THE high turnout at the Wharfedale Police Community Forum meeting last week and the amount of missives on our letters page leave no-one in doubt what an emotive issue traffic calming in Ilkley is. The issue is also a hot potato in Addingham where residents
Bradford City have rejected a £250,000 bid from Birmingham City for defender Peter Atherton. Manager Jim Jefferies was quick to say no to Birmingham boss Trevor Francis's enquiry. He said: "I told him Peter was in my plans at the moment. I said he had
Bradford Bulls are convinced they are not lagging behind the southern hemisphere after attending a 'master class' by Aussie coaching legend Wayne Bennett. The Brisbane Broncos boss took time off from preparations for Friday night's World Club Championship
Bradford City new boy Gary Locke will make his debut in tomorrow night's hastily-arranged friendly at Wrexham. The 25-year-old utility player was taking part in his first training session with his new team-mates today after agreeing personal terms for
A MEETING to discuss what would happen to the Menwith Hill site if the Americans were to leave, was held earlier this week. Menwith Hill Forum, an Otley-based campaign monitoring the base, believes that within a few years it could be technologically obsolete
WHARFEDALE villagers which pride themselves on the quality of their community life are being encouraged to enter a Village of the Year competition. The competition encourages 'active thriving communities that look after the residents as well as the environment
A SCHOOL had to close for a day and was left with a damaged floor after water flooded from old heating pipes. Pupils at Prince Henry's Grammar School, Otley, were sent home last Monday after the school hall flooded on Sunday night. Water leaked from the
A GROUP of singers in Menston are celebrating after being awarded Lottery funding of £2,500 to increase their repertoire. The Fairfax Singers will use the cash to buy new sheet music and any left over will pay to transport the 42-member choir to performances
A BID to redevelop the crumbling Mechanics' Institute in Horsforth has been told to wait until Leeds City Council knows whether it can get CCTV into the township. A city council bid for Government funding to install CCTV in Horsforth would, if successful
RESIDENTS in Burley-in-Wharfedale are being invited to take a trip down memory lane and visit a special exhibition. Collated by Burley Local History Group, the collection of photographs, maps, documents and plans forms an interesting and informative look
A PLAN to develop the old Horsforth laundry site at the top of Broadgate Lane has been generally welcomed by Horsforth Civic Society - but members fear traffic chaos could ensue because of the number car parking spaces on site. Civic Society secretary
A WOMAN waiting for a bus was punched in the face by robbers who snatched her handbag. The woman was at a bus stop in Otley Road, Guiseley, when she was approached by three men. They asked her for money and when she refused, one of the men punched her
A VOLUNTARY worker from Bramhope is helping to provide jobs in poverty-stricken Ukraine thanks to the donation of knitting machines from people in the area. Retired textiles expert Jan Cysarz, from Churchgate, made an appeal in the Wharfedale Observer
GROWING calls to improve the 'disgraceful' condition of Rawdon Crematorium have been backed this week by a disgusted Aireborough woman. Mollie Carpenter, of Guiseley, said that she regretted some of her relatives being laid to rest at the crematorium,
AIREBOROUGH Leisure Centre will be closed on Monday for rewiring work to take place. The Guiseley centre's swimming pool will remain closed all day on Tuesday and for part of Wednesday - although the rest of the centre will continue to be open as usual
RESIDENTS fear that someone will be killed at a notorious Aireborough crossroads unless action is taken soon to make it safer. Only last week, an elderly woman was taken to hospital suffering slight injuries after a three-car collision at the junction
DEALING with a man threatening to ignite a gas cylinder has won two police officers special recognition. Another officer has also been recognised for his efforts in persuading a woman to give up an axe. PCs Trevor Roebuck and Steve Sharpe were investigating
SOME of the biggest names from the silver screen could descend on Horsforth when filming begins on a multi-million pound remake of Agatha Christie's classic, Murder on the Orient Express. Movie legends Lauren Bacall, Burt Reynolds, Sophia Loren, Dame
AN ex-serviceman is fighting to preserve the memory of two soldiers who died in the 1914-18 and 1939-45 wars. David Porritt, a member of Bramhope Royal British Legion, has discovered the two badly neglected graves of former soldiers in Yeadon Cemetery
