Deus Ex has you spoilt for choice.
Mankind Divided and so am I when it comes to reviewing the latest Deus Ex game after its launch last week.
There is so much to rave about in DEMD and I’m still enjoying it now over a week into the game.
But there are a number of elements which do not quite sit right with me.
Let’s start with the positives, though, and there are plenty of them.
There is layer upon layer in this game all expertly crafted together and beautifully designed.
The gameplay stands up to the high standards set by previous Deus Ex games and goes beyond them in many respects.
This is a game that will suit all types of gamers too.
Looking for a quick blast for an hour, you can jump on and get enough done to enjoy the experience, looking for longer, more involved sessions on your console then the gameplay rewards your patience, curiosity and creativity.
You play augmented human Jensen who is essentially the most deadly Power Ranger on the planet. I mean this guy has everything and would even give Superman a run for his money.
There are so many options to negotiate each scenario
And this is where my first problem lies with DEMD.
Sometimes, dare I say it, there are so many options available to you, so many ways to deal with scenarios and enemies and so much in your arsenal, it actually feels a bit ... easy.
‘Ramp up the difficulty setting!’ I hear you cry.
Well yes there’s that but my point is no matter what level you are playing at, Jensen just has too much at his disposal for his enemies to trouble him.
Sometimes, dare I say it, there are so many options available to you, so many ways to deal with scenarios and enemies and so much in your arsenal, it actually feels a bit ... easy. Damien Lucas, gaming columnist
But don’t get me wrong it’s still great fun entering a room littered with foes and walking out past a pile of them without breaking a sweat.
Another thing that doesn’t quite land for me is the Apartheid type references between the humans (naturals) and the augmented race. It is a poor attempt to give the storyline resonance with real life - for example there are posters dotted around saying things like ‘Augmented Lives Matter’ and it just feels a little frivolous.
I’m being hyper critical, though, and Deus Ex will go down as one of the games of the year of that there is no doubt.
Rating: 8.5/10

Console Corner: Deus Ex Mankind Divided review


This is one of my favourite movies to have been critically mauled – because it’s actually a lot better than the online backlash would have you believe.
It’s a damn sight better than Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice for kick-off, but it’s actually that movie that has led to unnecessary studio meddling and choppy-editing that gives this exciting superhero ensemble piece the general feeling that it’s actually not ‘completely’ director David Ayer’s (Fury, End of Watch) long-term vision.
Fortunately some of the ‘meddling’ in question – primarily the addition of Ben Affleck’s Batman and Ezra Miller’s Flash among other quickly cut sequences – actually work on a ‘fanboy’ level, and are not as drastic as some are making out.
Yes, Jared Leto’s Joker – who whets your appetite for more to come with an interesting take on the legend – seems to have suffered the most with some of his scenes being axed (maybe they were too dark for worried execs?), and Margot Robbie’s crazy henchwoman Harley Quinn – arguably the best thing in the movie – simply needed to be in it even more.
But if you brush these points aside, there’s a genuinely entertaining actioner to be had here, with Joel Kinnaman’s (Robocop) Suicide Squad field leader Rick Flag, Jai Courtney’s (Terminator: Genisys) anarchic Captain Boomerang and the always-reliable Will Smith’s as deadly marksman Deadshot, all playing their part in saving the film’s weak points.
In the aftermath of Superman’s death, intelligence operative Amanda Waller (Oscar nominee Viola Davis) assembles a team of dangerous individuals led by Colonel Flag – to be used as disposable assets in high-risk missions for the United States government, each with a small bomb implanted in their neck designed to detonate should any member try to escape.
Despite the predictable central protagonists, the shoddy editing, and sometimes wooden scripting, this entertains more than it falters – and the humour element is the best yet in this new DC Universe.
It’s fair to say after the superb start Marvel made, DC aren’t doing themselves any favours – but this is one time the naysayers are being a bit too harsh.
Review by Gavin Miller
3.5/5


This is one of my favourite movies to have been critically mauled – because it’s actually a lot better than the online backlash would have you believe.


UK parents are collectively spending £22 billion to help get their children on the road and three quarters of mums and dads in the South East admit paying for their child’s driving lessons.
A new survey of parents found that they are struggling to keep up with the rising costs involved in helping their children learn to drive and get motoring independently.
On average the process of taking to the open road for the first time now costs £7,000 - factoring in the cost of lessons, a car and insurance - and parents across the country are footing much of this bill.
Almost three quarters of parents in the South East (73.5 per cent) said they had paid for their child’s driving lessons. With them costing £24 on average and the Driver Standards Agency recommending 47 hours of tuition, that adds up to a potential £1,128 just to get them ready to sit their test.
On top of that, more than three quarters of South East parents (80 per cent) also help their children buy their first car, with a third (33 per cent) stumping up at least part of the deposit for a car. And more than half (52.3 per cent) of those surveyed revealed that they continued to pay out for regular maintenance, insurance, cleaning and even buying accessories.
Once their offspring have passed their test and secured some wheels, the biggest cost facing the Bank of Mum and Dad is getting the kids insured. The latest figures reveal that the cost of insurance alone for young drivers has risen by 13 per cent in the last year and for a 17-year-old now stands at £2,013 a year.
In a bid to bring these costs down many families are turning to technology. More than half of parents in the South East (53.6 per cent) have installed an insurance company ‘black box’ or dashboard camera. One in five (20 per cent) have also agreed to a high excess to reduce costs, while 42 per cent have put their names on their child’s insurance policy to lower payments.
Neil Addley, managing director of NFDA Trusted Dealers, said: “The survey findings show that each year the costs associated with learning to drive rises, putting a strain not only on learners, but also on the Bank of Mum and Dad. Increasing prices means there is often a temptation to scrimp on some things, such as the quality of the car, but this can lead to high running costs, leaving you out of pocket in the long term.
“With more and more parents stepping in to help get their children motoring, we have developed a dedicated section on our site which is filled with tips and advice from buying your first car, to the best cars for students.”

Parents fork out £22bn helping kids learn to drive


UK parents are collectively spending £22 billion to help get their children on the road and three quarters of mums and dads in the South East admit paying for their child’s driving lessons.


The types of cookies we, our ad network and technology partners use are listed below:
Revenue Science ► A tool used by some of our advertisers to target adverts to you based on pages you have visited in the past. To opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Google Ads ► Our sites contain advertising from Google; these use cookies to ensure you get adverts relevant to you. You can tailor the type of ads you receive by visiting here or to opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Digital Analytics ► This is used to help us identify unique visitors to our websites. This data is anonymous and we cannot use this to uniquely identify individuals and their usage of the sites.
Dart for Publishers ► This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don't just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.
ComScore ► ComScore monitor and externally verify our site traffic data for use within the advertising industry. Any data collected is anonymous statistical data and cannot be traced back to an individual.
Local Targeting ► Our Classified websites (Photos, Motors, Jobs and Property Today) use cookies to ensure you get the correct local newspaper branding and content when you visit them. These cookies store no personally identifiable information.
Grapeshot ► We use Grapeshot as a contextual targeting technology, allowing us to create custom groups of stories outside out of our usual site navigation. Grapeshot stores the categories of story you have been exposed to. Their privacy policy and opt out option can be accessed here.
Subscriptions Online ► Our partner for Newspaper subscriptions online stores data from the forms you complete in these to increase the usability of the site and enhance user experience.
Add This ► Add This provides the social networking widget found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tools to bookmark our websites, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend.


A Pimms in the Park event, organised by Keith Sellars, has raised £150 for the LIVES charity.


Cookies are small data files which are sent to your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc) from a website you visit. They are stored on your electronic device.
This is a type of cookie which is collected by Adobe Flash media player (it is also called a Local Shared Object) - a piece of software you may already have on your electronic device to help you watch online videos and listen to podcasts.
Yes there are a number of options available, you can set your browser either to reject all cookies, to allow only "trusted" sites to set them, or to only accept them from the site you are currently on.
However, please note - if you block/delete all cookies, some features of our websites, such as remembering your login details, or the site branding for your local newspaper may not function as a result.


The Boston Saturday Football League will kick off its 2016-17 campaign this weekend.


FOOTBALL: Boston League results and fixtures


BOSTON SATURDAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Results


An uncle out with his five-year-old nephew has spoken of his disgust at seeing a man having a poo in a carrier bag on a main road into Skegnes.
Jordan James posted this image on social media after walking past the man in Burgh Road about 7pm last night. He said: “What I have just seen is completely disgusting....
“I had my little nephew with me. What is this world coming to? There was a petrol station over the road with toilets in.”
The image was shared by more than 100 people with many agreeing it wasn’t something people wanted to see and others saying it was probably someone who got caught short.
Andrea Cooksey Timmins said: “No, it’s a poor man who cant make it to the loo.”
Tracyanne Faulkner also walked past the man. She said: “I saw all the rips in his jeans. Thankfully, I didn’t see him doing that. I’d have been sick. He was behind me all the way up Burgh Road.”
Mr Jordan said he believed the man might have been homeless. He said:”I do think there should be something done. This is something that the people of Skegness do not want to see.
“More should be done to help these homeless people.
“The reason I posted it was not the fact of being horrible, it’s more of the fact to warn people if travelling in that direction and to give people an idea of what sort of things go on around Skegness.”
A spokesman for Lincolnshire police said it could be a public order offence or one of outraging public decency. The spokesman said: “It was phoned in but didn’t meet the criteria of a blue light attendance and the man was no longer in the area when officers checked.”

Man caught on camera having poo in bag in Skegness


An uncle out with his five-year-old nephew has spoken of his disgust at seeing a man having a poo in a carrier bag on a main road into Skegnes.


My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough

NBA superstaari sugulane hukkus Ameerikas tulevahetuses


Korvpalliliiga NBA superstaari Dwyane Wade'i nõbu, kes oli nelja lapse ema, hukkus Ameerikas Chicago linnas toimunud tulistamises.


