South Ronaldsay child abuse case sheriff dies at 56

Sheriff David Kelbie ordered nine children, who had been removed from their families in South Ronaldsay after allegations of ritual abuse in 1991, to be returned home.

He said the case was fatally flawed and the children were returned. A long inquiry followed before Lord Clyde, and the families involved were effectively cleared.

Sheriff Kelbie, who was senior Sheriff in Aberdeen, died on Wednesday evening last week after a six-month illness.

No injuries after 'Hope bus goes off road

A bus carrying ten passengers went off the road on Thursday evening, en route to St Margaret's Hope.

Just before 6pm on Thursday, the bus left the road on the Holm Road, at the Toab junction, and ended up in a ditch after an incident involving a second vehicle. None of the passengers were injured and the bus suffered minor damage.

A report has been submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Church leaders offer prayers following Kirkwall murder

Church leaders in Orkney said prayers this week for the family of Kirkwall murder victim Thomas Miller and the local community as a whole.

The prayers were led by the Moderator of the Orkney Presbytery, Reverend Graeme Brown, at a special Presbytery meeting on Thursday. Reverend Brown also offered a prayer for Paul Bullen, the man charged with committing the murder.

Meanwhile, Bullen was flown out of Orkney under police guard on Thursday afternoon. He was driven onto the tarmac at Kirkwall Airport then escorted onto the southbound plane.

It is anticipated he will reappear at Kirkwall Sheriff Court towards the end of next week.

Man charged over death in Kirkwall bedsit

A policeman stands guard outside 22 Bignold Park Road on Wednesday morning (Picture: Orkney Photographic)

A 20-year-old unemployed man has been charged with the murder of Kirkwall man Thomas Miller (47) in the town on Tuesday night.

Paul Steven Bullen (20) c/o SACRO Hostel, Kirkwall, was remanded in custody after appearing in private at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Wednesday morning..

The body of Thomas Grant Miller, 22 Bignold Park, Kirkwall was found in a bedsit at the address around 9.20pm by police on Tuesday night.

Police are appealing for witnesses in the area at any time on Tuesday, who saw anything suspicious, to call them on 872241.

Canadian hub promotion successful

That's the view of OIC harbours director, Captain Bob Moore, who attended the launch of the marketing initiative at the annual conference of the International Ports and Harbours Association in Montreal last week.

Captain Moore told The Orcadian: "We had some very useful face-to-face meetings with industry representatives, and the idea generated considerable interest. It was simply a marketing exercise at this stage, with nothing firm to report. The theme of the annual conference was 'Globalisation' which confirmed our belief that we are on the right road."

The Scapa Flow hub proposal will be promoted further at a container terminal operators conference in Lisbon on June 19-21.

Folk Festival cutbacks considered following poor ticket sales

Orkney Folk Festival could be scaled down next year, following disappointing ticket sales this year.

Higher costs coupled with reduced audience numbers are threatening the future of the annual event, and festival director Johnny Mowat is considering cutbacks to avoid having to abandon it altogether.

He said foot-and-mouth had taken its toll, with ticket sales down slightly on previous years.

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Unexploded bomb found in Highland Park peat bank

A digger driver in Orphir had a lucky escape on Tuesday after uncovering an unexploded bomb in Orphir.

James Andrew Lennie was operating the digger while cutting peats for Highland Park Distillery on Hobbister Hill in Orphir when the device was found.

Police cordoned off the site awaiting the arrival of an army bomb disposal team.

The discovery came at a time when Highland Park was holding a sales conference at the distillery and 120 delegates were due to visit the moor..

Carlyle views Kirkwall during short break in the county

Robert Carlyle during his time in Kirkwall on Wednesday.

Renowned Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, star of the British film success -The Fully Monty - is currently on holiday in Orkney.

The film and television favourite entertained a number of local fans on Wednesday afternoon by signing autographs as he walked through Kirkwall's Albert Street.

Mr Carlyle said he was touring Scotland on holiday, and that he was pleased to be in Orkney.

Executive "keeping in touch" over livestock shipping issue

The Scottish Executive have confirmed that they are "keeping in touch" with P & O Scottish Ferries and Orkney Islands Council over the loss of the cargo and livestock service between Kirkwall and Invergordon.

A spokeswoman for the Executive said this week that this was being done to ensure that the capacity for moving livestock and other goods was being provided by other means.

RSPB launch appeal to buy land near Brodgar and Egilsay

A £350,000 appeal has been launched by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to buy and manage two new sites in Orkney, and to help pay for maintaining the twelve existing bird reserves in the county.

The national campaign aims to generate money to buy 86 acres of land in one of the most sensitive scenic areas of Orkney, near the Ring of Brodgar in Stenness bordering the Stenness Loch; and 126 acres of farmland in Egilsay, alongside the existing RSPB reserve.

Torvhaug reunion organisers seek former staff for reunion

Past and present staff the Torvhaug Inn in Kirkwall will be celebrating 30 years service in July.

Organisers of the reunion are appealing for past staff to come forward to join the celebrations set to take place on July 1 and 2.

