Gordon Calder

May 17, 2024 | johnogroat-journal.co.uk | Gordon Calder

A bid to get an independent review into the circumstances surrounding the closure of the Avonlea children's home in Wick has been defeated on the casting vote of the convener of Highland Council, Bill Lobban. The decision disappointed Caithness councillor, Matthew Reiss, who was also dismayed the local authority rejected a proposal to reinstate overnight respite care at Thor House in Thurso. The service was stopped at the time of the Covid pandemic.

May 16, 2024 | johnogroat-journal.co.uk | Gordon Calder

The date has long been etched in my memory. Monday, September 12, 1977 was the day I started work on the Caithness Courier and John O’Groat Journal – but now, nearly 50 years later, that chapter in my life is at an end as I leave the papers and retire. Looking back, I wonder where all that time has gone and am amazed at how quickly it has passed. I was just 24 when I arrived at the Groat building in Wick that morning to start my job as a senior trainee but the place seemed strangely quiet.

May 16, 2024 | johnogroat-journal.co.uk | Gordon Calder

Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, has been told about the “disastrous situation” faced by many Caithness mothers who have to travel to Inverness to give birth. Iain Gregory, the vice-chairman of Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT), was one of three delegates who met Ms Forbes at Holyrood to discuss the need for an independent advocacy agency which would have the power to act on healthcare issues in remote and rural areas and deal directly with health boards.

May 15, 2024 | northern-times.co.uk | Gordon Calder

Pickets were at Dounreay this morning as the Unite and GMB unions went on strike after rejecting a new pay offer from Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (NRS). They turned down a revised offer which proposed a one-off £500 payment on top of a basic 4.5 per cent increase. The unions claim the offer amounts to a substantial pay cut as the rate of inflation stood at 11.4 per cent when the pay increase was due in April 2023. The deal was accepted by Prospect members.

May 14, 2024 | johnogroat-journal.co.uk | Gordon Calder

Pickets were at Dounreay this morning as the Unite and GMB unions went on strike after rejecting a new pay offer from Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (NRS). They turned down a revised offer which proposed a one-off £500 payment on top of a basic 4.5 per cent increase. The unions claim the offer amounts to a substantial pay cut as the rate of inflation stood at 11.4 per cent when the pay increase was due in April 2023. The deal was accepted by Prospect members.