North Edinburgh News – Page 3106 – The NEN

Pilton has never sucked

This letter was received to the NEN from an anonymous source.

I would like to commend the North Edinburgh News Blog for allowing people to express their opinions. I was a reader of a Blog called ‘Pilton Sucks’. Now this Blog was written by someone who had complete control of the site and it seemed that no one was allowed to reply.

I have kept a dossier of posts made on the Pilton Sucks site, and have copies of many posts that have been very personal and slanderous to politicians, local workers and to community activists ofNorth Edinburghand beyond. I have been in consultation wit I.T experts and they are of the opinion that it would not be difficult to ascertain the author or administrator of the Pilton Sucks website.

I am now talking to the appropriate authorities to look into the activities of this site. I am also asking people who have been spoken about slanderously to bring this matter to the fore in order that the author of Pilton Sucks is revealed to their identity.

If there are any readers who have been wrongly named in Pilton Sucks then lease make it known. It looks like that I have a chance of clearing all the names mentioned as wrong doing in the eyes of Pilton Sucks.

Regards,

Pilton has never sucked.

Councillor Morris to face Hearing following complaint

North Edinburgh News understand that the a Hearing will be held next month, following an investigation by the Standards Commission, into complaints received about her conduct.

We understand that the complaint is in relation to an email sent by Councillor Morris, to over twenty members on the email list of the Granton & District Community Council, where she leaked information about a private companies financial matters with the Council.

According to the Standards Commission website it confirms the Hearing stating “Complaints LA/E/1098 & 1108 allege that Councillor Elaine Morris contravened the Councillors’ Code of Conduct (version December 2010) and, in particular paragraphs 3.14 and 3.15 which deal with General Conduct: Confidentiality Requirements.”

Its our understanding that the Hearing will take place on Tuesday 22nd November 2011 starting at 9.30 am and will take place in the Best Western Edinburgh Capital Hotel on Clermiston Road.

Granton community Council meeting halted amid allegations

The North Edinburgh News has today learned that the next meeting of the Granton & District Community Council has been halted amid allegations against members and the Community Council in general.

In a statement issued by the group Secretary, Isobel Macdonald, it states “Due to fact that some allegations have been made against certain members of the Community Council and the Community Council in general and that an investigation is under way into these, it is prudent that we postpone the next meeting until the picture becomes clearer.”

Its not been confirmed what the allegations are but North Edinburgh News understands that some local people were unhappy with the way in which the last meeting was conducted.

Local Councillor Cammy Day said “I have had a number of allegations made to me, around the financial decision making process and behaviour of some members, of Granton District Community Council. As a result I have asked that the Chief Executive investigate these issues and provide a full report on these allegations.”

He continued “I hope that this will highlight any concerns and allow any required action to be taken to allow Granton District Community Council to get on with representing the Granton area community, and the people that live there.”

Dead canoeist named as local man

The canoeist killed in last nights tragic accident has been named as local man Michael Tattersall, 29, from West Granton Road.

Forth coastguard was alerted by police at 22:30 on Sunday after a caller said two canoeists and two swimmers were in difficulty near Granton.

The swimmers made it ashore and one canoeist was found just before 23:00, after a search of the coastline.

Mr Tattersall was said to have been unconscious and suffering from hypothermia when he was found.

The other people involved are believed to be men aged in their 30s.

Local Councillor Cammy Day said “Its tragic that someone died in last nights incident. My thoughts go out to Mr Tattersalls family and friends”

Canoeist dies after three-hour search in Firth of Forth at Gypsy Brae

A canoeist has died after a three hour rescue search of the Firth of Forth, at Granton last night.

Forth coastguard were

alerted by police at 22:30 on Sunday after a caller said two canoeists and two swimmers were in difficulty near Granton.

The swimmers made it ashore and one canoeist was found just before 23:00, after a search of the coastline.

An RAF rescue helicopter found the second canoeist at about 01:00. He was flown to hospital but later died.

The man was said to have been unconscious and suffering from hypothermia when he was found.

All the people involved were believed to be men aged in their 30s.

Locals unhappy with Councilors comment

Please see below a letter received from Muirhouse Womans Group.

Dear Editor

We are writing to you regarding an article in the Evening News on 1^st September about a leaked email in which Councillor Elaine Morris described members of our community in North Edinburgh (which she represents) as ‘rabid’ and ‘anti-establishment’.

councillor morris protest picture — A rep from Muirhouse Womans Groups makes her feelings know at a recent protest

We looked up ‘rabid’ in the dictionary. One of the definitions is ‘fanatical’. This is very insulting, as it implies that the local people who organised the public meeting to inform our community about the Council’s proposals to privatise services are stupid. We are very angry and disgusted that Cllr Morris has such a low opinion of local people who are trying to protect the services our community needs.

