connect cannock april 2014

Your independent, online news resource for the Cannock area

Anger spreads at planned closure of Day CentrePlans by Staffordshire

County Council to close a popular Day Centre in

Cannock for adult with learning disabilities, users and council-lors alike have been met with an-ger at what has been called ‘cuts that are hitting the most vulner-able in Cannock Chase’.

The Eric Roberts Centre, which is currently used by 82 adults with a variety of health issues and learn-ing difficulties, has been targeted as part of a County wide review of day services and cuts, which also sees Centres in Stafford, Lichfield, Codsall, Kidsgrove, two in Newcas-tle, and ones in Burton and Tam-worth affected. Those affected will either be closed, forced to move, downsize or be taken over by chari-ties, community groups or private companies.

Consultation

A public consultation into the plans affecting the Eric Roberts Centre revealed that Cannock us-ers and residents did not want any changes to impact the centre. Fol-lowing the consultation it was de-cided that although a centre would remain in Cannock, that it would need to downsize as part of the planned budget cuts.

Labour’s Parliamentary Candi-date for Cannock Chase Janos Toth said: “The closing of the Eric Rob-erts Centre in Cannock and reduced provision of day services for adults with learning disabilities is a dis-

grace and quite frankly a nasty deci-sion. The Tories have gone too far with these cuts hitting some of the most vulnerable in our local com-munities.

“Staffordshire County Council

has agreed closing some centres and downsizing others. I am concerned that the Eric Roberts Centre in Cannock is to close albeit we don’t know the exact date. This centre has actively had facilities removed

and has not been promoted. It has been prepared for closure over the last few months and today’s deci-sion proves this.

“I applauded the protester’s march on Saturday 11th Jan by campaigners fighting plans to axe council-run day services for adults with learning disabilities. I have spoken with people affected by these changes and they are deeply concerned about closure of the Eric Roberts Centre and less provi-sion. They will be angry and frus-trated at not being listened to.

“These cuts are hitting the most vulnerable in Cannock Chase, people who are the least equipped to cope. Cut backs like this are wrong.”

Cannock Chase MP Aidan Burley said: “It was clear from my recent visit to Chase Day Services that those service users with profound disabilities need a specialist centre locally.

“Better still, the new day care centre will be located closer to the town centre, making it more ac-cessible, and the services will be improved. I will now be ensuring that no service users will be moved to the new facility until it is fully equipped and ready for them.”

Photo by Sara Giles

April issue - Free

Troubled MP for Cannock Chase Aidan Burley has today announced that he

will not be standing at the next election.

The news comes after recent inci-dents with the national press, who claimed that Mr Burleys involve-ment with the notorious stag party was not quite as claimed. Mr Bur-ley and his fiancee Jodie Jones, who also works at his Cannock office, claimed harassment by the press,

with Ms. Jones going so far as to la-bel the Mail on Sunday as “f***ing liar scum”.

Aidan had previously been rese-lected for the upcoming election, set to be going up against Labour candidate Janos Toth.

Hi-jinks

Previous MP for Cannock Ger-ald Howarth was recently on record defending Mr Burleys actions, tell-

ing radio listeners that the party was just “hi-jinks” and claiming that “we’ve all done it from time to time”.

Mr Burley sent out a press release announcing his decision. You can read his full comments below:

“It was a wonderful surprise to win the seat of Cannock Chase in May 2010 with the biggest swing in the country and it has been a huge privilege to represent the people of Cannock Chase in Parliament over the past four years. I am grateful to all those who voted for me and sup-ported our campaign which led to our famous victory, winning a seat which had been held by Labour for 18 years. In particular I would like to thank my Agent Ian Col-lard, without whom none of this

would have been possible, and who has been my rock of support since being selected as the Conservative Candidate in July 2008.

“I am proud to have been able to deliver many positive things for our area since our election success, in-cluding spearheading the campaign to save Cannock Chase Hospital from the administrators axe, running four local Jobs Fayres to help get people back into work, and securing £35 million to electrify the Chase Line. That is what really matters to local people in their day to day lives.

“After a difficult time I have de-cided to announce I will stand down at the next general election. I will continue to work for the people of Cannock Chase until that election, and look forward to supporting my

successor, as soon as he or she is selected, to ensure that Labour have no chance of re-taking this seat.”MP Aidan Burley to stand

down at next election

Photo by Sarah Giles

2 – FREE – APRIL EDITION

NEWSPAPER DESIGN / LAYOUT

Holly Barry @journohol

Jerome Turner @jezturner

The whole country has been battered by winter storms which have seen

relentless rain, strong winds and all manner of disruption.

Flooding was a major issue for some areas which have seen un-precedented levels of rainfall and rising groundwater, while the Envi-ronment Agency warned the floods could remain for “months”, causing widespread damage to homes, busi-nesses and travel networks. Winds caused severe damage across the country, with the highest record-ed speed of 108mph occuring in North Wales.

Travellers wide and far saw wide-spread travel chaos which led to rail line and motorway closures caused by flooding and downed trees. A train passing through Penkridge was hit by a falling tree on the 12th February during what was described by the Met Office as the “worst storm for decades” and “the most exceptional period of rainfall in 248 years”. The tree also took

out overhead signals and saw a to-tal closure for around 15 hours on the Wolverhampton to Stafford line while National Rail undertook ‘seri-ous’ repairs.

West Midlands Ambulance Serv-ice attended to a number of in-cidents that occurred as a result

of falling trees around the region, but thankfully only a small number of injuries and no fatalities were reported.

Dame Julia Slingo, Met Office’s Chief Scientist said:

“The variable UK climate means there was no definitive answer as to what caused the storms. But all the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change”. Image courtesy of West Midlands Ambulance Service

Towards the end of last year, we got the opportu-nity to do the reverse of

most news organisations. We turned something that was ex-clusively digital into something that looked, felt and - not that you did, of course - even smelled like a real newspaper.

We kept the print run short and, being short on available funds, we hand delivered them to as many local places that would let us. We thought a few people would pick it up, maybe flick through it, and that would be the end of a fun experiment.

That’s not quite how it worked out though. Instead, we got inun-dated with people telling us that they’d heard about this amazing newspaper, and could they have a copy? We got flooded with people excited that there was something

available in Cannock that truly rep-resented Cannock. People were as excited as we were about launching the newspaper, and we got mes-sages like this:

“Thank you for the copies of your newspaper, read it cover to cover couldn’t put it down, great read and hoping there will be an-other one. Fantastic, thank you x” (Thanks Lauren Plant on Twitter!)

So of course, we did it again, the result of which you’re holding in your hands right now - the only truly independent newspaper for the Cannock region.

We’d love to hear what you think about it, and we hope to see you again for issue 3 - spread the word, and let us know about your news!

And of course, don’t forget to visit the website for up to date, regular news!

Ian MellettSarah GilesAshli & Kaitlyn Giles

Welcome to Connect CannockCONTACT US

Facebook.com/connectcannock

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Email [email protected]

Phone07553 416313

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Winter storms sweep through the Midlands

New bike trail maps for Staffordshire released

Staffordshire County Council has released its new bike trail and cycling maps for each district in Staffordshire. The maps can be downloaded from their webpage www.staffordshire.gov.uk, then search for ‘cycling maps’.

