Looking Back: News from Wick, Thurso and elsewhere in Caithness in John O'Groat Journal newspapers of yesteryear

Teachers' wives' services 'to be dispensed with'

From the Groat of October 20, 1922

Members of Caithness Education Authority agreed to dispense with the services of teachers' wives now that the "war conditions have passed away".

In proposing the change, Mr A Miller said he had no personal feelings in the matter and he believed that the teachers' wives employed by the authority had "done their work to the satisfaction of HM Inspectors and with credit to themselves".

However, he said the practice meant that newly qualified teachers, many of them local people, could not get work in the county.

He added that families had worked hard to ensure their children could be equipped with a good education and the authority was spending £4000 on bursaries, a considerable portion of which went to those undertaking teacher training, but it was "useless to spend such a huge sum and not be able to provide situations for teachers after they had qualified".

Mr A Macrae pointed out that schools should maintain fair play and said he did not think discipline could be satisfactory where a headmaster and his wife taught, because: "What would be the use of a child appealing to the headmaster against the ruling of his wife?"

Another point was that if a headmaster was to do first-class work, he had to have a first-class home. "If his wife was toiling in her home she could not be very fit for working in the school, and if she was working in the school she could not attend to her home," he said.

Read more: Further Looking Back entries featuring news from the John O'Groat Journal of yesteryear

High Street building to be demolished

From the Groat of October 20, 1972

A plan to save part of a building in High Street in Wick, due to be demolished to widen the road, had failed.

Mr A Cardosi, who ran a business in High Street and who had been paid the market value for his existing property as part of the revamp of the town centre, had sought to save something of the Mowat Lane building by buying it and converting it into a café and dwelling house on the basis that it only needed to be part-demolished for the road to be widened.

However, Caithness County Council did not agree with the scheme mooted at its roads committee, and agreed by 21 votes to two to adhere to the original plan and knock the building down.

Police Judge James A R Kay said the decision by the roads committee to consider the sale had been "a dreadful one" and he did not wish to be associated with it, while county clerk Mr R L Stevenson said the county council owned the building through the roads committee and had the final say.

Alistair Clyne argued that any aesthetic value the building had would be lost as the front portion of it had to be demolished, whatever the decision.

After hearing that the council was under "no obligation" to Mr Cardosi, they agreed to go ahead with the demolition.

Wick to keep baby unit

From the Groat of October 24, 1997

Caithness was not to lose its maternity unit in Wick but major changes were to be made to the service.

That was the decision it was expected Highland Health Board would confirm at its forthcoming meeting in Inverness.

The threat to the unit came following a review of obstetric facilities in the Highlands, as part of which medical staff from various parts of Scotland visited Wick. They were unhappy with the below-average number of births, resulting in concern about the maintenance of skills and the long-term viability of the unit.

However, it was understood that the health board was to try and find a solution acceptable to all parties.

It was believed that consultants would be required to travel to Raigmore on a regular basis to keep their skills up to date, while midwives would be expected to broaden their experience by visiting other localities.

Elsewhere, Thrumster man Raymond Bremner scooped no fewer than four top awards at only his second appearance at the National Mod.

Raymond, who had only starting competing 18 months previously, was especially delighted to win the silver pendant, the Mod's most prestigious learners' solo award for men.

Also delighted were his fellow villagers, who arranged a champagne reception for him when he returned home.

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