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What do you think of the plan? Email us at letters@ thesentinel.co.uk
S CTER holidays.com
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ALSAGER: Christ Church, in Church Road, Alsager is inviting families with children to a free Light Night Superhero party on Monday, October 31 from 4.30pm to 7pm. There will be food, games and prizes for the best superhero costume. For details, visit www.christ church-alsager.org.uk or call 01270 872291.
to book please call
01782 846031
Half Term Day Trips
Eastbourne
October
Princes Hotel
31st October 5 days
Choice menu Entertainment 4 nights half board One full & Half day excursion
only
£149.99 £22.50 £17.00 £12.00 £10.00 £10.00 £8.00
and Tin s key ur
Torquay
Bute Court Hotel 7th November 5 days
£13.00 £10.00
4 nights half board Choice menu Entertainment One full & Half day excursion
only
£169.99
£38.00 £35.00 £13.50 £10.50 £10.00 £8.00
Skegness
£10.00 £8.00
7th November 5 days
only
£169.99
Tenby New Date
only
£169.99
4 nights half board Choice menu Entertainment One full & Half day excursion
and Tin s key ur
Cliff Norton Hotel
27th November (5 days) Licensed bar Entertainment One full and half day excursion
London Weekend London Saturday London Sunday One night half board
£49
and Tin s key ur
12th November 2 days
£11.00 £9.00
New Date
Chatsworth Hotel
only
£59.99
Mystery Weekend
only
.99
Licensed bar Choice menu Excursions
19th November 2 days
Wednesday 26th Cadbury’s World Tour (incl adm) Mystery Liverpool Albert Docks Thursday 27th Southport via Ormskirk Market Drayton Manor Park (incl adm) Friday 28th Blackpool Trafford Centre Saturday 29th Bury Market Sunday 30th Mystery Tour
Web site: www.proctersholidays.com
Dewsbury Road, Fenton S.O.T ST4 2HS
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COUNCIL bosses are to cut bills by closing their headquarters at weekends and allowing more staff to work at home as part of a wider plan to save paper. Offices at Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s Civic Centre are to be shut on Saturdays and Sundays to cut heating and lighting costs. But the authority will allow more councillors and officers to work from their own computers by investing £20,000 in “digital signature technology”. As well as allowing staff to verify their identity while accessing files outside the office, it will also cut the amount of paper being printed, as workers can sign off documents using a digital code. In addition, about £80,000 will be invested in setting up a secure electronic social care record to replace the storage of masses of paperwork. The number of photocopiers will also be reduced to save on maintenance and to encourage staff to use less paper. Steve Sankey, the council’s acting director of business services, told councillors on the business services scrutiny committee: “The benefits are huge; from not passing as much paper around to working more quickly and efficiently. “We want to move from passing on paper from A to B to C to doing it electronically like other organisations. “Systems will allow people to work wherever they want, provided they have an internet connection. “Digital signatures provide security by showing who is using the system.” The council currently has
301 photocopiers in offices and schools, maintained through a £650,000-per-year contract. The current deal expires in July 2012 and the council wants to deliver “significant savings” through tendering for a new four-year contract. New plans will see IT officers monitoring how many documents are printed or copied by each photocopier – allowing them to see which departments are using the most paper. Councillor Paul Shotton, cabinet member for resources, said: “Digital signature technology will save us money in the long term by reducing the need for paper and allowing us to work electronically. “In doing this, though, we need to ensure all staff can work securely and the work they do can be tracked and audited properly. “Initially, this will be a simple process, but, as it extends to more complex areas over the next 18 months, it will require additional technology which will cost about £20,000.” Closing the Civic Centre at weekends is part of wider measures to cut carbon emissions by 30 per cent through a £1 million investment. New boilers at Dimensions and Fenton Manor leisure centres, extra solar panels on council buildings, and selling off or modifying old buildings with poor energy ratings could deliver savings of £5 million. The Sentinel reported in August that the council is working on long-term plans to make Stoke-on-Trent a “selfpowered city”, independent of the national grid.
KEELE: A health expert who specialises in research on spasticity will be giving a public lecture at Keele University tomorrow. Anand Pandyan, professor of rehabilitation technology at the university, will be looking at the symptoms of the disabling condition and how patients can be helped. He is the first speaker in a new series of inaugural lectures at Keele. The event takes place at the Westminster Theatre, in the Chancellor’s Building, at 6pm. Admission is free.
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alex.campbell@thesentinel.co.uk
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BY ALEX CAMPBELL
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VOLUNTEERS stripped wallpaper and sanded floors to help spruce up a landmark building ready for its reopening. A working group got together yesterday at the Foxlowe, in Church Street, Leek. Campaigners fighting to save the Grade II-listed venue for community use had faced a race against time because the owners warned they were not prepared for it to remain empty for another winter. Cash for the first year’s lease has now been raised by 250 supporters pledging £2 weekly donations. One anonymous benefactor has also given £10,000 from his pension. The Georgian building will now been turned into an arts and heritage centre. Refurbishments carried out this weekend included painting and general tidying. Doors are expected to be opened to the public for entertainment events in the run up to Christmas.
Paper cuts add up to help save cash
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Foxlowe ready for reopening
Staff to work from home in bid to slash stationery costs
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MORE than 3,200 people have joined a Facebook group aimed at trying to find a man missing for six years. Steven Cook, a former Sandbach High School pupil, of Swallow Drive, Sandbach, disappeared on holiday on the Greek island of Crete. His family set up a group called Find Steven Cook on the social networking site to help with the search, which now has 3,277 members. The Sentinel reported in September that an image of how Steven, who was 20 when he vanished, would look now had been generated. It was funded by Cheshire Police, who used specialist age-progression techniques. It is currently being distributed across Europe. Thomas Cook is also handing out the posters on its flights from Manchester to Crete. Steven’s father Norman, aged 65, said: “Young people travel all over Europe and the photo could just jog someone’s memory and provide us with that clue we need to find Steven. “Someone, somewhere knows what happened to Steven and we have to keep him in the public eye as much as possible.” Liverpool University student Steven set off from Manchester Airport on an overnight flight on August 31, 2005. He and a group of old school friends spent the day on the beach and went out to bars at night. Steven and a friend decided to head back to their hotel, but were tempted to go to one more bar on the way. Steven left the final bar alone and has not been seen or heard from since.
TRENTHAM: The Compassionate Friends (TCF) group is inviting bereaved parents and their families to a meeting at St Mary’s Church, Trentham, on Wednesday. A spokesman for the group said: “Whatever the age of the child you have lost and whatever the cause, we are here for you.” Meetings are held on the last Wednesday of the month and start at 7.45pm, with refreshments provided. For details, call 01889 563822 or 01782 641107. Alternatively, visit www.tcf.org.uk.
Thousands join group to find missing Steven
In brief
BLOOM TOWN: Volunteers have been busy planting to help brighten up a market town. Members of Cheadle In Bloom hit the streets yesterday to put in winter pansies and bulbs, including daffodils. More than a dozen residents helped out with the planting in High Street and a number of surrounding areas including the town’s main car park. Cheadle mayor Ian Whitehouse, pictured, who volunteered, said: “A lot of passers-by commented on how nice it was looking. “It is something that helps brighten up the town.” Picture: Mark Scott
MISSING: A generated image of how Steven Cook may look now.
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THE SENTINEL Monday October 24, 2011