By Meg Olson
When Vicki Huntington came to speak at the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association annual general meeting, she came with a plea.
“The Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Towers was an amazing exercise in citizen power,” Huntington, Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for South Delta told guests at the July 27 meeting, and she said citizen power is needed for another, larger issue. “This whole area is under threat, big threat right now and we are at a crossroads as citizens. Either we are going to try and protect and save what’s left of the migratory bird flyway or we’re going to watch it disappear.”
Huntington’s presentation, “The Great Migration: Love it or Lose it,” was a sobering catalog of the increasing industrialization and development in South Delta and in the Fraser River Estuary in general, which is eliminating critical habitat for migratory birds.
“The estuary is an ecosystem of its own and it is the primary stop for the migratory flyway on the west coast of North America,” she said. “It is an ecosystem that supports millions of birds.”
Snow geese, swans, widgeons, mallards and other waterfowl winter in our region and summer in the high arctic, she said. Flocks of dunlins and other shorebirds, including the world’s entire population of the western sandpiper, rely on the habitat of the Fraser estuary. “Delta has the highest concentration of raptors in Canada,” she said, including snowy owls.
The area has been recognized as critical habitat, with almost 21,000 hectares designated as a wetland of international significance under the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 under UNESCO. The Fraser River Estuary, specifically Boundary Bay, Roberts Bank and Sturgeon Bank, are designated an Important Bird Area under a global initiative of BirdLife International in partnership with the Audubon Society.
Huntington said in the last 20 years development has steadily encroached on critical habitat and if the trend isn’t changed, that habitat loss could spell the collapse of the migratory flyway.
The Boundary Bay Airport, previously designated for light aircraft industrial uses has become “fully industrialized” with large distribution facilities either built or planned. Greenhouses continue to proliferate, now covering 150 acres in South Delta. “What we see here is a component of East Delta that 15 years ago was vital habitat and is now essentially gone,” Huntington said.
A proposed second terminal at Delta Port, which would add another terminal on a rock foundation at Roberts Bank, would double the capacity of the container port. Open land owned by B.C. Rail would be converted to an intermodal yard to serve the expanded port. Huntington described plans for the area as the development of an “industrial triangle on what are now primarily agricultural lands.”
Rapid development on Tsawwassen First Nations land is adding to the disappearance of habitat. “Tsawwassen First Nation is putting 4,000 homes on that land in addition to what I think will be a casino and the mall,” Huntington said.
The threat to the migratory flyway is an international issue, Huntington said, and she hopes residents south of the border call on their members of congress to look at an international migratory bird treaty. A second terminal at Delta Port would directly impact Point Roberts. “I don’t know if you’ve seen a change in your beach on the west side, because the hydrology of the area has changed,” she said, which would be exacerbated by an expansion of port facilities. “I don’t understand why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S. haven’t been more interested.”
Audience member Arthur Reber said the open public forum with Congresswoman Suzan DelBene, to be held Wednesday, August 17 from 3:30 to 4:30 at the community center, would provide an opportunity for Point Roberts residents to bring up their concerns, specifically about the proposed port expansion. “The impact on the Point is significant,” he said. “Our shoreline is changing.” Other audience members voiced concerns about the impact additional vessel traffic would have on air quality.
Huntington said reining in development in the Fraser estuary to find a balance between economic growth and environmental health was a cross-border issue. “We’re up against forces that are very real, very large and have all the money and influence,” she said. “It’s like starting on the tower battle, only some of us have been at this battle for a long time.”

B.C. Assembly member discusses threat to migratory flyway and impact on Point Roberts


By Meg Olson When Vicki Huntington came to speak at the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association annual general meeting, she came with a plea. “The Cross


The Cottages at Seabright Farm received its final plat approval by Whatcom County on August 8, meaning individual lots have been recorded as separate legal parcels. The development now has the ability to close lot sales with owners being then free to obtain building permits and begin construction.
According to a press release issued by the Orca Shores partnership, a number of lots are either “already reserved or contracted for immediate sale, and on those, we will be able to move rapidly towards the start of cottage construction.”
All lots are fully serviced with all utilities including water, septic, electrical and DSL internet service. Developers have built a community greenhouse and gardens, community barn and social center, kids playground, outdoor fire pits and walkways. In the works are a sports field, ball court, heated pool and spa area, picnic grounds and outdoor kitchen facilities.
Display homes are open to view Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. or by appointment.

Cottages at Seabright Farm moves toward construction


The Cottages at Seabright Farm received its final plat approval by Whatcom County on August 8, meaning individual lots have been recorded as separate legal


Congresswoman Suzan DelBene visited Point Roberts on Wednesday and spent an hour updating local residents on her work in Washington, D.C. and getting feedback to take with her as she heads back in September.
“The focus this session will really be on keeping the government funded,” she said at the August 17 town hall meeting hosted by the Point Roberts Taxpayers Association. “We haven’t passed a budget this year. I don’t expect a lot of things to move before the election. This is unfortunately a very contentious election cycle and even things both sides agree on may not move.”
DelBene congratulated the Point Roberts community for their successful efforts to stop a proposed radio tower project, which had been a focus of her last visit to the Point, and several audience members asked her to continue to support cross-border efforts. “We couldn’t have done it without the Canadians, both citizens and politicians,” said Arthur Reber, member of the Cross Border Coalition to Stop the Towers. He asked DelBene to work with British Columbia legislative assembly member Vicki Huntington to address issues of pollution and over-industrialization in Delta that will have impacts south of the border.
DelBene said she participates in the Northern Border Coalition which “provides a forum for us to work together with our colleagues across the border.” When asked if there had been any investigation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about the possible impacts that a proposed expansion of the Deltaport facility could have in Point Roberts and on the habitats that support the Pacific Flyway, DelBene said she would inquire and share that information with the community.
Jim MacKay, Point Roberts Marina project coordinator, said the company was hampered by its inability to hire Canadians for non-management positions, as had been possible under a visa waiver program created specifically for Point Roberts and discontinued when the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) took over running the port of entry from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. “We can’t be more than 70 percent productive because we can’t get staff,” he said.
DelBene said she had discussed the issue with DHS staff, who said they don’t feel they have the flexibility to put port-specific solutions in place without legislative direction. “We’re working on what opportunities there might be and what legislative solutions we can come up with that would be more targeted to this specific issue and not part of comprehensive immigration reform,” she said. “I know it’s very important to the economy and local business issues.”
From a more welcoming attitude in the booth to flexibility with length of stay in the U.S., audience members wanted the port of entry to be less of a barrier to people and dollars coming to the Point. “Our economy right now is based on Canadians coming down here and right now they’re not coming down because they’re being scared away by this rule about how many days you can stay,” said local contractor Bob Jewell. “That may be another unique issue to Point Roberts that will need a solution that is more targeted,” DelBene said, pointing out current DHS policies are written for all the nation’s borders.
Reber said new port director George Gibson was actively working to engage the community and try to develop solutions within his agency’s mandate. “If you have a problem, pull over and go talk to him,” he said.
A general discussion about trade policies led to questions about how changes to those policies could keep good jobs in local communities. “My kids would like to make a home here but they also want a good-paying job,” said one audience member. “We have grain going up to Canada, we have coal going up to Canada. Those should be jobs for Americans.”
“We need to make sure our ports are on an equal playing field,” DelBene agreed. “We have port capacity that isn’t being used.”
DelBene encouraged audience members to contact her office with any concerns or issues they may want assistance with.

Congresswoman lends an ear to Point Roberts


Congresswoman Suzan DelBene visited Point Roberts on Wednesday and spent an hour updating local residents on her work in Washington, D.C. and getting feedback


The types of cookies we, our ad network and technology partners use are listed below:
Revenue Science ► A tool used by some of our advertisers to target adverts to you based on pages you have visited in the past. To opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Google Ads ► Our sites contain advertising from Google; these use cookies to ensure you get adverts relevant to you. You can tailor the type of ads you receive by visiting here or to opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Digital Analytics ► This is used to help us identify unique visitors to our websites. This data is anonymous and we cannot use this to uniquely identify individuals and their usage of the sites.
Dart for Publishers ► This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don't just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.
ComScore ► ComScore monitor and externally verify our site traffic data for use within the advertising industry. Any data collected is anonymous statistical data and cannot be traced back to an individual.
Local Targeting ► Our Classified websites (Photos, Motors, Jobs and Property Today) use cookies to ensure you get the correct local newspaper branding and content when you visit them. These cookies store no personally identifiable information.
Grapeshot ► We use Grapeshot as a contextual targeting technology, allowing us to create custom groups of stories outside out of our usual site navigation. Grapeshot stores the categories of story you have been exposed to. Their privacy policy and opt out option can be accessed here.
Subscriptions Online ► Our partner for Newspaper subscriptions online stores data from the forms you complete in these to increase the usability of the site and enhance user experience.
Add This ► Add This provides the social networking widget found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tools to bookmark our websites, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend.

Join villagers at Whaplode Drove when they Party in the Park on Sunday (noon to 5pm).


Two people cut free after two-car crash in Tydd Gote


Two people had to be cut free after a two-car crash in Tydd Gote today.


