MARCH is here and, if you ignore the snow, there are small signs that spring isn't too far away.

FORRES may be freezing again, but the war of words between old adversaries the Moray Council and the Mackenzie and Cruickshank Garden Centre appear to be hotting things up again.

IN the last few years, the economy has dominated the news agenda in Scotland, Britain and around the world.

PLANNING applications are a common occurrence in Forres as well as throughout Moray and the rest of the United Kingdom.

THE end of 2009 saw a period of bad news for Forres High Street with the proposed closure of the Tolbooth, businesses departing and a serious shoplifting problem all dominating the headlines of the 'Forres Gazette'.

THE last week has seen an increase in temperatures which has resulted in a thaw making a big difference to the region as some sort of normality seems to returning.

HEADING towards the middle of January 2010, the incredible low temperatures which have put the town and the rest of the country firmly in the icy grip of winter, seem to be easing a little with signs that the town is coming out of its state of hibernation.

TRIBUTES go this week to the unsung heroes who have been bringing vital services to people struggling in the face of the Arctic weather.

FROM ho, ho, ho, to snow, snow, snow... Yes, the big freeze is set to continue, and there is more on the way.

CHRISTMAS arrived early in Forres this week with the town transformed into a winter wonderland, delighting adults and children alike.

DECEMBER 2009 may go down as one of the most significant months for Forres, albeit not necessarily for the right reasons.

Among them are the council's budget proposals which have prompted a lot of interest from people living in Forres, with many readers expressing their opinions and saying exactly what they think about the proposals, and others making their own suggestions about how the council could save money.

THE switch-on of the Forres Christmas Lights this weekend is a sign that the festive season has arrived, and local businesses are looking forward to a profitable few weeks.

MORAY Council is urging people to make their views known about their proposed cost-savings with details of how they intend to save £20 million over four years being contained in a consultation document with a response form also available to download from their website.

MORAY Council is urging members of the public to contact them before December 5 to make their views known about cost-cutting proposals to local services which they have outlined in a consultation document.

FORRES is getting ready for another of its popular community "feel good" events with the annual bonfire and fireworks display which is taking place in Grant Park on Saturday evening.

FORRES is celebrating more success this week, with the news that a Forres businessman has won a prestigious award.

FORRES Community Council were officially appointed to the Royal Burgh last week with twelve people from the town pledging to do their best for Forres over the next four years in office.

FORRES people were sickened to hear that emergency services were dealing with another serious crash on the A96 near their town. Four people were taken to hospital, but the accident could easily have resulted in loss of life.

PARENTS of school-age children will be getting their thinking caps on with the October holidays looming.

THREE things have brought a little extra hope and inspiration to the Forres area this week.

FORRES never seems to stand still, there is always something happening as the town continues to grow and presses ahead with various projects.

A WEEK is a long time in politics and it probably seems like an age for the people of Moray who suffered flooding just over a week ago.

FORRES residents welcomed the official opening of the £21 million Forres (Mosset Burn) flood alleviation scheme last week which aims to protect homes and businesses downstream from inundation by the Mosset in times of heavy rainfall.

LAST week the issue of the Forres Health Centre was dominating this column, and this week the issue of dental health is proving to be an equal pain in the proverbials.

A BADLY-needed facility which would serve the town and surrounding area could be considered by Moray Council planners early next month.

FOLLOWING last month's flash floods, when foul water came back up road drains unable to cope, and parts of Forres were yet again inundated, neither Moray Council nor Scottish Water were prepared to say who had responsibility for the drains in the affected areas.

THE glorious floral displays that grace most corners of Forres, already well-known around Scotland and the UK, moved onto a bigger stage last week when the judging panel for Entente Floral Europe arrived in town.

HOPEFULLY by the time the "Gazette" hits the streets, Europe in Bloom judges will be heading home this morning (Wednesday) with a great impression of Forres, giving it every chance of success, and Forres in Bloom members can breathe a sigh of relief.

THE weather often dominates this column due to the fact that so many community events depend upon it, and can flounder because of it.

ONCE again the sun came out for Forres with the Highland Games being the latest community event to benefit from brilliant weather, which encouraged a great crowd and made a great spectacle for locals and visitors alike.

NO SOONER had they finished clearing up the bunting at the end of Scottish Week, than there was more drama in the town, but no-one was celebrating anything.

ORGANISERS of this year's Benromach Forres Scottish Week are all smiles after glorious weather, and wonderful support from the public and event sponsors, meant that the ten-day-long programme was delivered in true carnival style.

