Evening News - Scotland back issues from February 1998:
THE CHAMBER
Feb 14, 1998 ... THE CHAMBER (15, CIC) THIS latest John Grisham courtroom thriller stars Chris O'Donnellas an idealistic young lawyer who takes on the case of his owngrandfather (Gene Hackman) - a former Ku Klux Klan member facingexecution for killing two children 20 years earlier . Hackman, ...
The lighthouse family's last man
Feb 18, 1998 ... When the last man leaves the last lighthouse to be automated inScotland next month only one man will be left hanging about. Swinging hundreds of feet above cruel grey seas, Jack Marshallwill be perched snugly on his cradle doing what he loves best -painting ...
Efficiency opportunity
Feb 18, 1998; ... THERE will inevitably be knee-jerk anger to the news that up to760 Edinburgh City Council workers will lose their jobs. But if the experience of the men behind the Usher Hall fiasco isanything to go by, the Council's early retirement package is sohugely generous there will be a ...
Lord Jimmy's vision for Scotland
Feb 18, 1998; ... TOURISM was too fancy a term for day trips to Helensburgh in the1940s - but Jimmy Gordon enjoyed his childhood visits to the Clyde. And now, as he prepares to take over as chairman of the ScottishTourist Board, he believes Scotland is well placed to make the mostof what has become ...
Taking note of governor's hidden devo agenda
Feb 18, 1998; ... WHEN I was an indentured apprentice journalist in Kirkcaldy -yes,father had to sign that I would turn up sober, on time and tidy andthe Fifeshire Advertiser undertook to teach me my trade - I wasallowed out of the office once a week to study, among other things,the democratic ...
Beef on the brain
Feb 18, 1998; ... HOTELIER Jim Sutherland will next month be charged with serving170 dinner guests with beef on the bone. Sub-judice, not a word canbe ...
Innocent playtime fun is no big deal
Feb 18, 1998; ... WE are in danger of taking ourselves too seriously. In recent months innocent possession of a toy pistol where itmight be seen results, almost inevitably, in the turn out of a so-called armed response unit - sub-machine guns, a hoveringhelicopter,specially trained dogs, ...
Tartan terrors had right Royal approval
Feb 18, 1998; ... IT'S not nice, I know, to mock the afflicted but, every Festival,I permit myself a laugh at the bizarrely kilted and sporran-hungrefugees who come out of the woodwork to strut their stuff. I suspect they wear moleskin breeks and holed cardigans in theoff-season. But summer in ...
Child's play as latest survey is a study in the obvious
Feb 18, 1998; ... ANY day now the eleven-year-old in your life may be swept up bythe cream of academe, sat down under bright lights and quizzed as towhether he or she has it in mind to blow the door off the schoolsafeto get the dinner money. The idea is to study every 11-year-old in the Capital to ...
Livvy ace thought he had been axed
Feb 18, 1998; ... LIVINGSTON put their promotion charge back in gear last nightthanks to a 3-0 win over Clyde, with goal hero Tom Graham admitting:"I was shocked to be playing!" The defender was the first to admit that he did not have one ofhis best games last week when Livvy crashed at home to ...
Laying the foundations
Feb 18, 1998; ... NEW Hibs boss Alex McLeish has wasted no time in ringing thechanges at Easter Road, strengthening both his backroom staff andhisplaying pool within a week of taking charge of the ailing Edinburghoutfit. Today's news that Andy Watson is returning to the club asMcLeish's ...
Pair are full of respect
Feb 18, 1998 ... THE debate over who should fill Scotland's full back berth in theFive Nations Championship began months ago and saw Melrose starRowenShepherd and London Scot Derrick Lee interviewed last Autumn abouttheir qualities, prioritiee and main rivals! SHEPHERD said: "I'm quite strong on ...
Import policy under fire
Feb 18, 1998 ... THE Scottish Rugby Union are being urged to be wary ofdisillusioning up-and-coming home-bred players through a policy ofimporting players from abroad who are qualified for Scotland. The warning comes from Dunfermline rugby president Douglas Reidinthe wake of the SRU's decision to ...