Two men arrested in attack outside Cannock College

A man was taken to the Universi-ty Hospital of North Staffordshire in Stoke on Trent with head injuries on Sunday March 16th. Two men aged 43 and 56 were arrested.

The production of this newspaper was made possible with funding from the UK Research Councils as part of a project examining Creative Citizenship. You can find out more at creativecitizens.co.uk

The dedication of the 3rd phase of the Miners’ Memorial is on Sat-urday 26th April at 2pm.

As it is expected that over 2000 people will attend and so there will be road closures in place.

Market Street will be closed be-tween 1.00 p.m.and 5.00pm (Angle-sey Road to Eskrett Street).

Road closures in place for Miners’ Memorial dedication

The Chairman of Cannock Chase Council has called on local people to help

her raise as much money as pos-sible at her big fundraising event on 11th April.

Cllr Doris Grice will be raising mon-ey for her chosen charities at the event – Trinity Church Drop-in Centre and the Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children. The special Country and Western-themed event is taking place at the Rugeley Rose Community Hall and Theatre from 7pm till 11.30pm

on Friday 11th April – and tickets are available now at £30 each. The packed night of entertainment will include live music, a DJ, magic act and hot buffet.

Buffet

Chairman Cllr Doris Grice said:“It is going to be a great night

of entertainment and a wonderful way of raising money for my two chosen charities. I want to raise as much money as I possibly can for them during my year in office.”

Dig out your stetson for Council Chairman’s charity night

Pumpkin Patrol prize winner announced

Local schools were asked to take part in a com-petition which involved

youngsters designing the next Pumpkin Patrol vehicle that will be rolled out later this year by Staffordshire Police and Can-nock Chase District Council.

The Council received over 60 en-tries from across the District.

Josef Mayores, aged 11 from Hagley Park Academy was chosen as the winner and was presented with a certificate and an Ipod Nano.

Vehicle

This design will be produced pro-fessionally by the Council’s Graphic Designer and will be applied to this years Pumpkin Patrol vehicle which aims to raise awareness of how members of the community can become distressed by unexpected trick or treaters and the nuisance and dangers of fires and fireworks on bonfire night.

Hednesford family flee after banana spider shock

A Hednesford family had a nasty shock after discovering a bunch of bananas they bought from One Stop in Hednesford was in fact home to hundreds of baby, and po-tentially deadly spiders.

The spiders were found by Jamie and Crystal Roberts who have two

children Georgina, seven, and Josh-ua, five.

The spiders, thought to be brazil-ian wandering spiders, who’s venom is 30 times that of a rattlesnake and is believed to be especially deadly to children under 7, were removed by fumigation by pest controllers.

APRIL EDITION – FREE – 3

A report released by NHS England reveals the local authorities with the high-

est numbers of overweight and obese residents, with the West Midlands coming in as the 2nd fattest region in the country.

Out of 326 local authorities in England, Cannock came in with 62.5% of the population having a serious weight problem, while near-by Stafford tops the scales at 69.6% and South Staffordshire 69.5%. Top of the table was Cumbria, with 75.9% of it’s population putting their health at risk.

Joseph Clift, policy manager at the British Heart Foundation said:

“Put simply, too many people weigh too much. This should be a catalyst for action at a local and na-tional level.

“Local authorities need to be designing towns and cities in ways which encourage people to be more active.”

Risks

Obesity increases your risk of de-veloping a number of serious and potentially life-threatening diseases, such as:

• type 2 diabetes• heart disease• some types of cancer, such as

breast cancer and colon cancer• strokeIn addition, obesity can damage

your quality of life and can often trigger depression.

Read more about the compli-cations of obesity via the NHS Choices website: www.nhs.uk

Stafford hate crime charity benefits from crime fund

Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State, has today confirmed the future of Mid Staffs NHS

trust - stating that the troubled organisation is to be dissolved, leaving the running of both Cannock and Stafford hospitals to neighbouring trusts.

It seems likely at this stage that the running of Stafford Hospital will be taken on by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire, and Cannock Chase Hospitals will be operated by the Royal Wolver-hampton Trust, as previously re-ported in Connect Cannock.

The plans for Stafford Hospital, which has already undergone an in-tense amount of controversy over

staff shortages, patient care and deaths, as well as recent cut backs to A&E services, will mean that the current limited-hours A&E depart-ment will continue. Critical patients will be allowed to stay overnight in Stafford as long as the appropriate staff are on duty.

Paediatrics

Paediatric assessment will still take place at Stafford Hospital by specialist staff, in conjunction with A&E, though the hospital would lose in-patient paediatrics meaning that those services will be delivered at either Cannock or the University of Stoke on Trent Hospitals.

Mr Burley commented, saying “Thanks to today’s decision, own-ership of our local hospital will be transferred to The Royal Wolver-hampton NHS Trust, which will fully utilise the facility that currently lies half empty. Better than that, it will be refurbished and improved, and more services will be provided from it.”

“I would like to take this oppor-tunity to pay tribute to all the staff at both Cannock and Stafford Hos-pitals for their patience during this very testing time and hope that now this decision has been made we can begin to look forward toward a brighter and more sustainable fu-ture for our two local hospitals.”

A local organisation that tackles hate crime has received a grant from the

Police and Crime Commission-er’s Proceeds of Crime Fund. Chase Against Crimes of Hate (CACH) has been given funding for an ongoing service which deals with hate crime.

The project, which covers Stafford, South Staffordshire and Cannock, provides support to victims at their base in Stafford Borough Council’s offices or in a more personal envi-ronment, such as a victim’s home.

In September 2013, CACH won a National Diversity Award for the positive work done to tackle hate crime and supporting diversity. CACH actively visits schools and community hubs teaching people of all ages about differences within society.

The £12,000 grant has been awarded from the Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Ellis’ Pro-ceeds of Crime Fund (formerly known as the Local Policing Fund) and will be used to help fund the service.

62.5% of Cannock residents obese oroverweight, says NHS

Hunt confirms a more secure future for Cannock Chase Hospital

A new roundabout will open around the railway arches as part of a major

investment project in the town. Work has involved removing a

signalised junction to improve traf-fic flow as well as improving foot-paths and kerbs. Armitage Road, which leads onto the junction, will also be reopened.

The next phase of the scheme is to improve Horse Fair to the Globe Island. This will involve reducing Horse Fair to a single lane carriageway and replacing

the signal junction at St Paul’s Road with a roundabout.

Cycle path

In addition, a cycle path will be installed between Wharf Road and the Globe Island. New crossings and parking bays will be installed and other improvements will take place including tree planting and landscaping. The £600,000 project is due to be completed by July 2014.

Rugeley town centre traffic flow improvements starting to take shape

Two charged following Cannock car park assaultAround 2.05am on Sunday 9

March at the rear of Poundland in the Backcroft area of Cannock a 20-year-old man was assaulted on the car park behind Missoula and Poundland and left with serious head injuries. He was taken to the University Hospital of North Staf-

fordshire in a critical condition.Alistair Douglas, 24, of Longford

Road, Cannock, and James Robb, 21, of Langdale Green, Cannock, have been charged with section 18 assault - grievous bodily harm and appeared before magistrates at Cannock.

