A great song and a great performance give a greatly talented singer the opportunity of a lifetime. Not bad for a Basildon boy.

Jordon Wright, 13, of Connaught Avenue, in Grays, has Cerebral Palsy and suffers a great deal of problems with his posture and mobility. His parents, Emma and John, are hoping that a £40,000 specialist procedure at St Louis Hospital in Missouri will help improve his life.

Mother Emma, speaking to the Yellow Advertiser, explained: “We saw Jordon’s consultant in London last week and he told us that he is unable to offer any further help at this time. But this operation in America could help Jordon’s sitting, standing, walking and level of comfort.

“We’re asking local companies, family and friends if they can help us to raise funds for the operation in June. If there is anyone out there who can help us, we would be very grateful.”

The operation, called Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy (SDR), involves cutting some of the nerve rootlets in sensory nerve fibres. The procedure reduces spasticity around the muscles, which then enables the muscle tone to become normal.

Emma added: “Jordon will have to begin rehabilitation and learn again to sit, crawl, stand, and walk all over again. We’ll have to stay in America for a month and will have to have physiotherapy at the hospital every day.”

They will be able to return home after a follow-up appointment in July, but Jordon will still need intense physiotherapy in the UK, which the family will have to pay for. If you can help raise money to help finance Jordon’s life-changing operation, send an e-mail to emmawright130@msn.com

If he is successful he will be jetting off to Norway in May and singing a song penned by pop legend Pete Waterman OBE.

Josh has been a frequent guest on Gateway FM and we fully support him at this exciting time.

A facebook page has been set up titled “Your county needs you” for people to join. Of course, the best thing that can be done is to watch the show on BBC1 at 8.30pm and cast a vote for him.

You can find out about Josh on myspace http://www.myspace.com/joshdubovie plus there is a short video that’s well worth seeing on the BBC web site www.bbc.co.uk/eurovision/contestants/ycny_2010/contestant_josh.shtml

So please join us in giving Josh your support. He’s a great singer  and could just be the guy to make Eurovision 2010 the year for us to celebrate a win at last.

Development on the site will require that Wickford Market be moved. Market traders will be consulted and approval sought from the Strategic Health Authority.

John Baron MP continues to press Minister David Kidney MP on Government plans to make energy suppliers display tariff comparisons on annual statements so that customers can choose the best value tariff.

The Minister praised John’s tenacious campaign on this issue, but claimed the annual statement is in its infancy and the Government will monitor progress.

Volunteers can expect abundant training support and the chance to develop skills in areas such as  journalism, sports reporting, editing, computing, office administration, presenting, sales, writing for radio, researching, interviewing and teaching.

The atmosphere is friendly and exciting. You could be involved in interviewing a celebrity, going out and about with our roadshow or providing a voice-over. Above all, you can bring specialist knowledge, specialist skills and individual talent to the heart of our community and share in a community enterprise pledged to helping us understand and appreciate the diverse experiences, talents and traditions amongst us.

Just call 01268 521299 to arrange a meeting.

Press Release

It is with great pleasure and a deep sense of pride in the achievement of all our members that I am delighted to tell you that Gateway FM has been awarded its five year FM licence to broadcast a community radio service to our area.

Now that the licence issue is clear, we can commit ourselves to preparing for the launch of this important addition to the local media.

As soon as I know a date when we are cleared to start, I shall let you know. In the meantime, please keep an eye on www.gatewayfm.com for further news.

—

Today’s Ofcom announcement of the award stated, “Gateway FM is a not for profit social enterprise. Its mission is to enhance community cohesion through developing a community radio station to reach, involve and serve the communities of Basildon and East Thurrock. The station proposes to present a mixture of output reflecting the range of interests and backgrounds in the target community.”

For further information, please contact Yvonne Williams on 01268 521299

Throughout the fortnight, a Fairtrade Exhibition will be held at the Eastgate Centre. Residents will be able to enter a free prize draw to be in with a chance of winning £100 worth of Debenhams vouchers and £100 worth of Asda vouchers.

The exhibition will provide more information about Fairtrade and free Fairtrade product samples will also be available on Saturday and Sunday (27 and 28 February).

Schools have also been busy over the last few weeks preparing for their poetry competition and Fairtrade cook-off.

The cook-off kicks off on Friday 26 February with four secondary schools taking part. Pupils from Woodlands, Beauchamps, James Hornsby, and The Billericay School will be cooking against the clock to come up with a Fairtrade menu either from scratch, or by borrowing from proven recipes.

Darren Bennett, owner and Head Chef of the Magic Mushroom restaurant, Billericay, along with Councillors Andrew Baggott and  Kevin Blake, will judge the event.

The winner of the poetry competition for junior school children will also be announced during the fortnight.

Cllr Andrew Baggott said: “By using Fairtrade products we are helping to ensure farmers around the world get paid a fair price for their produce. I would encourage everyone to choose Fairtrade products whenever possible.”

The district was officially awarded Fairtrade status on 12 December 2007 following a Council campaign to meet a set of five criteria laid out by the Fairtrade Foundation. Have a listen to Yvonne Williams’  interview with the Council’s Grant Taylor:

Grant Taylor – Fairtrade Interview 16-02-10lq

Top singer Peter Andre visited Tescos at Pitsea as part of his nationwide tour promoting his new CD.

Crowds gathered to meet the star, however the star took time out first to talk to Gateway FMs Danny Lawrence and Basildon Upper Academy student Harry Finn.
Listen to the interview.

Peter Andre Interview

Some 5000 people were waiting to meet Peter, but few would have known that during his signing session he received the surprise news that his ex, Katie Price, otherwise known as Jordan, has married cagefighter Alex Reid in a reportedly private and simple  ’quickie’ Las Vegas ceremony.

Peter subsequently revealed that he has no negative feelings about the couple and just hopes they will be a good influence on his children.

The reigning Miss Galaxy International, Hayley Mac with champion former javelin thrower Fatima Whitbread MBE, Olympic bronze (1984) and silver (1988) medallist, World Champion (gold, 1987) and silver medallist (1983)

The Selex Club provided the venue for Friday’s ‘Battle of the Bands’  in aid of St Lukes.

The place rocked. The bands provided sound levels to make your ears hum and feet tap.

It was a great show with a welcome surprise guest: Olympic star, Fatima Whitbread.

She joined Hayley Mac, reigning Miss Galaxy International, to present the awards.

The winning band was Eighth Deadly Sin, in second place The Leonhearts and third place went to No Tomorrow.

Interestingly the spead of marks awarded by the judges was quite small, which reflects well on the quality of all the entrants into the competition.

The coveted first prize is a day in Basildon Recording Studio and the opportunity to perform and represent St. Luke’s at a variety of different events through the year, as well as more air time.  Of course, all the bands gained terrific exposure, for they had all been featured on Gateway FM’s ‘Live & Loud’ show.

Cllr Sandra Hillier, Vice-Chair of Basildon District Council was joined on the judging panel by Peter Davies, MD of Orion Display and a Corporate Partner of St Luke’s Hospice; Yvonne Williams, MD of Gateway FM; Greg Fidgeon, Editor of the Yellow Advertiser and Mick Finch, guitar and vocals for ‘The Most’. Mick is an experienced professional musician who was able to give valuable advice to the contestants.

Gateway FM’s Breakfast Time presenter, Brian Wesley, lost no time in getting Fatima to the microphone for a brief chat immediately before the winners were announced: click the link to hear what she had to say: fatima interview

For more pictures of the event, visit the picture gallery for ‘Battle of the Bands’ in the media section.