Budget splits local political opinion
Local politicians gave a mixed response to yesterday’s UK Government budget announcement.Chancellor George Osborne revealed that income tax threshold would be raised to £10,000 and beer duty cut by 1p...
View ArticleUnemployment goes up by eight per cent
The number of people out of work in the Borders and claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance rose by eight per cent in February.Figures released on Wednesday showed that in mid-February 2,282 people were...
View ArticleEarlston salon hopes to make awards cut
An Earlston hairdressers has made the regional final of a leading industry award.Aquarius is competing for L’Oreal’s Colour Trophy, and travels to Glasgow on April 11 for the Scottish and Northern...
View ArticleNew stroke unit opens at BGH
Increased spaceTim Pilcher, from Kelso, was only in his 40s when he suffered a stroke in 2009. Complications meant he had to have part of his skull removed and he spent the best part of a year in...
View ArticleCouncil trying to recover £1.5M of overpaid benefits
Scottish Borders Council is attempting to recover almost £1.5 million of overpaid housing benefit.Department of Work and Pension figures published last week revealed that the council had £1.49m...
View ArticleTrio of incidents in Coldstream
Three incidents in the space of four days are being investigated by police in Coldstream.On March 7 offenders “tinkered” with machinery in the council yard, then two trees were uprooted over the...
View ArticleDisappointment over Kelso park lighting
Pleas for lighting to be installed in Kelso’s Shedden Park to illuminate the pathway for residents of the nearby retirement flats at Kerfield Court, have been knocked back on grounds of cost.A meeting...
View ArticlePostcard insight into Hawick’s history
Hawick’s military past has been put on a postcard, as the town’s museum hosts an exhibition detailing the town during the first half of the 20th century.Many of the 200 picturesque cards show what life...
View ArticleFarming innovator could win £4,000
Forward-looking farmers are invited to enter the annual Future Farmer Award with a £4,000 prize.The central Borders and Berwickshire have a 75 per cent strike rate so far, with three of the four awards...
View ArticleBlackface president optimistic as he quits
“The Blackface looks to have changed dramatically in my lifetime, but the basics are the same as always. The mule breeders wanted black heads and black-and-white legs and that’s what Blackface sheep...
View ArticleWeather, political bickering, and now a threat to barley
Today might be the beginning of a new era for local newspapers in the Borders and north Northumberland, but it’s still old worries in new guises for farmers as far as the weather, crop and animal...
View ArticleStardust to sprinkle 70s magic at Eastgate
Alvin Stadust“I actually wanted to be a pro rugby player at first”
View ArticleDisclosure failure shocks sheriff
A SHERIFF was this week surprised to learn that a school bus driver with a conviction for lewd and libidinous behaviour managed to get a job transporting children.Sheriff Kevin Drummond said it was a...
View ArticleGun offender sentenced
A former prisoner who had a gun at his home was sentenced to a six-month community payback order at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.Jay Hope was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.The court heard...
View ArticleCaught with drug at rugby club sevens
Having an illegal drug at Jedburgh rugby sevens cost Jamie Milner a £200 fine.The 24-year-old, of Howdenburn Court, Jedburgh, admitted possessing Ecstasy at Riverside Park on May 19 last...
View ArticleToby serves up Thai feast
They call it the Science of Eight Limbs due to its combined use of a fighter’s fists, elbows, knees and feet/shins. Thai Boxing, or Muay Thai as it is properly known, is one of the most physically...
View ArticleNew-look Southern is a hit with readers
Borderers gave us a huge thumbs-up today as they queued up to buy the redesigned Southern.In a bold move, Tweeddale relaunched its flagship broadsheet title in compact format and already it’s proving a...
View ArticleSex case sheriff demands answers
A child aged five was left standing alone by the side of a road after being dropped off from school transport, according to a councillor. Gavin Logan says he reported the incident to education...
View ArticleCommunity use hopes over Kelso hall conversion
The disused Bowmont Hall in Kelso could still be the answer to providing accommodation for local youth groups.Local Scottish Borders councillor Alec Nicol (LD) raised the subject at last week’s meeting...
View ArticleFresh drive to cut road deaths and serious injuries
Country roads can be killers and the Scottish Government has signed-up Formula 1 racing ace David Coulthard to front a safety campaign.Between 2007 and 2011, the last full year for which figures are...
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