THE first of the events lined-up for the Benromach Forres Scottish Week got off to a great start on Saturday.

ARGUMENTS continue to rage over the two major developments planned for Forres – the £25 million supermarket and retail park on land at Bogton Road, and the hospital and health centre at Thornhill.

PLANS for two developments set to have a major impact on Forres are being lodged with Moray Council this week.

NOBODY is in any doubt that Forres, and the surrounding area, is badly in need of a new health centre and hospital facility.

WITH the Mosset Burn flood alleviation works set to finish in a couple of months – ahead of schedule – thoughts are now turning to to the next big project, the River Findhorn and Pilmuir Flood Alleviation Scheme.

ONCE again, the actions of a few have cast a shadow over the good name of Forres and its neighbours.

SOME people will be fed up reading about the proposed £25 million development on ground beside Bogton Road, but we make no apologies for returning to the subject this week.

IT'S been a long time coming, but now it seems Forres will have a new health centre and hospital facility within the next two years.

DALLAS youngsters – and their parents – have been highlighting the dangers posed by motor vehicles passing close to their school and down the main street of their village.

TWO development plans went on show to the public last week: one with a fanfare of trumpets and two public information meetings, the other with barely a whisper.

IT'S either the most exciting thing to happen to Forres in a generation, or a deathknell just waiting to sound over the town's historic old High Street.

THE saying "put your money where your mouth is" was borne out by Moray Council last week when they announced they were making £100,000 available to four towns in Moray, with the possibility of the funding being matched.

RELATIONS between Forres Community Council and Moray Council seemed to have been getting steadily worse in recent weeks following difficulties over a number of issues, not least reaching agreement over the Common Good fund, with letters flying back and forth between the two bodies.

NEARLY 30 years after his death, a bequest left by Forres postie Willie Cameron for the former residents of Auchernack old people's home, is still languishing in a bank account somewhere, doing nothing much for the people it was aimed to help.

AFTER years of changing outside... in all weathers, storing their equipment in a rusty old container, and using whatever cover available when emergency called, the Forres Area Soccer Sevens kicked off their new season with new surroundings.

NEWS from both ends of the spectrum has come from RAF Kinloss over the past week or so.

ANTI-freeze is great when safely installed in car radiators, working away to protect engines during cold winter weather.

IT was quite a sight, really: an entire community council standing on the pavement, accompanied by two Moray councillors and several interested members of the public.

FORRES folk are going to have to wait before they find out any details of the proposed £25 million development on land opposite Bogton Road in the town.

WE probably shouldn't speak too soon, but it certainly appears that the recent snow storms have missed our little corner of the country.

SO, is there something out there, creeping through the undergrowth like a... well, like a big cat?

OKAY. IT'S still cold outside and frost is never all that far away, but the days are definitely lengthening and thoughts are turning to warmer times ahead.

AROUND 35 members of the public last week joined Moray councillors and the members of the Forres Community Council to hear a presentation by a representative of the company behind proposals to bring a £25 million retail development to Forres.

BY the time many of you read your 'Gazette', you'll know whether Forres Mechanics' dream of lining up against Rangers in the fifth round of the Homecoming Scottish Cup is still a possibility, or whether their hopes lie crushed in the grass of Station Park in Forfar.

WELCOME to 2009... If the doom-mongers are to be believed, this is going to be a tough year for all of us. A worsening worldwide economic situation, more business failures, more shop closures and more job losses all lie in wait for us in the year ahead.

ANOTHER year is just about over, and traditionally we take a moment to look back... and look forward.

FOR lots of people, sadly, this Christmas is going to be tough. Money is short, jobs are at risk and the outlook is a bit bleak.

CREDIT crunch. What credit crunch? OK, it's not quite as simple as that, but as far as Forres is concerned, ongoing investment seems to be on the up.

CHRISTMAS is coming, in case you haven't noticed, and where better to do your shopping than locally, especially when the Forres High Street is looking the part thanks to the Forres Christmas Lights Committee, who rely on the support of individuals and businesses to help them fund the bright lights display every year.

AROUND 350 people from the Forres community went along to the Ramnee Hotel on Friday and Saturday last week to cast their eyes over the proposed £25 million Bogton Road leisure and retail development and take the opportunity to talk to some of the men behind it.

CREDIT crunch? What credit crunch? That certainly seems to be the view of the developers looking to pump millions of pounds into Forres.

DELIGHT and relief were expressed in equal measures by the volunteer group behind the Moray (Dolphin) Hydrotherapy Pool when Moray Council planning committee voted to give the project the go-ahead yesterday.

