Down Memory Lane

See what was making the headlines all those decades ago
Shop Watch...gets underway in Carluke High StreetShop Watch...gets underway in Carluke High Street
Shop Watch...gets underway in Carluke High Street

TEN YEARS AGO

* it was predicted that the safety of Carluke shoppers would be helped by Shop Watch, an initiative which had been launched between police and 32 of the town’s businesses. Under a new ‘early warning’ system, shopkeepers could speedily alert each other to potential criminal activity in the area.

* nursing homes and sheltered housing complexes in Clydesdale were to be fitted with sprinkler systems in the wake of a recent fire which had killed 14 elderly residents at Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston.

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* a project to improve the look of Leadhills and raise pride in the village had been awarded a grant of £23,658. Funding for the Greening Our Village project came via the Scottish Executive’s Rural Challenge Fund.

* councillor Tom McAlpine revealed steps which had been taken to combat the problem of dog fouling in Biggar. Tom said that – instead of issuing plastic bags to dog owners – plastic bag interiors had been placed in all street bins.

* history was made in Lanark with the opening of the town’s first new ‘bank’ for many decades. Known popularly as ‘The People’s Bank’, Clydesdale Credit Union was operating at 2b Hope Street.

* carluke Rovers were within touching distance of promotion to Central Division 1 after a 3-0 victory over Ashfield. On the other hand, Lanark United looked almost certain to take the drop to Central Division 2 after a 1-1 draw against Rutherglen.

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* lanark rally ace Alister McRae battled his way to an incredible third-place finish in the FIA Production Car World Rally Championship in New Zealand, after early car problems had left him stranded down the order.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

* the condition of Carluke pedestrian precinct was described as “a tip”. The comment had come from community councillor John Allan at a meeting the previous evening. John said: “Carluke has the only pedestrian precinct in the district and I think special arrangements should be made for cleaning it. It should be done at least once a day. Last Saturday the place looked like a tip with litter everywhere and it had not been swept properly.”

* strathclyde’s Chief Constable was to be asked if he could justify Carluke police station only being manned part-time. The call to change this long-standing arrangement came from the community council. Member Grizel Kellock said: “I really feel it is high time a town the size of Carluke, with its population, should have police available all the time. I am sure there would be less trouble in the evenings and at weekends if there were more police.”

* ken Latus was named as chairman of Carluke Community Council. At a special meeting in High Mill Primary School to choose the new office bearers, Ken was nominated by Isobella Findlay and seconded by Jessie Forrest. There were no other nominations.

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* jimmy hood MP met members of Strathclyde Regional Council; among the items for discussion was the possible re-opening of Law railway station. Mr Hood talked to Malcolm Waugh, chairman of the region’s transport committee, along with local councillors May Smith, Adam Lawson and Jim Robison. The council had a running programme of opening railway stations throughout the region and Law had been included in the programme.

* parents of children attending Law Primary School were to be urged to write to Strathclyde Region’s education offices in Hamilton calling for the school to be transferred to the Carluke High School catchment area, instead of remaining as a feeder of Garrion Academy, Wishaw. In a survey taken the previous year, all but four of the 276 respondents had declared their preference for Law children to go to Carluke High School.

* a carluke chip shop owner was sizzling over a council ruling which he claimed was costing him £400 a week in lost business. Armando Faccenda had been told that he must close his Clyde Street pizza and fish bar at 1.30am on Saturdays and Sundays, his two busiest nights of the week. He was losing custom of late-night revellers leaving a nearby disco half an hour later.

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