A.I.WILLIE MACKAY.M.B,E. Having represented Landward Caithness successfully for the past five years I now have another great opportunity to do even more for the constituents in the rural countryside of Caithness by being Elected by you on May 3rd.
Voters are reminded of the deadline for both registering to vote and applying to vote by post in the forthcoming Highland Council elections on 3 May. Applications for a postal vote must be received by 5 pm on Wednesday 18 April.
Nick Noble is putting himself forward for election to the Highland Council to represent the people and town of Thurso. Nick is proud to be standing as a Scottish Liberal Democrat candidate because he has a long standing belief in the core values of the Liberal Democrat party.
Robert Coghill Balbreck Farmhouse 16 Clayock Halkirk KW12 6UZ 01955 661266 I am Robert Coghill, aged 62. I was educated at Wick High School & since leaving school have worked on the family farm at Stemster.
FIVE FRUSTRATING YEARS WHY THE HIGHLANDS MUST HAVE A NON-POLITICAL COUNCIL I have now served on 3 successive Highland Councils. I can safely say this that has been the worst.
As a local candidate my allegiance as always is to the local people of Thurso and not to any political party. I will continue to work closely with my Independent colleague Donnie Mackay for the good of Thurso and Caithness, at the beginning of our last term we discovered that the recreational facilities in Thurso and its environs had been allowed to fall into a serious state of disrepair.
Stall pitches for June's Wick Diamond Jubilee HarbourFest are being snapped up - and the organisers are asking for yet-to-register exhibitors to lodge their applications as soon as they can to ensure their presence at the event. The HarbourFest pitch organiser, Liz Richard-Jones says "We've had a good response so far, including an encouraging number of new exhibitors. However, many of the 2009 HarbourFest stallholders have told us they wish to exhibit at this year's event but they have not yet registered with us. The closing date for applications is 18th May, but I suggest that folk do not delay for too long because although we are planning an increased number of stalls, once they have been allocated it will be too late to register, so please get your application in to us ASAP!" The HarbourFest Committee wish to support community groups, charities and local organisations to take advantage of this popular event.
Finance, travel, games, shopping, design, news, music - you can find an app for them all. By 2014 it is expected that 77 billion mobile applications, or apps, will have been downloaded from the Android and Apple markets.
The Highland Council has confirmed its ongoing commitment to advancing equality of opportunity and tackling discrimination by publishing its new plan, A Fairer Highland. The plan sets out arrangements for gathering information and developing outcomes that affect people on the basis of disability, race, gender reassignment, age, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (April, 12th) sold 691 sheep of all classes. Lambs (306) averaged £61.98 and sold to £89 gross for Beltex crosses from Caberfeidh, Upperton.
The Henderson Maternity Unit at Caithness General Hospital has been re-accredited as Baby Friendly, which means it is internationally recognised by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) as providing high quality support to mothers and babies. Staff at the Wick unit were originally presented with the prestigious Baby Friendly Award in March 2010.
Tribute has been paid to the 13 Highland Councillors who are retiring from local government. At the end of the final meeting of this five year Council cycle, Convener Sandy Park presented scrolls to 12 of the outgoing councillors.
Finance Secretary John Swinney outlined the range of new business incentives that are available to encourage private investment in Scotland's four new Enterprise Areas, during a visit to the Port of Dundee this morning. Incentives and actions to stimulate investment include: business rate discounts worth up to £275,000 per business or enhanced capital allowances; new streamlined planning protocols across all sites; skills and training support; and an international marketing campaign to promote the sites.
Fears that farmers will be unable to farm sloping land are entirely unfounded, Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead said today. Media coverage surrounding the use of fertiliser in recent days has fuelled concerns that farmers will be unable to use fertiliser on sloping ground, effectively rendering it useless.
Norfrost are offering 10% off freezers for Easter. Order online to get this bargain.
Highland Councillors have unanimously supported a call for the reinstatement of the Emergency Towing Vessel, which until recently was based in the Minches, and for the successful conclusion of an agreement with the Oil and Gas Industry to provide ETV capability for the Northern Isles, fearing an environmental catastrophe if vital cover is not provided in the rural and exposed coastal waters. Council Leader Michael Foxley highlighted the importance of the tugs at the last full Highland Council meeting before the May elections, showing slides that highlighted the extent of a potential oil spill should previous groundings have led to a spillage.
Scottish companies are being reminded that they can spread the cost of the inflationary increase in business rates through the Scottish Government's rate deferral scheme for 2012-13. The scheme gives companies the flexibility to defer the uplift in their 2012-13 business rates bills over three years.
As of Tuesday 10 April 2012, The Highland Council's out of hours calls for emergencies relating to council housing repairs, property and homelessness, as well as roads, street lighting and environmental services will now be managed by Northern Constabulary working in partnership with The Highland Council. Calls will be dealt with by specialist staff from Northern Constabulary at the Force's Operations Centre, Old Perth Road in Inverness.
A compulsory scheme to safeguard millions of pounds in deposits paid by tenants renting properties in Scotland has been approved by Housing Minister Keith Brown. Annually, tenancy deposits amount to over £74 million in the majority of the 273,000 households that make up the private rented sector in Scotland.
Highland businesses will have an opportunity to find out about the possibilities of developing products and ideas with NHS Highland and Inverness College UHI at a free event this month. The Innovation Open Day, which is the first event of its kind, is being held at the Centre for Health Science, near Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, on Wednesday April 18 between 10am and 4pm.
