Schoolboy failure aims
to be top elite athlete
by Gary Skentelbery
A Former Warrington schoolboy who was always last to be picked for sports is now challenging to be one of the top elite athletes in the country.
Fireman Matt Cullen is already arguably the best Duathlete in the North west after succesfully defending his crown at this year’s North West Duathlon Championship and also winning the Amateur British Duathlon Championships.
He was also picked to represent Team Great Britain at the European Duathlon Championships where he won gold in the under 30 age group.
Matt said: “This is all from a person who was always last to be picked at sports when he attended Lymm High!”
Cullen, who grew up in Thelwall but now lives in Latchford, is more determined than ever to make a push for elite status next year and represent Great Britain at this level.
A Duathlon is held in three stages involving a six mile run, 25 mile bike ride and a final three mile run to the finishing line.
The Duathlon season has now finished but Matt will be keeping fit by taking part in other events, including the Birchwood 10k on August 19, organised by Spectrum Striders.
If any local business is interested in sponsoring “a very hard working athlete” they can contact him at [email protected]
Nursery can’t be house
– but can become offices
by David Skentelbery
PLANNING chiefs at Warrington are being urged to refuse consent for a children?s day nursery to be converted into a house ? but allow it to be changed to offices.
The property ? originally a pair of houses – is in Delenty Drive, Risley and is currently operating as a nursery for up to 32 children with 10 staff.
A decision on an appeal against the refusal of permission to increase the number of children to 39 is currently pending.
Officers say the proposal to use the property as a dwelling would be contrary to council policy designed to cope with the current oversupply of housing in the borough.
They admit the nursery has been a source of complaints from nearby residents but say the need to prevent any addition to the housing surplus is an overriding factor.
Nearby residents are worried about parking and traffic problems should the property become offices ? and Birchwood Town Council has similar concerns.
Some residents say the nursery should never have been allowed ? but are opposed to the offices as well.
But planning officers say a small, low key office development is acceptable despite the predominantly residential nature of the area.
Ironically, another application is to be considered by planners involving another nursery at Heathfield House ? also in Delenty Drive, Risley.
This is for permission to allow the number of children attending the nursery to be increased from 20 to 32.
Neighbours and the Town Council are again objecting, but officers say the impact of the increased number of children would be minimal.
Mother scoops top
university award
by Lesley Wilkinson
A MOTHER from Stockton Heath, who studied IT whilst working, has scooped a prestigious award from the University of Chester’s Learning and Enterprise Centre (LEC) at Warrington.
Katherine Faulkner, 35, won the Learner of the Year award at the university.
She completed the internationally recognised IT qualification, European Computer Driving Licence, and received the award for her dedication and willingness to help fellow learners at the LEC.
Katherine now uses the Internet for a host of things, from booking holidays to keeping in touch with family members.
She said: “My aunt lives in Bute in Scotland and I don’t see her very often, but now I’m able to send her email messages and have learned how to compress photos to send to her. It is a great way of keeping in touch.” Katherine, who is proud of winning the award, had never used a computer prior to taking the course.
She said: “The qualifications I gained at the LEC have turned my life around. I have recently changed my career from a nanny to a head receptionist.
“I found the course very flexible. I was able to study at my own pace and fit it around my day-to-day life.” She has recently enrolled on to the GCSE English and Maths courses.
Council making waves
with free swims
by staff reporter
CHILDREN and young people can make a splash with free swims throughout the summer holidays in Warrington.
?Free Swim for Kids? runs from July 25 to September 4 in Select leisure centres for under 16s and under 18s in full time education.
Youngsters can take advantage of the swimming pools at the newly refurbished centres and swim as often as they like during their six weeks of freedom.
The annual special offer is part of the council initiative to get Warrington?s children and young people active and healthy and show how important exercise is as part of a healthy lifestyle.
Coun Roy Smith, Executive Member for Community Services, says: ?We want to make it clear to children and young people how important it is to stay fit and healthy – now and in the future. The free swimming offer demonstrates the council?s commitment to promoting exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle no matter the cost to us.?
The pools can get extremely busy as a result of this fantastic offer, so admission is on a first come, first served basis. Children under eight must be accompanied by an adult.
