Police are appealing for information after man had part of his right ear bitten off and was taken to hospital for treatment in Berwick.

At around 9.10pm on Friday, June 19, two men were involved in an altercation outside the Farmfoods store on Northumberland Road, Tweedmouth.

During the incident a 23-year-old man had part of his right ear bitten off and was taken to hospital.

A 33-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

Officers are appealing for witnesses and in particular want to speak to a man and a woman who alerted officers to the incident. They were driving a small white car and may be able to help police with their enquiries.

By integrating the sporting and cultural calendars of the Borders, the region will, boosted by the railway, become a more attractive destination for those living in the Edinburgh area as well as for visitors from the north of England.

That has been cited in a new report as one of the “key benefits” of Scottish Borders Council transferring all its non-statutory cultural services – including libraries, museums, art centres and public halls – to the trust which runs sports facilities across the region.

Talks with the Borders Sport and Leisure Trust (BSLT) began in February, with the council ordering a full feasibility report on the merger by October.

Councillors will hear today (Thursday) that establishing the terms of reference between the organisations had taken “longer than initially expected”.

“Now that these have been agreed, the feasibility work is progressing well and in a positive manner,” states Stephen Roy, who is managing the integration project for SBC.

Apart from detailing the benefits of integration, including joint marketing, co-location opportunities and the better programming of activities, Mr Roy notes: “Measures will need to be identified to avoid the risk of the focus on either culture or sport being diluted.”

His update also stresses that the VAT, capital funding, property maintenance, pension and financial support implications of integration will have to be addressed in October’s feasibility report.

The council’s cultural services currently employ around 200 people and cost £5million a year to run.

The BSLT, which has a similarly-sized workforce, pays a peppercorn rent for the sports facilities it inherited from SBC. Last year, it received an annual management fee from the council of £2.5million.

Galashiels Rotarians held their annual sponsored team golf competition for the New Millennium Quaich Trophy over the Torwoodlee course.

Nineteen teams of four took part, realising about £1,000 for local charities – but the main beneficiary will be the Play for Life project at Borders General Hospital dementia unit.

Rotary club president Steven Henderson presented the prizes to the winners, Liam’s Warriors – Liam Gillie, Greg Swinton, Simon Fairburn and Jamie Green.

z The photograph shows, from left, Simon Fairburn, Liam Gillie, Jamie Green and Steven Henderson.

Ninety-six-year-old Angus Taylor, pictured, who lives in Kelso, was one of the first tenants of Selkirk-based Eildon Housing Association to benefit from a modernisation programme, which replaces kitchens, bathrooms and heating systems to more than 440 homes in a £2.75million contract with MITIE Property Services.

Eildon tenants are not the only ones to benefit from the contract.

The agreement with MITIE requires employment of some locally-based people who are seeking training or experience in construction or maintenance-related work.

The Salvation Army hopes to expand its reach in Hawick after opening a new community story in the town.

The Salvation Army’s senior leader in the East of Scotland, Lieutenant Colonel Carol Bailey, cut the ribbon yesterday as a blessing was pronounced on the new venture.

The church and charity’s store at 48 High Street, Hawick, is offering a range of preowned items for sale including a small selection of furniture.

The charity also hopes the store will also widen the outreach potential of the Salvation Army locally, especially as it is collection point for the local Foodbank.

Volunteers at the store, under the guidance of manager Sheila Moir and assistant manager Danni Turnbull will also be on hand to offer a range of support to people referred for assistance.

Profits from the project will go to The Salvation Army’s church and community centre in Croft Road, which, under the leadership of Lieutenant Caroline Brophy-Parkin, runs a range of activities including parent and toddlers and other community support clubs.

Daniel Rous, divisional charity shops operations manager, said: “This is an exciting time for The Salvation Army in Hawick. This is a regionally supported, but locally run shop, so when people buy anything, they are helping the work of The Salvation Army in Hawick.

