S. Kessock launch garden contest

SOUTH Kessock Residents Association (SKRA) is launching a competition this month for the most improved garden. There will be two categories - one for established gardens and one for those starting from scratch - and the winners will receive B&Q vouchers as prizes.

The initiative aims to give an incentive to those residents who want to help improve the environ-ment of the area. Entry forms will be available at the Tool Club from the beginning of April, closing date for entries is 27 April.
SKRA have run the highly successful Tool Club for a number of years lending out a wide range of tools and this has done much to help raise the standard of local gardens.
The Tool Club, which is situated beside the Community House in Craigton Avenue, will open on 16 April on Mondays and Fridays from 6.30-7.30pm

A recent addition to the Community Centre's range of activities is the Flower Arranging Class which takes place on a Tuesday evening. This has proved very popular and members learn how to make a few blooms go a long way by developing an artistic approach to the subject.

Local Highland dancers gain success in exams

MERKINCH pupils of the Fraser School of Highland Dancing recently took their UKA exams; the examiner was PA Raeburn from Huntly. Results were as follows:

Uni-Ted pendants: Sophie Kay and Rebecca Alexander, both highly commended (HC).
Master Uni-Ted: Sophie Kay, HC; Megan Copland HC..
Uni-Ted Badge: All HC - Katie Ball, Kirsty-Ann Duncan, Ayesha Ross, Rebecca Alexander, Leah Gibson..
Highland Intro 1: Pos-to music - Jessica Walker HC. 2: Highland Fling - Jessica Walker HC, Leah Gibson HC. 3: Sword Dance - Tanya Ross HC..
Beginners' Highland: Fling & Swords - Natasha MacMorran HC..
Master National: Both HC - Sophie Harper, Rhiannon MacDonald..
National Plaque: Both HC - Claire Stimpson, Yasmin Turanli..
National Bronze: Flora MacDonald's Fancy - Yasmin Turanli, Distinction (D). Scottish Lilt - Yasmin Turanli, Honours(H); Claire Stimpson HC..
National Silver: S. Lilt - Derri McPhee, Dist. Barracks Johnnie - Derri McPhee, Hons.
National Gold: Barracks Johnnie - Derri McPhee, H..
National Gold Thistle: S. Lilt - Rebecca Fraser, D. Barracks Johnnie - Rebecca Fraser, D. Village Maid - Rebecca Fraser, D..
Bronze Bar: Irish Jig - Derri McPhee, H..
2nd Gold Thistle: Irish Jig - Rebecca Fraser, H..
Theory, Grade 2: Rebecca Fraser.

The Fraser School of Highland Dancing classes take place at Merkinch Community Centre at 4pm on Thursdays and at St Mary's Hall, Huntly Street at 4pm on Tuesdays. For further details ring Inverness 729477.

Mark 'trained' to mind the bairns

MEN who are qualified child minders are not all that uncommon - usually they are part of a couple team. But Mark Downey of Maclennan Crescent is possibly unique, in that he runs his own child-minding facility on his own; his wife has her own business, a hair salon, in Alness. It seemed the obvious path to take as Mark found he hated to leave his 2-year-old son Jude to go off to work in the morning. He had always wanted to work with children, so he took a six-week course in child-minding. Currently he is studying for a sign-language qualification so he can communicate with children with hearing difficulties. Mark is pictured playing trains with son Jude (centre) and his pal Connor. If you want to get in touch with Mark his number is 01463 248649.

Waterfront problems will delay project

AMONG matters discussed by Merkinch Community Council at their March meeting were the following:

• #There are some problems with the proposed Waterfront Centre - land contamination has been found, the foundations will need to be reinforced and the costs have increased. This will result in a delay in delivering the project. Although the existing building may not open for the summer period, activities will be taking place, members heard.

 

• #Members were concerned to hear that there is a substantial amount of erosion of the shore between the pier and the building known as Tangle Towers - the community council secretary will write to Highland Council's TEC Services to highlight this concern.

 

• A clean-up will take place on the South Kessock shoreline on Saturday 7 April as part of the "Keep Scotland Tidy" campaign. A clean-up is planned for the wider Merkinch area in the near future.

 

• Councillor Peter Corbett reported that work has started on Kessock Court South and that the planning process has started for Kessock Court North.
  The Anderson Street flats adjacent to the Women's Aid shelter are being dismantled. He also reported that Highland Council has agreed a deal with O'Brien Properties for the Bon Accord yard.

 

• Various ideas had been put forward for using the £1000 Urban Aid funding available to the Community Council. After some discussion it was agreed to purchase two picnic tables with benches for Merkinch Primary School.
  A request for funding from the Black Bridge Bike Project was successful to the tune of £100.

