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Andre and Zac talk the dog days of August, an Indians losing streak, fantasy football, Barkevious Mingo and what might be ahead for Josh Gordon.Subscribe to A to Z on iTunes here. Download the episode directly here. Or stream below.

Barkevious Mingo, Fantasy Football and a Tribe Losing Streak - The A to Z Podcast With Andre Knott and Zac Jackson


Andre and Zac talk the dog days of August, an Indians losing streak, fantasy football, Barkevious Mingo and what might be ahead for Josh Gordon....


click to enlarge Photo courtesy of Erie Co.
Sheriff Kyle Overmyer
Yesterday, Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer was indicted on 43 charges by a grand jury. Of the 43 charges:- 20 are drug-related. In all cases, the drug is a pharmaceutical opioid—Percocet, Hydrocodone or Oxycodone.- 12 are related to the alteration, removal, destruction, etc., of records belonging to local, state or federal government.- Six are for theft as a public official of amounts between $1,000 and $7,500.- Five are for filing a false statement knowingly.- 38 of the 43 are felonies, while the remaining five are misdemeanors. 12 of the felonies are third degree, 21 are fourth degree and the remaining five are fifth degree.He has plead not guilty to all charges.Overmyer has been ordered to turn over his gun, badge and have no contact with the sheriff’s office or any potential witnesses by Judge Patricia Cosgrove. Bond has been set at $150,000. The case will go to trial on March 6, 2017, if Overmyer makes bond.An investigation began in 2015 after a number of local police chiefs expressed concern about the conduct of Overmyer in regard to his handling of prescription drugs obtained from take-back boxes across the county. In February earlier this year, Hamilton O’Brien of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office began the investigation.Overmyer has been the Sheriff of Sandusky County since 2008, and is up for re-election in November. He is the youngest elected Sheriff in Ohio at 34.

Sandusky County Sheriff Indicted on Dozens of Felony Charges, 20 Drug-Related


Yesterday, Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer was indicted on 43 charges by a grand jury. Of the 43 charges: - 20 are drug-related. In all...


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On Feb. 12, 2016, Moore used her county-issued identification card to enter the Justice Center and placed campaign flyers advertising a fundraiser in the mailboxes on the 11th floor of the Common Pleas Court's offices. Moore ignored signs on the mailboxes that read, "If you are not a court employee, please see Kathleen or Kelly to deliver mail to these boxes."
Moore's time sheet for that day indicates she was not off the clock when she distributed her campaign literature
"Ms. Moore's election-related activity of placing her fundraising flyer into the county mailboxes ... is a violation of [Griffin's] Ethics Opinion issued on 12/11/15," the investigative report states.
For those who like to watch political officials gurgle excuses once they're placed on leave amid ethics violations investigation, there's no greater show than Cuyahoga County. This week: Deputy Inspector General Andrea Nelson Moore, blaming the "political machine" for kicking her to unpaid-leave status.Earlier this year, Moore "utiliz[ed] county property and equipment when distributing her fundraising flyer on Feb. 12, 2016, at the Justice Center and utiliz[ed] endorsements in her campaign literature from County Council persons." In essence, Moore was campaigning for a county judge gig on the public's dime.NEOMG's Mark Naymik reports on the move today , after having requested documents from the investigation last week. Further details:Naymik writes that Inspector General Mark Griffin OK'd Moore's run for the county judge seat, while explicitly stating not to use county resources and not to campaign while on the clock.Note that while working under Griffin, Moore's job specifically involves a watchdog element. The Inspector General's office was literally spawned from the ashes of the Cuyahoga County corruption scandal, where public officials toyed with taxpayers' time and money to achieve political ends.Moore plans to "continue running in the fall" for the judicial seat, she says. It's unclear whether that's a joke or not.

Deputy Inspector General Blames 'Political Machine' Amid Investigation into Ethics Violation


For those who like to watch political officials gurgle excuses once they're placed on leave amid ethics violations investigation, there's no greater show than Cuyahoga...


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In an outrageous proposal reminiscent of Cleveland sports-franchise owners, energy giant FirstEnergy wants to charge ratepayers surcharges worth $568 million per year over eight years to "compensate for the economic impact of having its headquarters in Akron," Bloomberg reports.In an interview with Bloomberg, a FirstEnergy VP used threatening language — the Sin Tax vibes are everywhere — to say that the the state's public utilities commission (PUCO) should amend a plan to provide vastly more aid than initially proposed."They should weigh the value of keeping our nexus of operations in Akron," Eileen Mikkelsen, the VP, told Bloomberg. "If the commission thinks that is important to the state, they should recognize that in their order."PUCO had suggested surcharges totaling $131 million over three years for the utility company that is supposedly struggling and yet boasted revenues of more than $15 billion in 2014 and 2015 "FirstEnergy says it...can live with the structure of [PUCO's] plan if the amounts pledged to the company are increased. Instead of a total of $393 million in aid, it should get $558 million a year for nearly eight years, or $4.5 billion. And on top of that, it wants compensation of as much as $568 million for the added impact of salaries, vendor purchases and local employee spending in Akron," Bloomberg reports.FirstEnergy employs 1,360 people at its Akron headquarters. Among other things, it pays $6 million per year to the Cleveland Browns for stadium naming rights.

FirstEnergy Wants to Charge Ratepayers $568 Million per Year in Surcharges


In an outrageous proposal reminiscent of Cleveland sports-franchise owners, energy giant FirstEnergy wants to charge ratepayers surcharges worth $568 million per year over eight years...


