Nwicker60
29-May-13, 18:01
Caithness Courier headlines for May 29, 2013
AN overwhelming 1500 people signed a petition to re-open the gates of one of Thurso's most popular tourist attractions. Old St Peters Church has remained closed to the public since 2007 after incidents of vandalism led to the decision by officials to keep the site permanently locked. Residents are now demanding the 12th century site, owned by Highland Council, is re-opened to the public to help boost tourism.
POLICE Scotland has been accused of subjecting bereaved relatives in the far north to extra grief because of the way out of hours sudden deaths at home, are dealt with. A retired Church of Scotland minister is demanding answers from the force after an elderly man whose wife had just died, was told he could not stay in his house overnight as it was deemed a crime scene. Despite there being no suspicious circumstances, her body was then sent for a post mortem examination in Inverness adding to her husband's distress.
SCRABSTER Harbour welcomed its first cruise ship of the summer season on Friday. P & O's Adonia berthed at the deepwater Queen Elizabeth Pier around 9.30am with 692 passengers on board and a crew of 379. Tour buses were on standy to transport some of the visitors to local attractions including Dunnet Head, the Castle of Mey and John O Groats while the local shuttle bus service took passengers to Thurso town centre.
IN the last 12 months almost four tonnes of food was handed out to starving families in Caithness who are set to be hit even harder following changes to the welfare system. Caithness accounted for 50 per cent of the total amount of food donated to individuals in the rural Highlands who could not afford to feed themselves. The figures have been released by Blythswood Care as the charity admits sending food boxes across the North of Scotland has become a logistical nightmare as it struggles to cope with demand.
IT has captured the imagination of bird lovers in Caithness with members of the public having flocked to the garden of two brothers to see a supposed night lover who has taken a liking to flying during daylight. Twins Hugh and Sutherland Mowat were amazed to find a giant owl perched on the tree in their back garden during the afternoon at their home in Newton Avenue, Wick. Having lived there for 40 years, it was the first time they had ever seen a feathery friend of such a size on their tree.
A CONTROVERSIAL new "janny" regime which has seen primary schools lose their permanent janitors, has been attacked by a headteacher. Highland Council is pressing ahead with a shared janitor service across the region after it was launched in Ross-shire and Badenoch and Strathspey schools last year. It is scheduled to be introduced in Caithness and north Sutherland in the spring of 2015. Under the new set-up, larger primary schools with more than 146 pupils, no longer have their own full-time janitors.
HAVING Caithness General Hospital on its doorstep is a boon to Wick people in particular. The quality of care as wellas the convenience factor was underlined by lord lieutenant Anne Dunnett, patron of Caithness Heart Support Group at its annual general meeting. Miss Dunnett was commenting on an address given by Neil Pellow who gave an insight into his role as senior charge nurse at Caithness General's emergency and outpatients department.
AN overwhelming 1500 people signed a petition to re-open the gates of one of Thurso's most popular tourist attractions. Old St Peters Church has remained closed to the public since 2007 after incidents of vandalism led to the decision by officials to keep the site permanently locked. Residents are now demanding the 12th century site, owned by Highland Council, is re-opened to the public to help boost tourism.
POLICE Scotland has been accused of subjecting bereaved relatives in the far north to extra grief because of the way out of hours sudden deaths at home, are dealt with. A retired Church of Scotland minister is demanding answers from the force after an elderly man whose wife had just died, was told he could not stay in his house overnight as it was deemed a crime scene. Despite there being no suspicious circumstances, her body was then sent for a post mortem examination in Inverness adding to her husband's distress.
SCRABSTER Harbour welcomed its first cruise ship of the summer season on Friday. P & O's Adonia berthed at the deepwater Queen Elizabeth Pier around 9.30am with 692 passengers on board and a crew of 379. Tour buses were on standy to transport some of the visitors to local attractions including Dunnet Head, the Castle of Mey and John O Groats while the local shuttle bus service took passengers to Thurso town centre.
IN the last 12 months almost four tonnes of food was handed out to starving families in Caithness who are set to be hit even harder following changes to the welfare system. Caithness accounted for 50 per cent of the total amount of food donated to individuals in the rural Highlands who could not afford to feed themselves. The figures have been released by Blythswood Care as the charity admits sending food boxes across the North of Scotland has become a logistical nightmare as it struggles to cope with demand.
IT has captured the imagination of bird lovers in Caithness with members of the public having flocked to the garden of two brothers to see a supposed night lover who has taken a liking to flying during daylight. Twins Hugh and Sutherland Mowat were amazed to find a giant owl perched on the tree in their back garden during the afternoon at their home in Newton Avenue, Wick. Having lived there for 40 years, it was the first time they had ever seen a feathery friend of such a size on their tree.
A CONTROVERSIAL new "janny" regime which has seen primary schools lose their permanent janitors, has been attacked by a headteacher. Highland Council is pressing ahead with a shared janitor service across the region after it was launched in Ross-shire and Badenoch and Strathspey schools last year. It is scheduled to be introduced in Caithness and north Sutherland in the spring of 2015. Under the new set-up, larger primary schools with more than 146 pupils, no longer have their own full-time janitors.
HAVING Caithness General Hospital on its doorstep is a boon to Wick people in particular. The quality of care as wellas the convenience factor was underlined by lord lieutenant Anne Dunnett, patron of Caithness Heart Support Group at its annual general meeting. Miss Dunnett was commenting on an address given by Neil Pellow who gave an insight into his role as senior charge nurse at Caithness General's emergency and outpatients department.