Gers boss laughs off fan fury!
Feb 18, 1998; ... RANGERS manager Walter Smith today played down suggestions heexchanged words with an irate supporter during last night's marchinto the Scottish Cup quarter-finals. Smith instead concentrated on what happened on the field of playas managerless Motherwell paid the price for their ...
Boss warns Hearts
Feb 18, 1998; ... HEARTS boss Jim Jefferies will warn his players to expect apossible Motherwell backlash when the sides meet on Saturday. The Fir Park club were left without a manager today when AndyWatson followed former boss Alex McLeish to Hibs. But a shortlist has already been drawn up and ...
Drug laws are a bit too hazy
Feb 18, 1998; ... EVEN if it would take more than marijuana to persuade many peopleto ski down the side of a mountain on a plank of wood, plans topunish athletes who take "social" drugs must be welcomed. I am not convinced that drugs like marijuana are performance-enhancing - from what I've heard ...
Pupils set timetable for new turntables
Feb 18, 1998 ... YOUNG musicians could be spinning their own CDs in class underplans to build a recording studio in their school. The Royal High School is starting a massive fundraising campaignin a bid to raise about GBP 30,000 for the studio. It would allow students to record their own work ...
Early risers sink sleepy rivals
Feb 18, 1998 ... EARLY birds John Higgins and Ken Doherty were wide awake inAberdeen this morning to score convincing third-round victories atthe GBP 350,000 Regal Scottish Open. World champion Doherty pipped his Scottish rival to the winningpost by whitewashing Gerard Greene 0 in 75 ...
Wanted: Anyone to fight Arthur!
Feb 18, 1998; ... EDINBURGH punch prospect Alex Arthur today revealed a majorproblem as he begins his build-up to the Commonwealth Games - noamateurs will fight him! In fact, the situation's so bad, he's having to go in againstPROSto sharpen up his skills. The 19-year-old Leith Vics ...
Lomond in cash bonanza
Feb 18, 1998 ... ORGANISERS of the Loch Lomond World Invitational golf tournamenthave hit the jackpot with a new sponsorship deal, it was claimedtoday. Edinburgh-based Standard Life will plough an estimated GBP 5million into the event over the next three years after replacingGulfstream as the ...
Nervy Murie delighted with Jambos Cup show
Feb 18, 1998; ... NOBODY inside Tynecastle last Saturday heaved a bigger sigh ofrelief than David Murie when Jose Quitongo finally broke thedeadlockfor Hearts in their Tennents Scottish Cup clash with Albion Rovers. After waiting more than a year to get another chance in the firstteam, the last ...
ECK WANTED BEARDSLEY!
Feb 18, 1998; ... HIBS boss Alex McLeish today revealed that he had made anaudacious bid to sign former England ace Peter Beardsley. After capturing ex-Scotland keeper Bryan Gunn on a three-monthloan earlier in the week, it emerged today that former Newcastle,Liverpool and Everton star Beardsley ...
SHEP OR LEE - THE BIG POSER!
Feb 18, 1998; ... THE French rugby team's star-studded backs sweep down upon theScottish line at Murrayfield on Saturday with the defence in dangerof being wrong footed and desperately needing to be organised. Ensuring the French raiding party is repelled is primarily thejobof the Scots full back ...
Cup clash the real thing for Vialli
Feb 18, 1998 ... GIANLUCA VIALLI makes his bow as Chelsea's player-boss tonightwith his players urging the Stamford Bridge fans: Get behind him. The Italian ace, promoted to the top job after Ruud Gullit'sshocksacking last week, will reach Wembley in his first match in chargeifthe Blues can ...
We've won race for Euro office
Feb 18, 1998 ... EDINBURGH has beaten Berlin, Munich, Belfast and Cardiff tobecomethe base for a branch office of the European Parliament. The idea of setting up a base in the Capital was agreed inprinciple by the parliament last month, but no money was allocatedfor the project. Now ...