The Cola-Cola glass bottle has been voted as the most iconic packaging on the UK’s shelves.
A study of 1,500 Brits exploring the influence of packaging and branding on shopping habits found that one in six people thought the Coca-Cola bottle was the most identifiable in terms of packaging.
Indeed, it was deemed to be just as recognisable without its logo or the product itself.
The research, commissioned by Easyfairs, organisers of Packing Innovations and Luxury Packaging London, found the Toblerone triangular chocolate bar finished as a close runner up, with Marmite’s glass jar rated as third-best-loved product packaging.
Beauty brands, such as the Tiffany Box and the Chanel No.5 Bottle just missed out on the top ten.
Coke’s success has been attributed to its targeting younger audience, with one in five Millennials selecting the bottle as the most recognisable pack product.Pringles’ iconic cylinder tube, fourth on the overall list, was the Millennial’s second favourite.
The study also revealed barcodes as the greatest packaging invention, ahead of more traditional items such as the cardboard box (21 per cent) - although the younger generation, 18-34 years, voted for 3D printing and re-sealable zips as its top two.
Gerry Sherwood, Event Director for the Easyfairs’ Packaging Portfolio, who commissioned the survey, said: “Millennials have officially passed Baby Boomers as the largest generation in history, and are more personally connected to their favourite brands than ever before. It is therefore not surprising to see 3D printing come out top in our poll for this age group.”
Top Ten Most Recognisable Brand’s Packaging
1. Coca-Cola Bottle
2. Toblerone Triangle
3. Marmite Jar
4. Pringles Tube
5. KFC Bucket
6. Heinz Ketchup Bottle
7. Fairy Liquid Bottle
8. Apple’s iPhone Box
9. Walkers Crisp Packet
10. Amazon Box

Coca-Cola bottle ‘most iconic packaging’


The Cola-Cola glass bottle has been voted as the most iconic packaging on the UK’s shelves.


Broken-down vehicle causing traffic disruption on A16 near Spalding


Part of the A16 between Spalding and Pinchbeck is currently blocked due to a broken-down vehicle.


Email verification
Thank you for verifying your email address.
Verification link has expired, please sign in and click on resend verification email from your profile page.
Verification link has expired, please click on resend verification email from your profile page.


Kirkstone House School, Baston, kept true to its motto of “Where the individual counts” after two of its star pupils produced “superb” GCSE results.
Head boy Matthew Hunt and head girl Charlotte Thurston led by example, gaining 22 GCSEs between them with grades of mostly A* and A.
Matthew and Charlotte automatically become members of the school’s Old Students’ Association and headteacher Corinne Jones said “We are absolutely thrilled at the superb results the school has achieved this year.”
Writing on the school’s website, Mrs Jones added: “As Headmistress, I am extremely proud of the school’s achievements, both academically and in terms of the many varied activities in which pupils are engaged.
“We are an entirely inclusive school, accepting pupils of all abilities, and our success lies in the fact that we enable all to achieve both their personal and academic potential.
“We never lose sight of the individual at the heart of all we do and our mission statement is that ‘The Individual Counts’.
We are absolutely thrilled at the superb results the school has achieved this year Corinne Jones, Headmistress, Kirkstone House School, Baston
“As a school, we understand that happy, well-motivated pupils who have excellent self-esteem, who care for themselves and for each other, are what makes a school a success.”

Head students lead the way at Kirkstone House School, Baston


Kirkstone House School, Baston, kept true to its motto of “Where the individual counts” after two of its star pupils produced “superb” GCSE results.


Torrential rain make driving conditions hazardous in south Lincolnshire


Motorists were hit by hazardous driving conditions in South Holland, the Deepings and Bourne as torrential rain and lightning swept through the area.


A test has been developed that could help to diagnose bacterial infections, including meningitis in minutes.
The new test, developed by a team at Imperial College London, is a major breakthrough in the rapid diagnosis of meningitis and sepsis in children. If made available through the NHS, it could allow treatment to begin much earlier, saving hundreds of lives and reducing the risk of life-changing after-effects.
The signs and symptoms of meningitis are notoriously difficult to diagnose, and can be dismissed as a cold or flu. Many young children presenting the early symptoms of the disease are initially sent home, before being rushed back to hospital a few hours later as their condition rapidly deteriorates.
Currently, doctors grow bacteria in a sample of blood, in a process which can take up to 48 hours.
Responding to the news, Liz Brown, CEO at charity Meningitis Now said: “A delay in life-saving treatment for bacterial meningitis can be a matter of life or death. We welcome this significant progress in the development of a rapid test for meningitis and sepsis.
“We would however, continue to advise people to know the signs and symptoms of meningitis and to seek immediate medical attention if they have any concerns”.
The study led by Professor Michael Levin has shown that a bacterial infection can be distinguished from other causes of fever, such as a viral infection, using a pattern of genes that are switched on or off in response to an infection.
A larger project will now begin to develop these findings into a pin-prick diagnostic test, which Professor Levin believes could be available through the NHS within five years.
14 facts about meningitis and septicaemia
Meningitis is usually caused by bacteria or viruses
Meningitis is inflammation of the membranes that surround and protect the brain and spinal cord
Septicaemia is blood poisoning
Some bacteria that cause meningitis also cause septicaemia
Meningitis and septicaemia often happen together – it is vital to know all the signs and symptoms
The early signs and symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia can be similar to ‘flu and include fever, headache, nausea, vomiting and muscle pain.
The more specific signs and symptoms include fever with cold hands and feet, drowsiness, confusion, pale blotchy skin, stiff neck, dislike of bright lights and a rash which doesn’t fade under pressure.
In babies, symptoms can also include being floppy and unresponsive, dislike of being handled, rapid breathing, an unusual, moaning cry and a bulging fontanelle (soft spot on the top of the head).
There are an estimated 3,200 cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia each year in the UK.
Following bacterial meningitis or septicaemia, one in ten people will die and at least a third of survivors will be left with lifelong after-effects such as hearing loss, epilepsy, limb loss or learning difficulties
Meningitis and septicaemia can affect anyone, of any age, at any time. However, babies and young children are most at risk, and young people between 15 – 24 years are also a higher risk group.
In the past 20 years, effective vaccines have been developed to give protection against SOME types of meningitis. These are offered to all babies and young children as part of the UK childhood immunisation programme. BUT there are not vaccines to protect against ALL types.
A vaccine to protect against meningococcal group B (Men B) disease, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia, was introduced into the UK childhood immunisation programme in September 2015.
If you suspect someone may be ill with meningitis or septicaemia, trust your instincts and get immediate medical help.
Meningitis Now aims to reduce the impact of meningitis by raising awareness and funding research into vaccine and treatment. For support and advice on meningitis call the Meningitis Now Helpline on 0808 80 10 388.
For more information or to donate visit the website at www.MeningitisNow.org

Pin-prick meningitis test could be available within five years


A test has been developed that could help to diagnose bacterial infections, including meningitis in minutes.


A 93-year-old man who was hit by a bus next to a Spalding sports ground a week ago has died, police have confirmed today.
The victim, who has yet to be named but believed to be from the Spalding area, was hit by a single-decker bus while walking along Winfrey Avenue, near Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, just after 10.20am on Tuesday.
After paramedics treated him at the scene for head injuries, the man was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he died yesterday (August Bank Hoilday Monday).
The bus involved had come from Market Deeping into Spalding and operated by Shaw’s Coaches of Maxey, near Market Deeping.

UPDATE TUESDAY 3.25PM: Elderly pedestrian, 93, dies after bus collision in Spalding


A 93-year-old man who was hit by a bus next to a Spalding sports ground a week ago has died, police have confirmed today.


Police say they are ‘concerned for the welfare’ of Kamil Szpara who has gone missing from Boston.
Kamil, 26, was last seen boarding a train at Boston station at 7.42am on Tuesday, August 23, which was heading in the direction of Nottingham. He was wearing a grey suit.
Kamil is described as approximately 5ft 8ins tall, of a slim build, has dark brown hair and is clean shaven.
Anyone with information about Kamil’s whereabouts, or who believes they have seen him, is asked to call 101 immediately.

Police ‘concerned for welfare’ of man missing from Boston


Police say they are ‘concerned for the welfare’ of Kamil Szpara who has gone missing from Boston.


Cookies are small data files which are sent to your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc) from a website you visit. They are stored on your electronic device.
This is a type of cookie which is collected by Adobe Flash media player (it is also called a Local Shared Object) - a piece of software you may already have on your electronic device to help you watch online videos and listen to podcasts.
Yes there are a number of options available, you can set your browser either to reject all cookies, to allow only "trusted" sites to set them, or to only accept them from the site you are currently on.
However, please note - if you block/delete all cookies, some features of our websites, such as remembering your login details, or the site branding for your local newspaper may not function as a result.


Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can
Video footage has been shared with The Standard showing the moment water gushed into the Tesco store in Boston.
This was sent into us by reader Sharon Horry.
Screen shot from the video.
UPDATE SATURDAY 8PM: Store puts customer safety first before reopening after flooding in Wyberton Fen
Shoppers will only be able to use a superstore in Wyberton Fen when it is “safe and cleaned to our usual high standards”, after flooding today.
Tesco Superstore in New Hammond Beck Road was evacuated after torrential rain caused a water pipe to overflow and come through the roof, onto the shop floor itself.
Emergency service, including firefighters, came to the store where there was “quite a lot of water down the aisles”, according to an eye-witness.
There is quite a lot of water down the aisles, customers are being turned away and they aren’t letting anyone into the car park
A Tesco spokesman said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, so we are working hard to ensure our Boston store is safe and cleaned to our usual high standards before it is reopened.”
BREAKING NEWS: SATURDAY 4.55PM: Shoppers evacuated from flooded Tesco store in Wyberton Fen - but roof still intact
A superstore in Wyberton Fen has been evacuated after it flooded due to torrential rain in the area today.
Emergency services are currently at Tesco Superstore in New Hammond Beck Road which is currently closed while a clean-up operation takes place.
Tesco Superstore in Wyberton Fen has been temporarily closed due to flooding.
An eye-witness, who asked not to be named said: “There is quite a lot of water down the aisles and the store is flooded.
“Also, there are lots of mops and brushes but they have been abandoned.
“Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue crews are in the store, walking around, but customers are being turned away and they aren’t letting anyone into the car park.”
However, earlier reports from other media outlets that the store’s roof had collapsed were quashed by the eye-witness who added: “There’s no visible damage to the roof.”
This was confirmed by a Tesco spokesman who said that a build-up of rainwater had “come through” the roof and onto the floor of the store itself
The spokesman added: “There has been rainwater along the roof of the store and due to its volume, the pipe has overflown.
“The rainwater has come through the roof and onto the shop floor, so the store has been closed whilst that is the case.
“We are working to get the rainwater cleaned up and the store reopened as soon as possible.
“However, the roof has not collapsed and it does not appear that the store has been hit by lightning.”

