Finnie announces relaxation in livestock movement

Further relaxations on the foot-and-mouth restrictions on animal movements have been announced by Minister for Environment and Rural Development Ross Finnie.

Stressing the need for continued vigilance, Mr Finnie explained that the relaxations are being introduced as the foot-and-mouth situation in Scotland continues to improve.

Among others, the relaxation means that veterinary certification will no longer be required for longer distance movements.

Orkney celebrates Norwegian Constitution Day

A piper leads the annual Norwegian Constitution Day tog through Albert Street

The annual Norway Independence Day "tog" through the streets of Kirkwall took place on Thursday with visitors and locals parading from the pierhead to the steps of the St Magnus Cathedral.

As the procession filed into Broad Street and the crowd gathered at the foot of the Cathedral steps, an assembled choir sang the Norwegian National anthem and Orkney Islands Council Convener Hugh Halcro-Johnston welcomed the Norwegian guests.

Cash boost to Orkney athletes from local firm

Orkney Salmon Company Ltd are not only sponsoring the team to the tune of £10,000, they are also helping Steve Hogsden - the team's only wheelchair-bound competitor - to travel to the games in comfort.

The £10,000 contribution will go towards the cost of paying for the team's travel, accommodation and clothing.

Local jewellery firms shortlisted for awards

The companies, Aurora Jewellery, and Fair Isle Silver have reached the final stage in the "Most Promising Newcomer" category of the business awards. Both Sara Tait of Aurora Jewellery and Tony Merriman of Fair Isle Silver expressed delight at reaching the final three.

Representatives from both companies are to attend an awards ceremony in Inverness on Monday, July 2.

100 per cent census return rate for Orkney

Orkney and Shetland are the only area in Scotland so far to have achieved a 100 per cent return for Census forms.

Registrar General for Scotland, John Randall, commented: "I want to thank the public for their excellent response. The Census in Scotland is proceeding very well, with returns in Orkney and Shetland being complete, and many other local authority areas are well over the national average of 93 per cent."

Passengers treated after Beetle leaves road

Two passengers were taken to Balfour Hospital on Wednesday following a single vehicle accident at Deepdale in Stromness.

A Volkswagen Beetle left the road around 2.25pm, thought to have skidded on newly laid stone chips. The driver was uninjured.

NorthLink allay ferry safety concerns

The issue was raised by the Shetland Islands Council who indicated that some members of the public were concerned that the vessels designed for bow-door operation would not be safe enough for sea conditions around the islands.

NorthLink chief executive John Horton said on Wednesday that the new vessels were being built to a specification which far exceeded existing safety regulations.

"It is important to stress that these new specifications provide for vessels which are much stronger than the ferries currently used on the route." he said.

Dismay as water bills rise by 200 per cent

Dismay has spread through Kirkwall firms following the news that their water bills are to rise by more than 200 per cent this year.

The massive rises have been imposed upon companies in the town who pay trade effluent charges, to help fund the new sewage treatment plant being built at the Head of Work.

The costs of the £1.9 million plant and £1.3 million outfall rose by £2.2 million after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency told the water authority that they had to upgrade it to make it cleaner.

It means though that local traders will have to pay more, in line with the Government's "polluter pays" principle.

Click here for full story.

Westray and Papay aim to keep up tourism trend

Tourist businesses in Westray and Papay bucked a countywide trend to enjoy an increase in visitor numbers during 2000, according to the chairman of the Westray and Papay Tourist Association, Mrs Linda Hagan.

Speaking at the association's AGM last week, Mrs Hagan said that both hotels in Westray and the hostel at Chalmersquoy had fared particularly well, and that the Craft Trail had also attracted a significant number of tourists, with Seatters Gallery the starting point for the Trail reporting a 48 per cent increase in visitors.

Click here for full story.

Police concern over false 999 calls

According to Inspector Paul Eddington yesterday, over 29 false 999 calls have been registered so far this month - averaging out at two a day. The majority of these have been accidentally dialled by mobile phones.

He said: "We'd like to appeal to people to ensure that they lock their mobiles or switch them off when they're not using them. At the end of the day we have to respond to all 999 calls - it's not just a case of hanging up - so have to spend time calling the person back or tracing the owner of the phone to check everything is alright."

Brigade extinguish heathland fire

The Fire brigade were called just before 11pm and extinguished the fire, which burned an area of heathland around three-quarters of a mile square.

OIC Director of Harbours to retire

Commenting on his service to the authority, OIC chief executive Alistair Buchan said: "Captain Moore has been a very effective director of harbours, and a safe pair of hands. It was anticipated at the time of his appointment that Captain Moore would only be in the post for a few years. He will now be assisting us in recruiting a successor. It is hoped that a new director will be in post by October."

NFU vice-president discusses livestock shipments with SERAD

Mr Kinnaird said that he would be stressing to the officials the urgency of resolving this issue.

He added that the NFU had received an acknowledgment from Transport Minister, Sarah Boyack, agreeing to meet union representatives to discuss livestock shipments from Orkney.

Seabed tests mark start of Crowness terminal work

Seabed examination work is under way to prepare for the start of the multi-million pound ferry terminal project at Hatston.

Hemel Hempstead company Fugro Ltd are site investigation specialists whose jack-up barge has been taking test bores of the seabed rock to determine its condition.

A council spokesman explained: "They should be around three to four weeks on site taking samples from the rock which will be sent for analysis, before the foundations are put in for the pier."

Stronsay wind farm on site by autumn

The East Anglian-based company, TXU, had their Orkney wind farm application approved by the OIC's planning committee last week.

