Corby prepares for Country Music Festival

Image: here. http://www.yeehawuk.com/info.html

The Yeehaw UK Country Music Festival UK will  be making it's way to Northamptonshire.

Some of the world's best country music artists will be performing at Rockingham Castle on the 5th-6th September.

Artists such as M Callahan, the Best Male Country Artist 2014, and Ashton Lane, described as Britain's Lady Antebellum will be playing across the weekend.

Bryan Steers, from Yeehaw said: "It's not the traditional old style plink plink country music but the new sound that's popular globally."

"This then feeds into our aim of reclaiming the phrase "Yeehaw" for the modern generation."

"No longer a degrading description of country music but a exaltation of joy and excitement for what will be an amazing festival of music and entertainment."

American styled food/drink vendors, Oh My Bagel, Rolling Smoke BBQ & ChilliDogs will available throughout the entire weekend.

And for those who want to get the proper 'festival feel', campsites will be ready for the weekend.

A VIP area will be available for pass holders, giving them the chance to meet and great some of the world's best country music artists.

Buy your tickets here.

By Tom McCartin

Northants Police issue warning

Northants Police have issued a warning for people that are throwing objects off of bridges onto vehicles.

In 2008, a lorry driver died instantly after a teenager pushed a breeze-block onto the A45, with the youth pleading guilty to manslaughter.

However, this has not stopped people from throwing missiles onto some of the county's main roads.

Although it may seem like a bit of fun, Northants Police want to remind those who are caught throwing items could potentially face jail. 

Chief Inspector Dave Lawson said: "Both youngsters and their parents need to get the message that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour."

"Those who continue to break the law by throwing objects from the county's bridges will be taken to court and face substantial charges."

"Following the death of a lorry driver in 2008, you would think this kind of behaviour would have come to an end."

"Sadly, that is not the case and some people continue to endanger the lives of motorists by throwing items from bridges in the county."

By Joe Shine

Kettering by the Sea is back

Image: Bouncy Wouncy: here.

The ever successful Kettering by the Sea is back once again this summer.

There's no need to travel to Hunstanton this year, with the beach making it's way into the town for yet another summer.

Get down to the Market Place between the 24th July - 16th August (excluding Sundays) from 10am to 4pm to enjoy free activities.

Guy Holloway, Kettering Borough Council's Head of Corporate Development said: "Kettering by the Sea is a great, free family event and we hope that the sun will shine so that everyone can have a great time."

"The wide range of activities taking place ensures that there's something for everyone, so we look forward to seeing you on the Market Place this summer."

Free parking will also be available in the Kettering Borough Council carparks on Municipal Officers, London Road, Queen Street, School Lane, Wadcroft and Commercial Road on Friday 1st, 8th and 15th August.

A link to the activities can be found here. Click here to see the Kettering by the Sea activities.

By Stephen Matthews

Young boy bitten by dog in Kettering

Northants Police are appealing for witnesses to the attack

A five year old boy was bitten by a dog in Kettering.

Police are asking for witnesses to a dog attack on a young boy on London Road.

The incident happened on Thursday, 26th June at about 5:30pm, whilst the young boy was riding his scooter.

The boy was riding past Tesco Express when a dog lunged at him and bit his leg.

The dog was with a man who was using the cash-point at the Tesco store.

He was described as white, aged about 50 and around 5ft 11in tall with a slim build. He had messy, grey hair which was brushed backwards and wore a grey jumper with dark jeans.

The dog was described as being chocolate brown with white paws, and a wide muscular build and short legs.

Witnesses or anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

By Stephen Matthews

Successful Teenage Market returns to Kettering

The Teenage Market is coming back to Kettering after a very successful spell in May earlier this year.

The market will be in Kettering on September 6 from 9am – 5pm on the High Street.

It is a great opportunity for markets to connect with their local town’s population of young people, by providing a platform for them to try out a new business ideas and sell creative products.

Cllr Derek Zanger, Portfolio Holder for Regeneration, said: “By providing young people with a platform to express themselves, The Teenage Market will produce a feel good factor in and around the High Street."

"It also gives people of all ages a reason to visit the town and I’m sure it will bring business to surrounding shops too.”

All you need to bring is the produce that you wish to sell and the stalls will be provided to you free of charge.

If you’re a young entrepreneur, or just want to get some of your work on show, get yourself down to The Teenage Market and you can possibly make some money whilst you’re at it.

To book a stall, follow this link: http://www.kettering.gov.uk/markets

By Joe Shine

Northampton Saints link up with Tresham College

Image: here.

Northampton Saints are creating a brand new Rugby Academy in conjunction with Kettering's Tresham College.

The partnership between Tresham College's Kettering campus and Northampton Saints is set to be marked by an introductory session held at Kettering Rugby Club. 

The Aviva Premiership and Amlin Challenge Cup trophies that the Saints spectacularly won this season will be on feature at the session held at Waverley Rd on the 20th July. 

