Stories for 19 April 2001
News
A 15-year-old lad suffered eye injuries after he was assaulted near a Halesowen park last Saturday night. more...
The £1.8m restoration of Leasowes Park has taken a step nearer completion as Dudley Council has given the go-ahead for investigations of the site. more...
An Easter playscheme for eight to 12-year-olds is being held at the Robin Woods Centre from Monday April 23 to Friday April 27. more...
A fundraising auction in aid of the First Halesowen Scout Group is being held at Halesowen Harriers FC in Park Road on Tuesday May 1 from 7.30pm. more...
A scuffle broke out when a thief grabbed a 43-year-old woman's bag in a Hales-owen car park. more...
Brian and Carolle Sable are holding a ballroom and sequence dance on Saturday April 21. more...
Boy racers from Merry Hill could disperse to Cradley Heath unless stricter speed restrictions are introduced, a councillor has warned. more...
Kinver Bridge Club meets every Thursday at Potter Cross Methodist church from 7pm for a 7.15pm start. more...
Police are hunting the owners of a car used in a catalogue of crimes in the last week, including a burglary in Halesowen. more...
South Staffordshire housing association has re-named its labour maintenance team Staffordshire Property Care. more...
Deprivation in Quinton is set to become a thing of the past thanks to a share of a £5m government grant. more...
Stourbridge MP Debra Shipley is calling on her constituents to apply for Children's Tax Credit. more...
A 14-year-old Rowley Regis girl was forced to hand over £313 worth of jewellery when she was robbed at knifepoint in the street. more...
Kingswinford group Communicare's meeting scheduled on Wednesday April 18 has been cancelled. more...
A motorist had eight stitches in his head after he was attacked by a three-strong gang in Halesowen. more...
Norton meningitis victim Robert Parsons did not expect to be soaring through the sky on his first aeroplane flight during a recent day out at Bobbington Airport. more...
An Oldbury church is hosting a designer fashion sale to raise money for a central heating system. more...
A 26-year-old Amblecote man took his own life after being let down by a woman he met on the internet, an inquest heard. more...
Otters and wetlands will be the subject at the next Halesowen Wildlife Group meeting. Andy Graham will speak at Hasbury Conservative Club, Blackberry Lane, on Monday April 23 at 7.30pm. more...
Halesowen's drug-tracker dog is going mobile after a town car dealership sponsored a new van. more...
Police have made a desperate appeal to recover stolen jewellery belonging to a four-year- old girl killed in a car crash. more...
Cradley Heath library will re-open at the end of May after being closed for six months. more...
The next meeting of the working party deciding the fate of the Kinver village library is on Monday April 30. more...
Irate Blackheath traders and residents are demanding action to stop traffic bringing the town centre to a standstill. more...
A sequence dance is being held at Belbroughton parish rooms, Belbroughton Road, from 8pm to 10.30pm on Saturday April 21. more...
A troubled mum from Cradley Heath is living in fear of losing her daughter to the same rare genetic disease that killed her husband. more...
Kinver Methodist Ladies' Fellowship is meets on Wednesday April 25 at 3pm in Potters Cross church hall. more...
Kinver Horticultural Society is next meeting on Thursday April 26 at St Peter's church hall, Vicarage Drive, at 7.30pm. more...
The sewing skills of a Halesowen businesswoman turned wardrobe mistress have been honoured with an exhibition of her work. more...
Stewponey landfill protestors FLAGS meets on Monday April 30 at the Stewponey pub at 7.30pm for 8pm. more...
Three youngsters at a Cradley Heath school have won prizes for designing posters for a `Park Watch' scheme at Haden Hill Park. more...
Stourbridge Natural Health Group will be meeting in the Amblecote Room, Stourbridge Town Hall on Monday April 23 at 8pm. more...
Work on a controversial Quinton estate dubbed `Beirut' by residents is set to start, with workers poised to clear the site. more...
A new business card-sized CD ROM has been launched by police to help firms improve security. more...
Youngsters at Cradley High School will get a taste of porridge and life behind bars with the arrival of a crime and safety awareness day. more...
An 11-year-old Kingswinford girl with an extraordinary hobby is celebrating after scooping two dance trophies in two months. more...
Star-struck wannabes are being sought to star in a new production of Sleeping Beauty. more...
