Down Memory Lane

TEN YEARS AGO

* CARLUKE dad James Cleland criticised South Lanarkshire Council for failing to provide constant school crossing patrols at one of the town’s busiest roads, Kirkton Street. He said his children had almost been knocked down there before Christmas when no lollipop person or police officer was available to help them cross the road.

* SOUTH Lanarkshire Council was to carry out £500,000 of work on part of the A72 Clyde Valley route. The work, expected to last between February 7 and mid-March, involved strengthening the carriageway and installing flood prevention measures.

* A MAJOR residential development for Lesmahagow was approved by councillors. Nicolson Construction received detailed planning permission to erect 35 flats and five terraced town houses at Turfholm.

* CARLUKE Rotary Club vice president Ken Mackie presented Debbie Traynor, Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS) fundraiser, with a £1000 cheque which would go towards the new children’s hospice, Robin House, in Balloch.

* LANARKSHIRE football talent spotter Bobby Jenks – who had unearthed talents like Phil O’Donnell, Neil Lennon and James McFadden – was hoping to find the next future football star in Carluke. Bobby would be taking coaching classes for four to 12-year-olds in Carluke High School Leisure Centre on Monday nights.

* BIGGAR Rugby Club recorded their first ever win at Philliphaugh in thrilling style, with a thumping 55-17 Premier 2 win at Selkirk. This gained Biggar a healthy dose of revenge for their Scottish Cup defeat at the same venue the previous October.

TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

* A £3.3 million scheme to build a completely new 60-bed maternity unit at Law Hospital to replace the outmoded William Smellie Hospital in Lanark was nearing final approval. The project was part of a major reorganisation of maternity hospital services throughout Lanarkshire to meet the needs of the area for the next 20 to 25 years.

* LANARK Police were to stage an open afternoon that Sunday – in a bid to trace the owners of a lot of jewellery. The police had recovered a quantity of rings, bracelets and necklaces which had apparently been stolen in break-ins and were keen to reunite owners with them.

* an accident blackspot at Lamington was to be straightened out. Strathclyde Regional Council was expected to rubberstamp a £60,000 plan for the realignment of the main road at Baitlaws, a stretch where there was a bad bend.

* In the two weeks since it opened, thousands of people had used the state-of-the-art facilities at the Leisure Dome in Thornton Road, Kirkmuirhill. It was the council’s only purpose-built sport and leisure facility with its main sports hall being the size of four badminton courts.

* A FORMER hairdresser’s shop in Glenafeoch Road, Carluke, was to be converted into a funeral parlour. Planning permission was agreed by Clydesdale Planning Committee in spite of objections by the Regional Highways Department – which alleged there were insufficient parking places at the premises. In addition, a petition from local people complained that the premises were unsuitable because they were in the middle of a housing scheme, were next door to a general store and close to the primary school. The area also had a history of vandalism.

* Hozier House, the former convalescent home in Hyndford Road, Lanark, would soon be transformed into a business centre offering office accommodation and possibly conference and training facilities to firms throughout Clydesdale. Ambitious plans put forward by Clydesdale Enterprise Resource Trust were in their early stages but had already met with an encouraging response.

* The scottish Junior Cup third round replay between Forth Wanderers and Bellshill Athletic at Kingshill Park ended in a 1-1 draw. This meant that a third tie would be played at the neutral venue of Hannah Park in Shotts, in a bid to separate the two sides. Forth’s goal in the first replay came via a second half header by McDowall.