In the email, Cllr Morris referred to members of our community as ‘anti-establishment’. If this means speaking up for our community, voicing our opinions, standing up for our rights and trying to make our community a better place to live, then we plead guilty. We are disappointed that Cllr Morris appears to think that our community should just accept the cuts happening in our area, and not question the decisions that the Council are making. We have the right and the duty to protect our community.

We met Cllr Morris earlier this year to discuss our concerns about the Government’s welfare reforms after our letters to David Cameron went unanswered. During the meeting, we explained that we were trying to make our community a better place to live. We thought, as our Cllr, she understood this.

We would like to remind Cllr Morris that freedom of speech is a human right which people in this community are entitled to regardless of race, nationality, sexuality or social class.

Yours sincerely

Sara Martin

On behalf of Muirhouse Women’s Group

Community response to Granton & District Community Council meeting

The following letter was received from a member of the community following their visit to the Granton & District Community Council meeting. NEN have written to the Community Council to give them an opportunity to respond.

I attended Granton &District Community Council meeting last night (September 21) never in all my years as an activist have I experienced such bullying and deceitfulness from people who are suppose to represent my area. Firstly George Gordon misinformed the meeting by claiming that the Community Council had been involved in a garden project withinCrewe Road West. This is untrue Crewe Excluded Residents through a Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (NIP) secured funding themselves for this project. Crewe Excluded Residents do not engage with the Community Council, therefore they are trying to claim credit for something they did not have a part in . Disgusting and untrustworthy. The chair Fred Marinello stated that the Community Council is not a political group, and yet key members are standing at the next council elections. Surely a vested interest?

The Chair of the meeting surely brought the Community Council into disrepute by bullying members of the group. Two Forth Ward Councilors sitting at this meeting must wonder what is going on within this Community Council .Fred Marinello constantly harassed and “bullied” members not allowing people to speak. Members of the community attended this meeting for the first time were shocked at the constant aggression that was carried out at this meeting. Cllr Steve Cardownie pointed out to the Chair about his aggressiveness and yet it continued. The Community Council spent £1700 of public money on 3 laptops what group needs 3 laptops? Surely this is a waste of money when cuts all over the city are being made? The Community Council could not justify or produce minutes from previous discussions about the amount of money spent. This is not acceptable this is really bad management. Lack of accountability makes a mockery of our democracy. . I certainly do not have faith in this community council to represent the community of Granton and local community.

Anna Hutchison

Strollers win game of seesaw

STROLLERS progressed to the third round of the Image Printers Cup despiteLeithgoing two up within ten minutes.

The game was settled with a penalty in injury time and Strollers boss Garry Aitchison said: “It was frustrating going two behind in the opening minutes but I knew we had the firepower within the team to stage a comeback. I knew if we could get one goal back we had a chance of doing it.

“I am disappointed with the goals that we lost and we need to work on that.

“Danny Rennie scored two great goals to level it for us. Leith kept coming at us, when we went a goal in front I thought it would have settled up a bit but, fair play to Leith, they never gave up and I think we lost a sloppy third goal.

“I will take the victory but we do have things to work on. But the bottom line is that we are through to the next round. I must give credit to the players who fought back after going behind so early on in the game.

“Up front for us has been difficult as so far we haven’t been able to put out regular team, we have a few players out and its been hard. I am delighted with the result but not so delighted with the performance, but at the end of the day we are through to the next round. We now have to concentrate on this week’s Scottish Cup tie.”

Strollers almost took the lead when Chris Inglis broke away and his shot was netbound until Matthew Banks somehow managed to get a hand on the ball and push it over the bar.

Then some slack defending from Strollers gifted Greg Tulloch with an opportunity and the young striker slotted the ball into the net. A few minutes later Tulloch broke the offside trap and raced into the Strollers box then prodded the ball past the advancing keeper Stuart Burnside.

Strollers then went on the attack and when Danny Rennie was played in he went on a great attacking run and rounded Banks in the Leith goal before knocking the ball into the empty net. Rennie was again played in on the half-hour mark and his powerful shot arrowed into the back of the net leaving Banks with no chance.

Craig Anderson then put Strollers in front when Leith failed to clear the danger from a corner. Anderson picked the ball up on the edge of the box and his shot took a deflection as it went through a crowd of players and the ball trickled over the line. That lead didn’t last long however, and when Strollers failed to pick up Stephen Barrie from a corner he had the simple task of smashing the ball into the net to level it again.

