Caithness Courier headlines for February 8, 2017


ROUGH weather is affecting searches for a missing kayaker after what is believed to be his craft was recovered off Lybster on Monday evening. Dominic Jackson (35) was reported missing on Sunday night when he failed to return to his home in Fettercairn after setting off from Portsoy on Saturday morning for a sea-kayaking trip.

A CAITHNESS Highland councillor thinks the council is failing children and letting them fall through the net when it comes to additional support needs. Gillian Coghill has had distraught parents and children in touch with her over the issue and she was pressed by Tannach and District Community Council secretary Linda Malik, also a former member of Wick High School parent council, to try to sort it out.

HIGHLAND schools will benefit from almost £3 million of extra funding this year. The Scottish government has awarded every school in the region between £6000 and £183,000 to a total of £3924,000, to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

WORK to regenerate disused historic buildings on Wick harbour front to become an operations and maintenance base for the Beatrice offshore wind farm, will get under way by the end of the month. Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd is ready to start renovating the former Grey Coast buildings in Lower Pulteneytown, to transform them into its operations and maintenance base as part of a £10 million investment into the harbour.

JOBS will be protected while NHS Highland battles to cut £100 million from it budget in the next three years it has been pledged. Board members have been warned that savings must be made within the next few months to offset the health boards budget black hole.

A SENIOR far north councillor is looking forward to spin-offs for the area from the £315 million Inverness city Region deal. Caithness area committee chairman Roger Saxon acknowledges that some have expressed misgivings about the impact the package will have outwith the city.

THE company behind the £20 million plan to develop the former mart site in Thurso has given a commitment to the project. A spokesman for London and Scottish Investments gave the assurance after local community councillors expressed concern about the lack of action.