THE very heart of Forres is set to be transformed if an ambitious, £25 million retail and leisure development goes ahead.

THE hard-working group of volunteers behind the proposed Moray Dolphin Hydrotherapy Pool, which they had hoped would be standing proudly beside Forres Swimming Pool by now, have been left scratching their heads after yet another delay in their dreams coming to fruition.

WE never really miss things till they're gone. It may be a bit of a cliche, but it's true nevertheless. Over the years, so many familiar things have passed into history... gone but not always forgotten.

THE proposed housing development near Thornhill – a project being carried out by Springfield Properties on behalf of the Grampian Housing Association – is continuing to raise the hackles of people living in the area.

THIS week, the 'Gazette' reported on an undesirable, as yet nameless individual who helped themselves to £30 and a packet of cigarettes from the handbag of a pensioner who is nearly 80 years old.

LOCAL papers could be filled many times over if all the rumours, half-truths and anonymous whispers that make their way into editorial offices are printed. So most of the time, newspapers choose to ignore them.

IT WAS gold all the way for Forres last week following the wonderful performance by the Forres In Bloom team who brought home the title the Best In Britain from a glittering occasion at Chester Race Course.

CONCERNED householders from the west end of Forres have been contacting the 'Gazette' over the past week, sharing their concerns at the proposed housing development behind Thornhill as highlighted in this newspaper last week.

A MORAY property developer has prompted a flurry of panic among some Forres residents after submitting an application to build more than 100 new homes, which they fear could alter their daily life.

FORRES folk have a reputation for being generous and working hard for their community.

NEIGHBOURHOOD disputes are never pleasant, but to those at the centre of them, there is usually a principle involved. Findhorn seafront is now the scene of just such a dispute.

RESIDENTS of the homes at the Rafford end of St Leonard's Road are on the horns of a dilemma.

TAKE a bow Forres. The town is looking wonderful, In fact, it has probably never looked better.

DESPITE the best efforts of the people of Forres and the surrounding area, the fight to keep the East End Post Office open was lost. Happily, a second fight with the powers-that-be have had a more successful outcome.

SO it is official. The consultation exercise, such as it was, is complete and East End Post Office is to close. That's despite the public support for the retention of the popular business.

WHAT do you call someone who has fought for his country, served with the police and fire brigade, lived in the UK for more than 50 years and is as Scottish as they come? According to the Passport Service, an illegal immigrant.

A WEEK is a long time in politics, someone once said. That is certainly the case when the boss is on holiday, as I found out last week.

THE weather often takes a front seat in conversations at this time of year, due to the fact that it is usually more like winter, rather than summer, especially during July when the schools are off.

FORRES Highland Games was blessed with great weather and a great attendance at the weekend.

YESTERDAY (Tuesday) was the 11th anniversary of the devastating floods which hit large areas in the west end of Forres.

TIME is running out for members of the Forres area public to plead the case for the retention of the East End Post Office on the town's High Street.

SADLY, the chances of winning a reprieve for the threatened East End Post Office in Forres High Street are slight, at best, but Post Office Ltd have promised to listen to what people have to say before making any final decision.

FORRES House Community Centre struggled to cope with the crowd which turned up for a hastily-arranged meeting to discuss the threatened closure of the East End Post Office.

IT was heavily tipped to happen, but the news that East End Post Office had been marked for closure came as no less of a blow.

FOR the families of the RAF Kinloss crew killed in the Nimrod crash in Afghanistan in 2006, Friday was another black day.

WE'VE probably all spent a bit of time in a small bed and breakfast establishment... and enjoyed the experience.

PEOPLE living close to the proposed flood alleviation work for the River Findhorn and Pilmuir were given their first look at the scale and complexity of the scheme when letters came out last week notifying neighbours that the plan was about to be lodged with Moray Council's planning department.

TECHNOLOGY continues to move on a pace and things we held dear quickly go out of fashion, or indeed, out of use.

DON'T panic, don't panic. A familiar phrase, especially from the mouth of the anything but unflappable Cpl Jones in "Dad's Army".

MINDLESS vandalism has reared its ugly head again in Forres, this time in a residential area of town.

AS we pointed out last week, traffic on the A940 Grantown road is already very heavy and set to get worse.

THE arrival of British Summer Time brought little change to Forres. In fact, having enjoyed a spell of lovely weather, winter decided to have a final say and make a re-appearance.

