Berwickshire News August 31st

This week's top story is the inequitable treatment by SBC of the children of Hutton & Paxton since their school was closed by SBC - SBC decided that Chirnside was to be the default school after Hutton school closed, but some parents chose to send their children to Swinton. Bizarrely Swinton is closer than Chirnside and there's already a bus through Hutton & Paxton to Swinton - but the children are not allowed on unless they pay.

All designated bathing beaches in Scotland apart from Carnoustie passed every water quality test in the mid-season assessement. This good news is attributed to the good weather and low rainfall in June and July.

Almost six months on from the smoking ban (actually it's just over five) - the ban is being blamed for a drop in takings in pubs in Scotland in general. Several licensees are interviewed none of whom seem to have been affected too adversely so far - although they all add the caveat that it's been nice weather and the smokers have been outside, but this will change in the winter.

Eastern european migrant are boosting the economy - conservatively there are estimated to be 600 of them in the Borders - by providing skilled workers where previously they were in short supply. SBC are in the interview stage of appointing the migrant worker outreach worker previously mentioned in this column.

The digital television switchover is cause for yet more concern - a presentation by DigitalUK to the Berwickshire Area Committee of SBC tried to address such potent questions as "what is digital TV?" "Why are we doing it?" "What will it all cost?" "What will happen at the time of switchover?" - all of which has already been covered in the leaflets posted through every letterbox in the Border TV area. A more pressing concern is that people will be ripped off by cowboy aerial installers during the switchover and carpet-baggers selling set top boxes door-to-door. DigitalUK will monitor the situation. For the record there is no such thing as a digital aerial and after analogue switch-off it's highly likely that any existing aerial that is delivering a decent picture will suffice.

Over at Duns Sheriff Court, Sheriff Drummond dishing out porridge to a Grantshouse man for a lewd behaviour charge against a 15-year-old girl. Although he was originally given a community service order, he didn't show up to complete it and didn't assist social workers compiling his social report - so community service turned into five months inside. A Birgham woman in front of Sheriff K on a drunk driving charge - a large amount of attempted cover up was dismissed by St. Kev and she was found guilty anyway, sentence at a later date. A Motherwell man turned Christmas Day into Arrestmas Day when he refused to go home after a family & friends drink and brandished a screwdriver (not the cocktail kind) and threatened to stab people. He's presently on remand for other matters so sentence was deferred. A Hawick man on a charge of breach of the peace appeared from custody. He was released on bail pending reports. Sheriff K told him "You are beginning to push your luck and may have pushed too far". To appear at Jedburgh Sheriff Court on September 21st.

On the letters page, 1100 have signed the petition in Eyemouth to get rid of "the Smell", and a Reston resident, chair of the community council as it happens, is outraged that his objection against the local plan was ignored by SBC. His objection is fundamentally one of geography - the SBC documentation puts Reston somewhere in the Foulden area, a very pleasant area indeed some six miles to the southwest of Eyemouth whereas Reston is in fact about six miles northwest of Eyemouth. He's looking forward to the new railway station in Foulden, something by which the residents of Foulden will no doubt be overwhelmed with excitement - especially as they have no railway now, nor have they ever had one.

Also a report of Greenlaw Town Hall missing out in the BBC Restoration programme, although the locals involved are by no means despondent about it - they make the point that they already had a big win in getting to the heats - thousands of others entered and didn't make it that far, and also of the non-winning entrants in 2003 over half are currently being restored thanks to private and public grants.


Picture of Duns Sheriff Court courtesy of the Scottish Courts website