Gemma joins
city PR firm
by staff reporter
GEMMA Chruszcz from Warrington, has joined Manchester public relations agency Mere PR from another Manchester agency, Communique.
She has worked in PR for more than four years and includes Chicago Town Pizza, Rustlers, Focus DIY and Velcro? in her portfolio. She will be promoting a mix of sport, food and technology accounts, managing sponsorship promotion and ongoing media relations for and extensive range of clients.
Mere?s Tony Tighe said: “We have started summer 07 with a drive of new business that is already proving successful. Gemma brings more great experience to the Mere PR team and most importantly, shares our passion for creative and results- driven campaigns. We will be adding to the team again later in the year.”
Mere PR is an award winning, full service public relations, marketing and communications consultancy specialising in the product, consumer and business to business sectors
College opens door to
future sports stars
by staff reporter
TOMORROW?S sport stars are being given a chance to cultivate their skills on an off the pitch at Warrington Collegiate.
The college?s new Development School will give prospective students a chance to find out more about the opportunities at an open evening tonight (Monday).
Coaches and sports staff will be on hand between 6.30pm and 8pm to discuss what the rugby and football schools involve and answer any queries they might have.
From September, 16 to 19 year olds with a flair for rugby league and football will be able to train alongside coaches for teams such as Warrington Wolves, Crosfields ARLFC, St Helens Wigan Athletic and St Helen’s Town while studying for a vocational qualification.
Three years in the development, the school has been set up to give players with professional potential a sound educational background.
Sports coordinator Mike Brogan explained: “There are a lot of talented kids coming through who get taken on by clubs but for what ever reason don’t make it. They find they’ve put all their energy into the sport but don’t have anything in place to fall back on.
“The Development School will allow us to round these young players so we will educate them as well as train them.”
Learners will primarily be offered a choice of sports or public service vocational courses from Level 1 to 3 – such as sport and recreation, fitness industry or sports leader – with a view to eventually open
ing up the college’s full curriculum to new students.
They will spend three days a week on the school’s development aspect including specific coaching sessions and programmes, and will also have the chance to represent the college’s rugby and football teams on Wednesday afternoons.
Neil Colquhoun, head of Service Industry, is excited about the new venture and believes it will help towards turning the college into a centre of excellence.
He said: “We’re very excited about it. It’s something very new for us and we hope it’s going to help us develop sport within the college and support talented students as well as developing sport within the community.
“We’re at the beginning stages of something which is going to gather momentum and will eventually put us in the forefront of people’s mind when they think about sporting excellence.”
Design a poster with
smoke-free message
by staff reporter
WARRINGTON children are being invited to enter a competition to design a poster that promotes the smoke-free message in north Cheshire.
The competition, which is open to both primary and secondary school pupils is being organised by North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust in conjunction with Asda Cockhedge.
To win the contest, youngsters aged four to 16-years-old are being asked to come up with a design that relates to the theme ?smoke-free England.?
Sheila Samuels, Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development from Warrington Hospital, said: “We are committed to working in partnership with our local communities and thought a poster competition would be a great way of helping to spread the smoke-free message.
“We know we have some very talented young people in the local area and this is a chance for it to be proved yet again. Children may have a bit of spare time over the summer holidays and we are inviting them to use some of that time to come up with a design for the competition.”
Prizes will be awarded in three age categories: four to seven years, eight to 11 years and 12 to 16 years. Two winners will be selected from each age group, one from Warrington and one from Halton.
Asda is donating prizes for the competition winners, including tennis sets, outdoor sports kits and stunt kites for the older children. Prizes will also be presented to the winners’ schools.
Catherine Beardshaw, Trust chief executive and Colin Traynor, general manager at Asda, will choose the six winners and they will then be invited to a special presentation ceremony in September.
The successful posters will be displayed across both Warrington and Halton Hospitals to help publicise the smoke-free message.
Asda has also donated 400 free stop smoking packs for the local community. Packs can be requested from the Help Desks at either Warrington or Halton Hospitals and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
[ 27.07.2007, 09:53: Message edited by: DS ]