NOTE: Often, living in the year 2016, in these gruesome and depressing times, is more than I can endure. I long to be more than just ‘somewhere else.’ It’s not a matter of where as it is ‘when.’ To be away from all this. To be ‘unstuck in time’ like Vonnegut’s Billy Pilgrim. And so, that’s what I’ve done. I’ve willed myself to travel at will, to a different world, without so much as moving an inch. So long…JS
DATELINE / MOAB, UTAH. August 1, 1936 What a lovely morning it is, here in Moab, Utah. It’s just past seven and already I can see a few of my neighbors taking advantage of the cool air and tending to their gardens or, like me, simply enjoying a second cup of coffee. (Mrs. Stiles recently visited her family in California and brought back with her some delightful and exotic coffee blends.) We’re all hoping that the worst of the summer heat has passed us. And when I say the worst, I mean the worst in history. I don’t want to even think about the months of June and July. As you all recall, it was absolutely brutal and as we all know now, it was the hottest June in our history. Do you remember that awful streak, in the second and third weeks of June, when the thermometer passed 105 degrees every day? They are saying that the June 17 recorded temperature of 113 degrees is an all-time Moab record. I believe it. Much of our little town looked empty in June and July, almost abandoned, in fact. Even Independence Day was quiet. It was too hot and too dry to even consider fireworks this year, which was a shame. My wife loves the annual light show. Maybe next year. To escape the heat, many Moabites packed up their campstuffs and headed up into the La Sals for weeks at a time. There were so many of us, especially up to Geyser Basin, that we almost looked like a brand new town. It sure was cooler than Moab. But even though the days and nights were a delight up in the shadow of Mount Peale, there was no escaping the drought, even at 10,000 feet. The pastures looked burnt out and brown and the local ranchers were worried. Some wondered if it would ever rain again. But thankfully, the storms that roared through our country in mid-July brought us just the relief we needed. The pastures are greening up again and surprisingly, our local roads and bridges seem to have escaped any major damage. The new bridge being built over Courthouse Wash by the Bush & Baldwin contractors was almost completed when a torrent of water came down the wash, but it withstood the liquid onslaught admirably. It also gives us all confidence that the bridge builders know what they are doing. * * *
Speaking of things heating up, the talk all summer has been about this new ‘Escalante National Monument” proposal that the federal government is talking about. In June, Tonya and I endured the heat and drove up to a big meeting in Price, Utah to hear more about the plan. Our Model A overheated three or four times along the way, but we brought enough water for the car and us. The meeting was organized by the National Park Service and the U.S. Grazing Service to give the local folks an opportunity to learn more.
The monument idea, I have to say, is massive. According to the speakers, more than 4.5 million acres of federal land would be withdrawn for the monument, including parts of Grand, San Juan, Wayne, Garfield, Emery and Kane Counties. In addition to the citizens like us who went, there were many “advisory boards,” who represented just about every town and community that will be affected.
Seems like the biggest worry is how the monument will affect grazing across the southern half of the state. But Mr. David Madsen, the wildlife division chief of the NPS said that grazing in Utah was approaching its limit and that, “millions of dollars of new revenue can now be secured through tourist travel.” And he said it could be done “without crippling any existing industry.” Then he said that, “the 125 million people of the United States want this land dedicated to recreation and the propagation of wildlife, versus grazing.”
And finally, Mr. Madsen noted that his boss, Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes, has a personal interest in this, “because of its superlative scenery and archeological relics.” We’ve heard that Mr. Ickes is called
‘The Old Curmudgeon’ back in Washington, but if he comes out here he better try being a bit more sociable, because a bunch of Utahns are pretty peeved with that man.
Our neighbor from La Sal, Charlie Redd, spoke for the grazers who said that if the monument bill was passed, it would mean “financial ruin to a majority of the people in five counties.” He said that the people “who pioneered the roads and schools” in the area “should be given consideration when their basic industry is placed in jeopardy.” But Charlie made it clear he wasn’t against recreation. “WE want tourists!” Mr. Redd said, and he noted recent efforts by the Moab Lion’s Club and locals like Dr. Williams and Mr. Bish Taylor to improve the roads into the Arches. And finally he pleaded for “some kind of compromise that wouldn’t completely destroy the livestock industry” in southern Utah.
Tempers were as hot as the June weather and who knows what will happen next. I talked to Charlie briefly after the meeting, and he said he fears the whole country he loves will someday vanish before his eyes. But then he added, ‘We can only hope for the best.”
It might take another four or five years to see how this monument story plays out.
* * *
While everybody’s having apoplexy over the Park Service and the Monument, here in Moab, efforts to open up the Arches have been ongoing but with mixed results. There was a report in June of plans to start building a new road and bringing new “development” at the Arches, via Frank Pinkley, the superintendent of the National Parks Southwest Monuments. They have about $300,000 earmarked for road construction and new employee housing, starting in 1938. It would also propose expanding the monument boundaries, though by how much, nobody is saying. The Lion’s Club received the letter from Pinkley and they’re hoping to convince him to start a year earlier.
Right now, it’s almost impossible to drive a car into the Arches, but last month a fellow from Arizona did just that. Harry Goulding, the owner/operator of a trading post and tourist lodge at Monument Valley (on the Utah/Arizona border) is reported to have driven the first automobile into the monument. Goulding drove his Ford V8 touring car up the Willow Flats trail and into the Windows section of the monument, a distance of about nine miles. He equipped his vehicle with extra large tires that helped him traverse the deep sand in the washes. He said that the last four miles, from Willow Springs to the Windows, were especially treacherous.
Goulding completed several journeys to the Arches over a period of several days, including some prominent Moabites, Park Service officials, and photographer Harry Reed. All were convinced that with some improvement, many more tourists will want to visit the monument to see these amazing stone arches and spires.
* * *
Sometimes, living out here at the edge of the world, we can almost forget all that’s happening elsewhere in the country. I have to say that of all the new-fangled machines and appliances that have been invented recently, I have a personal appreciation for my new radio. (There has been some debate here lately as to how to express the word: radio. My wife insists it should be pronounced, ‘ray-dee-o.’ But some of my pals down at the Moab Garage call it, ‘radd-ee-o.’ Who’s right?)
But it has truly had the effect of bringing the nation and the world into our living rooms. A couple weeks ago, Tonya and I had a delightful evening listening to Mr. Roosevelt deliver his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Philadephia. We kept looking at each other in amazement; we were listening to the President of the United States giving a speech, at exactly the moment it was all happening, 2000 miles away. The President made a rousing address to the crowd. When the papers came out a few days later with the complete text, I scribbled these words down:
“We are poor indeed if this Nation cannot afford to lift from every recess of American life the dread fear of the unemployed that they are not needed in the world. We cannot afford to accumulate a deficit in the books of human fortitude.
“In the place of the palace of privilege we seek to build a temple out of faith and hope and charity…It is a sobering thing, my friends, to be a servant of this great cause. We try in our daily work to remember that the cause belongs not to us, but to the people. The standard is not in the hands of you and me alone. It is carried by America. We seek daily to profit from experience, to learn to do better as our task proceeds.
“Governments can err, Presidents do make mistakes, but the immortal Dante tells us that divine justice weighs the sins of the cold-blooded and the sins of the warm-hearted in different scales.
“There is a mysterious cycle in human events. To some generations much is given. Of other generations much is expected. This generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny.”
I really enjoyed Mr. Roosevelt’s speech and, especially the ‘Rendezvous with Destiny’ part. To be honest, I hope he is re-elected.
My wife is a Roosevelt fan as well, but it’s Mrs. R that truly excites Tonya. There has never been a First Lady like Eleanor Roosevelt and Mrs.Stiles even made the long hot drive to Salt Lake City last week to help draft pamphlets in support of the greater inclusion of women in political matters. And I think she’s read Mrs. Roosevelt’s book, “It’s Up to the Women” several times. When our neighbor heard Miss T was headed to Salt Lake again, he complained that I “needed to control my woman better.” I told him that was not a good idea as I’d like to live to a ripe old age. And I reminded him what the President himself said after reports that some of his supporters thought he should try to restrain his missus. Mr. Roosevelt laughed and said, “It’s a free country. She can say what she damn well pleases.”
* * *
When Mr. Roosevelt spoke of ‘the poor’ in our country, it reminded me that we had not visited our friend, Jack Holley, in a few weeks. So Tonya baked several loaves of bread and we gathered a basket of some fruits and vegetables from our garden, and some canned goods as well and paid ‘The Goat Man’ a visit. He was there to greet us, as he always is, and seemed grateful for the stock of foods we had brought for him. It’s hard to believe that Mr. Holley has been residing in his little stone cabin near the river for more than five years. Jack is an interesting character, like no one we have ever met. Many people call him a ‘hermit,’ but he seems to love the company of others. (Though we suspect he will always prefer the company of his beloved goats!)
We asked how he had fared in the recent hot weather, but Jack explained that inside his dugout cabin, it was considerably cooler than the blistering heat just outside the door. And of course he noted that he spent much of his time in the shade of those magnificent cottonwoods by the river. And he is so right. In this dry air, if you can find a good breeze, especially by the water, even 100 degrees can be not just tolerable, but downright pleasant.
We also brought Mr. Holley a stack of newspapers, mostly the ‘Deseret News’ and a few ‘Denver Posts.’ But when Tonya returned from visiting her family in California, she returned with a couple copies of ‘The San Francisco Chronicle.’ Jack was delighted. We asked if he had heard about Mr. Roosevelt’s “Rendezvous with Destiny” speech and were surprised to hear him recite many passages from memory.
And just like the debate over the pronunciation of ‘radio,’ we had a disagreement over how to pronounce the president’s last name. Tonya and I say, ‘Row-ze-velt’ but Jack insists it’s, ‘Roo-ze-velt.’ Either way, we all agreed we hope he wins in November.
* * *
As summer winds down, we are hopeful of cooler days and nights, but while things have calmed down since July, it is still quite warm and we have been seeking relief from the heat. Yesterday Tonya saw an ad for ‘Boat Trips on the Colorado River.’
What a novel idea, we thought. It sounded like it might be fun and a different way to pass a hot afternoon. Mr. Leslie Foy is offering the trips and is also reportedly building a “dude ranch” about six miles downriver from Moab. They say the accommodations are quite nice and the cost of a river trip “very moderate.” So we may indeed find ourselves getting wet soon on our lovely Colorado River.
Also it won’t be long until we can purchase a few of those delicious cool melons that Ollie Reardon grows in his backyard across town. I once heard from our neighbor Toots McDougald that when she was a little girl, she and her friends would steal melons from Ollie, until the day he caught them. But Ollie was such a softie; he made a deal with Toots and her friends–he’d plant a garden of melons, just for them, if they’d leave the rest of his garden alone. The girls thought that was a pretty good deal.
Yep. On this lovely cool early morning, the sun is just now coming over the rim’ With the promise of another good day blessed by the serenity of our little desert oasis, and the unity and affection of our family and friends, I’m grateful to say….
Moab, Utah is a pretty nice place to live. We hope it stays like this forever.
Until the next time…
Your faithful Moab Reporter,
Jim Stiles
Jim Stiles is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Canyon Country Zephyr.
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Take it or Leave it: The Way it is This Morning in Moab, Utah. August, 1936 … Jim Stiles