 

• #The secretary was asked to write to Northern Constabulary regarding the lack of community police presence in Merkinch. Cllr Corbett stated that a second Community Beat Officer was being allocated to the area.

 

• It had been hoped that an official from Highland Council would attend the meeting to explain the changes to local government wards and the election system. But the Council wrote to say they will not be sending representatives to Community Council meetings to discuss the boundary changes.

 

• Community warden Liz Murray thanked the members for their £100 contribution to the Merkinch Street League.
  The group took part in the recent charity Fun Run (see page 9). She also reported the graffiti on the Gael Force building had been cleaned off.

 

• A meeting was to be held on 22nd March to discuss the plans for a Local Nature Reserve.

 

• Minutes of the Community Council are to be displayed in the Community Centre.

 

• Councillor Christina Cumming confirmed that the meeting represented her last attendance at Merkinch Community Council as she was not standing again for Highland Council at the May elections. The secretary offered a vote of thanks for Cllr Cummings' valuable contribution, which was endorsed by all present. Cllr Cumming wished Cllr Corbett the best of luck in the local elections.

 

• The next meeting will be held on Thursday 19th April at 7:30pm in Merkinch Community Centre.

Graham Harrison from Ladbrokes (left) in Lochalsh Road presenting Jamie Shields from Merkinch Street League with £300 which was raised at a Race Night.

School celebrates Highland Year of Culture 2007

MERKINCH Primary has a busy programme of events, workshops and activities to celebrate the Highland Year of Culture. Last month, in the one week, they had a visit from representatives of the Edinburgh Science Festival' education programme. Pupils in Mrs Ross, Mr Clark and Miss Rennie's classes learned about gravity, magnetism and speed through child-friendly balancing clowns, bouncing marbles and Teddy Bears. The following day the visitors showed pupils from Mrs Tracey and Mrs Sculthorpe's classes all about the sun, moon and how the earth spins.
On the Thursday there was a puppetry workshop, part of the Puppet Animation Festival, and the Friday fun with the Honeybees.

One of the school's projects is a wall of tiles (above), each one individually painted by each child in the school. The huge tiled panel takes pride of place on a wall, designated the Heritage Wall, which is in the school library.

What the Partnership has been doing this winter

THE Merkinch Partnership has met on four occasions since our last report on their activities, in October 2006. At these meetings the Partnership members discuss and evaluate new applications to the Community Regeneration Fund as well as monitoring existing projects.

Since November 2006 the Partnership has received 11 applications for funding. Here are the projects which have been successful:

• Clach Football Park
  £2000 was approved towards the cost of a feasibility study to identify the viability and funding options to convert the Clach Park to an all weather pitch. This would benefit the local community as well as the football team.

 

• Family Centre, Merkinch
  £6000 has been awarded to the new Family Centre to provide 25 staff and volunteers from the statutory and voluntary sectors in Merkinch with high quality training to enable them to deliver "The Incredible Years" parenting programme within the community.

 

• Merkinch Street League
  Peter Corbett and Community Warden Liz Murray, along with 6 other adults living in the South Kessock/Merkinch area, are taking the Merkinch Street League football team (16 boys under the age of 15years) to Ayr from the 2nd April-6th April 2007 to take part in a football tournament over 3 days. They have been awarded £1000 towards the cost of the trip.

 

• Ferry Support Project
  The aim of this project is to be a befriending service to anyone in the Merkinch/ South Kessock area who is genuinely trying to come off drugs or alcohol. This befriending would include discussion, counselling and leisure activities including sport, day trips and holidays.

 

• The Project base will be a charity shop in Grant Street where the Project Manager, who would also be a drugs and alcohol abuse outreach worker, could be found. The shop will raise funds for use in the fight against drugs in the Merkinch area, and, although the shop will be managed, on a voluntary basis by experienced charity workers, it will also seek to employ, on a voluntary basis, ex-addicts from the Merkinch area who have recovered sufficiently for voluntary work to be part of their re-habilitation. A strict no drugs policy will be in operation on the premises at all times. The shop will incorporate an informal seating area for the outreach worker to meet with any individual who wants to come off drugs or alcohol. It will also serve as a base where other agencies might meet with clients.
  The Partnership has approved a one-off award of £6,500 to help get the project off the ground.

 

• Merkinch Partnership Project Administration
  £5,640 has been approved for additional administrative support for the Regeneration Fund. This support will include record-keeping for audit purposes and processing of payments.

 

• Black Bridge Bike Project
  The Cycle Project is receiving funding of £4,380 for the period 1/4/07 to 31/3/08 to run twice weekly cycle repair workshops in a property in Grant Street. The workshops will take place on Tuesdays and Fridays from 3pm to 5pm. They are run by an experienced tutor and are open to young people of 12-18 years residing in the Merkinch area. Bikes are donated by the public and Northern Constabulary. The main aim of the project is to promote cycling as an activity to the young people of the area.

