Almost £147,000 worth of grants were approved by Orkney Enterprise in March.1

Among the grant allocations, totalling £146,855, was £16,800 to Highland Brewing Company Ltd, brewer Rob Hill's latest venture, for the establishment of a new brewery. Westray Processors received £17,250 for the construction of a new cold store.

Orkney Enterprise itself received £59,800 to establish a second directors' network in Orkney, while the Eday Partnership were given £5,300 to employ a part-time ranger on the island.

Police are looking for information after a white Vauxhall Astra car was vandalised in Viking Road, Kirkwall, between 6pm on April 11 and 5.30pm on April 12.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Kirkwall Police Station on 872241.

To mark Good Friday, a group of local Christians under took a "Walk of Witness" around churches in Kirkwall.

The group, preceded by a large wooden cross, made their way from St Magnus Cathedral at noon, visiting Kirkwall's Catholic church, Baptist Church, Peedie Kirk, East Kirk and St Olaf's Church.

The second Orkney Dance Festival began officially on Friday.

The opening event was the Welcome Concert, in the St Andrews Community Centre, with the Islands Fling Band. In addition, dancers in Orkney have had the chance to learn new steps and strutting their stuff at classes that include Arabic, ballroom, flamenco and traditional.

Travelling north to take part was TV celebrity Stefan Booth and his partner, Debbie Flett.

For full details of the programme, see www.orkneydancefestival.co.uk.

UK electricity and gas market regulator, Ofgem, has announced the approval for a solution to release more of the potential of renewable generators based in Orkney.

Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) has devised a network management scheme that will make better use of the existing infrastructure.  

This will allow new generators to control their electricity output to match the available capacity of the network in real time, thus allowing more wind and wave generators to be connected to the network.

Maf Smith, chief executive of Scottish Renewables said: “There is enormous potential on the Orkney Islands for wind, wave and tidal generation, and this initiative will help the islanders harvest the first small crop.”

A special concert in Fusion on Thursday saw five local acts take to the stage to raise funds for drought victims in Kenya.

Organised by Finstown man, Mark Aim, the event, Five Bands in Fusion, was a huge success, having secured the backing of several local businesses and individuals.

Headliners, the Silver Penguins, performed a rare gig, preceded by acts such as acclaimed singer/songwriter James Bishop, the ever popular Birsay Boys, Ragstone’s Dave Morrison and Russell Scott, and Dawn and Tina Wood, from The Selkies.

A top Orkney policeman has welcomed the jail sentence imposed on paedophile Colin Wilson earlier this week - and hopes it will act as a deterrent for others.

Acting Inspector Bob Mackenzie spoke out this week following the sentencing of Wilson - who fled Orkney after his arrest.

He explained: "Through Operation Falcon - a national operation in 2004 involving law enforcement agencies in the USA, the British national criminal intelligence service and police forces throughout the UK - Colin Wilson was identified as a person who had access a network of child pornographic websites and through people passing their personal details over the internet prior to gaining access to the sites."

Visitors to St Magnus Cathedral over the next few weeks will have the chance to comment on new prototype chairs.

Two new chair styles, developed after public consultation on earlier prototypes, are now on display in the cathedral’s south transept.

The public have until May 19 to share their comments with the OIC, after which a decision will be made on the preferred design.

NHS Orkney has confirmed that it is to renew the contract with the Stromness Surgery for the provision of diving medicine.

A spokesman said that the agreement would mean the trained and experienced GPs of Stromness will be able to continue providing the same level of support to divers suffering diving-related medical conditions.

A 39-year-old man, caught with thousands of pornographic images of children at two homes in Kirkwall, has been jailed for two years.

Colin Wilson, who moved from Orkney to Elgin after the offences came to light, was sentenced at Inverness Sheriff Court on Tuesday. He was also placed on licence for a further 18 months and placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

Wilson admitted downloading 23,000 indecent images of young children, and a further 517 indecent film clips – including child rape. He also admitted a second charge of possessing 17,000 indent pictures and 365 indecent movies of youngsters.

