Central Fife Times
Gran tragically dies after being turned away by her GP
A COWDENBEATH woman was turned away from her local GP surgery while experiencing a heart attack, and went on to tragically die. The family of 73-year-old Catherine Brady say staff at Cowdenbeath Medical Practice failed to recognise her symptoms,...
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‘Disgraceful’ level of crime on railways
A “DISGRACEFUL” level of crime has been reported on train journeys through Fife with more than 300 incidents in the past year. They included assaults, sexual and racist abuse, carrying a weapon, theft and vandalism. According to ScotRail, 334...
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Breathing life back into empty homes
A NEW ‘matchmaker’ scheme is helping bring empty Fife homes back into use. The plan includes a new national portal, designed to connect empty homeowners across Scotland with potential buyers and developers, is being adopted by Fife Council as part of...
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Anger after historic train hit by vandals
IT took less than a week for a historic mining train to be vandalised following its return to Lochore Meadows. The locomotive had just been restored free of charge by engineers at Smeaton Services Fife (SSF), but it soon had two sets of initials...
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Plea for timetable over station improvements
COUNCILLORS want Network Rail to tell them when long-delayed improvements to three railway stations will arrive. Representatives from the company will be invited to the Cowdenbeath area committee to answer questions about the facilities and...
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Youth worker struck off over crime spree
A SUPPORT worker from Central Fife has been struck off for violent and high-risk offences. Kelly Peattie, a children and young people’s support worker from Auchterderran, was removed from the professional register after convictions for fire-raising,...
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Man avoids jail after sexually assaulting girl
AN eight-year-old girl was sexually assaulted as she walked to school in Dunfermline with her brother. Her attacker walked free from Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court last Thursday, November 27. She was targeted by Kai Groborz as she walked along a lane in...
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CRYPTIC
ACROSS 5 It keeps locks in good order (9) The way in which you’ll have to reverse (3-2-3) You drunks hold back language (4) Shoe, but no top, for the rascal (5) Fluttering dove Edward became strongly attached to (7) Cowboy to quaver about nothing...
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Traders fear for future of small local businesses following fire
A LOCHGELLY café owner has said she doesn’t know if her business will exist after Christmas due to disruption from the old cinema fire. As previously reported in the Times, the former Lochgelly Cinema on Bank Street went up in flames back in...
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Couple mark seven decades of marriage
HILL OF BEATH couple, Ellen and George Turnbull, celebrated 70 years of marriage on October 29. The pair married in 1955 in St Andrew’s Cathedral, Dundee, and now have a loving family, including a greatgreat grandchild and nine...
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Plan for 900 homes takes step forward
PLANS which will see around 900 new homes built in Kelty over the next 15 years have taken a step forward. Members of Fife Council’s West and Central Planning Committee approved an approval of matters specified in conditions application for the...
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Youth disorder leaves residents ‘scared to go out at night’
COWDENBEATH residents are reportedly “scared to go out at night” due to youth disorder plaguing the town’s streets. Police officers were attacked during an “appalling” night of violence involving up to 50 individuals on Thursday, October 16. A...
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Neighbour from hell ‘traumatised’ baby and family
A BABY was left “traumatised” by the behaviour of a “neighbour from hell”, who subjected Lochore residents to violence, threats and intimidation. Dawn Smith, 39, was jailed earlier this month for an array of crimes such as smashing windows and...
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Family is left ‘living in fear’ from vandals
THE mother of two autistic children says her house is being targeted by vandals daily in Ballingry.
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Fire-ravaged cinema set to be demolished
A FORMER cinema building in Lochgelly severely damaged by a fire will be demolished. The premises on Bank Street were seen ablaze last week on Friday, September 19. Fife Council’s building standards team have been liaising with engineers since to...
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CRYPTIC
ACROSS 5 8 9 10 11 13 15 18 19 20 Courageous person, one with pride and male cunning (9) A mistral blows over scaremonger (8) Necessary time to remove bottle (4) Weight of vegetable announced (5) American money artist left at the core (7) Pet...
