Fit's in 'e Coorier 'e day

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Caithness Courier headlines: October 5
A WARNING has been issued to Thurso’s Royal British Legion club after it allowed 100 people to illegally drink alcohol during this year’s Caithness county show dance. The committee was rapped by licensing chiefs this week, after it failed to obtain permission to serve drink at the post-show dance at its Riverside clubrooms on the evening of July 21. The club should have obtained an occasional licence to cover the event which had been advertised in the Caithness Courier three days before. Speaking at the licensing board’s meeting in Inverness, on Tuesday, the club’s solicitor Lorna Murray said it was an oversight by long-serving club secretary, Lyonel Sutherland who attended the hearing.

A DECISION to reduce opening hours at Wick Airport was taken on cost grounds, it was revealed last night. The move was originally attributed to staffing problems but that was a subsidiary issue, Inglis Lyon managing director of Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd revealed. Speaking after a ceremony to rebrand the aerodrome as Wick John O’ Groats Airport, Mr Lyon spoke of the controversy which has arisen following the recently closure of the airport, on Friday mornings and all-day Saturdays.

THE future of medical services in Caithness cannot be based on the decommissioning of Dounreay alone, according to a former councillor. David Flear, made his views known during a discussion regarding the future of the Riverbank Medical Practice in Thurso, which will handed over to the NHS at the end of the year. The debate over the future of the practice, took place during the Caithness District Partnership meeting in Wick, last Friday amid concerns by patients about re-registering with doctors.

MONITORING for radioactive particles on beaches in Caithness could be reduced, if recommendations by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency are given the go ahead. Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd has applied to SEPA for the disposal of radioactive waste arising from the decommissioning of the nuclear licensed site. A public consultation is currently being carried out before a final decision on any changes are made.

CAITHNESS is ahead of the rest of the country in terms of meeting the demands of a changing economic climate. That was the view of UK Business Secretary, Vince Cable, who said the rest of the country could do well to follow the example of the far north in meeting the business challenges of the future. Mr Cable was invited to the county by Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP, John Thurso, to look at how the area was facing up to developing a viable economy. post Dounreay.

BETTYHILL’S Hannah Macdonald proved she was in a class of her own at the annual competition of the Piping Society of Caithness and North Sutherland. The Farr school pupil ended up with a haul of six trophies after a tip-top performance at the event in Thurso High School which showcases the talent emerging in the far north in the chanter and bagpipes. Half-a-dozen youngsters from Orkney joined competitors from the society’s patch to take part in the event which was judged by piping luminaries Jimmy Jackson from Alness and David Steven from Dunnet.

FOLLOWING Andy Murray’s triumphant victories in the US Open, and Olympic singles this year, the county is gearing up for its own year of tennis glory. Murray started playing at a young age and local youngsters will soon be able to follow in his footsteps as plans are afoot to bring mini or short tennis to schools in Caithness. Leading the serve are Kenny Russell and Garry Macleod, local Highlife Highlands Active Schools co-ordinators. Next Spring term there will be an opportunity for teachers to be trained in the kid-friendly version of tennis and to bag £500 worth of kit.

MORE of the same – that is the simple message the Greens’ coaching team have been hammering home at training this week. The painful memory of two opening defeats in RBS Caledonia Division 1, is now fading fast following three sparkling wins which have made the rest of the division sit up and take notice. Head coach, Colin Sangster, has praised his side for bouncing back from the early reverses to run into a fine vein of form to which a flint-like defence was complemented by a cutting edge going forward.NHS at