Two Orkney men are among the 980 people honoured in the Queen's birthday honours list, which was made public on Saturday.

Kirkwall man Kenny Thomson receives an MBE for services to the British Red Cross Society in Orkney. Stenness man Fraser Anderson's services to the Riding for the Disabled organistion in Orkney has also earned him an MBE.

Athletes head to Hoy for Half Marathon

Hoy was a mecca for athletes on Sunday with the annual Hoy Half Marathon.

92 runners were expected in Rackwick for the start of the 13 mile course around Hoy. The race began at 11am.

Twenty-eight runners took part in the quarter-marathon.

Burray Community Park official opening

Burray's new Community Park was officially opened on Sunday, followed by a gala afternoon of events.

The opening of the facility, which received lottery funding of £37,650, takes place at 2pm.

Representing the OIC, who also conbtributed cash to the project, was Councillor Jim Foubister, who performed the opening ceremony.

Former OIC convener elected to community council

The former convener of the Orkney Islands Council has been elected to Orphir's community council.

Hugh Halcro-Johnston received 156 votes in an election which saw a 67.96 per cent turnout. Mr Halcro-Johnston joins James S. Flett (149); Janet C. Grainger (194) and Nicol J. Sclater (208).

Stromness artist represents Scotland in Venice showcase

Colin Kirkpatrick of Ness Road in Stromness, is one of about 20 other Scottish artists at the Venice Biennale, which opened on Thursday.

Colin was chosen ahead of hundreds of other artists from across Scotland by the project's curators, who travelled to Scotland on a 'scouting trip' last year. His display includes a wide selection of work from exhibitions held in Orkney, including photographs and drawings.

Papay community council results

The community councillors to serve Papa Westray for the next term are:

John W. Cursiter (26); Alistair Hourston (21); James N. Rendall (17); Susan G. Jeffrey (15); Jim Rendall (14); John R. Rendall (13); Fiona E.J. McNab (11)

The percentage poll was 72.55 per cent.

Shapinsay community councillors

The new community councillors for Shapinsay (with votes shown in brackets) are:

James A. Eunson (175); Sheila M. Garson (146); Glynis J. Leslie (137); Thomas Leslie (168); Kenneth M. Meason (118); Graham W. Rendall (166); Heather A. Robertson (116).

The percentage poll was 88.71 per cent.

Flotta's community council results

The Flotta community council has been finalised with the following residents accepting an invitation to serve:

Phyllis H. Gee (40); Mary Luckett (23); Raymond G. O'Neill (18); Peter Robertson (30); David F. Sinclair (32); Marina E. Sinclair (16); Isobel F. Smith (30).

The percentage poll was 78.95 per cent.

Eday community council results

The following seven Eday residents have accepted the invitation to serve on the Eday community council (votes are shown in brackets):

Raymond A. Byers (41); Sara L. Cheesman (24); Michael G. Cockram (30); Neville P. Judd (51); Leo W. Kerr (23); Malcolm J. Scott (54); Cathryn H. Townsend (28).

The percentage poll was 70.27 per cent.

North Ronaldsay community councillors

The new community councillors for North Ronaldsay (with votes shown in brackets) are:

J. Ian Deyell (32); Peter J. Donnelly (36); Evelyn J. Gray (18); William T. Muir (29); Ian W. L. Scott (28); Stewart W. Swanney (7); Kevin F. Woodbridge (17).

The percentage poll was 82.26 per cent.

Sanday community council results

The new community councillors for Sanday (with votes shown in brackets) are:

Stephen G. Clackson (140); John O. Dearness (162); Diane E. Grieve (193); Stanley F. Johnson (201); Jessie D. L. Moodie (181); Margaret A. Rendall (190); James S. Walls (178).

The percentage poll was 69.95 per cent.

Stenness community council results

The new community councillors for Stenness (with votes shown in brackets) are:

Frances M. Kemp (163); Lillias B. M. Mathers (104); F. Victor Muir (135); Steven M. Spence (128).

The percentage poll was 65.86 per cent.

Councillor vows to fight charge

A senior Orkney Islands Councillor has been charged following an alleged incident at the Eclipse dance on his land in Deerness last month.

But Councillor Jim Foubister has vowed that any charges will be "defended vigorously".

