From the Northern Times 25, 50 and 100 years ago
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
25 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of May 9, 1997
The New Age Travellers who have been encamped in East Sutherland for the last six months are on the road again, but not outwith the county. The group of some dozen adults in four or five vehicles left Golspie on Saturday and are heading westwards, having camped earlier this week at Badnabay Quarry, one mile west of Laxford Bridge on the Scourie road. Worked on an occasional basis by building and civil engineering contractors ATF Urquhart, Ullapool, the quarry is fenced off. The travellers first came to East Sutherland in October.
Bettyhill Football Club have been presented with a distinctive new strip by the proprietors of Bettyhill Hotel, Jim and Meg Macleod. The strip was handed over immediately prior to their game with the Dounreay Workshops team and gave added impetus to Bettyhill's efforts as they were soon 4-0 up. Unfortunately the local boys then began to run out of steam and allowed the visitors to claw back the difference, making the end result four goals each.
50 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of May 5, 1972
In the long term there would be only one secondary school in the county and that would be at Golspie, it was decided by Sutherland Education Committee at a special, private meeting in Brora on Wednesday. Lairg Secondary School, at the moment a three-year secondary school, would not be upgraded to "O" level as had at one time been proposed – that was the committee's second decision.
Sutherland Finance Committee agreed that the breakwater at Helmsdale harbour should be reconstructed along its whole length. Mr John Mackay, Portgower, said that when the breakwater was first built he understood the river proprietors argued that it was stopping fish going up the river. They had "blown" a hole in the wall. This must not happen in future, he added. The new breakwater must be left as it was.
When Ministry of Defence representatives visit Dornoch on Monday, the local people will want certain assurances about noise from their planned firing range at Tain.
100 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of May 4, 1922
Andrew Lindsay, Golspie, chairman of the newly-elected Sutherland Education Authority, stated he had received from the clerk of the Kildonan School Management Committee, a piece of the sash of a window "enclosed in an envelope" (Laughter). The enclosure, of course, was to draw attention to the decayed state of the woodwork of the Helmsdale school windows. The fault lay, the chairman said, with the old school board for not having the windows attended to. Mr Fraser said the authority's attention was drawn to the matter two years ago, and the work had not been carried out yet. It was agreed to repair the windows.
A RESOLUTION was read to Sutherland Education Authority from the Farr School Management Committee asking, from a point of view of economy, for local clergymen, who would give their services for free, to be used in connection with the religious knowledge examination, rather than paid examiners. The Authority agreed to abide by their present arrangement.
