Review of the year 2012 – June
fire at castle hill middle school ground it is completely destroyed
Castle Hill Middle School was burnt down after a three hour blaze at the vacant school site.
The school had stood empty for a year and had already been targeted by arsonists and vandals, and the gas supply was still connected at the property.
It is later announced that the cost of demolition increased by £300,000 as a result of the inferno.
Terrified residents were forced out of their house at gunpoint after armed police believed a gunman was in their home.
A man had reported hearing shotgun fire at the Duddery Hill allotments, and armed police then forced a number of residents out of their Eden Road home, but found no trace of a shotgun and made no arrests.
The first of 13 wind turbines were erected at the heavily opposed Wadlow Wind Farm, near West Wratting.
Carer Paul Bedbrook was fired by Hilton Care after trying to help fund-raise for a disabled man.
Paul had approached the Echo to help raise £8,000 for Robin Kilpatrick, who is partially paralysed and unable to speak, to have a talk-board like that used by Professor Stephen Hawking instead of having to point to letters on a sheet of paper. However Hilton Care, which runs Horace Eaves in Withersfield Road, fired Paul for breaching Robin’s confidence.
Despite care manager Sarah Welham telling the Echo Robin was getting a talk board, the Echo was unable to confirm this with funding bodies Suffolk County Council or NHS Suffolk, and Hilton Care subsequently ignored calls from the Echo.
Hilton Care would not even take donations from generous Echo readers to help Robin.
Stuart Wardley, who joined Haverhill Rovers in 2009, quit the New Croft to return home to newly formed Saffron Walden Town.
The former Queen’s Park Rangers centre half had just been voted Rovers’ player of the season.
Rovers legend Terry McGurty stepped down from his roles as president and vice-chariman after 25 years at the club, becoming honorary president.
Aiden Thomas, who was born on New Year’s Day 2010 with spastic cerebral palsy affect movement in his legs and right arm, begins to walk after a life-changing operation in the USA.
Mum Vicky Thompson and dad Gareth, from Sperling Drive, raised more than £40,000 for the operation, removing damaged nerves to allow Aiden to start walking and play with twin brother Owen.
For all the latest news see Thursday’s (January 10) Echo.
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Weather for Haverhill
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