Just as it looked like extra time was on the cards Strollers’ new signing Scott Gormley broke away and was fouled by Douglas Thom in the box with the referee awarding a penalty.

Gormley stepped up and converted the spot kick to seal the victory.

Leith Manager Derek Riddell said: “We went two up against the run of play, Civil had a lot of good chances early on. We then had a good spell of play and when were two up I think we switched off. When your playing against a good front line that Civil have you can’t afford to switch off and they pulled two back. I thought we were the better team in the second half, we had a slow start but I thought we created more chances and it was a sucker punch to loose a penalty late on in the game.

“We created lots of chances especially in the first half but we didn’t get the break of the ball. We have lacked in these breaks over the season and so far lots of things have gone against us in games. However, we are creating good chances and I would be more concerned if we weren’t creating chances.”

Leith Athletic: Banks, C Barrie, Black, Bremmer, Combe (Moonie 75), Lynch, Steven, Tainsh, Thom, Tracey (S Barrie 65), Tulloch. Subs: S Barrie, Moonie, Shield, Smith, Lawson.

Civil Service Strollers: Burnside, Fraser, Jack, Inglis, Dickson (Somerville 87), Campbell, Abbot (Lynch 77), Gormley, Rennie, MacBrayne, Anderson. Subs: Lynch, Wyman, Somerville, Hewitt, Cadger.

Leith Athletic 3

Civil Service Strollers 4

Taken from: http://edinburghnews.scotsman.com/sport/Strollers-win-game-of-seesaw.6838956.jp?articlepage=2

Bearded dragon dumped in local supermarket toilets

The owner of a bearded dragon dumped in a white bag in the toilets of an Edinburgh supermarket is being sought by animal welfare officers.

The adult male reptile was found in Morrisons on Pilton Drive on Sunday. He is now being cared for at the Scottish SPCA’s Edinburgh and Lothians Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre. If caught, the owner faces a maximum of six months in prison, a £5,000 fine or both.

Inspector June Chalcroft, of the Scottish SPCA, said: “The bearded dragon was discovered inside a white sack in the ladies toilets at about 17:00.”The shop would have been fairly busy at this time, so we’re hoping members of the public may have noticed someone, probably female, carrying the sack in to the store.

“There’s no excuse for throwing an animal away like it’s a piece of rubbish, but sadly animals are regularly dumped in all sorts of unusual places including public toilets.

“We see a lot of abandoned and unwanted exotic creatures coming into our care because people underestimate the hard work and knowledge required to look after these types of animals.

“Reptiles and bearded dragons in particular have very specific needs in terms of their environment, nutrition and care.”

Dream Fund offers £300,000 to projects in and around the capital

Charities and community groups across Edinburgh have been encouraged to apply for a newly announced £300,000 fund encouraging the third sector to work together.

The grant seeks to make ‘dream’ collaborative projects a reality for cash-strapped good causes across the country, and up to £100,000 per project will be distributed through the People’s Postcode Trusts’ special Dream Fund.

The scheme was devised to fill part of the funding gap left by government cuts.

Last year’s collaboration included the promotion and clean up of Edinburgh’s cycle paths, with a London Underground style cycle map (pictured) for the city created and distributed to well over 30,000 locals.

The Bike Station’s Mark Sydenham, who was part of the cycle project said: “We were convinced that this project could be an innovative way of mapping Edinburgh’s off-street cycle network and would help to make real difference to the way people view and think about cycling and travelling round the city.

“With the support of the Dream Fund we have created something which exceeded all our expectations.”

The map is already very well-established, with an interactive online version providing a real community focus for the network.

Conservation work along the paths with Edinburgh and Lothian’s Greenspace Trust is improving the paths and people’s involvement with them, and gives a real sense of ownership.”

An ‘Edible Gardening’ volunteer project at the Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh was also funded.

People’s Postcode Trust manager Clara Govier today called for charities and groups across Edinburgh and the rest of Scotland to apply for one of the three awards available, each worth up to £100,000.

She said: “Last year’s Dream Fund was a huge success, and we hope this year will see even more applications than before.

“In such a challenging economic climate the funding is a fantastic opportunity for many good causes to work together with other worthwhile organisations on innovative and exciting projects.”

To be eligible to apply for the Dream Fund, two or more organisations must collaborate on a project, one of which must be a registered charity. Shortlisted proposals will be invited to pitch their ideas to the People’s Postcode Trust’s trustees.

Prospective applicants can find out more information and details of the funding criteria at www.postcodetrust.org.uk

The closing date for the first round of funding is Friday, December 2.