“The project has had fantastic support so far, and a number of people and organisations have gone the extra mile to help us get it up and running. We hope to create even more links in the future so that the greatest amount of support can be provided to those who need it right here in Hawick. And at the same time, we help reduce landfill by giving these items a chance to be reused and recycled.”

Lieutenant-Colonel Carol Bailey emphasised the local support that can be achieved through this Store.

She said: “During a time when budgets are tight and there is great need in our communities, our local charity shops and furniture projects provide a great place to

purchase good quality items at a reasonable cost, as well as being informal calling points for local people to find support.”

The Salvation Army’s Community Store is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 4:30pm. To donate any items, to volunteer, or to find out more about the project, call 01450 378761 or email sheila.moir@salvationarmy.org.uk

A group of five local air cadets found themselves exercising their sea legs rather than their wings when they took to the waters off the west coast.

The cadets, from 1716 Squadron in St Boswells, spent an exciting week aboard the 72ft ex-BT Global Challenge racing yacht, the Alba Explorer, cruising the seas around the Inner Hebrides.

The trip, run in conjunction with the charity Ocean Youth Trust Scotland, also provided the intrepid young Borders sailors with the residential component of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

Brothers Tom and Daniel Stainer, from Jedburgh Grammar School; Ryan Snook and Edward Webster from Earlston High School; and Kyle Stewart, from St Boswells, returned home exhausted, exhilarated and thoroughly enriched by the experience.

Ryan said: “It was a life-changing experience, rich with excellent banter and sound education.

“It has opened up a whole new world to me and has broadened my horizons quite considerably. There are many principles in sailing and navigation that can be applied to everyday life too.

“I’ve always loved Scotland and have always considered myself very fortunate to be able to call this country ‘home’. Nothing could have prepared me, however, for the sheer beauty of the Hebrides and Scottish west coast.

“This was the first time I’d travelled these parts and seeing them from the water was very special. We do indeed live in the most beautiful part of the world!”

The trip started at Dunstaffnage where the Borders quintet joined another seven cadets from other Scottish ATC squadrons and boarded the yacht.

Mother Nature thought it appropriate to welcome these sailing novices with a Force 10 gale upon their arrival and this gave the young crew members the opportunity to spend the first day in port learning all the knots and procedures, and familiarising themselves with the vessel.

After a 7am wake-up call the next morning and a hearty breakfast, the sailors set sail for Tobermory, on Mull.

The weary youngsters arrived in Tobermory in the early evening and were given an hour of shore leave to go and explore the port and sample the island’s fish and chips.

The next morning the Alba Explorer headed for Rum. With the mighty Atlantic swells being channelled between the isles of Eigg and Muck, this was another exhilarating day of sailing.

The water was very choppy and the repetitive motion of the deep swells caused some of the crew to succumb to a touch of seasickness.

The reward of reaching and discovering the overnight mooring in Rum proved well worth all the effort, however, and the Borders crew was unanimous in its vote of this stunning island as being “jaw-dropping” in its beauty.

Day four of the expedition saw the crew navigating back to Dunstaffnage.

The leg back to Dunstaffnage was the highlight of the trip for all concerned. By this stage, everyone had found their sea legs and a fair amount of sailing competence and familiarity too.

Coldstream Guards 1815, a military and living history society, will be marking the role of the regiment at Waterloo when they visit Coldstream this August.

Representing the Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards as they would have appeared during the Waterloo campaign, the climax to the Napoleonic wars, the society recreate, to a high standard, the 2nd Battalion, Coldstream Guards and will be taking part in a weekend of events based at Coldstream Guards Museum, in the town’s Market Square between August 15 and 17.

Tenants and staff at Selkirk’s Bield sheltered housing development celebrated the important role of volunteers by dedicating a night to them.

Proceedings got under way with a welcome from development manager Elizabeth de Beaté.

This was followed by a quiz and ceremony in which local MSP John Lamont and Bield’s director of asset management, Stuart Dow, presented certificates and flowers to the helpers.

