Use your green areas or you may lose them warning

IF GREEN areas in Merkinch -such as those in the Carse and the West Field - are not used for recreational purpose, they could be lost to housing, such is the pressure for new homes in Inverness.
That was the stark warning from Councillor Peter Corbett at the June meeting of Merkinch Community Council.

A feasibility study on green areas was currently being carried out. A number of applications, including that for the former Tawse's yard, were up for decision at the planning meeting on 27th June.

• Regarding the future of Highland Council nursery provision, Cllr Corbett said the proposals to develop more nursery space at Merkinch Primary would cost around £350,000 with a further £100,000 being spent at Merkinch Nursery to form a family centre. If they went ahead it would create a one-stop-shop family centre and greatly enhance the area's facilities.
  It was commented that a "mighty lot" of money was being spent in Merkinch just now.

 

• Birnie Terrace was the first area in Merkinch to launch Neighbourhood Watch. Councillor Chrissie Cumming said it had been a wonderful launch with free locks and other freebies.

 

• Ivor Bissett of Abban Street was co-opted to fill the vacancy caused by Pam Adam's resignation.

 

• Members were pleased to hear that the problem of the blocked Grant Street drain appeared to have been solved. There was some discussion about the building at the end of Telford Road that is in a dangerous condition and it was understood that the question of ownership was currently still going through the courts.

 

• The traffic-calming scheme agreed for Carse Road is being extended to Telford Road as far as the Skinner Court entrance. This will involve 20mph signs and flashing lights, members heard. It is not yet known when the work will take place.

 

• It would appear that the Lochiel bar is once again on the market. Members heard that the flats above are also up for sale.

 

• The recently-appointed Community Warden, Liz Murray, spoke to members about her role (See interview on page 5). She told members she may run a surgery, possibly on a Wednesday, if people in the area wanted her to. She said that people who might not want to speak to the police could approach her on matters of environment, vandalism, anti-social behaviour and so forth.

 

• Merkinch Community Centre is to hold the annual gala on 27th August (more details next month).

 

• South Kessock Residents Association representative Ali Locke reported that they were holding their Fun Day at Craigton Avenue on Friday 5th August. The cherry-picker had been around cleaning the gutters which he said would be a big step forward in the condition of the houses.

 

• The South Kessock Environment Project in the former ferry ticket office was now open for the summer on Sunday afternoons . It had taken quite a bit of work to get the building up to scratch.

 

• Tribute was paid to the work of Brian Macleod, Community Project Officer, who left on 3rd June after two years.

 

• There will be no Community Council meeting in July, the next one being in August. Prior to the June meeting was the AGM, and in the absence of MCC chairman both were chaired by vice-chair Ali Locke.

 

Pedal-pushing for charities

YOUNGSTERS at Fliperz Nursery in Simpson's Lane took part in a charity pedal-push event this spring and raised a splendid £680 by their efforts. Last month Rachel Bodell and Annie Maclean (left, centre) from the Special Care Baby Unit at Raigmore came to collect their share, the rest going to Fliperz itself. The parents choose who will be the recipients each year. Also pictured is Fliperz manager Denise Mutch and some of the youngsters.

Anne moves from families to the wider population

MEET Anne Sutherland, who has been appointed as Community Project Officer for the next year. Previously Anne, who lives in Skinner Court, Telford Road, was employed by the NCH "Working for Families" project.

Born and brought up in Wick, Anne has lived in Inverness for the last 10 years, the last three in Merkinch. She has a nine-year-old son Ewan who currently attends Central Primary School.

A number of people have commented to Anne that Brian Macleod, the previous Community Project Officer, will be a hard act to follow. But his post ceased at the end of May, and Anne's role is differently funded and somewhat different in nature.

"I will be following up in an advisory role already established bodies-such as Merkinch Development Ventures, Arts in Merkinch, South Kessock Environmental Company and Merkinch Partnership-in their own aims.

