Author: laurahendersonsite

As you all know the Kippen Pantomime has now shut down in the Village and all the costumes and set were sold off and cleared away.

We were left with a fair amount of money and we decided to help various charities and causes around the village.

The main idea was to donate medical equipment to our Surgery to help in any way.

After consultation we decided to donate 3 Heart monitors and 3 blood pressure monitors and Dr Annet Schmautz was needing a new lamp to help in examinations.

This all came to a total of £944.86.

After we had paid this, we decided to divide the rest of the money to other groups in the Village.

The Old Folks Christmas Dinner Club received £600.00

The Kippen Church received £600.00

And the balance of £334.74 went to the Auld Kirk Restoration Fund.

We have received grateful thanks from the Surgery and the Auld Kirk.

We haven’t heard from the Church and Old Folks but I’m sure this will aid them well.

We have also given the stage extension to the Village Hall to use for the future.

Lastly, we wanted to thank the Village for the support over the years and hope you enjoyed it as much as we did putting the productions on.

Thank you.

Kippen Drama Group.

The deadlines to apply for money from the Windfarm in 2019 are: –

31^st May 2019

30^th September 2019

 To apply or for info please contact Margaret Beaton on 870536 or email margaret.beaton@yahoo.com

We look forward to hearing your ideas on how to make Kippen a better place to live!

The garden behind the Church was gifted to the Church many years ago by Sir D. Y. Cameron. Over the years it has grown and changed in structure and many people enjoy walking through it today. It is a Memorial Garden where people have gifted trees and shrubs in memory of their loved ones. There are also benches where you can sit peacefully and enjoy the tranquillity and watch the many garden birds which can be found there.  People walking in the Garden may have noticed the ‘snowdrop garden’ which was planted in co-operation with Strathcarron Hospice and is now beginning to thicken out. As with everything, the ground has to be maintained, and if anyone has any ideas as to how we might manage this please get in touch with Alyn Younie (850621) or Mary Lawson (870202).  We really need help with some ideas to raise funds with which we could employ some ‘heavy/strong’ help occasionally, we also need   someone who has a little regular spare time to keep an eye on the weeds and shrubs.

The Garden is an asset to the village and is much admired by many visitors who discover it. It is also a good area for the playgroup and youth organisations to have outdoor activities.

Please can all dog owners be very particular to clean up after their dogs when walking there, as this has become an unpleasant nuisance recently.

Just a Thank You to Kippen Drama Club for the generous donation that allowed us to buy blood pressure monitors, cardiac monitors and an examination lamp.

Annett Schmautz.

The return of the C12 evening buses to the direct route finally started on the 18th January and all evening buses now go via Dumbarton Road. The times have been altered so please check before you travel. First Scotland East have produced a new booklet timetable, albeit 6 weeks after the service started. For anyone who has still not managed to get a copy they are sporadically available on some buses and local shops. However, keeping a regular supply at Stirling Bus Station seems to be an issue.

In January, Buchlyvie Community Council wrote to the Environment and Housing Convener at Stirling Council requesting that a Sunday Service on the Balfron to Stirling route now be considered a priority. This letter was supported by Balfron, Arnprior and Gargunnock (Kippen Community Council had yet to be formed). There is no further update on this, but we are hoping that both Stirling Council and First Bus will work together to address this matter and make this route accessible 7 days a week. The current situation for both tourists and villages on this route is unacceptable in today’s 24/7 world.

Unfortunately, the Friday and Saturday early evening pilot buses are not being supported. We hope to see a rise in numbers now that the bus is going the direct route via Dumbarton Road. However, if patronage does not improve, there is a strong possibility these two buses will be withdrawn.

The condition of the Balfron Buses continues to cause concern with yet another winter of no heating and water ingress on these old vehicles. There is no sign of the upgrades promised to Bruce Crawford MSP in June last year. The one fully refurbished Balfron bus still had no heating, and water ingress, after its upgrade. Other than a repaint, passengers failed to notice the vehicle had been refurbished at all! We are hoping that the new rules surrounding emissions in Glasgow will in turn force First to finally improve the quality of the vehicles operated out of the Balfron Depot.

Val Brand

In November 2018, 30 out of 42 Community Councils successfully formed across the local authority area, establishing a formal tier of local democracy to represent the voices of local people in their communities.

Elections were held in February 2019 to give the 12 areas a second chance to form a Community Council.

Seven new Community Councils will be formed for: ‐  Balquhidder, Lochearnhead & Strathyre, Drymen, King’s Park, Kippen, Thornhill & Blairdrummond, Throsk, Torbrex

The following areas had more nominations than places, and will go to Ballot: ‐  Killin, Riverside

There were not enough nominations in Buchanan, Hillpark & Milton or Plean to form a Community Council.

For more information visit ‐ hps://www.stirling.gov.uk/community‐leisure/about‐community‐councils/community‐council‐elections/