Old Files

25 YEARS AGO

Northern Constabulary detectives are investigating the theft of a substantial sum of money and a large quantity of cigarettes from the sub-post office at Rogart on Monday night. The theft was discovered by storekeeper Sandy Mackenzie and his staff when they opened up the shop on Tuesday morning.

The "lordship" of the village of Embo is being offered for sale by public roup in Dingwall next month in an unusual court action.

The Court of Session has authorised the action of division and sale by two of the four joint proprietors at the premises of Keith and Anderson, 15 Tulloch Street, Dingwall, at 2pm on Thursday, February 12th.

The feudal superiority of the village of Embo is being offered, along with three fields amounting to 56.5 acres, an area of rough grazing extending to 25 acres and the registered croft holding of 312/313 Hilton, Embo, extending to 39 acres.

The "Laird of Embo" title is almost worthless – rents amount to about £20 a year since almost every house is now owner-occupied and the feus are incorporated.

Living organisms are continuing to appear in the water supply to Durness Primary School, despite the fitting of filters to the supply pipes.

But the regional department of water and sewerage say they intend to carry out further improvement work in the spring and it is hoped that this will result in a permanent cure.

The problem was pointed out to the region in the HM Inspector’s report on the school, undertaken in September 1985. On the whole, the report was complimentary about the primary school, but they criticised the condition of the playing field and the water supply. Following representations to Sutherland District Council, the playing field equipment was made safe.

One private patient at a time is to be permitted at the Lawson Hospital at Golspie. Private out-patients will also be allowed to attend the Lawson and the new Caithness General Hospital at Wick.

The look of some lovely old houses has been ruined by porches made of fifestone, Col Allan Gilmour told the divisional planning committee this week.

"It does not look very good at all and does not meld with the old house," said Mr Gilmour, a councillor for Creich.

Divisional planning officer David Polson said there was no definite policy on porches.

50 YEARS AGO

A whisky distillery is likely to be built in the vicinity of Lairg in the near future. That was indicated in a statement issued to the press by Sutherland County Council at Lairg last Monday.

The statement emphasised, too, that while the council would help to set up the project, no burden would fall on the ratepayers, although it is dependent on sufficient Government aid being available.

Sutherland County Council’s vehicular ferry at Kylesku will continue to operate on Sundays. At their meeting at Lairg last Monday the council agreed to take no action on a resolution by the Inverness Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church protesting against this Sunday work, although the presbytery had conceded that it might be necessary to operate the ferry on Sundays in cases of emergency.

William Craw, a 27-year-old Russian-speaking student, was to have staggered from the sea at Scourie, North-West Sutherland, one day last week, announcing that he was an "I choose freedom" escaper from the Russian fishing fleet.

It was part of a hoax planned by Glasgow students to publicise their Charities Day, but it had to be called off because the police forbade it, reported a national newspaper last Sunday.

Students had hoped that he could keep up the pretence for three days, then reveal himself last Friday, the eve of Charities Day.

The hoax was planned for three months. A Glasgow University Student delegation, which had been to Moscow, provided roubles and one member contributed Russian cigarettes.

Craw was to wear a Russian jacket, a blue shirt with the label removed; blue trousers and a Russian souvenir scarf.

As a consolation prize, Craw was given the position of "Prof Itorbus", chief of the 1200 weirdly dressed students who invaded the centre of Glasgow last Saturday.

AN application by Mr V E Capaldi for the change of use of a property known as Rosslyn House, Brora, into a cafe and restaurant was granted last week by Sutherland Planning Committee.

Mr D R Fasham, the planning officer, said they had recently rejected a proposal to convert these premises into a fish and chip shop, on grounds of amenity. That was in the name of another applicant. Here the applicant was Mr Capaldi, who had said he had no intention of installing a fish and chip range to make food for carrying out purposes. This restaurant would be run by Mr Capaldi’s daughter.

Mr J P Whittet, chairman said: "I cannot see any objection to the application."

75 YEARS AGO

Intimating that this was the grossest case he had to deal with since coming to Sutherland, Sheriff James Rattray Gibb, in Dornoch Sheriff Court on Tuesday, fined an Assynt motor cyclist £10 for reckless driving and £1 for not carrying the regulation lights on his machine. Another Assynt motor cyclist was fined £8 for three offences.

These two drivers had a collision as the result of which a young girl was thrown off one of the pillion seats and sustained a fractured leg.

His lordship, in one of the cases, said it was suicidal to drive a motor cycle at 2.30am without the machine being equipped with the regulation lights.

The sheriff remarked that he was seriously considering sending one or two motorists charged with such offences to prison, but in the present instances he would refrain from doing this in the hope that the penalties he was to impose would act as a warning to the accused and to others.

IT is with feelings of deep regret that the people of Embo contemplate parting with Mr J G Phimister, for over 30 years headmaster of the village school.

It is not possible in a short space to enumerate the many ways in which he has endeared himself to the community, in the interests of which he was always active although so quietly and unobtrusively as seldom to gain for himself the credit he deserved.

His many successful pupils in various parts of the world are a testimony to his work as a teacher, but he did not confine his activities, as he might have, to his professional duties. He followed with interest his pupils in their work and recreation.

The local football team owe him much. While in school he taught his boys the subjects most useful in a seafaring village and when they left his care he found them employment in the Mercantile Marine. He was clerk and adviser to everyone who needed his help and will be remembered with gratitude by all who have had the privilege of his acquaintance.

100 YEARS AGO

WE have been favoured with a copy of further correspondence which has passed between the Duchess of Sutherland and Lord Pentland regarding the proposed breaking up of Melness Farm.

It will be remembered that the Congested Districts Board declined to co-operate with the Duke in a scheme for breaking up the farm and getting suitable tenants in Melness district.

After the early correspondence was published, Lord Pentland wrote a long letter to the Duchess, "with a desire to prevent any misunderstanding as to the present position."

To this epistle Her Grace replied in a letter, which will be regarded by many as the ablest communication in the negotiation.

"What I have always believed and believe now," wrote Her Grace, "and I think my former letters bear me out, is, that:– If the Congested Districts Board had given the assistance at Melness, which they are known to have given elsewhere, the crofters would have been able to utilise the ground for the various purposes alluded to in the former letters.

"As regards the point that you had no definite expression from the crofters of their wish to have the land, this seems to be a rather ridiculous position to ride off on."

Further on in the same letter, the Duchess admirably sums up the situation in a single sentence when she wrote:– "The more I consider this correspondence and the negotiations, the more I am persuaded that the board really has no heart to help anything in Sutherland."

Referring to the applications of the crofters to the board, Her Grace suggested that:– "The case of Melness is a good opportunity for giving a first-rate send off to the new Land Act which I hope will be a great success."

The workmen engaged in connection with the extension of the burgh police buildings in Inverness found last week a skeleton buried beneath the passage leading to the old cells.

From inquiries which have been made, it seems to be certain that the bones are those of John Adam, who was executed at the Longman in 1835 for the murder of his wife at Mulbuie.

His body was buried under the pavement of the old jail in Bridge Street, and when the buildings there were acquired by the town, it was disinterred and buried under the new police office. A citizen says that he remembers the circumstances quite distinctly and saw the skeleton in course of removal.