Photo equipment stolenWitnesses are being sought after

photographic equipment was stolen from a van while it was parked on Cannock Chase. The break-in hap-pened between 5pm and 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 February while the van, a white Peugeot Expert, was parked at Coppice Hill car park, Brocton.Numerous Items were stolen from the van, including:

Canon speed light 580Canon ID mark 4Loveporo roller 200Canon compact battery packHoya pro ID filterlens carter triggerDuracell compact flash cardCanon LP4 batterytwo DMP DS80 printersCenic flashmateDS70 200mm lens ES24 2.8 ESM lensES1.4 extender convertertwo ES2 extenderstwo Hoya 77m filtersflight case DS80a Dell Studio laptop

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting incident number 553 of February 25.

The war memorial at St Michael and All Angels church in Penkridge is due to receive a £4,500 refurbish-ment starting in April, to remember the 100th anniversary of Britain’s entry into World War I on the 4th August.

Penkridge Parish Council ap-proved the work following calls from residents for many years stat-ing that it had been looking run-down and damaged.

The work is due to be completed by August in time for a special re-dedication ceremony by the Royal British Legion and Parish Council on the 3rd.

There will be a parade before the service, which is to be held at 2pm. and a band concert at the Haling Dene Centre.

Photo by Sarah Giles

Renovation work to start on Penkridge War Memorial


A Brereton-based speed watch group is ready to set its sights on speed-

ing drivers thanks to funding from the Police and Crime Com-missioner’s Proceeds of Crime Fund.

Community Speed Watch has been organised by Brereton and Ravenhill Parish Council and hopes to improve road safety in the villages. The initiative will, at fi rst, be run by volunteers from the parish council, but it is hoped that more volunteers will come for-ward as knowledge of the group spreads.

A £950 grant has been given to the group who will employ a handheld radar device to monitor motorists’ speeds and issue safety advice or warning letters where necessary.

The Proceeds of Crime Fund (formerly known as the Local Po-licing fund) is supporting projects in conjunction with local polic-ing teams and local authorities. It is made up of assets and money seized by police from criminals in Staffordshire under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

PCC Matthew Ellis said:“For the fi rst time, 100 per cent

of funding that comes back to Staffordshire Police from pro-ceeds of crime seizures is going directly to local communities. Vol-unteers play a huge role in soci-ety through speed watch and other local initiatives. These people are

doing a great job to tackle speed-ing in their community and make local roads safer.”

The scheme’s co-ordinator, Parish Councillor Ray Easton said:

“This money means a lot to us because, as a group, we are trying

our hardest to make sure our com-munity is kept in a safe condition. We’re trying to be a big deterrent to the speeders going through the vil-lages.”

Grant helps Brereton community group set sights on speeders

Nearly a quarter of Chase residents facing debt crisisA report into the complexi-

ties of life in debt by the Money Advice Service

has reveal that just under a quar-ter of Cannock Chase residents are being swamped with debt, and struggling to make ends meet.

Out of 406 local authorities which were assessed, Cannock Chase came 103rd with a total 23.6% of the pop-ulation at risk of reaching a debt cri-sis, whereas nearby Wolverhampton came in at a shocking 9th place out of the whole country.

The research shows that nation-ally, of the 8.8 million people who are over-indebted, just over four million have been struggling to pay their bills for more than a year. 48%

of them feel that being in debt is preventing them from buying the basics, and this fi gure rises for those with families. Out of those 8.8 Million people, only 17% are cur-rently accessing advice services and receiving advice and assistance with their debts through agencies such at National Debtline, Stepchange and the Citizens Advice Bureau. 56% of the population report that their fi nancial circumstances are having a negative impact on their family life and a staggering 70% are suffering anxiety because of their debt prob-lems.

The Money Advice Service said:“This new research brings into

sharp focus how being in debt feels to over-indebted people and what

they need from advice – it is now for all of us in the sector to respond and the best way to do that is to work together [with advice agencies and local authorities]

“The important of seeking ad-vice is critical to controlling any problem debt, so if you are one of those affected, contact your lo-cal Citizens Advice Bureau, or on-line charities National Debtline or Stepchange.”

Here is how all of the area’s populations faired:

Walsall 35th with 31.1%Wolverhampton 9th with 37.1%South Staffordshire 293rd 9.1%Stafford 235th with 12.6%(out of 406 total local authorities)

Wheels are in motion for patients in Stafford in need of a home visit

to be looked after by a new pi-lot programme known locally as ‘GP in a car’.

The Acute Visiting Service was rolled out across the county town in March, providing urgent afternoon visits for patients unable to wait for a GP to visit after evening surgery who would go to A&E or call an ambulance in the meantime.

The programme had a success-ful road-test recently in Cannock, where it led to a signifi cant reduc-tion in hospital admissions, A&E attendances and ambulance call outs during its fi rst seven weeks in operation.

Dr Sue Knight, Urgent Care Lead

for Stafford and Surrounds and Cannock Chase Clinical Commis-sioning Groups said: “The Acute Visiting Service is a rapid response service for patients requiring a home visit as determined by their own GP.

“It’s set up to meet the immediate needs of patients who, if they are not seen promptly, would ultimately be admitted to or at least have to attend A&E,” she said. “The serv-ice is delivered by GPs employed by GP First and supported by Badger – the Out of Hours service provid-er for all GP practices in the area – who deal with the logistics, includ-ing the cars and drivers, and it aims to deliver prompt and responsive care for the population within their home environment.”

GPs set wheels in motion after Cannock pilot scheme

Man arrested following van thefts

Police investigating a spate of thefts from vehicles in the Norton Canes area have arrested an of-fender.

During the period 1 Febru-ary to 23 February, there were 13 thefts from works vans in the area. The thefts took place on Hobard Road, Norton Grange Road, Wal-lace Close, Gainsbrook Avenue, Hanbury Road, Brownhills Road, Braemar Road and Norton Green Lane.

A 33 year-old man from the West Midlands has been arrested in connection with the offences and property to the value of £3,500 has been recovered. The man has been charged with two offences and has asked for a further 11 offences to be taken into consideration.

Penkridge School wins ‘Loo of the Year’ 2014

A Penkridge school is celebrating this week after winning ‘Loo of the Year 2014.

Nominated in the ‘Education Facili-ty’ category by Entrust services at Staf-fordshire County Council, St Michaels First School has walked away with the National Award for the cleanliness and high standards of their toilet facilities.The Loo of the Year awards are run independently and promoted by The British Toilet Association who intro-duced them in 1987. The aim is to help focus on the cleanliness of ‘away from home’ toilets.

Police are appealing for information about an Audi A5 stolen from the Can-nock area. The silver coloured two litre A5 coupe, registration number DE59 XHX, had been advertised for sale on a number of websites. Two men posing as potential buyers, arranged to view the car at the owner’s address on Tuesday 18 March at around 12.25

pm. After asking for a test drive, the thief jumped in the car and drove off at speed. The second man followed in a silver Peugeot car. Anyone with information is asked to ring 101 and ask for the CID in Cannock quot-ing incident 278 of 18 March or the independent charity Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Car thieves posed as potential buyers

Visit www.connectcannock.co.uk for all your local news and events


Wilko offers helping hands to the communityTeam members at the

Wilko store on Market Hall Street, Cannock, are

offering a helping hand to com-munity groups and charities in the area who need extra support in 2014.

