| GMB flavour to Stromness museum open day |
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 Fans of poet and writer, George Mackay Brown, have the chance today to view the Stromness Museum’s summer exhibition free of charge.
The museum’s open day, from 10am-5pm, will allow visitors to view all the exhibits, as well as the new Just George – George Mackay Brown 1921-1996.
A reading of GMB’s work will also take place in the museum at 3pm.
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| Highest bid of auction is for Torvhaug claymore |
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An antique look claymore got the highest bid at £300 at the Torvhaug charity auction.
The sale of items in the pub took place on Wednesday and Thursday night, when punters packed in to bid for memorabilia from their old haunt before it is refurbished.
A bid of £20 was put in for Stun’s (Malcolm Sutherland’s) air guitar and auctioneer, Andy Cant’s, ‘shirt of his back’ went for £10 to finish the auction.
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| Sheep parasite is sign of climate change |
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The discovery of a rare parasitic worm in Orkney is being cited as further evidence of climate change.
The barber’s pole worm was found in a pedigree ram - the first time the red-and-white striped nematode has been identified in Orkney, and the farthest north in Britain it has been known to reach.
Sandy Clark, head of the SAC vet lab in Caithness said: “This latest find shows that the climate in this part of the world is becoming more receptive to this type of parasite.”
He believes the warmer and wetter climate throughout the year in a region where the weather is heavily influenced by the Gulf Stream could be responsible. |
| Lloyds TSB anniversary cash for VAO |
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Voluntary Action Orkney (VAO) has been awarded £21,000 by Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland through a special award scheme set up to mark its 21st birthday.
The money will be used to fund a part-time project manager to progress VAO’s plans for a new building for voluntary organisations in Orkney. |
| Probation and fine for Longhope woman |
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An unemployed woman, who breached the peace and bail conditions, was fined £75 and placed on probation for 18 months, at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Thursday.
Gail McDowall, 48, of St Colm’s Quadrant, Longhope, pleaded guilty to both charges, which both took place earlier this year.
In January, McDowall got into an argument with her ex-partner and lashed out at him with a knife. On a separate charge, McDowall also pleaded guilty to spending time with the man on February 18. She was on bail at the time, with the condition that she was not allowed to meet the complainer. |
| Drink driver arrested outside primary school |
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An unemployed Holm man, who was caught over the drink-drive limit while collecting his children from school, was fined £400 and banned for one year, at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Gordon Wilfred Dundas Jamieson, 41, of Inn Cottage, Holm, was more than twice over the legal limit following a drinking session the night before.
Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Jamieson outside the St Andrews Primary School on the afternoon of March 31. |
| May date for beef export resumption |
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NFU Scotland has welcomed the news that beef exports from Scotland into Europe can will resume on May 3. Scottish beef exports were worth £130 million prior to the ban in 1996.
The European Commission will enforce the necessary legislation to lift the EU’s export ban on 2 May and the Scottish Parliament will then change Scottish legislation so that exports can commence from Scotland on May 3.
NFU Scotland president, John Kinnaird, said: “We have waited nearly a decade to get our industry back where it belongs, and where there is obvious demand, and we are now there.” |
| Eday backing for wind power |
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Eday residents have voted overwhelmingly in favour of setting up a community wind turbine on the island.
About half of the island's population turned out to a meeting called by the island's development trust to gauge opinion on the issue.
Just two people voted against the proposals, and now residents will seek funding for a feasibility study to be carried out. |
| Thainstone success for Shapinsay farm |
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A Shapinsay farm took several prizes at the show and sale of store cattle at Thainstone last week.
Muir and Sons, Gorn, won the Fingask Perpetual Trophy for the best animal from the islands at the show run by Aberdeen & Northern Marts, with a 490kg Limousin steer.
The animal, which was third in the section for single light steers, then sold for £800. Muir and Sons also took first place for a pair of steers (539kg, selling for £785), and second for a single heavy heifer (570kg, £690). |
| Hoax chain letter warning from police |
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Kirkwall police are warning parents to be on the look out for a hoax chain letter in circulation in Orkney.
The letter, purporting to be from the Guinness Book of World Records, asks children to send letters to their friends in order to get their names listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
It warns the recipients that, if the chain is broken, the Royal Mail will track the individual responsible and pass their details to Guinness World Records.
A police spokesman said today that the letter is a hoax and should, if received, be destroyed. |
| Toilet plans are welcome relief for site visitors |
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Plans for new toilets at two Orkney tourist attractions are under way.
The OIC technical services department are looking at building toilets at the Gloup in Deerness, in the existing interpretation centre, and at the Brough of Birsay, to replace the toilets in the village. |
| Farmers encouraged to speak out on rural development consultation |
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The consultation on Scotland’s next rural development plan, launched on Tuesday by the Scottish Executive, is critical to the future of Scotland’s rural areas, according to NFU Scotland.
Describing it as one of the most important consultations for many years, NFUS is encouraging farmers to have their say.
NFUS chief executive, Andy Robertson, said: “I know it is an extremely busy time of year for farmers, particularly with lambing and calving underway across the country. However, we’re encouraging our members to give us their views on this, as it will be extremely important to their own businesses. We have already offered speakers to all of our branches to outline the headline issues and garner views from the ground on how we shape the next seven years of rural development support to Scotland.” |
| New chairwoman for Boat Museum |
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Anna Elmy will chair the Friends of the Orkney Boat Museum for 2006.
She was elected at the annual general meeting of the Friends in Kirkwall last night after the founder chairman, Mick Bain, said he had decided to step down. Mr Bain will stay on as vice-chairman.