A familiar face of Old Hill stage and theatre has died after a short battle against cancer. more...
A man hurled a pub quiz machine down steps and broke it in an incident at a Stourbridge pub. more...
A Halesowen school is urging parents with cars not to obstruct a nearby road after complaints from residents. more...
A masked robber strolled into a roadside café in Belbroughton with a gun and ordered staff to hand over cash from a safe. more...
It was like a scene from Brief Encounter when golden couple Vera and Charlie Tucker met. more...
Ballroom and sequence dance enthusiasts can get down to Wordsley Community Centre for a spring dance later this month. more...
It was worth the wait - after a goaless season a Cradley Heath youth team scored their first win, romping home with a 6-2 result. more...
The Dudley and District Multiple Sclerosis Society is next meeting on Friday April 20 at the adult training centre, King William Street, Amblecote, from 7pm to 9.30pm. more...
The Kinver Quadrilateral Division of St John's Ambulance is holding an open evening and demonstration on Tuesday April 24 from 7pm to 9pm. more...
A district nurse from Cradley Heath is blaming council `red tape' for keeping her off the road after she drove into a giant pothole. more...
Parking restrictions may be introduced on two Kinver roads. more...
A Halesowen schoolgirl has hit the right notes by gaining a distinction in a grade five violin exam. more...
Kinver parish council is next meeting on Wednesday May 2 at the council offices at 95, High Street. more...
The Roman Bathroom and Tile Centre in High Street, Blackheath, has won an award for its high standard of chrome accessories. more...
Kinver parish council has decided to continue supporting Friday sessions at the village youth club. more...
Oldbury traders are supporting a new £400,000 Civic Square development planned for the town. more...
A `cake break' is being held in aid of the Dudley and District Multiple Sclerosis Society on Tuesday April 24 from 1.30pm to 3pm at Dingle community centre, Madeley Road, Kingswinford. more...
A Cradley Heath church has a new Priest-in-Charge. more...
A building at an Amblecote school was partly destroyed and equipment went up in flames after firebugs torched it. more...
An Act introduced by Stourbridge MP Debra Shipley has been praised by a retiring MP. more...
The Clent home of a retired couple was partly destroyed by fire on Monday night. more...
A brochure detailing new courses available at Wordsley's Centre for Lifelong Learning is out now. more...
Introductory computing courses for the terrified are being held at Buckpool Centre for Lifelong Learning, Wordsley. more...
An application to build a multi-purpose agricultural building at Stourton Farm, Greensforge Lane, Stourton, has been given the thumbs up by Kinver parish councillors. more...
Buckpool School, Brierley Hill Road, is offering classes in Latin American and ballroom dancing. A session for beginners starts on Monday April 30 at 8.05pm, and a session for improvers starts at 6.45pm. more...
I can not believe over 20 million viewers tuned into Eastenders just to see who shot Phil Mitchell. more...
I was interested in Cllr Sunter's remarks on asylum seekers, your issue April 5, in which he says they cost nothing to the people of Dudley. more...
May I through the medium of your newspaper offer my congratulations to the children of Hawbush Theatre Group based at Hawbush Community Centre, Brierley Hill for the magnificent show `Children's Own Show' performed at the Community Centre on Sunday and Monday last. more...
I am currently collecting information, for use in a manuscript I am compiling, on true ghost stories and the supernatural. more...
I wonder if you could help me? I am trying to trace my family tree. more...
Are your readers those who look after one another as part of a community? more...
The plight of Dudley zoo has spread far and wide and we are amazed that more people have not condemned the hideous condition that these animals `exist' in. Recently voted worst zoo by Holiday Which magazine, it was described as having `an air of depression'. more...
There have been two visiting speakers in recent weeks each with a very different approach to taking pictures. more...
Members' diaries have been quite full since last month. more...
There was a change of venue for the society's meeting last Friday April 6 when more than 60 members and friends came to St Thomas's Church Hall to hear `Songs from the Shows'. more...
The League of Friends meeting was held on April 9 in the Rehabilitation Unit. It was good to see president Mrs F Guest in attendance and looking well. more...
I am researching the life and work of the artist Featherstone Robson. more...
I note Cllr Lloyd has associated himself with the restoration of the Halesowen Town Cross, perhaps because he is eager to tell us about his personal involvement with this project. more...