MPs back language skills
Feb 18, 1998 ... EDUCATION Minister Brian Wilson and Dunfermline West MP RachelSquire have joined forces to ensure more Scottish pupils startlearning foreign languages from an early age. They have promised to end the current "disgrace" where too fewchildren start to learn another tongue at primary ...
Scots law lures investors
Feb 18, 1998 ... SCOTLAND'S courts have an important role to play in helpingattract millions of pounds worth of inward investment and jobs. According to litigation lawyer Gill Grassie, of Edinburgh-basedIntellectual Property, sympathetic and open-minded judges couldbecome an increasing factor in ...
Poverty looms for retired
Feb 18, 1998 ... MILLIONS of people face real financial hardship when they retirebecause of inadequate pensions. According to a new report, more than 13 million will suffer a"financially difficult" time on a pension of GBP 106 a week or less. And just one worker in five has a realistic chance ...
Councillor quits over drink-drive cab licence
Feb 18, 1998; ... A COUNCILLOR has quit a high-profile post in protest at hiscolleagues' decision to grant a cab licence to a convicted drink-driver. Labour councillor David McGrouther, who represents Kirknewton onWest Lothian Council, today confirmed he had resigned from thelicensing ...
Sting in tail for scampi
Feb 18, 1998 ... IT might seem a fishy tale, but food inspectors say most breadedscampi just isn't quite the real thing. A survey found some scampi could contain as little as 18 per centfish and the average fish content was just 34.2 per cent. Now councillors want clearer labelling so the ...
Shoppers surge back to stores
Feb 18, 1998 ... PEOPLE were back splashing their cash on the high streets lastmonth, according to Government figures today. The volume of sales for January outstripped expectations after apoor December for retailers. The 6.9 per cent increase on last January was the biggest riseforalmost ...
Lib Dem chief's 'sorry' to Lord Steel over list snub
Feb 18, 1998 ... THE man in charge of vetting Liberal Democrat candidates for theScottish Parliament has apologised to Lord Steel for theembarrassment he suffered when the Evening News revealed he had beensnubbed by the party. We reported how the former Liberal leader had failed to make thelist ...
Solicitor is guilty of misconduct
Feb 18, 1998 ... A LAWYER who failed to pay a witness his expenses, despitesecuring the money from legal aid funds, has been found guilty ofprofessional misconduct. James Kelly made a successful claim to the Scottish Legal AidBoard for expenses to pay witness Steven McKeeman, who ...
Station is on line for GBP 5m facelift
Feb 18, 1998; ... THE wraps today came off plans for a major facelift of the mainpassenger concourse at Edinburgh's Waverley Station. Traffic is to be banned from a new pedestrianised area in frontofthe main booking hall. And a new shopping complex will border the area - a popularmeeting ...
Woolwich windfall for shareholders
Feb 18, 1998; ... THERE was good news today for Woolwich shareholders - they aresetto benefit from a multi-million pound mountain of surplus cash. The news came as the bank, which converted from a buildingsocietylast year, revealed a healthy rise in pre-tax profits. Shareholders will collect ...
Norrie's already speaking of Scots victory in France
Feb 18, 1998; ... ODD the people you meet when you're trawling round the Tron. There was one of Scottish rugby's rednecks, Norrie Rowan, in themiddle of the street making a phone call. "You know, Norrie," I warned. "They do say mobile phones can giveyou cancer."He was laughing. "That's OK. If ...
Moving vision of folktale
Feb 18, 1998; ... The Hansel Gretel Machine, Brunton Theatre *** NO, it's not still panto season, but a post-modern movementversion of the classic folktale. Here, David Glass and his ensemblecart the two children out into the dark forest where they're forcedto survive, but that's all that's left of ...
Scots bid for GBP 2m aid to help Bosnia
Feb 18, 1998 ... WEST Lothian Council is leading a Scottish consortium bidding forGBP 2 million of EU cash to help rebuild Bosnia. A partnership including Edinburgh Direct Aid, the Church ofScotland and the Rotary movement has drawn up an aid package for thetowns of Kljuc and Ribnik in the north of ...
