From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 22, 1977

From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 22, 1977

22 November 2017

DOWNPATRICK — Brough Scott, the ITV racing commentator, made a special “see for himself” visit to Downpatrick racecourse this week amid the raging controversy over the course’s future.

Mr Scott walked the course for half an hour with Downpatrick Race Supporters Club chairman Jeremy Maxwell and seemed very impressed with what he saw.

He said he was saddened by the Government’s intentions to stop grant-aiding the course and will be doing whatever he can to see that it remains open.

“With such a great history of jumping horses in the North it seems a shame that the course may be forced to close,” he said. “By the standards in Britain and elsewhere, there is not really that much money being called for to keep the course open.”

He continued: “This course has definitely got a lot of character and that provides excellent scope for horses who are tough workers. I am all for maintaining such a course.

“What we need is steeplechasers coming through and that would be encouraged here, so to close something that encourages this type of horse would be extremely sad.

“Race meetings here provide a day out for all people in the community and therefore money invested is well spent, so why should anyone want to close it?

“I am now going to try to talk to the relevant authorities. I will be contacting people like Sean Graham, race organisations in the South and then writing an article in The Sunday Times.”

CROSSGAR — A 94 year-old Crossgar woman endured the ordeal of her lifetime when her home was broken into by three masked raiders.

Miss Elizabeth Flinn had just finished her evening meal when three masked men burst into the sitting room of her Kilmore Road home and shouted, “This is a raid.”

The men pushed Miss Flinn into a rocking chair, tying her legs to the chair with a scarf and a pair of knickers. One of them asked her where she slept and when she told him the two others went into her room and searched it.

Miss Flinn was held down by her shoulders by the third man, who admonished her to be quiet. The thieves made off with £200 of Miss Flinn’s savings and some jewellery of sentimental value.

RAHOLP — Scenes of crime officers are still baffled as to what started the fire which caused more than £30,000 worth of damage at a Raholp farm on Monday night.

The officers visisted Mr Dennis Hamill’s farm at Myra Road the following day, but as yet have not established the cause of the fire. Altogether 8,000 bales of hay and straw were destroyed, together with a hayseed and adjoining silo and lying-in sheds.

Twenty seven cattle were also destroyed, either being burned to death or suffocated. In fact, only one of the herd escaped.

Firemen from Downpatrick, with two appliances, tackled the blaze for more than ten hours. They managed to contain the blaze, saving one large hayshed.

DUNDRUM — A proposed coastal path around Dundrum Bay met opposition from Castlewellan councillor Mrs Ethel Smyth at Down Council’s meeting on Monday.

Councillors were told that the proposed path would begin at Keel Point and would stretch around the bay.

Mrs Smyth said that Dundrum Development Committee did not want the path to come up any further than the Downshire property because it might have an adverse effect on business in the village.

Dundrum councillor Mr Jarlath Carey said he thought the plan was a fine one and was glad to see progress being made at last.

BALLYNAHINCH — Ballynahinch Chamber of Commerce have been informed tenders are to be invited to have the surface repaired at the Square.

At their monthly meeting recently the members were told of the progress being made, but, alas, they had no such good news when it ams to something being down about the surface in the Harmony Way area.

Expert advice is to be sought on the possible outlay required to make this part of the town more amenable.

Members were also informed work would soon commence on the new car park, which will be of great advantage to the town, but that they were still chasing the authorities on the proposed communal centre.

KILLOUGH — Workers at the Killough brick plant were dramatically laid off this week as a “temporary measure” — just six weeks after the firm announced a massive sales expansion.

The lay-offs will affect only production workers at the plant and are said to have been caused by a “production hiccup” which has brought work to a halt.

A spokesman for the company stressed that all maintenance and sales staff would continue working as normal and he said the 40 men would probably be reinstated inside three or four months.

“I cannot envisage these workers being laid off for long and they will be brought back as soon as possible,” he said.

The “production hiccup” arises out of a delay in the introduction of new building regulations which were due to come into force in Northern Ireland in April.

DROMARA — A 71 year-old Dromara woman became the latest figure on Northern Ireland’s road deaths toll when she was knocked down and killed near her home on Saturday evening.

Mrs Elizabeth Kane, of Banbridge Road, became the 293rd person to die on the province’s roads since the beginning of the year.

CARRYDUFF — A prominent figure in Carryduff has called in Castlereagh Council to step up their efforts in providing recreation facilities for the children of the area.

Mr Wesley McCamley, chairman of Carryduff Primary School’s parent/teacher association, said Carryduff was still nowhere near getting playgrounds and playing fields that were promised years ago.

Mr McCamley said that the recent ‘Best Kept Small Town’ award for Carryduff should spur the council to make a “special effort” on the recreation front.

NEWTOWNARDS — Two flyers from Newtownards have a narrow escape on Sunday when their light aircraft was forced to crash land on the shores of Strangford Lough.

The drams happened shortly before lunchtime, moments after their twin-engine Piper Cub lifted off from the runway with a single seater glider on tow.

The engine lost power and the pilot of the glider immediately released his tow rope and landed back on the runway. The towing aircraft crash-landed on the mudbanks at the head of Strangford Lough and was badly damaged.

The pilot was taken to Ards Hospital with minor injuries. His passenger was unhurt. The cause of the accident may have been ice in the engine.

TYRELLA — Tyrella and District Homing Pigeon Society held their annual dinner and presentation in the Ardglass Arms. More than 60 fanciers and friends attended and the special guests were Mr and Mrs T Kilpatrick and Mr E Marshall, from Killyleagh. Top money winners were Reynolds and Hogg and the runners-up were B McCartan and Son.

RECORDER — The Down Recorder is tops at taking newspaper photographs — and that’s official. Recorder photographer Bill Hamilton took the honours in an ‘action pic’ competition organised by Smirnoff at the recent Northern Ireland sandyachting championships in Newcastle.

Bill’s entry really impressed the judges and it earned him three bottles of Smirnoff vodka and a commemorative tankard for being the top photographer attached to a newspaper.

A spokesman for the organisers of the championships praised the Recorder’s coverage of the event and paid special tribute to Bill’s photographs which, he said, clearly showed how exciting sandyachting could be.