ONCE more, doubts have been raised over the future of the new Nimrod MRA4, and with it, inevitably, that of RAF Kinloss itself.

NOT that many weeks back, we said that change – any kind of change – was hard to cope with.

THERE was good news for three Forres companies last week when they were named as winners in the Grampian Food Forum Innovation Awards.

CHANGE, any kind of change, is hard to cope with, especially as we get a bit older and more set in our ways.

HERE in Forres, new homes are nothing new. We have become accustomed to new housing estates mushrooming on the outskirts of the town or blocks of flats growing out of the ruins of former businesses.

AFTER three years in the melting pot, Moray councillors gave a partial nod of approval to the Moray Dolphin Hydrotherapy Pool at their meeting last week.

AFTER nearly three years of discussion, delay, questions and more questions, Moray councillors will today (Wednesday) decide whether the long-awaited hydrotherapy pool proposal should go ahead.

THE benefits enjoyed by the Forres area thanks to the proximity of RAF Kinloss and, to a lesser extent, RAF Lossiemouth have been well documented.

A COLLECTIVE sigh of relief went up from Findhorn folk last week when it was learned that the public toilets at North Beach had been saved from permanent closure.

MUCH has been written about the future of the Forres Hydrotherapy Pool, still waiting for the green light from Moray Council.

AFTER months of skirting round the edges of the massive pothole outside the shops in Fleurs Place, residents in the area could soon be in for some welcome relief.

THE four councillors who represent the extended Forres ward have given a collective thumbs up to the proposed hydrotherapy pool for Forres, with conditions.

ONE of the real success stories of the last couple of years or so has been the enthusiasm with which the public has embraced the idea of a hydrotherapy pool for Forres.

A HAPPY, healthy and peaceful New Year to everyone. Last year at this time we had a look ahead at what Forrres and district could expect in the 12 months now behind us, and perhaps we ought to recap....

BY THE time you read this, Christmas will have come and gone and all we'll have left is the crumpled wrapping paper and the turkey bones.

WE TEND to think of ourselves as pretty much removed from some of the worst criminal practices that blight parts of the UK, but it seems we are deluding ourselves.

THE switch-on of the Forres Christmas Lights went ahead as planned last week. A lot of behind-the-scenes slog carried out by a small band of volunteers, has guaranteed that the High Street is bright and welcoming.

LEANCHOIL Hospital often features in the pages of the "Forres Gazette" with letters from individuals who have been confined there, praising nursing staff for their kindness.

THEY say a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.

FLOODING never seems to be far from the agenda in Forres and, indeed, the last two weeks have been no different.

FORRES remembered those who have given their lives in service to their country over the years on Sunday - with a steady procession of services of remembrance and wreath laying ceremonies taking place all over the area.

THERE were fireworks everywhere on Saturday night when Forres Round Tablers staged their excellent annual bonfire and display in Grant Park, according to many who attended, the best there has been to date.

WE'VE all heard the term lager lout and can easily enough conjure up a picture of what the word means to us. But not too long ago the term litter lout was just as well known, and his or her actions were just as unacceptable to society.

THE need for good dental health, dinned into most of us from an early age with promises of a few pence from the tooth fairy and dire warnings of our teeth falling out, hasn't gone away.

CHANGES in the Scottish Enterprise structure means the local authority and the local economic body are working in partnership to bring further economic prosperity to Moray. This can only be good news, with meetings already being held with business leaders and others in the area.

THE Forres rumour mill has been suggesting for some time that the town’s Royal British Legion Club is closing down at Christmas. As it happens, the rumour-mongers are wrong, but as ever, there is a little bit of truth behind it.

CONGRATULATIONS ARE due yet again to the Forres in Bloom committee and Moray Council's parks department for another marvellous achievement on a national stage.

GIVE yourselves a pat on the back, Forres. For the fourth year running, the royal burgh has been voted the best medium-sized town in the Beautiful Scotland competition, and no-one who has visited the town this summer will disagree with the judges' decision.

A QUIET corner of Kinloss which has been in need of a facelift for some time is set for a million-pound-plus redevelopment.

FOR 100 days, Forres runner Paul Rogan pounded his way along the highways and byways of such places as Belarus, Siberia, Mongolia, China and the USA.

BUS provision in the Forres area has been hitting the headlines this week, with unwanted changes to services.

WHEREVER one looks these days it appears that anti-social behaviour, particularly among younger people, is making the headlines. The spate of recent shootings in English cities and the tragic death of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool, have served to heighten the realisation that society has changed.