The evening was rounded off with dancing, music and a vote of thanks from one of the development’s oldest tenants – 96-year-old Nichol Park.

Argument has broken out over Scottish Government proposals in its Land Reform Bill, which was published this week.

Borders MSP John Lamont has described the bill as a cynical “land grab”, while Scotland’s Rural Affairs Secretary, Richard Lochhead, said it was about finding a way of preventing poor land management affecting economic development.

Land reform was set out by Nicola Sturgeon shortly after she became First Minister late last year, when she said that land “must be an asset that benefits the many, not the few”.

It has been claimed that more than half of Scotland’s privately-owned land belongs to fewer than 450 people, making it, in the eye of some, the most unequal country in Europe.

Among the most contentious proposals are the end of tax relief for shooting estates and the forced sale of land if owners are deemed to be blocking economic development.

Sporting estates have not had to pay business rates since 1994 after they were granted an exemption from them by John Major’s Conservative government.

Now the Scottish Government is proposing to use monies raised by ending that exemption to treble the Scottish Land Fund, which helps support community buy-outs of land. The fund’s coffers could swell from £3million this year to £10million a year from 2016.

Holyrood has a target of doubling the amount of land held in community ownership to one million acres by 2020.

However, landowners claim that re-introducing business rates could make some sporting estates unprofitable, and thus force rural employees out of work.

David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land and Estates, which represents private landowners, has said that sporting estates were “too readily singled out in a negative light,” when in fact “they were businesses that made a key contribution to rural tourism, local employment and the environment”.

Mr Lamont said the proposals did not address peoples’ concerns: “People in the Borders want to see a strong rural economy, more local jobs, better broadband and an improvement in local services.

“These proposals won’t deliver any of this. Instead, they represent a huge increase in government interference in land ownership and a £7million tax bill for estates which employ hundreds of people.”

Mr Lamont continued: “This Scottish Government needs to see landowners as part of the solution, not part of the problem and must recognise the contribution estates make to rural economies and rural jobs in the Borders.”

Mr Lochhead countered that the proposals worked in the interests of the Scottish public.

Kelso councillor Tom Weatherson says his town will be given an “international feel” after a local hotel was granted permission to serve alcohol to customers sitting outside.

“This is part of a grand plan coming to fruition,” said local Mr Weatherston at Friday’s meeting of the Scottish Borders Licensing Board.

The Cross Keys Hotel, which dominates the north side of the Market Square, had sought a change in its operating plan, asking for an area of table and chairs to be included for the first time in the hotel’s “licensing footprint”.

“This will allow our staff to serve and convey drinks to these customers which we cannot do at present,” said a hotel representative.

The board heard that “adequate barriers” would be used and that the alfresco drinks service would stop at 10pm.

Board member Mr Weatherston said the move would complement the ambitious ongoing programme of improvements.

“The idea was always to give the town centre a real international feel and this will certainly help,” he added.

The Mayfield Garden Centre in Kelso has been granted a drinks licence, despite neighbours’ objections.

The Scottish Borders Licensing Board unanimously agreed on Friday to approve a new operating plan from the owners of the Tweedside outlet which was expanded last year to include a 200-seater restaurant.

The decision will allow the centre to serve alcohol on the premises from 11am till 11pm daily, with off-sales licensed from 10am till 10pm.

Assistant manager Carol Purvis told the board the bid was in response to requests from customers who wanted to enjoy a glass of wine with their meal.

She said the on-sales permit would only be used beyond normal opening hours on occasional Thursday evenings, when folk musicians would provide entertainment, and for special events, like a recently-held “ladies night”

“These will never go on beyond 9.30pm in the evening,” said Mrs Purvis, stressing that the small off-sales facility would specialise in gift-packs.

Mary Rose Gliksten, one of 11 elderly residents of neighbouring Mayfield Gardens who wrote to object to the application, questioned the demand for further licensed premises in Kelso.