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Calls made halt plans to axe Lochgelly engine
A SENIOR Fife councillor has made fresh calls for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service to shelve current consultation on proposals which would see a fire appliance lost at Lochgelly. Speaking at the Cowdenbeath Area Committee, Cllr Alex Campbell...
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Children were abandoned for ‘days at a time’
A WOMAN admitted neglecting and abandoning three children, leaving them without adequate food or clean clothing. The 48-year-old repeatedly left the youngsters, who were aged between 7 and 11, without supervision, adequate food, or clean...
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Tireless Elaine ’leads by example’ as volunteer
A TIRELESS community volunteer has been honoured for her dedication to improving the environment. Elaine Collins, from Cardenden, was named the winner of the Community Champion Award by the Scottish Civic Trust. The award recognises her volunteer...
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A peak achievement for Ballingry woman
A WOMAN from Ballingry has conquered Africa’s highest peak, raising £1,838 for Alzheimers Scotland in the process. Over the course of a week, Megan McShane, 36, scaled the iconic dormant volcano, Mount Kilimanjaro, which stands at a whopping 5,895...
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Residents are ‘living in fear’ on own street
RESIDENTS of a Cowdenbeath street have been “living in fear for over a decade” due to persistent issues around drug dealing and antisocial behaviour. One person described lying in bed “terrified” due to criminal activity in the town’s Arthur...
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‘Stop deaths at Meadows’
A CARDENDEN woman is calling for stricter safety measures at a Fife beauty spot “to prevent further heartbreak” after her own friend lost his life there. Dana Paterson has been calling for improvements since the death of her friend, Keivan Ulhaq, in...
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Councillor ‘far from convinced’ by plans
COWDENBEATH councillor Darren Watt has expressed his concerns about plans for a solar farm at Mossmorran. Eden Renewables proposals for farmland next to the gas plants includes a battery energy storage system and a public consultation event was held...
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‘My heart sank... all I could see was flames’
A WEST FIFE business owner has been left “devastated” after more than £15,000 worth of equipment perished during a fire in Cowdenbeath. George Thompson, 58, has been in charge of AC Wizard Auto Air Conditioning since 2011, and was using a friend’s...
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End of an era
COWDENBEATH’S Rennies bus depot closed its doors for the last time on Friday, causing two dozen job losses. The site was controlled by Stagecoach and located in the town’s Broad Street. One former employee told the Times of “bitterness” amongst...
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Alexander will be ‘forever missed’
THE family of a teenager who died at Lochore Meadows have paid tribute to their “much loved son” who will be “forever missed”. Alexander McNab, 15, went missing whilst paddleboarding at the park on Saturday, prompting a major search operation. His...
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Young boxers win gold at GB Championships
COWDENBEATH’S young boxers did their country proud at the GB Three Nations Championships, taking home two gold medals. The Beath Boxing Club (BBC) members gained an equal number of silvers after traveling to Cardiff late last month to take on...
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‘Enjoy life and make the most of what you have’
A FORMER Land Girl has celebrated her 100th birthday. Margaret Harrower marked her centenary with family and friends, including the provost and the deputy lord lieutenant, who presented a card on behalf of King Charles and Queen Camilla. Born in...
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Two kids abducted
TWO brothers took the law into the own hands when the living room window of their parents’ home was smashed by vandals. They tracked down two youngsters – aged 12 and 13 – they suspected were involved, pulled them out of a shop and took them for a...
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Charity fraudster to repay £36,000
A WOMAN jailed for stealing thousands of pounds from a Central Fife children’s charity and a coffee firm has been ordered to repay more than £36,000. Beverley Bennie, 37, was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment after she embezzled a total of £96,371...
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Babyshower ‘quickly’ turns to violence
A BABYSHOWER attended by feuding families ended in violence with a mum being punched and a gran having her essential feeding tube dislodged. There was hostility between the relatives of the couple having the baby throughout what should have been a fun...
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Victim pulled by hair into car by her ex
A WOMAN was abducted in a Fife street, grabbed by the hair, pulled from a car, dragged into another vehicle and driven off against her will. The abduction was committed in Lumphinnans by Romanian David Stancu against his former partner. Stancu, 29,...