Other committee members elected were: secretary, Jack Drever, treasurer, Christopher Macrae, and Andrew Appleby, George Burgher, Tanya Craigie, Iris Heddle, Ian Macleod and Willie Tulloch. The Friends also presented a cheque for £16,000 to the boat museum company. |
| NHS Orkney advice on Winter Vomiting Disease |
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NHS Orkney’s Consultant in Public Health has issued advice following a spate of cases of Winter Vomiting Disease in the county over the last few weeks.
Dr Ken Black stressed that the condition, which causes diarrhoea and vomiting, is normal for the time of year but has issued guidelines on how to avoid the infection and how to avoid passing it on.
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| Kirkwall marina to reopen within fortnight |
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It is hoped the Kirkwall marina will be open for business again within a fortnight.
The installation of water and electricity has been completed and the OIC is now waiting for finalisation of insurance paperwork.
Once this is complete, the go-ahead can be given to Orkney Marinas Ltd, the charity which runs the facility, to get the facility up and running again.
An extension was added to Kirkwall's north pier last year to counter the adverse swell conditions that plagued the marina after its initial opening. |
| NorthLink breakfasts raise funds for cancer research |
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A fundraising event on board NorthLink’s three passenger ferries has raised over £2,300 for cancer research.
NorthLink donated all breakfast takings last Friday to the charity as part of its nationwide All Day Breakfast fundraising event.
Cancer research has been an issue close to the hearts of NorthLink staff and crew since Ingrid Rosie, a young member of the Hamnavoe’s crew, died from the disease three years ago. |
| NFUS call for meat inspector contingency plan |
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Expressing its relief that strike by UK meat inspectors was called off, NFU Scotland has called for measures to ensure the industry avoids disruption in the future.
President John Kinnaird said: “We need a contingency plan in place to ensure we don’t see job losses in the processing sector, animal welfare problems on farm and empty supermarket shelves because a handful of inspectors go on strike. There are suitably qualified individuals, like vets, that can do the same job in exceptional circumstances and that option must be explored for the future.”
Orkney Meat was not affected by the strike on March 28 and managing director Edgar Balfour said he understood the meat inspectors at the abattoir had not planned to strike this week. |
| Joint bid for 'Efficient Government' cash |
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A joint bid for almost £1 million has been made to the Scottish Executive to help make savings in Orkney Islands Council and NHS Orkney.
Officials from both organisations fielded questions about the bid from the press, at a special conference on Monday afternoon.
The project could lead to savings of more than £1 million within three years and is part of the Efficient Government initiative, which promote making savings through public agencies working together to deliver services.
Councillor Stephen Hagan, convener of OIC, emphasised that if costs are not cut within the council and the health service, there is a danger of some services being centralised. |
| Orkney tourism partnership to produce 15-year strategy |
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A strategy for the future of tourism in Orkney is being drawn up, following a meeting of the Orkney Area Tourism Partnership (VisitOrkney, Orkney Islands Council, Orkney Enterprise and the Orkney Tourism Group) in Kirkwall.
VisitOrkney area director, Barbara Foulkes, said: “We received some great feedback and ideas from the Orkney Tourism Group workshop, and we are now in the process of putting all those elements together into a workable and effective strategy for Orkney for the next 15 years.
She added: “Tourism is vital to the Orkney economy, and so it is absolutely essential that we get this right."
The strategy is due to be finalised in June. |
| Vandals hit Tankerness House |
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Police are looking for information after three windows were smashed in Tankerness House in Kirkwall.
The windows were broken between Sunday, April 2, and Monday morning. Anyone with information is asked to call Kirkwall Police Station on 872241. |
| New Justice Authority comes into being |
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A new body - being set up to transform the way councils in the north of Scotland, the Scottish Prison Service and other local organisations work together to tackle re-offending - is being established.
The Northern Community Justice Authority - which will cover Orkney - is one of eight CJAs being set up across Scotland under the Management of Offenders etc. (Scotland) Act.
Each CJA will be responsible for ensuring that in future local authorities and the SPS work closely together in managing offenders.
Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson said that the CJAs will “drive down the unacceptably high rates of re-offending across the country.” |
| Statsraad Lehmkuhl heralds the start of Orkney's liner season |
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 The arrival of the Norwegian sail training ship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl, on Monday heralded the start of Kirkwall's 2006 liner season.
But although the vessel, a regular visitor to Orkney throughout the summer, arrived on Monday morning, the first passenger cruise ship is not expected in the county until April 22, with the arrival of the Nordkapp |
| Council issue food hygiene reminder |
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Following a number of inquiries, the OIC has issued a reminder to food businesses that new food hygiene laws came into force in the UK on January 1.
Training is an essential part of good food hygiene and is a legal requirement for any food handler. Food handlers must receive appropriate supervision and be instructed and/or trained in food hygiene to enable them to handle food safely.
Further guidance on appropriate levels of supervision, instruction and training can be obtained by contacting Environmental Health at the Council on 873535. |
| Launch of the new Orkney Economic Review |
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The 2006 edition of the Orkney Economic Review was released to the public today.
After a four year gap, the new review looks at all aspects of Orkney’s economy - from population and agriculture to fishing and energy consumption. It also contains the latest employment figures and information on ferry and airport use.
The review helps the OIC formulate its economic strategy and guiding policy and can be downloaded from the council’s website. A limited number of hard copies will also be available from the OIC customer services reception and at Kirkwall and Stromness libraries. |
| Talisman donation benefits Orkney groups |
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A total of 21 Orkney groups have benefited from groups have benefited a cash donation from Flotta oil terminal operators, Talisman.
The company donated £7,000 to enable small voluntary organisations in Orkney to access funds to enhance the services they provide.
Voluntary Action Orkney, who managed the fund, received a wide range of interest and applications and were able to find a variety of projects ranging from short breaks for families in need who access Home-Start Orkney, to sumo suits for the young people of the Cavern Youth Club! |
