TYPICAL LOCAL NEWS STORIES BROADCAST ON TWO LOCHS RADIO

A typical day's news bulletin will have 3 or 4 stories of local relevance plus local sporting fixtures/results.

A Gairloch group has received a major lottery award

Almost £440,000 pounds has been awarded to the Gairloch and Loch Ewe Action forum, operators of the Gairloch Visitor Information Centre, as funding towards developing a major new visitor centre in Achtercairn Gairloch.

Janet Miles, General Manager of GALE Ltd, said the grant comes after seven years work on securing the group’s future and providing a future home for community led projects. She added that the group hopes that, as well as being a tourist information point, the building will house many other amenities including a local produce market.

A new restaurant opens in Gairloch today

The Na Mara restaurant opens today in Strath Square in the former Cafe Blueprint premises. The restaurant will be open for lunch only today, but then for lunches and evening meals from tomorrow. The new hosts, Flo and Stuart, have moved to Gairloch from Inverness. Their new menu offers modern Scottish dishes featuring local produce, and will also welcome children with a special menu.

Ross County gets its chance to go down in Scottish football history today

Over 17,000 tickets have been sold to Ross County supporters for today’s Scottish Cup Final match against Premier League Dundee United. County Manager Derek Adams said the club and everyone connected to it has been gripped by cup fever and they are relishing the prospect of a Hampden final.
He added "It's been a fantastic week for the players. The club shop has been busy, and ticket sales have been extraordinary."

Staggies supporters are travelling far and wide, including overseas trips from Canada, Hong Kong and Australia, hoping to witness a little bit of footballing history. The team, which transferred from the Highland League 16 years ago, has beaten Dundee United only once in is history, and on that occasion Derek Adams himself was a player and scored both goals. Gairloch and Aultbea United's scheduled fixture against Fortose has been postponed, as have all Ross-shire Amateur League matches, to allow the teams to watch the cup final.

The Council warns staff to beware of bogus phone calls.

The Highland Council has issued a message to employees advising them not to give out personal Bank details over the phone. The Council's Finance Service was alerted by employees who said that individuals claiming to be from the Council's Payroll and Pensions office had called asking for personal Bank details for outstanding payments to be made. A Trading Standards spokesman added: "bogus phone callers may also be targeting employees of other organisations in the Highlands, and we would urge everyone to be on their guard".

In Boxing Day football, Inverness Caley Thistle has an away Premiership match against Falkirk, and Ross County has a home match against Cowdenbeath in League division Two. [26/12/07]

A climber takes a fall in Torridon [24/12/07]

Whilst climbing on the Western Buttress of Beinn Eighe, one of a pair of climbers took a 50 metre fall sustaining significant back injuries. Torridon and Dundonnell Mountain Rescue teams attended along with an RAF rescue helicopter. Both climbers were airlifted off the hill and onto Raigmore hospital. The injured climber has been named locally as Murdo Jameison from Tain along with his climbing partner, Megan MacRae from Gairloch.

More sorrow for local post offices [24/12/07]

Just a week after recovering from loss of its computer systems, Kinlochewe Post Office was struck by another problem, a burst pipe which flooded the shop and stock. Following Kinlochewe's computer problems, Poolewe Post Office was out of action yesterday due to a computer breakdown.

A long distance cycle run takes place from Strath, Gairloch today

Five members of Gairloch Church of Scotland, including Reverend Derek Morrison are undertaking a long distance fundraising cycle run today. They are making the trip to raise funds for the development of a Christian pre-school nursery in Cluj ["kloodge"], Romania.

The cyclists start from Strath Square this morning, going via Dundonnell, Braemore Junction, Garve, Achnasheen, and back to Gairloch. They aim to make the 110-mile circular trip during the course of the day, to be back in Gairloch this evening, where a welcoming committee will greet them.

Scottish Water apologises for poor water quality in Wester Loch Ewe

Following recent complaints about water taste in the area served by the Inverasdale water treatment plant, Scottish Water has written to the community council confirming that treatment problems may be affecting water taste and odour in the area.

Sue Neild, Business and Community Liaison Manager with Scottish Water, says that the difficulties should be short term as the Inverasdale works is soon to be upgraded, but she was unable to provide a specific timescale.

Wester Ross has a new National Nature Reserve

The 200ft deep Corrieshalloch Gorge, at Braemore Junction has been redesignated by Scottish Natural Heritage as a National Nature Reserve, the same designation as held by the Beinn Eighe reserve near Kinlochewe. The gorge is described as the finest example of a 'box canyon' in the British Isles, and it attracts around 100,000 visitors per year, making it second only to Inverewe Gardens as Wester Ross's most popular tourist spot.

This spring it reopened after £200,000 of refurbishment work. The redesignation follows a comprehensive review of NNRs by SNH, and its owner, the National Trust for Scotland, has been designated as its approved management body.

A reported aircraft near miss over Skye has been officially confirmed

Earlier in the year the pilot of a light aircraft en route from Plockton to the north of Skye reported being passed within 200 metres by a Tornado jet fighter. An Air proximity report from the Civil Aviation Authority says that the jet failed to spot the Cessna plane, carrying a pilot and a photographer, due to a ridge initially separating them. The jet's pilot did not see the smaller plane until it appeared above the ridge line and when their paths crossed they were at an altitude of just over 200 metres. The Tornado's navigator also failed to spot the Cessna at all. The area is uncontrolled airspace where the air proximity board says the prime means of avoiding collision was the "see and avoid" principle.

A call has been made for more Crofters Commission directors to be elected

Local MSP John Farquhar Munro has called on the Scottish Executive to allow the next chairman of the Crofters Commission, and at least half the commission's board of directors, to be elected by crofters. The current chairman, David Green of Achiltibuie, has accepted a position as chairman of the Cairngorms National Park, and is expected to leave the Commission within a year.

Mr Munro says the crofting community does not want another executive-appointed chairman, and the board would be far more representative if at least half the members were elected by crofters, independent of political masters. He added that the departure of David Green gives an ideal opportunity to try this as a pilot.

Meanwhile, there has still been no Executive response to the rural development committee's criticism of the new Crofting Bill. Rob Gibson, Highland SNP MSP, has called for parliamentary debate of the Crofting Bill to be postponed until the Executive responds.

Applecross Archaeological Society has been awarded a £10,000 grant

The Awards for All grant is to continue the archaeological project started by Channel 4's Time Team programme last year. Local people have long believed there was a ruined broch on land at Applecross campsite. Time Team's archaeologists found what appear to be remains of an Iron Age broch on the site, and discovered 2,000-year-old items such as pottery, knives, bone needles, and food remains.

They identified a traditional broch shape about 18 metres in diameter, with walls over 4 metres thick. The TV team took the work no further, as their task was only to determine whether it really was a broch or just a pile of old stones. Applecross Archaeological Society was set up to discover more about the site and applied for the grant to continue the work by removing earth from the broch and  identifying its chambers and passages.