UPDATE SATURDAY 9.15PM: Video footage from inside “flooded” Boston Tesco store


Video footage has been shared with The Standard showing the moment water gushed into the Tesco store in Boston.


Splat a rat and admire Wisbech & District Historic Vehicle Club’s display of cars at Sutton St Edmund Church summer fair on Sunday (2pm).


Email verification
Thank you for verifying your email address.
Verification link has expired, please sign in and click on resend verification email from your profile page.
Verification link has expired, please click on resend verification email from your profile page.

An art sale is taking place at Crowland Community Hub and Library over the Bank Holiday weekend.


Any interest Bourne Town had in this season’s UCL KO Cup effectively ended inside the first half at The Abbey Lawn.
The Wakes went behind warly when a Matt Sparrow free kick was spilled by Alex Brown for Tom Carroll to slot home.
Sparrow’s pace was posing problems for the Bourne defence and the Yaxley wide man made it 2-0 when the Wakes lost possession in their half for Charley Sanders to pick his team-mate out with a first-time pass to score.
Bourne striker Zak Munton shot wide from 18 yards and George Couzens went close from a corner before half time.
But shortly after it, Sparrow hit the post after rounding Brown and Sanders was given a straight red card for a bad foul on JonJo Roberts.
Dan Cotton finished the game off, poking home a Michael Mackrell cross.

MATCH VERDICT: Bourne Town in cup exit after clinical Yaxley take chances


Any interest Bourne Town had in this season’s UCL KO Cup effectively ended inside the first half at The Abbey Lawn.


Pavanotti presents Fizz, Food & Fun at St Peter & St Paul Church, Gosberton, on Saturday (7.30pm).


Neil Johnson reflects on the opening weekend of the season...
The Boston Saturday Football League has kicked off another season, with plenty of goals and even a keeper getting on the scoresheet.
East Coast, Fulbeck, Horncastle Town Reserves and two new reserve sides, Fosdyke Reserves and Boston College Reserves, have all joined the league.
Several clubs opted for a blank fixture for the opening day, while East Coast had no coach to manage the side and had to pull out of their contest, leaving nine fixtures.
In the Taylors Garages Premier Division, defending champions Wyberton Reserves came unstuck in spectacular fashion in their opening match as they began their defence of the title away at Pointon, falling to a 5-2 defeat.
Pointon striker Ian Jacquest hit an impressive hat-trick while Jamie Andrews and Casey Kemp completed the rout.
Spilsby Town thumped Heckington Millers 8-0.
The Millers remained in the game during the first half as they trailed 2-0 to a home team who were slowly clicking into gear.
A dominant second half display saw Spilsby completely overrun their opponents, and they could easily have run up double figures as several further chances went begging.
Michael Hardy and Jordan Smith both grabbed a brace, while Jordan Turner, Josh Wood, Jordan Wood and Eddie Rich made sure of a faultless start to their campaign.
There were more goals at Swineshead Institute where the home side eventually saw off the challenge of Ruskington Rovers.
The 6-2 home win was probably slightly misleading as Ruskington found themselves trailing only 3-2 for the majority of the game.
It was only a late goal blitz that finally saw Swineshead put the game to bed.
Swineshead’s match-winners were Jack Houghton (two), Richard Barker (two), Bert Snaith and Callum Simmons.
If there was glut of goals in the top flight, the opposite was evident in the Taylors Peugeot Division One, where only one goal was scored in the two games.
Freiston and Fishtoft produced a dour 0-0 draw, although Freiston went close with two efforts which struck the woodwork.
Railway started life in Division One with an away trip to FC Kirton, and the newly-promoted side were very much on top throughout.
As the game wore on Railway created chance after chance but FC Kirton Keeper Phil Mcallister kept his side in the contest with a string of important saves.
That was until the game entered the final five minutes when a Ryan Mason cross from the left wing found debutant Leon Creasey, and he headed home to seal an opening day victory.
In the Taylors Ford Division Two, Fishtoft Reserves hosted Sibsey - and the home side didn’t get off to the best of starts as they ended up empty-handed.
Sibsey enjoyed most of the possession early on and they were rewarded with the opening goal when a long throw caused panic in the Fishtoft box and the ball fell loose to a Sibsey player who tapped the ball home.
It didn’t long for the away side to double their lead as Fishtoft lost possession and Sibsey broke away and rounded the Fishtoft keeper before sliding the ball home into an empty net.
As Fishtoft tried to get back into the game, a couple of chances in quick succession went begging and Sibsey made them pay with a third from a corner due to miscommunication in the Fishtoft defence.
Fishtoft came out revitalised for the second half, knowing they had under performed in the first half and they really pushed on to try and get back in the game.
They finally got on the score-sheet when a corner was bundled home by Jack Cridland.
Fishtoft’s heads were up now and when another corner was whipped in by Liam Reece it was headed home by Ben Carter to give them a glimmer of hope.
With time running out, Sibsey were reduced to 10 men with a red card following a last-man challenge when the Fishtoft striker was through on goal, but from the following free kick, the visiting defence blocked the shot and instantly broke away on the counter to score and make the final score 4-2.
The Taylors Vauxhall Division Three saw a strong Benington Reserves side given a stern test by Holbeach Bank who, on this showing, will be looking to bounce straight back up following last season’s relegation.
The visitors created a number of good chances in the opening period, but were foiled by an inspired display from Will Newton in the Benington goal.
Benington then broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time when Ryan Lawson rifled home from the edge of the box.
Gavin Bell doubled the home side’s advantage midway through the second period when he lobbed the advancing Bank goalkeeper after being sent clear by a sublime Dean Stevens pass.
Bank halved the deficit late on from the penalty spot but, despite some sustained pressure, were unable to find an equaliser.
Spalding Harriers travelled away to Leverton Reserves where the strong wind played a major factor in the game, with the visitors struggling to push beyond the halfway line for most of the first half.
Leverton struck first when Craig Mitchell swept home from the edge of the area to put Leverton ahead.
A quick throw in then found its way to James De Lorenzo who also found the bottom corner from the edge of the area.
Leverton continued to press for a third, first hitting the crossbar and then when a stray pass from the Spalding keeper left Leverton 30 yards out with an open goal, they missed the target and it remained 2-0 at the break.
The second half saw Spalding able to use the wind to apply pressure and attempt to keep Leverton contained in their own half.
The home side defended stubbornly, but luck wasn’t on their side when a long-range effort from Regan Smalley found itself being carried goalwards before finding the far top corner.
Leverton did have chances to extend their lead but a couple of poor finishes from close range kept Spalding in the game - both efforts being fired straight at the keeper.
The Spalding goalkeeper had the final say too, when he produced a huge clearance which sailed high over the opposing keeper’s head and into the net, much to the surprise of everyone.
Leverton were therefore left cursing their luck and Spalding breathed a sigh of relief after their bizarre last minute equaliser.
Wyberton A and Boston Titans produced a very tight match at The Causeway and the visitors were thankful, once again, for the finishing prowess of striker Matt Howden, who bagged a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw.
The Titans’ Mike Mcphail was also at his creative best with two assists for his team.
Wyberton salvaged a point with goals from Jack Reeson, Logan Hare and Jason Allen.


Neil Johnson reflects on the opening weekend of the season...


Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can
As a month long Think! Speed police campaign ends today new dash cam footage has been released showing the importance of the “twenty’s plenty” message often given for driving in residential streets.
The shocking video captures the moment a little boy gets hit by a van. The van was travelling at 20mph at the time of the collision. If it had been going just 10mph faster the likelihood of death would have been five times higher.
The shocking moment the boy ran out into the street captured on dash cam
The youngster - believed to be eight - charges out into the road between two parked vehicles and flies off the van’s bumper after being struck before tumbling onto the road and running off.
The van driver is completely unsighted and could do nothing to avoid the collision with the boy, who was badly bruised but otherwise unhurt.
Throughout August the county’s Road Policing Units have been out in force targeting motorists breaking the law.
The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your license however drivers across the county are warned that the speed limit is a limit not a target. In some road conditions or road layouts even driving at the speed limit could be too fast.
Speed limits are not targets
Traffic Sergeant Ian Manley said: “Those who speed put not only their own lives at risk but also the lives of others.
“The faster you drive the less time you have to react. Speed remains one of the biggest factors in fatal collisions.
“The difference of a few miles per hour can mean the difference between life and death. The faster someone is driving, the less time they have to stop if something unexpected happens.
“There will be times when you need to drive under the speed limit in order to drive correctly for the conditions or layout of the road.
“I would urge anyone who drives to help us protect road users by reducing your speed and driving to the conditions of the roads.
“If you kill someone while speeding, you will have to live with the long-term emotional consequences. Remember that speed limits are there for a reason.”
* Make sure you leave plenty of time for your journey, taking into account traffic
* Watch out for changes in the speed limit
* Drive to suit the conditions and the layout of the road
* Don’t let peer pressure encourage you to break the law
* Don’t assume it’s safe to break the speed limit because there is less traffic.
* Don’t be tempted to put your foot down because the road ahead appears clear.

GRAPHIC VIDEO: Dash cam footage of young boy being hit by van gives stark warning at end of police speed campaign


As a month long Think! Speed police campaign ends today new dash cam footage has been released showing the importance of the “twenty’s plenty” message often given for driving in residential streets.