“Venues like our hotels, Springwood Park and even the race course are all purpose-built for hospitality,” said Mrs Gliksten. “The same could hardly be said for a garden centre which has grown in the middle of a quiet residential area.”

She reiterated fears that traffic problems created by last year’s expansion of the business would be exacerbated and feared late-night disturbance if functions involving alcohol ran beyond 11pm.

She was told by licensing standards officer Ian Tunnah that the operating plan from the centre was typical of many which had been “future-proofed”. This meant if a late-evening function was planned, there would be no need for a fresh licence application.

“It’s clear the garden centre is not going to become a drinking den,” observed Kelso councillor Tom Weatherston, who supported the application after hearing that Mr Tunnah and the police would monitor the premises and that any problems would be reported back to the board.

After the meeting, Mrs Gliksten told us: “The residents are very disappointed that their concerns have been ignored. The least the board should have done is impose time restrictions within the operating plan.”

Time will literally stand still tomorrow – for one whole second.

30 June will see us experience what astrophysicists call a ‘leap second’, which occurs occasionally to compensate for the slowing of the Earth’s rotation.

This year the extra second will be added at 00.59.60 on Tuesday, June 30, to allow the world’s clocks to catch up with the Earth to make sure they are as accurate as possible.

Leap seconds were first introduced in 1972 and have been used 25 times.

Rory McEvoy, Curator of Horology, Royal Observatory Greenwich, said: “The Earth’s speed of rotation has a tendency to slow – caused principally because of the relationship between Earth and the moon – but it can speed up. There is a possibility that a negative leap second could be added to UTC.”

The most recent was in 2012, when reports suggested it played havoc with the internet.

Websites including Reddit, Yelp, LinkedIn went down for a period of time.

There are fears the same could happen again, with financial institutions concerned about potential impact on stock markets are also wary of mishaps, particularly in Australia where the leap second will happen at 10am on 1 July.

The potential problems mean there are vocal opponents of introducing the leap second, but scientists say it is essential for research purposes.

Members of the International Telecommunications Union, which sets the world’s clocks, will meet later this year to decide whether to scrap leap seconds completely.

Experts have suggested such a move means we could slip up to three minutes ahead of time by 2100, and about half an hour by 2700.

Conservative MSP John Lamont has added his voice to those calling for the River Tweed to be exempt from the proposed reforms of wild fisheries.

The Scottish Government is consulting on changes, including the creation of a network of charitable organisations to manage wild fishing, funded by a national levy. Currently, the Tweed is managed by the self-financing River Tweed Commission (RTC), which is both democratic and accountable and includes representatives from Scottish Borders Council and Northumberland County Council.

Mr Lamont has said the unique nature of the RTC means it should be left out of the new system and that getting rid of it would put at risk the international reputation of the river, which contributes £18 million to the local economy, and supports the equivalent of 480 full-time jobs.

He said: “A number of constituents who are involved in managing or fishing on the Tweed have contacted me about this in recent weeks. The Tweed is already being managed in exactly the type of way the Scottish Government wants other wild fisheries to be managed. It is self financing and sustainable and above all democratic and accountable.

“Unfortunately the Scottish Government is refusing to be flexible by exempting the Tweed from its proposed national system.”

He added that the “Scotland-wide plans have no place on the Tweed,” and fail to take into account the fact that the river forms part of the English border.

“These proposals will risk the future of the Tweed, which contributes millions and employs hundreds of people in the Borders. I urge the Minister to think again and exempt the Tweed from these reforms.”

A team of project management consultants has scooped a top local government award for their work with Scottish Borders Council.

Turner & Townsend - a global programme management and construction consultancy with offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen – won the Excellence in Customer Support Award at the recent Supplier Excellence Awards held by Scotland Excel, the centre of procurement expertise for local government.

The company secured the award for its collaborative work with the council on a diverse range of transport, school, infrastructure and housing projects including the Great Tapestry Project, Galashiels Transport Interchange, Borders Business Park, Kelso High School and a National Housing Trust project. This relationship was strengthened by a decision to co-locate a five person project management team within the council headquarters.