Wilko is appealing to anyone who is passionate about their local community to get involved and ap-ply for a donation from the store’s ‘Helping Hands’ scheme, which means that people living in Cannock and the surrounding area can apply to the store for a monetary dona-tion, Wilko products or even team members’ time. Team members are getting involved with supporting neighbourhood developments by volunteering their own time.

Trudy Wright, Wilko store man-ager, said:

“The Helping Hands scheme is all about supporting local projects and directly benefitting the lives of people who live and work close to our store.

“As a company, it’s great to be able to help local groups and chari-ties by giving something back to the area. Our team members are ready to roll their sleeves up and give their time to worthy causes, plus we have a wide variety of products which we can donate.

“We’d like to hear from anyone who’s keen to make a difference in Cannock, whether it’s a school that needs arts and crafts supplies or a dogs’ home that needs extra food

and treats, we want to help.”Wilko state that they are com-

mitted to Britain’s high streets, and pride themselves on community focus by actively supporting local charities and community groups. The Helping Hands scheme in-volves each store being given an amount of money to distribute to worthy local caused. Locally, Brownhills, Rugeley, Bloxwich, Walsall, Lichfield, Stafford and Wolverhampton are also offering support to local projects as part of the scheme.

Application forms can be col-lected from the store. Completed forms should be returned to the store’s help desk.

Alstom pledges support for county’s wildlifeStaffordshire Wildlife Trust

is delighted to announce that one of the county’s

biggest employers has pledged its support for nature conserva-tion by signing up as a corporate member.

Alstom have joined the county’s largest nature conservation charity as a Silver Member. James Denni-son, fundraising manager at Staf-fordshire Wildlife Trust said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Alstom has joined us as a Silver corporate member. By joining forces with the Trust, Alstom is playing a vital role in sustaining Staffordshire’s wild places and improving the quality of environment in which its employ-ees, customers and other stakehold-ers live and work. We’re really look-ing forward to working with them.”

Owen Landon, EHS Manager at Alstom in Stafford, added: “Alstom is pleased to be working with Staf-fordshire Wildlife Trust. We aim to expand on projects already run with the Trust and to work closely with them alongside and including the local community and other business

in Stafford. The beliefs and aims of the Trust sit well with Alstom’s Corporate Social Responsibility en-vironmental objectives.”

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust have worked with Alstom in the past, most recently on Allimore Green Nature Reserve near Haughton where 19 members of staff took part in a range of conservation

tasks including pond and grassland management.

Over 30 local businesses current-ly support the Trust’s work through corporate memberships. For details on how your business can become involved contact James Dennison on 01889 880100.Photo (l-r) Owen Landon, Alstom; James Dennison, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust

Damage to wildlife by HS2 avoidable, says Wildlife Trust

Photo credit ______

Left: NAME Right: NAME

The county’s leading na-ture conservation charity has raised further con-

cerns over the proposed route of HS2. Staffordshire Wildlife Trust believe damage to many important wildlife habitats along Phase 2 of the high speed rail link could be avoided.

Responding to the consultation on the second phase of the route, the Trust commented the design process has ignored many impor-tant local wildlife sites, and failed to consider species data that is avail-able.

Kate Dewey, planning and con-servation officer at Staffordshire Wildlife Trust said, “Just as with Phase 1, HS2 Ltd have only consid-ered the nationally protected wild-life sites such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and have not requested information on local wildlife sites and records that are held by the Trust and other county recorders along the route.

“This means they have underes-timated how much damage will be

done as their studies do not use up-to-date information or present an accurate picture.”

Seven county wildlife sites and four district wildlife sites will be di-rectly affected as part of the plans, including one site which is consid-ered to be of SSSI quality, and so nationally important for wildlife. A number of these sites have not been recognised as important habi-tats at all, in the Phase 2 Sustainabil-ity Statement. The proposed Phase 2 route will pass 34 miles through Lichfield, Stafford and Newcastle-under-Lyme boroughs, and could affect just over 4,000 acres of land, an area larger than all Staffordshire Wildlife Trust’s nature reserves combined.

As part of the consultation, the Trust has also urged HS2 Ltd to make sure green infrastructure is included along the rail line, as well as the additional utilities being con-sidered. This could include cycle and footpaths, flood management features and new habitats to restore degraded areas of landscape.

Cannock blossom: photo by Carrie Reynolds

Staffordshire Fire and Res-cue Service has been awarded a top accolade for

its commitment to boosting the health and wellbeing of its em-ployees.

Director of People Judith Doran was presented with the Stafford-shire Workplace Health Frame-work’s Gold Standard on January 23.

The ‘Good for People – Good

for Business’ event, hosted by Staf-fordshire County Council at Can-nock Fire Station, attracted dozens of delegates from public bodies, private sector companies and vol-untary organisations. It highlighted the excellent work that is being done to drive down sickness absence and improve staff satisfaction by boost-ing health and wellbeing.

The fire service was praised for its dedication to supporting em-

ployees and encouraging them to achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Judith Doran said:“We believe our employees are

the strongest asset we have at the fire service which is why we work hard to offer them support, advice and encouragement to achieve their aims both while they are on duty and in their own time.

“A happy and healthy workforce is the key to success for any – and

every – organisation and creating an atmosphere that is positive, boosts morale and drives absences down is vital. Nowhere is this more essen-tial than in the emergency services where having a full, strong and mo-tivated team can literally save lives.

“We are delighted that our hard work has been recognised on a county wide stage and we are look-ing forward to building on our cur-rent success in the future.”

Champions

Employees have also been encour-aged to act as ‘Wellbeing Champi-ons’, offering support and advice to colleagues who may be struggling.

County Councillor Robbie Mar-

shall, Cabinet member for Health and Wellbeing, also presented Staf-fordshire Police, Stafford and Rural Homes and Sainsbury’s, Cannock, with an award.

Councillor Marshall added:“It is a priority for the county

council to enable everyone to lead healthy and fulfilling lives. We want to encourage all organisations to take a lead in encouraging their em-ployees to be healthy. A healthier workforce is a happier and more productive one which is good for Staffordshire. I’d like to commend Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Serv-ice for its Gold Standard work in promoting health and wellbeing in the workplace.”

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service win Gold for health and wellbeing

On May 7th a new support group is launching within Cannock and will cover the whole of South Staffs.

The group is aimed at parents or carers of a child with a disabil-ity, learning difficulties, behavioural

difficulties, Special Educational Needs or a parent who suspects something in relation to these.

facebook.com/CHAINSOUTH-STAFFS for more details

New group for families with disabled children


Blast from the Past! Photography CompetitionConnectCannock are

pleased to announce our first Photography Com-

petition, in association with Ka-zoo Print Solutions.This is an exciting opportunity to show off your talent and capture the Chase area in all it’s glory.

Topic: Photographs should be based around the topic of ‘Blast from the Past!’ which is open to interpretation, but should in-clude some kind of historical element relative to the Cannock Chase area.

Prize: 1st Place will receive an A2 Printed Acrylic Panel of their photo worth over £80.00, kindly supplied by Kazoo Print Solutions.as seen in the image on the right.

The Deadline for all submis-sions is 20th April at midnight. Any entries received after this will not be accepted without the editor’s discretion.

The winner will be announced later on www.connectcannock.co.uk as well as the Facebook and Twitter pages.

