SNJ reporter Saul Cooke-Black looks back at news from across the decades.

1966

A BUDDING artist had one of his paintings chosen for the National Exhibition of Children’s Art out of 52,000 entries.

John Clifford, 13, of Slad Road, Stroud, went with his parents to the opening of the exhibition, organised by The Sunday Mirror, in Cheltenham.

John, who attended Archway School, had his painting chosen as one of 890 paintings, drawings, prints and craft exhibits which were chosen from 52,000 entries.

PUPILS at St Rose’s School were to benefit from a new 22-seater mini-bus with a lift.

The new bus had a hydraulic lift which could carry weights of up to one ton, enabling children in wheelchairs to be lifted into the bus.

It replaced an old 12-seater bus which did not have a lift.

1976

HOUSEHOLDERS were being told to dump their rubbish bags and empty their dustbins in skips after bin collectors at Stroud District Council went on strike.

Bin collectors in Stroud and Dursley had gone on strike on Friday and threatened further action in a dispute over bonus payments.

A spokesman from SDC’S department of environmental health said: “Non-collection of refuse over prolonged periods would inevitably produce conditions under which rats and other vermin could thrive.

“The council’s emergency plan consists of making available plastic sacks in areas where refuse is not collected, and the sitting of large skip containers in strategic places in which full sacks can be deposited and dustbins filled.”

The spokesman added that the present health risk was ‘minimal.’

1986

AN OUTBREAK of a virus led to the closure of Stroud General Hospital to all but emergency cases.

Several patients and staff on the female ward went down with viral enteritis, leading to the closure of the hospital for several days.

Keith Hale, administrator at the hospital, said the illness caused diarrhoea and vomiting but that there was no danger to life or serious after-effects.

1996

A THRIVING café was set to close unless investors came forward.

Owners of The Late Night Café in Kendrick Street, Stroud, said they desperately needed a cash injection from a new partner of around £8,000 to £10,000 to stay open.

The non-alcoholic café was hailed as groundbreaking when it opened earlier in the year and won the backing of civic leaders who hoped it would help cut crime and attract more visitors to the town.

Owners Greg Smith and Andrew Lovemore were appealing for investors after being landed with ‘huge’ rent and business rate bills.

2006

POLITICIANS agreed to fund a study into a radical new scheme to remove Stroud’s traffic lights, signs, road markings and barriers in an effort to reduce crashes.

Stroud town councillors agreed to commit £5,000 to fund a study into the feasibility of bringing the Shared Space initiative to Stroud town centre.

The scheme had improved traffic flow in the Dutch towns of Makkinga and Drachten, where it originated in the 1970s.

Advocated said it encouraged motorists to drive more carefully on roads stripped of all but the most essential markings because they were forced to slow down to navigate around pedestrians.