A woman from Masham has set up a fundraising page for the bus driver seriously injured in a fatal collision on the A61 Ripon Road this month.

Daria Bartienieva, 35, her son, Ihor Bartienieva, aged 6, and Daria’s step-daughter, Anastasiia Bartienieva, 15, died after a three-vehicle crash that involved a double decker 36 bus on the road near South Stainley on September 3.

It was the second fatal collision on the road on consecutive weekends.

Katie Sills, 23, told the Stray Ferret she had followed the fundraiser for 15-year-old Liza Bartienieva, who was orphaned following the accident.

It has so far raised more than £41,000 and Ms Sills decided to launch a similar appeal for the driver of the 36 bus known as ‘Bob’ because she had not seen anything being done on his behalf.

Ms Sills said she does not know Bob but wanted to help in any capacity she could:

“I just thought to myself ‘he’s a man with a family, bills and probably rent or a mortgage’.

“I’m not entirely sure what the money will be used for, but I imagine just everyday living if he’s not working.

“What he saw would’ve been absolutely horrendous and now he’s left with physical and mental trauma.”

After setting up the GoFundMe page on Sunday, which has now raised over £2,000, a friend of the bus driver reached out to Ms Sills.

“His friend said he’d seen my post about the fundraiser and that the man does not have social media, so he passed on my phone number and he text me not long after.”

The man told Ms Sills “I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and consideration”. She said:

“He told me in the text that the only reason he was working that Sunday was so he could take a day off to drive his son to university the following week.

“He also said he’d always be indebted to me.”

The initial target was £1,000 but now that has been surpassed, Ms Sills said she’d like to keep the page up to raise as much as she can.

A fun day will also be held at Ripon Bowling Club this Sunday to continue raising money for those affected by the collision – including the bus driver and Liza.

It will include cake stalls, a raffle, a live DJ and a magician.

The event will run from 1pm to 5pm.

It is free to attend but asks people to donate what they can.

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Defibrillators can be found at an increasing number of locations across Ripon and surrounding areas, but would you know how to use one to save somebody’s life?

The Defibs-Ripon group has organised a free CPR and defibrillator familiarisation lesson to ensure the vital skills are shared with as many people as possible.

The 90-minute lesson is being provided by Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) and attendees will have the opportunity to practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the service’s training dummy, as well as being taught how to use a defibrillator.

Alec Lutton of Defibs-Ripon said:

“Handling the defibrillator and trying out CPR helps take away the fear of having to do this for the first time in an emergency and may help save the life of a loved one, or a complete stranger, some day.”

The training session will be held at Ripon Bowling Club on Tuesday, August 22. Places are free but must be booked in advance by emailing ripondefibs@gmail.com.

Mr Lutton added:

“Over the last seven years we have tried to encourage as many people as possible to attend these lessons. However, some think it will never happen to them or their friends.

“The important thing to remember is that it can happen to anyone at any time, and anywhere.”

Tickets are now available for Ripon Poetry Festival, which has grown year on year to become the biggest event of its kind in Yorkshire.

The four-day feast of readings, performances, workshops and book launches, runs from September 22 to 25 at venues across the city.

Claire Thompson, who is outreach librarian at Ripon Library and one of the judges for the festival poetry competition, told the Stray Ferret:

“We attracted a record 260 entries this year from poets of all ages.

“This prompted us to produce separate anthologies of poems written by children and adults, selected for publication after catching the eyes of judges.”

The respective children’s and adult anthologies will be launched at 5.30pm and 7.30pm on September 24 in the Operatic Hall at Ripon Arts Hub.

Ripon Bowling Club at Bondgate Green is the venue on September 23 for The Testament of Jake Thackray.

Festival curator Andy Croft, who is a talented poet, prolific author and publisher, said:

“We were so impressed with the standard of entries received from children, that we decided they should have a book of their own.

“This will be the fifth time that we have staged the festival and this year’s line-up includes well-known poets Linda France, Helen Mort, Tara Bergin, Henry Raby and Jim Greenhalf.”

The festival will include posthumous launches of new books by Yorkshire poets David McAndrew, who taught English for many years at Ripon College and Vernon Scannell, whose work titled Farewell Performance, is being published to mark the centenary of his birth.

Humorous songs written by the late singer-songwriter, journalist and poet Jake Thackray, will  be performed by Mike Wilson and Keith Wilshere in an evening of entertainment at Ripon Bowling Club.

In addition to the arts hub and bowling club, a wide range of venues will be used to increase accessibility to events.

These include Community House, Evolve, The Walled Garden, Jennyruth Workshops, The Leper Chapel on Magdalen’s Road, Ripon Library, The Walled Garden and Thorpe Prebend.

As well as being available through the Ripon Poetry Festival website tickets can be purchased on the door or in advance from the Little Ripon Bookshop on Westgate.