I must confess, I’m hesitant to label myself an environmentalist. Environmentalism, for the past 20-odd years at least, seems to me to have been an ideology of removal: remove the steel mills; remove the coal mines, remove the textile factories, remove the oil rigs. I can’t argue that these businesses are beneficial to their ecosystems, or that there haven’t been massive abuses of the public health. Environmentalists are absolutely right to fight pollution and try to curtail the criminal recklessness of those industries. But I’m not happy to see thousands of towns that were once bustling with industry now set adrift with no reason for their existence. And I can’t ignore how well that removal ideology worked with the concurrent political philosophies of globalization. After all the polluting industries were excised, we could then import the steel from elsewhere, import the coal from elsewhere, import the textiles from elsewhere, and oil…well, they haven’t quite gotten rid of the oil rigs.
We’ve lived through a generation, or longer, now, of non-stop industrial decline. So many towns are now known for what they used to manufacture, used to create. Hulking factories, which once fueled the engines of local commerce, are now left shuttered and vacant; their only hope is to be reborn as condos, in the lucky places, or to be razed to the ground. And while I know why those businesses are gone, and I agree that many of their practices were harmful, I believe we’re worse off as communities without them. Mainly because, after 20 years of promises for a “new economy,” it’s becoming apparent that nothing living will sprout from all these empty places on the map.
So I’m an odd fit for the Canyon Country Zephyr, aren’t I? An odd fit because, thanks to the paper, I know and respect a number of people who consider themselves to be ardent environmentalists. And because nearly every issue I’ve helped to publish has contained articles talking about environmentalism.
One of my favorite articles from this issue, in fact, contains two disagreeing essays between two legendary environmentalists—Edward Abbey and Wendell Berry—and I would recommend that everyone read both essays, because I think they frame very well my own dispute with the environmental movement.
One Wendell Berry quotation, referenced by Doug Meyer in his introduction to the piece, seems to me to pinpoint the conflict at the heart of environmentalism precisely:
“The wildernesses we are trying to preserve,” he writes, “are standing squarely in the way of our present economy, and…the wildernesses cannot survive if our economy does not change.”
Berry wrote that sentiment during the Reagan administration, and I wonder what he makes of the changes, for good or ill, in our economy over the intervening years. That was before we realized that wages were stagnating, and then declining, pushing every American into a constant state of financial anxiety. Before wilderness designation, in itself, could prove a threat to the wilderness it seeks to protect, by attracting devastating waves of visitation to trample over the pristine landscape. Before “green technology” became the new energy groupspeak and environmentalist groups started endorsing condo developments. And he wrote those words before the “economy” became a figment of binary code, in which a “worker” is someone hunched over either a computer screen or else a cash register. A drone or a servant. In short, a lot has changed.
And so it’s a little jarring to hear environmentalists still so focused on removal. No more fossil fuels. No more population growth. It seems so disconnected from the realities of most people’s lives, the pervading dread that there aren’t enough jobs as it is, and certainly not enough jobs for those overqualified for McDonald’s but underqualified for office work. Environmentalists sound to the outsider (and I consider myself an outsider in this case,) like they would prefer for us not to be here at all. It seems as though they’d be happiest if half the planet died, suddenly, of natural causes, and the rest of us lost everything, our jobs and our homes, and resorted to some nomadic, pre-agricultural tribal society.
Just read Edward Abbey’s essay:
“I respect my friends, I love the members of my family – most of them – but somehow I cannot generate much respect, love or even sympathy for the human race as a whole. This mob of five billion now swarming over the planet, like ants on an anthill, somehow does not inspire any emotion but one of visceral repugnance. The fact that I am a part of this plague gives me no pride.”
“Man,” he says, “has become a pest.”
I get misanthropy. I really do. But even on my worst day, I wouldn’t wish for a massive collapse of the world’s economy, or the wiping out of humanity. And when most environmentalists start describing their dream scenarios for remaking the world, the first step always seems to be total collapse. To prefer that future, you have to be able to divorce yourself from the knowledge of what life is really like, and what life would be like, for the average person subjected to your vision. You have to have conditioned yourself to think of people as numbers and not individuals.
Which brings me to two articles published in the Zephyr recently—one in this issue, one in the previous issue, both by Zephyr friend and longtime contributor Scott Thompson.
The first article, from the last issue, dealt with overpopulation. Scott was concerned with the reluctance of the environmental left to tackle the issue, and he’s right that no one wants to touch it. What’s to be said about overpopulation? Certain people are having too many babies. And those people are almost universally brown-skinned, impoverished and under-educated. My discomfort with Scott’s article is that he never really addresses who, specifically, is having all these babies and the myriad reasons why they might be doing so, before he suggests that they ought to be held responsible for “greatly reduc[ing]” the impacts of climate change “through prudent behaviors of their own.” He writes, “The people of the Earth as a whole need to take responsibility for the impacts of overpopulation and reduce them as much as possible, with of course generous financial assistance from those with the bulk of the money and other resources.” But, while the people of Earth would do well to help out the overpopulating countries, I’d say that education about Environmentalism is likely to fall dead last in the list of priorities.
The ten countries with the highest birth rates are: Niger Mali Uganda Zambia Burkina Faso Burundi Malawi Somalia Angola Mozambique
Europe isn’t contributing to overpopulation, and, despite what you may think of the traffic, the U.S. isn’t either (our growing population has much more to do with immigration and the traffic has a lot more to do with our obscenely consumptive lifestyle.) In the countries where a high birth rate is a problem, however, it is far, far down the list of their concerns. Try as they might, no environmentalist is going to convince a woman in Niger that she should be thinking more about environmentalism when she’s fighting daily against starvation, disease and the specter of Boko Haram. She is a person, not a statistic, and she values the survival of herself and her family more than she fears some undefined specter of “Climate Change.”
And another uncomfortable fact for environmentalists is that they may not want those third-world birth rates to fall too far. Falling birth rates don’t happen in a vacuum. They are the result of a rising standard of living, and a rising standard of living means one thing: greater consumption. It’s the climate change catch-22. Would you rather give billions of people a better life, so they can lay waste to the world’s resources, or would you save the planet by abandoning the masses to disease, war and deprivation? In short, we shouldn’t pretend there are any easy answers. Scott’s second article, from this current issue of the Zephyr, deals with Climate Change denial among Conservatives. This makes for a meaty topic among environmentalists and I have no quarrel at all with Scott’s disgust for the many politicians and business leaders who reap profits and votes from attacking scientists. The data depicting a changing climate is overwhelming, and so is the data implicating our human activities in that change. Where things get muddy is in the next question: What do we do about it? The Left splits into two camps at the point: the technological utopians and the doomsayers. One frames his message in optimistic terms, the other in dystopian dread. The first talks quite a bit about “green energy” and the marvels of organic engineering that can somehow seamlessly replace our current economy and orchestrate a more perfect future for humanity. These make for fun and interesting conversations, and that’s why you tend to hear more of the utopian voices on the broader public stage. It’s an upbeat message, well-suited for TED talks and political speeches. But underneath that starry-eyed vision lies an inconvenient truth: that to get to our brand new Jetsons-esque world, we must first pass through a Big Bang. This need for economic collapse undergirds Scott’s entire article. Fracking is his first target. From an article in the Charleston Gazette-Mail by Robert Bryce, he quotes this portion: “If opponents of fracking succeed in banning it, they will have succeeded in killing a uniquely American success story that is helping consumers and the environment.” And while Scott is mostly interested in how this Robert Bryce is completely sidestepping the issues of Climate Change in his fracking article, I am most struck by the fact that Scott seems to agree with Bryce about one thing: if environmentalists succeed, then they will happily kill off the natural gas industry. And the key word there is “happily.” In his ideal vision, that industry is dead. Among many others. And all the people who work in those industries? They go unmentioned. The Green techno-utopians seem to believe that we can power the entire planet with Solar, Wind and Hydroelectric power, that we can shut down all the coal-fired power plants, and that human life will hum merrily along, the better for having given up those nonrenewable fuels. They may well be right. But, as it stands, coal provides 33% of America’s energy. Natural gas—Fracking, that is—supplies another 33%. And that’s just in the United States. Coal production increased world-wide by 32% between 2005 and 2011, mostly due to China. And the only reason it didn’t increase here is because of the massive success of natural gas. In short, the environmentalists see us, in the not-to-distant future, living in a reality so far removed from our own that we aren’t even heading in the right direction toward it. And, at least publicly, these utopians won’t admit that the bridge between our reality and that emission-free dreamland isn’t a bridge at all, but a death and resurrection. Scott, to his credit, doesn’t deny the massive economic collapse that is required to change our course. He quotes from Naomi Klein later in the article, and I am heartened by this quotation, which is the most frank appraisal of the Climate Change movement that I’ve read: “So here’s my inconvenient truth: I think these hard-core ideologues understand the real significance of climate change better than most of the ‘warmists’ in the political center, the ones who are still insisting that the response can be gradual and painless…The deniers get plenty of the details wrong…but when it comes to the scope and depth of change required to avert catastrophe, they are right on the money.” I have to give Scott credit for picking that particular quotation, but I think he misses the mark a bit in his response. He writes that the economic leaders, the Chambers of Commerce and the like, refuse to recognize Climate Change because, if they did, then “the assumptions that they have made about free markets and continuing economic growth must be largely surrendered.” And there’s likely some truth to that. No one likes to admit that their theories of the world are wrong. But Scott leaves the argument there—as if people only dislike the specter of economic disaster because it will prove that their ideas were incorrect, and not because an economic disaster on the scale Scott and Naomi Klein are discussing would result in a worldwide era of suffering, starvation, and despair the likes of which we’ve never seen. Scott, and other environmentalists, believe that such an economic disaster is necessary, even desirable, in order to stave off a greater ecological disaster. That the complete loss of the industries that power our lives, the bottoming out of the stock market, the massive loss of jobs and homes, of entire communities, is a necessary trade-off. He suggests a future in which: “market activities… would be limited by the capacity of each one of the Earth’s ecosystems to provide natural resources (if it can) without losing its robust capacity to regenerate itself. Meaning no sacrifice zones (the very zones economic rightists have always relied upon). And also meaning that fossil fuels are gone forever. It’s ironic that although the free market political right regards such a level of adaptation as unthinkable, these are precisely the conditions in which homo sapiens has successfully survived and thrived for roughly 90% of its history. But those conditions, in which homo sapiens lived for 90% of their history, weren’t as great as he makes them sound. Before our modern ideas of “economies” and “growth” and the rise of mercantilism, you had feudal systems, in which the vast majority labored their entire lives in poverty for the benefit of their Lords. Before that, we’re talking about tribalism and the brutal fight for survival that life entailed. Sure, we kept the human race down to carrying capacity, through the death cycles of war, disease, and starvation. And consumption was certainly the least of anyone’s worries, with a life expectancy in the 30s and infant mortality sky high. Life was ugly, and especially so if you were a woman, or a conquered people. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m not gleefully anticipating a return to that “greener” lifestyle. The difficulty, for me, in Scott’s articles, in Edward Abbey’s essay, and in the general tone of environmentalists, is that they speak about the future of humanity as though it were simply an algebraic equation. “The carrying capacity of the world is x. Current population is x+5 Billion.” And their solution is as simple as 1st Grade subtraction. But their mathematics is measured in human lives. In the ability of an oilfield worker to pay for his family’s groceries. In a coal miner’s foreclosed home. In the despair of working all your days for minimum wage, when your father knew what it was to build something and to retire on an auto worker’s pension. In knowing that, by the time you’re old enough to retire, Social Security may just be a fairy tale your grandchildren are too young to have heard. That’s the world we already live in. We have already lost so much, and environmentalists keep saying we need to lose more. The only environmentalist I’ve heard speak about the value of individual human lives is Wendell Berry, and that’s why I related so well to his essay in this issue. His environmentalism is more ethical, less analytical. He sees all the destruction wrought by humanity, but his solution isn’t to wipe us from the face of the map, to tear down centuries of culture and societal progress, in the service of preserving the planet. He speaks about our responsibilities—to live more simply, to curb our consumption, to regulate our industries so as not to do more damage than is necessary. He writes about the “need to interest oneself in the best ways of using the land that must be used—timber management, logging, the manufacture of wood products, farming, food processing, mining.” And while our economy would slow down, surely, by taking his advice, and we wouldn’t all be bragging over our newest technologies, it’s a vision of the world that has us in it. He doesn’t delight in the image of our collective destruction. I would feel more at home in environmentalism if there were more Wendell Berry’s among the movement. The challenges might be the same—a changing climate, environmental destruction—but those challenges would be met with morality and philosophy, and not merely with technology or cold science. And I think more people would be willing to face the climate science if they didn’t feel that doing so meant happily tossing the “economy,” and with it their jobs and their homes, out with the bathwater. I’m not stepping in line to call myself an environmentalist, not because I disagree with their premises or their numbers, but because I like humanity and I don’t relish the thought of its suffering. I don’t believe that the world will be a better place when all the human industries are killed off and replaced by perpetual motion bio-engineered robots. And I won’t skip over the parts of the beautiful utopian story where millions of people were left jobless and homeless in the process of creating our new, “greener” future. The doomsayers may well be correct. We may be on a collision course with ecological catastrophe regardless of what steps we take in the next years. And whether that catastrophe proves to be the end of the human race or the necessary catalyst for a new technological utopia, it will be devastating nonetheless. The predictions of collapse might be right on the money, but it doesn’t do us any favors to desire that collapse, or to speak of it in bloodless numbers. If they’re right, then environmentalists will find themselves standing amid the wreckage of millions of human lives, and no one will love them for crowing, “I told you so!”
Tonya Stiles is Co-Publisher of the Canyon Country Zephyr
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Sowing Clover: My Problem with Environmentalists …by Tonya Stiles