An all age/ability Bank Holiday River Run from Little London end of London Road to Albion Street and back the other side of the river in Spalding on Saturday (11am start) is raising awareness of mental health.


Sri Lankan international Prasanna Jayawardene cracked a terrific ton for Woodhall Spa against Bourne in the Lincs Premir Division today (August 27).
Jayawardene played 58 Test matches for his country and displayed his class with an innings of 124 as Woodhall piled up 279-9 in 48 overs.
Colin Cheer claimed 4-81 for Bourne against Woodhall Spa.
Sadly heavy rain then washed out the game before Bourne had a chance to bat. Colin Cheer bagged 4-81 for Bourne.
Market Deeping’s home game with Grantham lasted just 36 overs before the weather intervened. Ashley Fisher took 3-33 as Grantham finished on 128-5.
Deeping are fourth in the table with two matches to go. Bourne are sixth.
No matches in the division were completed today.
RESULTS
MARKET DEEPING v GRANTHAM abandoned
Grantham 128-5 (36 overs) (B. Powell 67no, A. Fisher 3-33).
WOODHALL SPA v BOURNE abandoned
Woodhall Spa 279-9 (48 overs) (P. Jawaradene 124, T. Dixon 42, C. Cheer 4-81, B. Collins 2-47, J. Berry 2-66).

LINCS PREMIER DIVISION: Sri Lankan star puts Bourne to the sword, Deeping suffer a deluge


Sri Lankan international Prasanna Jayawardene cracked a terrific ton for Woodhall Spa against Bourne in the Lincs Premir Division today (August 27).


The types of cookies we, our ad network and technology partners use are listed below:
Revenue Science ► A tool used by some of our advertisers to target adverts to you based on pages you have visited in the past. To opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Google Ads ► Our sites contain advertising from Google; these use cookies to ensure you get adverts relevant to you. You can tailor the type of ads you receive by visiting here or to opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Digital Analytics ► This is used to help us identify unique visitors to our websites. This data is anonymous and we cannot use this to uniquely identify individuals and their usage of the sites.
Dart for Publishers ► This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don't just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.
ComScore ► ComScore monitor and externally verify our site traffic data for use within the advertising industry. Any data collected is anonymous statistical data and cannot be traced back to an individual.
Local Targeting ► Our Classified websites (Photos, Motors, Jobs and Property Today) use cookies to ensure you get the correct local newspaper branding and content when you visit them. These cookies store no personally identifiable information.
Grapeshot ► We use Grapeshot as a contextual targeting technology, allowing us to create custom groups of stories outside out of our usual site navigation. Grapeshot stores the categories of story you have been exposed to. Their privacy policy and opt out option can be accessed here.
Subscriptions Online ► Our partner for Newspaper subscriptions online stores data from the forms you complete in these to increase the usability of the site and enhance user experience.
Add This ► Add This provides the social networking widget found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tools to bookmark our websites, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend.

Firefighters rescue man locked in bedroom at Bourne home


A man trapped in his bedroom at a house in Bourne has firefighters to thank for his freedom today.


A parenting advice website has listed the most popular baby names so far in 2016 and revealed previous favourites such as Sophia, Mia, Daniel and Harrison are on the decline.
Bounty Baby Club, a popular parenting advice site, has scaled its 100,000 visitors a month, to uncover the most popular baby names of the first half of 2016 and there are a few surprises.
A few favourites of recent years are still holding their popularity but the results reveal some new up and coming themes and trends.
The favourites
Holding onto their 2015 top spots, Alfie and Isla remain the most popular names for boys and girls. Out of the top 100 most popular names, the biggest winners have been Caleb, jumping up nine positions to 19, Jenson, rising up five places to 26 and Ellie, rising up nine positions to nine.
The biggest climber so far this year has been Arlo, previously was outside of the top 50, now cementing a top 10 position at number six. Other names you may start to hear more include Freddie, Aaron, Phoebe, Ellis and Millie.
So what names are falling out of favour this year?
Results show that for girls, Sienna, Mia, Sophia, Mila and Scarlett are on the decline in 2016. Yesterday’s news for boys’ names include Dylan, Sebastian, Daniel and Harrison which are proving less popular than they have in recent years.
There is a new trend of baby names emerging from Bounty’s findings, vowel heavy names, particularly for girls. Male names ending in a softer letter are also becoming more popular, for example names such as Alfie, Arlo, Archie and Harry.
Take a look at the top 10 for boys and girls for the first half of the year below:
Top 10 most popular baby boy names of 2016 so far:
Alfie
Oscar
Teddy
Harry
Jack
Arlo
Noah
Charlie
Jacob
Archie
Top 10 most popular baby girl names of 2016 so far:
Isla
Amelia
Ava
Freya
Evie
Olivia
Esme
Elsie
Mia
Ellie

REVEALED - the most popular baby names so far in 2016


A parenting advice website has listed the most popular baby names so far in 2016 and revealed previous favourites such as Sophia, Mia, Daniel and Harrison are on the decline.


Students at The Deepings School had an extra incentive for success in this year’s GCSE exams, the last under their outgoing Head teacher Richard Trow.
Staff at the school were full of praise for its Year 11 students, stating that they had “worked exceptionally hard and made fantastic progress”.
Among the top achievers were Bryony Hickson with five A*s and five As, Jonathan Allen who recorded six A*s and thre As, Niamh Walker, also with six A*s along with two As and a trio of students, Aaron Jakins, Jennifer Roe and Thomas Mulqueen, who each had three A*s among their grades at GCSE.
Bryony described her results as “world class” and is going onto the school’s sixth form, as is Emma Gibbs whose ten As have set up two years of A‐level studies in Maths, Psychology and Geography, with the hope of going on to university.
Mr Trow, who takes over as Head teacher of Priory City of Lincoln Academy next month, paid special tribute to the school’s Science teachers who helped students, 60 per cent of whom secured either A* or A grades in Biology, 52 per cent with either A* or A in Physics and 48 per cent A* or A in Chemistry. “The Class of 2016 has really focused since September and this has created a positive, achievement-centred culture that has set a great example to the rest of the school,” Mr Trow said.
“We take a great deal of pride in making sure that all students are prepared for the next stage of their education and this year is no exception.
Emma�Gibbs whose ten As have set up two years of Alevel studies�in�Maths, Psychology�and�Geography�at The Deepings School's sixth form.
“Many will stay with us in our ‘state of the art’ Sixth Form, while others have already secured places at one of the high quality colleges in our
area.
“The Deepings School’s new £4 million Science Centre has had its first Year 11 cohort through and the Science team have done an amazing job in securing some fantastic results.”
Head of Science Chris Campbell said ‘I am really proud that the students’ efforts this year have been rewarded with such positive results.
We take a great deal of pride in making sure that all students are prepared for the next stage of their education and this year is no exception Richard Trow, Head teacher, The Deepings School
“Grades in GCSE Triple Science are particularly impressive and I am sure they will inspire our students to study the Sciences at A‐level and beyond.”

Deepings School head signs off with ‘positive achievement’ at GCSE


Students at The Deepings School had an extra incentive for success in this year’s GCSE exams, the last under their outgoing Head teacher Richard Trow.


More than 300 new homes could be built in towns and villages across South Holland to meet growing demand from prospective house buyers.
Five separate planning applications for schemes of between ten and 100 homes are to be discussed by South Holland District Council’s planning committee tomorrow (Wednesday) night.
Development land on Harvester Way, Crowland, looking towards existing housing. Photo by Tim Wilson.
One of them is for full planning permission to build 60 one to four-bedroom houses and bungalows on land near Weston St Mary’s Primary School, off Small Drove, Weston.
Long Sutton-based developers Seagate Homes described its plans as “a private and affordable residential scheme” designed to “create an affordable, sustainable, high-quality development” in Weston.
Another plan is for a 66-home development on nearly eight acres of land near Littleworth Drove, Deeping St Nicholas.
At least ten people have written to district councillors against to the plans by the Trustees of the DW Dennis Settlement who, in a statement, said: “The proposed development of this site makes the best and most efficient use of the land available.”
Residents’ concerns include increased traffic, extra demand on the village primary school and the lack of adequate drainage in Deeping St Nicholas.
The largest application is for 100 new homes in Harvester Way, Crowland, where a separate development of 50 homes was given planning permission in December 2014.
This time, Hertfordshire developers Wheatley Homes wants to build a mixed estate of one to four-bedroom homes, with 33 of them being made available on an affordable, below-market value basis.
More than 100 people have signed a petition against the plans based on fears over road safety at the junction of Peterborough Road and James Road.
The fourth plan is for 86 homes to be built on more than 11 acres of agricultural land in Gedney Road, Long Sutton, and should it be given the go-ahead. developers have pledged to pour almost £330,000 into both Long Sutton Primary School and the town’s Peele Community College.
District council planners are also to consider a ten-home development on what was a former builders’ yard in Banbury Close, Spalding.
All five applications come as a new South East Lincolnshire Local Plan is being developed which estimates that 18,000 new homes, along with 17,000 new jobs, are needed in South Holland and Boston between now and 2036.

South Holland towns and villages face big expansion


More than 300 new homes could be built in towns and villages across South Holland to meet growing demand from prospective house buyers.