Ecumenical encounters

CHURCHES Together Inverness was set to hold an "Ecumenical Encounters" workshop at the Old Boys School , St Andrews Cathedral, Bishops Road , Inverness on Wednesday 29th June. The workshop aimed to discuss and reflect on experiences of churches working together locally and beyond.

Former beat PC in new role

ONE-TIME Merkinch Community Beat Officer Dominic Sermanni was guest speaker at the AGM of the Highland Senior Citizens Network last month. He is now in the Community Safety Department at Police HQ in Old Perth Road and part of his responsibility is listening to the concerns of the elderly.

Paint ball fun at Craigton Avenue open day

SOUTH Kessock Residents Association and Highland Council are holding a fun day at Craigton Avenue on Friday the 5th of August, starting at 12 noon.
Attractions include a bouncy castle, Army paint ball tent (£1 for 10 paint balls), hamburgers, police dogs demo (subject to availability on day), ice cream van, beat the goalie, fire service (subject to availability on day) , face painting, and much, much more.
So come along and have a great day!

* * * *

SKRA run a tool club 6.30pm-7.30pm Monday to Friday. Membership is £6 for six months or £10 for a year. For this you can borrow tools as much as you like. We have lawn mowers, strimmers, forks,spades, cement mixer, wheelbarrow, sack barrow, carpet cleaner, engravers, etc etc,

* * * *

South Kessock Resident Association is run for the benefit and represents all residents of South Kessock, tenants or owner/occupiers. We are active in improving the environment we all share when we step out of the door of our houses.
We strive to make South Kessock a better place to live, a place where others would like to live in. A fair measure of the success of our and other agencies' efforts is the fact that there in now a waiting list to get a house in South Kessock., house values are also shooting up, anti-social behaviour police call-outs are far less than several other areas of Inverness.

We are always looking for enthusiastic people, who would like to see South Kessock to be the place to live, to join us. Our meetings are the first Tuesday of the month 7.30pm in the Community House.

briefs.

• HURRY, hurry, hurry along to Merkinch Post Office to vote for your local PO in the Best Post Office Awards for 2005. Votes have to be in by Friday 8th July, so go along and make it a matter of record that Merkinch has the friendliest, most helpful PO staff in the country!

 

• LUCKY winner of the June Nicol's Killer Quiz prize of a £10 voucher to be spent at Nicol's is Angus Murdoch, 8 Brown Street. Congratulations to Mr Murdoch-why don't you have a go; it's on page 8.

 

• ALEX Mabon, author of "Lads from the Ferry" is at Inverness Library on Friday 1st July at 2pm to read excerpts from his second book "The Battle of the Ferry." He will also be at Ottakar's on the 9th signing copies of his latest tale.

 

• TRINITY Church Summer Fete has realised £2816.58 to date. With the Blessing Project standing at £1000.39, the overall total is £3816.97. The Fund raising Committee wish to thank everyone for their generous support.

 

Keep safe and sane this summer

THE summer holidays are looming large. Hopefully we'll get some nice weather so the bairns can get out and about.

The Janny's Hoose has a book full of ideas of things for families to do over the summer, quite a few of them are free, the rest are low cost and on our doorstep.

Whilst you are out and about don't forget to cover the children up from the sun. Youngsters cook very quickly even on cloudy days - cover them in sun-cream, a T-shirt and a hat. The sun-cream should be high strength, at least 20, and rubbed on regularly especially if they are in water.

We have family activities on Wednesday afternoons and other groups and activities - see our separate insert.

Have a lovely summer.

Jean Mackay
Janny's Hoose Healthy Living Centre
Telford Road
Inverness
IV3 8HY Tel: 226348

Highland Healthy Living Week

THE Janny's Hoose celebrated Highland Healthy Living Week last month with a Garden Party. The Hoose may not seem to have much of a garden, but there was room for their gazebo plus table and chairs. There was a good turn-out and as always at the Janny's Hoose some more-ish healthy snacks and drinks.