NOTE: I’d like to offer a special ‘thanks’ to Lillie Keener of Salt Lake City for her contributions to this story. Lillie grew up in Moab and lived with her “Moab Mom and Dad,” Troy and Jaunita Anderson. The Andersons became good friends to Jack Holley over the years and Lillie has shared many memories with us. In addition, many of the photographs in this article (some being published for the first time) come from Lillie’s personal collection. We cannot thank her enough.
Also thanks to the Utah State Historical Society and Indiana University, who allowed us to share images from their archival collections..JS
In the summer of 2016, one of the busiest highway intersections in southeast Utah is the junction of US 191 and Utah State Road 128, just south of the Colorado River. The ‘river road,’ as it’s been called for more than a century, parallels the Colorado for 30 miles and ultimately connects with I-70 to the north. Thousands of tourists, coming from the east, exit the freeway near Cisco, Utah and take the slower, winding “scenic route” to Moab. Many thousands more stick to the main highway, coming from all points north, west and east. They all converge on this beautiful junction.
Enhancing its 21st century appeal to tourists and recreationists, in 2013 the intersection officially became the “Lions Park Transit Hub.” The multi-million dollar project provides a gathering point for bicyclists and links riders to the Colorado River Elevated Bikeway and points upriver. “Bouldering’ rocks and other amenities were added to attract even more visitors. On busy weekends, the place is jam-packed.
A few years ago, the traffic coming from both directions became so congested that the Utah Highway Department installed a stop light. On busy weekends, traffic can be backed up for miles, in both directions, from that light. It’s called gridlock.
Moab itself resembles the highway these days. Overcrowded and overpriced, housing prices have skyrocketed and many of the town’s lower income citizens struggle to find affordable living in a community overstocked with expensive homes and time-share condos. A few years ago, some Moabites sought some semblance of normalcy, setting up homes in trailers and old buses along the river and Kane Creek Road–the old “Egg Ranch Road.” There was simply nowhere else affordable for them to go.
But the Grand County Council said they were in violation of its land use code and the trailers and buses had to go. The code requires sanitary facilities within 200 feet of primitive camp sites, but it was impossible to comply because the property where the old mobile homes were located is in the Colorado River’s flood plain. The owner of the property appealed to the government on “humanitarian” grounds, noting “they’re human beings. You’ve got to deal with them.”
It wasn’t always like this.
In 2016, it’s almost impossible to fathom how transformed—how transmogrified—Moab has become in these last few decades. It bears little resemblance to the Moab that a dwindling few still remember, or the Lost Eden that so many still long for.
But go back eighty-five years, to the summer of 1930. And meet the “Goat Man of Moab.”
His name was Jack Holley and for three and a half decades, he was the first man travelers saw when they came to Moab, and the last man they waved goodbye to when they left. Jack came to be known as the Goat Man for the small herd of goats that were always by his side. Holley lived a hermit’s life in a small stone and wood dug-out shack; he loved his peace and solitude, though he was dirt poor, even by the living standards of the 1930s and the Great Depression. His bare-bones existence meant he had no significant debts, no mortgages, no insurance payments, no credit cards, no utility bills. As far as we can tell, he paid no taxes and, other than a small veteran’s benefit check that came each month to the Moab post office, he had no income.
And yet Jack Holley seemed at peace with the world. He lived a life as simple and free from the cares and woes of the world as is imaginable. He was always happy to visit with friends and strangers alike and waved to all passersby. He loved animals and surrounded himself with his beloved goats and a family of dogs as well. He lived mostly on the wild plants and vegetables he found along the river and, in fact, probably devoured most of the wild asparagus that once grew prolifically upstream from his cabin. And, of course, the Goat Man depended on the generosity of his friends in Moab, who regularly brought him food and clothing. He had many friends who cared about him and for him. For many Moabites, Jack Holley was ‘family.’ * * *
How did Jack Holley wind up in Moab? Over the years, Moabites who visited the Goat Man listened to his stories and pieced together a history of his life. No one spent more time with Jack than Jaunita Anderson. She and her husband Troy lived in Moab for almost twenty years and ran Vogue Cleaners on First East; Jaunita was a frequent visitor and a regular supplier of food and supplies for Jack. Over the years the Goat Man told Jaunita a remarkable tale of his extraordinary life. Whether these details are hard facts or his fanciful recollections, nobody can say. In the end, it doesn’t matter But according to Jaunita, Jack Holley was born in Crawford County, Arkansas on May 7, 1876, to Louis Burr Holley and Stella “X,” a full-blooded Cherokee Indian. According to Juanita’s recollection, “Mr. Holley was one of the fighting forces during the Spanish American War, serving with the U.S. Navy during World War I, and spent many years with the Merchant Marine, transport service and various fishing operations. He had many stories to tell of his adventures on the high seas, sailing around the world three times, and three times surviving shipwrecks. He had also been a watchmaker in Switzerland at one time during his life.”
He told her that he, “studied philosophy years ago in India, where he formulated his own philosophy of life; he was an avid admirer of India, acclaiming the peoples’ wisdom. He was also a student of the Aztec civilization, and often commented their beliefs and customs could greatly benefit the Western World.”
His knowledge and respect for these religions led some to believe that his ascetic Moab lifestyle reflected an emulation of those mystic faiths. And yet, when Holley first arrived in Moab with his brother, in 1935, they were not seeking spiritual enlightenment. The Holley brothers had come to prospect.
Jack and his brother arrived in Moab in 1930, in search of mining properties. But Holley’s health even then was weakened by several bouts of malaria that he’d suffered during his world travels. Not long after they arrived in Utah, “the untimely death” of his brother (that’s all we know of his passing) left Jack Holley stranded in Moab, in ill health and apparently penniless. In 1930, he would already have been 54 years old and after a hard life on the high seas, Jack Holley was an old man.
But somehow, by his own wits and the assistance of newfound friends in Moab, Holley hung on. He built a crude stone dugout cabin and scavenged enough wood and tar paper for a roof. Whether he constructed the cabin by himself or had help is not known. But clearly, from surviving photographs, Holley’s cabin was tiny. For the next 25 years, it was home and Jack Holley became Moab’s hermit greeter. Tourists frequently paused to say hello and to photograph this most unusual man, and in fact, he became something of a celebrity. Jaunita Anderson would later write, “Because of the pet goats he harbored as pets he had been affectionately christened ‘The Goat Man,’ by tourists and writers with whom he visited.”
During that quarter century in Jack’s first crude stone cabin, imagine how much the world changed. Just months before his arrival in Moab, the stock market had collapsed and the country spiraled into a Great Depression. In fact, millions of Americans, across the continent, would eke out similar lives on the margins. And yet, despite his isolation, Jaunita Anderson remembered that Holley was more informed about national and world affairs than many other Moabites she knew. Photographs of Jack taken in the 1940s reveal a stack of newspapers on the outside table by his front door. He read everything he could get his hands on. And Jack claimed he could fluently speak in several languages. He had only been there a couple years when Franklin Roosevelt was elected president. In 1937, a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp was established by FDR at Dalton Wells, a few miles north of Holley’s shack. Less than a decade after Jack came to Moab, the planet erupted in world war and Holley found himself with a neighbor for the duration of the war. The Colorado River Bridge was considered a possible target for an enemy attack, as it was the only river crossing downstream for more than 500 miles. A 24 hour a day security checkpoint was established on the north side of the river and a small shack was built to house the staff. Ironically, a freak rockfall killed the watchman. The local paper reported, “George Otto Ellis, 52, watchman at the Moab bridge over the Colorado river was killed instantly about 7 oclock Tuesday morning when a rock weighing perhaps 50 tons fell from a cliff at the northern end of the bridge falling squarely on the watchmen’s shanty and and smashing it to kindling wood. Mr Ellis who had just gone on shift was reclining on a cot inside the house. He was killed instantly his body being terribly crushed.”
Holley’s cabin was barely a hundred yards away. He must have heard the rockfall and was no doubt one of the first men on the scene of the fatal accident. * * *
When the war ended in 1945, life returned to normal in Moab, at least for a few years. Southeast Utah remained one of the most isolated parts of the continental United States. Still, the more adventuresome wandered through Moab, including Herb Ringer (whose photography has been features in The Zephyr for almost 30 years). In early June 1950, Herb and his parents, Joseph and Sadie Ringer, crossed the original river bridge and paused on the south side to take a few photographs. As he returned to his Ford Woodie, Herb turned to see an old man in faded blue overalls, with scruffy white hair and whiskers, surrounded by goats. Herb stopped to chat and Jack kindly obliged to be photographed. A couple years later, Charles Cushman was traveling west through Utah and also encountered Holley. Cushman took several photos of the Goat Man and his clan. It was November 4, 1952. The nearby cottonwoods were still a brilliant gold, the air was cool but mild, the sky a brilliant blue. Later that evening, Cushman would learn that Dwight Eisenhower had been elected the country’s 32nd President. No doubt Jack read about it the next day. (Cushman’s images of the West are catalogued at Indiana University. Click here to see more about Cushman and his remarkable collection.) While Moab still seemed peaceful that late autumn afternoon, all hell was about to break loose. The previous summer, a Texas geologist named Charlie Steen had discovered uranium in the badlands northwest of Moab and by the following summer, Moab had become a boomtown. In a year the tiny community’s population exploded beyond its capacity and prospectors and their families were setting up camp wherever they could find a level spot and a bit of shade. The edges of the old highway were choked with the temporary homes of wannabe mining magnates. Most left empty-handed, but the boom changed Moab forever. For one thing, the heavy traffic quickly made the old one-lane bridge obsolete and, in 1955, construction of a new modern span commenced, a couple hundred yards downstream. The new bridge meant re-aligning the highway and Jack’s old cabin was in the way. Had Jack’s dilemma occurred in 2016, it’s hard to imagine a happy outcome to this story. Like the Kane Creek residents a few years ago, who were removed from their homes for code violations, the Goat Man would have surely faced immediate eviction. But as we like to remind ourselves, “things were different back then.” Though in many ways life for many Americans was much worse in ‘the good old days’—consider how well an African-American hermit with goats would have fared in 1930—life was at least less regulated and rule-happy. The Moab of 1955 found a way to resolve Jack Holley’s dilemma. The Utah Department of Transportation had constructed a shed to store tools and other equipment during the bridge construction; once the work was done, they had no further use for it, so they gave it to Holley. UDOT relocated the shed to the west side of the new highway, just south of the new bridge. Eventually, even a power line was strung to the front of his new home. Though it was never wired inside for electricity, at least, after twenty-five years, Jack Holley had a porch light. * * * Lillie Keener, who was raised by her “Moab Mom and Dad,” Jaunita and Troy, has many fond memories of the Goat Man’s last decade in Moab. By now he was in his early 80s, but still surrounded by his goats and his dogs. Someone gave Jack a transistor radio and he played it often. Lillie remembered that “he loved coffee and smoked Camel cigarettes all his life.” Though he had electricity outside, he still used coal oil for his lanterns and mostly burned wood in his old cast iron cook stove. Her dad would bring him coal in the winter. And, according to Lillie, once a year her family was able to persuade Jack to come into town for a home-cooked meal. This dinner also marked the occasion of the Goat Man’s annual bath! It was a condition Jaunita insisted on, if they were to gather together at their dining room table. There are several stories about Jack’s personal hygiene habits, or the lack of them. It’s said that he often invited passersby into his little shack for a cup of coffee, but the interior of his shanty was a bit…overwhelming. Those same people rarely accepted the invitation twice, choosing instead to drink their coffee outside.. But despite his ‘ripeness,’ he was visited frequently. One Moab resident of the late 50s remembers that Jack offered some of his goat milk for her newborn, when the baby kept rejecting the formula. LaRita Lemon McFarland and her family used to visit his cabin on holidays and bring him presents. Others simply remember waving as they passed by–he always waved back. Robert Buckingham of Moab recalls, “I used to run into him in the morning run to the post-office with my Grandma Nellie. He was always very congenial and liked to talk. The thing I remember most was his appetite for wild ragweed! He said his goats liked it as well!…He never said how he fixed it ( raw I guessed) but he would talk about all of the things that grew wild that were edible. I suppose the first vegetarian that I ever met! A man ahead of his time.” Lillie thinks he ate meat occasionally, but since he had no way of refrigerating it and little money to buy it, he lived mostly off the land. Jaunita brought him pies but he never bought meats when he made his annual trip to the grocery. For 35 years, Jack Holley stuck to his routine. In late July 1965, Holley was 89 years old and still ‘living the hermit’s life.’ But one night a fire broke out in his shack–most likely set by one of his smoldering Camel cigarettes–and the Goat Man was badly burned. The Moab Fire Department responded, put the fire out before it destroyed his home, and transported Jack to Allen Memorial Hospital. The Andersons soon learned of the fire and Jack’s injuries and visited him often, but about two weeks after the fire, he developed pneumonia and on August 8, 1965, Jack Holley died. Of course, he died penniless, but Jaunita Anderson was determined that Jack be remembered. According to Lillie Keener, “He would have been buried in an unmarked grave so mom took charge and had a viewing and funeral for him and buried him in our family plot. She felt he was important to the history of the community so she got his headstone with his picture and had it engraved with ‘Goat Man of Moab.’ Jack didn’t leave a will and didn’t even own the land where he’d lived for 35 years, but nobody seemed to mind. Lillie recalled, “Mom and Dad went through his belongings when he died…collected a few mementos like some of his watches. But he really didn’t have anything of value. We took one of his dogs to our house and dad gave the goats..chickens etc to someone in Spanish Valley.” Her dad recovered a couple packs of his Camels. “That’s how I know he smoked camels, because Dad kept a couple packs for years in his desk…I remember him telling me they were Mr. Holley’s.” And finally, they saved a photograph of Jack that somehow survived the fire. It must have been a favorite of the Goat Man’s and was pinned to the wall near his bed. EPILOGUE… I arrived in Moab more than a decade after The Goat Man’s passing. He was a topic of conversation even then. There were stories that Jack had left behind a small fortune in gold coins and had buried his secret stash nearby. Treasure hunters scoured the area for years, hoping to strike it rich, but found nothing. The original stone cabin, the one he called home from 1930 to 1955, disappeared decades ago, though some of the original stones could still be seen. In the 1990s an aerial tram was constructed, just south of the cabin site, but never opened for business. Today it’s still there, rusting and abandoned. And in 2013, construction of the Moab Transit Hub began in earnest and the rock outcropping that was, in fact, the north wall of his home, was completely removed and the entire site leveled to make way for a parking lot. No trace of Jack Holley’s life by the river survives, not even the topography. As Moab of 2016 sprints recklessly, almost uncontrollably toward an uncertain future, characterized by never ending change, constant growth, and in many cases, shameless greed, remembering people like Jack Holley and the simple life he chose to lead gives me some comfort. Perhaps just as comforting is this— Jack Holley was a unique character with a very alternative lifestyle. Jack was ‘different,’ to be sure. But those Moabites who encountered him over the span of three and a half decades not only tolerated those differences, but embraced them. And eventually even celebrated them. Today, eighty-five years after The Goat Man came to Moab, he is still remembered and loved. And missed.
Jim Stiles is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Canyon Country Zephyr.
Click Here to see the full collection of Goat Man images from Charles Cushman
Click Here to see the full collection of Goat Man images from Al Morton
Click Here to see the full collection of Goat Man images from Lillie Keener.
To read the PDF version of this article, click here and here.
To comment, scroll to the bottom of the page.
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REMEMBERING JACK HOLLEY: “The Goat Man of Moab”…by Jim Stiles