We are hearing on the news and the media, about the outbreak of TB. Over the past few years it has become very noticable the amount of young boys and girls spitting everywhere. more...
I feel I must complain about the smoking ban in the Cornbow in Halesowen. more...
No, I cannot claim to have heard the first cuckoo of the year. more...
I am trying to trace descendants of my grandparents on my father's side. more...
The remains of the canal in Leaswes park needs cash to complete renovation. more...
Furious residents living around a Gornal landfill site have hit out at news the burial of culled livestock from areas infected by foot and mouth has secretly been taking place for TWO WEEKS. more...
Dudley North MP Ross Cranston has met with representatives from McDonald's to find a solution to the dispute over the future of the Pig on the Wall in Upper Gornal. more...
A landmark church known as the `cathedral of Dudley' needs restoring to the tune of £300,000. more...
Dudley hospital bosses remain adamant the signing of an £180m contract to revolutionise the borough's hospitals will go through any day now. more...
A Brierley Hill woman is hoping to create a scheme to cut the number of boy racers at Merry Hill. more...
The daffodils are nodding their heads in the spring sunshine and Himley Park is gearing up for its stampede of seasonal visitors. more...
Dudley Council tops a West Midlands league table of energy efficiency, having carried out improvements on housing across the borough. more...
Burglaries and car crimes have fallen in Pensnett, according to a police report. more...
Dudley market traders have hit out at Dudley Council after their takings fell when part of the town centre was closed to accommodate a territorial regiment march. more...
A new Dudley cricket club has secured £2,638 from the lottery funded Awards for All programme. more...
A Dudley based Christian charity is planning to launch a theatre company especially for children. more...
Ten-pin bowlers have helped pull in pounds for St Thomas's Community Network. more...
People are urgently needed to get in the swim for the fundraising Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust's Swimathon 2001. more...
Dudley lads who took part in an energetic dance project can't get enough of being on their feet. more...
A Dudley Liberal Democrat councillor has called for the provision of services at a Dudley school to be improved as part of the council's childcare plan. more...
Ever-popular comedy duo Cannon and Ball present an evening of Christian talk, comedy, music and entertainment at Dudley town hall on Saturday May 12. more...
A Netherton headteacher has ensured children can get music tuition at his school for another year after passing grade one violin and securing a lottery grant. more...
Unemployment in Dudley North has fallen by 0.3 per cent over this time last year, new statistics reveal. more...
A Fens Pool safe play area is due to be built in the next few months. more...
Enrolment for adult education classes takes place at the Dormston Centre from Monday April 30 to Thursday May 3 between 6.30pm and 8pm. more...
Big-hearted staff at a Brierley Hill motel are hoping to raise funds for charities affected by the foot and mouth crisis by taking part in hair-raising activities. more...
An off-duty police officer was attacked with baseball bats and knives when he disturbed thieves breaking into an Amblecote supermarket last night. more...
A Sedgley pub will be showing a spirit of European unity later this month when a continental ale fair is held. more...
A woman was pushed to the ground in a Lye street by two youths who stole her jewellry. more...
A former Sedgley man who set up a website devoted to his home town from the other side of the world has enjoyed a nostalgic time since his site appeared in the News. more...
Thieves stole a watch worth £750 from an Amblecote house. more...
Councillors have finally made a decision on where the new public toilets in Sedgley are to go. more...
Kinver police uncovered a substantial haul if cannabis after finding a couple smoking the drug in a car on the outskirts of the village. more...
A Dudley school believes its computer suite has helped cut down the number of children turning up late for school. more...
Dudley and District Business Club were presented with a sponsorship cheque for £2,000 from Dudley Training and Enterprise Council. more...
A new intelligence-led community safety bureau has been launched in Brierley Hill. more...
Andrew Griffiths, prospective parliamentary candidate for Dudley North, has added to the criticism of the government's decision to dump carcasses in a Gornal landfill. more...
Youngsters from Barnardo's Castle and Priory family support scheme were among the children who took over the London Eye to try and end child poverty. more...
Dudley North MP Ross Cranston has taken part in piloting an International Criminal Court Bill through parliament. more...
The fourth installment in a successful series of Sedgley in old photographs books is due to be published in the Autumn. more...
Kinver police uncovered a substantial haul if cannabis after finding a couple smoking the drug in a car on the outskirts of the village. more...
