Nwicker60
26-Oct-11, 16:16
Caithness Courier review: October 26, 2011
THE paper leads with a good news story that hopes have been raised for the future development of marine energy in the Pentland Firth, following a multi-million-pound, Scottish Government pledge-but questions remain over how exactly it will work. First Minister Alex Salmond announced on Monday an £18 million commitment to help develop the country’s first commercial wave and tidal power arrays in the firth, Orkney and other Scottish waters. The money is to be used to take developers from single test machines to the stage where they have multiple machines in the water. Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership programme manager, Eann Sinclair welcomed the news but warned details are sketchy at best. He added: “It just remains to be seen how we can use the fund, or if indeed, we can. Either way, it is a good thing because, if the developers are using it to commercialise their devices, the chances are, they are going to be up here anyway.”
Also on page one...it seems a toast is in order to what has been officially described as “the best dram in the world” none other than Old Pulteney’s 21-year-old malt. The honour was named in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, after he sampled 1210 whiskies from 200 core brands across the globe. Distillery manager Malcolm Waring said that the product had always been considered by staff and buyers as world class, but the title of best in the world was a huge achievement for everyone involved at the distillery. He added: “Jim Murray has visited the distillery on a number of occasions and what he doesn’t know about the industry, isn’t worth knowing. What he says about a product, a lot of people follow and we expect to benefit hugely from the title.”
THE third front page story centres on a forthcoming meeting on the future of the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso, due to take place before Christmas. That was decided by members of the North Highland Community Health Partnership committee meeting in Wick. North Highland CHP general manager, Sheena Macleod, told the meeting that five key issues are being looked at, following public concern expressed earlier this year over proposed changes to the services offered at the Dunbar. These are, in-care palliative care provision in the Thurso area, clarity around the vision for the use of the Dunbar site, the impact of the proposed redesign plan on the Scottish Ambulance Service, the socio-economic impact, including transport issues, and the impact on Staff. Mrs Macleod said it is hoped the review of the issues will be complete by the end of October and be the subject of a single-topic meeting in Thurso in December.
SCOTLAND’s trade union movement has joined the campaign to improve the notorious A9 bottleneck at Berriedale Braes. STUC general secretary Grahame Smith is to lobby on behalf of those seeing the green light for work to realign the north hairpin on the switchback section of road. Mr Smith and assistant Stephen Boyd are to raise the issue at a meeting, later this week with Scottish infrastructure and capital investment minister Alex Neil.
A CAITHNESS bakery is aiming to expand its workforce to cope with the demands of meeting several new contracts. Reids of Caithness have announced it will create at least six jobs as it continues to sign new deals. The news comes as the company celebrated major success by taking two prizes at the Highlands and Islands food and Drink Awards in Inverness on Friday. The company which employs 36 staff at its premises in Riverside Place, Thurso, recently secured a deal to provide luxury biscuits to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s JME brand.
THE amount of money spend by Highland Council on Gaelic is “very miniscule”. In addition, no favouritism is shown to the language and its service is subject to the same cuts as other local authority budgets. That was said by Councillor Hamish Fraser at a consultation meeting on the draft Gaelic language plan for 2012, in Thurso High School on Monday night. The meeting, which attracted around 20 members of the public, was the first of eight which are being held across the Highlands.
A NEW multi-million-pound community fund which aims to support projects and good causes across the Far North, has been launched as part of the creation of a new facility at Dounreay. The Caithness and North Sutherland Fund has been established, to distribute cash which has become available from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority through the development of new low-level waste facilities at the site.
A CAITHNESS family has raised over £5000 for the air ambulance service and two hospital in Aberdeen and Wick. They decided to embark on their fundraising initiative following the part the medical staff played in getting former local councillor Alastair MacDonald back to health after an accident almost two years ago. He suffered a head injury when he fell on ice outside his home at Seaview, Hill of Forss, a few days before Christmas 2009. He was taken to Caithness General Hospital but was later transfered by air ambulance to hospital in Aberdeen.
