest heard Shaun Patrick O'Shea crashed his car after downing

  • New homes prompt road calls

    A HUGE housing development of 1,000 new homes will create chaos unless a relief road is built first. The huge building programme on land between Taunton and Monkton Heathfield is an accident waiting to happen, say local residents. Planners are trying

  • Students teach Town a lesson

    Dr Martens League: Taunton Town 0, Team Bath 1 TAUNTON boss Russell Musker admitted after this Easter Monday defeat by the students: "They were the better team from start to finish." Taunton never got out of the blocks and Team Bath dominated for long

  • Fans' group stalwart dies

    RICHARD 'Dick' Rome, former chairman of Taunton Town AFC's Supporters Club, has died at the age of 90. He was a leading light in all club fundraising activities and sold raffle tickets on match days for many years. A minute's silence was observed before