A new branch of the Dudley College Active and Older Club is starting up in Woodside. more...
The female manager of a Russells Hall football club will be gunning for her lads when they lose their locks in a sponsored head shave. more...
Callous thieves smashed a brick through the window of the Halesowen News last night to grab charity boxes containing just a few pounds. more...
A 16-year-old lad had his mobile phone and £9 cash stolen by two men in a Halesowen street last night. more...
Housing bosses are reaching out to building contractors in Sandwell to ensure smaller firms can help in providing housing services. more...
A 74-year-old Halesowen woman was conned out of £200 by two men who called at her home posing as gardeners. more...
A Sandwell Council run job finding scheme has succeeded beyond all expectations by getting 914 people into work over the last 12 months. more...
As a local resident and campaigner for the NSPCC I am writing to tell you about the Children's Manifesto, produced by the NSPCC, Barnardo's and Child Poverty Action Group. more...
Colin Washbourne (letters 5.4.01) is correct, the rise in councillors' allowances isn't the cause of the entire Council Tax rise: it's just the one that draws most ire! more...
I was saddened to read the Association of Chief Police Officers will no longer provide the police escort required for the St George's Day Parade. more...
I write in response to Bob Shaw's comments about my colleague, Patrick Harley published recently. more...
Liberal Democrat Group Leader more...
I can not believe over 20 million viewers tuned into Eastenders just to see who shot Phil Mitchell. more...
Furious residents living around a Kingswinford landfill site have hit out at news that the burial of culled livestock from areas infected by foot and mouth has secretly been taking place for TWO WEEKS. more...
Children at a Stourbridge school impressed teachers with their weird and wonderful Easter egg designs before breaking up for the holidays. more...
Around 100 bikers descended on Stourbridge to help make a dream come true for a seven-year-old deaf girl, who will also eventually lose her eyesight. more...
A Belbroughton group claims the latest fatal accident on the notorious A491 could have been prevented if roundabouts had been in place. more...
Shoppers at Merry Hill can learn more about plans to bring the Midland Metro to the borough this weekend. more...
A Brierley Hill woman is hoping to create a scheme to cut the number of boy racers at Merry Hill. more...
Kinver youngsters had to use their inspiration at a village workshop when they made their own dreamcatchers at Kinver library during the Easter holidays. more...
Dudley Council is top of the league in the West Midlands for cutting down on energy wastage in the home. more...
Brokenhearted staff at a Clent garden centre are offering a £200 reward for the safe return of a stolen macaw worth £1,400. more...
Dudley hospital bosses remain adamant the signing of an £180m contract to revolutionise the borough's hospitals will be signed any day now. more...
£100: 662985, Patricia Lowe, Kinver; 513621, R Goode, Dudley; 121274, A Kendrick, Stourbridge; 237541, Audrey Leigh, Wollaston; 313395, Beryl Grego, Stourbridge. more...
Staff at Mary Stevens Hospice had extra cause to celebrate over the Easter break after being presented with a valuable award. more...
The number of people playing the Mary Stevens Hospice Lottery has rocketed with more than 10,000 weekly entrants. more...
Bestselling novelist Terry Pratchett will be at Waterstones book shop, Merry Hill, next month to sign copies of his latest Discworld novel. more...
Cancer Support's Sedgley group meets on Monday April 23 at 8pm in the scout HQ, High Holborn. more...
Two Stourbridge counsellors with nerves of steel are taking the plunge to raise money for charity. more...
A Wordsley school is offering a variety of aquatic activities for the over 50s. more...
Stourbridge police will be talking to people in Stourbridge Crown Centre on Saturday April 21 as part of Crime Prevention Day. more...
Kinver parish councillors have turned down an application to build a replacement building for an office at the Britch House, Rocky Wall, as it does not fit with the building's agricultural designation. more...
Stourbridge Township Council has condemned a police decision to pull the plug on support for public events, which has thrown this year's St George's Day parades into turmoil. more...
Music lovers can get on down to Pedmore this week to enjoy the village's first Spring Festival. more...
A Stourbridge pub is hoping to set the fur flying with an evening of fun to raise money for an animal charity. more...
Kingswinford Neighbourhood Watch group meeting will take place at The Royal British Legion, Summerhill, Kingsw-inford on Tuesday May 1 at 7.30pm. more...
