Caithness Courier headlines for December 14, 2016

OPPOSITION is growing to the creation of a new conservation area in the Pentland Firth amid fears the move could cost jobs and investment off the north Caithness coast. People turned out at a meeting in John O' Groats, on Monday evening, to object to Scottish Natural Heritage plans to include 90 per cent of the firth in a Special Protection Area.

HIGHLAND councillors will tomorrow find out, how much money they will receive via the Scottish Government and, in turn, how much money will be sliced from their budget. Finance staff have predicted a four per cent cut, leaving the local authority scrambling to find £26 million this year which has been predicted to increase to £72 million in the next three years.

FAR north union representatives fear the downgrading of the maternity unit at Caithness General, could have implications for the future of other services at the hospital. They are concerned the decision to change the maternity department from a consultant to a midwife-led unit will have adverse knock-on effects for other areas as well as be bad news for the local economy.

PARKING enforcement offices will be coming to Caithness but not until the spring of 2017. That was confirmed by Highland Council this week after the issue was raised at a meeting of the Castletown Community Council.

WHETHER they were the best days of their lives or not, former pupils had the chance to walk down the corridors of Wick High School one last time before it closes. Hundreds of ex-pupils went to see their old classrooms at an open day, on Saturday, organised to mark the demise of the 106 year old building.

THURSO whisky producers Wolfburn turned out 400,000 bottles this year which are to be shipped to customers around the world. The distillery which started selling its spirit this year met its annual production target of 130,000 litres during the first week of December.

HIGHLAND Council's latest cost-cutting scheme could see staff taking unpaid holidays. Employees can "buy" up to 20 days of annual leave through a reduction in salary in exchange for extra time off, as the council's struggle to balance the books continues, but one union has warned the plan could have negative knock-on effects.