The Supplier Excellence Awards is the first programme of its kind in public procurement, and honours suppliers who demonstrate excellence through their participation in Scotland Excel’s national framework contracts which are worth nearly £700 million per annum.

Neil McCowan, Director of Turner & Townsend, said: We are exceptionally proud of our team based within Scottish Borders Council. Having them located there has supported communication and engagement with stakeholders across the organisation, provided valuable insight into the council’s operations and improved our responsiveness.

Councillor John Mitchell, Scottish Borders Council’s Depute Leader (with responsibility for Finance) and member of Scotland Excel’s joint committee, said: “I am delighted that Turner and Townsend received this award for Excellence in Customer Support in recognition of their project management support work with Scottish Borders Council on a range of major projects in the area

“Turner and Townsend enhance the excellent project management expertise we already have in-house at Scottish Borders Council, and they work with our staff as a truly collaborative team.

Three men have been arrested and charged for a counterfeit currency offence in the Scottish Borders.

Officers in Duns and Coldstream were alerted after a number of fake £20 notes were used at business premises in these areas on Monday.

Police then stopped a vehicle in Norham, Northumberland later that day and a quantity of forged notes were found within.

The men aged 27, 30 and 51 will all now be reported to the Procurator Fiscal.

“Today is a momentous day for all the children, young people and adults who have waited patiently for nearly five years.”

So said a jubilant Sally-Ann Pirt, chair of the Jed Skateboard Group, after Monday’s meeting of Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee.

Councillors had agreed unanimously to grant consent for the creation of a £200,000 state-of-the-art skateboard park on a greenfield site – known locally as The Dip – just to the south of Jedburgh’s tourist information centre.

The choice of such a central site was contentious, as evidenced by 96 submissions of objection, although the committee heard that 84 of these had been identical “pro forma” letters and that only half the dissenters lived in the town.

Nevertheless, they railed against the suitability of the site which lies between the arterial A68 and the Jed Water, claiming the amenity of an area, popular with dog walkers and picnickers, would be “devalued”, that views to and from Jedburgh Abbey would be compromised and that the skateboard park would generate unacceptable levels of noise for residents.

Set against that hostility, however, were 196 letters supporting the project, stressing the lack of such facilities in the town and the need for a safe environment for local skateboarders and BMX bikers.

Supporters said the park would attract visitors, increase footfall in the town, combat crime and antisocial behaviour and promote the health and wellbeing of young people.

The bid was also backed by Jedburgh Community Council and SBC planning officer Deborah Chalmers ,who noted that consultants had deemed additional noise from the park to be of “marginal significance” for the three nearest residential properties.

“The skatepark can be satisfactorily accommodated within the site,” said Ms Chalmers. “It is not considered the proposal will result in any adverse significant impact on flood risk, listed buildings, archaeology, the conservation area, trees or the Jed Water.”

Mrs Pirt told us: “I salute everyone who has stuck by this project, kept the faith and allowed us to win the battle.”

Galashiels Town Band has announced that it intends to commission a new arrangement of music for brass band based around the traditional songs of the Braw Lads’ Gathering.

John Gray and Gordon Keddie, co-authors of ‘The History of the Braw Lads’ Gathering’, published last week, announced that they intended to distribute proceeds from the sale of their book to organisations connected with the Braw Lad’s Gathering including the town’s pipe band and Galashiels Town Band.

Town band chairman, Allan Doyle, said: “Galashiels Town Band is delighted to hear that John and Gordon intend to make a donation to the band from the sale of their new book. It seems only right that their donation is used in connection with the Band’s contribution to the Braw Lad’s Gathering. So we’ve decided to use these funds as a contribution towards the cost of arranging some of the old Gala songs into a modern brass band arrangement.