Early indications of GCSE results across Lincolnshire show continued improvements this year.
With 10 schools still to return data, provisional figures released today (Thursday) by Lincolnshire schools, including academies, indicate that the percentage of students attaining good grades in core subjects continues to rise.
The percentage of students attaining 5+ A*-C including English and maths is no longer a headline measure of school performance.
The new headline is the percentage of students attaining an A*-C grade in English and maths, which has increased by five per cent, from 58.3 per cent in 2015 to 63.2 per cent this year. An impressive 23 schools so far have achieved more than 60 per cent.
The percentage of students attaining A*-C in English is currently 73.5 per cent for 2016 and compares to 67.6 per cent last year, an increase of 5.9 per cent. Four of the 45 schools achieved 100 per cent in this measure.
The percentage of A*-C in maths is currently showing as 69.8 per cent for 2016, 1.8 per cent up on last year. Six of the 45 schools achieved 100 per cent in this measure
The government has been keen to emphasise the importance of the English Baccalaureate as this measure supports as many students as possible to achieve A*-C grades in a broad range of academic subjects. The percentage achieving the English Baccalaureate is 29.4 per cent for 2016 compared to 27.2 per cent in 2015 - an increase of 2.2 per cent on last year.
So far 24 schools have shown improvement on last year in this measure, with 12 of those schools improving by over five per cent points on last year.
Coun Patricia Bradwell, executive councillor for children’s services, said: “It’s looking like another impressive set of results this year. In particular, the percentage of students achieving the English Baccalaureate at 29.4 per cent is a significant improvement.
“Students deserve every credit for their commitment to reach their potential. Remember, if you haven’t got the results you need, don’t panic, there is plenty of advice and help out there – go to www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/teeninfolincs.”
Debbie Barnes, director of children’s services, added: “We have yet to see how the final figures will pan out, but the picture is showing that our students have done incredibly well to maintain improvements and standards. Schools continue to excel in providing the platform for students to perform to their best.
“Teachers, parents and carers deserve praise for their support and encouragement. My congratulations to all students and best wishes for your future plans.”

Continued improvements in GCSE results across Lincolnshire


Early indications of GCSE results across Lincolnshire show continued improvements this year.


Cookies are small data files which are sent to your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome etc) from a website you visit. They are stored on your electronic device.
This is a type of cookie which is collected by Adobe Flash media player (it is also called a Local Shared Object) - a piece of software you may already have on your electronic device to help you watch online videos and listen to podcasts.
Yes there are a number of options available, you can set your browser either to reject all cookies, to allow only "trusted" sites to set them, or to only accept them from the site you are currently on.
However, please note - if you block/delete all cookies, some features of our websites, such as remembering your login details, or the site branding for your local newspaper may not function as a result.


The annual art exhibition at St Matthew’s Church, Sutton Bridge, takes place from Saturday until Friday, September 2.


The types of cookies we, our ad network and technology partners use are listed below:
Revenue Science ► A tool used by some of our advertisers to target adverts to you based on pages you have visited in the past. To opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Google Ads ► Our sites contain advertising from Google; these use cookies to ensure you get adverts relevant to you. You can tailor the type of ads you receive by visiting here or to opt out of this type of targeting you can visit the 'Your Online Choices' website by clicking here.
Digital Analytics ► This is used to help us identify unique visitors to our websites. This data is anonymous and we cannot use this to uniquely identify individuals and their usage of the sites.
Dart for Publishers ► This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don't just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.
ComScore ► ComScore monitor and externally verify our site traffic data for use within the advertising industry. Any data collected is anonymous statistical data and cannot be traced back to an individual.
Local Targeting ► Our Classified websites (Photos, Motors, Jobs and Property Today) use cookies to ensure you get the correct local newspaper branding and content when you visit them. These cookies store no personally identifiable information.
Grapeshot ► We use Grapeshot as a contextual targeting technology, allowing us to create custom groups of stories outside out of our usual site navigation. Grapeshot stores the categories of story you have been exposed to. Their privacy policy and opt out option can be accessed here.
Subscriptions Online ► Our partner for Newspaper subscriptions online stores data from the forms you complete in these to increase the usability of the site and enhance user experience.
Add This ► Add This provides the social networking widget found in many of our pages. This widget gives you the tools to bookmark our websites, blog, share, tweet and email our content to a friend.


Join a Family Fun Day at Woodlands Farm, Wash Road, Kirton (PE20 2DN) on Sunday.


There’s a family fun day at Regent Bingo in Westlode Street, Spalding, on Monday (1.30-4pm).


A 93-year-old man who was hit by a bus next to a Spalding sports ground a week ago has died, police have confirmed today.
The victim, who has yet to be named but believed to be from the Spalding area, was hit by a single-decker bus while walking along Winfrey Avenue, near Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field, just after 10.20am on Tuesday.
After paramedics treated him at the scene for head injuries, the man was airlifted to Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham, where he died yesterday (August Bank Hoilday Monday).
The bus involved had come from Market Deeping into Spalding and operated by Shaw’s Coaches of Maxey, near Market Deeping.

UPDATE TUESDAY: Elderly pedestrian, 93, dies after bus collision in Spalding


A 93-year-old man who was hit by a bus next to a Spalding sports ground a week ago has died, police have confirmed today.


TABLE TENNIS: First-time winners in invitation cup


The third Spalding Invitation Cup featured three teams at the Castle Sports Complex.


Lutton is holding its Village Driveway Sale on Saturday (10am to 2pm).


Sorry, we're having problems with our video player at the moment, but are working to fix it as soon as we can
A superstore near Boston that had to be evacuated when rainwater started to pour through the roof has reopened to shoppers today.
Tesco Superstore in New Hammond Beck Road, Wyberton Fen, was closed yesterday afternoon when a build-up of rainwater on the building’s roof caused a waterpipe to overflow and a leakage onto the store roof below.
Screen shot from the video.
Emergency services joined staff at the store to carry out a clean-up operation, while customers were turned away at the car park.
Yesterday, a Tesco spokesman said: “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers so we are working hard to ensure our Boston store is safe and cleaned to our usual high standards before it is reopened.”
SATURDAY 9.15PM: Video footage from inside “flooded” Boston Tesco store
Video footage has been shared with The Standard showing the moment water gushed into the Tesco store in Boston.
There is quite a lot of water down the aisles, customers are being turned away and they aren’t letting anyone into the car park
This was sent into us by reader Sharon Horry.
UPDATE SATURDAY 8PM: Store puts customer safety first before reopening after flooding in Wyberton Fen
Shoppers will only be able to use a superstore in Wyberton Fen when it is “safe and cleaned to our usual high standards”, after flooding today.
Tesco Superstore in New Hammond Beck Road was evacuated after torrential rain caused a water pipe to overflow and come through the roof, onto the shop floor itself.
Tesco Superstore in Wyberton Fen has been temporarily closed due to flooding.
Emergency service, including firefighters, came to the store where there was “quite a lot of water down the aisles”, according to an eye-witness.
A Tesco spokesman said, “Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers, so we are working hard to ensure our Boston store is safe and cleaned to our usual high standards before it is reopened.”
BREAKING NEWS: SATURDAY 4.55PM: Shoppers evacuated from flooded Tesco store in Wyberton Fen - but roof still intact
A superstore in Wyberton Fen has been evacuated after it flooded due to torrential rain in the area today.
Emergency services are currently at Tesco Superstore in New Hammond Beck Road which is currently closed while a clean-up operation takes place.
An eye-witness, who asked not to be named said: “There is quite a lot of water down the aisles and the store is flooded.
“Also, there are lots of mops and brushes but they have been abandoned.
“Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue crews are in the store, walking around, but customers are being turned away and they aren’t letting anyone into the car park.”
However, earlier reports from other media outlets that the store’s roof had collapsed were quashed by the eye-witness who added: “There’s no visible damage to the roof.”
This was confirmed by a Tesco spokesman who said that a build-up of rainwater had “come through” the roof and onto the floor of the store itself
The spokesman added: “There has been rainwater along the roof of the store and due to its volume, the pipe has overflown.
“The rainwater has come through the roof and onto the shop floor, so the store has been closed whilst that is the case.
“We are working to get the rainwater cleaned up and the store reopened as soon as possible.
“However, the roof has not collapsed and it does not appear that the store has been hit by lightning.”

UPDATE SUNDAY 9.50AM: Tesco store reopens near Boston after flooding drama


A superstore near Boston that had to be evacuated when rainwater started to pour through the roof has reopened to shoppers today.


Rippingale Annual Beer Festival takes place this weekend.


BOSTON SATURDAY FOOTBALL LEAGUE: Results


Deus Ex has you spoilt for choice.
Mankind Divided and so am I when it comes to reviewing the latest Deus Ex game after its launch last week.
There is so much to rave about in DEMD and I’m still enjoying it now over a week into the game.
But there are a number of elements which do not quite sit right with me.
Let’s start with the positives, though, and there are plenty of them.
There is layer upon layer in this game all expertly crafted together and beautifully designed.
The gameplay stands up to the high standards set by previous Deus Ex games and goes beyond them in many respects.
This is a game that will suit all types of gamers too.
Looking for a quick blast for an hour, you can jump on and get enough done to enjoy the experience, looking for longer, more involved sessions on your console then the gameplay rewards your patience, curiosity and creativity.
You play augmented human Jensen who is essentially the most deadly Power Ranger on the planet. I mean this guy has everything and would even give Superman a run for his money.
There are so many options to negotiate each scenario
And this is where my first problem lies with DEMD.
Sometimes, dare I say it, there are so many options available to you, so many ways to deal with scenarios and enemies and so much in your arsenal, it actually feels a bit ... easy.
‘Ramp up the difficulty setting!’ I hear you cry.
Well yes there’s that but my point is no matter what level you are playing at, Jensen just has too much at his disposal for his enemies to trouble him.
Sometimes, dare I say it, there are so many options available to you, so many ways to deal with scenarios and enemies and so much in your arsenal, it actually feels a bit ... easy. Damien Lucas, gaming columnist
But don’t get me wrong it’s still great fun entering a room littered with foes and walking out past a pile of them without breaking a sweat.
Another thing that doesn’t quite land for me is the Apartheid type references between the humans (naturals) and the augmented race. It is a poor attempt to give the storyline resonance with real life - for example there are posters dotted around saying things like ‘Augmented Lives Matter’ and it just feels a little frivolous.
I’m being hyper critical, though, and Deus Ex will go down as one of the games of the year of that there is no doubt.
Rating: 8.5/10

Console Corner: Deus Ex Mankind Divided review


Email verification
Thank you for verifying your email address.
Verification link has expired, please sign in and click on resend verification email from your profile page.
Verification link has expired, please click on resend verification email from your profile page.


