Hundreds of elderly and disabled people who use seven council-run day centres in Northumberland face a three-month wait to find out whether they can be saved from closure.
A series of public meetings on the future of the threatened centres in Amble, Bedlington, Blyth, Hexham, Haltwhistle, Ponteland and Prudhoe - which are used by 370 people a week - has now been completed, and final decisions will be taken in September.
Further private meetings will be held with individual centre users and their families, and feedback from the public consultation analysed, before reports setting out the various options are presented to county councillors.
Fears were voiced last night over the potential impact on the health of elderly and vulnerable people if care chiefs press ahead with controversial plans to close seven day centres in Northumberland.
Relatives of elderly dementia suffers who use the council-run Lyndon Walk day centre in Blyth said they are worried that their conditions will get even worse if they have to uproot themselves and move elsewhere.
Two women told a public meeting in the town that their mothers don't cope well with change, and questioned whether adequate alternative provision will be available if the centre closes.
Transport officials in Northumberland are hoping to meet regional partners and Network Rail soon in a bid to make progress on long-awaited plans to restore passenger train services on an axed line.
The meeting is being sought to review work carried out to date on the planned reopening of the Ashington, Blyth and Tyne railway line, and try to shunt the scheme out of the sidings.
The latest moves were revealed yesterday after a new report by the influential Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC) included the ABT scheme in a list of 14 railway lines it wants to see opened to passenger trains.
More meetings are to be held in Northumberland to allow people to have their say on £200m proposals for new and improved hospitals in the county.
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust has drawn up plans for a new specialist emergency care centre near Cramlington, plus improvements to Wansbeck General and the rebuilding of community hospitals in Berwick and Haltwhistle.
But the changes would see the closure of emergency departments at Wansbeck and Hexham General, moves which have caused some concern with patients.
Air cadets from Bedlington have triumphed in an athletics contest against youngsters from across Northumberland and Durham.
A 23-strong team from 2522 Bedlington Squadron went head to head against hundreds of air cadets from the Northumberland and Durham Wing, when they all competed in the annual Wing Athletics competition in Monkton Stadium, Jarrow.
The Bedlington team, consisting of junior and senior boys and girls aged 13 to 18, took part in all track and field events such as javelin, discus, shot, high jump and long jump.
Finance chiefs at Northumberland's cash-strapped super council are trying to recover almost £9m in unpaid council tax inherited from the county's former district authorities.
The huge debt has been revealed following the abolition of Berwick, Alnwick, Castle Morpeth, Tynedale, Wansbeck and Blyth Valley councils on April 1 - and their replacement by the all-purpose unitary council.
A new police crackdown on North East criminals is making its mark in Northumberland, after raids were carried out on homes in a former pit town yesterday.
Uniformed officers swooped on two properties in Milburn Road, Ashington - one a flat above a fish and chip shop and the other a house just across the road.
They smashed the front doors and carried out searches for stolen property, before arresting a 31-year-old man and a woman on suspicion of burglary.
Budding entrepreneurs from 12 Northumberland schools are preparing to pitch their ideas to judges in a contest which combines Dragons' Den with The Apprentice.
The high school students will be competing at the Alnwick Garden Pavilion tomorrow evening in the final of the Northumberland Enterprise Learning Network challenge for school-based companies.
The teams will champion their individual business ventures in a range of categories to a judging panel including Garden managing director Mike Dukes and County Durham estate agent and recent Apprentice contestant, Philip Taylor.
People in Bedlington who want to be fitter, safer and healthier are being offered a helping hand by the Salvation Army.
The church and charity will hold an open day at its Hartford Road hall on Saturday, July 4, from 10am to 2pm when more than 30 different organisations will be attending.
There will be demonstrations by the ambulance, fire and police, dentists and a beauty therapist, advice for children on healthy eating and free fresh fruit provided by Asda.
Sexual health advisers will be on hand to offer information and advice to teenagers as well as mums and dads. There will also be football and keep-fit for children.
Older people in Northumberland are threatening a revolt against new charges for day centre care which are being brought in by the county's cash-strapped super council.
Apart from meal and transport costs, attendance at day centres has been free for elderly and disabled people until now. But means-tested fees are being introduced to help County Hall bosses make savings on their adult care budget.
Day centre clients are being assessed and told how much they will have to contribute to their care each week, based on their income and savings.
John Potts Fencing & Sheds -
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"We are very proud to be one of three Wansbeck Businesses to win one of the Spirit of Enterprise Awar..."
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