Looking Back - News from the John O’Groat Journal of yesteryear
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Provost unimpressed by resignation call
From the Groat of April 18, 1924
Members of the Wick No-Licence Committee had “called upon Provost Green to resign from the civic chair”.
At their meeting in the town’s Baptist Church, members passed a resolution stating that the provost of Wick had, at the Convention of Royal Burghs in Edinburgh, “proposed, without warrant, the repeal of the Temperance (Scotland) Act, a motion which is contrary to the will of the people of the burgh of Wick”.
The resolution continued that “inasmuch as he being first magistrate of the burgh, publicly denounced the law of the land calling the Temperance (Scotland) Act an execrable Act... the Wick No-Licence Committee, convinced that such conduct is calculated to encourage lawlessness and increase the difficulties of the Chief Constable and police and law officers who are doing their best to maintain law and order in the burgh, respectfully ask Provost G A O Green to retire from the civic chair”.
In a separate story it was reported that copies of the resolution had been sent to the town clerk and the provost, and that the Rev W H Millard, secretary of the No-Licence Committee, had received a reply.
An obviously unimpressed Mr Green had acknowledged receipt of the correspondence and stated: “I have deposited such arrogant productions in their appropriate resting place – the waste-paper basket.”
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Move to attract oil work
From the Groat of April 19, 1974
Councillors and harbour trust representatives had agreed to take a more proactive approach in a bid to attract oil industry work to the county.
At a meeting of Caithness County Council, local MP Robert Maclennan called on members to take “quick action” to put Caithness on a better footing to meet the needs of any oil-related development.
Mr Maclennan said he was “deeply disappointed” at the lack of oil work locally.
“Our facilities are not as naturally attractive as those in certain other areas of the north,” he said. “It does, however, seem to me that we should make the biggest possible effort to attract industry and great urgency is needed.”
He continued: “What I am suggesting is that we should take the initiative and not wait until oil companies come along and express an interest and then after an argument about it start thinking.”
The meeting agreed that planning consultants Messrs Wilson and Womersley, who were already carrying out a general survey of the county's potential, be asked to undertake “a special job assessing available facilities for oil industry development”.
Bailie John Rosie, Thurso, agreed and said that oil development had bypassed the county in favour of Orkney, Shetland and Ross-shire “and it was only right to point out the frustration felt by the people of Caithness”.
However, he said the last thing the county could afford was “to allow frustration to fall into hopelessness”.
US base refuge bid
From the Groat of April 23, 1999
The former US Navy base at Forss was being considered as a haven for refugees fleeing the Kosovo conflict.
Owner Jim Sutherland said he was prepared to make available the site of the former hush-hush radio link as accommodation for the homeless and that the government had been made aware of the offer.
The initiative had been mounted by Andi Wakeman, a director of Pentland Housing Association, which shared international concern about the desperate plight of the refugees – 600,000 of them had been driven from their homes and an estimated 2000 more had been killed.
Miss Wakeman sounded out Mr Sutherland who was receptive to the idea and recommended it to local MP Robert Maclennan.
She said that, even though the complex was not self-contained, “it had the potential to accommodate a small community provided that the necessary services, such as staff, medical, catering and retail, could be arranged”.
The MP said he did not envisage any insurmountable service problems as the Forss site had utility supplies and was capable of housing 60 people in shared accommodation.
The base, set in 127 acres of ground, included a sports hall, sauna, gymnasium, nightclub and a medical centre.
It had been bought as a speculative proposition by Mr Sutherland, the boss of Dyce-based Fleet Transport Ltd, in 1995 having been abandoned by the Pentagon following dramatic political change in the former Eastern Bloc countries and improvements in information technology.
