Nwicker60
11-May-11, 11:08
CAITHNESS COURIER REVIEW: May 11, 2011
THE paper leads with the mean theft, at Dunnet, of a Salvation Army clothing bank. The heavy receptacle was stolen last month and police say it was an organised operation requiring lifting gear and a van. Anyone with information should contact Thurso police, on 01847 893222.
Also on age one is a good news story. A group of fundraising pupils at Thurso High School have notched up a notable first, in winning a top Rotary Club award. The school’s Interact Club is the first one in Scotland to take the Rotary International “best project” trophy for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The pupils were awarded the honour for their support of the Rotary’s “They Need Water” project, which saw them reaching their £5000 fundraising target. In a bid to help provide clean water for a deprived area in Africa, the pupils produced a CD entitled They Need Water, which featured the musical talents of club members, their school, friends and a couple of local Rotarians. The CD was produced at QPQ studio at Dunnet Head.
THE paper communicates more good news...Dunbeath Pre-school Centre was given a glowing report during its recent HMIE inspection. Officials visited the centre, which caters for children aged between two-and-a-half and five years, in February, as part of its integrated inspection programme. The report revealed the particular strengths of the centre, including educating confident children, who enjoy good experiences across all areas of learning. It also mentioned the positive partnerships the centre makes, with the local community and the high quality of attention given to all children. The youngsters are said to be making very good progress in learning arithmetic and writing skills.
Completing the front page layout is, yes...another good news story. Keith Budge from Thurso is cycling from Land’s End to John O’ Groats to raise money for the RNLI and Cancer Research UK. The 44-year-old, who is a member of the Thurso lifeboat, set off from Cornwall on Saturday night to begin his arduous 874- mile journey the length of the UK. Keith, who had not previously ridden a bike for 28 years, is being accompanied by his brother-in-law, Neil MacLean, who has taken a week off work as an ambulance technician and firefighter at Dounreay, to support him.
INSIDE, the paper reports that old school friends, who had not met since 1936, were brought together at the opening of an exhibition at the Castlehill Heritage Centre. Entitle Brough Then and Now, the exhibition’s first day attracted over 150 people with Brough connections, to see photographs, stories and artefacts, old and new, of people from the area as far back as the 1860s.
THE level of intrusion a prospective windfarm would need to have on nearby houses to warrant its refusal, went under the microscope at yesterday’s session of a public local inquiry in Caithness. In the absence of a clear steer from official guidelines, various terms to describe impacts were cited, including “unpleasantly overwhelming”, “dramatic” and “significant. Objectors to the 30 turbines proposed to go up on the eastern slopes of Spittal Hill, cite all of the above. However, David Hardy, the barrister, representing the developers, sought to draw a distinction between the private and public interest when assessing residential impact.
CAITHNESS Agricultural Society has a new secretary. Kerry Mackenzie, who is originally from Halkirk but now lives in East Mey with her farmer husband Graham and two children, has taken over the role from Wilma Stewart. She applied for the post when it was advertised in March and was “delighted when she was successful. She said she was “really looking forward to the challenge”. Kerry worked at Dounreay as a contracts officer but took early release to spend more time with her young family. She will now be responsible for helping organise the annual county show, Caithness’s premier farming event.
Page 5 records the Holyrood shock result in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross contest, which fell badly for the paper, the Friday count at Dingwall. Rob Gibson, who was the winner, with one of the biggest majorities in the SNP landslide in Scotland, described it as “the best outcome for the people of the Far North.” He added: “There was a feeling that it was definitely time to move on. The country is on a journey and people in the Far North want to be part of it.”
FURTHER into the paper, on page 7, there is spread of happy pictures marking Halkirk Primary School’s royal wedding celebrations. The youngsters dressed up in their finery and watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on the television. They then marched into the dining hall behind local piper Stuart Webster, before taking their seats at a fully-set wedding lunch, complete with wedding cake and favours.
DESPITE dominating in their match with Fraserburgh, Wick Academy came away with no points. An inspired performance from the Broch’s goalkeeper Paul Leask, made sure that all three points stayed in Buchan. His team won by two goals to one.
