Orkney's win against RAF Lossiemouth on Saturday has secured them this season's league championship.

Orkney won 37-10, with two tries coming from Al Watson, one from Roger Hall, while Erlend Hutchison added to the points with a try, four conversions and three penalties.

Top award to Orphir art student

An art student from Orphir has won the top award in this year’s Royal Scottish Academy Students Exhibition.

22-year-old Steven Maclver of Glenview, who is a fourth year student at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen, won the W. Gordon Smith Award (and £2,000) for his painting “Theatre of Dreams”.

The RSA Exhibition can be seen in the McLellan Galleries, Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow until 20th March.

Caithness emerged victorious in the latest inter-county meeting with Orkney's 'A' and 'B' squash teams.

The results of the second-leg matches in Kirkwall on Friday night saw Caithness win back the 'A' League Robertson Cup from Orkney, while their 'B' League colleagues retained the Caithness Shield.

Social Justice Minister to visit

Scotland’s Social Justice Minister, Iain Gray, is due to visit Orkney next week to speak to a number of local voluntary groups and the Orkney Housing Association.

During his one-day visit, on Tuesday, the Minister will tour the Volunteer Bureau in Kirkwall’s Anchor Buildings talking to several of the agencies who have offices there.

Civic amenity site for Firth?

Orkney Direct are proposing to create a civic amenity site near the entrance to Cursiter Quarry in Firth.

Concern has been expressed about the safety of the access road and the possibility of items left on the site being blown onto neighbouring land.

Councillors are being asked to rubber stamp planning permission for the facility because it is regarded as a local authority development. However, as a formal objection has been received, the application will also have to be referred to Scottish Ministers for a final ruling.

People will be able to continue enjoying a dram with their breakfast at the Ferry Inn in Stromness after members of the Orkney Area Licensing Board heard of the success of the venture over the past six months.

Licensing members have agreed to a further extension meaning the hotel can sell alcohol and breakfasts from 9am Monday to Saturday and 9.30am on Sundays.

Ms Georgette Herd, representing the firm, said: “Obviously it has been financially viable or they would not have been back here. They have seen their breakfast trade increase quite dramatically.”

A fund-raising carriage drive on the main Kirkwall to Stromness road to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee has been supported by councillors - despite fears over road safety.

Speaking at this week''s licensing sub-committee meeting, Inspector Paul Eddington said it was national policy not to support public processions on public roads, although he admitted that the organisers had a comprehensive safety plan.

The event on June 3, which is in aid of the Red Cross, got the go ahead after Councillor Sinclair Scott pointed out that cars do not have the right to exclude other traffic from the roads.

Licences granted for nightclub and bowling alley

Two large private ventures got the licences required to progress at the Orkney Area Licensing Board meeting this week.

Neil Stevenson’s music venue and nightclub was granted a provisional public house licence for the ground floor and part of the first floor of the premises on Ayre Road, Kirkwall. This means the premises will be able to cater for 700 people instead of the previous 650 total.

George Drever, of Kirkwall, was provisionally granted an entertainment licence for the proposed ten-pin bowling centre.

New Orkney Library taking shape

Work on the frame of the new Orkney Library in progress this week.

The new Orkney Library is beginning to take shape, with the construction of the main framework now under way.

Work on one of the library's two wings began this week, with the framework of the southernmost wing now almost up.

The new £4 million library is being built on the site of the old Kirkwall Auction Mart site on Junction Road, with work hoped to be completed by May 2003.

See also: 3D representation of the new Orkney Library

Moena visitors arrive in Orkney

Visitors from the Italian town of Moena - home of the late Domenico Chiocchetti, creator of the Italian Chapel - arrived in the county on Thursday.

The choir, Canticum Novum, features Chiocchetti’s youngest daughter Angela. His other daughter, Letizia, completes the 36-strong group.

One of the choir's first engagements was a performance in the Italian Chapel on Thursday afternoon.

Orkney Meat in dock over hygiene breach

Orkney Meat have admitted failing to remove the material necessary to comply with meat hygiene regulations to prevent the spread of BSE on two separate occasions.

It was a legally required independent check, paid for by the company, which highlighted the defects in a bovine carcase and sheep carcase, before leaving the abattoir, Kirkwall Sheriff Court heard this week.

Defence agent Mr Bob Shaw appeared in court on Tuesday on behalf of the company – who were awarded more than £800,000 in grant aid for a major redevelopment of the plant at Hatston in Kirkwall recently.

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Orkney chef, Alan Craigie of the Creel Restaurant, St Margaret’s Hope, is to join the advisory board of the Scottish Chefs Association (SCA).

He will link up with 14 of Scotland’s top chefs to form what has been described as “the most powerful culinary think-tank in Scotland.”

The SCA provides education and training for working chefs and aims to promote cooking as a career and to extol the virtues of Scottish produce.

Shellfish monitoring under fire from MSP

Orkney MSP, Mr Jim Wallace, has renewed his call that shellfish samples be taken more regularly so temporary bans can be lifted sooner.

In particular, Mr Wallace criticised the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for failing to live up to the promise, given to him in September, to improve the algal toxin monitoring of scallops in Scapa Flow.

Mr Wallace is concerned that no Scapa Flow test results for Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) were available between mid-January and February 25 - a time recent tests have shown shucked scallop fishing could have restarted.

