Orkney and Shetland are to get all year round salvage tug cover from next year.

The news was announced by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and follows a campaign for tug provision which started in 1993.

In 1999 the MCA agreed to station a tug in local waters during the winter months only. The news of the all round cover has brought the campaign to a successful conclusion, according to Isles MP Jim Wallace.

"This is very good news for Orkney and Shetland," he said. "After a long campaign involving many individuals and organisations in Orkney and Shetland, we have succeeded in winning the cover we need."

A 9.3 per cent annual hike in Orkney's council tax for the next three years was agreed at Thursday's full council meeting.

The rise - around three times the rate of inflation - will bring the charge for a band D house to £900 by 2003.

It is one of the highest percentage council tax increases in Scotland. Shetland Islands Council agreed a 9.2 per cent rise, bringing their band D charge for 2001/2002 to £747 - the lowest council tax in Scotland. Orkney's charge for the coming year will also be one of the lowest at £754.

Attempts were made at the meeting by Councillor Bob Sclater to peg the increase at 7.5 per cent, by taking more money from council reserves, but his proposals were rejected by 13 votes to six.

Orkney's band D council tax would be £1,034 this coming year if reserves and DSO profits were not used to cushion the blow. Council taxpayers will also face a 17 per cent rise in their water and sewerage bills this year.

The Highland Park Distillery is to shed five jobs over the next twelve months, it was revealed this week.

A spokesman for the Edrington Group, who own the local distillery, confirmed that five members of staff have accepted voluntary redundancy or relocation.

He explained: "We have not forced anyone out. It's with a view to making other people's jobs more secure. We were overstaffed."

Approaching one of the busiest times of the farming calendar - lambing and calving - it appears some local animals might end up being destroyed because their owners have been refused veterinary cover by local firms, having earned a reputation as persistent non-payers of bills.

Local vet, Mr Neil McHarg told The Orcadian: "I am not aware personally of any farmer who would be in that position at the moment. If someone is a persistent non-payer, we would stop their credit, and eventually advise them by letter that we would no longer be providing veterinary cover, but that would be an unusual step. As a matter of course, we refer outstanding accounts to a debt collection agency and take legal action against bad debtors. In an emergency, we are obliged to put an animal out of its misery on welfare grounds, but we can refuse to start a course of expensive treatment or surgery on the expectation that we are not likely to get paid for that work."

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Using a technique known a hot-tapping, a Royal Navy team will drill holes into the hull of the ship - which lies 25 metres beneath the surface of Scapa Flow - and then pump out the oil which will be taken to the Flotta oil terminal.

Phase one of the operation was under way this week, much to the relief of Orkney Islands Council who have been critical about the time the authorities have taken to get on with the job.

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Local joiner Robert Clouston has been awarded the contract to start work on the interior of the church on Monday.

Rev Hunt said: "We are hoping to make the church more flexible as a whole. It can hold a maximum of 300 people, so obviously seating such as pews would be relevant when the church is full, during such events as fundraising events or funerals, but a different kind of seating like chairs could be used at times when the church is not at full capacity."

The board say they have been inundated with requests for information about the seven senior posts that were recently advertised in the local and national press.

Head of human resources, Gill Stakes, whose own post is one of those advertised, said that around 100 fact packs and health board videos have been mailed by her department to applicants all over the UK.

"Considerable interest" in Scapa Flow container trans-shipment hub

Scottish Executive officialss are said to have shown "considerable interest" in the idea of developing a trans-shipment hub in Scapa Flow for container traffic between North America and the UK and the rest of Europe.

Two directors from Orkney Islands Council, Mr Jeremy Baster, director of development and protective services, and Captain Bob Moore, director of harbours, have been to Edinburgh to brief officials from the Scottish Executive about the scheme, along with Orkney Enterprise chief executive, Mr Ken Grant, and Professor Alf Baird of Napier University, who produced a feasibility study into the trans-shipment hub project.

Councillors will have the chance to decide how to take the idea forward at a special meeting of the economic development committee which is being held next Tuesday.

A flock of sheep have gone missing from a field in South Ronaldsay.

According to Kirkwall police, 64 ewes, of various breeds, belonging to Mr Ian Cormack, Scushan, South Ronaldsay, have disappeared from a field at Kirkhouse sometime between January 25 and February 5.

A police spokesman said the sheep were all ear tagged with blue and red tags, some of which bear the flock number UK 0U0080. They are also shoulder marked in green.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 872241.

Defence Minister Dr Lewis Moonie is due to visit Orkney tomorrow to see for himself the plans to recover oil from HMS Royal Oak later this month.

The warship, sunk by a German U-boat in 1939 with the loss of 833 lives, is a designated war grave.

During his visit, Dr Moonie will launch a consultation document that seeks views on the protection of wrecked military vessels which sank with loss of life.

Discussions are taking place at the moment about the future funding of a full-time adviser for Orkney Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG).

Mr John Crossley, from South Ronaldsay,who was full-time adviser for FWAG until last Friday, and is due to take up a job with the training agency LANTRA next month. He will be working part-time to finish off some specific tasks for Orkney FWAG over the next few weeks.

Orkney FWAG chairman, Mr Ken Watson, of Rennibister, Firth, told The Orcadian: "There is a general feeling within the committee that we would like to have an adviser on the ground. Quite an important part of the funding for the full-time post comes from Orkney Islands Council, and it is up for renewal at the moment."

Mr Watson added: "We have every intention of replacing John, but it does depend on getting enough core funding from bodies like Scottish Natural Heritage and the RSPB.

The Fraserburgh-registered fishing boat Resilient finally sank off Sumburgh Head in Shetland on Sunday.

The six-man crew were rescued from the vessel, which began taking in water around 4pm on Saturday afternoon, and taken to Lerwick.

Kirkwall and Shetland lifeboats were launched, however the Resilient's sister ship Utility picked up three men from the ship's liferaft, while the scrambled coastguard helicopter Oscar Charlie airlifted the remaining three crew to safety

Orkney's census district manager has been appointed with John Muir, Dunedin Cottage, St Mary's, Holm taking on the position.

Mrs Morag Flett, Sunnybraes, Orphir, Mrs Corinne Stevenson, The Bu, Orphir and Mr Rowan McCallllum, Fairhaven, Annfield Crescent, Kirkwall are the three team leaders.

Mr Muir confirmed that the remaining 41 members of the field staff are now in the process of being appointed.

The national census takes place on Sunday, April 29.