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Shannon Eileen McDonough and Jason Brent Wilderotter of Jacksonville were married June 4 at the Oceanfront Lawn of the Lodge & Club at Ponte Vedra Beach with the Rev.


Shelley Moore is The Attic's featured artist


Shelley Moore is the August Featured Artist for The Attic at Archway Gallery and Framing. Moore is a self-taught oil painter who has been painting since 1999.


Rio-style celebration held at Fleet Landing


Capt. Bud Abelein talks with Carnivale Samba dancers who came to Fleet Landing recently to celebrate the Games of the XXXI Olympiad with a Rio-style celebration.


Earth, Sea & Sky show features work by Joyce Gabiou


First Street Gallery will host an art show entitled Earth, Sea & Sky by mixed media artist Joyce Gabiou. The show will run from Sept. 1 through October 25.


Atlantic Beach resident receives art grant


Atlantic Beach resident and writer Yvette Angelique Hyater-Adams is among eight northeast Florida artists to receive a 2016 Art Ventures Grant from The Community Foundation of Northeast Florida.


Spiritual music 'very rewarding' for Christian musician


John Piantadosi loves music – all kinds. But most of all, he loves spiritual music. So much so that he has a cross on the shoulder strap of his acoustic guitar.


Tony Joe White will perform at PV Concert Hall


Singer-songwriter Tony Joe White will perform at the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall on Friday, Sept. 2, beginning at 8 p.m. White is known for his "swamp rock" bayou style of guitar playing.


William and Margaret Zinn of Jacksonville Beach celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 19.


Nine centenarians recognized at Christ Episcopal Church


Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach spent last week recognizing nine of the congregation who are age 99 to 103. They were celebrated at the service on Sunday, July 31, with Rev.


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Christ Episcopal Church gives bus to St. Philip's Episcopal


The Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra's bus has found a new home.


Ponte Vedra High's Snowden recognized at MIT


Ponte Vedra High School student Adam Snowden was one of five oral presentation winners chosen among the field of 82 participants by an imminent panel of judges as part of the convocation of the 33r


Those not evacuating will contend with snakes, fire ants, more


In preparation for the 2016 peak hurricane season from Aug. 25 through Oct. 21, officials from Duval and St.


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Cabinet reappoints Kalogirou as CySEC chairwoman


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Robert Rinder, star of reality show Judge Rinder, is targeting wowing Blackpool crowds after joining Strictly Come Dancing.
The 38-year-old criminal barrister said he had signed up for the show after being “mildly inspired” by former contestant Scott Mills’s Under The Sea red lobster dance.
She taught me how to cha cha. So I can do that one
Discussing his fellow contestants, Rinder said he had initially thought pop star Anastacia was “the surviving princess of Russia”, while the name Melvin Odoom “sounds like something from Lord of the Rings”.
The TV personality said he had a head start on the cha cha cha, having been taught to dance by his school nurse, Mrs Cornish.
“I didn’t really suit childhood terribly well so I’d go and sit in her room,” he said.
“She taught me how to cha cha. So I can do that one.”
He dismissed the idea that he would be happy to get as far as the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, saying: “People want you to pretend a little as if you don’t want to get as far in the programme as possible...what nonsense.”
Rinder oversees disputes over consumer issues, business, neighbourhood rows and allegations of negligence in his ITV courtroom.
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Strictly star is eyeing stardom on Blackpool stage


Robert Rinder, star of reality show Judge Rinder, is targeting wowing Blackpool crowds after joining Strictly Come Dancing.