New community warden is a Merkincher, through and through

AFTER a bit of a hiccup, Merkinch once again has a Community Warden. She is Liz Murray, nee Macintyre, and she was brought up in South Kessock in West Drive-now known as Carnarc Crescent. She also lived for a while in Kilmuir Road and Birnie Terrace-even now she is just across the way, in Dalneigh. So she is very well acquainted with the problems of the area and has plenty of ideas and enthusiasm about what can improve people's lives in the area.

After attending Merkinch Primary and Inverness High schools, Liz has worked in a number of jobs and has wide experience in the caring professions. She has been an auxiliary at Craig Dunain and Craig Phadrig before studying for her Certificate and HNC in Social Care at Inverness College. She has worked with the disabled and then spent three years gaining a degree in Social Science at the University of the Highlands and Islands at Inverness College. She has also worked with Albyn Housing Association as a support worker. Some may even remember her from her part-time job at Merkinch Pet Shop with Ali Maclean and Anne. And when the Community Warden's post came up, Liz's first thought was how great it would be to work in Merkinch.

Liz started on 20th June and her first job was to get a handle on the various aspects of the warden's role.

"Obviously patrolling the area is important-to identify where there is graffiti, vandalism, fly-tipping and abandoned vehicles and then reporting these to the relevant bodies.

"I'll be working closely with Councillor Peter Corbett as well as Paul Neville and Lewis Hannah of the Highland Council's housing department. We are planning to do a monthly walkabout.

"I'll also be in close touch with the Community Beat Officers, Ali MacRae and Pat Underwood."

Liz will also be working with youth development workers, Merkinch Community Centre and Merkinch Primary School and she expects to be a regular visitor, keeping a finger on the pulse of what is happening in Merkinch.
She will also be visiting Inverness High School with a view to becoming involved in their personal social education projects.

"Already I have identified some vulnerable tenants and been able to involve other agencies to help them," she said.

With regard to making the environment better Liz said, "I have already approached the owners of a building in South Kessock and they have agreed to give it a coat of paint. I'll be doing whatever I can to make the environment better."

Liz also aims to see the completion of a project already started by the previous community warden, improving the walkway at Coronation Park. She will also be contacting all the residents' and tenants' associations in the district as well as Merkinch Community Council.

Based in the Community House in Craigton Avenue, Liz says she could be a point of contact for Anti-Social Behaviour concerns.

Liz is married and has two children - one is 19 and studying retail management at Robert Gordon's University in Aberdeen and the other is just 10 and attends Dalneigh Primary. Her husband is a lecturer in Gaelic and Scottish history at Inverness College.

Merkinch Partnership is formed to help Merkinch bloom

A STRUCTURED approach to developing Merkinch and finding the funding necessary for the various strands of that development was given a sound foundation when an initial group of eight representatives from a range of aspects of Merkinch life agreed to form the Merkinch Partnership.

There was a fair turnout at the meeting in Merkinch Community Centre on 21st June, with Councillor Peter Corbett in the chair, when another step forward was taken to assist the various interests of the community to pull together for the benefit of all.

The journey began last year with the Highland Council's Community Appraisal and the Conference in November which was organised by the then Community Project Officer Brian Macleod. This was followed up by a meeting in March this year which resulted in an agreement being made to form a group that would encompass all the interests of the Merkinch community-from social and cultural interests to bodies growing economic potential in the area.

Graham Strachan of Highland Council and Councillor Peter Corbett said the Partnership could grow into what the community wanted it to be.

"It should be all-encompassing," said Mr Strachan, "and that way you are in a much better position to get funding."

"It's all about getting resources into the community," said Councillor Corbett.

It was envisaged that Jamie McJimpsey of Highland Council and Anne Sutherland, the new Community Project Officer, would assist the group to take things forward and that the Partnership would meet around four times a year to help further projects.

Said Graham Strachan, "If you need more members you can always bring them in. "Try to seek to get a balance-your members should not all be male, for instance, or be of any one particular age."

