Archive
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I'm A Councillor and I've just won
THERE wasn't a creepy crawly or snake in sight, but victory was sweet for Councillor Chris Van Roon as he was crowned king of the jungle. The I'm A Councillor Get Me Out Of Here contest has been running for the past three weeks and saw five councillors
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£35 million debt for new schools
SWINDON Council will have a debt of £35million to pay off once seven new schools have been built but it still doesn't know where to find the cash. The schools will be built in north Swindon under a private finance initiative (PFI) by Equion, a division
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You say our MPs are not worth it
SWINDONIANS don't think their two MPs are good value for money. Seventy five per cent of callers in the Evening Advertiser's phone poll believe Michael Wills and Julia Drown are not worth their £341,863 annual cost to the taxpayer. We carried out the
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You're nicked
POLICE sprang into action when they spotted a security guard in hot pursuit of a cyclist. The drama, captured by Evening Advertiser photographer Matthew Swingler, began as the officers were walking along Curtis Street . The cyclist was being chased along
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Robbo treat for Bassett
A JUNIOR rugby team from Wootton Bassett minis section had a special treat on their trip to Bath a meeting with new England coach Andy Robinson. The under 12 squad from the Stoneover Lane club were in the city for a series of matches against the host
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Fireworks missing
POLICE are urging people in Swindon to be on the lookout for boxes of stolen fireworks. Some 640 boxes of Thriller fireworks and 200 boxes of Blast Zone fireworks worth £9,000 were stolen from a firm in Chilmark, near Salisbury. They could be offered
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Changes to the 25 bus coming
BUS passengers are advised of changes coming in on November 1. Thamesdown Transport will take over responsibility for selected peak hour number 25 services currently run by Stagecoach. The revised timetable offers three departures from Fleming Way (Stop
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Plans for Christmas
A WOOTTON Bassett councillor has praised the Chamber of Commerce for reviving trade. In recent weeks activities have been organised in the shopping area to disuade customers from going further afield. Coun Steve Wall said: "The Chamber of Commerce is
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Building work set to start at Headlands School
BUILDING work to refurbish Headlands School is due to start. Once pupils have returned after half term work will start on phase one of the school's refurbishment project. The work will include moving the school visitor's entrance, refurbishing the West
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£900,000 goes on asylum seekers
MORE than £900,000 will be spent on supporting asylum seekers in Swindon this year. This means the annual cost faced by Swindon Council has soared seven-fold since 1998, according to new figures. The council will pay out £912,000 on asylum seekers this
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Armed judge
THE Advertiser reports that Swindon's senior judge feels nervous about walking through the town after dark. He has no need to be, since he is entitled, under our Bill of Rights, to carry arms to defend himself. On the opposite page of the Advertiser carrying
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Elder abuse
Remembrance Day is shortly on us and it is right we turn our attention to those who paid the ultimate price to protect our rights and values in life. When rightly remembering them spare a moment for those who are over 70 and might be suffering abuse and
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Our pleasant town is destroyed
I was absolutely dismayed and heartbroken at the Government's decision to allow our precious Coate to be built on. How dare they? It is utterly disgraceful of our council to even contemplate that area. It is the lungs of Swindon and it is obvious that
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Message to ripper of peace banner
ON Friday, October 15 I was by the cenotaph at Swindon Town Hall at 12.15pm looking at a banner that had Get Our Troops Out Of Iraq and Justice For Palestine printed on it. Also looking at this was a man in green overalls. He looked at the banner for
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Parkin is just raring to go
SAM PARKIN has carried out a spot of self-surgery on his game to ensure that he remains firing on all cylinders even if Town's chips happen to be down at the time. While the 23-year-old can do no wrong in the eyes of most supporters the man himself has
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Goose stepped
A RARE visitor, hardly ever seen in Wiltshire, turned up on The Crammer pond in Devizes this week. The Barnacle goose, more a resident of the Arctic tundra than the centre of a busy market town, was seen among a flock of more than 100 Canada geese that
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Benches proved drunks magnets
SEATS at the entrance to a much-loved Swindon park have been removed by the council following complaints from residents. The benches were at the entrance to the avenue leading into the Lawns park in Old Town. Although they were well-used, problems with
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Why we should still remember
Former Swindon mayor Reginald Clarke who had a stairlift fitted in his home courtesy of the Royal British Legion. Ref: 73059-21THE POPPY appeal is almost upon on us again. And as poppy sellers prepare to hit the streets next Saturday, we asked a group
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Shops' trade hit by alley closure
Kevin Money of Gallery 39 in Godwin Court hasn't had a customer for two weeks. Ref: 73056-22THE first stage of building work which has closed an Old Town alleyway could be completed early. Traders in Godwin Court, behind Wood Street, claim the temporary
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Jam man in mag
A SWINDON tyre fitter who has grown to 6ft 7ins on a diet of jam sandwiches has been mentioned by Britain's leading journal of strange phenomena. It was in June that the Adver told the story of Steve Hemmins of Park South. He gets through seven loaves
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Children's home causes tears and tantrums
SWINDON Council has launched an investigation into whether a children's home has the right to exist in a residential property. The home for three 11 to 16-year-olds in Okebourne Park, Liden opened on Monday and is run by private firm Pro-active Care.
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Helping criminals
TWO volunteers are needed to help with the management of dangerous offenders in their own communities. Lay members are needed for the strategic management board of the Wiltshire and Swindon Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements. They are looking
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Jaws dropping in
ACTOR Richard Kiel, who played Bond bad guy Jaws, is in town next month. As well as opening the second annual Swindon film festival on November 18, Kiel who appeared in Moonraker and the Spy Who Loved Me will be at the Infinitely Better store on the first
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Chess champ brothers compete for major prize
BROTHERS Toby and Dan Hall won't be letting nepotism get in the way of them and a coveted chess title. The pair both pupils at Commonweal School - will join 80 other young hopefuls from across the country to take part in the Ampleforth Junior Masters
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Debate by Dyson
WILTSHIRE entrepreneur James Dyson will be at Wroughton Science Museum. The inventor, who made his fortune with bag-less vacuum cleaners, will lead a debate with Kenneth Grange on how everyday items are designed and engineered. They will ask whether looks
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Vision is lost
SOME thousand of years ago, Neolithic man considered land at Coate so special and sacred that a Stone Circle was built. Modern man, on the other hand, thought so little of his past that he built a road, Day House Lane, across half of the ancient monument
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Question time
I AM delighted to see the Labour Party has selected a candidate to fight Swindon South at the next election. I look forward to debating the issues with her, but would be grateful if she could tell us why her Government has removed £35 billion from our
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Visas vital for all immigrants
ONCE again Mrs A Lubin (EA Oct 19) has launched an unwarranted attack on Mr Frank Avenell by ignoring the purpose of his letter and trying to head your readers in a different direction. It is all very well for Mrs Lubin to draw attention to the Great
