Orkney play Whitecraigs away

Orkney Rugby Club's First XV lost their latest Division Four national league fixture on Saturday.

They went down by 25 points to 21 in the game against Whitecraigs which was played in Glasgow.

Former Skaill House manager joins Orkney Heritage

Janette Park (31) will have management responsibilities for the custodial staff in all four museums and be responsible for the social history and fine art collections held by Orkney Heritage.

Housing Association architects go bust

Baxter Clark & Paul (Inverness) Ltd were the architects on a number of Orkney schemes, including Queen Sonja Kloss, but OHA say the liquidation will have no effect on any resident in any of their completed schemes.

A spokesman added: "They were also working up a number of projects for us and we are putting in place alternative arrangements and we are working to minimise delays."

Mobile cancer unit returns to Orkney

All women between 50 and 64 will be asked to attend the breast screening unit based at the Balfour Hospital for three months.

The unit visits Orkney every three years, where the uptake rate is the highest in Scotland. Over 88 per cent of eligible women attended the unit's last visit in 2000.

Scallop ban lifted

A ban on king scallop fishing in Scapa Flow has been lifted by the Food Standards Agency.

The lifting of the ban, which covered to the south of the Mainland and west of the South Isles (view map), follows monitoring which shows that the levels of Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) toxins have dropped.

However, King Scallops collected from the area must still be taken to an approved plant for processing.

Cannabis campaigner trial postponed again

The trial of Orkney MS sufferer Biz Ivol was postponed again on Thursday, but with no firm trial date set.

A notional trial date has now been fixed for Match 27 to discuss arrangements for the case to go ahead.

Mrs Ivol, who suffers from Multiple Sclerosis and is a long-time campaigner for the legalisation of cannabis, is charged with supplying, possessing and growing cannabis.

Stromness phones back on

The last of the West Mainland customers whose phones were cut off earlier this week were reconnected on Thursday afternoon.

A BT spokesman confirmed that four cables serving Stromness and Sandwick were damaged by OIC workmen on Tuesday, cutting off phone lines to around 100 households.

He added that the cable had been replaced and the last few customers were reconnected on Thursday.

Costly trip for Caithness man

A Caithness man was fined and ordered to pay compensation of £1,100 for breaking a Kirkwall shop window on County Show day last year.

At a trial in Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Thursday, Gordon Macdonald (26) of Wick was found guilty of breaking the window of Scott's Shoe Shop in Victoria Street.

The compensation was to cover the cost of the window and the damaged display goods in the window.

Health service in crisis - GPs unit to warn over hospital threat

The serious implications of the health crisis facing Orkney were spelled out by doctors this week - with warnings that it could mean the end of treatment at the Balfour Hospital.

And the loss of GPs could lead to mass depopulation and the collapse of the local economy, it was claimed.

This week 26 GPs signed a declaration in a letter to The Orcadian, warning islanders of the funding crisis - which could see primary care services slashed in the county and patients forced to travel south for basic medical and maternity services.

See also: Cash shake-up spells catastrophe for Orkney doctors

Another gold for Highland Park

Paula Hardy, Highland Park's global marketing manager with a bottle of their champion whisky

Orkney's Highland Park whisky has come out top in a competition run by Whisky Magazine.

The 18-year-old whisky won the title of Best Island Malt after being judged by 75 experts in 'blind' tastings in Edinburgh, Tokyo and Kentucky.

Man arrested after Balfour Hospital incident

The man, who is in his 40s, was arrested and taken to Kirkwall Police Station and later released.

A report is being submitted to the procurator fiscal.

Jewellery technology showcased at Orkney College

Organised by Ola Gorie, Orkney College and the Technology Innovation Centre of the University of Central England, the event is demonstrating items such as laser image scanners, digital milling machines and a new 3d web-based catalogue system.

The Longhope lifeboat was launched on Tuesday night after the Pentland Ferries vessel Claymore ran into difficulties approaching St Margaret's Hope.

Travelling back to Orkney around 7.45pm, the ferry lost power to its bow thruster and was left drifting in storm force winds. The 12 passengers were evacuated to the lifeboat and put ashore at the 'Hope.

Although it was feared the Claymore would be driven ashore, she came to rest against another vessel and was later safely towed to her berth.

Walkway work gets under way

Walkways arrive in Stromness

Work on the new Stromness ferry terminal walkway got under way on Wednesday with the structure delivered to the pier.

The Kirkwall walkway is expected to be delivered to Hatston on Friday.

It is estimated they will be fully operational in three weeks.

Two Orkney monuments in shortlist for Britain's finest

Two of Orkney's best known ancient monuments have been included in a shortlist of 'Britain's finest' drawn up by Channel Five.

Maeshowe and Skara Brae were selected by a panel of experts, with members of the public now invited to vote for the monument they want to see top the list.

The vote is part of a new series of four Channel Five programmes looking at the country's finest monuments, castles, stately homes and gardens.

Click here to see the list and place your vote

£536,000 transport cash to Orkney

The money, part of the Executive's Rural Transport Fund, will be paid over two years - £261,000 in 2004/05 and £275,000 in 2005/06. The cash goes to Orkney Islands Council who will decide how best to allocate it.

Speaking at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands, Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace pledged further funds for the Rural Public Passenger Transport scheme which supports rural transport such as bus, ferry and some community transport services.

Scapa Flow hub could be integral to development of shipping route

Orkney's proposed Scapa Flow transhipment hub could be integral to the development of the Northern Maritime Corridor project.

The project is looking to increase container traffic along the sea route from northern Europe to Greenland, and delegates at a meeting in Orkney on Monday heard that Scapa Flow would be central to the geographic trade area.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise are still seeking local businesses and organisations interested in the corridor proposals.

Police inquiries continue after South Ronaldsay drugs raid

Police inquiries are continuing after the raid on a South Ronaldsay property last week that recovered "significant" quantities of cannabis.

The house was searched last Thursday where cannabis and "other related items", now thought to be worth "considerably more" than £10,000, were seized.

A 35-year-old man is being reported to the procurator fiscal.

Stromness lifeboat launched to assist sinking trawler

The Stromness lifeboat was launched on Saturday to assist a trawler taking on water 40 miles to the north-west of Orkney.

The five crew of the Buckie-registered Onwards took to their lifeboat around 2.40pm on Saturday and were eventually taken to Kirkwall by Coastguard helicopter.

The Onwards sank around 9pm on Saturday evening.

Six expressions of interest in the Scapa Flow container port have been received following the recent online advert  for parties to design, construct and operate a facility in Orkney.

The Scapa Containerport Steering Group, made up of representatives from Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, met on Friday to discuss progress.

Welcoming the interest shown so far, the group stressed that the project is still in the very early stages, with legal agreements, environmental assessment and planning applications required before detailed design proposals can be unveiled publicly.

Archive story: Port could be new boom

Cash grant for Orkney Skate Park

A Scottish Executive grant of £42,500 for the Orkney Skate Park Group was announced on Friday.

The cash will go towards the creation of the county's first skate park.