North Isles mobile masts switch-on delayed indefinitely

The masts in Sanday and Westray were due to be switched on at the end of February, but, according to BT Cellnet, because of the current foot-and-mouth crisis their workmen and engineers are not allowed to travel to certain parts of Scotland.

A BT spokesman added: "This means that the masts will only be turned on when the foot and mouth situation is fully resolved."

The masts were built around 18 months ago and were originally supposed to be activated in January. This was put back to February, said BT, because an important piece of equipment had still had to arrive from south.

Escaped heifer shot dead

An armed policeman shot dead an escaped cow at the Hall of Clestrain in Orphir on Thursday.

The Cross Limousin heifer escaped from a steading at the farm around 10am.

A police spokesman explained: "Following a request for assistance, a police firearms officer attended and destroyed the heifer without any incident."

Orcadian reporter at epicentre of foot-and-mouth crisis

Local vet turned The Orcadian reporter, Gillian Wylie, has spoken of the sheer scale of devastation she has encountered in the worst-hit areas of the country.

Gillian was called up last week to become a temporary veterinary inspector to deal with the foot-and-mouth crisis in Cumbria where, in her words, there has been "a real explosion of the infection."

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£500,000 price tag as Trumland House goes up for sale

Trumland House on Rousay, left by its owner to fall into a state of dereliction, is up for sale with a £500,000 price tag.

The house was built in the 1870s but under its current owner, Dr Colin Norton, whose last known address was near Dornoch, it has been falling into a state of disrepair. The council previously served a repairs notice on Dr Norton to make the place wind and watertight, but he failed to respond.

Speaking this week local councillor Robert Cormack said the Grade II listed house was now a shell and a large west window had been blown in.

"The council did try to help and is still looking for the funds to do it up, but there are a lot of Grade II buildings in Orkney," he said.

Foot-and-mouth guidance to travellers

Travellers are being advised to pack clean footwear and clothing and to use the disinfectant facilities at the points of entry into the county.

OIC environmental health officer Val Cameron said: "Infection can be carried in mud and muck on farmland so part of the advice is that people should make sure that their shoes are thoroughly washed and clean before they pack them,"

Mrs Cameron said it was unlikely that the virus could be carried on clean clothes and the main risk was spare footwear packed away in bags.

Fire Brigade climb high to tackle Stromness chimney fire

Members of the Stromness Fire Brigade had a bird's eye view of the town on Tuesday night, when they had to climb high to tackle a chimney fire in the Stromness Hotel.

Two fire engines attended the fire just after 8pm and it was soon extinguished.

Youth escapes jail sentence because of age

A 16-year-old boy who admitted a string of offences earlier this month escaped a jail sentence this week purely on the basis of his age.

Appearing from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Tuesday, Carl James Howley was sentenced to 200 hours community service after admitting to a number of offences, including the theft of a blank prescription form, breaking and entering and attempting to obtain drugs using the stolen prescription form.

He was further fined £200 for a breach of probation.

£500,000 price tag as Trumland House goes up for sale

Trumland House on Rousay, left by its owner to fall into a state of dereliction, is up for sale with a £500,000 price tag.

The house was built in the 1870s but under its current owner, Dr Colin Norton, whose last known address was near Dornoch, it has been falling into a state of disrepair. The council previously served a repairs notice on Dr Norton to make the place wind and watertight, but he failed to respond.

Speaking this week local councillor Robert Cormack said the Grade II listed house was now a shell and a large west window had been blown in.

"The council did try to help and is still looking for the funds to do it up, but there are a lot of Grade II buildings in Orkney," he said.

Foot-and-mouth guidance to travellers

Travellers are being advised to pack clean footwear and clothing and to use the disinfectant facilities at the points of entry into the county.

OIC environmental health officer Val Cameron said: "Infection can be carried in mud and muck on farmland so part of the advice is that people should make sure that their shoes are thoroughly washed and clean before they pack them,"

Mrs Cameron said it was unlikely that the virus could be carried on clean clothes and the main risk was spare footwear packed away in bags.

Fire Brigade climb high to tackle Stromness chimney fire

Members of the Stromness Fire Brigade had a bird's eye view of the town on Tuesday, when they had to climb high to tackle a chimney fire in the Stromness Hotel.

Two fire engines attended the fire just after 8pm and it was soon extinguished.

Youth escapes jail sentence because of age

A 16-year-old boy who admitted a string of offences earlier this month escaped a jail sentence this week purely on the basis of his age.

Appearing from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Tuesday, Carl James Howley was sentenced to 200 hours community service after admitting to a number of offences, including the theft of a blank prescription form, breaking and entering and attempting to obtain drugs using the stolen prescription form.

He was further fined £200 for a breach of probation.

Stab threat man gets four months

Appearing from custody, Paul Bullen (20), c/o SACRO, was sentenced to four months in prison after previously admitting to a number of offences including stealing a car, careless driving, struggling violently with police, threatening to stab police officers and failing to provide a breath specimen.

Air Passenger Duty dropped in Highlands and Islands

From April 1, all flights from Kirkwall airport will be exempt from Air Passenger Duty.

The exemption applies to all airports within the Highlands and Islands and accompanies a cut in duty from £10 to £5 on all flights from the UK to destinations within the EU.

Welcoming the reduction, Scotland Office Minister George Foulkes said: "Almost 900,000 passengers a year will benefit from the decision that all flights within and from the Scottish Highlands and Islands will be exempt from duty."