 

• Merkinch Development Ventures
  Ness Soaps is the trading subsidiary of Merkinch Development Ventures, a Social Firm and Charity, whose aim is to help disadvantaged members of the Merkinch community to have worthwhile work and training. The company has been in existence since 2005 and Ness Soaps began operating as a business in April 2006.
  Ness Soaps make a range of handmade soaps in a wide range of fragrances, small guest soaps for use in tourist accommodation and novelty soaps mainly aimed at Tourist operators. The workshop is currently located in the Corbett Centre and operates Monday to Friday with occasional sales events being held at weekends, especially during the summer months. Merkinch Partnership has awarded the group funding of £35,000 for the next year - this will allow them to recruit staff to move the organisation forward.

 

• Arts in Merkinch
  The Partnership has awarded Arts in Merkinch further funding of £7,962. This will ensure the provision of arts activities for the coming year and will allow the arts worker to deliver a year-round package, where AiM not only holds a 10-day summer festival, but will build on people's experiences of the arts from the festival and allow them to participate throughout the year.

 

• Easter Rock School
  This project will take place in the Community Centre during the Easter holidays.

Other projects which have already received funding and are successfully carrying out their activities include:

• The stage facilities in the gym hall in Merkinch Community Centre - most of the new equipment (staging, lighting, curtains) is now in place and the hall is ready for use as a high quality theatre and community venue.

 

• S. Kessock Environmental Company has been working towards having a "Green Gym" site in the Merkinch area. The Corbett Centre garden and Carnarc Point have now been designated as "Green Gym" sites and the group are looking for volunteers from the local community to take part in this activity.

 

• The Escape Group have been busy organising their Snowdon Challenge - 8 women will be taking part in this event.

 

• Merkinch Youth Matters are holding discos for Primary School age children in the Community Centre.

For more information on the above projects-or on Merkinch Partnership and the Community Regeneration Fund - please contact Merkinch Project Officer Anne Sutherland on 240085.

At the last meeting of The Partnership members welcomed local residents Ivor Bissett and Lisa Baxter, who were attending the meeting as visitors with a view to joining the Partnership.

Soccer lads in Fun Run

MERKINCH Councillor Peter Corbett (standing left) and Community Warden Liz Murray (standing, third from right) are pictured with members of the Markinch Styreet League soccer team as they were about to take part in the Inverness Fun Run last month.

Latest darts results

UNCLE Bob's won their second Inverness Fours title when they beat Oscar's in the final at the Portland Club last week. Their previous win was in 2002 and three of that team Dougie Milne, Robbie Mutch and Derek Maclean were also in this year's Four and they were joined on this occasion by Michael Maclean. They certainly did not have an easy passage to the final playing Portland A1 in the preliminary, City Taxis 1 in the quarter-final and Portland A2 in the semi-final.
Oscar's beat city Taxis 2 in the other semi final. The Oscar's team was Norman Matheson, Davey Fraser, Norman Ross and Keith Dean.

Michael Maclean and Dougie Milne hit two 180s as did Peter MacDonald (Portland A) and one each came from Kevin Chisholm and Robbie Mutch of Uncle Bob's and Alan Mackinnon Robert Mackenzie and Bomber Godsman all of City Taxis.
The top check-outs were Michael Maclean 129 , Steve Falconer (Portland A) 124 and Robbie Mutch 124 and 100. Robbie Mutch also hit two 14-dart legs.

Keppoch won the Clach Shield beating Legion A in the final -this was the Legion's fourth final in succession and had won the last two but they had to be content with being runners-up this time.
The winning team was Jim MacNeil, Stevie Brough, Billy Palmer and David Hyslop and the runners-up were Donald Mackay Jim Craib, Malcolm Johnstone and Sandy Watt.

The losing semi-finalists were Culloden Moor Inn and Legion B. Jim Macneil (Keppoch) scored a 180 and Donald Mackay (Legion A) checked out 105.

Results from Thurs 8 March

A League: Tarradale 2 Portland B 10, Portland A 8 Uncle Bob's 4, Portland E 1 City Taxis 11
B League: Deeno's 7 Legion A 5, Brockie's Lodge 3 Keppoch 9, Caley Club 7 Smithton 5.
C League: Mojo's 10 Raigmore 5, Legion B 7 Thistle 5, Finlay's 8 Portland X 4
Two of the City Taxis-sponsored league championships have been decided; Culloden Moor Inn were the first winners when two weeks previously they took the B League title closely followed last week by Portland A who took their 9th consecutive A League championship.
Finlay's still require one point to secure the C League. All the runners-up places are still in contention.
In the A League Portland B need three points to secure second ahead of City Taxis. It is between Deeno's and Keppoch in the B and they meet each other in the last game of the season - a play-off may be required.
Mojo's need only one point to be sure of second place in the C but they would need maximum points from the remaining games and Finlay's to lose both their games to force a championship play-off.