THE paper leads with a good news story that hopes have been raised for the future development of marine energy in the Pentland Firth, following a multi-million-pound, Scottish Government pledge-but questions remain over how exactly it will work. First Minister Alex Salmond announced on Monday an £18 million commitment to help develop the country’s first commercial wave and tidal power arrays in the firth, Orkney and other Scottish waters. The money is to be used to take developers from single test machines to the stage where they have multiple machines in the water. Caithness and North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership programme manager, Eann Sinclair welcomed the news but warned details are sketchy at best. He added: “It just remains to be seen how we can use the fund, or if indeed, we can. Either way, it is a good thing because, if the developers are using it to commercialise their devices, the chances are, they are going to be up here anyway.”
Also on page one...it seems a toast is in order to what has been officially described as “the best dram in the world” none other than Old Pulteney’s 21-year-old malt. The honour was named in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, after he sampled 1210 whiskies from 200 core brands across the globe. Distillery manager Malcolm Waring said that the product had always been considered by staff and buyers as world class, but the title of best in the world was a huge achievement for everyone involved at the distillery. He added: “Jim Murray has visited the distillery on a number of occasions and what he doesn’t know about the industry, isn’t worth knowing. What he says about a product, a lot of people follow and we expect to benefit hugely from the title.”
THE third front page story centres on a forthcoming meeting on the future of the Dunbar Hospital in Thurso, due to take place before Christmas. That was decided by members of the North Highland Community Health Partnership committee meeting in Wick. North Highland CHP general manager, Sheena Macleod, told the meeting that five key issues are being looked at, following public concern expressed earlier this year over proposed changes to the services offered at the Dunbar. These are, in-care palliative care provision in the Thurso area, clarity around the vision for the use of the Dunbar site, the impact of the proposed redesign plan on the Scottish Ambulance Service, the socio-economic impact, including transport issues, and the impact on Staff. Mrs Macleod said it is hoped the review of the issues will be complete by the end of October and be the subject of a single-topic meeting in Thurso in December.
SCOTLAND’s trade union movement has joined the campaign to improve the notorious A9 bottleneck at Berriedale Braes. STUC general secretary Grahame Smith is to lobby on behalf of those seeing the green light for work to realign the north hairpin on the switchback section of road. Mr Smith and assistant Stephen Boyd are to raise the issue at a meeting, later this week with Scottish infrastructure and capital investment minister Alex Neil.
A CAITHNESS bakery is aiming to expand its workforce to cope with the demands of meeting several new contracts. Reids of Caithness have announced it will create at least six jobs as it continues to sign new deals. The news comes as the company celebrated major success by taking two prizes at the Highlands and Islands food and Drink Awards in Inverness on Friday. The company which employs 36 staff at its premises in Riverside Place, Thurso, recently secured a deal to provide luxury biscuits to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s JME brand.
THE amount of money spend by Highland Council on Gaelic is “very miniscule”. In addition, no favouritism is shown to the language and its service is subject to the same cuts as other local authority budgets. That was said by Councillor Hamish Fraser at a consultation meeting on the draft Gaelic language plan for 2012, in Thurso High School on Monday night. The meeting, which attracted around 20 members of the public, was the first of eight which are being held across the Highlands.
A NEW multi-million-pound community fund which aims to support projects and good causes across the Far North, has been launched as part of the creation of a new facility at Dounreay. The Caithness and North Sutherland Fund has been established, to distribute cash which has become available from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority through the development of new low-level waste facilities at the site.
A CAITHNESS family has raised over £5000 for the air ambulance service and two hospital in Aberdeen and Wick. They decided to embark on their fundraising initiative following the part the medical staff played in getting former local councillor Alastair MacDonald back to health after an accident almost two years ago. He suffered a head injury when he fell on ice outside his home at Seaview, Hill of Forss, a few days before Christmas 2009. He was taken to Caithness General Hospital but was later transfered by air ambulance to hospital in Aberdeen.