A number of names were then proposed and seconded for membership of the Partnership. There was only one refusal: Clair Pieraccini said he felt he wore enough hats as it was and that someone younger should be found.

Mr Strachan gave the new Partnership a few tips: he said, "You should embrace all interests in the community and engage with all aspects of community life.
Now you have your Partnership, you can refine and develop it; you can grow it."

The eight people who form the initial basis of the Merkinch Partnership are as follows:

Ali Locke - from Merkinch Community Council and South Kessock Residents Association
Alison Berg - from Merkinch Community Centre and the After-School Club
Rev Alistair Murray - from Trinity Church
Bette McArdle - from Arts in Merkinch and News & Views community newsletter
Ross McGillivray - from Merkinch Enterprise, Merkinch Development Ventures and various other groups
Joan Tracey - from Merkinch Primary School Board and the Janny's Hoose
Vic Rawlins - from youth and sporting interests
Peter Corbett - local Highland Councillor.

Graham Strachan of Highland Council told the meeting, "You can see what areas you are light in and add members as necessary. The last thing you want is for any other groups to feel they are not represented."

Make poverty history coach

THE Inverness Tear Fund Group is hiring a 49-seat coach to go to Edinburgh for the day on Saturday 2nd July, coinciding with the G8 summit to demonstrate in the name of trade justice, debt cancellation, and better aid for the world's poorest countries. There will be rallies, speakers, stalls and a giant human band parade. The coach leaves Inshes Church (near Matalan's) Inverness at 7am, arriving at The Meadows, Edinburgh at 11am. Expected cost: Adult: £12, Child: £8. Contact Jonathan Appleby on 01463 791470 or jonathan.appleby@scottishwatersolutions.co.uk to book your place.

Festival winners announced

WINNERS of the Inverness Courier Photographic Awards at this year's Merkinch Festival exhibition in the Black Bridge Gallery are as follows:

Portraits - 1 Canon L Black in St Michael & All Angels, Abban Street by Bill McBryde (25); 2 Jim Smith the Shoemaker, Lochalsh Road by Gordon Harvey (15); 3 Sammy Lee, Grant Street by Jane Arnold (10). Landscapes - 1 Out to Sea by Mark Logan (25); Out with the Old, In with the New by Ann Hodgson (£15); 3 River Moods by Clare Skea (£10).

"The standard of photography at this year's exhibition was exceptionally high, with a number of members of Inverness Camera Club contributing," said Bette McArdle, exhibition organiser. "We are grateful to the Courier and the Camera Club for their support and hope that the Club will take part in our festival again in the future."

In the Fine Art section of the exhibition the winner of the £25 Art Society of Inverness Award for the most appreciated picture is Georgina Coburn, Abban Street with her pencil drawing of The River Dragon.

The Arts in Merkinch Award for the artists gaining most overall votes went to (1) Patricia Shorthouse, Lower Kessock Street with her pastel studies of dogs and puppies (£15); and (2) Kathleen Adam, Maclennan Gardens, for her detailed watercolour landscapes (£10).

"A high proportion of the artists this year came from the Merkinch Art Group which was set up as a result of the interest generated by last year's exhibition," said Mrs McArdle. "And although we didn't have quite so many sales this year, it was again a great success in my book as a further seven people have indicated an interest in joining the group next winter."

Arts in Merkinch is also grateful to all the festival sponsors and supporters, including the Pieraccini family who allowed their premises to be used for the Coloursplash workshops, to the Salvation Army for the loan of their potter's wheel and to Grant Street shopkeepers who helped with the dissemination of poems.

Sports Nooz

Merkinch Primary School sports days

LAST year's school sports were a washout, but there was better luck this year. For though the first morning only got halfway through the programme of events, the weather cheered up the following week and everyone got their chance to take part.
Pictured are some of the events on the first morning-the football dribbling, three-legged race and the girls' skipping.

Small businesses: Beware cold callers

SMALL businesses in the Highlands are being urged to hang up on cold callers selling advertising in publications that they claim support the emergency services or charities. Highland Council Trading Standards say small businesses, either on their landline or through their mobile phone, are being targeted by high pressure sales companies.

