From the pages of the Down Recorder, July 26, 1995

From the pages of the Down Recorder, July 26, 1995

23 July 2025

DOWNPATRICK – A Downpatrick musician, who had a miraculous escape after being shot in the United States last week, is due home in early September.

Johnny Peters (22), from Church Street, is recovering in hospital in New Orleans after an incident last Thursday when he was singled out by a lone gunman and shot.

He was taken to hospital for treatment, but since then, a slight bubble has developed around the area of his wound and although doctors say this is common in gunshot cases, they say he will be in hospital for another six weeks.

The development has been described as a “minor hiccup” and there is no great drama or alarm, say his medical advisors.

Johnny, who is a former pupil of Downpatrick Primary School and Down High School, was standing in a bus queue with two friends when the incident happened.

A car drew up alongside him, and two girls he was with, and a masked man got out of the vehicle and fired one shot at the jazz musician which passed through his chest.

Even though he was shot at point blank range, the bullet passed straight through his body, miraculously missing a number of vital organs. Johnny managed to stagger to a hotel and was taken to hospital for urgent surgery.

Speaking from his hospital bed, the saxophonist said he had no idea why he had been singled out by the gunman.

DRUMANESS – Last week’s attempt to set fire to Christ the King chapel in Drumaness has been criticised by two of the area’s local councillors.

A petrol bomb was thrown through one of the windows some time between 11pm last Thursday evening and 9am the following morning, but the device burnt itself out.

Minor scorch damage was caused to a small area of carpet adjacent to the altar, but there was no serious smoke damage caused to other parts of the church.

The attempt to set the chapel ablaze was discovered by parish priest, Fr John Cunningham.

Meanwhile, councillor Patsy Toman hit out at those responsible for the incident and claimed there are certain elements on both sides of the political divide who are “bursting for trouble”.

He said there are those who are deliberately targeting sensitive buildings including chapels and orange halls.

Mr Toman also issued an appeal to everyone in the area who lives near such buildings to “keep an eye on them” and said he hopes the attacks which have taken place in the Ballynahinch area are isolated.

KILLYLEAGH – Hopes are high that this weekend’s Van Morrison concert in Killyleagh could become an annual event to rival Slane Castle, following an unprecedented demand for tickets.

Morrison’s Friday night concert in the grounds of Killyleagh Castle is completely sold out, and an extra concert has now been arranged for the Saturday.

Mr Morris Crawford, of the Dufferin Arms, one of the sponsors of the event, said: “This would encourage us in our hope that the Guinness-backed event can become a major concert venue to match the success of the annual event staged at Slane Castle in the Republic.”

The gates open for Friday night’s sell-out show at 6pm, with the music being ushered in with dramatic style at 7pm. The show will be opened by music from four local pipers, Marc Keller, William Garrett, Mark Wilson and Leigh Lawson, perched on the castle battlements.

And in another local link with the concert, the sound system for the show will be supervised by Van Morrison’s personal sound engineer, Newcastle man, Enda Walsh.

BALLYNAHINCH – A major charity has come out against plans to use an asbestos-made pipe to replace over 3km of water main in the Ballynahinch area.

The Northern Ireland Chest, Heart and Stroke Association said the public and workers laying down piping could be at risk of various forms of cancer if the scheme is given the go ahead.

The Department of the Environment is currently considering tenders to supply 3.8kms of piping to replace part of the Mourne conduit which brings water from the Silent Valley to Belfast.

Two of the tenders propose using asbestos cement piping, which has sparked anger from Down Council and Strangford MP, John Taylor.

Now the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association has called on Environment Minister, Malcolm Moss, to forbid the use of asbestos cement piping.

“For almost 20 years it has been public knowledge that asbestos can cause various forms of cancer,” said Andrew Douglas, NICHSA chief executive.

DOWNPATRICK – The future of Down Council’s compost recycling scheme can only be discussed in an open public forum with no hidden agendas, it has been claimed this week.

The claim has been made by Friends of the Earth spokesman, Mr Keith Bradford, who has welcomed plans by the council to rethink the planned axing of the system which was introduced on a trial basis.

Eighteen months ago the environmental group applauded the council’s initiative to compost organic waste and its recognition of rubbish as a valued commodity.

Last month, the council decided to pull the plug on the scheme but since then there has been a major rethink and the authority now believes the recycling initiative should be re-examined.

Mr Bradford says the scheme needs to be realistically appraised from commercial and financial viewpoints, notwithstanding the environmental implications.

He said the experiment has not yet produced a marketable product, but believes this can be achieved with further investment by the council.

CARRYDUFF – A young care assistant in a Carryduff nursing home has invented a sensory board which is helping the residents to remember days gone by.

Twenty three year-old Julie Moore works at Beechill Private Nursing Home at Royal Lodge Road where there are 34 residents, many of whom have varying degrees of dementia.

The “feely” board is designed to trigger the senses and among the 30 objects attached to it are a fresh rose, pretty ribbons, a whistle, clacking buttons, rough sandpaper and soft cotton wool.

A piece of colourful carpet can evoke memories of a house once lived in, a scrap of tinfoil may mean turkey and Christmases of long ago, and coins like the florin provoke reminiscences of other times past.

The residents are encouraged to look, hear, feel and smell which invariably gets them remembering and then talking.

“It contributes to the self esteem of our residents and helps to bring out their individuality,” said Mrs Mary Breen, the nursing officer in charge of the home.

CROSSGAR – A Crossgar teenager, who is battling against a crippling muscular disease, will be joining the cast of a major new version of the hit musical, Oliver!, in Belfast next week.

Fifteen year-old Martina Hollywood has earned a place in the chorus line for the Lyric Theatre’s production of the show, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

Special dance sequences have been designed for the show to incorporate Martina’s wheelchair, and she’ll be taking part in a gruelling schedule of performances that includes six nightly performances and two matinees per week from July 31 until September 2.

It’s not Martina’s first stage appearance, however. A keen singer, she appeared in the Lyric’s production of Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat last year.

Martina and her young sister, Michaela, aged five, both suffer from a type of spinal muscular atrophy, a wasting disease which leaves them with very little muscle movement.