The launch of the Pier Arts Centre's new website was celebrated in Aberdeen on Saturday, with a private viewing of a new exhibition at the Aberdeen Art Gallery.

Out of Place runs until January 26, 2006, and is made up of artwork from the Pier Arts Centre - relocated while the centre undergoes extensive redevelopment.

Pier Arts Centre director, Neil Firth, gave a talk about the pieces as well as outlining the facility's redevelopment.

The people of Orkney dug deep on Friday, raising a total £18,852.80 by the end of BBC Radio Orkney's fundraising broadcast at 1am on Saturday morning.

With donations and pledges still coming in, a final total is expected next week.

Police confirmed on Friday that they will continue monitoring the Dounby School area after reports of a man loitering there earlier in the week.

Acting Inspector Bob Mackenzie said that they had received a report of a suspicious person walking up and down outside the school at 2pm on Tuesday.

Two new head teachers have been appointed at two of Orkney's schools.

Finstown-based social learning software development company, Information Plus, were celebrating success on Thursday when they became the second winners of the Fusion Innovation Award.

The winning innovation is a series of software titles which provides interactive resources for social and behavioural learning.

The award, a specially engraved glass trophy, was presented by the sponsors, Microsoft, at Fusion's annual conference in Aviemore, which attracted over 150 delegates.

After evidence heard during the trial of Richard Andrew Land, 38, Schoolhouse, Stenness, he was found not guilty of assaulting the youngster on January 10 this year.

A man has been fined £400 at Kirkwall Sheriff Court for assaulting a teenager in September.

Alastair Macintyre Stewart, 39, of Isbister Road, Kirkwall, was convicted of punching the teenager on Cromwell Road, after an argument had developed over football teams.

An assault on a second woman was found not proven and Stewart was fined £400 and ordered to pay £200 to the complainer.

Sheriff Graeme Napier said: "I rather hoped people in the Northern Isles, including Orkney, were not subject to the same stupid behaviour over football colours. But it appears not."

Mr Wallace has discovered that this year, urban Glasgow City Council received 30 times more cash for this work than the OIC - £948,000 compared to Orkney's £32,000.

He said: "The land access provisions of the Land Reform Act are important. It is right that Orcadians and visitors to the isles should be able to enjoy our countryside.

"But, if we are to make access easier and to make sure that work of farmers in the most popular areas is not disrupted, then we need to develop and maintain a network of core paths. And of course, the council needs funding to allow it to do this."

The mother of an Orkney youngster with behavioural problems has hit out at a system which sees her child taken out of school on "jolly jaunts".

A handful of pupils in the county are being taken on activity trips - including horse-riding and kayaking - in a bid to divert their attention from anti-social behaviour.

But one of the parents of a teenager involved in the Active Steps programme has criticised it, believing it will only encourage children to misbehave.

"It is so unfair on the other bairns. They see kids misbehaving and being given treat for it," she claimed.

NHS Orkney is at the centre of a police investigation.

Allegations surrounding health procedures and practices in the county have been raised with Kirkwall police by a GP who worked in the islands for a spell last year.

NHS Orkney has remained tight-lipped this week and refused to comment until the matter has been concluded.

A man found with 100 Ecstasy tablets was jailed for 26 months at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Wednesday.

Calum Younie, 32, of Sunnyside Cottage, Old Finstown Road, claimed he planned to use the sale of the class A drugs to help pay off £8,500 worth of debts.

Sheriff Graeme Napier said: "You saw this as a money-making enterprise. You are not even at the doors of the debtor's prison. You have £170 free each week but you chose to get involved in the evil trade of drugs."

He added: "The penalty for that will be a custodial sentence."

The Dounreay nuclear power station in Caithness has been issued with an enforcement notice over errors recording radioactive discharges into the air.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) notice follows an investigation into the under-reporting of radioactive emissions to air since 2001.

A SEPA spokesman said that although the power station did not breach any safety limits set to protect the public and environment, management and procedural arrangements were "clearly inadequate" and "in need of improvement."

Bus pass holders are being urged to apply for the new Scotland-wide card which, from March, will give them free bus travel across the country.

Disabled and older Orkney residents will also be entitled to two free return ferry journeys to the Scottish mainland.

Orkney Islands Council has written to existing Orkney cardholders and will hold information sessions throughout the isles. Details of these sessions are being advertised through the public notices in the press.

Orkney's farmers can expect 75 per cent of their first single farm payment to be paid out from December.

Announcing the amount of the interim payment, rural development minister Ross Finnie warned that anyone with an outstanding SFP query would not receive any payment until the query had been resolved.

Orkney Islands Council's community social services staff staged a walk-out on Friday afternoon - as part of their work towards gaining their Scotland's Health At Work (SHAW) Bronze Award.

The staff walked around Kirkwall to try and raise awareness of heart disease and how small life changes like improving your diet, taking regular exercise and managing stress can help combat the disease.

St Andrews Primary School has made good progress in all areas, according to a report from education inspectors published on Tuesday.

The follow-up report focuses on progress made in addressing points highlighted in the original December 2003 inspection.

According to the report, the school has improved its evaluation and monitoring procedures and assured that assessment information is used to help progress pupils.

The inspectors concluded that they will make no further visits to the school in connection with the 2003 report.

Kirkwall lifeboat was launched in "horrendous" conditions on Monday to go to the aid of a fishing boat off Westray.

The 16-metre Laurel, which was en route from Shetland to the Hebrides, suffered an electrical fault which affected her navigation systems and left the crew unsure of their exact position.

Shetland coastguard contacted the Kirkwall lifeboat to accompany the Laurel back to Kirkwall harbour.

Jamie Robertson, 29, of no fixed abode, denied sending "grossly offensive or indecent obscene" text messages, which included alleged threats of violence, earlier this month in Toab.

He also pleaded not guilty to burning property, defacing walls, destroying various household items and defecating in a bed.

A trial date has been set for December 14.

Two early works by Orcadian artist, Dr Stanley Cursiter will be auctioned in Edinburgh next month.

Comprising of an oil and a watercolour, the pictures were rediscovered among a collection belonging to someone who knew the artist.

Dated 1910, the pictures are of unknown Orkney coastal views - although the oil painting has a label fragment inscribed "Spa- Rock, Orkney."

Estimated between £1,000 and £2,000 the picture are expected to arouse considerable interest at the auctions in Bonhams on December 2.

But Sergeant Gordon Deans said this morning that no-one has been charged as yet and that police inquiries are ongoing.

He repeated an appeal to the public for any information on the incident.

The reports outlined proposals to make the Papdale Halls of Residence in Kirkwall, Kirkwall Grammar School and Stromness Primary School "fit for purpose for the 21st century", in accordance to Scottish Executive guidelines issued in 2002.

The three buildings were identified as those in most need of major refurbishment or replacement by the OIC.

Subject to approval by councillors, an outline business case - together with costings and a bid for financial support - will be submitted to the Scottish Executive.

The monitor was stolen from Woolworth in Kirkwall on Sunday afternoon.

The Kirkwall War Memorial

Hundreds of people turned out across the county on Sunday, to pay tribute to the men and women who died in both world wars and conflicts over the past 100 years.

As usual, ceremonies were held in Kirkwall, Stromness and throughout the county.

In Kirkwall, the Remembrance Day parade mustered at the British Legion and made its way to Broad Street. The service was in St Magnus Cathedral.

See also: Brian's research ensures we
will never forget those who gave their lives in war