Veterans of the Royal Engineers, some of whom served in the Falklands War, will be in Ripon this weekend to mark the 40th anniversary of the end of the conflict.

They are former members of 11 Field Squadron, which used to be part of the 38 Engineers Regiment based in the city.

On Sunday, between 10.45am and 11.15am a short wreath laying ceremony will take place at the War Memorial in Ripon Spa Gardens.

No Ripon-based Royal Engineers died in the war, but the event, open to anyone wishing to attend, will give the chance to reflect and remember Royal Engineers from other parts of the UK who lost their lives fighting Argentinian land sea and air forces.

Before then, an informal reunion will be held tomorrow between 2pm and 7pm at Ripon Bowling Club on Bondgate Green.

Those wishing to attend the reunion at the bowling club are asked to contact Stan Darbyshire for further details and to register their attendance. He can be contacted on email at duffbudgie11@outlook.com or by phone on 07878 980630.

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The Royal Engineers have had a long and distinguished presence in Ripon, recognised by the fact that the Regiment was awarded the Freedom of the City in 1949.

This gives them the right to hold an annual Freedom Parade through Ripon.

Last year’s parade was held in September, when more than 200 soldiers took part in the march with a band playing and bayonets fixed, before a service in their honour was held at the cathedral.

Medals parade at Claro barracks

Mayor Sid Hawke meets the medal recipients.

Over 150 individuals from 21 Engineer regiment were issued HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medals for serving for over five years.

The medals were presented by Councillor Sid Hawke, the Mayor of Ripon with Major Daryl Murphy, the regimental second-in-command and Major Neil Chalmers, quartermaster, also handing out medals.

With most of the regiment deployed overseas in Poland and Cyprus, it was a greatly reduced medals parade. Those deployed had already received theirs last week.

Ripon City Netball Club’s Falcons, Kestrels, Ospreys Eagles and Hawks, flocked together for their social highlight of the year — the annual awards.

More than 40 members from the teams, which are each named after birds of prey, gathered at Ripon Bowling Club on Saturday for a sparkling evening of prize presentations, congratulations and celebration of the 2021-2022 season.

The event was compered by the club’s head coach, Helen Mackenzie who, at Christmas, received her own accolade from former BBC Look North presenter Harry Gration when the votes of readers of the Stray Ferret saw her win the Harry’s Heroes community award.

Thandi Mahlangu, winner of the players’ player award for the Eagles, received her award from Alastair Little of Biffa.

The club, which was formed seven years ago, is based at Ripon Grammar School and has teams playing in the Harrogate, Hambleton and the North Yorkshire Ambassador leagues.

Its focus, since formation, has been on inclusivity, providing the opportunity for people of all ages and abilities to join in both sporting and social activities.

Club member Jackie Laugher (left) mother of GB diving star and triple Olympic medal winner Jack, presented Helen Mackenzie with gifts on behalf of the club.

Ms Mackenzie said:

“The aim since we set off has been to create a club based on three words – participate, enjoy, succeed.

“We are inclusive, welcoming all-comers.

“This sees mothers play alongside their daughters and siblings enjoying training and playing together.”

The trophies that were presented.

The award recipients

Presentations were made by Alastair Little, Yorkshire regional general manager of waste management and recycling company Biffa, one of the club’s sponsors.

For each team, trophies were awarded to the most improved player, the coach’s selected player and the players’ player.

The award winners were:

Falcons: Steph Parker, Jo Wallace, Helen Peacock

Kestrels: Suzanne Armstrong, Jen Addyman, Alice Scurr

Ospreys: Lindsey Stockdale, Karen Ellam, Becky Ash

Eagles: Lesley Watkinson, Cat Walmsley, Thandi Mahlangu

Hawks: Rachel Cattley, Karen Dodds, Laura Cardin

Winners of other club awards were: Nicole Greenwood, Nicola Lymer, Michelle Ingham, Kirsteen Dixon, Anne Groves, Beth Beadle and Hayley Blaymires.

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Arts and community groups from across the city, are coming together to play a role in the new Ripon Theatre Festival

Taking place from June 23 to 26, the festival aims to brighten the open spaces and venues in the city with professional and community performances.

Plans include puppetry, dance, drama, street theatre, storytelling, children’s activities and family shows.

Festival director Ian Holloway and representatives from the organisations that make up the festival team, introduced themselves to an audience of 40 potential participants, volunteers and supporters at a meeting held in Ripon Arts Hub last week.

Festival team members, from the left: Ian Holloway, Tina Salden, Simon Hewitt, Katie Scott and Julia Whitham

The event is being made possible with funding from a growing number of businesses and organisations, including main sponsor Wolseley, which has been a leading employer in the Ripon area for more than half a century.

Family shows are planned for Ripon’s Spa Gardens

Volunteer Co-ordinator, Tina Salden, said:

“There are many roles for volunteers to help out as stewards and marshals or to serve refreshments, look after visiting artists or direct visitors and audiences.