City banks on record share prices
Feb 18, 1998 ... THE banking sector drove the market into record territory todayasthe Woolwich announced maiden results ahead of City forecasts. The bank said investors would collect an average dividend payoutof GBP 105 each and its shares lifted 19p to 390p as the FTSE-100Index found itself ...
Probe into death junction
Feb 18, 1998; ... A COUNCIL has promised to investigate an accident blackspot whichclaimed another life last week. West Lothian councillors have now demanded a report into the A71junction at East Calder and Kirknewton in light of the latest death. Father-of-one Douglas Rose, 36, died instantly ...
Parrot fashions builder's escape
Feb 18, 1998 ... A PARROT which heard a builder's cries for help mimicked hisvoice- and brought rescuers to his aid. Richard Stone faced a long and agonising wait for help after hewas trapped under his own van on a deserted allotment. But his cries for help were picked up by Sonny, a red, ...
Biscuit boss stared at my chest - not my face
Feb 18, 1998 ... A WOMAN fired from her job as an executive in a biscuit factoryclaimed her boss made sexual advances towards her. Shirley Gibbison, 35, alleges sales and marketing director FrankMasson, fondled her neck at an office dance, rubbed her shoulders asshe typed and stared at her bust and ...
Friday feeling for Compass
Feb 18, 1998 ... RESTAURANT group TGI Friday's - which is opening an outlet inEdinburgh - is teaming up with British catering company CompassGroupto open restaurants in airports ...
OAP may have asked her killer into home
Feb 18, 1998; ... A SCOTS pensioner brutally murdered in her home may have invitedher killer inside, detectives said today. The body of Margaret Campbell, 78, was found by her home helpyesterday at her home in Barlogan Avenue, Craigton, Glasgow. Today Strathclyde Police said they had not ruled ...
City bosses to rethink IKEA store opposition
Feb 18, 1998 ... CITY planning bosses were today set to reconsider theiroppositionto a major out-of-town superstore. Planners had originally indicated their opposition to theproposedIKEA Swedish furniture store at Straiton, just over the councilborder in Midlothian. The planned GBP 20 ...
Kidnapped Scot freed
Feb 18, 1998 ... A SCOTS diving instructor was today recovering in a Frenchhospital after being kidnapped and held for almost a week. Police in Marseilles were waiting to ...
Does secret letter seal Lally's fate?
Feb 18, 1998 ... A SECRET letter could hold the key to the fate of embattledGlasgow Lord Provost Pat Lally. Mr Lally claimed the letter was sent by Scottish Labour generalsecretary Jack McConnell to the meeting of party councillors whichvoted to dump him. So sensitive were its contents that ...
Pudding mix-up sparks allergy fear
Feb 18, 1998 ... SUPERMARKETS were today told to clear a popular pudding fromtheirshelves after a packing mix-up prompted fears for nut allergysufferers. McVities said packets of Jane Asher frozen Summer Fruit MeringueRoulade actually contained the Praline and Chocolate Meringueversionof the ...
Orangemen seek green light for a city march
Feb 18, 1998; ... A 10,000-STRONG Orange march - including Ulster Unionist leaderDavid Trimble - is set to bring Edinburgh to a standstill. The sound of flute and drums from scores of bands linked to Eastof Scotland lodges will ring out as they parade through the city onJune 27. Mr Trimble, a ...
Asbestos alert at Parliament
Feb 18, 1998 ... ASBESTOS will have to be cleared from the site of the newScottishParliament at Holyrood before building work can start. Secretary of State for Scotland Donald Dewar said that Scottish &Newcastle agreed to remove an unspecified quantity of the deadlypowder from its headquarters ...
Standard Life rates boost
Feb 18, 1998 ... THE battle for savers' money hotted up today as one of the newestplayers on the market, Edinburgh-based Standard Life Bank, boostedrates. The move trumps rivals Sainsbury, Tesco and Direct Line. Standard Life, Scotland's top company, is Europe's largest mutuallife group with ...
Children's playground dreams become reality
Feb 18, 1998 ... LITTLE children with big ideas used their imaginations to createtheir very own play area. Pupils from Buckstone Primary School in Edinburgh's Fairmileheadput pen to paper to help design their own adventure playground. Specially made for juniors and toddlers, the design includes ...
