Children are being invited to celebrate the start of spring at a free arts and craft afternoon in Arnot Hill Park, Arnold.
Parents and their children can visit the Civic Centre on Saturday, April 9 to enjoy a range of activities, organised by Gedling Borough Council and Gedling Play Forum, free of charge.
They can get involved with various crafts, including fabric printing on hats, helping to decorate the mini theatre and making clay bugs and beasties.
Kids can release their musical side at a drumming workshop or try their hand at first aid on teddies with Gedling’s St John Ambulance Badgers. There will also be a SEN chill out zone where children can relax.
Portfolio Holder for Community Development, Councillor Kathryn Fox said: “As a council we’re proud to continue working with Gedling Play Forum to host free children’s events in our borough. These sessions inspire children’s creativity, which is important for their development and overall wellbeing. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to meet other local families, so I encourage parents to book a place.”
There are two afternoon slots to choose from, 1-2.30pm or 3-5pm. Booking is essential as places are limited, please visit www.gedling.gov.uk/spring to avoid disappointment. Parents must be in attendance at all times.
For more information please contact Lorraine Brown, Events and Play Officer on 0115 901 3602 or at lorraine.brown@gedling.gov.uk
REMINDER: Portfolio Holder for Environment, Councillor Peter Barnes at Arnot Hill Park, Arnold
Spray paint stencils on pavements and pathways are being used across Gedling borough to tackle areas notorious for dog mess and litter.
Gedling Borough Council are now using the special spray paint and stencils to mark roads, pavements and pathways with messages to “bin it” and “clean it up”.
The paint is bio-degradable which allows the stencils to be used in different areas for short periods for maximum impact.
Street cleansing staff and community wardens have been marking places outside schools and community areas with brightly coloured paint asking people to pick up after their dogs and to put their rubbish in the bin.
Anyone who fails to clear up after their dog can incur a fine of up to £1,000 in the courts, and it’s also an offence to throw down or drop litter; those caught in the act receive a fine of up to £2,500.
Street cleansing staff and wardens use a number of methods to tackle dog-fouling and littering, including patrols, placing warning signs on lampposts and posting leaflets through doors that remind dog owners of their duties and appeal for public tip-offs.
Councillor Peter Barnes, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “These stencils will stand out and raise awareness of the ongoing issues of littering and dog fouling in the area. They act as a reminder to people that they have a duty to clean up after themselves. We have the same issues as any other borough so anything to prevent it is welcome.”
Historians at Woodborough Local History Group are appealing to Gedling Eye readers for help in identifying the locations featured in two pictures from their archives.
The two pictures below were taken back in the 1950s by Bill Alvey, who ran the cobbler shop in Woodborough, but the locations featured in both photographs are still unknown.
If you can identify the locations where these pictures were taken then email us at news@gedlingeye.co.uk
LOCATION UNKNOWN: a post windmillLOCATION UNKNOWN: A dovecoteKEEN PHOTOGRAPHER:Bill and Pansy Alvey pictured in 1983 at his cobblers shop on Main Street, Woodborough. There had been a cobblers at these premises as Bill took over the family business from father Joe.
DEFEAT: Carlton Town in action against Basford Utd (Picture: Lou Lardi)
Substitute Stuart Hendrie scored four minutes from time as Basford Utd won 1-0 at Carlton Town.
Hendrie pounced after Jack Steggles parried Eugen Bopp’s cross-shot to give the visitors the points in a tight encounter at Stoke Lane.
Steggles had saved a first-half penalty from ex-Miller Ruben Wiggins-Thomas and he also made a top draw save from an earlier Hendrie effort as Basford had the better of the few chances created.
Carlton in general matched their opponents on a heavy pitch in occasional driving rain, but struggled to create openings against a defence well marshalled by the former Carlton duo of Robert Darkin and Ashley Grayson.
The loss means Carlton remain 17th in the table, 11 points clear of the relegation zone with five games to play.
The Millers are next in action on Saturday at home to Market Drayton.
VICTORY: Carlton’s win against Gresley FC all but secured league survival (Picture: Lou Lardi)
Goalkeeper Jack Steggles scored as Carlton Town beat Gresley 2-0 at the Moat to all but secure their First Division South survival.
With a strong wind at his back, Steggles’s 87th minute clearance travelled the whole length of the pitch, bounced 35 yards from goal and sailed over the top of Robert Peet in the Gresley goal and into the net.
The goalkeeper’s strike confirmed Carlton’s fourth successive away win after Antonio Wedderburn’s first half penalty and was no more than Wayne Scott’s side deserved after playing the best of the football in difficult conditions.
Steggles also kept his fourth clean sheet in five games, with only a penalty given away by Steggles himself having entered the Carlton Town net in those fixtures.
Both sides today finished the game with 10 men. Gresley had Chris Richards sent off on 84 minutes for a bad challenge on Anthony Howell, and Howell himself was sent off in added time for an equally poor challenge on Martin Smyth.
Carlton remain 17th but are now 11 points clear of the relegation positions after Loughborough, Goole, Daventry and Sheffield all lost today.
The Millers are back in action on Monday at home to play-off chasing Basford Utd.
Egg-cellent effort: (l to r) Mayoress Wendy Lawrence, Gemma Carrington of Gladstone’s Solicitors and Mayor of Gedling Councillor Meredith Lawrence, presenting the winner’s certificate.
