Andersonstown youth murdered

SEVENTEEN-YEAR-OLD Andersonstown youth, Robert McCullough, an apprentice joiner of Tullymore Gardens, was shot dead at his work after being made to kneel by two men during his lunch break. The two other men, Protestants, who were with him were unharmed.
His mother, Mrs Christine McCullough, who has four other sons and a daughter, said last night: “I suppose my son was shot in retaliation for that other poor innocent child Edward Wilson (the ATC cadet killed in an explosion last weekend). His father had no bitterness and I can only say of my son’s killers... May God forgive them.”
Jus Kelly, cabaret singer, charity worker and IRA Officer made his last journey up the Falls last Friday to be buried with full military honours in the Republican Plot at Milltown Cemetery.
Jus, known to audiences all over Belfast, was laid to rest beside his comrade, John Stone, who had been killed alongside him in an accidental explosion. Among the thousands who turned out to pay their last respects were some of the handicapped children whom John ‘Jus’ Kelly had helped.

Unionist councillors will have power over homes

PLANS to return the control of public housing to local councillors came another step nearer this week when managers of the Housing Executive were told that in future all repair work in their areas would be under their direct control.
The move, which came at an unpublicised meeting between Housing Director Robert Spence and his 11 Area Managers on Wednesday, is regarded as a step towards a return to the old system of housing control.
Area Manager’s are expected to be “guided” in their future decisions by “consultative committees” set up by local councils.
A pilot scheme has been in operation in Newtownabbey for some time where the Area Manager is John Lambe, a former housing official with Belfast Corporation. According to sources within the Housing Executive the process of dismantling the central structure, which was set up to ensure fair allocation of houses, has been stepped up in recent weeks.
Powers Three key departments in the Executive, Corporate Planning, Personnel, and Public Relations, have had their powers drastically cut since Mr Spence took up his post as housing chief last September. Moves to hand back power to local areas are known to have been resisted by three members of the Executive’s Board, Messrs Lorimer, O’Hare and Brett.
But it is beleived that Stormont Castle may be prepared to hand back control of housing to unionist councils to placate loyalist political leaders who are annoyed by recent moves made by Rees. A Housing Executive spokesman told Andersonstown News that he knew of no plans to hand housing allocation back to local councils.
He was unable to confirm that Wednesday’s meeting had been held to discuss the decentralisation of the Executive repair department. But he did admit that the allocation of home improvement grants had recently been made the responsibility of local councils.
The Housing Executive is organised into three regions, 11 areas and 41 districts. If “consultative committees” are appointed at district level 39 of the 41 would be controlled by unionists. The 41 district managers in the Executive are almost entirely “old guard” housing officials who served as housing managers for local authorities before the creation of the Housing Executive.

Man back in Kesh for tests

FR DENIS Faul has accused the British Army of re-arresting an ex-internee so that they can conclude a study of experimental torture.
The Dungannon priest said he intended to refer the case of 24-year-old James Auld of Beechmount Pass, Belfast, to the European Commission on Human Rights and to the Irish Medical Association.
Fr Faul said Mr Auld’s wife had told him her husband suffered a blackout on Saturday night – the latest in a series that started after he was re-detained at the start of December.
“He is one of the men who were hooded and who suffered indepth interrogation from August 11 to August 17 1971,” said Fr Faul.
“Mrs Auld has told me that on Tuesday night in the hospital at Long Kesh one of the camp doctors came in accompanied by three other men who she believed were British Army officers.
“She said these men said they were doctors but they interrogared her husband at great length about his indepth interrogation whch he received in 1971.
“They asked him how he was reacting to it; what his feelings were and his medical condition.”

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