Founding editor, Mrs Nan Walker, MBE Kinross Newsletter Founded in 1977 by Kinross Community Council ISSN 1757-4781 Published by Kinross Newsletter Limited, Company No. SC374361 Issue No 427 www.kinrossnewsletter.org www.facebook.com/kinrossnewsletter March 2015 DEADLINE CONTENTS for the April Issue From the Editor ..................................................................2 5.00 pm, Friday Letters ................................................................................2 13 March 2015 News and Articles ...............................................................4 Police Box ........................................................................15 for publication on Community Councils ........................................................16 Saturday 28 March 2015 Down Memory Lane ........................................................25 Contributions for inclusion in the Club & Community Group News .....................................26 Newsletter Sport .................................................................................41 The Newsletter welcomes items from community Out & About. ....................................................................47 organisations and individuals for publication. This News from the Rurals .......................................................49 is free of charge (we only charge for business Congratulations & Thanks ................................................50 advertising – see below right). All items may be Church Information ..........................................................51 subject to editing and we reserve the right not to Playgroups and Toddlers ..................................................54 publish an item. Please also see our Letters Policy and Notes on page 2. Submit your item (except Notices ..............................................................................55 adverts) in one of the following ways: Day Centre & Chemists ....................................................62 Email: [email protected] Classified Adverts, Situations Vacant ...............................63 (all emails will be acknowledged) Diary .................................................................................64 Post or hand in to: Eileen Thomas, Editor Front Cover: Ladybird bike at the Well Garden, Scotlandwell in Bloom, by 50 Muirs Dave Martin. Old Tom Morris golfing figure, Kinnesswood in Bloom. Tub and tiered planter, Kinross in Bloom. Crocuses, Kinnesswood in Bloom. Butterfly, Kinross KY13 8AU RSPB Loch Leven (kinross.cc photo library). Please do not send adverts to the Editor. Commercial Advertising in the Newsletter Adverts should be sent to the Advertising Manager. Display Adverts For information on placing a Display Advert, please see our website Editor www.kinrossnewsletter.org or contact our Advertising Manager. Eileen Thomas Typed Adverts 50 Muirs A typed advert may be placed for one or more months. These adverts are text only Kinross, KY13 8AU.................. 01577 863714 (no graphics allowed). There are two rates: [email protected] Up to NINE lines (including blank lines) £7.50 per insertion Advertising Manager TEN to FIFTEEN lines (including blank lines) £13.00 per insertion Ann Harley As a guide, eight words is the maximum that can be fitted on a line. To place a Typed Advert, contact our Advertising Manager, Ann Harley (see left for contact 2 Hatchbank Road, details). You will need to send her: Kinross KY13 9JY .................... 01577 864512 • Your name, address, telephone number and, optionally, email address. [email protected] • The wording of your advert. Treasurer • A note of the number of insertions required. Ross McConnell • Your remittance – cheques payable to “Kinross Newsletter Ltd”. 3 High Street Send all this to the Advertising Manager by the normal monthly Newsletter Kinross KY13 8AW .................. 01577 865885 deadline (see top of left-hand column for date). The Newsletter reserves the right to vary the physical size of these adverts from [email protected] issue to issue according to the space available. Subscriptions If you wish to place a Typed Advert on a permanent or semi-permanent basis, Ross McConnell (address as above) contact the Advertising Manager to see if you can go on to our billing list. [email protected] For full information on advertising in the Newsletter, please go to our website Distribution www.kinrossnewsletter.org and click on 'Advertising'. Lee Scammacca (Cree8) The Newsletter reserves the right to refuse or amend any advertisement or 62 Muirs, Kinross KY13 8AU .. 01577 863186 submission and accepts no liability for any omission or inaccuracy. [email protected] No part of this publication may be reproduced or used in any form without the express written permission of the publishers. Editor Eileen Thomas Typesetting and Layout Tony Dyson Distribution Lee Scammacca Advertising Ann Harley Treasurer and Subscriptions Ross McConnell Letters Editorial Good manners cost nothing We are blessed in Kinross with an outstanding team of doctors, Local Development Plan 2 nurses and physiotherapists, not to mention the delightful staff It hardly seems any time at all since the Local Development at reception and no doubt others we don’t see. Plan was adopted, but the process of planning the Sitting in the Health Centre recently, waiting to see the doctor, new one has already begun. The Council is asking for I was astonished to read on the screen that 938 people had not suggestions for land use to go into the Main Issues Report turned up for their appointments, nor even had the courtesy to (MIR). The Council will then publish the MIR and hold inform reception. 33 consulting hours wasted! public consultation on it. After that, the proposed Local In the Channel Islands it costs £50 just to make an appointment. Development Plan (LDP) will be produced. As many local In Holland, where my daughter and son-in-law lived for two residents will remember, by the time something is in the years, they paid £300 each simply to register at the Health proposed LDP, it is extremely difficult to get it changed. Centre. Last time, PKC did not want to modify its proposed Plan Sadly, my doctor informed me, the NHS does not allow them as that would have delayed its progress on to the Scottish to impose a charge for failing to keep an appointment. Ministers for examination and subsequent return to PKC for Our health care is free at point of delivery. So, too, are good adoption. manners. If you have an opinion on how a piece of land should be Mrs Diana Whitehead zoned, the time to get involved is sooner rather than later. Mawmill House, Cleish Further information on this is on pages 4, 7 and 13. Backroom budget deal denies flood support to all British Summer Time Up until Thursday of last week, PKC had a reserve fund of BST starts at 1am on Sunday 29 March, so don’t forget to £220,000 to assist those affected by flooding who may not be put your clocks forward one hour. adequately insured for the losses they suffer. Note to Contributors This is excellent, you may say, given the increasing incidences A great deal of the Newsletter comprises reports supplied by local of flooding throughout Perth & Kinross. clubs and other organisations. These reports are accepted in good However, in order to get their budget motion passed last faith. Clubs etc should ensure that reports are factually accurate Thursday (12 February), a secret pre-budget deal was done and do not contain material which could cause legal proceedings by the SNP administration and the Labour group leader, to be taken against the Newsletter. Councillor Archie MacLellan. To guarantee the support of Letters Policy the Labour group, they agreed between them to hand all the Senders must supply their name and address, which will be £220,000 Flood Fund for Insurance Losses to North Muirton published with the letter. Letters should be truthful and not Community Council. This is to be used for ‘environmental contain matter which could cause legal proceedings to be taken against the Newsletter. The Newsletter does not necessarily agree improvements’. The motion sanctioning this was passed by with any of the views expressed on the Letters pages. In special the block votes of the SNP and Labour groups. circumstances addresses may be withheld from publication on I for one would support any worthwhile environmental request (but must still be supplied to the editor). initiative in North Muirton (or Letham or Hillyland or Fairfield Note to Readers: Advertising or any other part of Perth & Kinross for that matter) but not Inclusion of advertisements in the Newsletter does not imply any at the cost of removing the safety net that the Flood Fund for particular endorsement or recommendation of services or Insurance Losses provided for everyone in Perth & Kinross. companies by Kinross CC or Kinross Newsletter Ltd. Living in Milnathort, I am only too aware of the dreadful Abbreviations effects flooding can have on people and their homes plus PKC: Perth & Kinross Council the ongoing worry that the threat of being flooded again can CC: Community Council bring. It can make getting flood insurance more and more Cllr: Councillor expensive and difficult. CCllr: Community Councillor Councillor MacLellan gave no indication that there was any particular environmental scheme identified. All he said was Charity Plant Sale that the money had to be spent in the North Muirton part of his Normally, by the