Results Thursday 1 March

The first Inverness Darts City Taxis League winners to be confirmed are Culloden Moor Inn who clinched the B League with a win over nearest rivals Deeno's.
The latter remain in second place a point ahead of Legion A. Keppoch are two points off second place but have played a game less.

Results Thursday 1 March 2007

A League: Portland B 9 Oscars 3, City Taxis 12 Fluke 0, Uncle Bobs 9 Portland E 3, Tarradale 5 Portland A 7.
B League: Legion A 6 Smithton 6, Keppoch 8 Caley Club 4, Deenos 2 Culloden Moor Inn 10.
C League: The Drover 8 Portland X 4, Thistle 5 Finlays 7, Raigmore 5 Legion B 7.
Recd 26 feb

Portland B beat Keppoch in the Consolation Shield final winning the singles 5-3 before taking the first two doubles to ensure victory. Ewan Callander scored the only maximum. This was Keppoch's second final in the space of two weeks and were unlucky to encounter A League leaders Portland A in one final and second placed Portland B in the other. A team from the top of the A League has never competed in the consolation shield and very rarely been in the Smith Shield. The B League team however acquitted themselves very well on both occasions.

The qualifiers for the Inverness fours finals are Uncle Bobs 1 & 2, Portland A 1 & 2, Culloden Moor Inn 1, City Taxis 1 and Raigmore 2 plus two other quartets that did not return their score sheets. 180s were scored by Tommy Macdonald (Fluke) Steve Falconer (Portland A) James Macmillan (Portland E) , Barrie Mackay (Culloden Moor Inn), Keith Lambert (Uncle Bobs) and Kevin Chisholm (Uncle Bobs). The top check outs were Jim Hunter ( Portland A) 138 Robbie Mutch (Uncle Bobs) 121 and Keith Lambert (Uncle Bobs) 110. Robbie Mutch (Uncle Bobs) hit a 12 dart leg Gordy Redmond (Culloden Moor Inn) hit a 13 darter, Shane Wharton (Portland B) and Tommy MacDonald (Fluke) had 14 darters and Kevin Chisholm (Uncle Bobs) a went out in 15.

Its back to league business tonight and with four games to play Portland A require four points to retain the A League. The chase for second is much closer with Portland B two points ahead of City Taxis and Uncle Bobs. At the other end of the table Portland E would have to win all of their remaining games to avoid the drop. The top two in the B League Culloden Moor Inn and Deenos meet tonight with the former only needing one point to clinch the title. Legion A and Keppoch are now out of the title race a but are still very much in contention for the runners up spot. At the bottom of the League Caley Club, Smithton and Brockies are all on four points. Mathematically Finlays Mojos Raigmore and Legion B could still win the C League but it would be a major surprise if Finlays did not collect the five points they need to be sure of the title. Third placed Raigmore play fourth team Legion B tonight and defeat for either would not only end their title hopes but would seriously damage their aspirations for the runners up spot. Thistle are bottom of the table just one point behind the Drover.

Lunch club recycling fund-raiser

THE Friendship Club in Merkinch Community Centre is trying to raise funds by acting as a collection point for used printer cartridges, old mobile phones and photocopier/fax toner cartridges for recycling. The club provides lunch on a Wednesday, followed by entertainment (talks, music or trips out) for the older people of the area.

Says Centre co-ordinator Gail Smith, "You could help us make this activity a success in one of the following ways:

• By having a collection box for items to be recycled in your office for collection.

 

• By requesting an envelope from me in which you can send three or more cartridges or phones to the recycling company. There is a bar code on each envelope so we will be credited with the money.

 

• By handing any items into the Merkinch Community Centre for posting."

Programme for April

4th: Highland Senior Citizens Network - film show and talk
11th: Margaret Fraser Dancers. Children of all ages entertain with Scottish Dancing
18th: Evening trip to Simpsons Garden Centre
25th: Bingo

Merkinch Friendship Club meets on a Wednesday from 12 noon - 2pm. All welcome. Transport available upon request. More details please contact Gail Smith, Centre Co-ordinator, 239563 or gail.smith@highland.gov.uk

Dance yourself fit with Vicky

IF YOU are looking forward to getting fit for summer and you need to tone up and burn off a few extra pounds, come along to the Community Centre on a Thursday morning when Vicky Webster is doing dance aerobics from 9.30-10.30am. This is a good fun activity followed by yoga-based relaxation. Why not come along and join in-it's open to ALL. Fee £3; wear loose clothing.