Nwicker60
04-Dec-13, 11:36
Caithness Courier headlines for December 4, 2013
THE best Christmas present a Caithness couple could wish for, would be a phone call to say suitable bone marrow transplant donors have been found for their two young sons. Euan and Arran Macleod have both been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition which affects their immune system. The only cure for the youngsters, who live at Upper Dounreay with their parents Janet and Calum, is bone marrow transplants.
A YOUNG Caithness schoolgirl got the royal seal of approval when she sent a handmade card to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when their son, Prince George, was christened. Erin Macintosh, who is eight, designed and sent the card to the couple and was delighted when she came home from school to find a letter addressed to her from Buckingham Palace in London. Her mother, Jane, described her daughter’s reaction as “total shock followed by excitement”.
A BID for a 10-turbine wind farm at Lyth has been refused by Highland Council. The proposal by Eurowind was turned down, as it would be “significantly detrimental” to the amenity of properties and communities within a seven to ten kilometre radius of the site. It was also stated the development would have an adverse visual impact on Dunnet Head and the wider special landscape area.
A RETIRED police officer said becoming elected to represent Landward Caithness as a councillor, seemed like a natural progression in his career. Matthew Reiss stormed to victory in Friday’s election, receiving almost double the votes of any other candidate. The former Northern Constabulary area commander from Hill of Forss, will represent his ward as an independent, replacing Alex MacLeod who stood down amid allegations of expenses irregularities.
A PLAN to open a pharmacy in Castletown could be “the tip of the iceberg” and lead to other rural GP practices with dispensaries being “picked off next”. That is the concern of Wick GP Ewen Pearson, who has lodged an objection to a proposal by Sanjay Majhu to set up a pharmacy in the village. Dr Pearson claims the plan is being driven by “greed and profiteering and seriously risks the Castletown and Canisbay practices which are in a very fragile situation.”
A UNION leader has warned any move to cut the hours of nursery staff in the Highlands in the wake of a new law designed to increase free child care for parents, would be “perverse”. Unison and GMB say workers in local authority nurseries are alarmed about proposal contract changes including a potential reduction in hours. Highland Council must provide an annual 600 hours of free pre-school education for three and four-year olds by August 2014, because of new Holyrood legislation. The current entitlement is 475 hours.
PAYDAY loan firms have been labelled “evil financial vampires” by a senior Highland councillor who warns vulnerable people’s lives are being made a misery. Lib Dem politician Alasdair Christie, who manages the Highlands’ busiest Citizens Advice Bureau, has launched a scathing attack on the controversial industry which has grown in recent years. It comes as the UK government moves toward capping the cost of loans provided by the companies.
A WOMAN, who played a key role in setting up a memorial garden dedicated to civilians killed in World War Two, was able to see the finished project before she died. Elsie Cormack had been determined to get the 1940 bomb site in Wick turned into a garden and visited it in its full glory this summer before she passed away. Volunteers have been working on the final phase of the initiative for a year after a boat was given to the group overseeing the scheme and they set about installing it on a spare patch of grass.
THE best Christmas present a Caithness couple could wish for, would be a phone call to say suitable bone marrow transplant donors have been found for their two young sons. Euan and Arran Macleod have both been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition which affects their immune system. The only cure for the youngsters, who live at Upper Dounreay with their parents Janet and Calum, is bone marrow transplants.
A YOUNG Caithness schoolgirl got the royal seal of approval when she sent a handmade card to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge when their son, Prince George, was christened. Erin Macintosh, who is eight, designed and sent the card to the couple and was delighted when she came home from school to find a letter addressed to her from Buckingham Palace in London. Her mother, Jane, described her daughter’s reaction as “total shock followed by excitement”.
A BID for a 10-turbine wind farm at Lyth has been refused by Highland Council. The proposal by Eurowind was turned down, as it would be “significantly detrimental” to the amenity of properties and communities within a seven to ten kilometre radius of the site. It was also stated the development would have an adverse visual impact on Dunnet Head and the wider special landscape area.
A RETIRED police officer said becoming elected to represent Landward Caithness as a councillor, seemed like a natural progression in his career. Matthew Reiss stormed to victory in Friday’s election, receiving almost double the votes of any other candidate. The former Northern Constabulary area commander from Hill of Forss, will represent his ward as an independent, replacing Alex MacLeod who stood down amid allegations of expenses irregularities.
A PLAN to open a pharmacy in Castletown could be “the tip of the iceberg” and lead to other rural GP practices with dispensaries being “picked off next”. That is the concern of Wick GP Ewen Pearson, who has lodged an objection to a proposal by Sanjay Majhu to set up a pharmacy in the village. Dr Pearson claims the plan is being driven by “greed and profiteering and seriously risks the Castletown and Canisbay practices which are in a very fragile situation.”
A UNION leader has warned any move to cut the hours of nursery staff in the Highlands in the wake of a new law designed to increase free child care for parents, would be “perverse”. Unison and GMB say workers in local authority nurseries are alarmed about proposal contract changes including a potential reduction in hours. Highland Council must provide an annual 600 hours of free pre-school education for three and four-year olds by August 2014, because of new Holyrood legislation. The current entitlement is 475 hours.
PAYDAY loan firms have been labelled “evil financial vampires” by a senior Highland councillor who warns vulnerable people’s lives are being made a misery. Lib Dem politician Alasdair Christie, who manages the Highlands’ busiest Citizens Advice Bureau, has launched a scathing attack on the controversial industry which has grown in recent years. It comes as the UK government moves toward capping the cost of loans provided by the companies.
A WOMAN, who played a key role in setting up a memorial garden dedicated to civilians killed in World War Two, was able to see the finished project before she died. Elsie Cormack had been determined to get the 1940 bomb site in Wick turned into a garden and visited it in its full glory this summer before she passed away. Volunteers have been working on the final phase of the initiative for a year after a boat was given to the group overseeing the scheme and they set about installing it on a spare patch of grass.