Competition Terms and Con-ditions:

To enter, email your images sarah.giles@connectcannock.

co.uk, or send any prints/CDs via post to:

The Editor, ConnectCannock, 6 Violet Close, Huntington, Cannock, WS12 4UZ.

All submissions must include name, age and address of the photographer, their professional status (Child/Student/Amateur/Semi Pro/Pro) and the date/location the image was taken. There is no limit to the number of entries a person may enter.

The competition is open to photographers of any age/pro-fessional status within the Can-nock Chase/South Staffordshire Region and the location of the image must be within the same region.

The photographer will re-tain all commercial copyright, but by submitting any photo-graph to the competition you hereby agree that ConnectCan-nock.co.uk may have licence of the image for promotional and competition purposes.

Images may be taken using any format camera or technique, but the photographer’s professional status must be declared when entering. Digital manipulation (Such as Photoshop) is allowed

so long as the editing is to en-hance the existing image (such as colour/contrast/cloning) and does not deliberately and unnat-urally alter the image or add an element which was not already in the photograph.

The winner will be decided by the Editor and an independent party (TBC) and all decisions are final.

Good luck, and happy snap-ping!

Staffordshire University have announced that their site in Stafford is to close,

following extensive consulta-tions with staff, students, educa-tion and local authority partners and the local business commu-nity.

Staffordshire University has two sites, in Stafford and Stoke on Trent, and it has now been decid-ed that the majority of its courses will be held from the Stoke on Trent campus. However, its Para-medic, Public Health, Midwifery and Nursing Courses will remain in Stafford, with the Staffordshire University Business Village, situ-ated on Stafford Technology Park, maintained as a facility to support graduates wanting to start up their own businesses.

Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Gunn said:

“This decision follows a consid-erable amount of work to under-stand how our estate is currently used. We have consulted widely with staff and local stakeholders. We have consulted students and investigated what it is they want from a University education. What we know is that students generally show a preference for an edge of city campus with brilliant learning and teaching facilities, good public transport links and social activities – all of which we have in Stoke-on-Trent.

“It makes economic sense and will enable us to give our students the best possible student experi-ence. Competition in the University sector has never been higher and we need to put ourselves in the best possible position to attract students to our excellent courses.”

Staffordshire University to close Stafford Campus

Police appeal for witnesses after woman is hit by a car in Cannock

The collision happened at around 1.50pm on Monday 10 March near Asda in Avon Road when a silver Vauxhall Meriva was in a collision with a pedestrian.

The pedestrian, a 21-year-old woman, suffered head injuries and was taken by air ambulance to the University Hospital of North Staf-fordshire for treatment. She remains in hospital in a stable condition and her injuries are not believed to be life threatening

Witnesses are asked to contact Staffordshire Police on 101, quoting incident number 394 of March 10.

Thousands of mothers all over the country came out in support of Emily Slough, the Rugeley mum who was the victim of a recent ‘tramp’ vibe on Facebook after a photo of her was posted online bereating her for breastfeeding in public.

Rugeley town centre was packed with mums, babies and supporters along with local and national media. Similar events were held in Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Swansea, Stirling and York

In an interview with BBC News, Ms Slough said:

“I’m really pleased, the support has been great. It’s no longer about the individual who did it [posted the photo on Facebook], it’s about making mums feel comfortable and not ashamed of doing it.”

Thousands show support for breastfeeding ‘tramp’ mum in Rugeley ‘mass feed’

Join us on FacebookFacebook.com/connectcannock

Smoker fined £700 bill over cigarette butts

Two cigarettes have cost a smoker over £700 after he threw them from his car in Cannock Chase District.

Paul Smith, aged 33, of Wim-bourne Road in Wolverhampton, was seen throwing two cigarette ends from his car in Church Street, Cannock, by a Cannock Chase Council enforcement officer and was issued with a fixed penalty no-tice for littering. After failing to pay, legal proceedings were launched and he was convicted and fined for his actions. On 22nd January this year, Stafford magistrates ordered that Smith, of Wimborne Road, Wolverhampton, pay £200 for each cigarette end, along with costs of £310 and a £20 victim surcharge.

Cllr Carl Bennett, Cannock Chase Council Environment Portfolio Leader, said: “Cigarette ends, packag-ing and lighters – along with fast food packaging – make up the highest pro-portion of litter cleaned up by the Council’s Street Cleansing team. Any-one caught not disposing of cigarette ends correctly can expect to receive a Fixed Penalty Notice of £75, and the Council will bring cases before the court if they are not paid.”


WHAT’S ONThe days are slowly beginning to get lighter and (hopefully) a little warmer, so now’s the time of year when we’re looking for things to do rather than stay cooped up at home.

Let us guide you through the best of what’s going on in and around Cannock - and don’t for-get to send in your own events to [email protected]!

Chill out with new meditation and relaxation classes coming to Rugeley this month. The classes which are £5. Sessions started on the 10th Feb and are 7-8pm at the Holistic Hut in Albion Street. Sessions will include mini workshops covering related topics such as better sleeping.

Meditation has been found to be benefi cial for a wide range of health issues such as insomnia, depression/anxiety and pain re-lief.

To book contact Kate 01889 802732 / 07816837966 or email [email protected]

A Mouse took a stroll through the deep dark wood...

Fans of the classic children’s tale will be in for a treat this year, as Cannock Chase forest are celebrating the 15th an-niversary of the Gruffalo and all his woodland friends at the Forest Centre in Birches Val-ley, Rugeley.

Dates for your diary:Friday 11th April:Gruffalo activity trailsSaturday 7th June:Gruffalo’s birthday party picnicFriday 3rd October:Gruffalo’s child activity trails

Celebrate World Lupus Day with the Walk for Lupus!

Organised by the Hibbs Lu-pus Trust charity, based in Can-nock, the 2 & 5 mile walks will take you into the beautiful Can-nock Chase, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty where you will be able to explore the beautiful landscape, wildlife and history of Cannock Chase whilst making a real difference to the lives of people living with lupus.

Lupus is a debilitating and poorly understood condition for which there is no cure. Affect-ing around 50,000 people in the UK, symptoms include extreme fatigue, eye problems, joint or muscle pain, depression, mis-carriage, hair loss and anaemia. Lupus can cause serious compli-cations, such as kidney failure or heart disease.

Date: Saturday 10th May 2014

Registration time: 10am Start time: 11am Meeting point: Marquis

Drive Visitors Centre, Can-nock Chase, Staffordshire, WS12 4PW.

Facilities: Disabled access; Parking; Pets allowed; Refresh-ments & Toilets on site.

Entry fee: Adult £5, Under 14s are free but must register with a paying adult.

To register, go online to www.hibbslupustrust.org

Wolverhampton Uni students have organised a Battle of the Bands competition with pro-ceeds donated to The Hibbs Lu-pus Trust. Three heats take place before the fi nal, where Trust Chairman John will be a guest judge! Heats are 30th March, 6th April and 13th April with the fi nal on 20th April. Each evening is 7-11pm at Trafalgar Inn, Hednesford WS12 1HZ

Send us your events if you’d like them mentioned..

Various baby and toddler groups are run at Cannock’s li-braries. Rugely Library: Baby Bounce and Rhyme 10:00-10:30 on Monday for 0-4 years and Crafty Caterpillars Tot Group Fridays 10-10.45.

