TEN YEARS AGO
Friday October 4, 2013
Wind Towers take on new employees
Wind Towers Scotland at Machrihanish continues to thrive, having taken on 11 new employees since June.
The wind tower manufacturer now employs 135 people from Kintyre and is also set to take on a technical engineer and a commercial manager next month. It also plans to recruit a business development manager before the end of the year.
Early next year it hopes to take on four apprentices in the fabrication, maintenance and surface treatment departments. The company also confirmed this week it was pursuing setting up a training academy and engineering jobs.
Dennis Breugelmans, managing director of Wind Towers Scotland, said: “Our employees are focused on safely delivering a high quality product and we continue to go from strength to strength.
“With significant interest from new customers, including Burcote Wind, we are looking forward to this growth continuing.
“Training and development is critical to the success of our business and I’m delighted three of our new employees have already received approval and certification to work on the fabrication of our current project, supplying towers to the Bruckana Wind Farm in County Kildare, Ireland.
“We’re committed to providing opportunities for current staff to learn new skills and develop their careers, but we also recognise the need to gain experience and skills from the community to help shape our future.”
TWENTY FIVE YEARS AGO
Friday October 2, 1998
Waste Watchers Limited
The last meeting of Campbeltown Waste Watchers and the first meeting of Campbeltown Waste Watchers Limited took place in the Community Education Centre last week.
Members of the recycling group voted unanimously to dissolve the voluntary organisation and to reform as a registered charity.
The decision to transform the non profit-making organisation into a charity was made after it was awarded £113,715 from the National Lottery in March this year.
Since receiving the money from the National Lottery Charities Board, the group has employed a project development officer, John Semple. It has also bought a new van and plans to find a new base.
Waste Watchers Limited is a community-based venture which recycles waste and turns it into products.
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Thursday October 4, 1973
Gale causes havoc in town
The gale damaged a half-finished house, smashed a shop window, turned two caravans over on their sides, wrenched branches from trees, drove two small boats aground and ripped television aerials from their supports at RAF Machrihanish.
The winds, calculated by the Met Office at Machrihanish as being gale force 10, also blew benches at Lowland Church to the edge of the pavement.
Fishing boats headed for cover as the gale started. Some, unable to make for their home port, headed for Tarbert for shelter. A tree was blown across the road at Kilkerran Road near the Ardshiel Hotel. A caravan at East Trodigal Caravan Park and one at Bellochantuy were blown clean over on their sides.
A sea cadet rowing boat and the RAF sea angling club vessel were grounded in the storm.
The 31-foot yacht Penny Lane was saved from grounding when its owner William Craig and a friend berthed it at the Old Quay.
The Campbeltown fishing fleet was split by the storm. Most of them got to their home port safely but two or three made Carradale.
One, the Elizabeth, owned by Duncan Campbell and skippered by Thomas Speed, ran into trouble as it headed for Carradale.
The mast welding in the steel tripod snapped at the foot. This put radio communication out and left the vessel without its Decca navigator.
They decided to run before the wind to Tarbert. The wind altered to southeast at Skipness Point and the visibility was exceedingly bad because of driving rain, so they hove-to to face the sea.
When the weather moderated, they ran before the wind at half-speed towards Tarbert. It was thought to be unsafe to proceed at a greater speed, as there would have been a danger of the ship being driven under. Thankfully they reached Tarbert about 6.30pm.
A house near the Highland Church which was under construction suffered damage. A gable wall built that day was blown down. Sections of the front and rear elevations collapsed.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO
Saturday October 6, 1923
Scottish local veto – requisitions for 20 polls
Saturday was the closing day for the lodging of requisition forms for local veto polls under the Scottish Temperance Act.
It is understood no fewer than 250 polls have been demanded.
Of that number, 220 have been put forward by the Temperance Party with the other side credited with having put forward the remaining 30 with the view of challenging the no licence decisions of 1920 in burghs and districts in various parts of the country.
No requisition has been lodged in Campbeltown.
The Temperance Party in the burgh held a few conventions to consider what steps should be taken and a series of open-air meetings, which were addressed by advocates of the cause from Glasgow, were held at the beginning of September.
The leaders in the movement here expressed their conviction that a poll, if taken in Campbeltown, would be strongly supported, but there was undoubted difficulty in getting sufficient numbers to engage wholeheartedly in the necessary preliminary spade work and it was ultimately resolved not to force a poll this year.
As the situation now stands, three years need not necessarily elapse from now until another opportunity is afforded of voting on the ‘no licence’ question in Campbeltown.
It will be open to the Temperance Party to take action next year if it should decide to do so. Polls have been requisitioned for two Argyllshire burghs – Lochgilphead and Dunoon.
Editor’s note: The Temperance Party wanted to see the UK follow in the footsteps of the USA, where prohibition ran from 1920 to 1933, during which the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic drink was banned. In Campbeltown, with more than 30 distilleries, they were never going to win the day.
CAPTIONS:
2013: New starts at Wind Towers Scotland with managing director Dennis Breugelmans, back right. NO_CC40_FromOurFiles 01
1998: Members of Campbeltown Waste Watchers Limited at the meeting. Front, from left: Sandra Spence, chairperson; Steven Shields; Duncan Mauchline; Alison McLeod. Back, from left: Ewan McDougall; John Semple, development officer; Sid Gallagher; Ian Fawcett; Angus Williamson and Christian Kane. NO_CC40_FromOurFiles 02
1998: Some of the 200 spectators at Carradale’s Duck Race which took place on Saturday September 26 in the Carra River. The event raised more than £2,000 for church funds. The organisers thank everyone who supported the event and Mr and Mrs M Foreman, who allowed their garden to be used on race day. The result of the race was: 1 Duck 107, Greg and Jamie Dunlop, £100 travel voucher; 2 Duck 85, Elizabeth McMillan, £75 CalMac voucher; 3 Duck 93, Alan and Alison Milstead, £50 Tesco food voucher; 4 Duck 54, David Dunlop, Wallis Hunter necklace; 5 Duck 47, Alan Shaw, dinner for two at Carradale Hotel. The prize for the best named duck was a tapestry made by Rev Alistair Dunlop and was won by the Torrisdale tannery with the appropriately named ‘Duck Down and Hide’. NO_CC40_FromOurFiles 03
1973: Donny Kennedy and John MacNaughton after the presentation to them of long service medals as auxiliary coastguards by Commander May, Royal Navy retired, deputy chief inspector of HM Coastguard. NO_CC40_FromOurFiles 04