Current staff have tried to track down everyone who has worked at the Bridge Street bar since it was opened in 1971 but have been hampered by the fact that many staff were employed informally and known only by nicknames. They are appealing for anyone who worked at the bar to get in touch on 01856 872100 by Thursday, June 7.

Orkney's Highland Park is among the "best of the best"

The Highland Park's 18-year-old Malt whisky has been named Best Island Malt following a marathon taste-test that spanned three continents.

Sixty-two experts from Whisky Magazine selected their winning whiskies from the 293 that had been covered in the publication. Forty-seven whiskies were divided into eight groups by the magazine, which were then judged by experts in Edinburgh, Kentucky and Tokyo.

Four of the groups were Scotch - Blended Scotch, Whisky, Highland Malt Scotch Whisky, Speyside Malt Whisky and Island Malt Whisky - and the Edrington Group, who own the Highland Park, were awarded "Best of the Best" in all categories.

Police seek Peugeot driver

Kirkwall police are appealing for the driver of, what is believed to be, a white Peugeot car to come forward in connection with the road accident at Scapa on Sunday evening.

They say the vehicle may have been in the area at the time of the accident and would like to speak to the driver.

Dounby "fun day" meeting tonight

An initial meeting was held last week and the enthusiasm of the 25-30 people in attendance was felt sufficient to organise a series of activities and attractions throughout the day.

The meeting takes place in the Plout Kirn, Dounby, at 8pm.

Driver in Scapa road accident transferred to Aberdeen

A female driver was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary on Monday, after a road accident at Scapa on Sunday evening.

The driver, the sole occupant of the vehicle, had be cut from her car around 8pm on Sunday evening after her Volkswagen car left the road before colliding with a building at Scapa.

Police, ambulance and fire brigade attended the scene and the driver was transferred to Balfour Hospital for treatment.

Her condition was said to be stable before she was transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

Kirkwall man back in prison days after release

Peter Raymond Walls (36), 28 Junction Road, Kirkwall, was remanded in custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Monday after admitting a breach of the peace and breaking his probation order at the weekend.

Walls had gone to his former partner's house on Saturday, despite a court order that he should not go near that address. The court heard that Walls left the house taking his twin eight-year-old sons with him but was later traced to his parents' house and arrested

Remanding Walls in custody until June 5, Honorary Sheriff Gary Gibson called for an updated social inquiry report.

Scallop fishing in certain parts of the North Isles has been banned because of a build-up of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) in recent samples.

The area concerned is east and north of Tankerness to Sanday, including Shapinsay and Stronsay and Auskerry and Eday, and as far west as Rousay, including all of Egilsay and part of Wyre and Gairsay.

The ban only applies to fishing for (king) scallops. No other type of commercially marketed shellfish is affected.

The Mustard Seed, coffee shop in Kirkwall, was presented with a renewed Scottish Healthy Choices Award on Monday.

The latest presentation makes it the only establishment in Orkney to hold the award for four years running.

The award is made the Health Education Board for Scotland and the Scottish Consumer Council in conjunction with the local environmental services and health promotion departments. The certificate recognises the efforts of firms and establishments that plan their menus so that there are healthy choices available each day.

NorthLink unveil cattle "cassettes"

The proposed cattle cassette system Click the image for more.

The specially-designed two-tier steel containers with facilities for feed and water are known as cassettes and allow animals to travel in "neutral time" on board the ferries. The cassettes double up to provide onshore lairage.

Further talks about the practicalities of the system are due to be held with animal welfare and environmental health officials as well as local farming representatives.

New foot-and-mouth cases together with the lifting of livestock movement restrictions has left many Orkney farmers uneasy that "guard" against the disease is being dropped too soon.

While respecting the rights of people to get on with their business, Orkney NFU chairman Scott Harcus has urged anyone planning to take animals into Orkney to satisfy themselves that they have no alternative and that they carefully assess any risks posed.

"We have been very fortunate in Orkney to escape the worst of the problems experienced by producers on the mainland. Let's hope that with some common sense and co-operation we can see this crisis through without any further problems." he added.

Lifeboat launched after vessel sinks off Shetland

Kirkwall lifeboat was launched on Friday morning after a boat with a father and son on board sank off the south coast of Shetland.

The coastguard helicopter Oscar Charlie spotted the men in a liferaft and airlifted them to hospital in Shetland and Kirkwall lifeboat returned to port after hearing that a successful rescue had been carried out.

The men had just purchased a 12-metre Buckie-registered fishing vessel and were taking it home to Shetland when the incident happened.

Orkney Ferries pass safety audit with flying colours

Orkney Ferries have passed a major audit of its safety procedures with flying colours.

Auditors from the Marine and Coastguard Agency carried out a thorough five yearly review of the safety certificates on Orkney Ferries' three North Isles vessels.

The MCA said this week that it could find no areas where Orkney Ferries were not complying fully with the necessary requirements.

Pentland Ferries received passenger certificate

Pentland Ferries were awarded a passenger certificate by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on Thursday. This means that the Pentalina-B can now carry up to 249 passengers and 47 cars.

A spokesman for the ferry company expressed delight at the news, which comes three weeks after they began operating a more limited cargo and passenger service.