VILLAGERS are bringing new life back into their own village hall. Thousands of pounds of grants from Europe, the National Lottery and Otley Town Council have helped residents of Newall and Clifton restore their village hall. And in just more than six
A BLAZE which gutted a dilapidated old school in Pool-in-Wharfedale is being treated as suspicious by police. Four appliances from Cookridge Station were called to the blaze at the old Pool School at about 6am on Monday morning, which police fear may
There are two main obstacles discouraging people in Bradford from getting on their bikes and finding more "green" ways of commuting to and from work: the narrowness of the poor main arterial roads and the up-and-down nature of the geography. For those
Campaigners against the euro in Bradford have welcomed a new poll revealing that opposition to the euro is strongest among the young. The ICM poll conducted for Business for Sterling found just 14 per cent of people aged between 18 and 24 wanted to join
WHEN Lyn Hymers wrote a letter to the producers of the Channel 4 programme 1940s House she wasn't really expecting her family to be chosen to appear in the series. She was responding to a tiny piece she'd spotted in the Radio Times appealing for a family
UNIVERSAL mourning and genuine sorrow greeted the death of Queen Victoria 100 years ago this week. After more than 60 years on the throne, the longest reigning monarch the country has ever seen died aged 82 on January 22, 1901- surrounded by her children
THE group taxed with ensuring Ilkley's environmental future is to hold two major consultations with residents this year. The first event will be held at the Clarke Foley Centre, Cunliffe Road, on March 16 and 17. The Ilkley Design Statement Group recently
AN ILKLEY couple are to receive compensation after Bradford Council admitted bungling a planning application. Bill and Olwen Sharp, of Hebers Ghyll Drive, say a two-storey extension built next to their home has made their lives a misery and infringed
POLICE officers and council highway bosses in Ilkley have faced a barrage of demands from residents to make the streets safer. Divisional police commander Chief Superintendent Derek Bonnard and Bradford Council senior highway officer Phil Sawley were
ILKLEY could soon have its very own radio station - if only for a week. A temporary license could be in the pipeline to get townsfolk in the party mood in the week running up to Ilkley Carnival, in May. The idea has been thrown into the arena by the team
AN Ilkley inventor is threatening to take the country's leading consumer magazine to court because it advises people not to buy her product. Liz Paul, 46, invented a patch designed to help slimmers resist the cravings for chocolate and sweets. She is
AN ILKLEY travel operator has scooped an award with Royal Mail thanks to its innovative way of getting the message across. Gold Crest Holidays, based at Valley Drive, has picked up the Winning Post award, which recognises the most outstanding and effective
A STAFF nurse died from serious head injuries after being catapulted through the back window of his car and hitting a stone wall. Leeds Coroners Court heard yesterday that Nicholas Broster lost control of his Vauxhall Cavalier as he drove fast along bumpy
THINGS are definitely going downhill for a group of Ben Rhydding scouts and guides - their 30-year-old hut is slowly sliding down Wheatley Lane. According to scout leader Pam Clarke, the hut is gradually inching its way down the hill and will eventually
A NEW face to Ilkley is making a big issue of the generosity of townsfolk, which he says is helping him to rebuild his life. Only a matter of months ago Mark Moakes was living on the streets and in a state of despair. Made homeless after a row with his
SIR, - Whilst driving on a quiet country road between Otley and Ilkley, I came across a rare sight of an endangered species. - two police cars and several policemen. And what were these guardians of law and order doing? A mercy mission or apprehending
Old Otliensians...16 Moortown...16 OTLIENSIANS made several changes for this home game against Moortown. With the return of Mark Stevens at flanker, David Smith reverted to full back and Lee Stenton to left wing, coach Hugh Gumbs coming in at stand-off
Frustrated travellers are being offered an escape route from Bradford's chaotic road and rail networks with a major development of the Leeds -Liverpool Canal. British Waterways has begun upgrading the towpath between Leeds and Bingley to create a traffic-free
West Park Bramhope...3 Redcar...5 WEST Park's continual problem of being unable to turn possession into points once again cost them dearly. They dominated the game at The Sycamores for three-quarters of a dour match but still failed to beat a very average
