WE look at the stories that were making the headlines in the Andersonstown News this week in 1984
RUC in the dock over killing of Norah McCabe
MORE disturbing facts about the part played by RUC Chief James Crutchley in the killing of the 31-year-old mother of three Norah McCabe came to light in the ITN current affairs programme First Tuesday screened on 4th December. Crutchley, an RUC Superintendent at the time of the killing has since been promoted to the rank of Assistant Chief Constable.
Mrs McCabe was standing at the corner of Linden Streen on the Falls Road, on the morning of 8th July 1981, when an RUC Land Rover, in which Assistant Chief Constable Crutchley was a front seat passenger, fired a plastic bullet from a distance of six feet hitting her in the head.
James Crutchley admitted at Mrs McCabe’s inquest to giving the order for this shot to be fired.
Tuesday night's programme raised a number of disquieting questions about Norah McCabe's killing and totally refuted the account of the incident as given in the Coroner's Court under oath by James Crutchley and his fellow RUC officers.
Central to the case made by the First Tuesday documentary team was a film taken on the Falls Road by a Canadian film crew on the morning of Mrs McCabe's death. In court James Crutchley and his fellow officers had claimed.
1. The Falls Road was strewn with debris including beer kegs and burning vehicles.
2. Petrol bombs had rained down on the two Land Rovers.
3 There was a ‘riot situation’.
4. The RUC Land Rover had not stopped at Linden Street but had preceded up the Falls Road after firing a plastic bullet into Clonard Gardens.
5. No plastic bullet had been fired into Linden Street where Mrs McCabe was standing.
This version of events was contradicted by the Canadian film on a number of counts:
1. The Falls Road was clear and traffic was flowing normally as the two Land Rovers drove up the Falls Road from the direction of the city centre.
2. There was no riot going on.
3. No petrol bombs were being thrown.
4. Most importantly, when the first jeep reached Linden Street corner it stopped and swerved round until it faced Linden Street. It was as this point that the fatal shot was fired. The driver then reversed and both Land Rovers continued up the road to the Grosvoner Road Lights.
Poleglass homes aren’t fit for purpose
RESIDENTS of a Poleglass estate took to the streets to "warn" prospective tenants about the standard of housing in their Habinteg homes.
The Springbank Estate in Poleglass was designed by the Habinteg Housing Association to integrate disabled people into the community. However, since the houses were handed over last year, tenants have complained of draughty doors, unfinished fire-places and shoddy workmanship.
A spokesperson for the Springbank Housing Association, Peter Lowe, said 16 families in the area, out of a total of 59, were taking court cases against Habinteg.
"These homes are supposed to be specially designed to cater for the disabled but we have had disabled people leaving in despair. The turnover rate for the estate is 34 per cent," he said.
Mr Lowe accused Habinteg of ignoring the plight of local people, and said the D.O.E. had refused to provide the money needed to refurbish local homes.
"The elderly and disabled in particular will suffer this winter because of the hard-hearted attitude adopted by Habinteg," he said. "We now call on the D.O.E. and other interested parties, to support our demand for a public inquiry to investigate this whole affair."
Habinteg Housing Association have stressed that everything possible had been done to bring the Springbank homes up to a satisfactory standard.
The girls from St Louise’s who were participating in the Lyric Theatre's 'Annie'. They were Geraldine Hughes, Madeline Maxwell, Katie Tomelty, Aine Mc Greevey, Anna McCullough, Gillian Hughes; Colette McGivern and Lisa Macklin
What about flat dwellers?
AN Andersonstown man is convinced the Housing Executive's new Rent Assessment policy is discriminating against thousands of flat dwellers. And now he plans to expose the ‘unjust' rent assessment guidelines which allow a £2.87 rent deduction for the tenants of flats with 'gallery access' but nothing for the tenants of flats or maisonettes with a communal entrance.
Billy Pollock, Chairman of the Louisville Tenants Assocation, which represents 24 householders in two blocks of Shaws Road maisonettes, says the Housing Executive policy is "unfair" and unjustifiable". He cites the example of flats on the left of Lenadoon Avenue which are granted a minus seven point rating – the equivalent of £2.87 per week deduction.
"I am totally in favour of three tenants getting their rent reduction. However, I cannot accept that old age pensioners who live in four storey flats on the other side of Lenadoon Avenue are not entitled to the same reduction", he said.
"According to the Executive flats are only eligible for a reduction if the access is shared and is shared and is to gallery or gallery scissor blocks of flats. Therefore Divis and some of the Lenadoon flats are eligible but, incredibly, masionettes in Twinbrook, Rossnareen and in many other areas of Belfast including Ballybeen are not. This is despite the fact that some of the latter offer less privacy to tenants.”
Housing Executive spokesman Dermott O'Hara said flats with access along a gallery were given a lower rating between “this type of access is undesirable". However, he pointed out that under the new Rents Assessment Scheme only two per cent of flats have attracted a rents increase.
Mr O'Hara added: "We are of course still taking representations on the Rent Assessment Scheme and we are committed to reviewing it at a future date. However, we can't change it piecemeal."
The spokesman stressed there had been widespread consultation with Housing Executive tenants before the scheme was introduced.