A LANCASHIRE car dealership is leading the way in the industry by switching staff to a four-day working week.
After a three-month trial, the after-sales department at the Chorley Group in Preston has changed its shift patterns.
It is understood this is the first dealer group to implement such radical changes and address the work-life balance.
The firm also says it improves the service for customers.
Managing director Pauline Turner said: “I believe we are the first dealer group to do this.
“Preston started a three-month trial at the beginning of June. Although staff were initially apprehensive, after one month they requested we made it permanent.”
The new shift patterns mean staff work an extra two hours a day – equating to an additional 46.5 days less a year – and benefit from a three-day break.
The shift changes will now be rolled out at Wigan with a view to rolling it out to the other dealerships in Burnley, Blackpool, and Chorley by the end of the year.
Pauline said: “This change offers a range of benefits to both the business, the staff and the customers. The longer opening hours mean it is more convenient for customers to book in their vehicles. For staff, they spend less time travelling to and from work and the reduced number of days mean they have more family time at home.”
Pauline said the changes also meant that technicians could be more productive, provide a quicker turnaround of vehicles for customers, and provide better holiday cover. There was also less congestion on site.
The change in shift patterns also enables the master technicians to be able to spend more time coaching Level 3 apprentices at the Preston dealership.
The award-winning family-run Chorley Group is one of the biggest volume Nissan dealers in Europe. Pauline was promoted to the role of Managing Director last year.
She now heads up day-to-day operations at the group, which employs 230 people across its five sites in Burnley, Preston, Chorley, Wigan and Blackpool.

Driving change at top Lancashire car group


A LANCASHIRE car dealership is leading the way in the industry by switching staff to a four-day working week.


If your tastes are a bit more blue (or Brown) then you’ll want to check out legendary comic Roy ‘Chubby’ at Viva Blackpool on Friday.
The Yorkshire comic is known for his x-rated style and has attracted plenty of controversy over a career spanning five decades.
Nobody splits opinion quite like the larger than life 71-year-old, with critics often describing his style as outdated but with one academic describing him as “The most important comedian of the past 25 years”.
Starting out as an entertainer in working men’s clubs, Brown got his first real break in the 1970s, coming second on show New Faces to a country and western band.
Unfortunately, he wasn’t so lucky when he applied for Opportunity Knocks, failing an audition due to swearing.
Since then, he’s become very famous on the comedy circuit for his unique stage costume, as well as his offensive shows, filled with back and forth heckling with the audience.
This year marks Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown’s third successive season in Blackpool and he’ll be performing a series of Friday night shows over the next few months.
He has been deemed “too rude for TV” so if you want to see him in action, this is your chance.
Although, probably best to make sure you don’t swear at him. Back in 2003, he was fined £200 in Blackpool for assaulting a fan who had sworn at him. At the time Brown said: “I have traditional values and I wanted the man to stop swearing in front of women and children who were on the pier.”
Tickets are available from https://www.vivablackpool.com/event/roy-chubby-brown and are priced between £17 and £22,
The show is strictly over 18 and those easily offended are advised to stay away.


If your tastes are a bit more blue (or Brown) then you’ll want to check out legendary comic Roy ‘Chubby’ at Viva Blackpool on Friday.


Seven Fylde coast libraries and 14 children’s centres have been earmarked for closure as Lancashire County Council bids to save £200m by 2020.
The bombshell recommendation were made in a 1,468-page document released by county officials at shortly before 8pm on the Friday before a Bank Holiday Weekend – a move that has seen the authority accused of tryuing to ‘bury bad news’.
County Coun Geoff Driver, leader of the Conservatives at LCC, said: “It’s unfortunate they published it as late as they did. Coupled with that, the report is more than 900 pages long with more than 500 pages in an appendix. They do not know what they are doing and the people of Lancashire are paying the price.”
And former MP Ken Hind said: “It would appear Lancashire County Council sneaked out the news following a consultation ending on August 14, just before the holiday weekend when the nation’s thoughts were on holidays.
“A good day to bury bad news – a report 1,469 pages long which is a confusing labyrinth for members of the public to negotiate.”
The county council’s cabinet will be asked to agree the revised plans to save millions of pounds, by reducing the number of buildings the council owns and rents, after seeking people’s views.
Feedback from 7,700 responses has been taken into account in forming the proposals to bring services together to form a network of multi-functional buildings known as Neighbourhood Centres, which would provide a base for a range of different services in one place.
The plans propose changes to where some services including libraries, children’s services, children’s centres, young people’s centres, youth offending teams, older people’s daytime support services, adult disability day services and registrars are delivered in the future.
More than 100 buildings would no longer be used for county council services and the number of places at which some services are available would reduce.
The cabinet will also be asked to agree to explore proposals made by a number of groups to take on responsibility for running some of the affected buildings and services.
The changes are in response to Lancashire County Council’s need to save £200m by 2020/21 as a result of ongoing government cuts.
County Coun Liz Oades, from Kirkham, said: “The report got later and later but I know it’s been a big job.
“It is not as bad as it seems in Kirkham. If we look at it in a positive way, we are having meetings about taking over the library and it may be that we end up better off with more services in the building, and the facility for a new scout group as well.”
County Coun David Borrow, deputy leader of Lancashire County Council and portfolio holder for finance, said: “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to the consultation – their feedback has been invaluable in helping to shape the final proposals.
“Our aim is to find a solution that still gives everyone in Lancashire good access to good services, despite the pressures on the council’s budget. We have done a lot of work to assess where services should be located in future, taking account of things such as geographic spread, accessibility and the needs of different communities. Some of the changes to the proposals reflect what people have told us about the way they access these services.
“We’re also keen to continue exploring the potential for other groups and organisations to take on responsibility for some of the affected buildings and services The report acknowledges more work will be needed to assess the business cases put forward.”
A package of help is proposed to help establish any community-run library, including £5,000 to cover set-up costs, shelving, an initial supply of books from the county’s store, and advice from a dedicated community library development officer.
Fylde and Wyre sites to be affected
The Fylde centres earmarked for being sold off are: Ansdell Library, Freckleton Library, Kirkham Library, Kirkham Young People’s Centre, Lower Lane Young People’s Centre, Lytham Children’s Centre, Lytham Library and Registration Office, Orchard Children’s Centre (Freckleton) (designated), Pear Tree Children’s Centre (Kirkham) (designated). The Wyre centres earmarked for disposal are:
Cleveleys Library and Children’s Centre, Fleetwood Children’s Centre (designated), Garstang Young People’s Centre, Northfleet Library, Over Wyre Children’s Centre (Hambleton satellite), Over Wyre Children’s Centre (Preesall satellite), Poulton Children’s Centre, Preesall Young People’s Centre, Rural Wyre Children’s Centre (Garstang) (designated), Thornton Library, Thornton Young People’s Centre, and Thornton Youth Offending Team (Marsh Mill)

More than 100 sites to go in county sell-off


Seven Fylde coast libraries and 14 children’s centres have been earmarked for closure as Lancashire County Council bids to save £200m by 2020.


I’ve only just got back from my summer holidays, but it seems autumn is already here. Soon we will not be able to walk along a pavement without having to battle our way through a pile of mouldy old leaves, hoping something nasty isn’t hidden beneath.
How do we know this? By watching TV. The signs the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness has arrived are there. The X Factor ‘X’ is upon us, like some civilisation-ending asteroid of hyperbole about to create a crater of mediocrity on the national psyche.
Strictly Come Dancing’s annual sequinathon is also about to start, the celebs and Ed Balls already practising their rictus grins and desperate, ‘vote for me’ hand signals.
And the main TV channels are all pushing the new series of returning favourites and hoped-for hits, all of which we are expected to embrace as televisual hot water bottles as the nights draw in.
The BBC is first out of the blocks, with August not yet over. The first of their ‘major new dramas’ – all the BBC’s new dramas are major, it seems – is One of Us (BBC1, Tuesdays, 9pm).
At first glance, this is not comforting autumn viewing. A young pair of newlyweds, expecting their first child, are murdered, the families left to deal with the emotional fallout.
Then the killer pitches up in their hometown, a remote Highland fastness, and after a conveniently wild and stormy night, ends up dead in a barn.
It’s aiming for gritty and modern, there’s snot involved when people cry – which they do, a lot, and the famously mucus-y Juliet Stevenson stars – but by the end, when we’re left with a kind of locked room mystery, no shortage of suspects, and the police on their way, it’s all got a bit Agatha Christie, and what could be more comforting than that?
Well, the Great British Bake-Off (BBC1, Wednesdays, 8pm), that’s what. If you want something warm and snuggly this autumn, climb under the John Lewis 24-tog paisley comfort blanket of the Bake-Off with Mel, Sue, Paul, Mary and the 11 remaining contestants, and don’t get out until Christmas.
Play Mel and Sue innuendo bingo, guess whose Genoese sponge will collapse and marvel at Candice’s purple lipstick.
It’s what autumn nights were made for.


I’ve only just got back from my summer holidays, but it seems autumn is already here. Soon we will not be able to walk along a pavement without having to battle our way through a pile of mouldy old leaves, hoping something nasty isn’t hidden beneath.


Thousands of cyclists got a sneak peak of Blackpool’s Illuminations at the annual Ride the Lights event.
Cyclists were able to pedal along the Promenade in safety after it was closed to all motor vehicles between 7 and 10pm, giving those taking part the chance to take in the Lights in safety– with an added bonus this year.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Taking a moment to watch the sunset.
For Pleasure Beach staff were on hand to allow riders to pedal through the amusement park for the first time.
Radio Wave presenters Ged Mills and Hayley Kay hosted the main stage of live music and fun at a hub on the Tower Festival Headland, with bike firms CJ Cycles and Get Cycling on hand as well.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Lord Lieutenant of Lancashire John Barnett and Mayor of Blackpool Councillor Kath Rowson officially begin the event.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Cycling isn't only for those whose BMI is in single figures.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Police cyclists join in the fun.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Members of the Manchester Tweed Ride Ann Kolodziejski, Janet and Ian Wardlaw, and Rowan de Bonaire.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Duncan Simpson and his 7 year-old son Joseph take a well-deserved drink.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Hey dad, this Ride the Lights is easy!
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Enjoying the views from their buggy.
Ride the Lights along Blackpool promenade. Leading the way.