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From Shetland down to Penzance for Seescape
A FIFE man will complete one of the longest public transport journeys in the UK in honour of a charity that supports people with sight loss. Kris Baillie will travel between Shetland and Penzance in Cornwall, a journey spanning more than 3,200 miles,...
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Woodland damaged by thugs on dirt bikes
A CARDENDEN volunteer has hit out at quad bike-riding vandals after restoration work at Bowhill Woods was damaged within hours. The maintenance of Bowhill Community Woodland was taken on last year by Cardenden Walking Club. Since June 2024, members...
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Plan for Cowdenbeath orchard is bearing fruit
A COWDENBEATH charity group has been given a £3,000 grant to transform an orchard into an inclusive community space. The Knights Templar Goodwill Charity of Scotland (KTGCS) received the funding from the Asda Foundation to improve wheelchair and...
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Council workers set to consider strike action
FIFE COUNCIL workers are to be issued with strike ballots in a pay dispute. Unison, Scotland’s largest union, announced that it will ask its members across the country about industrial action, in what it described as the largest vote of its kind in...
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Sex offender torched cars
A MAN who had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl then torched her family’s cars as community tensions rose. The 28-year-old, from Cardenden, was jailed when he appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video-link from prison for...
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Mother bids to repay hospital
A MUM from Lochore is raising funds for the hospital which saved the life of her baby son. Lauren Connelly, 30, has organised a football match in aid of Glasgow Children’s Hospital, where her wee boy, Jude Hodge, underwent open heart surgery when he...
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Fifers to trek 80 miles for Andy’s Man Club
AN ADVENTUROUS group of Central Fifers will take on an all-night trek through the Highlands to raise money for men’s mental health support. It will take the men through the night as they walk over 80 miles from the city of Inverness to Loch Ness,...
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Crackdown on rogue off-roaders
THE leader of Fife Council has spoken to the Kingdom’s top cop about the best way to tackle the “nuisance” of off-road bikers tearing up pavements, streets, paths and parks. Cllr David Ross and Chief Superintendent Derek McEwan have agreed to form a...
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Inside this week’s Boxing club aiming to help get kids off the streets - P5
Event helps raise £2k for Cowdenbeath FC - P16-17
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‘Heartbreaking’ abuse at care home revealed
A COWDENBEATH woman has called for change in care homes after secretly recording her mum’s mistreatment in a Fife care home. Nurse Nicola Hughes became so worried about what was happening to her mum, Jannette Ritchie, from Ballingry, that she set up a...
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Café looks back at year since opening
A CAFÉ just outside Crossgates has spoken about some of their latest changes just a year after opening. As previously reported in the Times, Ray Fagan opened up Woodlea Café and Bistro, at the Woodlea Stables just outside the village in February last...
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Fife families braced for council tax hike
FIFERS face an 8.2 per cent hike in council tax from April. The Labour administration said the “significant increase” was painful but would amount to around 50 pence a week extra on average bills and was necessary to pay for council services we all...
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‘We can’t bulldoze Lochgelly Town Hall for a car park’
THE “worst thing” Fife Council could do is to demolish Lochgelly Town Hall and replace it with a car park. That was the blunt assessment from Councillor Bailey-Lee Robb while Cllr Mary Lockhart said the local authority had “ignored” the building and...
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MAYBE SHARK?
Add a little teeth to the spring cleaning with a chance to win vacuum cleaner
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Waste ‘dumping’ row at Lochgelly nursery
A DISPUTE between a Lochgelly nursery and a Fife-based waste management service could end in a legal case. Noah’s Ark Nursery on Auchterderran Road took to social media last week to inform their neighbours that the waste - containing dirty nappies and...
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Power lines and ‘more than 100 trees’ brought down by storm
STORM Éowyn brought down power lines and “more than 100 trees” in Lochore Meadows Country Park. And there were reports of locals coming in to the Meedies with “chainsaws” and cutting trees for firewood, which Fife Council said was “extremely...
