Play frame vandalised
MINDLESS vandals carried out a pre-Christmas attack on a new climbing frame at Shedden Park in Kelso last Thursday night, only four days after workers completed the boat-shaped structure. The 20cm...
View ArticleHigh fives as Mary’s a great-great-grandmother
A NEW baby is a special time for anyone, but for Eilidh Marshall, from near Duns, the arrival of Carys means her family has expanded to five generations.Born on November 5 at 8lb 11oz, Carys, a first...
View ArticleBarnardo’s plea for unwanted Chrsitmas gifts
BORDERERS are being urged to recycle and ‘re-gift’ their unwanted Christmas presents to help vulnerable children in the year ahead, and help bring festive cheer to those who have gone without....
View ArticleCouncil tax freeze ‘may last for six more years’
THE region’s council tax payers could be set to enjoy another six years with no rises in what they pay – if Scottish Borders Council leader David Parker is right.Mr Parker was speaking this week after...
View ArticleLibrary hours cut, despite user surge
AMID warnings that it could become an issue at next May’s local government elections, Scottish Borders Council has unanimously agreed to merge library and contact centre services in six towns.The move,...
View ArticleBGH car parks last refuge of smokers in NHS Borders tobacco clampdown
HEALth chiefs in the Borders are to extend the ban on smoking to all its grounds and car parks from New Year’s Day.They say the aim of revising their tobacco policy is to “maximise health improvement”...
View ArticlePolice probe Hawick vandalism and renew Horse plea
A SPATE of mindless New Year vandalism in the Burnfoot area of Hawick has prompted an appeal for witnesses from the police, writes Andrew Keddie.The most serious incident took place at Wilton Cemetery...
View ArticleFrom Ascot to Kelso: the treats keep coming for top bookie Andy
Everyone wants to be friends with Selkirk’s bookie of the year – because he’s taking a party of 60 to Kelso races.Andy Bennett, crowned last month as the Racing Post/SIS Betting Shop Manager of the...
View Articlelandlines
There are times when a gale is howling; dust, straw, bits of plastic bag and netting flying; roofs shaking, doors banging, a tree wobbling, cattle getting twitchy and tempers fraying that I wonder...
View ArticleVandals cause flooding at Kelso cemetery
THE newest cemetery in the Borders has been flooded by thieves.Ferneyhill was placed under water after the culprits stole two tap heads from standpipes between 4pm last Wednesday (December 28) and...
View ArticleMean theft
POLICE are appealing for information after an Amazon Kindle was stolen from a bedside table in ward six at the Borders General Hospital while the patient who owned the device was asleep in an adjacent...
View ArticleTrue grit needed to weather the storm
LAST winter it was snow ... this time it is storm-force winds which have tested the mettle of Borderers at the dawn of another year.The devastation of Tuesday was so widespread it will take some time...
View ArticleSix months recording nature’s bounty
As promised, here is the concluding part of my look back at last year through the columns of Border Country.JULYEarly in the month, I had a memorable weekend at Eyemouth where I was entertained...
View ArticleOpen Country by Erica Hume Niven
The seven whooper swans that arrived at Loch o’ the Lowes during the third week of December, while I was away, have been joined by a mute swan and her two signets.I took my father down to the willow...
View ArticleEx-guide dog Oates notches up a first for Scotland, taking up new post with...
SCOTLAND’S first buddy dog for adults with sight problems has been undergoing his transformation from guide dog to buddy dog in Coldstream, writes Janice Gillie.Oates took up his new role at the...
View ArticlePaint job for MSP’s office as former aide demands review of ethics
LOCAL MSP Christine Grahame has this week finally complied with rules which ban the display of party political logos on the signage of constituency offices.A September 1 deadline for her premises in...
View ArticleRoute to local takeover of village halls made easier
COMMUNITIES wanting to take over and manage local assets such as halls and community centres have been given the green light.Scottish Borders Council (SBC) agreed a way forward for local groups to take...
View ArticleWelcome for new signs at notorious corner
TWEEDDALE councillor Gavin Logan has welcomed the news that enlarged warning signs are to be erected on the approach to the notorious Dirtpot Corner on the A72 near Cardrona.Now road surface messages,...
View ArticleGrain group aims to boost farm breakfast
A SPECIALIST cereals organisation is hoping to boost breakfast eating with the return of the Farmhouse Breakfast Week later this month.Farmers are being encouraged to hold open days by the HGCA, the...
View ArticleMARKET PRICES
ST BOSWELLSAT their weekly Primestock Sale held at St Boswells last Tuesday, John Swan Ltd sold 71 clean cattle, 20 OTM cattle, 2,412 prime lambs and 380 ewes. Bullocks (39) averaged 200.8p per kg (-1p...
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