IT WAS always going to be a thorny issue. From the moment it was announced that Forres was to change from being a three-ward, three councillor set-up to one extended ward with four councillors, the question was being asked. Just how is that going to work?

FORRES should have a new health centre and hospital facility by 2010 – maybe earlier – but it is unlikely.

PUBLIC transport – it either works for you or it doesn't. For years now, we have been exhorted to leave our cars behind and use the bus, but for many people that just isn't possible.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT that Scottish Executive Ministers have given the green light to the Burn of Mosset Flood Alleviation Scheme hasn't exactly sent flood-threatened residents delirious with delight.

SPEAKING about the sun shining on Forres Theme Day must have incurred the wrath of the weather man, as the rest of last week saw nasty rainy and chilly conditions.

THE heavens smiled on Forres Theme Day at the weekend, sending buckets of sunshine to dry up the previous day’s downpour.

FORRES Highland Games was held in Grant Park at the weekend and a good time was had by all, with the weather staying dry for most of the time.

JUST over 10 years ago, Forres was hit by a destructive flood which left all those affected praying they wouldn't be faced with such a situation again.

THINGS haven't slowed down much around Hollyrood since the SNP won control of the Scottish Executive back in May, and this Saturday will be no different.

RARELY do changes occur without some form of protest following. Whenever well-loved, familiar practices are updated or varied, when rules or regulations change, voices will be raised against it.

FORRES is to have another supermarket, or discount food store, as the latest addition to the town's retail fraternity prefers to call itself.

IN FIVE or six years from now, fast jets will be using RAF Kinloss on a daily basis, following the relocation of some of the RAF Lossiemouth Tornado fleet.

WITH ENERGY, in all its guises, high on the political agenda at the moment, in both Holyrood and Westminster, the minds of the great and the good have been given over to deciding what's hot and what's not.

MORAY COUNCIL has set a date for the planning inquiry into whether Lidl should be allowed to build a discount store on the Greshop Industrial Estate on the outskirts of Forres.

WHILE we wait to find out exactly what is going to happen with our MSPs at Holyrood, our home-grown "cooncillors" have already settled in and started earning their salary.

THE dust has settled on last week's elections, but there are still lots of issues outstanding.

BY THE early hours of Friday morning, we’ll know who is going to represent Moray in the next session of the Scottish Parliament.

FOLLOWING the media frenzy that surrounded last year's by-election for the Moray seat in the Scottish Parliament, events over the past week or two have been positively placid.

WITH NEARLY half the sitting members calling it a day come the May 3 election, Moray Council HQ is going to be a strange sort of place until all the newcomers get to know each other.

WHEN THE chips are down, there's nothing like a nice warming meal to keep you going. However, if it's chips you're after, Forres House Community Centre is no longer the place to go.

NEWS emerged this week that a green burial site is being considered for Findhorn on a piece of ground on the edge of the dunelands, which would form a natural progression for members of the Findhorn Foundation, who wish to return to nature when they die.

AROUND Europe this week they are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the birth of the European Union. Well, most people are celebrating, some are rueing the day the Treaty of Rome was signed and the EEC or Common Market was founded.

FOR the second time in little over six weeks, the Forres community is in mourning for yet another road traffic accident victim.

NEARLY 10 years have passed since Forres was hit by devastating flooding which laid waste to much of the west end of the town.

A ROW HAS broken out over the provision of disabled access to the top floor of the Forres House Community Centre.

LAST YEAR'S Nimrod crash in Afghanistan was extremely painful for everyone living around RAF Kinloss. There is no getting away from the huge sense of loss that hit the area when the news was announced.

THE anger surrounding Moray Council's proposed closure of the Forres House Community Centre pre-school playgroup refuses to go away.

YET again, Moray is facing one of the highest Council Tax rises in Scotland. At 3.6%, only South Ayrshire stands above it at 3.9%.

NEARLY two weeks on, the terrible sadness and sense of loss surrounding the deaths of two local youngsters in a car crash still hangs over the community like a dark cloud.

FROM the time the first news flash announced that two people had died in a car crash on the Forres to Grantown road on Friday evening, people began to fear the worst.

GOOD news, really good news, is hard to come by, so when something worthwhile happens, we should celebrate the occasion.

ONLY TWO weeks into the new year, and Forres has been buzzing with a variety of mixed news.

IT ALWAYS takes a bit of time before life gets back to normal following the festive shutdown.

A HAPPY, healthy and peaceful New Year to everyone! Overall, 2006 was a bit of a bummer all round, so what does 2007 have in store?