Fits in 'e Groat 'e day

[Nwicker60]

John O' Groat Journal headlines for November 1
A MOTHER with disabled twin daughters has claimed the bus used to transport them to and I from school is unsuitable. Fiona McIvor has been urging Highland Council to address the issue for two years and said she is "sick and tired of being fobbed off". "It is now time for action" she said in an interview with the John O' Groat Journal.
THE unofficial "provost" of John O' Groats is to be given formal recognition for his lifetime of stalwart service to the community. Former Highland councillor John Green is to be the first to be given the freedom of the village by the local authority, following a campaign by local people and businesses. The retired Vulcan worker said yesterday: "I was told about it a few days ago and it was supposed to be a surprise but word got out".

A CHARITY fundraiser was "blown away" by the amount of money a young Caithness girl raised, after her aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer. Chloe Foubister, who is 11 and lives with her family at Forss, netted £4,700 for Cancer Research UK after shaving her head to support her aunt Donna. Knowing her aunt was likely to lose her hair due to her treatment, Chloe didn't want her to feel alone. Donna then decided to join her niece and got her hair cut off as well.

FORSS could become the hub of a revolution in wind turbine design as an American company looks to test out smaller turbines which could produce more energy than current designs. Wind Harvest Invernational is in talks with Forss Business and Communications and Technology Park about using the former US base to test its vertical access turbines. Much smaller than conventional designs, it is claimed they are more efficient and less visually intrusive.

A THURSO community councillor has added his voice to the complaints over the timescale for the roll-out of high speed broadband in Caithness. Ian Mackay is unhappy the area will not benefit from the scheme for two years and claims the far north should have been given higher priority for the upgrade to help the area in its efforts to regenerate the economy in the wake of the decommissioning of Dounreay.

A BOTTLENECK has been created in the centre of Thurso by fencing erected around a shop which had to close after structural problems were discovered. The obstruction, on part of the town's pedestriant precinct, is concerning local community councillor Alexander Glasgow who is trying to find out how long it is likely to be required.

LOSING a loved one in a road accident is one of the most heartbreaking things which can happen to a family. In Caithness alone, 11 people have been killed on the roads since 2011 with each death casting a shadow over everyone living in the far north. Later this month, the first church service of its kind, is to be held in the county, in honour of family members who have lost someone close to them in a car crash. RoadPeace Highland will organise the service at the Thurso United Reformed Church, in Castle Street where an address will be given by Anna Briggs who lost her 15-year-old son Daniel in a road crash in Northumberland in 1985.

EQUIPPING Highland councillors with iPads in a bid to cut the local authority's hefty paper and postage bill is to be investigated. All council meetings including area committees could become paperless after councillors backed a move to assess the potential outlay of purchasing the tablet computers against its current paper and mail costs.