Otliensians Third XV...3 Skipton Thirds ...24 OTLIENSIANS fielded a Third XV for the first time this season against Skipton who had kindly agreed to travel to Chaffer's Fields to help the launch. With the field in near perfect condition, Otliensians were
LEEDS TYKES...43 OTLEY...17 OTLEY once again demonstrated they are a much better side than their league position portrays. For the second week running they were able to tear holes in the defence of full time outfits to the dismay of their coaches, who
A small band of residents living in one of Shipley's oldest streets have formed an action group in a bid to block plans for a multi-million pound canalside office development. But the company behind the scheme says the two-phase development would boost
A pensioner grappled with a burglar who crept into her home today and ripped out the telephone wires as she slept. The 74-year-old woman, of Bellerby Brow, Buttershaw, Bradford, woke to find the intruder searching her bedroom. She was hit over the head
Disabled people and their carers plan a showdown with Bradford Council bosses on Saturday over proposed cuts in services. The cash available to spend on people with learning disabilities in Bradford could be slashed by as much as £600,000 next year, campaigners
Pretty pup Ruby already has a pack of adoring fans in her home village of Thornton. But now she has beaten off district-wide competition to be named the Telegraph & Argus's Champion Dog. At just four months old, her cheeky face was voted the best
An MP is pressing education chiefs and a head teacher to reconsider giving pupils two extra weeks holiday because of the schools reorganisation. The intervention from Chris Leslie, the Labour MP for Shipley, comes on the day that furious Cottingley Village
Firefighters are heading for Bradford's classrooms in a bid to halt an alarming spate of attacks on brigade personnel. The campaign will see officers visiting every school in the city, pushing the message that thuggish behaviour could cost lives. The
Furious residents today called on Bradford Council to remove mountains of rubbish piling up outside their flats since before Christmas. Members of the Friends of the Valley tenants and residents association compare the scene outside three of the blocks
Detectives were today quizzing a Pudsey doctor over allegations of the misuse of prescribed drugs. Dr Peter Lindsay, 47, was arrested early yesterday amid alleged professional irregularities concerning the prescription of diamorphine - the clinical term
Astrologer Pat Harris hopes she can save heartache for childless couples - by plotting their stars to predict the best time for their IVF treatment. She believes movements of the Moon, Venus and Jupiter - thought to be linked to good fortune and fertility
MEMORY is more to do with imagination than recollection and those who have previously clambered up the wall to the finish of the six-and-a-half mile Boulsworth Hill race (1,200ft of ascent) at the Herders' Arms may imagine that it is not really that steep
Burley Trojans Hampsthwaite United...0 Burley Trojans...5 BURLEY Trojans marched into the last eight of the Harrogate & District Senior Cup with a comfortable victory at lowly Hampsthwaite. Trojans had, in Phil Constantine, a match winner and the
Ilkley AFC...3 Bramhope...2 (aet) AFTER a good win the previous week against a strong Kirkby Malzaerd team, Ilkley again faced a stern challenge against first division table toppers Bramhope in the League Challenge Cup. The postponement of this fixture
ILKLEY'S game against Castleford last Saturday was postponed due to a frozen pitch. Whilst the club doesn't want a fixture pile up, the cancellation did give one or two players the opportunity to regain fitness and begin playing again. With no rugby at
Keighley Cougars face two games in little more than 48 hours after their crucial Northern Ford Premiership battle with Doncaster Dragons was re-arranged for next Tuesday at Belle Vue. Cougars coach Steve Deakin had hoped to play the game last night prior
Spanish club Oviedo are optimistic about having Bradford City's troubled striker Stan Collymore in their line up this weekend. He has had talks with Oviedo manager Raddy Antic - the former Luton player - and the Spaniards are talking optimistically about
A SPECIAL police squad aimed at combating street robberies should be called into Aireborough, says a former councillor. West Yorkshire Police this week announced it has set up a new six-officer team to target mugging hot spots in the Leeds area. The team
HUNDREDS of readers have had their say on who they think contributes the most to their community. And the convincing overall winner for the Wharfedale Community Oscars, which ran throughout the year 2000, is Mavis Bowman, for her contribution to the Friendship
