| Deputy
First Minister reopens hospital library |
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Orkney's
MSP and the Scottish Parliament's Deputy First Minister and
Justice Minister, Jim Wallace, officially reopened the library
at the Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall on Friday.
The
newly refurbished library has been redesigned by librarians
from Robert Gordon's university.
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| Scottish
Executive "pathetic" as fishermen threat continues |
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The
secretary of Orkney’s fisheries association has hit out
at Scottish Ministers after being met with “the usual
platitudes” at a meeting to discuss the plight of fishermen
banned from fishing scallops.
Mr Alan Coghill said fishermen needed a “quick fix”,
but gave little hope for a speedy resolution to the crisis
facing the scallop industry as a result of the current bans
caused by Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) and Paralytic
Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins.
Full
story...
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| Customs
closure could expose Orkney to drugs warns Carmichael |
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Rumours
that the Customs and Excise’s main intelligence gathering
centre in Scotland could close raised fears this week that
it could open Orkney’s shores up to drug smugglers.
Prospective Liberal Democrat candidate for Orkney and Shetland,
Mr Alistair Carmichael, warned that any move reducing the
intelligence gathering operation in Scotland could leave the
isles exposed as obvious entry points for smugglers wishing
to get illegal drugs into the country.
Full
story...
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| New
Pentland service could be running next month |
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The
operator of the short-sea route between St Margaret's Hope
in Orkney and Gill's Bay on the Scottish Mainland has said
that a freight service could be running by the end of next
month with a full passenger service from April 1 next year.
Mr
Andrew Banks said that the freight service would start as
soon as the hydraulic linkspan was installed at Gill's Bay
and dredging work carried out at the Caithness harbour.
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| Four
new passing places for Stromness streets |
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Four
new passing places are to come into effect in Stromness this
week in an effort to alleviate the traffic problems encountered
in the town's narrow streets.
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| Scottish
Environment and Transport Minister to visit Orkney |
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Members
of the council's transportation committee heard yesterday
that Scottish Environment and Transport Minister Ms Sarah
Boyack has accepted an invitation from the OIC to visit Orkney
on September 19.
Among
the matters to be discussed will be the OIC's disappointment
at the continued delay in the awarding of the new ferry contract
for Orkney and Shetland.
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| OIC
budget cuts could hit residential care |
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Orkney
councillors are to meet again in an attempt to prioritise
proposed cuts to social work services in the county.
At
last Thursday's meeting of the OIC social work committee,
members heard that the five per cent budget cuts being sought
in every department could mean a loss of jobs at several residential
homes reducing the number of beds available in Orkney.
The
cuts could also see serious implications for home care provision
which officials have highlighted as an option for reduction.
Possible
cuts already flagged up within the social work department
include staff reductions within administration, staff reductions
at St Peter's House, St Rognvald House, the Gilbertson Day
Centre, within mental health and home care provision and a
drop in grants to the voluntary sector.
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Future
looks bleak for old folk in Orkney
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A
bleak picture has been painted for older people living in
Orkney over the next five years.
Residential
care and the needs of older folk has been named as the biggest
problem the OIC will face in that time. Councillors fear they
simply do not have the money to meet with National Care Standards
being proposed by the Government.
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| Mobile
cinema operating in the islands |
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The
Screen Machine mobile cinema, which permanently tours parts
of the area which have no access to a conventional cinema,
had its first performance in Orkney last week.
The mobile cinema plans to show three recently released films,
Chicken Run; The Perfect Storm; and Gone in Sixty Seconds;
when the sixteen-and-a-half metre long articulated lorry visits
Hoy, Westray and Sanday over the next few days.
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| Tenth
Orkney Science Festival underway |
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The
tenth Orkney Science Festival launched last week, running
for eight days until September 8.
Opening
this year's festival is science festival committee chairman
and OIC councillor Mr Eoin Scott.
This
year's festival is spread across Orkney with events in Birsay,
Orphir, Finstown, Stromness and Evie, as well as a major event
in North Ronaldsay.
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