TXU's engineer John Fairlie, told The Orcadian: "There is a lot to do before the development can go ahead. We have to order the turbines, which should be available 'off the shelf' but will be site specific. All three are the same size and have the same output. They will provide an output of between 800-850 kilowatt. The turbines have 49 metre towers, and a blade length of 26 metres, giving a maximum height to the top of the blades of 75 metres, a metre less than our 1.3 megawatt generator on Burgar Hill."

Reprieve for Stromness Shopping Week

Fears had been realised when the committee of just seven announced last week that they were cutting back the seven-day festival in July to just three and a half days.

However at a public meeting on Monday, 60 people turned up to offer their help - 25 people have joined the committee and the rest have pledged to give support.

Stromness Shopping Week committee chairman Jacqueline Wishart said they were overwhelmed and delighted by the response, which put the event back on an even keel.

Community Council to ask for return of arms

The coat of arms was taken back by the Crown after regionalisation in 1975 when Kirkwall Town Council ceased to exist.

Chairman of the community council, Spencer Rosie said on Monday night: "I suggest we ask to get the coat of arms back. If there is any cost involved it will have to come back to the community council. If we agree to this it will legalise things."

Committees plan events to fill the show void

Two local committees met on Monday night to discuss what they intend doing following the cancellation of this year's agricultural shows.

The East Mainland Agricultural Society agreed to organise an alternative outdoor community event, including children's sports, in the St Andrews Showpark on August 4, which would have been East Mainland Show day. The horticultural and industrial show will also take place on August 4.

The West Mainland Horticultural and Industrial Association also agreed last night that they would hold their Flower, Produce and Industrial Show as usual in the Masonic Hall, Dounby, on August 8 and 9.

The Groattie Hoose, Kirkwall

Kirkwall Community Council have set aside £500 from their funds towards the possible relocation of the Groattie Hoose, a folly that lies in the garden behind Tods of Orkney in Bridge Street.

The Groattie Hoose was built in 1730 using some of the ballast from Pirate Gow's ship, the Revenge.

Speaking at Monday night's community council meeting, chairman Spencer Rosie said: "Given its age, its history and its connections with important figures in Orkney's history, I think that it is well worthy of preservation, especially as it is now in quite a sorry state."

The total estimated cost of relocating the Groattie Hoose stands at £35,000. Possible suggestions for new locations include Tankerness House Gardens and the car park opposite the Ayre Hotel.

Engineering award for Westray man

Martyn Tulloch (27), who works for the Babtie Engineering Group in Aberdeen, was chosen from the longest list of entrants in the thirteen year history of the ACE awards.

Chairman of the judging panel, Mr Brian Clancy said: "We were impressed by Martyn's original report exploring entrepreneurship and the role of the consultant engineer, together with his intelligent and insightful views on the industry and our profession, particularly in a changing world."

Organisation claim Dounreay authorities are misleading public

Calls have been made for the closure of a Caithness beach near the Dounreay nuclear complex amid claims that the radioactive contamination is far more serious than the authorities have reported.

Scotland Against Nuclear Dumping (SAND) have called on Rural Affairs Minister Ross Finnie to close Sandside Beach where radioactive particles keep turning up.

SAND say an independent study by Dr Philip Day, a reader in chemistry at Manchester University, has shown that contamination of the beach is more than 100 times more serious previously thought.

End is nigh for Orkney's BS number plates

The number's up this year for the Orkney BS plate which has distinguished local vehicles since the first registered car rolled into the county at the beginning of the last century.

From September, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency are introducing new registration number plates made up of seven characters.

Orkney vehicles will no longer be identified by their own distinctive number plate, but will be linked with the Highlands and Islands with plates beginning with SX or SY. The first two letters of the new registration marks will show where the vehicle was registered, followed by two numbers to indicate the age. Three random letters will then give a unique identity to the vehicle.

Auction Mart set up as cattle collection centre

After weeks of negotiations, Orkney Auction Mart has been set up as a collection centre for store and fat cattle.

For the first time since the foot-and-mouth crisis first broke, the local livestock market will handle live cattle - albeit on a much reduced scale. At the moment the mart are weighing the animals which are then transported to abattoirs south.

Partially sighted try their hand at shooting

The vice-chairman of the National Smallbore Rifle Association (NSRA), Ken Nash, was in Orkney at the weekend giving practical demonstrations at the Pickaquoy Centre.

In addition to conventional target shooting weapons, Mr Nash brought with him the specialist equipment that enabled partially-sighted shooter Vikki Thomson from Kirkwall to take up the sport and win a place in the UK Blind Target Shooting squad.

Orkney seal rescue man on standby for Russian expedition

Ross Flett from the Orkney Seal Rescue Centre has been invited to join a team travelling to the Arctic to save harp seal pups marooned on an ice flow off Russia.

The plight of the seals was highlighted on last week and since the TV broadcast a group of UK volunteers have been on standby to help save the stranded pups.

Meanwhile, Ross has is also to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) at a presentation in the House of Commons on June 27. The award recognises his many years of service saving seals in Orkney.

Tories will be promising free fuel by election day says Carmichael

As the election campaigns gather pace, differences in opinions regarding fuel tax have already come to the fore with Liberal Democrat candidate Alistair Carmichael hitting out at the Conservative proposal to reduce fuel tax.

Campaigning in South Ronaldsay, Mr Carmichael said: "When fuel duty first became a big issue last September Michael Portillo said that the Conservatives would not cut the level of fuel duty. As the bandwagon started to roll, however, the Tories predictably jumped on it and offered a three pence per litre cut. Today they have upped that to six pence per litre."

Declaring the policy as an insult to voters' intelligence, he added: "The further that William Hague's Conservatives get from government, the more extravagant are their promises."

Meanwhile, Conservative candidate John Firth welcomed the tax reduction saying that William Hague "is a man of action, not waffle and spin. By this move alone, William Hague will help every man woman and child in Britain."