Jonathan Heathcote, Director of the Academy said: "We formed the partnership with saints to further strengthen the commitment both parties have to delivering high quality provision across the community."

 "There is always a hope that we can help uncover and develop someone who goes on to be an elite level performer."

The aim of the Academy is to give young players aged between 16 and 18 the chance to mix being a full-time rugby player and a student.

Northampton Saints will provide coaches and support staff who will deliver sessions to help young players improve their game.

Members of the Academy will also receive advice if they wish to seek a career as a professional player.

For more information about the introductory session and about Tresham’s new Rugby Academy email Jon Heathcote at jheathcote@tresham.ac.uk or Ross Stewart at rossstewart@northamptonsaints.co.uk.

By Stephen Matthews

Body found in search for missing Kettering man

Richard Chandler, 25

A body has been found in the search for a missing Kettering man.

Dyfed-Powys Police announced this afternoon (July 7) that a body had been found in the town during the search for Richard Chandler.

A statement read: "Police searching for 25 year old Richard Chandler can confirm that a body of a male has been found in the Delta Lakes area of Llanelli this afternoon."

"Family have been informed. Formal identification has not yet been completed."

Richard Chandler, 25, had been working in Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, but hasn't been seen since 11pm on Thursday, July 3.

By Stephen Matthews

McDonalds help Kettering F.C.

Kettering F.C. have been given a helping hand by a football programme ran by McDonald's.

Local McDonald's franchisee Glyn Pashley has generously stumped up over £900 towards playing kit for the club's girls teams.

Mr Pashley, who owns all of the three restaurants in Kettering has stepped in to support the club as part of the 'McDonald's Community Football Programme'.

He said: "Kettering F.C. is a great football club dedicated to helping young players from the area enjoy the game."

"It's the first time we have sponsored the club and so I really hope the girls under-14 and under-16 teams enjoy wearing their smart new kit next season!"

The programme aims to encourage more people to become involved with the game, and in turn improve the standards of grassroots football.

Simon Aston, Kettering FC Ladies Manager added: “We can’t thank Glyn enough for his generous donation towards 35 new football kits for the girls."

"We are a community focused club and the helping hand which we have been given means we can make the most of our resources and focus on supporting young people to learn and develop their skills.” 

Sir Geoff Hurst, McDonald's Director of Football was full of praise: “Initiatives like the 'McDonald’s Community Football Programme' help clubs to provide the right training tools and kit so that they can continue to offer a great standard of grassroots football and coaching to the young people in their community."

"It is the help of franchisees like Glyn Pashley that allows grassroots football clubs like Kettering F.C. to flourish.” 

Since forming in the summer of 2012, Kettering F.C. has expanded rapidly, with a team of dedicated volunteers, helping to provide countless hours of football to the local community. 

As well as a thriving boys section, the club has two girls teams and prides itself on giving opportunities to anyone who wants to play and enjoy football. 

By Stephen Matthews

Is Kettering General Hospital all that bad?

Image: here.

Kettering General Hospital (KGH) gets a ridiculously bad reputation from a large proportion of the residents of this town - but is it really as bad as some make it out to be?

Perhaps a couple of years ago, yes. But yesterday I saw a young girl spurting her very angry feelings about the staff at KGH on Facebook. A little bit more respect for those in charge of looking after our family members when they get rushed into hospital is needed.

KGH was singled out as one of the worst five hospitals in England last year by independent health watchdog Monitor.

Phillip Hollobone MP for Kettering made it clear that KGH was one of the worst performing acute hospitals in England, admitting only 74% of it's patients with-in the 4 hour A&E target time. 

How things change in just a years time.

Perhaps the radical improvement could be down to the Ambulatory Care Unit (ACU). Their implementation coincided with the dismal 74% of patients being dealt with with-in the 4 hour A&E target time, and a year later we see KGH report a 99% success rate. That 25% increase saw KGH named as one of the best performing A&E unit's of its type in England. Bare in mind the national target is only 95%.

Jane Ellison, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health praised KGH for it's brilliant turnaround. She said: "It is really, really impressive."

Forget the horror story surrounding the unfortunate death of Victoria Harrison in 2012; her death during routine appendix surgery does not mean you should fear going to your local hospital. 

Despite the fact that nurses and doctors are very skilled professionals and actively take responsibility for our lives when we become ill, does not mean they don't make errors. They. are. still. human. Mistakes happen. We've all lost a loved one at KGH, please show some more respect to those under-paid, over-worked heroes. 

A survey carried out by 'Nursing Times' found that eight out of ten nurses felt they did not have enough time to give patients adequate care, with a quarter believing they had put a patient's life at risk due to them being busy or over-worked. 86% of nurses felt they were underpaid. 

No matter how badly we thought/think of KGH we should be grateful for the hard-work that everyone involved at the hospital puts in to saving lives. 

By Joe Shine

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