From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 17, 1993

From the pages of the Down Recorder, November 17, 1993

22 November 2023

DOWNPATRICK – Downpatrick’s workforce and residents are being urged to turn out in their thousands to support a community peace day tomorrow.

The Downtown Shopping Centre forecourt is the venue for the Thursday lunchtime demonstration which is one of a number of province-wide rallies being organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Billed as the “Community Day for Unifying Peace”, the event will get underway at 12.45pm and will last for around 30 minutes, with all the rallies aiming to have a symbolic one minute’s silence at 1pm which will coincide with a similar silence in workplaces in the Republic of Ireland.

In addition to the workers’ event, the ICTU has also written to schools across the province appealing for a one minute silence at 11am, and for teachers to brief pupils so they are aware of the purpose of the community day.

The rally is expected to end at the sounding of local church bells.

KILLOUGH – A Killough Housing Executive scheme, with a local firm as main contractors, won a major award for good construction and design last Friday.

The 13 newly-built houses at Main Street and Bay Court in the village were selected for a regional prize in the Housing Design Awards, after being completed in December 1991 at a total cost of £370,000.

The main contractor for the houses, which judges said, “reinstate the original street frontage with simple charm”, was McGrady Bros., of Church Street, Downpatrick, and it was they who appointed sub-contractors.

CROSSGAR – A battalion of Ulstermen died at the Somme and 98 year-old Hugh James Adams of Crossgar, saw it happen.

The full horror of mass death unfolded in front of the young stretcher-bearer, sent into the trenches of the killing fields to collect the dead and injured from July 1, 1916.

Then 21 years old, Mr Adams recalled last week the inexorable drag of the battle, the slaughter “beyond imagination” and its deep effect on families losing sons back here.

“After the soldiers went over the top on July 1, I was in the van on ambulance duty with another man from Belfast”, said Mr Adams. “There was an officer in charge from the Royal Albert Medical Corps.”

Positioned at Avaloy Forest, they were just behind the trenches, and were sent up to begin ferrying the wounded back.

“The first casualties I saw were from the 8th Battalion Riflemen, there were eight of them.”

“I saw too many”, he continued. “We were wiped out on July 1, the Ulster Battalion was wiped out.”

DOWNPATRICK – A team of top American educationalists was at Knockevin School in Downpatrick last week for a unique course aimed at shining new light on the closed world of autism.

Professor Gary Mesibov and two colleagues from the University of North Carolina were joined by autism teachers from all over Northern Ireland to learn more about new techniques and methods which are revolutionising the way autistic children are taught.

That Knockevin was chosen as the venue is a major tribute to the school’s efforts in working with autistic children over the years and one which Professor Mesibov was quick to point out.

“This is a magnificent school in all respects. The facilities are second to none and the teachers are top class. I think everyone in the Downpatrick area should be immensely proud of what is going on here,” he remarked.

BALLYNAHINCH – Five months of traffic chaos is set to come to Ballynahinch, it was revealed this week.

New roundabouts, watermains and ongoing resurfacing work means traffic restrictions will be in place until next March.

The work is being carried out by the Department of the Environment’s Water and Roads Service branches and will take place in the commercial heart of the town centre.

In addition to major resurfacing work at Church Road, a new watermain is to be laid along High Street, between Dromore Street and Lisburn Street, work which has been brought forward to coincide with the introduction of a new traffic management system.

Two new roundabouts are also to be constructed at Dromore Street and Lisburn Street in a bid to ease traffic flow, and this work is expected to commence early in the New Year.

SAINTFIELD – The organisers of last week’s hunt in Saintfield have been exonerated from any blame following the death of a stag at a farm.

USPCA officials and local police have now completed their enquiries and no charges are to be brought against anyone following the incident on November 6.

A full picture of what happened on land owned by Mr Noel Dick has now been established following four days of extensive interviews.

Mr Francis Fox, the USPCA’s chief of inspectors, said last Friday that the stag being chased by the huntsmen ended up on land belonging to Mr Dick.

“The organisers of the event did not have permission to be on Mr Dick’s land and he tried to catch the animal which was in an exhausted state,” he said.

“Mr Dick put a rope around the animal’s neck, unaware that it had a sensitive windpipe. The animal collapsed and died within a matter of seconds.

DOWNPATRICK – A family of three had a lucky escape on Sunday night after what police describe as a malicious fire attack at their Pegasus Walk home in Downpatrick.

A woman and her two daughters, aged nine and five months, were forced to climb from a first-floor bedroom window as flames engulfed the front door and part of the downstairs hallway.

The Fire Brigade was called to the scene at 10.30pm after the fire was discovered at the front door. The attackers waited until the family were in bed before starting the blaze.

The woman was taken to hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and local fire chief, Mr Billy Eason, said the family were very lucky to escape.

ARDGLASS – Planners have this week given the go-ahead for work to commence on a new £1m state-of-the-art fish processing plant in Ardglass, which is set to create up to 25 new jobs.

The application, by Mr Kenneth Kennedy, was rubber-stamped on Monday night’s meeting of Down Council and work on the new plant at the village’s Strangford Road, is expected to commence in early 1994.

Last September, Mr Kennedy’s plans were questioned by several councillors who felt the views of people in the Seaview area – who were objecting to the development – should also be heard.

However, the council finally agreed to back the plan which has also received the support of the South Down MP, Mr Eddie McGrady.

The new factory, which will be constructed on a greenfield site, will meet stringent new European Community hygiene standards and although Mr Kennedy has received financial backing from LEDU, he is meeting over 60 per cent of the development costs.

KILLYLEAGH – Work on a new £120,000 surgery in Killyleagh is expected to begin in the New Year, it has emerged.

Tenders for the scheme are to be lodged before the end of the month and the project is expected to be completed by next June.

The design work has been drawn up by the local firm of PCC Design and the company will be responsible for overseeing the successful completion of the scheme at the town’s Downpatrick Road.

The present premises at the town’s High Street do not lend themselves to the needs of modern medicine and the Killyleagh GPs are confident that their new surgery will allow them to offer an even better service to their patients.

Dr Ultan Magill explained that the present cramped conditions are no longer suitable and revealed that the staircase in the building presented difficulties for the elderly.