Cannock Library runs simi-lar sessions (0-3yrs) Thursdays 10.30-11 and at Hednesford Li-brary it’s Friday 10.45-11.15.

Heath Hayes Library: Play and Stay group 2.30-4pm for pre-school children.

Visit bit.ly/staffsLibraries for more details of these and other events at your local library

The Friends of Hednes-ford Park are hosting an Easter Treasure Hunt on the 22nd April between 11am-2pm. En-joy the hunt for clues and then head in to the pavillion and cre-ate a picture for the competition.

Half Term Easter Mega Skate at Silverblades 11th – 28th April. 20th April egg extrava-ganza, easter egg raffl e on Sun-day afternoon session.

Visit silver-blades.co.uk for more details

Firefi ghters are urging peo-ple in Cannock to be ex-tra vigilant following yet

another house blaze in which a lady had to be rescued.

Two crews from Cannock and one from Penkridge tackled the fi re which broke out at a bungalow in Wood Lane, Wedges Mills on the 12th March. The incident is the 59th acci-dental house fi re to have taken place in the area covered by Cannock fi re station since April 1 2013. The statis-tics are a signifi cant increase on the previous year, April 1 2012 – March 31 2013, which saw 38 accidental property blazes in the same area.

Fire Control received the call at 1.40pm and fi refi ghters wearing breathing apparatus used two hose reel jets to put out the fl ames.

They rescued the female occu-pant and her dog from the utility room. The lady was given fi rst aid at the scene before being taken to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Bir-mingham by ambulance.

A West Midlands Ambulance

Service spokeswoman said:“Crews arrived to fi nd the house

well ablaze. Firefi ghters entered the house and retrieved a woman from the property. The woman was in a semi-conscious state and was cov-ered in soot from the fi re. Ambu-lance crews gave the casualty oxygen and treated her for burns to her arm and airway. Due to the nature of her injuries, the doctor gave the woman an aesthetic at the scene and she was conveyed to Queen Elizabeth Hos-pital Birmingham for further assess-ment and specialist treatment.”

Fire checks

Carmel Warren, Prevent Manager for the west of the county, said:

“This was a very serious incident. Our Community Fire Safety Offi c-ers and crews are out and about on a daily basis, giving residents poten-tially life-saving advice and booking Home Fire Risk Checks but we also need people to take responsibil-ity for their own safety. Thinking

about your actions and taking sim-ple precautions could literally save your life.”

The HFRCs are free and available to anyone who lives in Staffordshire or Stoke-on-Trent. People can ar-range for crew members or trained technicians to visit their home at a time that is convenient for them. They will speak to residents about safety in the home and, using this information, try to identify and minimise risk from fi re. If a prop-erty does not have working smoke alarms, the Service will fi t them.

To book a HFRC call Freephone 0800 0241 999, text 07528 983101 or visit www.staffordshirefi re.gov.uk/bookyourhfrc.asp In an emer-gency dial 999. For all non-emer-gency enquiries: 08451 22 11 55 or log onto: www.staffordshirefi re.gov.uk or www.direct.gov.uk/fi rekills

Fire service issue warning after Wedges Mills house fi reCannock Chase Council

has agreed a deal worth £20 million with Keep-

moat Homes to build the fi rst council houses in the District for 25 years.

The development is part of the regeneration strategy for the Moss Road estate in Chadsmoor. The re-development scheme will replace 170 structurally defective ‘Reema’ fl ats with a mixed tenure scheme of 142 houses for rent, shared own-ership and outright sale. This will include 65 houses for rent from Cannock Chase Council and 20 houses for shared ownership. The remainder will be provided for sale by Keepmoat.

Environmental improvements and enhanced play facilities, togeth-er with employment and training opportunities, including the crea-tion of new craft apprenticeships, will also form part of the scheme.

The £20 million scheme will be funded from Housing Revenue Ac-count capital resources, cross sub-sidy and funding from Keepmoat. There will be no cost to Cannock

Chase Council taxpayers in relation to the scheme, programmed to start later this year.

Councillor Frank Allen, Hous-ing Portfolio Leader for Cannock Chase Council, said: “As well as 142 brand new homes and envi-ronmental improvements, I’m also delighted that the scheme includes employment and training opportu-nities, which is great news for local people.”

Regeneration

Paul Degg, new build managing director for Keepmoat in the Mid-lands, said: “Building high-quality new homes is key for continuing to deliver regeneration to the Moss Road Estate. The fact we have won this new contract to build 142 new homes is testament to the great re-instatement work Keepmoat car-ried out on more than 100 council homes last year. From a company perspective this shows how Keep-moat works with partners to deliver both high-quality new build and re-furbished homes.”

Deal agreed to build fi rst council housing in Cannock for 25 years

Staffordshire Wildlife Trust is running nature-themed Wildplay sessions at its Wolseley Centre HQ near Rugeley for 8-13 year-olds. A range of activities are on offer including pond dipping, mini beast hunting and den building, de-signed to ignite children’s interest in the natural world. Sessions take place on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, Tuesday 22 and Friday 22 April between 10am-3pm: £9 per child or £7 per session when 3 or more are booked at a time.

The Trust is also running a Wildlife Watch day at the Wolse-ley Centre for 4-7 year-olds on Wednesdays 16 and 23 April be-tween 2pm- 4pm. Activities in-clude crafts, scavenger hunts and bird watching: £2.50 per child.Children should wear outdoor clothes and bring a packed lunch. Booking is essential: call 01889 880100.


News that Cannock Chase primary school pupils are to benefit

from additional funds for sport and exercise has been welcomed by Chase MP Aidan Burley.

This means that between 2014 and 2020 primary schools in Can-nock Chase will receive around £1,552,890. This is part of the Government’s long-term economic plan, will secure the Olympic and Paralympic legacy, and will help to deliver the best schools for young people. Primary schools around England are already using the pre-mium to get children doing more

sport. Schools are using the money for a wide range of activities includ-ing hiring extra professional coach-es and PE specialist teachers, pur-chasing new equipment, offering more after-school clubs and deliver-ing holiday and weekend activities.

Commenting, Aidan said: “I am very pleased we have secured this extra money for Cannock Chase primary school pupils as it will help keep them active and fit.

“I am really ambitious for the scheme – many of us are currently watching the Winter Olympics and these funds might produce a future Olympic star.”

Cannock “olympic star” possible with funds says Chase MP

Cannock town centre is awash with bars at the moment, but one thing

it’s really missing is a vibrant place to eat. Sarah and Ian, our roving reporters, take to the newly opened Podge and Tin Eatery to find out if it’s what’s missing from the town centre.

The Podge and Tin Eatery, situ-ated on the bus station island, takes the place of what was the Fern and Fallow pub (and the Wheatsheaf, if any of our readers are old enough to remember that one).

Owned by two brothers from Wolverhampton who already have five yearrs experience in running a number of restaurants and takea-ways, the Podge and Tin aims to provide a relaxed, informal atmos-phere, where you can pick up a quick takeaway on your way back from the pub, or relax in the spa-cious seated area.

