I read with interest Penny McCartney's letter Thoughtless dog owners should be ashamed', Echo, October 9). How I agree with her. Of course there are plenty of responsible dog owners and they are to be commended for taking care of their pets, clearing
DORSET residents are being advised to check their boilers to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon Monoxide Awareness week starts today with energy supplier Southern Electric warning of the dangers of blocked chimneys and flues, poorly
DORSET Fire and Rescue Service said an unattended candle caused a fire at a public school house in Sherborne. Two crews from the town were called to Abbeylands, a house belonging to Sherborne School in Cheap Street, at around 4pm today. Firefighters
FIREFIGHTERS tackled a blaze in a toilet at a shop in Bridport town centre. Two Dorset Fire and Rescue Service crews from the town were called to WH Smith, in East Street, at around 9am today. The fire, caused by an electrical fault, left the toilet
DORSET Community Action is running a workshop in Dorchester for anyone involved in community projects or charities. The event on November 12 - entitled Capacity Building: Developing your Organisation - will give ideas on making meetings more effective
A TEAM of young cricketers heading Down Under this winter have been given a royal seal of approval by the Prince of Wales. The Dorchester-based Wessex Cricket School Academy are embarking on a three-week tour to Perth in Western Australia on December
ENERGY experts have praised plans to set up underwater power turbines off Portland. Retired engineer Don Cutler, who founded former Weymouth-based engineering company Tekflo, believes the work is overdue. The plans also have the blessing of retired
By JOHN MANN, Elder of the Weymouth Independent Evangelical Church WHO and what do you trust? Some say: "I don't trust anyone or anything," but we all do. In crossing a bridge, we trust it without thinking, but in America a bridge collapsed and people
PRIESTS are working together to formalise a church sharing agreement between Anglican and Catholic worshippers. The congregation of Our Lady and St Andrew's Roman Catholic Church in Grove Road, Portland has been using the Anglican St Andrew's Church
CONCERNED parents and councillors met MP Oliver Letwin to demonstrate a death-trap' crossing on a popular school route in Dorchester. Councillor Stella Jones, representing Dorchester Town and West Dorset District Council, said the junction of Prince
PASSIONATE and explosive, two of the classical world's best-loved operas explode onto the stage in Bournemouth next week. Ellen Kent Opera and Ballet is returning to the resort with Bizet's Carmen and Verdi's Nabucco, two very different but equally powerful
MORE than half-a-million Eastern European migrants have arrived in Britain since the expansion of the European Union in 2004, a study has found. And the Office for National Statistics says workers are spreading more widely than traditional immigrants
THE diamond jubilee concert of the Blandford-based Dorset Rural School of Music will begin at 7.30pm this evening at St Mary's Church in Dorchester. Tickets (£10 each) will be sold on the door if seats are still available. Alternatively, visit the school
Two students from Wey Valley School visited Kingston Maurward College for the third annual Skills Festival, where they met a stranger. Wearing a red waistcoat, green bow tie and a Mad Hatter-style hat was David Baker, the manager of a training company
Having already been at the Skills Festival two years ago, I thought I knew what to expect - and how wrong I was proved. Different stalls, different activities, new people to talk to and learn from, this just goes to show how fast industries are moving
Walking into the Kingston Maurward Skills Festival, the atmosphere was lively and the students were eager to participate in the many activities on offer. The opportunities were varied, from cooking to retail and law to beauty therapy. As we wandered
Christopher Finch teaches students how to become a qualified hairdresser. He has become a very hard-working hairdresser in a salon in Weymouth College where he completed an NVQ Level 2. Chris thinks that Skills Festival day is a very creative way of
Bournemouth Art College is aiming to open the minds of budding art students at Skills Festival 2007. One of the students, Priti, said: "I think this stall will help young people who enjoy art to understand their potential in drawing and graphics. "It
Young people in the world need to know what jobs are out there today, and the Skills Festival does exactly that. It gives people the chance to explore careers and find out what they are really into. I spoke to Jay, an army careers adviser for young
nAt the Skills Festival at Kingston Maurward College, students had the opportunity to sample how towns and developments are created. Andrew Galpin of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said: "We want the kids to have the chance to experience this.
nHere at the Skills Festival we found out what it takes to do many different jobs - from careers involving languages to the army. I spoke to Susanna Freer, a vetinary care assistant and lecturer at the college, as well as Jane Sillence, a student at
The Skills Festival aims to help students gain confidence in themselves. Jenna and Zoe, Weymouth College students, are here today because they believe young people should get the opportunity to learn as well as have fun with their music. I asked them
JOANNA DAVIS visits the last day of Skills Festival 2007 at Kingston Maurward College in Dorchester PUPILS discovered that a little bit of skill can make a lot of difference in the real world. Hundreds of teenagers at Dorset's biggest-ever Skills Festival
YOUNGSTERS spent a night at the museum as part of an initiative to encourage them to explore local history. Children and their parents stepped back in time to the Saxon era as part of the Dorset County Museum sleepover. The Dorchester museum's Victorian
COUNCILLORS who refused a plan to demolish an attractive' building in Weymouth and replace it with seven flats are to consider a revised scheme. Aldemain Properties Ltd is proposing to knock down a villa-style two-storey building in Dorchester Road at
I REFER to the story Call for engine to be painted' (Echo, October 8) about a complaint over the brightly-coloured steam engine in the playground at Kings Road, Dorchester. I agree with Michael Barrington's criticism of the steam rollers colour to some
YOUNG motorists were offered a hard-hitting lesson on the consequences of poor driving at a special session in Dorchester. More than 300 young drivers and those who are planning to get behind the wheel took part in the roadshow being piloted at Dorchester's
A CAMPAIGN is being launched to steer drivers away from bad parking. Alarmed at the amount of double parking in Weymouth's narrow streets, authorities have teamed up to remind motorists of their responsibilities. They say that fire engines on 999 calls
WEYMOUTH boss Jason Tindall believes keeper Jon Stewart will learn from last night's mistake that handed Crawley Town a 2-1 win at the Wessex Stadium. The 18-year-old, who entered the game off the back of two successive clean-sheets, spilt a routine
MORRISEY, in one of his more cynical moments - if there ever was such a thing - once wrote a song with the hook line We hate it when our friends become successful'. I'm not so sure about that. At the risk of offending everybody that I know, I have to
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. Psalms, Psalm86 v11
During our time at the third annual Skills Festival we met up with the Marks & Spencer team and spoke to Margret Riglar, an HR recruitment adviser. She had been working in the Dorchester branch of M & S since 1986 and hopes to finish in 2008. She told
DORCHESTER'S new rector got to grips with his new role by going on a pilgrimage from one end of his patch to the other. The Rev Harold Stephens was joined by parishioners from across the Dorchester team ministry area for the walk which took him from
WEYMOUTH has today received national acclaim for the way it embraces its heritage. In a new report, English Heritage praises the town for using its rich Victorian and Georgian architecture as a catalyst for regeneration schemes. The report says that
