Gala churches launch food bank
Six Galashiels churches have started a food bank to donate emergency food to cash-strapped families in crisis, covering the areas of Galashiels, Gattonside, Melrose and Tweedbank, writes Sandy...
View ArticlePope’s resignation sparks ‘surprise and shock’
POPE Benedict XVI’s resignation earlier this week has taken the region’s Catholics by surprise.The 85-year-old leader of the Catholic church said in his announcement on Monday that his “strengths due...
View ArticleLocal butchers reaping the benefits of horsemeat scandal
Horses for courses, odds-on menu favourite, lunch on the hoof – the jokes keep on coming in light of the ongoing scandal following the discovery of horsemeat in a number of processed meals.But in...
View ArticleNFU call to get tough on tracking imported meat
CHANGES are needed to tighten up systems which keep track of imported meat, NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller said this week.In his presidential address at the union’s centenary AGM in St Andrews on...
View ArticleKelso school deep cleaned after four in 10 children were off because of illness
A KELSO primary school was closed for deep cleaning after winter bugs took their toll on the school roll, writes Sally Gillespie.Scottish Borders Council cleaners blitzed the primary earlier this month...
View ArticleReported domestic violence increases
POLICE in the Borders have welcomed an increase in reported incidents of domestic violence.Between April and December last year, a total of 720 incidents of domestic violence were reported to local...
View Articlelandlines
I HAVE an incurable fondness for old jokes, and one that sprang to mind last week was of about Second World War vintage, relating to the packs of cheap cigarettes dished out to overseas troops.A...
View ArticleMargaret aims to bring in tourists as face of Selkirk’s pop-up shops
Margaret Sweetnam has been appointed Selkirk’s pop-up shop project manager.The Royal Burgh’s Chamber of Trade was awarded nearly £22,000 in January to create about five pop-up shops in the town’s...
View ArticleBhatia warns of budget limitations
DESPITE agreeing a £250 million budget last week, the deputy leader of Scottish Borders Council has warned it ‘cannot meet every need and expectation’.Catriona Bhatia made the comment following the...
View ArticleBorders Railway tunnel plans unveiled
THE chairman of Campaign for Borders Rail does not believe the biggest engineering project associated with the £300million line will cause traffic chaos.From June, work will begin on building a tunnel...
View ArticleEgg firm could close Lauder site, says MD
ONE of the country’s leading egg producers could close its Lauder site. Ian Campbell, managing director of Glenrath Farms, told TheSouthern this week that the firm was considering the closure of the...
View ArticleDylan closes in on Chile adventure target
Galashiels teenager Dylan Howel is almost halfway towards his £5,400 Chilean adventure target.The 17-year-old has now raised £2,000 thanks to a successful band night in the Mission Hall in Galashiels...
View ArticleEarlston woman targeted by scam
AN Earlston woman has warned Borderers not to fall for a pension scam.Lynn Austin says she was almost taken in by an automatic message claiming to come from the Co-operative Group offering her £1,000...
View ArticleCouncil loan will help build 163 homes
UP to 163 affordable homes could be created across the region thanks to £13million worth of loans from Scottish Borders Council.Eildon Housing Association, Berwickshire Housing Association and Scottish...
View ArticleCairn to Haining son Ronald
ANOTHER piece of the jigsaw has been provided by a Selkirk reader, helping piece together the Haining’s history.John Stephen of the town’s Montrose Place, told us about a small cairn – in memory of a...
View ArticleIt’s diamond days for happy Borders couples
TWO Borders couples have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversaries with royal seals of approval.Jocky and Betty McDonald of St Boswells, and Horsbrugh Ford’s John and Maureen Laidlaw both received...
View ArticleStaffing concerns for improved care home
DESPITE improved standards, inspectors have raised concerns with staffing levels at a Bonchester Bridge care home, writes Kenny Paterson.While Bonchester Bridge Care Centre raised its ratings from...
View ArticleFlodden on the map
A GEOLOGIST with a passion for history is aiming to put the Battle of Flodden on the map, writes Kenny Paterson.Alistair Bowden has been appointed as co-ordinator for a series of projects, costing...
View ArticleDo you have what it takes to be a Samaritan?
THE Borders branch of The Samaritans is holding an information evening on February 26 (7pm) at its 21 West Port base in Selkirk in a bid to encourage people to become volunteers.The branch has 28...
View ArticleSatnav down on the farm
PRECISION farming will be explained to farmers attending a meeting near Jedburgh on Wednesday (February 20).Experts will talk about machinery and technology which makes cultivation and other arable...
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