To sample the food, we vis-ited on Saturday the 30th of No-vember. Ian had a Hot Veri Peri Chicken with chips and sweetcorn followed by a Stick Toffee Pud-ding, while Sarah had Scampi and chips with a side salad followed by Warm chocolate brownie. Ian:

“I ordered from the ‘veri peri’ op-tion, selecting the hot sauce, and

adding chips and corn on the cob, although I was quite tempted by the fish and chip option after spotting the food on the next table to us, which looked and smelled pretty appetising. My chicken was delicious (although hot enough to make my tongue tingle a little, so I’d be wary of the ‘very hot’ option!), and the chips and sweetcorn were cooked nicely.

“I selected a sticky toffee pudding for dessert - which wasn’t bad, but could’ve used a little improvement - and at least it had plenty of custard.”

Sarah:“I love the relaxed atmosphere,

we were able to enjoy having a conversation throughout the meal without needing to raise our voices

to be heard. The decor is lovely and rustic which suits the style of food being served. The staff were all very exceptionally friendly and attentive, and we were greeted by all the front of house staff with courtesy and smiles which really puts you at ease as soon as you walk in.

“The one thing that surprised me the most was the portion sizes. The plate was HUGE and although my choice was fairly simple, there was plenty to satisfy my rather hun-gry stomach (I have to admit that I couldn’t finish it all!). The food itself was delicious and perfectly cooked, and the potato skin chips were particularly appetising. The warm brownie and ice cream pud-ding was very tasty and arrived at the table hot, though the choco-holic in me would have preferred to have had a bit more chocolate sauce on it as in places it was a bit dry.

“All in all, I really enjoyed the whole experience from start to finish and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Podge and Tin Eatery to others.”

Overall we both enjoyed the out-ing - while the menu is a little lim-ited currently, the food is enjoyable and reasonably priced, and the staff were friendly and helpful through-out.

Want to see your restaurant re-viewed Connect Cannock? Get in touch at [email protected] and we’ll get back to you!

Podge and Tin Eatery: ReviewPenkridge Canal: Photo by Ade Degg

A long standing traveller site off the A449 in Penkridge is to face an inquiry by South Staffordshire

District Council’s planning committee in June as the applicant, William Lee wants to create six caravan pitches and two blocks at New Acre Stables.

The Lee family won permission to build a 20-caravan camp in 2011 despite moving there illegally in 2010.

The 20 caravan planning application bid was initially rejected following a High Court injunction, and members of Penkridge Parish Council voiced their concerns about the plan in a letter to the South Staffordshire District Council. However the family have appealed the decision which will now go to a 3 day pub-lic inquiry which will take place on June the 10th at the Council’s offices in Codsall. The public will also be able to make representa-tions on the plans before a final ruling.

Parish councillor Bevan Craddock said: “Deci-sions have been made at a local level but it could be taken out of our hands now. We are obviously concerned and we hope that whatever decision is made is the right one. We would encourage peo-ple to take part and raise their views.”

Debate

The traveller community have long been a matter of debate and faced criticism es-pecially when it comes to their housing and caravan sites. Councils and individuals alike are often faced with hefty legal bills evicting travellers who have illegally settled on land or cause a nuisance to other people living in the area. However, with a lack of local authority approved sites and land for travellers to set-tle it is becoming increasingly difficult for any traveller to find suitable places to settle and be able to raise their families.

Penkridge traveller site to face council planning inquiry

A teenage horse rider has been treat-ed by ambulance crews following an incident in Staffordshire today.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to an equestrian centre in Penk-ridge shortly before 12:05pm on the 12th March.

An ambulance, a community paramedic of-ficer and a rapid response vehicle, carrying a critical care paramedic and a trauma doctor, from the Midlands Air Ambulance base in

Cosford were sent to the scene.A West Midlands Ambulance Service

spokeswoman said: “On arrival at the scene crews found a teenage girl who was uncon-scious after falling from a horse.

“Whilst on scene the girl, believed to be approximately 16 years of age, regained consciousness and was treated for a head in-jury. The teenager was fully immobilised and conveyed to University Hospital of North Staffordshire for further assessment and treatment. The doctor travelled on board the ambulance with the crew continuing to pro-vide emergency medical treatment whilst en route to hospital.”

Teenager injured at Penkridge equestrian centre


Waiting for Susan

Who?Almost a complete antithesis of

the other bands mentioned, Waiting for Susan are - wait for it - a covers band (although they are working on their own material), but one with a difference. They take songs you wouldn’t expect and turn them into fun, intricate folk that never seems to fail to put a smile on your face and get everybody onto their feet.

The people armed with man-dolins, guitars and violins onstage would be Chris, Rach and Pritch.

Where can I fi nd out more?Most likely your local acous-

tic night - WfS are a hardworking band, and never seem to stop gig-ging. You can catch up with them online via their facebook page at Facebook.com/waitingforsusan, follow them on twitter at Twitter.com/waitingforsusan, or just check out their own website: www.wait-ingforsusan.com

So why should I check out their gigs?

Because you want to have fun - WfS are the kind of lighthearted, energetic band that should play at

everybodies party. Different, ac-cessible to the whole family, Wait-ing for Susan are great to watch - in their own words ‘It’s impossible to describe what Daft Punk sounds like when it’s played our way – you just have to come and hear it for yourselves’.

In 3 words, how would you de-scribe your sound?

Original Folk-Pop

What’s your favourite song to play?

We’ve just learned Avicii’s Wake Me Up and it’s going down a treat at gigs

In 1 word, how would you describe each member of your group?

Chris – CheekyRach – SpecialPritch – Driver

Where was your last gig and tell us something interesting about it?

We played at the launch event for Joules Clothing (www.joules.com) in Leicestershire at the beginning

of the year – held in a garden cen-tre with a summer festival theme… Rach wanted to steal the cat.

What brought you guys together?

Chris was playing and singing around the house and Pritch started joining in when he was learning to play his shiny new mandolin. Rach was pestered to play her violin too, and then Chris entered us into a battle of the bands competition – without asking us fi rst! Never mind, we won

Tell us, why should our read-ers check you out and come to your gigs?

It’s impossible to describe what Daft Punk sounds like when it’s played our way – you just have to come and hear it for yourselves

And fi nally, which member of your band is most likely to ‘do a Hendrix’ and destroy his/her in-strument onstage, and why?

Rach can be clumsy…

Find out more at waitingforsusan.com or their Facebook page

Who?onethousandsuns are the kind of

uber-cool, instrumental math-rock band that it’s still safe to like. Played on 6music, onethousandsuns might never be destined for mainstream success - but we get the feeling they’re pretty much okay with that.

Want proof of just how cool they are?

They don’t have a singer - they let their music do their talking (well, singing) for them. The band are comprised of Jamie, Gareth, and Marcus.

Where can I fi nd out more?Other than the odd spot on 6

Music, you can check out their cur-rent EP, Phenomenology, on both

iTunes and Spotify, or you can keep up with the band via their facebook page at Facebook.com/onethou-sandsuns


If you like your music interest-ing, layered and heavy, then this is the gig to be at. You can check out some videos of the band in action on connectcannock.co.uk. They’re in the middle of recording their next EP, so aren’t gigging so much at the minute, but make sure you catch them when they do.

In their own words, “If you like loud / quiet / fast / slow / instru-mentals with odd time signatures”.

