Caithness Courier headlines for December 17

A PETITION which was launched at the weekend to reinstate 24-hour emergency surgery services at caithness General HOspital has attracted 2755 signatures. The response has "overhwelmed" Carol McKie, the Thurso woman who launched the petition on Sudnay afternoon. She decided to do something after reading abou tthe plan to reduce surgical cover at the Wick hospital.

EXCLUSIONS at Wick High School are more than double the Highland average and almost twice the rate of Scottish secondaries. Sixty-four out of 1000 of its pupils have suffered the sanction, according to the latest statistics published by Highland Council. This compares to 28 out of 1000 in the Highlands and 33 out of 1000 in Scotland.

A NORTH MSP, who has been campaigning for improvements to the far north line, has been at the receiving end of recent gremlins which have afflicted the service. Labour's Rhoda Grant and the party's Labour Westminster candidate, John Erskine's journey north from Inverness to Thurso arrived in Caithness 58 minutes late, and terminated at Georgemas meaning the last leg had to be undertaken by road.

PLANS have been unveiled to bring a Wick church that has lain empty for years, back into life by turning it into a furniture store. New owner of the Bridge Street Church, Graeme Bain, of Wickblast, aims to transform the old building into a new shop with a basement apartment. It has been empty since 2009 when the Old Parish and Bridge Street parishes were united to form the town's St Fergus Church.

SECURITY has been breached at Dounreay six times in the last five years but nuclear police insist the risk to the public on each occasion was low. In 2010, Civil Nuclear Constabulary officers dealt with two incidents and between 2011 and 2014 security at the site was compromised once every years. The force declined to go into the causes of the breaches but said on all occasions they were classed as low level.

FRASERBURGH are the best team Wick have played this season according to Academy manager Gordon Connelly as he paid tribute to his players for taking four points off the Buchan side in the current campaign. But he was disappointed that the Scorries were only minutes away from taking all six points from Kris Hunter's men with a "dubious" penalty six minutes from time, meaning the points were share at Bellslea.