Light riders gear up for special Blackpool seafront treat


Thousands of cyclists got a sneak peak of Blackpool’s Illuminations at the annual Ride the Lights event.


Beach chiefs have insisted there is no fault with the Spanish steps after a seven-year-old boy was left cut and bruised.
Susan Burrows, 37, from Warley Road, North Shore, was visiting the beach with her partner and son Thomas but was left shocked when he came up from a paddle with “blood pouring out of his hands and feet”.
The boys foot afterwards
She said: “Me, my partner and my little boy were sat on the sea front, it was packed out and I kept telling my little boy to take his socks and shoes off to have a little paddle.
“There was a puddle in front of the steps, he went down and we saw him go under the water, he’s come up and there’s blood everywhere.”
The Spanish steps are part of Blackpool’s £76m Prom revamp, between South Pier and North Pier, which have proved hugely popular with visitors.
Susan spoke to a lifeguard at the beach after the incident on August 17 who she claims said that this wasn’t the first time something like this has happened.
There was a puddle in front of the steps, he went down and we saw him go under the water, he’s come up and there’s blood everywhere
“A lifeguard came and did first aid, he checked all his cuts over and cleaned them,” she added.
“The lifeguard said that there’s a dip in the sand and nobody knows what’s under it. So it’s quite dangerous.
“The bottom step you can’t see, I asked what happened because we couldn’t see and he said that the bottom step is slippy so I think he’s just slipped on the step because you can’t see it.
“I sent an email to some environmental health page, who deal with Blackpool waters. I got an email back saying a reply would take 20 minutes.”
A spokesman for Blackpool Council said: “There is no issue with the Spanish steps.
“Tidal movements cause the sand to move around and a beach shovel is used to level the sand and reduce the height of any sandbank.”

Boy, seven, injured in Blackpool’s Spanish steps incident


Beach chiefs have insisted there is no fault with the Spanish steps after a seven-year-old boy was left cut and bruised.


Vue Cleveleys has been chosen as one of 150 cinemas across UK and Ireland showing new film, One More Time With Feeling, for one night only to help promote a new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album.
Despite flirting with acting, appearing in films such as ‘Ghosts...of the Civil Dead’ and ‘Johnny Suede’, Nick Cave is predominantly known for his music, in a career spanning more than four decades.
In that time, he’s released 21 albums with three different bands and his latest offering ‘Skeleton Tree’ will become number 22 when it’s released on Friday, September 9.
The first chance to hear any music from the album will be in the film ‘One More Time With Feeling’ with the songs acting as the movie’s soundtrack.
The film is the latest offering of Andrew Dominik, director of ‘Chopper’, ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’ and ‘Killing Them Softly’.
Interwoven throughout the Bad Seeds’ filmed performance of the new album are interviews and footage shot by Dominik, accompanied by Cave’s intermittent narration and improvised rumination.
Filmed in black-and-white and colour, in both 3D and 2D, the result is described as “stark, fragile and raw”.
Director Andrew Dominik said that the story is of how the film came about actually quite tragic, saying: “I’d been seeing quite a lot of him as we rallied around him and his family at the time of his son’s death.
“Nick told me that he had some things he needed to say, but he didn’t know who to say them to.
“I took the record away and listened to it trying to work out a way into the whole thing. In the end I agreed to do it if I could shoot it in black-and-white and 3D.
“No one has ever seen a 3D black-and-white non-animated feature film in modern times - for as far as I know, no such thing exists. It is both modern and from a distant age – much like the Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ new record, Skeleton Tree, actually.”
The film’s only showing at Vue Cleveleys is at 9pm, on Thursday, September 8. The showing is in 3D and tickets are available from http://www.onemoretimewithfeeling.film/

Cave’s the top Seed for musical showcase


Vue Cleveleys has been chosen as one of 150 cinemas across UK and Ireland showing new film, One More Time With Feeling, for one night only to help promote a new Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds album.


Fylde MP Mark Menzies has called on the Government to ensure an investigation into a Lancashire water crisis remains on track.
The Tory MP has written to the Secretary of State at the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs, the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP, to ask her to intervene after long delays in seeing the results of the Drinking Water Inspectorate’s inquiry following last summer’s cryptosporidium outbreak.
How we reported the outbreak last August
More than 300,000 homes and businesses in Lancashire were first warned to boil all drinking water to protect against the nasty parasite in August last year.
It took 30 days for all supplies to return to normal, leading to compensation payments of between £50 and £60 to all domestic consumers and much more to businesses affected by the alert.
But despite fresh demands for answers, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) has still not revealed the source of the problem.
It comes after Mr Menzies contacted the organisation to find out the status of the investigation – but was rebuffed by officers.
He said: “This situation has gone on for long enough and people are unhappy at being left in the dark about a situation which caused untold inconvenience last summer.
“When I contacted the Drinking Water Inspectorate for some information I received a rather blunt response that they would publish their findings when they are good and ready.
“I’m afraid that’s just not good enough. This process needs to be open and transparent to give people the confidence they can trust their suppliers and the regulators put in place to protect their interests.
“With that in mind, I have written to the Secretary of State to ask her to intervene. While I understand the investigation must be carried out thoroughly and correctly, I think people deserve to know that is happening and be given some kind of timescales as to when they can expect answers.
“Without those assurances, then it is difficult to know whether the Drinking Water Inspectorate is working effectively and whether it is fit for purpose.”

‘Rebuffed’ Fylde MP demanding answers in Lancashire water probe


Fylde MP Mark Menzies has called on the Government to ensure an investigation into a Lancashire water crisis remains on track.


Police in Lancashire have issued a fresh safety alert after the county was named as the worst in England and Wales for crimes related to the gaming craze Pokemon Go.
Lancashire Constabulary dealt with 39 reports of Pokemon-related crimes during July – the highest of 29 forces in England and Wales.
People should avoid potentially dangerous locations that could make you vulnerable to injury, or become a victim of crime
And the figures have prompted senior officers to warn gamers out hunting Pokemon characters about the dangers they could be facing.
“People should avoid potentially dangerous locations that could make you vulnerable to injury, or become a victim of crime,” said a spokesman at the Constabulary’s headquarters in Hutton.
The game, which is played on mobile phones using satellite navigation, was only officially launched in the UK in July. Yet in its first month it was involved in at least 290 police incidents including robbery, assault, trespass and motoring offences. Players use their cameras, overlayed with graphics, to catch digital creatures.
Of the 29 police forces who responded to a Freedom of Information request, Lancashire had the highest number of crimes.
No details were released of of offences committed or arrests made. But police across the country say Pokemon Go players have not only been victims, but also perpetrators of crime or anti-social behaviour.
In Surrey police say they were called out to a brawl involving 30 people on a Pokemon hunt. In North Wales a man was reported for inviting children into his home saying he had “lots of Pokemons” in the house.
In London and Greater Manchester robbers set up traps to lure players into an area to rob them of their phones.
Drivers in various parts of the country have been caught playing the game at the wheel, while British Transport Police reported at least two cases of children trespassing on the railway looking for the digital characters.
The Lancashire Police spokesman advised players not to trespass or put themselves in any risk while using the game.
“Never enter any water. Pokemon do not appear beyond the safety of the shoreline.
“ And don’t enter derelict structures, unlit footpaths or alleyways,” he said. “Please remember to be safe and alert at all times, don’t drive and play, and respect the locations you visit.”

Lancashire Pokemon hunters warned over crimes


Police in Lancashire have issued a fresh safety alert after the county was named as the worst in England and Wales for crimes related to the gaming craze Pokemon Go.


Tommy Cooper’s hand-written jokes, and a poster of him topping the bill in Blackpool, are set to go on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
The Tommy Cooper Collection does not contain the star’s trademark red fez, but does feature props, posters and contracts, including those which went unfulfilled because of his sudden death following a heart attack in 1984.
The poster of Tommy Cooper's show in Blackpool
It also features a metal cabinet containing Cooper’s hand-written jokes, filed alphabetically.
Curators at the V&A said that the cabinet shed new light on the “previously unknown, scrupulously organised” working methods of the entertainer, best known for his bungling stage persona, hilarious one-liners, and his catchphrase, “just like that”.
Vicky Cooper, the daughter of the late entertainer, said: “It is wonderful the V&A has acquired the collection and that the public will get to see some of his material o later this year.”
The V&A has not revealed how much it paid for the collection.

Just like that - Tommy’s Blackpool show in exhibition


Tommy Cooper’s hand-written jokes, and a poster of him topping the bill in Blackpool, are set to go on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.


