A FISHY tale in Fort William has left a football-daft youngster mystified.

A MASTERPLAN has been unveiled for a massive housing development at Caol.

THERE’S a real buzz in and around Fort William this week, with hundreds of motorcycle trial riders and their support teams in the area for the Scottish Six Days Trial.

A MAJOR project to upgrade water mains in the village of Glencoe has been postponed after a successful appeal by residents and traders.

MOUNTAIN bike enthusiasts will be able to test their skills, strength and stamina on a world championship course from this weekend, with the opening of the downhill track at Nevis Range, near Fort William.

THE Lochaber branch of Crossroads Caring Scotland has received a massive funding boost to provide additional respite support for families of disabled children.

THE absence of usable tennis courts in Fort William is a “disgrace”, according to community councillors in the town.

WITH one almighty bang at 10am yesterday (Wednesday), an era in Lochaber's industrial heritage came to a sudden end.

LOCAL councillors are demanding answers following the collapse of Fort William-based print company, Nevisprint Limited.

HIGHLAND Council has this week given a categorical assurance that the public will be fully consulted over the planned £80million Fort William waterfront development.

EIGHTY riders from throughout Scotland turned out on Saturday for a 10-mile time trial in memory of Fort William cyclist Jason MacIntyre.

COMMUNITIES in South Lochaber are to be asked for ideas on how Glencoe Hospital could be used to meet their future needs when NHS Highland closes the facility.

THE much-anticipated meeting between the Scottish transport minister, Stewart Stevenson, and representatives of the A82 Partnership, the group campaigning for the upgrading of the A82, has been postponed.

THE Isle of Eigg Historical Society has deposited approximately 3,000 photographs with the Highland Council's Lochaber Archive Service.

SIX months on from Highland Council's decision to proceed with the controversial Fort William waterfront development, the Lochaber News has learned there will be no public consultation prior to the local authority concluding an agreement with its preferred developer.

FOUR thoughtful youngsters staged their own triathlon, raising over £500 which they will donate to the Jason MacIntyre Memorial Fund.

A THREATENED St George's Day "invasion" of Lochaber by fathers' rights campaigners appears to have been foiled by the LN and local police.

A CAMPAIGN for a stand-alone Gaelic school in Fort William has been launched by parents.

DRIVERS are being warned to expect delays on the A82 at Glencoe from tomorrow during bridge replacement works.

THE A82 trunk road has been branded "a national disgrace" by Lochaber MSP Fergus Ewing.

IT is now four years since the pioneering Lochaber Pubwatch initiative was launched, with licensees throughout the region joining forces with the key aim of achieving a safe, secure social drinking environment in pubs, clubs and hotel bars.

POLICE are on high alert after a plot for a extraordinary protest in Lochaber next week by the controversial Fathers 4 Justice campaign group came to light.

RESIDENTS of the Plantation in Fort William and those in other areas are being encouraged to join forces to bring about improvements to their local communities.

A DOCUMENT produced by the Scottish Government earlier this year has excluded the A82 from its strategic road maps of Scotland.

AS if to prove that a Highlander is prepared to go to any lengths to secure the car of his choice, Jamie Ball has just completed a round trip of 1,100 miles to buy his Alfa Romeo.

A NEW archive centre for Lochaber has been formally opened by Donald Cameron of Lochiel, Lord Lieutenant of Inverness-shire.

THE floral scheme for Spean Bridge and Roy Bridge will be bigger and better than ever this year, say the organisers.

FIRST year pupils at Kinlochleven High School embarking on a new project have found themselves in a sticky situation!

MORE than 800 mountain bikers are expected to take part in a gruelling endurance series which kicks off in Fort William later this year.

ANGRY bus passengers are demanding a rethink over recently-introduced timetables which some have described as an "absolute joke".

CURRENT and former members of staff at a Fort William hotel have hit back at astonishing claims of racism and theft made by one of the establishment's former owners.

A HECTIC period for Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team continued at the weekend, when three climbers were plucked to safety off Ben Nevis in two separate incidents.

A RECORD-breaking 8,555 people have backed an online petition demanding the upgrade of the notorious A82 trunk road.

A SENIOR civil servant moved from a North development agency to a top £100,000-a-year job at Highland Council this week – and also picked up a £138,000 payment from the public purse on the way.

A NEW working group, set up to examine political arrangements within Highland Council, is to survey all 80 members of the local authority to gauge opinion on the current structure.

VOLUNTEERS who have restored Spean Bridge railway station gardens to their former glory have been rewarded with a plaque naming it as the most improved station on the Highland rail network.

INCREASED patrols and "good old fashioned detective work" have led to significant progress being made in tackling vandalism, Lochaber's police chief said this week.