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Inside this week’s
Football community remembers late Cowden FC director Jimmy Calderwood Businessman Gordon Banks has written a warning letter to the Prime Minister
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Shoplifting is now ‘unbearable’ for Cardenden store
A Cardenden store has said that shoplifting incidents have become “unbearable”. The Nisa Local in the town’s Station Road has written on Facebook of the “increasing day by day” theft that has taken place in the shop. Their Facebook post stated: “We...
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Whistleblower lifts the lid on thefts from Kids Come First
THE whistleblower who uncovered embezzlement of funds at Kids Come First in Ballingry has shared how she found out about the theft. Michelle MacGregor was working as a manager at the childcare facility when she realised something wasn’t right with the...
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£200m funding cut likely in Fife
FIFE Council’s leader believes they will have to cut £200 million from the budget they use to fix roads, tackle flooding and improve schools. Councillor David Ross also warned that some local authorities are set to hike council tax by 10 per cent to...
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Murderer earns more time in jail over assault
A MURDERER who has already spent more than 14 years in jail has had an extra eight months added to her sentence - for punching a prison guard on the nose
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Anger at stalled 200 homes plan
A CENTRAL Fife councillor has called for answers over a delay to restarting work on an affordable housing development in Lumphinnans. First Endeavour LLP downed tools on the site – along with ones in Lochore, Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy – at the end of...
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Nazi vandalism blights Benarty
‘HORRIFIC AND VILE’ graffiti of swastikas and the words “kill n ***** ” has been tagged on trees up Benarty Hill. The graphic vandalism was spotted on multiple trees in the wooded area of Gruoch’s Well (also known as Grouch’s Well), which is close to...
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Official opening of £150k new playground in Lumphinnans
A NEW £150,000 play area has officially opened for children. The new park in Hope Street, Lumphinnans, was officially opened in a ceremony recently but has been operational since the start of the month. Fife Council describes the park as a ‘safe...
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Harris packs a punch to land another win
A LOCHGELLY boxing starlet is set to head into a major championship on the back of winning a sixth successive bout. Harris Folks, who celebrated his 16th birthday last month, is set to compete in an ‘Eastern Regions’ event hosted by Boxing Alliance...
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No child should ever go without
THE Central Fife Times and Dunfermline Press are launching our Christmas Toy Appeal for 2024 - and we need your help! In the past, the people of West and Central Fife have never been afraid to show their generosity when helping those in need with our...
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Pupil almost hit by car at school with ‘failed’ traffic ban
A PUPIL was almost hit by a car just days before Fife Council confirmed an 18 month trial to ban traffic outside the school hasn’t worked. And councillors pointed the finger at parents for the failure of the pilot scheme at Denend Primary School in...
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Inside this week’s CALL FOR SUPPORT ............. P10
A Lochore cycling club is looking for volunteers after their campaign during Women and Girls in Sport Week Bingo hall owner prepares to re-open business more than year after closure
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Cardenden villagers prepared for Remembrance Day
THIS year’s Remembrance Day event in Cardenden will take place midmorning on Sunday, November 10. The parade, led by a piper, will leave the Railway Tavern, in Cardenden Road, at 10.40am, on its way to the War Memorial in Woodend Road, where the...
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Rapist was taken down with posts on social media
A KELTY rapist who attacked five women has been jailed for six years. Darren Gibson, 32, was brought to justice after one of his victims used social media to gather the evidence needed to put him away. She urged other women who had been targeted to...
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Shock after body found in Lochgelly
A LOCHGELLY street was closed off by the police after a man’s body was found. Officers sealed off North Street while CID and forensics carried out inquiries from around 8am until almost 11am on Thursday. No further details have been released about...
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Raising park cash w As child’s play
THE much anticipated Keirs Brae playpark in Cardenden has officially opened, with local children and residents celebrating the occasion. It’s the result of months of hard work by local residents, helped by the community and various organisations. A...
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Kelty rapist jailed for nine years
A SELF pitying rapist from Kelty who was caught after his victims told police about the “terrible secrets” they were forced to keep has been jailed. Alexander Hunter, 66, was given a nine year prison term on Thursday for sexually abusing two little...
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