Kirkwall Police confirmed that following inquiries a man had been cautioned and charged as a result of an alleged incident and a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Westray community councillors

The second set of Community Council election results are in, with the following elected to serve as Community Councillors for Westray (votes shown in brackets):

William R. L. Bain (181), James S. Brown (273), Anne R. Cooper (230), Thomas K. Harcus (213), Thomas B. Rendall (220), Thomas D. Rendall (193), Timothy H. Stout (252).

The percentage poll was 82.11 per cent.

NorthLink's Kirkwall call centre goes live

NorthLink's new call centre in the ground floor of Kirkwall's Kiln Corner development went live on Thursday.

NorthLink staff have transferred operations from their three different Stromness locations to the new office complex in Kirkwall. Call handling has been switched to Kirkwall, with the public able to make bookings in person from Monday, June 16.

Moving the company's administrative headquarters and call centre away from Stromness prompted a flood of protests in April.

Archive story: NorthLink confirm call centre move plans

Egilsay community councillors named

The count for Egilsay's community council was completed on Wednesday morning with residents John E. Dick and David J. Basford named community councillors.

The percentage poll for the island was 88.24 per cent.

At the time of update, the results of today's other counts were not available.

Kirkwall Airport Firefighter repeats 100 per cent success

Scott Milne received the prestigious Firefighter of the Year Award from IFTC for his 100 per cent mark in his firefighter course last year. He also achieved 100 per cent and received the award for his basic firefighter course in 2001.

The 28-year-old is a firefighter on Red Watch at Kirkwall Airport.

Tensions building but Cameron escapes eviction again

Orcadian Cameron Stout escaped eviction from Big Brother again this week, but tensions in the house are now showing and he received two nominations.

But although the housemates are beginning to feel the strain after 20 days in the house, Cameron seems to be retaining his popularity with viewers, and is still ranked as the fourth most popular housemate by visitors to the Big Brother website.

Click here for the official Big Brother website

Cruise liner income exceeds £100,000 for first time

The harbour income from cruise liners visiting Orkney exceeded £100,000 for the first time during 2002-2003, members of the council¹s transportation committee heard on Tuesday.

Harbour dues from visiting liners are credited to the miscellaneous piers and harbours account.

The number of ships visiting the islands are expected to rise from 53 last year to 64 this summer, councillors were told.

NHS Orkney appoint temporary medical director

Dr George Crooks from Aberdeen has agreed to take up the seconded post for a period of up to six months. Dr Crooks presently works as associate medical director for Grampian Primary Care NHS Trust.

NHS Orkney has been without a medical director since Dr Malcolm Alexander left the post in February.

OIC hope to continue community warden scheme

The initial three-month pilot ended last month, with the OIC's head of protective services, Mr Ian Watt, declaring it a success to councillors last week.

He said: "It has been a very useful project and we¹re very keen to apply for money to keep the scheme going."

Over 1,000 Orkney homes are standing empty claims union

Over 1,000 houses are standing empty in Orkney, according to a survey carried out by the GMB union.

The 576 vacant properties join 500 holiday homes, making a total of 1,076 - 11.4 per cent of the islands' total number of homes.

The GMB are using their figures to press for a tax on empty properties and holiday homes.

Improved power supply on cards for Holm and Deerness

Work began last week on refurbishing the electricity network between St Mary's in Holm and Deerness.

The £126,000 project will, say Scottish Hydro-Electric, will provide a more secure supply for around 370 customers.

Around 63 kilometres of overhead line will be strengthened with new equipment installed to allow the quick tracing of faults.

NorthLink confirm plans to charter St Rognvald

The addition of the St Rognvald to the NorthLink fleet will be for the next five months, up to October.

NorthLink's Gareth Crichton said: "The extra vessel will allow us to meet peak demands over the next five months, including the livestock season. We will bring the vessel into service immediately on a back-to-back schedule with our own freighter MV Hascosay."

Westray to press ahead with biodiesel scheme

A Westray charity is planning to recycle waste cooking oil as a fuel to power their community minibuses, and do it legally.

The renewable energy sub-group of the Westray Development Trust want to test the possibility of using discarded cooking oil as a form of biodiesel.

The idea is that some of the used oil from school kitchens and other council-run cooking establishments should be sent to Westray to allow the energy experts to experiment with converting it into a fuel source.

Highland Park appoints brand ambassador

Orkney's Highland Park distillery has appointed its first 'global brand ambassador'.

Mr Gerry Tosh (28) will be responsible for building relations with the international drinks trade and consolidating the brand's profile around the world, especially in important export markets such as North America and Northern Europe.

2001