Comet Ikeya-Zhang taken on March 11. (Pic: Dean Schwartzenberg and Rick Schrantz)

Skywatchers in Orkney over the next few nights should be able to catch a glimpse of the newly-discovered comet 2002 C1, or Ikeya-Zhang.

According to Rousay astronomer John Vetterlein, Ikeya-Zhang will reach its maximum brightness around March 21, by which time it should be visible to the naked eye.

But even now, it will be clearly visible using binoculars.

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Man pleads guilty to assault but denies drug possession

Reports have been called for against a Kirkwall man who admitted assaulting a woman and a breach of the peace on Saturday.

Peter Raymond Walls (37) originally appeared from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Monday. Reappearing yesterday, he pled guilty to assaulting Linda Scott at Eunson Kloss, Kirkwall and a breach of the peace at the time. He denied possessing cannabis resin which was accepted by the Crown.

Sheriff Colin Scott Mackenzie deferred sentence for reports until April 9 and Walls was released on bail.

Cliff rescue equipment could be used inside St Magnus Cathedral to lower casualties from the upper levels in an emergency.

The problem of medical treatment in the upper floors was highlighted during a mock exercise yesterday, staged to identify the difficulties which could occur in a medical emergency during the planned tours of the cathedral's higher levels.

The tours are scheduled to begin next month.

Loganair have confirmed they intend to start Sunday flights to and from Kirkwall at the beginning of April.

The airline will use their 34-seater Saab 340 aircraft on Sunday services between Kirkwall and Aberdeen, Inverness, Glasgow and Sumburgh.

Flights to and from Edinburgh on a Sunday will begin on May 19 and operate for the summer only, finishing on September 15. However, Loganair hope that Sunday flights between Kirkwall and the other destinations will develop into an all year round service.

Repairs to Orkney’s largest fishing vessel, Orcades Viking III, look likely to cost more than one million pounds with the boat being out of commission until May at the earliest.

The vessel broke down with engine problems on January 6, and had to be towed into Lerwick by another fishing boat.

The vessel’s owner, Mr Angus Sinclair of Stromness, told The Orcadian: “The boat has been towed to a shipyard at Skala in the Faeroes to have the repairs done. We still have not decided whether to put in a new engine or fix the old one."

NorthLink have assured Highlands and Islands MSP Mary Scanlon that existing P&O Scottish Ferries staff will have jobs after the contract changes in October.

Ms Scanlon said: "It is understandable that there is uncertainty and insecurity being felt by existing P&O staff members. It is difficult to retain experienced staff in the transition from one operator to another and this is undoubtedly a huge challenge to NorthLink."

"However, the assurance given by John Horton, Chief Executive, seem to identify and address the problems."

Survey reveals young people's habits

Young people in Orkney are smoking and drinking more than they were eight years ago, according to a new survey released this week.

The Orkney Youth Lifestyle Survey, jointly commissioned by NHS Orkney and Orkney Drug Alcohol and Smoking Team (DASAT), also shows an increase in the number of senior pupils who have tried drugs – in line, DASAT say, with national trends.

Nearly 90 per cent of secondary pupils in Orkney filled in the questionnaire at school last summer, under exam-like conditions.

Mrs Judi Wellden, chair of Orkney DASAT, said: “What we found is that the picture here is very similar to the rest of the country.”

Fishermen agree to local conservation scheme

Shell fishermen in Orkney have agreed to set up some form of local association to represent their interests and suggest conservation measures, rather than applying for a regulating order to control inshore fishing.

The decision was taken at a public meeting in Kirkwall last Friday night.

Robert Smith from St Margaret’s Hope, skipper of the 32-foot creelboat Golden West, will act as interim chairman of the new group until it is formally constituted.

Man faces assault and drug possession charges

A man appeared from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Monday morning charged with assault, breach of the peace and possession of cannabis resin.

Peter Raymond Walls (37), Junction Road, Kirkwall is charged with assaulting Linda Scott at Eunson Kloss, Kirkwall on Saturday as well as possessing of cannabis resin and breach of the peace.

The case was continued without plea until Wednesday’s court and Walls was released on bail.

Police are appealing for information following a two vehicle road accident in Stromness on Sunday night.

The collision occurred between a Renault 19 and a Citroen AX in North End Road around 7.45pm. There were no injuries. Police are seeking witnesses to come forward or give them a call on 872241.

A second accident occurred on Saturday when a BMW left the carriageway during a heavy hailstorm between Burwick and St Margaret’s Hope. No one was injured.

Police renew appeal for fatal accident information

Police have today renewed their appeal for witnesses to the road accident in which Sanday man Dennis Sinclair was killed last week.

The fatal three-vehicle road accident took place around 5.50pm last Tuesday about a mile south of Tore on the A9.

A police spokesman urged anyone who may have witnessed the accident or who was travelling on that stretch of road to contact them. They are particularly keen to speak to the driver of a white vehicle, thought ot be a Vauxhall Astra, travelling south at the time.

Anyone with information should contact the police on 01349 862444.

A tragic chapter in the short lives of three newborn babies could draw to a close soon.

What course of action is taken regarding the discovery of bones under a house in Harray last year is now in the hands of procurator fiscal, Ms Sue Foard, who has received the Crown Office report.

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