ROBOTEERS, stand by! An uncle and his nephew will go to war in front of millions of people tomorrow evening when they appear in a hugely popular futuristic television show. John and Ben Fearnley have built their own 80kg robot, called Terror-Bull, and
AN Otley fruit and vegetable shop will make its television debut tonight. Lyn Hymers, part of the Otley family who star in Channel 4's The 1940s House, will be seen adapting back to normal life. And as part of her return to 2001, she will be seen shopping
A NEW state-of-the-art train made its debut at Leeds City Station this week and rail chiefs claimed it signalled the start of a fresh era for the Wharfedale line. The Class 333 - which replaces the 36-year-old 308 - set out for its first official journey
BORED youngsters have moved a step nearer to getting a skateboard park built in their village have moved a step closer to making their dreams become reality. Almost 30 youngsters and parents from Pool-in-Wharfedale attended a public meeting to discuss
A FORMER special constable has won a prestigious award - after helping to set up more than 100 neighbourhood watch schemes. Tony Johnson helped launch neighbourhood watch in Otley in the mid 1980s with community officer Dave Robson. Now, 16 years later
AIREBOROUGH and Horsforth MP Paul Truswell has made a Parliamentary call for councils and the Government to carry out a recruitment drive for more school crossing wardens. He has put down an Early Day Motion in the Commons, supported by other Leeds MPs
STORE giant Sainsbury says it still intends to build a store in Otley - even though it's more than a year since plans were first submitted. A reorganisation of the supermarket's property team and negotiations with planners over the look of the building
A SHOWPIECE playground criticised for being a potential deathtrap for children is undergoing a major refurbishment in a bid to make it safer. Playground safety campaigner Ian Burks first highlighted potential dangers in Wharfemeadows Park in Otley last
HORSFORTH will go against tradition and will not have a 'frivolous' mayor, town councillors decided. At Monday night's Horsforth Town Council meeting, councillors voted against the town having its own mayor, claiming the role is outdated, frivolous and
YOUNGSTERS from a Horsforth primary school could find fame in Germany after recording a song with a chart-topping band. Ten children from Westbrook Lane Primary School visited a sound studio in Bradford to record some backing vocals with world-famous
A STAFF nurse died from serious head injuries after being catapulted through the back window of his car and hitting a stone wall. Leeds Coroner's Court heard yesterday that Nicholas Broster lost control of his Vauxhall Cavalier as he drove fast along
A conservation group is calling for mass protest to stop a telecommunications mast from being put up. One2One has appealed to the secretary of state after plans for its 15-metre high mast at Billing Hill, Rawdon, were turned down by Leeds City Council
FORMER US President Bill Clinton may not find himself unemployed for long - a job could be waiting for him as a member of Horsforth Town Council. Councillor Bernie Coleman proposed that Mr Clinton become the town council's first honorary member at Monday
HORRIFIED children looked on as a knifeman stabbed his ex-wife's new husband in the heart outside the couple's Otley bungalow, a court was told this week. John Walker, 57, of Weston Park View, was fatally wounded by Leeds man Thomas Carrol on May 14 last
In 1533, Henry VIII married his second wife, Anne Boleyn. In 1947, gangster 'Scarface' Al Capone died of a brain haemorrage, aged 48. In 1971, Idi Amin deposed Milton Obote as leader of Uganda. From the Telegraph & Argus of January 25, 1976... Riding
A scheme launched last summer to improve the birth and survival rate of start-up businesses in the Bradford area has been hailed a success. More than 20 new enterprises with a combined projected turnover of £3.5m and 40 employees have been created as
THE image of a bouncing cannon ball taking off the lower part of your leg as you take aim with a musket at an eight-year-old boy scuttling around the decks of the nearest enemy vessel may not seem the stuff of an ideal family day out. But members of the
THE fortunes of an annual flower show which organisers feared would have to be cancelled are blooming once again. The future of the Ilkley Flower Show, which has taken place in the town for almost half a century, was in jeopardy after a general meeting
AN ILKLEY widower is planning to climb Africa's highest mountain and raise funds for charity in tribute to his 50-year-old wife who died last year. Geoffrey Hill, 52, of Kings Road, lost his wife Linda in July when she died suddenly after a flight to
