# General > Doanalsin's Diary >  Fit's in 'e Coorier  'e day

## Nwicker60

Caithness Courier headlines  for December 13

SPENDING on Dounreay's low level radioactive waste dump has gone into the red, according to a Nuclear Decommissioning Authority document.  It states the overall cost of the project is £46 million but that figure is shown in red which indicates there are budget issues with "a low probability of recovery within the scheduled time frame".

STAGECOACH  has been criticised for changing the times of some of its Caithness services before its new timetable have been published.  The criticism was levelled at the company by John McLeod at a meeting of the Caithness Bus Users Group, in Thurso, on Friday afternoon.  He said people have been missing buses because they are unaware of the changes and claimed bus drivers were only told about them "at the last minute".

AN inquiry should be held into why a silo broke free at Dounreay and crashed into a drystone dyke close to local homes.  That was said this week by Deidre Henderson who chairs the Buldoo Residents Group.  The silo, one of three stored at the former wartime runway at the site, was blown around 340 metres and went through three wire fences before becoming wedged in a dyke on Ms Henderson's property.  It was only about 200 metres from nearby houses.

CONCERNS have been raised that a defence wall at Thurso seafront may be breached if hit by another big storm.  Gaping holes in the wall measuring 20 feet were caused by last Thursday's storm as huge waves broke over the esplanade and flooded the surrounding area.  Landward Caithness Highland councillor Matthew Reiss, who discovered the damage on Saturday reported it to Thurso service point earlier this week.  While happy there is no immediate danger he fears the wall could collapse, should it be hit by another storm.

A LOCAL woman was told she could not use her concessionary bus pass if she had used it in the previous 10 minutes.  That was the claim made at a meeting of Caithness Bus Users Group in Thurso on Friday afternoon.  The woman was informed she would be unable to use the National Entitlement Card issued to people 60 years and over, twice within a 10-minute period.  If she wished to make a journey within that time frame, she would have to pay for the fare it was stated.

LOCAL businesses, young people and motorists will benefit from the measures announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his autumn statement.  So said Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso who welcomed a new freeze on fuel duty and support for local businesses and young people.

TWO former Highland councillors who service on Scotlands police and fire services governing bodies have made encouraging noises about the prospect of a shared 999 control room.  The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service will decide in January whether its Inverness base, which employs 19 staff and handles thousands of calls from all over the Highlands, will close.  

THE far north should benefit from around £20million which has been available for small community post offices.  The money has been set aside for post offices not suitable for conversion to local or main models under the current modernisations programme and is part of a £640million investment made by the UK Government.

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