BEN LEDI VIEW

The first ever edition of the Ben Ledi View (see left) was published in May 1987. Edited by Ken Dunn and Maryanne Ure, the launch issue ran to eight pages and its cover story heralded the announcement by Stirling Council that St Kessog's Church (at that point disused) was to be converted into what is now the Rob Roy visitors' centre.

As that first edition emphasised, the Ben Ledi View is 'produced in Callander by Callander for Callander'. In his editorial, Ken Dunn told readers, 'We would wish the spectrum of the Ben Ledi View to be as wide as possible, including all ages, interest groups, commercial interests and political opinions. We do not all agree about everything and in a democracy we would not have it otherwise, so lay it on the line in the View ... Success or failure depends on your involvement - do not let the chance escape you!'

Clearly this struck a chord, for over the years the BLV has been published without a break, staffed by a continuous stream of volunteers all wanting to do their bit for our community. True, the paper has had its ups and downs, but whenever things have looked rocky the community has come to the rescue - and very grateful we are too: life in Callander without the BLV just wouldn't be the same.

Now in its twenty-first year, the BLV has so far had eight editors - in chronological order: Ken Dunn and Maryanne Ure; Roger Watt; Liz Maclain; Terry Houston; Ronnie Forbes; Jim Arthur; May Arthur; and the present editor Anne Docherty, who is assisted by Alma Cadzow and Chris Gillespie. Currently, the longest-serving volunteer is Derek Wilson who designed the paper for eleven years and continues to produce the large print edition.

Today, the BLV runs to 48 pages and its monthly circulation has grown to over 2,000 copies - thanks to the support of more than a hundred advertisers who fund our printing costs; our many contributors; loyal volunteers; and, of course, our readers. As always, all staff are unpaid. The Callander Community Newspaper Association - the paper's publisher - is non-profit-making; in other words, all income and public donations are invested back into the paper. Advertising rates are kept deliberately low so that even the smallest business can afford to publicise its services: a thriving local business community is good for all of us.

Produced in Callander by Callander for Callander

The BLV has undergone several facelifts over the years, and Callander's incorporation into the National Park has necessitated a broadening of the editorial remit. Since the early days, Callander has grown and the community has become increasingly diverse. Nevertheless, those aims set out in the first issue remain as close to our hearts as ever. We are committed to equality and the paper exists to disseminate information about community-related news, concerns and events fairly, without discrimination on grounds of age, race, colour, creed, gender, disability or orientation.

Unlike commercial papers, we rely on the community to provide the paper's content: if we don't cover something it's usually because we haven't been informed about it. Which brings us neatly back to what Ken wrote all those years ago: 'Success or failure depends on your involvement...' If you want us to cover something that you think would be of interest to others in the town, get in touch; and if you feel the paper ignores your section of the community, again, let us know. We are all part of Callander - and this is the community's newspaper.

The BLV grew out of Stirling Council's 'Going Local' policy for delivering services locally. As part of this initiative a number of community groups were set up at a very well attended and representative meeting in the old St. Kessog's Hall. Focussing on activities for young people, the environment, local businesses, sport and the dissemination of community news, all of these groups came under the auspices of a 'Going Local Steering Committee' that eventually merged with the Community Council.