Tributes are paid to former councillor

THE convener of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar has paid tribute to former Councillor Iain MacKenzie, who died aged 72 on Thursday June 30.

Mr MacKenzie was educated at Bayble Junior Secondary and the Nicolson Institute before studying at Lewis Castle College and then at Stow College in Glasgow.

He worked as a radar and radio/ TV engineer for five years and then as an air traffic engineer at Stornoway Airport between 1968 and 2006, before he was elected to the comhairle as a councillor for Steòrnabhagh a Tuath in 2007, being re- elected in 2012.

Iain served on several committees including Transportation and Infrastructure, Education and Children’s Services and Sustainable Development. Iain also served as a member of the police and fire board for many years.

Convener Norman A Macdonald said: ‘Iain was a very active participant in all of the comhairle’s processes. He was an insightful councillor who was respected by his peers and made a significant contribution to our community in a very unassuming manner. He also served as an elder in the Free Church over many years.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Georgina, his children Don and Karen, the grandchildren, and his extended family and friends.’