Stourbridge Bridge Club Results Week Ending April 6 more...
Gentle exercise classes for the elderly are held at St James Church Hall, Wollaston, every Friday from 10.30am to 12.30pm. more...
Former British and European middleweight champion Alan Minter will be guest speaker at the latest sporting dinner organised by Grays Promotions at the Copthorne Hotel on Thursday April 26 at 7.30pm. Tickets, at £40, are available by calling 01543 502049. more...
Keen swimmers can train to be lifeguards with a course at a Wordsley school. more...
Punters are in for a treat when Stourbridge Rugby Club hosts a race night with a difference on Thursday May 3. more...
A police surgery where residents can discuss neighbourhood problems will be held at Wollaston Estate Office, Bridgenorth Road, on Saturday April 21 from noon-2pm when the village beat officer will be in attendance. more...
Big-hearted residents raised £1,736 for the Brierley Hill and Kingswinford branch of the RNLI. more...
The Ramblers Association Stourbridge branch has cancelled its normal diary due to the foot and mouth outbreak. more...
The Living Gallery, Church Street, Stourbridge, is to hold an exhibition of photographic portraits. more...
The Broadfield was originally a medieval open field, which was enclosed in the 18th century like much of the land in the West Midlands. more...
If you ask those not familiar with the area what they know about Stourbridge - the answer would almost certainly be synonymous with glass. more...
A sharp rise in street robberies in the south of the borough is being blamed on the growing mobile phone generation. more...
A Wall Heath man is celebrating after his book about childhood days in the village sold out within a week. more...
Hagley parish councillors are worried the increase in lorries carrying out work in the village is posing a threat to children's safety. more...
A talk on new thera-pies for diabetes by Dr T M Fiad is being given at the medical services centre, Corbett Hospital, at 7.30pm on Thursday April 26. more...
Kinver Floral Art Club is next meeting at St Peter's church hall, Vicarage Drive, at 7.30pm on Tuesday May 8. more...
The winner of our competition for a family ticket to see Peter Pan at Stourbridge Town Hall is Lisa Jinks, of Stourbridge. more...
an Pearson MP is one of 32 MPs who have taken up the challenge of learning a new language. more...
Tea dances are held at Stourbridge town hall on Wednesdays from 2pm to 4.30pm. more...
A Stourbridge girl who climbed Mount Snowdon has donated £300 to the burns unit at Russells Hall Hospital. more...
Redevelopment plans for an eyesore block of flats in Hayley Green have met with fury from neighbours who want family homes built on the site. more...
The South Staffordshire housing association mobile advice van is visiting Kinver on Wednesday May 2 from 11am to 1.30pm in the car park to the rear of Barclays Bank. more...
Crime and anti-social behaviour on a Rowley Regis estate could be slashed if residents win their fight to close two rights of way used as a "quick getaway" by the culprits. more...
Kinver Methodist Wives group is next meeting on Tuesday May 1 at Potters Cross church hall at 8pm. more...
A new early intervention strategy is being developed by Sandwell Council to help schools failing Ofsted reports. more...
A Kingswinford church raising cash for a complete re-vamp has collected £80,000. more...
The mum of a disabled Halesowen boy who died less than a week after contracting a chest infection has paid tribute to his zest for life. more...
An award for £350 has set tails wagging at a Brierley Hill dog training club. more...
Sport
Old Halesonians RFC have virtually a full squad to choose from for their North Midlands Cup semi-final against Bromsgrove at Wassell Grove on Sunday (ko 2pm). more...
Old Halesonians RFC results and fixtures for 2000/2001 season: more...
Stourbridge FC will be looking to book a place in the Davis League Cup final on Wednesday (ko 7.45pm) when they take a 2-1 first-leg semi-final lead to Stafford Town. more...
Sat Aug 12 Chasetown (A) 0-3 more...
Kingswinford's Phil Bennett raced to glory in his debut appearance in the British Touring Car Championship. more...
Halesowen Town have suffered their first recorded relegation since the club's foundation in 1873. more...
Fly-half Duncan Hughes equalled the Stourbridge record for the most tries in a season when he scored his 15th in Saturday's 27-13 win at Bedford Athletic. more...
Ten-man Gornal held out for a 1-1 draw with high-flying neighbours Causeway. more...
