The Highland Council is continuing its campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of dog fouling and is reminding owners that they can face a fixed penalty for not picking up their dogs mess. Education and Enforcement Officer Peter Taylor said: "Dog fouling is both unsightly, unpleasant and a potential health hazard.
CAREERS CONVENTION HOSTED BY CAREERS SCOTLAND - THURSO HIGH SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY 4TH MARCH 2009 FROM 6.00PM TO 8.30PM People living in Caithness are being offered expert advice and information on taking the next step in their careers. The Careers Convention will be held on Wednesday 4th March 2009 in Thurso High School, and will offer people of all age's comprehensive information on careers, employment, training and education.
From international boat experts to the world's fastest knitter, the 16th annual Scottish Traditional Boat Festival will celebrate all aspects of Scottish maritime heritage from 2-5 July in Portsoy. A major event in the Homecoming 2009 calendar, the festival has been extended by two days this year to include a symposium of fascinating speakers who will talk about nautical traditions ranging from early boat building to sea shanty and gansey knitting.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts, (February, 25th) sold 3,906 store lambs, breeding & feeding sheep. Lambs (2,246) averaged £48.52 and sold to £87.50 gross for Texels from Woodside, Muir of Ord.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February, 24th) sold 89 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (55) averaged 168.0p (-1.5p) and sold to 181p per kg and £1,303.80 gross.
Every pupil in the Highlands has been issued with important information to protect themselves online. They will receive a leaflet entitled 'How can I protect myself? Ciamar A Dhìonas Mi Mi-fhèin?' which was distributed to coincide with 'Safer Internet Day', a global event which takes place each year in early February with the purpose of promoting safer and more responsible use of online and mobile communication technology.
A further £4 million funding package will help the bus industry maintain affordable fares for passengers, Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson said today. The money will be used to offset fuel duty increases by matching the 2p increase announced by the Chancellor in the pre-budget report last December.
A hi-tech "worm" is probing a subterranean pipeline used to discharge radioactive effluent from Dounreay between 1957 and 1992. The £100,000 pipe crawler has sent back video and radiation readings during its five-day journey some 45 metres underground.
For a second year running, The Highland Council is committing a further £100,000 to money advice and welfare rights services in the Highlands. This takes the Council's annual funding for these important services to £1,414,000.
Patients in busy hospital theatres in Highland are benefiting from a safety initiative modelled on the checks made by aircrew on take-off. The Surgical Pause is a final, last minute check-list of questions which ensures that the team of nurses and doctors performing the procedure can be confident that they have reduced the risk of error to the lowest possible level.
The Crown Estate has announced that the first stage of the process to allocate sites for wave and tidal renewable energy in the Pentland Firth strategic area is complete. Developers' response to this first invitation has been very positive and 38 individual companies and consortia have been invited to tender following confirmation of their interest by registering for the pre-qualification process.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February, 18th) sold 463 store cattle and 58 OTM cattle. Bullocks (286) averaged 179.4p and sold to 215.0p per kg and £990 gross.
The Highland Council has retained its Charter Mark Standard for excellence in customer service delivery at its network of 37 Service Points, and its Service Centre at Alness with a glowing report from the Cabinet Office's assessors which concluded the Council should be held "as a beacon in public service delivery". Members of the Council's Resources Committee (Wednesday 18 February 2009) warmly welcomed the continuing positive assessment by the National Chartermark Standard, which tests in great depth those areas of service that are a priority for customers.
Members of The Highlands Council's Resources Committee have pledged their support to the development of a UHI Centre for History at Dornoch. Councillors unanimously agreed to commit £200,000 in the current financial year (2008/09) from the Council's uncommitted Capital Discretionary Fund - subject to conditions to be agreed by the Director of Finance and the Head of Legal Services.
The Highland Council is one of only three Councils in Scotland to receive Carbon Trust Standard certification in recognition of the progress it is making in reducing carbon emissions. Since 2006-7, carbon emissions from Council buildings have reduced by 12%.
The number of accidents reported to The Highland Council's Health and Safety team has significantly reduced, councillors have been advised. In their annual report for 2007/8, the team report reductions in accidents and incidents across all categories and say the number of days lost due to accidents - 741 - has fallen to the lowest figure recorded since the Council was formed in 1996.
In the current economic climate it is essential businesses are prepared for new regulations, as failure to comply could lead to increased costs. NetRegs (www.netregs.gov.uk) is a free UK website offering environmental guidance for businesses and is delivered in partnership with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
Scotland's recycling and composting rate continues to make steady progress. Figures released today (Friday 13 February), by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), show that Scotland's annual recycling and composting rate rose to 32.9% for the year October 2007 to September 2008.
The first in a series of training days for warranted Water Bailiffs across Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross took place at Achfary, on the Reay Forest Estate last week for bailiffs from the North & West District Salmon Board. The training days are part of an ongoing Police initiative to tackle Wildlife Crime in the Far North by the Police working in partnership with gamekeepers, water bailiffs, countryside rangers, conservationists and other organisations involved in countryside.
DINGWALL, Dingwall & Highland Marts Ltd., (February, 17th) sold 80 prime cattle. Prime bullocks (46) averaged 169.5p (+0.8p) and sold to 180p per kg and £1,261.60 gross.
