From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 28, 1978

From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 28, 1978

28 November 2018

CASTLEWELLAN — The principal of Castlewellan High School, Mr Kenneth McCammon, has hit out at parents who shirk their responsibilities and leave the education of their children wholly in the lap of the school.

Speaking at the annual prizegiving night, Mr McCammon urged parents to become more actively involved in their children’s education and pointed to the influence of parents and home as being of primary importance.

He said it was vitally important that parents understood their role in their children’s education and that his staff would shortly be preparing schemes to involve parents in worthwhile aspects of the school.

“No school, no matter how sensitive to the needs of society, can compensate for a sterile home — just as no school, however bad, can undermine the work of parents who fully accept their responsibilities for the upbringing of their children,” he said.

“Many parents, turn way from their responsibilities, pursue their own ambitions and pleasures and with a sigh of relief leave it all to the schools.

“If our offspring are bad mannered, indolent, lacking in discipline or abusive of society, then we all, parents and school teachers, must honestly take our portion of the blame.”

DOWNPATRICK — Down High School has been ordered to stop a tradition of keeping overage pupils in its preparatory department.

The shock order was delivered this week by the South Eastern Education and Library Board, who agreed, however, that the school principal did not appear to have broken any regulations.

Down High’s ‘prep’ department caters for children between the ages of 4 and 11, but the school frequently allows pupils to stay there after the age of 11. Last year five pupils were retained and this term eight were held back.

The practice was put under the microscope by the Education Board’s Educational Services Committee recently when a committee member asked for it to be discontinued.

Mr J Scott said he was concerned that all children should have equal opportunities and that no pupils should have an advantage over others

CROSSGAR — The threat of closure that has been overshadowing the future of Crossgar War Memorial Hall was lifted at a special public meeting. Over 60 local residents rallied in response to a desperate plea for help issued by the hall’s management committee.

Lack of support and use of the hall forced the committee to present an ultimatums to the townsfolk to either take an interest in the hall, or have it closed down.

This unprecedented appeal certainly produced results as Mr W J Cochrane said when he addressed a packed meeting.

“I am delighted to see so many people here,” he said. “However, we are not out of the woods yet. It is vitally important that the hall is managed by a thoughtful and inventive committee to ensure a safe passage out of our present difficulties.

“Unless the committee can come up with ways of obtaining sustained financial assistance, the threat of closure is still real.”

Mr Cochrane explained that while many repairs had been carried out, there was still a lot to do.  Mr P J Smyth conducted the election of the committee to which 24 people were appointed.

SAUL — Saul writer P J Lennon will have his play, ‘The Brairden Stone’, broadcast on radio for the sixth time early next year.

The play was first featured on the air in the mid-sixties and broadcast by both BBC and Radio Telefis Eireann. Now it has been resurrected by RTE and will be broadcast on January 18.

At the moment P J has hit head down scribbling. Apart from completing the popular Myles Stone Diary each week in the Down Recorder, he finds time to continue his work writing radio plays.

KILLINCHY — Plans to build a new primary school in Killinchy are to go ahead quickly — despite mounting objections from local residents.

The new school will mean the closure of nearby Ballydrain Primary School and is to be built on a site which is causing anxiety in one of the village’s housing estates.

The residents of Ardview Park have petitioned the South Eastern Education and Library Board about the new site because they are worried about two proposed entrances.

The Board met this week to decide finally on a problem that has held back a decision for several months and agreed to proceed with the development.

Mr Jack Magee, a Board member from Downpatrick, said there would be some annoyance during building operations, but when work is completed there should be no cause for complaint.

A Board officer pointed out that there was no compulsion on the children to to transfer to a particular school and that many of them might to go Andrews Memorial School in Comber rather than Killlinchy.

BALLYNAHINCH — The curtain will lift on Friday night on the opera ‘Cinderalla in Salerno’ in Assumption Grammar School.

The opera, which will also be staged on Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday, is being put on by pupils at the school with Miss S O’Hanlon and Miss M Scullion the producers.

PORTAFERRY — Declan Mackell, the yachtsman who sailed into Portaferry at the end of his triumphant lone Atlantic crossing, plans to set off next year on a round the world trip.

Declan estimates the voyage will take two years and when it is over he hopes to set up home in Portaferry.

Declan intends to leave Portaferry is his 32-feet long yacht and head to France. From there he will be stopping off en route at Portugal. The Canary Islands will be the next stop before crossing the Atlantic and landing in Barbados.

From there he will sail to the Pacific, stopping to visit his brother, Des, who works for a British company on one of the Pacific islands. Then Declan will head for Australia and New Zealand, the Indian Ocean, around the Cape of Good Hope and back to Portaferry.

This is one of the longest routes possible around the world and 37 year-old Declan reckons the adventure will cost about £10,000.

Portaferry Sailing Club members are helping to re-rig his yacht and they are trying to raise money for a transmitter to enable a radio link-up.

NEWCASTLE — The Brook Cottage Hotel in Newcastle received their Receptionist of the Year award this week from the competition sponsors, Coca-Cola.

Brook Cottage receptionist Dolores Malone won the title earlier this month — the first time that it has come to this district.

COMBER — Comber’s long-awaited new £80,000 car park will finally get underway next week — and with the news comes the promise of extra temporary parking space the town by Christmas.

When finished, the new car park — between Castle Street and Bridge Street — will provide spaces for 210 vehicles and should go a long way towards solving the town’s chronic parking problems.

The announcement has been enthusiastically welcomed by Comber councillors and traders, who have stressed that the promise of temporary parking space is bound to make this Christmas a very special time in the town.

KILMORE — Kilmore Parish Church’s new rector, the Rev Alan J Parkhilll, was instituted at a special ceremony on Friday night. Mr Parkhill, who takes over from the late Rev H B G Forde, who had been rector for seven years, was introduced by the Bishop of the Diocese, the Right Rev George Quin.

Mr Parkhill, formerly curate at Bangor for six years, is 35 years old and is engaged to be married.

BALLYNOE — More than £350 was raised for charity when a special cabaret and social evening was held in the Corner Inn, Ballynoe.

Several hundred people attended the function at which the guest stars were Marjorie Rea and George Reynolds. The proceeds will go to the Muckamore Abbey Special Care School’s centre fund and the function was organised by local families with children at Muckamore.