A small business may find themselves agreeing to signing up for costly advertising agreements in a bid to get the sales company off the phone. However once an agreement is made they often find themselves being bombarded by other companies of a similar set up.

The amount of unsolicited calls can escalate to an exasperating level and can cost the small trader a considerable amount of time and money to control.

The OFT has recently issued a warning to small businesses in regard to some telesales companies falsely claiming to be linked to the emergency services or charitable organisations. In some instances the OFT have found that there have also been false claims made that businesses have already agreed to buy advertising space and demands for payment when no such agreements have taken place.

Legitimate companies do exist but to reduce the risks of falling for cold call scams the OFT and trading standards have the following tips:

• don't take unsolicited calls when you are busy and can't give the salesman your full attention - if you want to talk, ask them to call back at a convenient time

 

• don't agree to something on the phone just to get rid of a persistent caller - legally binding agreements can be made over the phone

 

• be wary of unsolicited callers suggesting or implying that you are placing an order or entering an agreement when you don't wish to do so

 

• be wary of follow-up calls - you may think they're just verifying details, but they may be trying to trick you into entering into an agreement

 

• if you're not clear about any details, don't be rushed - ask questions

 

• don't be pressurised into paying for services you haven't agreed to, that haven't been provided or that don't match those agreed to: if you are threatened with debt collectors or a credit black-listing, remember that ultimately only a court can decide whether you are liable to pay and disputes with another business will not necessarily affect your credit rating.

 

Nigel Mackenzie, Head of Trading Standards adds: "Trading standards are alarmed by the practices of some cold-calling telesales operations who would appear to stop at nothing to pressurise businesses into parting with monies.

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to these types of scams and unfair practices because often their business is run by maybe one or two people. They feel under pressure to accept what is being sold to them with little or no question just so they can get on with running their own business.

"We urge all businesses to be very wary and not to be pressurised or tricked into agreeing to advertising they don't want and probably don't need or for paying for something they have not even ordered."

The OFT is considering a number of complaints about misleading claims and will take enforcement action against those who make them where appropriate.

If you are a business in the Highlands and feel that you have been or are currently being targeted in this way please contact: Highland Council Trading Standards Unit, 38 Harbour Road, Inverness IV1 1UF either in writing or in person or contact on 01463/228700.

Alternatively you can email us through our website on: www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/highland

What to do if you find discarded needles

DRUG-users who share needles are at a high risk of developing blood-borne infections such as hepatitis B and C and HIV, says the Highland Drug and Alcohol Action Team.

"Discarded needles and syringes can sometimes carry these infections and when they are discarded in such areas as children's playgrounds there can be a particular risk. "It is very important to protect yourself and others by taking care when a needle is discovered," they warn.

They advise: If you find drug-using equipment such as needles, you can prevent injury by getting them disposed of properly. What to do.

• l First of all, don't panic.

 

• l Don't touch needles or syringes.

 

• l Don't put in a litter bin, drain or flush down a toilet.

 

• l Be careful of any blood in the area.

 

• l Phone Highland Council TEC Services on 01463 715087 in office hours or 07748 745968 out of hours.

 

• l Give them details of the objects found and clear details of the location.

 

• If you are injured by a needle, follow these simple first-aid rules:

 

• l Gently squeeze the surrounding skin to promote bleeding-do not suck or scrub it.

 

• l Wash the area gently with plenty of soap and water.

 

• l Seek medical treatment immediately-either your local GP or Raigmore's Accident & Emergency Department.

 

The Highland Drug and Alcohol Information Line can be reached on 0844 848 3778 or the national "Know the Score" help-line is 0800 587 5879. Northern Constabulary's Crime Prevention Officers can be reached on 01463 720505.

Summer cycle fun

When the ladies from Raigmore's Special Baby Care Unit came to Fliperz, the youngsters turned out on their bikes and other forms of transport to show their pedal-push skills.