REVIEW: Danny the Chamion of the World, Lytham Hall
A full house of 600 at Lytham Hall enjoyed the very best that open air theatre can offer in this accomplished performance from Illyria.
Roald Dahl’s story has considerable poignancy. Tom Myles and Peter Swales, wonderfully contrasting in their heights, are first class as Danny and his dad, both coming to terms in their own way with the death of mum. They fall foul of obnoxious local landowner Victor Hazell, played in a superbly over-the-top style by Nick Taylor who quickly and deliberately provoked the ranks of children at the front to storms of booing with his every appearance.
Illyria’s artistic director Oliver Gray, celebrating 25 years on the road, knows every trick of the trade - fourfold set, complete with an elevated forest of blue trees, delightful mechanical hens, comical toy cars and evocative music.
David Sayers was all Hello Hello Hello as the affable Sergeant Samways, Jennifer Shakesby a forthright Dr. Spencer and the experienced Ffion Glyn produced an excitable and wickedly Welsh vicar’s wife Mrs. Clipstone, her pram much more than it seems.
The littluns just shrieked as pheasants rained down on them in a high-octane second half, but Tom Myles had the skill to quieten the audience as in the finale he put across the strong moral point which characterises each of Dahl’s works. Glorious sunshine and a gloriously effective performance.
TOBY STIRLING

A show that proved just Champion to end season


REVIEW: Danny the Chamion of the World, Lytham Hall


Rose-Marie, the Irish singer, who now lives in Blackpool, has been presented with a platinum disc for sales of her new album My Gift of Love For You.
Sapphire Records gave the prestigious award to her for selling over 500,000 discs.
I’m absolutely delighted and thrilled to bits
The 60-year-old songstress performs on the last Friday of every month at Viva Blackpool and of the disc she said: “I’m absolutely delighted and thrilled to bits.
“I spent nearly eight months making that album and it is quite different from anything else I have attempted. It’s really up to date and there’s a Sam Smith track on there as well as an Adele song.”
Rose-Marie’s next performance at Viva Blackpool will be on Friday, September 30 and she’ll be joined by producer Andy Mudd, the first time she’s linked up with him on stage.
She added: “Andy is a life long friend and knows how to get the best out of me, it’s a marriage made in heaven.”


Rose-Marie, the Irish singer, who now lives in Blackpool, has been presented with a platinum disc for sales of her new album My Gift of Love For You.


Not many pubs can attract number one charting recording artists to perform but that’s exactly what The Duke of York have done, with 2013 X Factor winner Sam Bailey coming to perform at their reopening on Thursday.
Bailey, whose debut single ‘Skyscraper’ and album ‘The Power of Love’ both hit the top of the charts, is headlining a special gala reopening night alongside Miss Rory and the Liverbirds.
The free, invite-only party is to mark the reopening of the pub, on Dickson Road, following a £50,000 investment.
Matthew Armstrong, who runs the pub alongside the designer Kevin Barnard said: “It’s fabulous. The customers love it - people can’t believe it’s the same pub.
“Inside has a contemporary feel, with modern light fittings and vibrant colours so it looks much airier. It was only right to relaunch in style, so we’ve got a great night planned.”
This is the latest show of a busy schedule for X Factor winner, Sam Bailey, who has just finished playing Mama Morton in a UK tour of the musical ‘Chicago’, she said: “I’m now doing a Butlins tour, I’ve got a single that’s just come out two weeks ago and an album which is coming out on the 16th September.”
Bailey says that her new album ‘Sing My Heart Out’, recorded in LA with Steve Dorff, and being released on her own label Tiger Drum is very personal: “I’ve put my heart and soul into it.
“It was written about experiences that I’ve learnt and every single song has some sort of story behind it.
Bailey’s looking forward to performing in Blackpool after her enjoying first visit with the resort “open” earlier this year, and despite the lower profile these days, the singer says it’s not too different from when she was on the X Factor three years ago. She added: “The pop tour’s great, I’m top of the bill and there’s sometimes 5,000 people there to see me so it’s great. It’s like being on the X Factor again.
“I’m always excited to do new things and perform and it’s always good to be part of something great and I thought that this was a great opportunity for me.”
The show starts at 9pm on Thursday. It’s a free event. For more information or invites, call into the pub.

Sam gives refurbished pub the X Factor magic


Not many pubs can attract number one charting recording artists to perform but that’s exactly what The Duke of York have done, with 2013 X Factor winner Sam Bailey coming to perform at their reopening on Thursday.


Lancashire Tories have been accused of “having the cheek of the devil” after they launched an online Save Our Services petition just days before the Labour-run County Council is to reveal the names of some 100 buildings set for closure.
The cuts are set to be approved by the the council’s Cabinet on September 8.
County Coun Geoff Driver
But as anxious communities wait to hear whether their libraries, young people’s centres and other community buildings will be spared, a bitter war of words broke out over which party is really to blame for the cuts and just who is being hypocritical.
The council’s Deputy Leader Coun David Borrow said: “The Tory group in Lancashire have got the cheek of the devil.
“At a time when the council is making cuts of £100m in 2016/17, with further cuts of more than £200m by 2020/21 to pretend the council doesn’t need to make cuts is stuff and nonsense.
“Lancashire is between a rock and a hard place in seeking to protect the most vulnerable.
At a time when the council is making cuts of £100m in 2016/17, with further cuts of more than £200m by 2020/21 to pretend the council doesn’t need to make cuts is stuff and nonsense
“It’s a pity the Tories don’t spend more time persuading the Government to provide the people of Lancashire with adequate resources, rather than pretending it’s all Labour’s fault.”
He said the Tories had “come up with wheezes involving borrowing or using reserves.”
But Tory Group leader Coun Geoff Driver said the cuts would hit hard and dramatically affect the lives of some of the most vulnerable and were “ill thought, short-sighted and wholly unnecessary.
He said: “This petition is a chance for people to voice their concerns about the drastic measures Labour are intent on taking.
“We have presented a fully costed alternative plan which actually left the council with £1m.”
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Council chiefs at war in ‘cheek of the devil’ row


Lancashire Tories have been accused of “having the cheek of the devil” after they launched an online Save Our Services petition just days before the Labour-run County Council is to reveal the names of some 100 buildings set for closure.


If you just can’t wait another week or so to see the Illuminations then Ride The Lights is once again giving people a chance to get a sneak peek next Tuesday.
Between 7pm and 10pm, the Promenade will be fully closed to vehicles other than bicycles for the event, which has become something of a yearly tradition for cyclists.
This year for the first time ever, riders will have the opportunity to detour through the Blackpool Pleasure Beach via North Gate, to be greeted by live DJ sets and characters.
The free event, which is attended by thousands of people every year, will have entertainment in the form of Radio Wave presenters Ged Mills and Hayley Kay, who will be hosting the main stage of live music and fun at Blackpool Tower Headlands.
Coun Gillian Campbell, Deputy Leader of Blackpool Council, said: “Ride the Lights is always extremely popular and is now a firm fixture on Blackpool’s calendar.
“It will be a great night of cycling, fun and entertainment and I hope everyone will have a fantastic time.”
For those wishing to get involved The route runs from Starr Gate, South Shore all the way through to Red Bank Road, Bispham with riders able to go in either direction or join the ride at any point on the promenade.
Riders can cycle as much or as little of the course as they choose.


If you just can’t wait another week or so to see the Illuminations then Ride The Lights is once again giving people a chance to get a sneak peek next Tuesday.


Here is a list of highly rated coffee shops in the county.
Dahlia's Kitchen, Blackpool
Woodchats
Dahlia’s Kitchen, in Cropper Road, is a coffee shop, ice cream parlour, licenced restaurant and farm shop all rolled into one.
It has a big range of home made cakes, snacks and local produce. It also provides outside catering for weddings, birthdays and corporate events.
Dahlia’s is renowned for its themed entertainment evenings, where diners can enjoy a three-course meal.
There is outdoor seating and a small play area for the children.
Open seven days a week.
Woodchats Coffee Shop, Chorley
Located in Clifford Street, Woodchats Coffee Shop is a popular haunt, with a large selection of home made cakes, soups, sandwiches and snacks.
It also sells unique home made gifts and provides outside catering for parties and events.
Exchange Coffee Company, Clitheroe and Blackburn
Exchange Coffee Company is a coffee roaster and tea merchant, with branches in Clitheroe and Blackburn, in Lancashire, as well as Skipton and Todmorden in Yorkshire.
It has a wholesale roasting warehouse in Blackburn, supplying coffees, teas and all associated products across the country.
The coffee shops also have a daily specials menu, serving hot and cold food. Other drinks on offer include milkshakes and juices.
The company also sells homewares and quirky gifts.
The View, Morecambe
The View, in Marine Road Central, is a cafe with a musical twist. It has a cult following for music enthusiasts, as diners can enjoy a cup of coffee and snacks, whilst browsing through its eclectic range of vintage records, CDs and vinyls.
It also stocks a variety of memorabilia, including clothes, retro gifts and souvenirs.
Not forgetting its status as a cafe and coffee shop, it also has a changing daily specials menu, as well as hot drinks and soft beverages.
How The Other Half Live, Preston
Moved from its original location in Blackpool Road to Winckley Street, Preston, How the Other Half Live is a small coffee shop with a boutique gift store.
The shop has a small selection of coffee and cakes on offer whilst customers browse around the shop.


Here is a list of highly rated coffee shops in the county.


We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday September 3rd.
Featuring performances from Alesha Dixon, Conor Maynard, Diversity, The Tide and appearances from Nickelodeon stars Jack Griffo and Kira Kosarin, it’s set to be the slimiest music concert of the Summer.
Slimefest 2016
We’re giving away a VIP family prize package which includes:
4 x General Admission Switch On wristbands on Friday 2nd September 2016
4 x Tickets for the 11am SLIMEFEST concert on Saturday 3rd September 2016
4 x Wristbands for Blackpool Pleasure Beach for Saturday 3rd September 2016
2 x Exclusive official SLIMEFEST Hype® Bag (kids only)
1 x Apple iPad mini 2 7.9” 16gb
Or if you want to guarantee your ticket to the coolest kids’ event of the year, we have an exclusive 2for1 SLIMEFEST ticket offer for you. Just visit nick.co.uk/slimefest and enter FEST02 to get your exclusive 2for1 discount.
All you have to do to have the chance to win this fantastic prize is answer the following question:
Q: Which Britain’s Got Talent judge is performing at Nickelodeon’s SLIMEFEST?
Email your answer with Slimefest in the subject field, adding your name, address and daytime telephone number to competitions@lep.co.uk to arrive by midnight August 31st. Standard competition rules apply, entries merged across JP north west titles.
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We’ve teamed up with Nickelodeon to give you the chance to attend the first-ever UK SLIMEFEST in Blackpool on Saturday  September 3rd.


Win tickets to Nickelodeon's Slimefest and Illuminations Switch On