CITY AXES 760 JOBS
Feb 18, 1998; ... MORE than 750 Edinburgh City Council staff could lose their jobsas the authority battles to balance its budget. School meals staff, leisure centre employees and social workersface the biggest cuts. And union leaders warned the move would makea significant dent in council services ...
Supermarket sweep sees Safeway jobs go
Feb 18, 1998; ... A TOP director is going and up to 50 head office jobs are beingaxed in a major revamp at supermarket chain Safeway. The group said it was "redeploying its resources" with staffchanging roles, vacancies being left unfilled and the workforcebeingreduced. The news came as ...
Study of violence shows trouble in store
Feb 18, 1998; ... UNIONS and business leaders today hit out at a hard-hitting newreport showing a huge rise in violence against shopworkers. Violence, threats and abusive behaviour towards shop employeeswent up dramatically over the last year, according to the lateststudy by employers' group the ...
Drug trial hears of cash stash
Feb 18, 1998 ... A DRUG trial jury has been hearing of how thousands of poundswereuncovered in a city bank vault. Over the years, a total of GBP 160,000 had been paid intoaccountswhich bore the name of Stephen Collins, the High Court in Edinburghheard. And detectives who arrived with ...
Outrage as cat horror woman escapes court
Feb 18, 1998; ... A FORMER school teacher has escaped prosecution following thehorrific death of 150 cats in a case which reduced animal welfareworkers to tears. It emerged today that no legal proceedings will be taken againstLinda Blair, whose filthy home was raided by officers from theScottish ...
TV date for city's big cheese
Feb 18, 1998 ... EDINBURGH businessman Iain Mellis is about to become a TV star -thanks to his fine farmhouse cheeses. He is set to feature in a food series, Scotland's Larder, whichreveals the secrets of well-made cheeses and explores the widevariety of wares he imports from across Britain, ...
Where can Donald find a place in the country?
Feb 18, 1998; ... ALL the best national leaders have them. A country retreat wherethey can relax or wine and dine with their cronies - and theirenemies. While all the focus has been on the location of the ScottishParliament, the new First Minister will also need an ...
We lived life of sex, drugs and drink in a city care home
Feb 18, 1998; ... ON her 18th birthday Sandra Gallagher says she was given anunusual present - a bag full of herbal cannabis. What made the gift strange was the fact it was handed to her byacare worker supposed to be in charge of her upbringing and welfare. And she claims being handed the ...
City's probe into 'abuse cover-up' claims
Feb 18, 1998 ... AN investigation into child abuse in Edinburgh children's homeswas launched following the convictions of Gordon Knott and BrianMaclennan. The two men were jailed last December for a total of 27 years fora catalogue of child abuse at three children's homes in Edinburgh -Dean ...
Sinn Fein launch legal challenge
Feb 18, 1998; ... SINN FEIN today turned to the courts in a final attempt to stayinthe Ulster peace talks. It wanted a court injunction stopping the Government throwing itout of the talks in Dublin. Last night, Sinn Fein chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said he hadbeenforced to turn to the ...
Pillar of society
Feb 18, 1998 ... EARLY risers got a surprise this morning when their mail arrivedcourtesy of Edinburgh's Lord Provost. People in the Stenhouse and Whitson areas opened their doors tofind Eric Milligan, sporting a postie's cap. Accompanied by regular postman John Grant, the Provost ...
Jail alarms for officers after fears of violence
Feb 18, 1998 ... PRISON officers at one of Scotland's toughest jails are beingissued with personal attack alarms amid concerns over risingviolence. The Scottish Prison Service today confirmed that an electronicalarm system costing around GBP 250,000 was being installed atGlenochil prison near ...
Hillsborough result due
Feb 18, 1998 ... FAMILIES of the Hillsborough victims travelled to London today tohear the results of the latest inquiry into the tragedy in which 96football fans died in 1989. Fifty members of the support group, formed in the wake of thedisaster, ...