TEN YEARS AGO
Thursday February 27 2014
£250k flood alleviation contract awarded
Highland Council has awarded a £250,000 contract to Fort William-based Fion Construction Limited for flood alleviation works at Moss Road, Acharacle.
The project involves the resurfacing and upgrading of a one kilometre section of single track road which serves the housing on the north side of Loch Shiel. Scheduled to begin on site in late March, the project will take 18 weeks to complete.
The work is intended to improve access when the water level in Loch Shiel rises.
The current road has several low-lying sections which in times of flooding make access with a car impossible.
Councillor Graham Phillips, chairman of the council’s transport, environmental and community services committee, said: "The council’s programme is committed to ensuring we provide better infrastructure for the Highlands that is fit for the 21st century.
"This work will help to ensure the community remains connected.
"The new higher road level will help maintain good access for emergency vehicle and residents when the loch is in flood."
Teens step up for dance course success
Twenty teenage girls successfully gained an Award in Dance Leadership (Level 1) with national dance organisation YDance following an intensive, five-day training course held last week in Lochaber High School.
The course is delivered through the YDance Active project which is offered to schools across Scotland, inspiring teenage girls to get active.
The girls involved, from Ardnamurchan, Kinlochleven, Lochaber and Mallaig high schools, developed leadership and communication skills, learned how to plan and deliver a quality dance lesson and other skills, ensuring they finished the course as qualified dance leaders.
The Level 1 in Dance Leadership is a nationally recognised qualification that enables successful learners to lead groups in dance activities, whilst under the supervision of their tutor/ assessor or other suitably qualified adult.
This was one of more than 40 Award in Dance Leadership courses that the Dance Active project has delivered since it began in 2012 with almost 800 teenage girls throughout Scotland involved.
Sarah Smith, YDance Active training manager, said: "We’ve been running these courses since September 2012 and the response from attendees has always been fantastic.
"Through their feedback, we can see just how much these courses really improve the girls’ confidence in their own ability."
YDance Active is part of the Active Girls programme which is funded by SportScotland and in line with the Scottish government’s active policy framework.
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
Saturday February 27 1999
Radio ham hears royal enthusiast
A radio ham who had a 15-year Highland connection with King Hussein of Jordan mourned the monarch’s passing earlier this month.
John Houston, 70, night porter at Inverlochy Castle Hotel, Fort William, a favourite hideaway of the Jordanian royals, had more than passing contact with the king.
He had radio contact.
On his first visit to Inverlochy Castle in 1985, King Hussein - a radio amateur himself since the early 1960s - was interested to hear John was a fellow enthusiast.
And so began a personal friendship between King Hussein, call sign JY (Jordan) 1, and John Houston, call sign GM40PU.
Although they never actually spoke to one another over the airwaves, the two of them exchanged radio amateur calling cards every year from 1985.
"The first card was handed to me by King Hussein," recalled John. "And he signed it in front of me, circling on it the word ‘eyeball," which meant we had met face to face."
From then on, at the start of every new year and when the royal couple visited Inverlochy Castle, John, a widower, received cards, always signed personally by King Hussein and Queen Noor.
"The 1993 one had a photograph of King Hussein in his radio shack," said John. "He had the best of gear in there."
The following year the photograph was of the king and queen on a motorbike.
The card which arrived for John last month was a particularly poignant one.
"It has a message from both of them, as usual, but the king looked terribly ill in the photograph," said John sadly.
"I thought how typical of him not to try to hide the fact he was dying. But, then, he was a man with a wonderfully human touch."
SEVENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
Saturday February 26 1949
Five sons of Lochaber
The MacLeod brothers of Lochaber have had a happy reunion recently at the home of the oldest, centre, in Rothesay.
Two of these lads expect to leave for New Zealand in the near future where they hope to work at the new hydro electric power scheme which is starting in the North Island.
Three of those boys served during the last war in HM Forces; the other two were with the Admiralty on responsible work.
Mr MacLeod will no doubt be proud of his five boys in this photograph.
Work expected to begin this year on Lochmaddy pier
A grant of £15,000 towards the cost of new work on Lochmaddy pier has been offered to Inverness County Council, said Mr Woodburn, Secretary of State for Scotland, in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
The total cost of the work would be £20,000 and it was hoped a start would be made this year.
Work estimated to cost £16,000 was in progress on Lochboisdale pier.
Replying to a complaint by Mr Malcolm Macmillan, MP for the Western Isles, that Purchase Tax had caused a considerable increase in unemployment among weavers in his constituency, the Secretary of State said part of the recent increase was due to seasonal causes and to bad weather.
It was not possible to form an accurate estimate of the amount of employment among people registered as self-employed.
Ardnamurchan
After the brief lull in the bad weather, heavy gales and flooding have again broken out, making all farm work in the area impossible and causing ploughs and tractors to rust in the fields.
Farmers are beginning to get really anxious about the persistence of the bad weather and unless better weather ensues soon, spring work, already far behind, will be so late in finishing that the timeous budding of young seeds and plants may be jeopardised.
With the exception of a few isolated instances, little or no ploughing has been done by any farmers in the district, and anxiety of the strain on last year’s harvest to provide feed stuff for animals is causing anxious thoughts about prospects of this year being able to meet the requirements.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Saturday March 1 1924
Kilmaluag, Skye
On the occasion of his leaving the district, Mr Roderick Mackenzie, Solitote, Kilmaluag, was made the recipient of a wallet of Treasury notes.
Mr Mackenzie served as postman in the Kilmaluag district for 12 years and, on account of his good qualities, he was much liked by everyone who came in contact with him.
That he was highly esteemed and respected in the district is testified by the handsome presentation made.
Mr and Mrs Mackenzie take with them the goodwill and friendship of the community to their future sphere in Dumbarton, where they are to reside.
Kilmallie Parish Council
At a meeting of this council held on Tuesday, Mr Colin Young, presiding, there was submitted a letter from the Board of Agriculture on the subject of assistance to be given to smallholders in the way of providing seed potatoes and seed oats, from which it appeared that the board was prepared to make a payment of the freight charges on the seeds to a convenient railway station or pier, plus contributions at the rate of £1 per ton.
The council, as suggested by the board, appointed a committee with full powers to deal with the matter and take the necessary steps to participate in funds collected throughout the country for the purpose of helping a section of smallholders who were at present unable to qualify for the assistance offered by the board.
It was pointed out that unless a more generous policy was adopted than that set forth in their letter, very few of the small holders would be able this year to plant their crops.
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