IF there is one thing Podium will never tire of, while briefly Stateside, it’s the American devotion to public service.

Even cynical and embittered northerners can have their days immeasurably lightened by the odd chirpy shop assistant or public servant not swathed in apathy or downright hostility. Completely false, you say? I’ll still take it.

And this leads nicely onto the stalwart career of one Sheila Woodyatt, whose parallel posts as a parish, borough and county councillor are said to have seen the Lymm representative deal with more than 40,000 complaints.

Dealing with Sheila is a rite of passage for any young North Cheshire journo – and always a delight in my estimation.

One of the clear high watermarks for any councillor is how much grief they generate for friends of mine who ‘work’ at WBC, for which Sheila passes with flying colours.

No-one can question her longevity, given the 35-year-plus career at the local political coal face (now there’s an image). But perseverance is another matter.

For a stretch, before the Tories' short-lived Warrington coalition with the Lib Dems, Sheila was the sole Conservative member on the borough council.

And you can imagine how chivalrous the Labour lot, present leader included, were in the circumstances.

I’m never, as a habitual resident of North of the River, going to agree with the good lady’s leanings, but it might serve some of those with lofty ambitions to climb the greasy pole to have done one-third of Sheila’s service before grabbing the brass ring to higher offices.

  •  Another crown court conviction this week takes Podium right back to where it all began for your correspondent, with the jailing of a former chemistry teacher from Old Hall for abuse at Wade Deacon in Widnes.

Sadly this is far from being an isolated case, even if the rate of prosecutions has slowed somewhat from the days of Operation Granite and the like, involving the former Greystone Heath at Penketh.

One of my first outings as a fairly innocent 18-year-old hack was for a preliminary hearing for the former social services manager Keith Laverack, whose reign of abuse covered Greystone Heath and later Cambridgeshire.

Fairly soon afterwards, after an explanation back at the office from an older hand, at least I became acquainted with the legal definition of ‘buggery’.

For all those armchair and online critics of the celebrity-ensnaring Operation Yewtree and the like, just remember that Cheshire Police has been gunning for much less high-profile targets for more than 20 years.

  •  Just how cruel do you have to be to wage a cyberwar on Network Warrington?

Like most right-thinking passengers, I’ve been appalled at their latest price hikes.

And the reluctance of bosses to justify their shameful rises is nothing short of farcical.

But a campaign of attrition against their web presence is hardly constructive.

What might be more illuminating would be if WBC’s high command explained how throwing good money after bad in the bus company’s direction is the best course for the travelling public.

  •  Our end-of-term bash, after what can only be dubbed a stop-start season, has been booked as England take on the mighty French at Leigh Sports Village.

Hopefully there will be a smattering of Wire interest at the Greater Culcheth venue, and who knows, maybe the chance to chortle heartily at Micky Higham, as he prepares for another 12 months in the Championship.

If Leigh Sports Village was good enough for the Rocket Man then the Away Day Crew should feel right at home. We’ve even got a semi-native tour guide to smooth things over, should things go awry.