Caithness Courier headlines for August 19, 2015


A CAITHNESS family have been left distressed and angry after their pet moggy was shot in the leg at the weekend leaving it in terrible pain and with possible permanent damage. Harley returned to his home in Bower on Saturday night howling in agony. The tom cat was taken to the Wick veterinary surgery where it was discovered he had been shot in a hind leg.



BEING a television reporter is never a drag for Colin Stone even when he has to dress up as a ladyboy. The journalist, who comes from Castletown, has been working for STV Glasgow for 14 months and loves being part of a team dedicated to finding out about life in Scotland’s biggest city.

THE takeover of the Tesco site at the former mart in Thurso, can only be “a good thing for the town” according to Caithness Chamber of Commerce. The move was also welcomed by Thurso Highland councillor, Roger Saxon, who hopes the site will now be developed. But local community councillor Don Smith urged caution and said “nothing might change”.

CAITHNESSIANS are being called on to support the stars of Caithness football past, as they take to the field against an Inverness team in an over -50s charity fundraiser. The Mackay Cup has been played for 100 years between Lybster and Dunbeath but in recent years Dunbeath has had no team to challenge for the historic trophy.

HIGHLAND Council has failed to enlist farmers to help when the freezing weather hits. However, an army of farmers can be called upon by council officials in neighbouring Aberdeenshire when ice and snow blocks roads in rural towns and glens. The local authority in Highland has little or no farmer contacts to help spread grit with their ploughs yet Aberdeenshire has no fewer than 123 farmer contacts to help spread grit on hard-to-reach corners of communities cut off by icy conditions.

THE end of branch banking in Lybster after a presence of just over 160 years was signalled last Thursday with the controversial closure of the village’s Royal Bank of Scotland. The first bank was opened on 8th June, 1855, as a branch of the Town and County Bank which through time became the North of Scotland Bank and ended as the Clydesdale. This branch closed in 1986, leaving RBS branch as the sole bank in the village.

CAITHNESS schools are being urged to transform their outdoor spaces into pollinator-friendly habitats in a bid to protect the UK’s declining bee population. The polli:Nation project, developed by the national school grounds charity Learning through Landscapes is encouraging schoolchildren and volunteers in schools across the UK to get involved.

PARENTS of primary schools pupils in Caithness are being urged to have their children vaccinated against flu. The are among 4000,000 five-year olds in Scotland being targeted in a move which is expected to prevent 200 deaths per year and 1100 hospitalisations.

WICK Academy manager Gordon Connelly was delighted with how his reshaped side went about their business in the 8-1 demolition of visitors Fort William on Saturday. He is delighted with the progress being made by two captures from the Caithness County League scene with hat-trick hero Steven Anderson the man of the match and newcomer Marc MacGregor showing up well in his first competitive start for the Scorries.