From the Northern Times 25, 50 and 100 years ago

25 YEARS AGO

From the newspaper of November 8, 1996

A HUGE rents increase demanded by a Rogart estate has sparked talk among its tenant crofters of a buy-out similar to that pushed through by crofters at Assynt. The 100 or so crofters whose land lies on Tressady Estate recently received notification that their rents are to rise for the first time in 21 years. It is the size of the increase that has staggered crofters with the average ten times the amount currently being paid. The estate has been owned for the last 11 years by French-born Count Yves de la Motte.

At a well-attended meeting of the Tressady Estate Tenants Group at Rhilochan School on Wednesday, crofters unanimously agreed to return their rents rise notification and state their objections to it.

The £750,000 deepening and widening of Kinlochbervie harbour entrance channel will start about the second week in December, unless the contractor decides to wait until after the New Year holiday. Because of financial restraint the width of the new channel has been decreased from 30 metres to 25 metres.

50 YEARS AGO

From the newspaper of November 5, 1971

Sutherland MP Robert Maclennan has said he voted for British entry into the European Economic Community in accordance with his "deeply-held convictions that this is in the best interests of the British people and that the opportunity to join would not recur for decades". MPs took a vote following a big debate in the House of Commons on Thursday of last week. Mr Maclennan told the Northern Times afterwards: "I am profoundly convinced that we shall have a better chance of attracting new jobs inside a market of 300 million people than by remaining outside."

100 YEARS AGO

From the newspaper of November 3, 1921

For the past ten days at least, fleets of trawlers have been engaged in seine net fishing right along the east coast of Sutherland and have drawn from the sea a prodigious quantity of fish. As to the illegality of the trawlers' procedure there appears no doubt. It is apparent that the trawlers have far exceeded their rights. Large numbers were actually close into the Embo coast and coming towards Golspie. So close were they to the shore that the crew on board could be plainly seen at work with the naked eye. It is all very well now to hasten with cruisers to the Firth and try and detect the delinquents. That is a case of locking the stable door after the horse has bolted.

The Lairg School Management Committee has asked the education authority if a shelter could be erected at Shinness school. It was very trying for the children to have to stand outside at dinner time in wet weather. The Authority agreed that the teacher be instructed to allow the children into school at dinner time on wet and cold days.

It is hoped that the sheltered housing scheme for old folks in Lairg will be completed by next August. There would be four houses and a supervisor's house. The project has been greatly helped by the bequest of more than £10,000 from the late Mr Hector Mackay of Sidney House, Lairg. The scheme is expected to be a model for other sheltered housing schemes throughout the county.

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