Half of Orkney's dentists lose out on payment review

Only half Orkney's dentists are likely to benefit from a government review of commitment payments.

Health Minister Susan Deacon gave a commitment that payments to dentists will be reviewed during the coming financial review. But in Orkney over half of the dentists working for the NHS are salaried and therefore not eligible for the payments.

Orkney's chief administrative dental officer, Mrs Moya Nelson said that she has fed back several points she hoped would be noted in the review.

She explained: "The relatively low population figures in Orkney mean that salaried posts are an important way of attracting dentists to work up here. At the moment these dentists are automatically excluded from receiving the extra commitment payments."

Councillors agree to barrier safety study

Speaking at the meeting of the roads and environmental services committee, Councillor Mack Petrie urged members to look into the safety of the causeway as a priority.

"We've learned to grow up with this and we're not doing a whole lot about it. We are putting it down to money," he said, adding: "This barrier demands appropriate action."

Grounded boat off Shapinsay refloated

Local coastguard volunteers were called out on Monday afternoon to assist a small boat aground off Shapinsay.

A coastguard spokesman said that the vessel - The Rose - went firmly aground just below Balfour Castle. With low tide at 6.30pm, it took until around midnight until the boat was floated off and towed to the Shapinsay pier.

Royal Oak oil bottled and sold for charity?

Fuel from the sunken warship HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow could end up on a mantelpiece in a souvenir bottle.

The idea was mooted on Monday by Orkney's vice-convener Councillor Jim Sinclair as a way of raising money for maritime charities.

The oil that has been leaking from the warship in Scapa Flow is now being removed and taken to the Flotta oil terminal for recycling. But speaking at the transportation committee Councillor Sinclair suggested that there must be some demand for the oil and that it could be bottled up and sold, with the proceeds going to charity.

Committee chairman Councillor Stephen Hagan said the idea was something to keep in mind.

Double success for the Orkney Brewery

The Orkney Brewery, Quoyloo

The Orkney Brewery has picked up another two awards - this time at the same Scottish beer festival earlier this month.

The brewery's beers Raven Ale and Red MacGregor were voted the top Scottish regional bitter and best bitter respectively at the festival held in Houston, Renfrewshire, organised by the Small Independent Brewers Association.

The double success means both beers will go through to the association's national finals, due to be held in Lincoln next Friday.

Orcadian reporter joins battle against foot-and-mouth

Gillian will join another two Orkney vets - Mr Bill Carstairs, Mrs Morag Spence - as Temporary Veterinary Inspectors (TVIs).

Mr Carstairs and Mrs Spence have been working from "the bunker" in Dumfries for the last two weeks. Gillian joined Animal Health staff at Hadrian House in Carlisle on M onday.

Police recover "significant" quantity of Ecstasy

Police declined to disclose the exact amount involved but did say the small, white tablets, bore the "Mitsubishi" logo.

The man was taken into police custody on Saturday afternoon and released later the same day.

A report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

Road Accident at Tormiston Mill

Police investigations are continuing after a driver crashed into Tormiston Mill in Stenness at the weekend.

The man was taken to Balfour Hospital for treatment to what the police described as minor injuries.

Investigations are ongoing after the Audi vehicle left the road, eventually coming to rest against the wall of the Mill around 4pm on Saturday.

Orkney crush under-strength Ross Sutherland

Orkney's First XV powered their way to a 93-12 victory against Ross Sutherland on Saturday afternoon.

Because of a ferry delay, the game kicked off an hour later than scheduled but it was a depleted Ross Sutherland team that made it on to the KGS pitch.

Former Orkney County Council director dies in Kirkcudbright

Robert Mack, who was 90, died at Kirkcudbright Hospital on Thursday. The funeral is to be held at Kirkcudbright Parish Church on Wednesday, March 28, at 11.30am.

BBC will hold on-air hustings

The BBC will hold a hustings programme featuring all the candidates contesting the Orkney and Shetland seat in the run up to the General Election.

The assurance comes in the wake of an accusation by Tory candidate Mr John Firth that, by not holding his requested daily phone-in with all the candidates, the BBC was denying voters the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.

But the BBC's Northern Isles Editor, Mr John Fergusson said that refusing to have an election phone-in every day should not be seen as an attempt to stifle public debate.

"We have every intention of broadcasting a hustings programme, as we have done in previous elections, and all the candidates including Mr Firth, are well aware of that." he said.

Comeback Code launched but risk assessments will decide when Orkney's renowned attractions reopen

The Standing Stones of Stenness

As the foot and mouth crisis worsens in southern Scotland and England, a new code for access to uninfected areas of the country was unveiled on Friday by Minister for Rural Development Ross Finnie.

The Comeback Code gives advice to the public on what they can do to help protect Scotland's countryside from the threat of the disease while continuing to enjoy it.

The Executive are particularly keen to encourage visitors into parts of Scotland, such as Orkney, which have remained free of the disease.

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Fisheries minister welcomes fisherman safety training initiative

Speaking at the Fishing 2001 Exhibition in Glasgow, Ms Brankin said that the way in which the initiative has been organised showed the overall commitment to tackling the safety problem in fishing.

"We need to ensure that translates into increased awareness of risk and a reduction in the number of incidents and accidents at sea." She added.

The Scottish Executive have committed £1.5 million over the next three years to provide survival at sea courses for new entrants to the fishing industry, fire fighting and fire prevention courses for fishing boat crews, and a new course on safe working practices.

Participation in the safety courses will be voluntary until March 31, 2002, but compulsory thereafter.