Music from all eras and genres, with lots of laughter, is promised at the music quiz at Gedney Dyke Village Hall on Saturday (7.30pm).


Daycare spaces are in short supply in some areas of B.C. and costs are high.
More than 1,800 new child care spaces should be under construction by this fall, with the latest round of financing from the B.C. government.
New or expanded facilities in 30 communities have been selected from funding applications received in January, said Children and Family Development Minister Stephanie Cadieux. The $11.3 million budget for this year is the third phase of a child care expansion project funded by the ministry.
The province's goal is to have construction underway by September.
"It will vary somewhat from provider to provider, depending on whether they are building a facility from the ground up with this money, or whether they are adding to an existing facility," Cadieux said.
Projects in the Lower Mainland include six sites in Surrey, two each in Abbotsford, Langley and Coquitlam and one each in Maple Ridge, Pitt Meadows, Burnaby, Delta and Squamish.
On Vancouver Island, funding goes to three projects in Duncan and one each in Nanaimo, Victoria, Comox, Port Hardy and Tofino.
In the B.C. Interior, three projects are approved for Kelowna, two in Penticton, and one each in Naramata, Castlegar, Cranbrook, Enderby, Princeton, Houston, Kamloops, Merritt, Vanderhoof and Dawson Creek.
For a full list of facilities and number of spaces, see backgrounder here.
The ministry has posted a new child care map on its website to help parents locate facilities here.
The province provides child care subsidies to qualified low-income parents, and covers about 15 per cent of daycare operating costs. But the cost of land and operations drives the price of child care up to $1,400 per month or more in urban areas. Cadieux said the province is working with municipalities to review regulations.
"We're looking at the restrictions we put on child care providers in terms of outdoor space, in terms of sun access," she said. "We want to make sure that child care is safe and that we have quality, but we also want to make sure that we're not creating a situation that is unreasonable."

Child care spaces funded for 30 BC communities


1,800 new spaces in 30 communities to start construction this fall, minister Stephanie Cadieux says


Doug Kelly, chair of the B.C. First Nations Health Council
With patients in urban areas having difficulty finding a family doctor, the situation in rural B.C. is going from bad to worse, MLAs on the province's health committee were told Monday.
Ed Staples, a member of the B.C. Health Coalition, described his efforts to improve the situation in Princeton, a community of about 5,000 people that four years ago was down to one doctor providing on-call service.
Princeton now has four full-time doctors and two nurse practitioners, but there are still people who can't find a doctor in the region, including Penticton an hour and a half away. A recent search of the College of Physicians and Surgeons website turned up the nearest doctor accepting patients in Courtney on Vancouver Island, Staples said.
Health Match BC, the province's web portal for recruiting doctors, nurses and other health professionals, currently has more than 400 general practitioner vacancies, with 37 communities seeking 85 doctors. The result is "bidding wars" between communities to offer incentives to relocating doctors, and foreign doctors using a rural community as an entry point before relocating to the Lower Mainland, he said.
The B.C. government has announced its latest videoconferencing service for health care, linking psychiatrists with young people in Cranbrook. The service is available twice a month at the local Children and Family Development office, supplementing visits by specialists in communities such as Cranbrook and Princeton. Health Minister Terry Lake says video conferencing and electronic health records are a key part of the solution for reaching patients across B.C.
Doug Kelly, chair of the B.C. First Nations Health Council, told the committee of an Abbotsford doctor who travels to Carrier Sekani territory around Prince George for part of his practice, in a pilot project with Northern Health.
Kelly said video links and nurse practitioners are part of the solution to delivering rural and remote care, but the main obstacle is the business model for doctors that has them cycling through as many as 20 patients an hour to bill enough to cover their office overhead.
Committee members were also reminded that graduating doctors are increasingly reluctant to take on the demands of family practice, especially in smaller communities where they may find themselves on call around the clock.

Video links grow as rural health care shrinks


Small communities have more than 400 doctor vacancies, with 'telehealth' and visiting specialists filling gaps


Modified versions of the 1969 Camaro SS and other popular vehicles will soon be eligible for B.C. collector plates, allowing occasional use for parades and car shows.
The B.C. government is expanding its collector vehicle licence system to include eligible modified cars made between 1958 and 1974, to capture the popular "muscle car" era of the 1960s.
The ICBC collector plate program gives car enthusiasts a lower-cost licence plate that allows occasional use for parades and classic car shows. ICBC plans to take applications starting in 2017 for eligible modified vehicles up to 1974, and replica cars resembling North American production cars from 1942 and earlier.
With strict rules that the cars must be in "collectible condition," changes will take in modified popular cars from the Dodge Duster to the Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang, as well as replicas of the popular Ford "deuce coupe" from the 1930s.
Premier Christy Clark announced a break for older cars this spring, allowing vehicles from 1940 or earlier and their replicas to run without fenders or mud flaps when the highway is dry and paved.
Transportation Minister Todd Stone said the collector car industry is significant for B.C., with registered collector vehicles having doubled to 26,000 in the past 10 years.
"We want to see this specialty vehicle program remain viable, preserve vehicle history and evolve with the times," Stone said. "That's why we are opening up the opportunity to owners of specialty cars within the 'muscle car' era."
Currently, the standard collector plate is available to cars 25 years or older, as well as discontinued or limited production vehicles 15 years or older. It requires a stock engine with no performance enhancements, no rust, dents or "significant wear and tear" of the interior.
Modified vehicles from 1958 or older are currently eligible for collector plates, if they retain the shell of the original body but have parts replaced or modified in the chassis, engine, suspension, steering or brakes.
Owners have to apply for a collector or modified collector plate, with purchase and parts bills, photos and inspection reports.
Applications for collector and modified collector programs are available on ICBC's website, www.icbc.com, and can be dropped off at Autoplan brokers.

Collector program expanding to 'muscle cars'


Collector plates will be available next year for modified as well as stock cars made between 1958 and 1974


B.C. has 300 seniors' care facilities, and residents and their loved ones are to be surveyed on conditions.
More than 250 volunteers have signed up to compile a survey of seniors in residential care, and B.C.'s Seniors Advocate is looking for more.
The 27,000 seniors living in 300 residential care facilities around the province are being asked about their experience with care home staff, the quality of food, privacy, medications and other conditions.
It's the first comprehensive survey done in B.C., to measure resident satisfaction and provide a "roadmap" for improvements, said Seniors Advocate Isobel Mackenzie.
Interviews will be conducted in person by trained volunteers, and a matching mail-out survey will be sent to each resident's most frequent visitor.
The project is seeking volunteers with a range of professional backgrounds, ages and ethnicities. To apply as a volunteer, visit www.surveybcseniors.org or call the Office of the Seniors Advocate at 1-877-952-3181.


Volunteers to ask seniors about staff, food, privacy, medications and other conditions in residential care


Two men and a mining company in receivership have been charged with 18 pollution infractions related to their shut-down gold mine on an island near Prince Rupert.
Benjamin Mossman and Dirk Meckert are scheduled to appear in Prince Rupert provincial court Sept. 7. Also charged is Banks Island Gold Ltd., which went into receivership after being shut down last year for provincial permit violations.
The Yellow Giant mine was ordered shut down by the Ministry of Environment in July 2015 after a tailings spill was reported on a tip. There is one charge of failing to report a spill of a polluting substance, and the other 17 charges are for failing to comply with permits.
North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice raised the issue in the legislature this spring, after receiving a letter from the Gitxaala First Nation referring to two separate tailings spills. Rice said the ministry did not inspect the operation for 15 months, until receiving a complaint.
NDP mining critic Norm Macdonald told the legislature a worker at the mine "became fed up, put his job on the line, sent the ministry and me a tip and pictures that documented what was going on there."
Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett said the mine was shut down when the situation was brought to its attention. The mine's 90 employees lost their jobs.
The province has a $420,000 security bond from the mining company, to provide ongoing monitoring. In March the mines ministry and Banks Island Gold removed explosives from the mine site and in May ministry technical staff assessed the hazardous materials on site.
The B.C. Conservation Officer Service, which recommended the charges, would not comment on the current condition of the Banks Island site, because it is evidence for the prosecution.

Banks Island miners face 18 pollution charges


Gold mine near Prince Rupert shut down last summer for permit violations, owners charged for failing to report spill


Eileen Zheng donated a kidney to her mother Wei and is encouraging other people to register as organ donors.
When Eileen Zheng wanted to donate one of her kidneys to her mother, family members were at first concerned about the effect of the procedure on both of them.
But five weeks after the surgery, Wei Zheng was recovering from polycystic kidney disease after seven years on kidney dialysis, and Eileen was logging up to 65 km a day on her bicycle. And a year later, Eileen is preparing to ride across Canada to encourage more people to support organ transplants.
"I want to raise awareness, so more people are willing to register after seeing that I'm healthy after donating an organ," Eileen said at a ceremony at the B.C. legislature to launch the bid Monday. "We're hoping to raise at least 1,000 more organ donors compared to last year, and around $75,000 for the Canadian Transplant Association, for the life-saving work they do."
She has three and a half months to make the journey, starting with a Terry Fox-inspired dip of her bike wheel in the Pacific before heading east towards St. Johns, Newfoundland. Eileen's ride is called Gift From Within has a website where people can link to organ donor registration sites in each province, and her route stops and updates will be posted.
There are more than 45,000 people currently waiting for organ donations across Canada. B.C. residents can check their registration status or sign up to become a donor here.