Help is also needed ahead of the Festival with publicity around the region to ensure that the events are enjoyed by as many people as possible.” Anyone who missed the meeting, but who wants to get involved can contact info@ripontheatrefestival.org.

More than 100 people with passionate but different views about the future of Hell Wath Nature Reserve attended a meeting in Ripon last night.

The meeting, at Ripon Bowling Club, was organised by Keep Hell Wath Natural, a group concerned about clearance and other work at the reserve, including removal of a large area of hawthorn and blackthorn, the felling of trees and draining/de-silting of a pond.

The work is being done as part of the National Lottery-funded £2.5m Skell Valley Project, which involves work on a 12-mile stretch of the River Skell between Dallowgill Moor and Hell Wath.

Members of Keep Hell Wath Natural, along with local residents, dog walkers and people who have been visiting the area for up to 55 years joined representatives from the Friends of Hell Wath, the Skell Valley Project, and Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper at the meeting. It was chaired by independent city councillor Peter Horton.

Meeting organisers Janet Anderson (centre) and Brian Don, pictured in January in an area of Hell Wath where clearance works have taken place

Project partners include the National Trust, Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Harrogate Borough Council, which has a 99 year lease on Hell Wath negotiated at a peppercorn rent with landowner Tarmac.

Objectors say ‘brutal’ clearance has gone too far

Speaker after speaker said they wanted Hell Wath to remain as they have known it for decades — as a natural and largely un-touched area with trees, shrubs, grassland, riverside paths and pond.

They were critical of the clearance activities that have already taken place as part of the Skell Valley Project.

Fears were also expressed about possible longer-term plans to create a cycle path, which they believe would be hazardous for owners who take their dogs to exercise at Hell Wath and let them off the lead.

They believe that the clearance ‘went too far’ removing areas of bushes, trees and water that sustain wildlife ranging from frogs and newts to birds, rabbits and hedgehogs.

The removal of trees and scrub, was described by two speakers as ‘brutal’ and ‘creating a mess.’

Sheila Boyd summed up the feelings of many present, when she said:

“We are talking about an area that has been completely cleared and destroyed, taking away the habitat for hedgehogs, butterflies, birds and other creatures.

“There are four large and open fields at Hell Wath, with barely a tree in sight, so why couldn’t these pockets of bushes and woodland be left as they were?”

What was the response from the Skell Valley Project?

Project manager Nabil Abbas explained the reason for the clearance works. He said

“Historically, in a wild landscape like this, there would have been large herbivores like wild boar, wild cattle, elk, beavers etc living and naturally managing the land.

“Regular catastrophic events such as flooding or wildfires would also take place, all of which remove trees and shrubs and help to maintain a mosaic of open habitats suitable for a broad range of different species.”

Nabil Abbas

He added:

“Cattle did graze at Hell Wath for a long period, however it is not appropriate to reintroduce them given the way the community now use and enjoy the space.

“Due to the absence of these natural processes which would keep them in check, trees and shrubs are spreading through these precious open areas.

“As a result, we risk losing the diversity of species such as rare orchids and wildflowers, bees, butterflies and other pollinators, and the birds and animals that feed on them, if we do not actively manage these remaining habitats.

“In summary, our landscape is no longer ‘natural’ since key ecological processes are no longer operating, and therefore human intervention is needed to conserve the diversity of habitats and species which depend on them.”

Council leader ‘shocked’

Cllr Cooper, said he was ‘shocked’ by the hostile reaction to some of the points made by Mr Abbas and claimed there had been an attempt to ‘shout him down and heckle’ him.

In response, a member of the audience, said:

“You should understand the strength of feeling in this room and that is why people are getting heated about what is happening at Hell Wath.”

‘Shocked’ Harrogate Borough Council leader Richard Cooper. Picture: Tyler Parker Photography

‘No plans for a cycle path’ – Friends of Hell Wath

Both the secretary of the Friends of Hell Wath, Jeremy Dunford and committee member Carol Leo, were categoric in saying that a cycle path is not planned as part of their work or that of the Skell Valley Project.

Mr Dunford, who is also chair of the Ripon Disability Forum, confirmed there are plans to improve paths and access for people who, like himself, are wheelchair users, or families with children in pushchairs. He said:

“There will be no cycle paths, no tarmac, no concrete, but we want to ensure that Hell Wath is accessible to everybody. We all have a right to visit this area.”

Jeremy Dunford, spoke about improving accessibility

Ms Leo, added:

“There will also be no bridleways and there will be signage on all entrances saying ‘no cycling’.”

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Invitation to join the friends

At the end of the meeting, Ms Leo, said:

“It is clear that people here are passionate about Hell Wath and I hope that we can all work together.

“I ask those of you who are not already members of the Friends of Hell Wath to come and join us.”