257 February 2016 - Gryffe Advertizer

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The Gryffe Advertizer
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Next Issue: No.258 March 2016
Deadline: Friday 12th February 2016
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without
written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gryffe Advertizer
cannot be held responsible for unsolicited materials. The views and
opinions by contributors in this magazine may not represent the
views of the publishers. The Gryffe Advertizer takes no responsibility
for claims made by advertisements in this publication.
contents
local news..........................8-12
dental blog.............................13
photography hints & tips.......16
what’s on.............................14-20
business news.....................25
financial blog.........................25
it blog..................................25
local history...........................28
on the road...............................29
pets...............................22-23
pet blog ............................22
village news....................30-39
outdoors..........................40-43
sports & clubs news.............49-51
sporting blog..........................51
schools news.....................44-48
advertiser directory................55
business classified...........52-53
church listings....................53
deadlines dates...................53
property classified.................53
sales & wants......................54
This Month
Do you remember what happened in 2007?
Did you know we’ve got all our back issues online? All the way back to 2007 with
a couple even older than that! I received a notification that one of our online
issues (Jan 2008) hadn’t been looked at for some time and would be taken
down, so a quick review and a share on facebook got that one reactivated. In
reading through the January 2008 issue, I noticed that I had commented on
the completion of extensions at both Gryffe High and Houston Primary schools.
Also, the three new sets of traffic lights: 1. Houston Road / Kilmacolm Rd,
Bridge of Weir; 2. Torr Road / Main St, Bridge of Weir; 3. Magnus Road /
Houston Rd, Houston. The traffic lights may not be perfect, but it’s hard now to
remember how awful these junctions were before.
By the end of 2007, the new gym at Birkmyre Park, Kilmacolm was almost
complete and in Lochwinnoch the Community Buy-out Group was awarded the
‘right to buy’ the former Struthers bottling plant, while the dangerous junction
at the Beith Road was being sorted out with a new roundabout. Sadly the
Struthers purchase didn’t go ahead and that building still sits empty, but the
new roundabout at the Beith Road is a huge improvement.
Local funding
It was reported in the news a couple of weeks ago that council tax in Scotland
has not increased since 2007. This was a strategy by the Scottish Government
to freeze council tax, which seemed like good idea at the time, but as councils
have struggled year after year under ever-reducing budgets, maybe it is time for
a rethink. We hear now that Moray Council have decided enough is enough and
are proposing an increase of around 18%. They have calculated that this is the
figure they need to maintain the level of service the public expect. Of course,
if they had made increases year on year in line with inflation, it would probably
be far more than the 18% rise suggested now. But the public will perceive this
as a huge increase and there will be complaints; although I’m sure there will be
even more disgruntled constituents if their services were cut even further.
Tale of a Dog
This time last year, we reported on a happy ending for a wee dog who’d gotten
lost. The power of social media works well in these circumstances. A couple of
weeks ago, a lovely dog found in Kilmacolm had her photo posted on Facebook
by a concerned villager. After The Advertizer shared the post, we got a message
from a reader saying their friends visiting from afar had just lost their dog.
Putting the two in touch with each other, we quickly established it was indeed
the missing pooch and everyone was happy again. Like it, or not, (no pun
intended) Facebook has it’s uses.
On the Road
We hear there are to be improvements at the roundabout on the A8 at Langbank.
Much needed many will say, following an increasing number of ‘near-misses’
as traffic speeds through that junction. We’ll update as plans progress.
Check out proposed roadworks by visiting www.roadworksscotland.org or via
our two local council websites, www.renfrewshire.gov.uk and www.inverclyde.
gov.uk. We’ll try to keep you updated too on Facebook and Twitter - please
follow our facebook page, “Gryffe Roadwatch”, for regular updates on road
repairs and conditions. Facebookers can also post to this page, so if you’re out
and about and see a hold-up, please let us know.
Next deadline Friday 12 February!
The Advertizer is the ideal platform to tell the community your news as we
reach over 13,000 homes and businesses in the Gryffe area.
Send in your news and photos to: info@advertizer.co.uk
Rona