Cross-Canada ride to encourage organ donation


Gift From Within aims to register 1,000 more registered donors and raise money for the Canadian Transplant Association


A routine check-up at the hospital has turned into a nightmare for a Prince Rupert woman.
A month-and-a-half after having an endoscopy to inspect her nose and throat, Joan Dudoward received a letter from Northern Health stating that the endoscope used at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital was not cleaned properly.
From April until the end of June 2016, the endoscope, which is a flexible tube with a light and a camera used in nonsurgical procedures, was being cleaned with the wrong cleaning solution to disinfect the equipment. There were 104 patients affected and Dudoward was one of them.
“I was majorly stressed out,” she said in an exclusive interview with the Northern View. “I'm a cancer survivor. I try to keep my health up for my mom, I'm a caregiver for a 95-year-old woman.”
Dudoward had gone to the Prince Rupert hospital for an endoscopy on June 29 at 3:30 p.m. after complaining to her physician about reoccurring plugged ears and a sore throat. She received the letter from Northern Health on Aug.24, which stated the error did not impact the diagnostic outcome of the tests and the process error has been corrected.
The letter also states that the BC Centre for Disease Control has been consulted and “the risk of a patient being exposed to a virus as a result of this process error is extremely low.” The contact number for the director of acute care services is offered in case she has any other questions or concerns. Dudoward has many.
She called to find out why the instrument wasn't cleaned, what had happened and how many people had gone through the procedure before and after her. “She said she's not permitted to tell me anything about this,” was the response Dudoward said she received.
The vice-president of medicine for the Northern Health authority, Dr. Ronald Chapman, was quick to respond to media inquiries and stressed the importance of transparency. He said, based on previous experience, once they realized the mistake had occurred they consulted the BC Centre for Disease Control as well as the Northern Health infectious disease specialist in Prince George.
“The risk for the patient is extremely low. We're not concerned that it will at all have any negative impact on their health,” Dr. Chapman said. He added that it's Northern Health's policy to make patients aware even if the risk to them is low. “We believe it's important to be open with those patients and to be fairly transparent so at least they are aware of the mistake. In this case, we don't recommend any particular follow up or tests for the patients.”
This type of process error has happened before, Dr. Chapman confirmed. Not with the same scope, but he said there are many different endoscopes used and each are made by different manufacturers that have various recommendations on how to clean the equipment.
“The health sector is run by human beings and it's fairly complex. If mistakes do happen what we encourage our staff to do is to make management aware so they can learn from that experience,” he said. “I'm happy to say where those mistakes have happened in our environment, a process has been put in place and we haven't had any repetitions after some of those learning experiences.”
For the 104 patients that were affected by this incident, Dr. Chapman said their general practitioners have been notified and if they have any questions they can speak to them and the infectious disease specialist. They can also contact Northern Health's Patient Care Quality Officeto register a complaint.
For Dudoward, who had a bone marrow transplant in 2011 to battle leukemia, she is concerned and has already scheduled a meeting with her physician in early September.
“I'm thinking that my body is not going to be able to fight off infection like I was able to before the cancer because chemo takes a lot out of your body so this is like a bomb exploding in my life,” she said.

VIDEO: Prince Rupert woman treated with unclean medical equipment, Northern Health, B.C. Centre for Disease Control confirms more than a hundred affected


Two months after having an endoscopy Joan Dudoward received a letter telling her that the endoscope used was not cleaned properly.


The B.C. government's plan B for income assistance cheques and other time-sensitive documents could be re-activated as the long-running Canada Post labour dispute reaches another deadline.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers is in a legal position to strike as of Monday, but postponed threatened rotating strike action after weekend talks with a federal mediator. Its initial action would be an overtime ban rather than a full-scale walkout that would disrupt mail delivery.
Canada Post served lockout notice in July, with the two sides far apart on issues including pension changes for future employees and pay for rural carriers.
Income assistance, rent subsidy and other B.C. government payments are not affected if they are direct deposit. For mailed cheques and information, updates on possible postal strike effects to the Ministry of Social Development will be available as necessary at this website or at 1-866-866-0800.
Phone and online contacts are set up for questions about affected provincial departments:
• Ministry of Advanced Education and StudentAidBC online here.
• Ministry of Children and Family Development 1-877-387-7027
• Medical Services Plan payments online here or 1-877-405-4909
• ICBC inquiries 1-800-663-3051
• Family Maintenance and Enforcement program 604-660-2528
• Public Guardian and Trustee online here or 604-660-4444
• Vital Statistics 1-888-876-1633
• WorkSafe BC online here or 1-888-967-5377

B.C. prepares for possible postal disruption


Province has alternatives if Canada Post employees begin strike action


OTTAWA – Contract talks continue between Canada Post and its largest union, but neither side is hinting as to whether any progress has been made.
A federally appointed mediator has been meeting with the two sides since Friday to try to reach a deal.
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers says if there is no deal by midnight, it would begin job action on Monday by having its members refusing to work overtime on a rotating basis, starting in Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
CUPW served 72 hour strike notice Thursday night, accusing Canada Post of forcing a labour disruption by refusing to bargain in good faith.
The two sides have been deadlocked for months on the issues of pay scales for rural letter carriers and proposed changes to pensions for future employees.
A CUPW news release says the initial job action will cause little disruption to Canada Post customers and that its members will still be delivering mail every day.
The Canadian Press

Postal workers union give details of job action if no deal is reached Sunday


Talks continue, with rotating overtime ban set to begin Monday if no agreement by midnight Sunday


Students return to public school next week, with changes to curriculum and some provincial exams.
Students are returning to class next week in most of B.C.'s public schools, with enrolment expected to be up province-wide for the second year running.
Education Minister Mike Bernier says early forecasts show about 529,000 students, an increase of 2,900 from last year. But that increase is centred on fast-growing school districts, while many rural areas continue to struggle with declining student numbers.
Among changes that parents and students will see this year is a new curriculum in place up to Grade 9, with a test year for changes in the senior grades. Bernier said the new emphasis on collaboration and communication skills does not mean a watering down of the basic skills, and is designed to improve students' ability to work at modern jobs.
Report cards are to continue this school year, but the ministry is reviewing its system with an eye to providing more frequent updates. Parents are being consulted on the changes, Bernier said.
Foundation Skills Assessment tests in grades four and seven are also continuing after years of protests from teacher unions, but that program is also being examined for possible changes. FSA tests will be "enhanced" but not eliminated, Bernier said.
Provincial exams continue for graduates in math and English, but science and social studies will now be assessed at a classroom level rather than school-wide tests, Bernier said.
The ministry provided a series of top-ups to education funding this year, for bus service and to keep selected rural schools from closing. Applications are still being taken for a transportation fund until Sept. 30, requiring districts to drop across-the-board school bus fees to qualify.
Districts may still charge transportation fees for international students or those from outside a school catchment area.
NDP leader John Horgan highlighted the crowding in Surrey school district, where 7,000 students remain in portables despite an expansion program. The NDP says the B.C. government's claim of record per-student funding ignores a reduction of education funding as a share of the provincial economy.
"Since 2001, the B.C. Liberals have dragged public education funding in this province from the second best in Canada to the second worst," Horgan said.

B.C. school enrolment up for second year


Some urban districts struggle with overcrowding, special funds for declining rural schools, bus service to take effect


Wood products exports from Canada to Asia were down 18 per cent in the first six months of 2016, with the biggest decline being softwood lumber from B.C. to China, according to the Seattle-based Wood Resources International.
Lumber sales to China are on pace to drop by 50 per cent this year compared to 2014, as B.C. lumber producers direct their sales to a healthy U.S. lumber market, according to customs data tracked for the Wood Resources Quarterly (www.woodprices.com).
The latest edition notes that by value, 75 per cent of B.C.'s exports to Asia in 2015 and 2016 are in the form of lumber, while 77 per cent of exports from Washington and Oregon are logs.
Asian demand reached a record high in 2013, with China passing Japan as the largest importer of North American wood products in 2011. The B.C. and federal governments promote wood construction in China and Japan, and B.C.'s forest minister is required to conduct an annual trade mission to China, Japan and other Asian countries.
The shift in demand provides extra urgency for talks to renew the Canada-U.S. softwood lumber agreement that expired last year. B.C. sales are booming without the export cap that both Ottawa and Washington have agreed will be required.

Lumber exports shift to U.S. as China sales slump


Asian demand for B.C. wood products peaked in 2013, analyst says China sales on pace for 50 per cent drop


The B.C. government has approved a master development plan for a new year-round ski resort in the Cariboo Mountains west of Valemount.
Valemount Glacier Destination Resort is a $175 million project led by Oberto Oberti, who designed the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort near Golden and the controversial Jumbo Glacier Resort proposal west of Invermere.
The Valemount plan includes lifts and gondolas that would carry skiers and sight-seers to the summits of Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Mount Arthur Meighen. Its vertical drop of 2,050 metres would be higher than Whistler-Blackcomb and the largest in North America.
"There are very few places in the world, and none in North America, where you go and ride a lift to the very top and the glacier is below you," said Jill Bodkin, a director of the company.
Valemount is a remote community of about 1,000 residents near the Alberta border east of Prince George. The region is west of Jasper National Park, which attracts visitors from around the world.
On the project's website, Oberti says people will travel to Switzerland for this kind of mountain resort experience, so a three-hour drive from Prince George isn't an obstacle to success.
Valemount Mayor Jeanette Townsend called the master plan approval "exciting news." She said the community attracts visitors who stay there to avoid the expensive accommodation in Jasper and the resort will take it to the next level.
Chief Nathan Matthew of the Simpcw First Nation said his community has been involved since the beginning, and he sees the project as an important economic development for the northern part of Simpcw's traditional territory.

B.C. approves Valemount glacier resort plan


Designer of Kicking Horse and Jumbo resorts gets approval to proceed with $175 million project east of Prince George