THIS week’s look through the Tele archives takes us back 15 years, when more than a thousand homes and business across Greenock were hit by two power cuts in one day.
A cable fault at the Finnart Street sub station just after 9am left 500 customers and many Oak Mall shops without electricity for almost two hours.
Scottish Power crews fixed the problem, but a second, unconnected fault at the Baker Street station caused another blackout across 600 properties.
Lauren Balfe, owner of Café Balfe on West Blackhall Street, said: “It’s been a nightmare. We usually have around 80 customers for lunch but we’ve had to turn people away.
“This is our busiest time of day — we must have lost around £400 in takings.”
Elsewhere, a specialist school unit for children with speech and language difficulties won a last minute reprieve from the axe.
A meeting of councillors was asked to rubber stamp a proposal to switch services into mainstream schools, which would have sounded a death knell for the school age language unit based at Highlanders’ Academy.
The popular facility was granted a stay of execution while more research and consultation took place into provision for the pupils it served.
Parent Mary Greig, who had gathered around 800 signatures on a petition to save the SALU, said: “I am over the moon the council has agreed to look again at this.
“They are going to examine what other councils do and then properly consult parents afterwards, so we will get a proper say in things this time.”
In other news, Tele readers did their bit to solve the mystery of a missing Greenock street.
River Clyde homes found a document from 1946 which mentioned Boyd Street, but nobody at the organisation was familiar with where the road was.
Keen to find out more, staff at the social landlord made an appeal in the Tele, asking readers to contact them at an upcoming exhibition in Oak Mall.
Duncan Paul, from Port Glasgow, brought a 1935-1936 Greenock and District Directory to the event in a bid to help find the street.
It was discovered that the close to the Tele offices on Crawfurd Street, sitting between Clarence Street and Ker Street.
The newspaper’s cartoonist Tom Johnstone also recalled sketching the junction of Crawfurd Street and Boyd Street when his family lived there.
He said: “I did the pencil sketch in the mid-50s. It was a very active place at that time.”
Meanwhile, a day of charity fundraising was held in Branchton to support a local family.
The event at Branchton Community Centre, organised by Thomas Boyle and Margaret Wallace, raised more than £1,100 for the House That Max Built Fund.
The fund was set up to support the family of five-year-old Max Reid, who was living with cerebral palsy and epilepsy.
Thomas said: “The whole day was well worth the effort every one put in to organising it.
“Max’s mum and dad, Nicola and Paul, brought him and the family along to the gala day and everyone had a great time.”
In sport, Morton’s chairman denied strong rumours that Dundee United were set to sign midfielder Jim McAlister.
Douglas Rae said: “I know nothing about that. There is no chance of him going unless the price is right.
“He’s been here since 2004 and they’re not just coming along and lifting him.
“Motherwell came to us a while back with an offer of £25,000 and we turned it down flat.
“Then they increased it to £30,000 but there was no chance of him going for that.”
McAlister remained at the club until the end of the 2009/10 season and then went on join Hamilton Accies, but he would eventually return to Cappielow in 2018 to complete his playing career.
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