Staff at a law firm in Arnold cracked a smile after being announced as winners of a competition to find the best dressed Easter shop window in the town centre.
Many of the businesses in the town took part, but the winner on the day was Gladstone Solicitors, based in Market Place, who called in pupils from nearby Derrymount School to create their winning display.
Mayor of Gedling, Meredith Lawrence was on hand to judge the competition and presented a certificate to the worthy winners.
CLOSED: Queens Park Drive in Bestwood (Image courtesy of Google)
Police are asking drivers to avoid the Queens Bower Road/Bestwood Park Drive area following a single vehicle road traffic collision this morning (March 26).
Queens Bower Road is closed in both directions following the incident, which took place at around 3am this morning.
Three people – all occupants of the car – have been taken to QMC following the incident with potentially life-altering injuries.
Anyone who witnessed what happened or has any information which may assist officers is asked to call Nottinghamshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 114 of 26 March 2016.
A former social worker from Arnold convicted of abusing children in his care in the 1980s has been sent to prison for 20 years.
Andris Imants Logins, 57, was found guilty on Monday (March 21) of 17 offences, including rape, indecent assault and cruelty, committed against four children at the Beechwood Children’s Home in Mapperley in the early 1980s.
He reappeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday (March 23) for sentencing.
The trial judge, His Honour Judge Sampson, said Logins had befriended and groomed his victims and sexually abused them.
“They were available to you and powerless to do anything about it,” he told Logins.
“Your authority and their helplessness meant that they had no free choice in the matter. This was a grave breach of trust.”
Speaking of Beechwood, which closed in 2006, the judge said: “What should have been a safe haven was in fact a home from hell.”
Judge Sampson praised the victims, one of whom died before the matter came to trial, for their courage and commended the investigation by Nottinghamshire Police.
The Logins case was investigated under Operation Daybreak, which was set up in 2011 to investigate allegations of abuse at childrens homes in Nottinghamshire.
Logins is the first former employee at a childrens home to be convicted following an Operation Daybreak investigation.
After sentencing, Detective Superintendent Adrian Pearson of Nottinghamshire Police said: “Today’s sentencing of Andris Logins is a very significant moment for his victims. The past few years have not been easy for any of them as they have had to relive the harrowing and life-shaping events which took place three decades ago, in the hope that, after all this time, the criminal justice system would help them find some closure.
“Just simply being believed has been important to the victims; believed by family, friends, the police, the Crown Prosecution Service and, crucially, a trial jury which returned unanimous guilty verdicts for 17 offences committed by Logins at the Beechwood Children’s Home in the early 1980s.
“It is a significant moment too for Nottinghamshire Police and Operation Daybreak.
“Around 170 people have come forward to us with allegations of abuse in the care system going back many years. It is a lengthy and hugely complex process, but Nottinghamshire Police is determined matters will be investigated meticulously until we either bring the perpetrators before the courts or we reach a point where a case can be progressed no further.
“Logins is now the second person under this investigation to have been convicted for sexual abuses which took place a generation ago and to have received a very lengthy prison sentence.
“We can guarantee our commitment to examining allegations we receive and to supporting victims every step of the way through the investigation and criminal justice process.
“If anyone is out there who is still living with the knowledge that they were sexually physically or emotionally abused while in the care of a local authority or other institution or organisation in Nottinghamshire and has still not come forward to speak to us, I would urge you to call us on 101.
“You will be listened to, you will be believed and we will do our utmost to ensure that the abusers, like Andris Logins, will be brought to justice.”
Logins will be eligible for parole after he has served ten years of his sentence. He will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and barred from working with children.
He will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which prevents him from having any unsupervised contact with any child aged under 16.
POLICE are appealing for a good Samaritan who noted down the registration number of a car involved in a collision at a Ravenshead pub car park to contact them.
A Ford Focus struck a stationary BMW in the car park of The Hutt pub at around 7.10pm on Friday, January 8 before driving off.
A woman who was at the pub with her partner and child noted the registration number of the car and passed the information to the landlord of the pub.
The Ford Focus has now been identified thanks to her actions, but the investigating officer is keen to speak to the witness as she may have further information about the incident.
The woman, or anyone who knows who she may be, is asked to telephone 101 and quote incident number 787 of 8 January.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, John Clarke and Councillor Kathryn Fox today planted a commemorative tree to celebrate Gedling Country Park’s first birthday.
The park, which was built on the site of the former Gedling Colliery, has attracted over 30,000 visitors during its first year.
Now the council hope to build on its success with plans for a £900,000 visitors centre, children’s play area and new toilets.
Leader of the Council, Councillor John Clarke, said: “I’m overwhelmed by the success of the first year of the park being open. We never expected it to be so popular with residents.
“This means that we will accelerate our plans for the park and we will have more facilities in place including toilets and a visitors centre which will improve the park even more. We would like to say thank you to everyone who visits the park and especially to the Friends of Group and our officers for all their hard work to help improve it and make it such a success.”
Carlton resident Paula Smith, who regularly walks her dog in the park, said residents really appreciate now having a beauty spot on their doorstep.
“We love it. I try and come up here a few times a week just to get away from it all. There was nothing for people around here before, but now we have this place why would you live anywhere else?”
