Scottish Parliament ministers were due to meet in Edinburgh to discuss setting up an Orkney collection centre to transport approved livestock to abattoir on the Scottish mainland.

The move has been brought about because the local abattoir in Kirkwall does not have the capacity to handle the large numbers of livestock to be processed.

If this goes ahead, the collection centre will have to be inspected and licensed by a ministry vet.

The £78 million deal sees a part reversal of BA's withdrawal from Orkney, which saw BRAL step in to operate all external air services under a BA franchise.

BRAL, who originally operated the Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow flights to Orkney, now only operate the Aberdeen service. The other services are delivered under franchise by Loganair, who also operate Orkney's inter-island service.

Local groups entering the Battle of the Bands contest have until next Friday to secure a slot on the night.

In a final call to budding stars, Battle of the Bands organiser Steve Amos said application forms should be with him by next Friday. The event itself is being held on Saturday, March 24 in Kirkwall's Lynnfield Hotel.

The winning band will win the chance to cut a three-track CD in Phil Anderson's recording studio in Kirkwall.

The new work at the harbour, the Scottish mainland port for the Pentland Firth ro-ro ferry service to Orkney, will be completed in time for the new vessel being introduced on the crossing by Northlink Orkney and Shetland Ferries in October 2002.

Detailed technical assessments carried out by the Scrabster Harbour Trust have confirmed that the most cost-effective solution to the harbour's limitations to berth the new vessel serving the Stromness route would be a new pier some 400 metres from the existing ferry berth.

Ms Boyack said: "We knew even before tendering for the North Isles ferry service began in 1998 that considerable works would be required at Scrabster to improve ferry berthing facilities. This was confirmed when all of the three shortlisted bidding operators for the ferry contract came forward with new vessel proposals."

Orkney should find out next week whether controversial council plans for a £11.5 million ferry terminal at Crowness will get crucial Scottish Executive support.

Scots First Minister Henry McLeish says he is well aware of the controversy that flared up after the council backed the scheme in December.

Speaking to The Orcadian during his visit to the county on Friday, he said an announcement could be made at the Highlands and Islands Convention, which is due to meet in Orkney on March 16.

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Orkney MS sufferer Biz Ivol is being sent free cannabis packages through the post as a direct result of her efforts for legalisation of the drug.

The outspoken cannabis user is also sent free and anonymous envelopes containing cannabis seeds.

Biz (52), from Herston in South Ronaldsay, said that she has eight packages containing the drug stored in her freezer. "I am sending it out as quickly as I am getting it," she said.

"The police are wasting their time trying to stop it. There are too many people using it now to prosecute."

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Kirkwall police are warning people to be on the lookout for counterfeit £1 coins, a number of which are currently in circulation in Orkney.

If scratched, the poor quality fake coins are silver underneath.

A police spokesman said that anyone discovering a counterfeit coin should hand it in to Kirkwall Police Station.

Members of Unison, Scotland's local government union, have voted by almost five to one in favour of a 14.2 per cent pay offer over four years.

The council staff have been in dispute with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities since August and voted by 31,438 to 6,353 to accept the deal.

Orkney's Unison branch convener Alison Fraser said: "I think it was the best that could be achieved under the circumstances."

Trust land extends from Rysa to the Burn of Forse, and northwards to Rackwick.

Mr Tony Trickett, chairman of the Hoy Trust said: "The Hoy Trust would discourage any non-essential people from going on to their land."

The Board said that they had made the decision because many visitor attractions were closed to visitors until further notice.

A spokesman said: "So long as these precautions remain in place, we do not believe it is appropriate for us to promote access to the countryside.

"However we are eager to run this campaign, not least because we recognise how important it is for the tourist industry to attract new business in spring and early summer. We will therefore be monitoring the situation very closely with colleagues in Area Tourist Boards and the industry; and as soon as the Scottish Executive declares it appropriate for restrictions to be lifted, then we will run the campaign."

Councillors have reaffirmed that Hatston is their preferred option as the port to serve the new Aberdeen-Orkney-Shetland ferry, when the new operators Northlink take over the Northern Isles franchise next year.

Members of the OIC's transportation committee held a special meeting yesterday morning to consider a consultants' report on the technical requirements of, and the costings for, providing the equivalent deep-water facility at Stromness and Kirkwall.

Members heard that an application for funding for the Hatston project had already been made to the Scottish Executive, and that a similar application would be put to the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Stromness councillors expressed concern that the consultants' report had not compared "like-with-like" and that the £11.4 million cost quoted for allowing the larger Aberdeen-Shetland ferry to operate into Stromness was a "Rolls Royce option."

Orkney has been awarded a third place in the The Scottish Community Drama Association Divisional Finals due to be held in Arbroath.

This means that the Palace Players will now go forward along with Stromness Drama Club and Birsay Drama Group.

As all three teams were due to perform on Friday, 30th March, and because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, it has been decided to take the unusual step of having the Orkney teams perform in Orkney on Thursday, 29th March, with the adjudicator then travelling to Arbroath for the following two nights.

Licensed livestock movements in Orkney got underway at the weekend, a measure brought about by the current foot-and-mouth restrictions across the country.

Eight licences were issued to to farms with a further 30 licences awaiting collection this morning. To obtain a licence farmers have to certify that their cattle are free of foot-and-mouth and that they haven't brought in cattle from elsewhere within a specified period.

Transportation from the licensed farms to the abattoir in Kirkwall is being carried out under strict supervision, with all vehicles thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

As part of the continued precautions against the spread of the disease, Orkney Islands Council have also issued an appeal for old carpets - hessian or felt backed - to be used as disinfectant mats at the county's ferry terminals.

Some of Orkney's best-known tourist attractions are being closed, following nationwide concerns about the possible spread of foot-and-mouth disease.

Orkney's Skara Brae and Maeshowe are among the number of staffed Historic Scotland sites across the country being closed to the public.

Historic Scotland are also asking that visitors to their unmanned sites - many of which are on private farmland - respect any access restrictions which may have been introduced. In general, they said, visitors should avoid any such site until further notice.

An apple a day might not keep the doctor away - but it certainly helps. That's the message being promoted by the Stromness doctor's surgery who have been giving away free fruit to patients.

The surgery, who last year hit the national headlines after an awareness campaign in which they prescribed oily fish to patients with heart conditions, launched the two week fruit promotion to highlight the importance of fruit and vegetables in a healthy diet.

Speaking to The Orcadian on Saturday, Dr Andrew Trevett explained that during the promotion each visitor to the surgery was being offered a piece of fruit.

"What we're trying to do is encourage people who don't normally take much to increase their intake of fruit and vegetables," he said.

The promotion runs until the end of the week.

Tankers managed to reach all 26 producers every day.

Evie dairy farmer, Mr Peter Heaton, said on Friday: "Producers, generally, at the Orkney Cheese company board meeting on Thursday, agreed that the drivers did deserve some recognition for the time they had put in to get round all the farms. Although they arrived later than usual, the tankers got through every day to collect the milk, and we felt it was right for us to say that we appreciated that."

A vagrant who lived rough for a time in Stromness was committed to a psychiatric hospital on Friday, after a sheriff in Wick rejected a plea to grant the man the freedom to return to his nomadic lifestyle in Orkney.

Eric Williams, of no fixed abode, was committed to Newcraigs Hospital in Inverness after appearing for sentence at Wick Sheriff Court. He had been on remand since January 7 following an assault on a 12-year-old boy in Thurso.

Sheriff Ian Cameron heard that psychiatrists at Newcraigs believed Williams is suffering from a mental illness that requires institutional care.

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