AN Ilkley resident was so incensed by a day-long pall of smoke from a fire at Ilkley Tennis Club over the town that he took photographs (above) and sent them to the Gazette. Victor Bean, of Skipton Road, also sent in a letter saying that the fire caused
RESIDENTS of Addingham who are caught short on Main Street are unlikely to find any relief in the near future. The public toilets on Sugar Hill, which have been closed since November, still do not have a date for re-opening. Bradford Council graffiti
AN ILKLEY woman says she wishes to warn other residents after she took a nasty tumble at a popular walking spot. Nicky Solloway, of East Parade, cut her hand after falling down a ravine on Wells Promenade as she tried to climb into the passenger seat
CHILDREN from All Saints Primary School helped in the campaign to raise money for their new school on Skipton Road. The school is due to move to its new site by September next year and wants to raise £45,000 so extra room can be accommodated in the new
A DISTRAUGHT couple staring homelessness in the face are now to be dragged through court by the company which took their business without warning. John and Barbara Hubberstey say their fortunes have taken an even bigger turn for the worse after being
Works to improve safety and reduce congestion at the busy Chain Bar junction of the M62 and the M606 near Cleckheaton are due to start on Sunday. The £700,000 scheme will extend the existing slip road to provide two lanes onto the main carriageway of
OTLEY Athletics Club athlete Graham Stead won the inaugural race for the 2001 Eric Smith Handicap Trophy on Saturday morning. Despite bitterly cold conditions, 18 club members braved the now traditional January 10k road course starting from the Square
Castleford Seconds...3 Otley Thirds...18 Building on their success of the previous week, Otley Tongans ground out a gritty if not text book victory against a physical and spirited Castleford side. Having to cope with the very direct running style often
SUPPORTERS at Guiseley were left fuming by a late postponement when their UniBond Division One meeting with leaders Vauxhall was called off less than an hour before Saturday's scheduled kick-off. A local UniBond referee had given the pitch the OK during
Old Otliensians...16 Moortown...16 OTLIENSIANS made several changes for this home game against Moortown. With the return of Mark Stevens at flanker, David Smith reverted to full back and Lee Stenton to left wing, coach Hugh Gumbs coming in at stand-off
A debt company has swung into action with the aim of helping Asian people in difficulty. Park House Debt Management has been set up with the help of the Prince's Trust. A spokesman for the firm said it had identified problems with Asian communities when
A gesture of goodwill to convert a redundant farm into a £500,000 riding school for disabled people has been welcomed by an equestrian charity. West Yorkshire Riding for the Disabled Association is delighted at proposals from the Bradford Independent
A storm is brewing over a plan to build 200 houses in Queensbury which would cut into the parish cemetery. The proposals for a new development at Broomfield, near Black Dyke Mills, are being considered by Bradford Council. But villagers fear it would
A pensioner today called on Bradford Council "to get its act together" after being forced to travel on a 20-mile trip for a swim. Elsie Veevers, 79, of Thornton, has resorted to taking four buses on a round trip to Bingley pool since Thornton Baths were
Shipley MP Chris Leslie has taken Bradford's bid for a multi-million pound development of local hospitals to the heart of Government. The Labour politician pleaded Bradford's case for a £104 million injection of cash during a parliamentary debate at Westminster
Tenants' leader Mike Stocks today gave the message that the district's families were able to take control of their destinies. He said people had the expertise, intelligence, know-how and local knowledge to take over the running of their homes. But Mr
The era of council housing in the Bradford district is set to end after more than 90 years. A radical plan being considered by city leaders would take control of the district's 27,000 council homes out of local authority hands for good. Under the plan
SIR - After returning from a short trip to my local supermarket, I feel I am lucky to be in one piece. I was driving through the Lower Grange estate when I had a glass bottle thrown at my windscreen by two little boys, who were approximately three years
FIRST of all this I would like to apologise to everyone who spent their hard earned cash on a copy of the Wharfedale last week only to find Gas from the Green was missing. A few technical problems occurred but I am glad to say everything is back in place