“These songs form a significant part of the history of The Gathering and many of them were published a few years ago in a ‘Braw Lads’ Songbook’. This will allow the band to play them and ensure their place at the heart of future celebrations.”

Galashiels Town Band has a proud history having served the town since 1834. But in more recent times when the band has been held together by a few dedicated members.

Five years ago the band set its sights set on re-establishing the glory days and has formed a long-term development plan to develop new young players.

Members of the public are also invited to support the commissioning of this work.

Donations may be sent to band treasurer, Iain Wilson, 11 Ellwyn Terrace, Galashiels TD1 2BA or can be made in person at A & A Doyle Ltd, 10 Bank Street, Galashiels.

Police appealing for witnesses to help establish the full circumstances surrounding a cyclist’s injuries in Selkirk.

The 41-year-old was discovered with serious injuries to his head around 2.30pm on Sunday on Shawpark Road.

He had previously been on a Raleigh Strada 3 pedal cycle, and was found by two members of the public in the centre of the carriageway. He was taken to Borders General Hospital where he remains in a serious condition.

The road was closed for approximately two hours to allow officers to conduct enquiries at the scene.

PC Rory Campbell said: “We’re eager to establish the full circumstances which led to this man sustaining his injuries and would urge anyone who may have seen him around that time, or who has information which can help with our enquiries, to come forward.

”We’re also looking to trace the young man and woman who assisted at the scene and administered aid to the injured man while waiting for an ambulance.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Police Scotland on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The region’s largest bus operator is “continuing to review” the impact on its business of a £1.75 departure charge which will be levied by Scottish Borders Council on every journey out of the new Galashiels Transport Interchange.

The commercial viability of the £5.2m three-storey facility, which is due to open next month and is the largest municipal building project ever undertaken by the council, will depend to a large degree on First Borders and other bus companies agreeing to pay that levy.

An SBC spokesperson confirmed that the £1.75 charge had been agreed at a private meeting of councillors last week, adding: “The executive committee will monitor the performance of the operational model [of the interchange] on an ongoing basis.”

It is understood that, in order to keep the charge to an affordable level, the council, which is contributing £3.4m to the capital project and will operate the facility for 21 hours a day, will subsidise each bus departure to the tune of over 90p.

“We are continuing to review the impact of any departure charge on our business,” said a spokesperson for First Borders this week.

With the opening of the Borders Railway, also due to be served by the interchange, just two months away, it has also emerged the council is still in dispute with First Borders over the acquisition of the former Galashiels bus station at Stirling Street which is owned by the company.

The approved plans for the interchange include the demolition of that building to make way for extra car parking and an attractive landscaped “avenue” to encourage rail and bus visitors into the town centre.

After last week’s meeting, the council spokesperson said: “Councillors noted in a separate private report that compulsory purchase negotiations with a private company regarding the Galashiels Transport Interchange are continuing.”

That is a reference to the council’s attempts to acquire the old bus station which go back at least three years with failure to agree a price believed to be behind the impasse.

The First Borders spokesperson told us: “It would be inappropriate for us to comment while negotiations are continuing.”

Meanwhile, details of what companies and organisations, if any, will occupy the interchange building have still to be made public amid speculation that leasing costs, coupled with service charges, may be prohibitive.

A Borders property developer believes problems with plans to bring an Aldi supermarket to Hawick can be overcome.

The developer’s bid to demolish the clock will be heard in September, but Historic Scotland wants to save it.

In a statement released by Wilton Mills, Gavin Stevenson said: “Historic Scotland are requesting an 11-hour attempt to identify a potential purchaser that has any realistic proposal to save the structure.

“We accept that the clock tower building must be advertised as part of the planning process. Historic Scotland have confirmed that there is no public money available to save the clock tower.

“The building continues to prove a danger to the public and we hope this process will result in a demolition consent without further undue delay.

“Meanwhile, I can confirm the planning application for the Aldi store is still live and being considered by Scottish Borders Council. e have done a great deal of work on our proposals forward for a £5million investment with 30 new jobs.”