THE paper leads with the mean theft, at Dunnet, of a Salvation Army clothing bank. The heavy receptacle was stolen last month and police say it was an organised operation requiring lifting gear and a van. Anyone with information should contact Thurso police, on 01847 893222.
Also on age one is a good news story. A group of fundraising pupils at Thurso High School have notched up a notable first, in winning a top Rotary Club award. The school’s Interact Club is the first one in Scotland to take the Rotary International “best project” trophy for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The pupils were awarded the honour for their support of the Rotary’s “They Need Water” project, which saw them reaching their £5000 fundraising target. In a bid to help provide clean water for a deprived area in Africa, the pupils produced a CD entitled They Need Water, which featured the musical talents of club members, their school, friends and a couple of local Rotarians. The CD was produced at QPQ studio at Dunnet Head.
THE paper communicates more good news...Dunbeath Pre-school Centre was given a glowing report during its recent HMIE inspection. Officials visited the centre, which caters for children aged between two-and-a-half and five years, in February, as part of its integrated inspection programme. The report revealed the particular strengths of the centre, including educating confident children, who enjoy good experiences across all areas of learning. It also mentioned the positive partnerships the centre makes, with the local community and the high quality of attention given to all children. The youngsters are said to be making very good progress in learning arithmetic and writing skills.
Completing the front page layout is, yes...another good news story. Keith Budge from Thurso is cycling from Land’s End to John O’ Groats to raise money for the RNLI and Cancer Research UK. The 44-year-old, who is a member of the Thurso lifeboat, set off from Cornwall on Saturday night to begin his arduous 874- mile journey the length of the UK. Keith, who had not previously ridden a bike for 28 years, is being accompanied by his brother-in-law, Neil MacLean, who has taken a week off work as an ambulance technician and firefighter at Dounreay, to support him.
INSIDE, the paper reports that old school friends, who had not met since 1936, were brought together at the opening of an exhibition at the Castlehill Heritage Centre. Entitle Brough Then and Now, the exhibition’s first day attracted over 150 people with Brough connections, to see photographs, stories and artefacts, old and new, of people from the area as far back as the 1860s.
THE level of intrusion a prospective windfarm would need to have on nearby houses to warrant its refusal, went under the microscope at yesterday’s session of a public local inquiry in Caithness. In the absence of a clear steer from official guidelines, various terms to describe impacts were cited, including “unpleasantly overwhelming”, “dramatic” and “significant. Objectors to the 30 turbines proposed to go up on the eastern slopes of Spittal Hill, cite all of the above. However, David Hardy, the barrister, representing the developers, sought to draw a distinction between the private and public interest when assessing residential impact.
CAITHNESS Agricultural Society has a new secretary. Kerry Mackenzie, who is originally from Halkirk but now lives in East Mey with her farmer husband Graham and two children, has taken over the role from Wilma Stewart. She applied for the post when it was advertised in March and was “delighted when she was successful. She said she was “really looking forward to the challenge”. Kerry worked at Dounreay as a contracts officer but took early release to spend more time with her young family. She will now be responsible for helping organise the annual county show, Caithness’s premier farming event.
Page 5 records the Holyrood shock result in the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross contest, which fell badly for the paper, the Friday count at Dingwall. Rob Gibson, who was the winner, with one of the biggest majorities in the SNP landslide in Scotland, described it as “the best outcome for the people of the Far North.” He added: “There was a feeling that it was definitely time to move on. The country is on a journey and people in the Far North want to be part of it.”
FURTHER into the paper, on page 7, there is spread of happy pictures marking Halkirk Primary School’s royal wedding celebrations. The youngsters dressed up in their finery and watched the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton on the television. They then marched into the dining hall behind local piper Stuart Webster, before taking their seats at a fully-set wedding lunch, complete with wedding cake and favours.
DESPITE dominating in their match with Fraserburgh, Wick Academy came away with no points. An inspired performance from the Broch’s goalkeeper Paul Leask, made sure that all three points stayed in Buchan. His team won by two goals to one.