Nwicker60
16-May-12, 10:22
Caithness Courier review: May 16, 2012
TWO hotels in Caithness are thought to be the latest victims of a con artist who is said to have left a trail of debt across the Highlands. The Park Hotel in Thurso and the Norseman in Wick are both owed over £500, by the same woman, who is believed to have used a different false identity in each town. She was last seen on Monday morning having breakfast at the Norseman at 8.30am before disappearing. She has not been seen since.
ALSO on the front page...a Wick town-centre eyesore is no more. The dilapidated property at 9 High Street, popularly known as Doctor Leask’s house, was ripped down on Saturday by the local authority, after the owners, operators of the Norseman Hotel, decided there was no future for the historic building. The former GP’s house had been abandoned for decades and had fallen into a state of disrepair, although at one point, it is believed the Norseman Hotel were housed staff there.
CELEBRATION was the order of the day for Jack Trevelyan and Oonagh Dunnett, the first man and woman home in Sunday’s Mey 10k. Trevelyan, who runs with North Highland Harriers, and was last year’s winner, set a new record of 36 minutes and 40 seconds over the course which had been changed from last year. Dunnett, of Reay, who runs for Edinburgh AC, set a woman’s record with her time of 41.08. She ran a personal best by 50 seconds and was a clear three-and-a-half minutes ahead of her nearest rival.
INSIDE...charity shops in Caithness are struggling to meet demand for second-hand goods, it has emerged. Several of those contacted by the Courier, reported a rise in custom but revealed the amount of donations from the public is beginning to fall. The Charity Retail Association has announced that charity stores in the UK are taking in £1 billion and reported an increase of £30 million has been spent in the last year – representing a growth of 3.6 per cent. In Wick, Blythswood Care manager, Lorna Ross, said the shop has seen a rise in footfall but revealed donations of larger items are harder to come by these days.
DETAILS on the layout of the new Wick High School were revealed last week at a stakeholders’ meeting. The meeting, on Thursday night, focused on the new secondary section of the three to 18 campus. The consultation process is still ongoing into the amalgamation of the two primary schools, south of Wick River – Pulteneytown Academy and South school – which are also to be brought together on the site. Wick High rector Thomas McIntyre explained: “There was a presentation from Ron Mackenzie, head of support services with Highland Council’s education culture and sport service who outlined how the school was going to take place.”
A CAITHNESS artist has won the chance to help bring back life to the main street in one of Aberdeen’s most run-down areas. Shelagh Swanson opened Oil and Glass Gallery and Workshop last weekend in the city’s Torry area after winning a competition to help regenerate the town centre. The 29-year-old, who is original from Tister Farm, Halkirk, but now lives in the Granite city is among six chosen to open new businesses in empty shop units, to bring back a beating heart to the economy in Torry. To celebrate her new business, invited guests were in attendance for her grand opening on Saturday night, before the gallery opened to the public next day.
A BEACON will be lit on top of Morven to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee. The event will take place on Monday, June 4 and is one of many which will mark the momentous occasions. Around 4000 beacons are expected to be constructed around the UK with many others at international locations. Her Majesty will light the beacon at the Tower of London. However, unlike 10 years ago when the Queen celebrated her golden jubilee, she will not be visiting the Far North. That was confirmed by the Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, Anne Dunnett who said Her Majesty’s most northerly visit will be Perth. She said: “While we are very disappointed that there will not be a visit to Caithness, we fully sympathise that Her Majesty cannot visit every corner of Scotland.”
AN audit report on Northern Constabulary has praised the force as an example of good practice. The force achieved a 98.34 per cent compliance in national audit test results for information recording, based on the crime audit in 2011, against a Scottish average of 95 per cent. The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland, which is responsible for inspecting the eight Scottish police forces, made recommendations designed to ensure police staff maintain a standard approach to crime recording throughout the transition to a single Scottish force.
TWO hotels in Caithness are thought to be the latest victims of a con artist who is said to have left a trail of debt across the Highlands. The Park Hotel in Thurso and the Norseman in Wick are both owed over £500, by the same woman, who is believed to have used a different false identity in each town. She was last seen on Monday morning having breakfast at the Norseman at 8.30am before disappearing. She has not been seen since.
ALSO on the front page...a Wick town-centre eyesore is no more. The dilapidated property at 9 High Street, popularly known as Doctor Leask’s house, was ripped down on Saturday by the local authority, after the owners, operators of the Norseman Hotel, decided there was no future for the historic building. The former GP’s house had been abandoned for decades and had fallen into a state of disrepair, although at one point, it is believed the Norseman Hotel were housed staff there.
CELEBRATION was the order of the day for Jack Trevelyan and Oonagh Dunnett, the first man and woman home in Sunday’s Mey 10k. Trevelyan, who runs with North Highland Harriers, and was last year’s winner, set a new record of 36 minutes and 40 seconds over the course which had been changed from last year. Dunnett, of Reay, who runs for Edinburgh AC, set a woman’s record with her time of 41.08. She ran a personal best by 50 seconds and was a clear three-and-a-half minutes ahead of her nearest rival.
INSIDE...charity shops in Caithness are struggling to meet demand for second-hand goods, it has emerged. Several of those contacted by the Courier, reported a rise in custom but revealed the amount of donations from the public is beginning to fall. The Charity Retail Association has announced that charity stores in the UK are taking in £1 billion and reported an increase of £30 million has been spent in the last year – representing a growth of 3.6 per cent. In Wick, Blythswood Care manager, Lorna Ross, said the shop has seen a rise in footfall but revealed donations of larger items are harder to come by these days.
DETAILS on the layout of the new Wick High School were revealed last week at a stakeholders’ meeting. The meeting, on Thursday night, focused on the new secondary section of the three to 18 campus. The consultation process is still ongoing into the amalgamation of the two primary schools, south of Wick River – Pulteneytown Academy and South school – which are also to be brought together on the site. Wick High rector Thomas McIntyre explained: “There was a presentation from Ron Mackenzie, head of support services with Highland Council’s education culture and sport service who outlined how the school was going to take place.”
A CAITHNESS artist has won the chance to help bring back life to the main street in one of Aberdeen’s most run-down areas. Shelagh Swanson opened Oil and Glass Gallery and Workshop last weekend in the city’s Torry area after winning a competition to help regenerate the town centre. The 29-year-old, who is original from Tister Farm, Halkirk, but now lives in the Granite city is among six chosen to open new businesses in empty shop units, to bring back a beating heart to the economy in Torry. To celebrate her new business, invited guests were in attendance for her grand opening on Saturday night, before the gallery opened to the public next day.
A BEACON will be lit on top of Morven to mark the Queen’s diamond jubilee. The event will take place on Monday, June 4 and is one of many which will mark the momentous occasions. Around 4000 beacons are expected to be constructed around the UK with many others at international locations. Her Majesty will light the beacon at the Tower of London. However, unlike 10 years ago when the Queen celebrated her golden jubilee, she will not be visiting the Far North. That was confirmed by the Lord Lieutenant of Caithness, Anne Dunnett who said Her Majesty’s most northerly visit will be Perth. She said: “While we are very disappointed that there will not be a visit to Caithness, we fully sympathise that Her Majesty cannot visit every corner of Scotland.”
AN audit report on Northern Constabulary has praised the force as an example of good practice. The force achieved a 98.34 per cent compliance in national audit test results for information recording, based on the crime audit in 2011, against a Scottish average of 95 per cent. The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Scotland, which is responsible for inspecting the eight Scottish police forces, made recommendations designed to ensure police staff maintain a standard approach to crime recording throughout the transition to a single Scottish force.