Club Cradley Heath suffered a double blow over the Bank Holiday with Finnish international Jarno Kosonen being declared ineligible to ride as well as suffering a 26-22 defeat at Arena Essex juniors. more...
Mill Race Lane's Dave Pountney scored the only goal of the game in his team's division two top-of-the-table clash with Old Mill, the 1-0 result sees Mill Race close the gap to three points. more...
Pedmore CC skipper Stuart Bate will entertain his former team Lye on Saturday (start 1.30pm) as the new Worcester County League division one season begins. more...
Brierley Hill motorcycle racer Luke Quigley battled his way from the fourth row to clinch eight place in the British 600 Supersport championship second round at Silverstone. more...
Netherton CC start their Worcestershire County League division one season away at Pershore on Saturday (start 1.30pm). more...
Halesowen and Stourbridge under 14s will be hoping to pick up some silverware on their return to school after the Easter break, writes Graeme Hollinshead. more...
Young cyclists in the Halesowen and Stourbridge area are being invited to participate in the heats of the Challenge 2001 national cycling competition for under 13s. more...
Quarry Bank bowler Andy Petford bowled superbly for his club in the British Crown Green team Championships which saw the George BC, former winners of the event, book their place in the finals on Sunday and remain well on course for the first prize of £800, writes Mike Wakelam. more...
Halesowen Town have suffered their first recorded relegation since the club's foundation in 1873. more...
Brierley Hill swimmer Alex Parsonage has been snapped up by the Great Britain Youth Squad. more...
Dr Martens League Premier Division more...
Hagley and District Light Car Club's annual National Championship `Geoff Taylor Sporting Trial' has been rescheduled to later in the year due to the foot and mouth crisis. more...
Stourbridge and District Youth League results for Sunday April 15, under sevens: Kewford West 0 Withymoor 0; Kingswinford West 6 Dudley 1; Kingswinford East 8 Kingswinford West 0; Brandhall 2 Halas West 5; Kingswinford East 5 Halas East 1. more...
Kidderminster and District Football League more...
Bedford Athletic 13 Stourbridge RFC 27 more...
more...
With no budget to work with Lye boss Geoff Moss has highlighted the reserve team as a crucial factor in the club's success this season. more...
Manager Tony Gore was forced to don his boots as relegation battlers Brierley Hill edged closer to safety after picking up two valuable points against higher opposition. more...
Causeway United failed to take advantage of ten-man Gornal on Saturday despite being awarded a late penalty, writes Ben Lammas. more...
Ten-man Gornal held out for a 1-1 draw with high-flying neighbours Causeway. more...
Dudley manager Ian Davis believes his side's 1-0 Easter Saturday home win against Ettingshall has ensured their place in the Bank's Premier for next season. more...
Tividale were left fuming on Thursday when their opposition Kington called off only two hours before the game. more...
Dudley-Kingswinford's planned friendly match with Dunstablians on Saturday has been called off after the opposition dropped out. more...
The scoreline might suggest this was an easy victory for the extras, far from it, Woodrush provided stern opposition, bordering on the passionate and with the steeply sloping pitch in their favour in a physically bruising first half, they restricted Dudley Kingswinford to a solitary Chris Barker try. The floodgates opened only in the last quarter of the game, when a tiring Woodrush pack, now playing up the slope, conceded four of DK's six second half tries. more...
Huw Lewis fired four goals including a hat-trick of headers to ease Handrahan Timbers relegation worries in a 4-0 win over bottom club Highgate. more...
Blackheath suffered a miserable run of form over the Easter break with two defeats in a row, writes Ben Lammas. more...
Late strikes cruelly cost Dudley Sports valuable points against two Midland Combination One high-fliers. more...
Neil Perks bagged four goals in two games to give Enville six points and put him level with the club's top scorer Jimmy Robinson. more...
Sandwell Borough boss Joe Owen believes his side's recent good run will eventually take them off the bottom spot, writes Suzy Austin. more...
Cradley crashed to a 3-1 defeat against Halesowen Harriers on Monday in what manager, Trevor Thomas described as the worst game of the season, writes Ben Lammas. more...
Halesowen Harriers went into their derby clash with Stourbridge last night (Wednesday) rejuvenated after two encouraging results over the holiday weekend, writes Mat Danks. more...