Cannock - and its surround-ing area - isn’t necessarily a place that you’d associate with musical talent. Old coal pits, deer, people hurtling downhill atop very light-weight mountain bikes, bizarre stories of ‘things that came from the sky’, yes. All of that. But not always talent. Which is a shame really, as there’s a bunch of really talented bands in and around the

area. We got in touch with a few and asked them a couple of ques-tions, so that you know who they are and what they do next time you see their names on a poster.

In a band that you’d like us to review? Send your details into us at [email protected] and include links to wher-ever we can fi nd you on the web!

Onethousandsuns

MUSIC

A Cannock man is cel-ebrating his 60th birth-day next month with an

extraordinary challenge, by at-tempting to swim the English Channel in aid of charity.

Garry will be joined by a team of six swimmers in a 15 hour relay race across the 22 mile stretch from Do-ver to Cap Gris Nez in France while raising donations for Diabetes UK.

He said: “I’m 60 this year and I wanted to do something a bit dif-ferent to mark the milestone. This is ideal because it combines my love of open water swimming with a great cause. I love open water swimming; there is such a tremen-dous feeling of freedom with this type of swimming that you don’t

get when doing laps in a swim-ming baths. You have to approach it completely differently in terms of navigating and doing an effi cient stroke to conserve energy and it is more diffi cult to get warm.

“I will be part of a six person team swimming the Channel, each person swims for one-hour then bobs along on the boat for fi ve hours before their next swim! I know I can swim for an hour, but without a wetsuit in cold water is one challenge! And fi ve hours at a time without being seasick is another!”

Garry has set up a Just Giv-ing page for anyone who would like to donate towards his target of £2000. Details: justgiving.com/Garry-Seghers3

Cannock Swimmer in Channel Challenge


Exclusive interview with LightfireWho?Lightfire describe themselves as

‘loud, melodic and original’ - and considering their current coverage on Kerrangs playlist, it sounds like a lot of people agree with them.

The band are made up of Scott Si-eradzki, Lee Nightingale, Dave John-son and Rich Walton, and give off the kind of easy, good looking, cool-vibe that makes us slightly jealous.

Sounds good (heh!) - where can I find out more?

Ignoring the pun - you can find out more about Lightfire by liking them on Facebook and Twitter at the links below:

www.facebook.com/lightfireukwww.twitter.com/lightfireuk


Considering that their most re-cent gig involved playing an acous-tic set in the LG Arena, sharing a stage with the likes of US metal acts Avenged Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch, you might want to check out their local gigs fast.

In their own words “Because we have been spending the last 3 years perfecting our sound and live per-formance and try to put on a loud and polished show and like to get

the crowd involved, as you guys will have know doubt seen at our ep launch last year!” (you can check out the photos we took at www.fa-cebook.com/connectcannock).

In 3 words, how would you de-scribe your sound?

Loud, melodic & original!

In 1 word, how would you describe each member of your group?

Scott - CheekyLee - ClownDave - LadRich - Hat

Where was your last gig and tell us something interesting about it?

Our last gig was at the LG arena! We played an acoustic set in the fo-rum before the Avenged Sevenfold and Five Finger Death Punch, it was pretty surreal but awesome watching 10000 people roll in through the doors as we were set-ting up!

What brought you together?The demise of an old band really,

Dave, Rich and Lee stayed in touch from their previous band and kept jamming together and I (Scott) au-

ditioned through our mutual friend and former band member Batesy and Lightfire was born!

Tell us, why should our read-ers check you out and come to your gigs?

Because we have been spending the last 3 years perfecting our sound

and live performance and try to put on a loud and polished show and like to get the crowd involved, as you guys will have know doubt seen at our ep launch last year!

And finally, which member of your band is most likely to ‘do a H endrix’ and destroy his instru-

ment onstage, and why?Definitely Lee! In fact he has al-

ready done it once, he chucked his bass at the end of a show we did for kerrang!

You only need to take one look at his Mohawk and loud coloured trousers to see he is a punk at heart and likes to smash things up!

You’ll see that throughout this edition of Connect Cannock, there are a handful of selected business that have chosen to help support their local newspaper.

If you’d like your business to join them, consider the following:

Is your business based in Cannock, Hednes-ford, Rugeley or Penkridge?

Would you like a cheap, easy way to adver-tise to local people?

Do you want to make sure your ad isn’t swamped by a million others?

Connect Cannock is the only independent news source in the area, and our previous newspaper trial was lauded as a success by local people (you can see their thoughts over on our Facebook page - facebook.com/con-nectcannock ). To make sure we can keep bringing you the best news in the area, we need your support - and in turn, we’ll help support you. After all, we’re made by the com-munity, for the community.

Email [email protected] or visit www.connectcannock.co.uk/advertising for further information.

Advertise with Connect Cannock

www.facebook.com/lightfireuk www.soundcloud.com/lightfireuk-1 www.twitter.com/lightfireuk


Civil War wreaks banger havoc at HednesfordOn January 12th, Hednes-

ford Raceway hosted the now infamous Civil

War banger race meeting. I say ‘racing’ but with this event in particular, it felt like the focus was on destruction.

There were three classes: Infan-try, Cavalry and Tanks. Unfortu-nately that didn’t include any actual tanks, but the vehicles did become increasingly weightier with each class, and you can imagine the re-sulting chaos. Unfortunately it was wet and cold and so, laden down with slightly unsettled children, we left by 4pm and missed the final demolition derby for each class: it’s worth a search on Youtube.com for ‘Hednesford civil war 2014’ just to see how that panned out.

One last note: on previous vis-its to Hednesford there’d been no problems with parking, but this was a hugely popular event, so anyone considering attend-ing a Raceway event in the future might want to check with organis-ers first. Contact and upcoming event details can be found online: http://bit.ly/HRaceway

Photos courtesy of Gwielo73 on Flickr

A s we enter the final few weeks of another ex-citing football season,

Hednesford Town Football Club are once again in contention for gaining promotion to a high-er division. After an excellent 2012/13 campaign which saw the club promoted from the North-ern Premier League into the Conference North, Rob Smith’s side are now within touching distance of making a return to the Conference Premier where the club enjoyed life in the 1990’s.

As the club started March they found themselves inside the top five of the table, a position which would see them qualify for the end of season Play Offs should the sea-son end now. Of course there is still plenty of work to do between now and the end of April though to achieve this position and the club will need the support of everyone in the local community if they are to do this.

Hopefully you will all have visited the club’s home, Keys Park, at some stage or another but if not then we can be found just up the road from the Cross Keys Pub at WS12 2DZ. The remaining home matches are as follows:

Saturday 8th March v Gainsbor-ough Trinity, 3.00pm kick off

Saturday 22nd March v Working-ton, 3.00pm kick off

Tuesday 1st April v Brackley Town, 7.45pm kick off

Saturday 12th April v Guiseley, 3.00pm kick off

Monday 21st April v Worcester City, 3.00pm kick off

Although winning the title isn’t out of the question it looks as though the season may well end in a Play Off campaign. If this is to be the case then further details will be published on our website at www.hednesfordtownfc.com. Whatever happens this season though the Football Club have had another successful one off the field and will take the experiences learnt from this campaign into the 2014/15 campaign.

Hednesford Town Football Club

connect cannock april 2014

Documents

eric roberts centre

popular day centre

cannock office

specialist centre

town centre

chase day services

cannock chase aidan

new day care centre