His case is the largest of its nature dealt with by Northern Constabulary to date.

A £1.4 million funding package for the Pickaquoy was back before islands' councillors on Tuesday - this time, the members of the OIC’s policy and resources committee.

The funding, which had already been discussed at last month’s meeting of the recreation and cultural services committee, will see the leisure centre receive an increased allocation of £700,000 for 2006/07 and £714,000 for 2007/08.

Despite an attempt by Stromness councillor James Stockan to block the funding increase, members of the policy and resources committee agreed to the move, which will now go to full council for approval.

A Stromness mechanic is one of 12 across the UK shortlisted for the Top Technician 2006 Award at this year's Automotive Trade Show in Birmingham later this month.

Conrad Omand, and the other finalists, reached the Automotive Technician Accreditation (ATA) diagnostic level during the regional semi-finals.

Orkney’s potential as an outdoor activities destination has been showcased at Europe’s biggest outdoors consumer show.

More than 50,000 outdoor enthusiasts attended the three-day Ordnance Survey Outdoors Show at Birmingham’s NEC, and VisitOrkney were there to promote the huge amount the county has to offer the discerning visitor.

Carly Simpson, marketing executive for VisitOrkney, said: “The show was a great success for us as there were lots of genuine enquiries about outdoor activities available in Orkney, including walking, diving, sailing, kayaking and climbing.

An islands' councillors has commended a Kirkwall resident for taking a stand against oil giant BP over their Shore Street oil depot.

The comment was made after concerns over the depot's location were discussed at Tuesday's meeting of the OIC’s policy and resources committee.

Over a decade has passed since the matter was first raised, the blaze at the Buncefield oil depot, in England, last December has revived concerns about the depot and its location in a residential area.

The final design for an Orkney community flag will go out to public consultation, islands councillors agreed on Tuesday.

Members of the policy and resources committee heard that the Lord Lyon King of Arms has reiterated that the existing flag design – the red Scandinavian cross on the yellow background – can not be used. He would, however, authorise a flag of a similar design.

Three alternate flags (see right) were put before councillors, who decided instead to ask the public to come up with suggeted designs during a co-ordinated public consultation.

A Stromness man was refused bail and remanded in custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Monday.

John Montgomery, 49, of Hamnavoe, pleaded not guilty to charges of breach of the peace and assault, while on bail.

Montgomery is accused of entering a Cairston Road property on Friday where he allegedly assaulted a man by repeatedly punching and butting him on the head.

Opposing bail, procurator fiscal Ms Sue Foard said: “I have been advised by police that there are very real concerns the accused will attempt to intimidate potential witnesses.”

A quantity of suspected cannabis resin was seized from a house in the Papdale area of Kirkwall following a police search on Friday evening.

Police inquiries are ongoing.

This year’s summer exhibition has just opened at the Orkney Museum. ‘The Empire Builders - Life in Victorian Times’ looks at how Orkney and the world changed during the 19th century.

Orkney Museum's Tom Muir said: “Although The Orkney Museum already has a 19th-Century gallery it was felt that an exhibition that looked at the bigger picture of life in Victorian times would be fascinating to the public.

“It deals with issues like imperialism, child labour and the class system. It is certainly not a romanticised look at ‘the good old days’, as life was extremely hard and attitudes were very different from ours. "

The St Magnus Festival has been shortlisted for an award at the Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) Music Awards for 2005.

The shortlisted nominees were announced live on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune programme by RPS Chairman, Graham Sheffield at the Barbican Centre in London.

The draw for this season's Macleod IFA Highland Amateur Cup was made in Dingwall on Saturday.

First round - Saturday, April 29
Rovers v South Ronaldsay
Rendall v Holm

Second round - Saturday, May 20
Rovers/South Ronaldsay v Thorfinn
Rendall/Holm v Hotspurs
Accies v Stromness
St Andrews v Dounby

The four winning teams in the second round go into the third round open draw on Sunday, May 28.

Orkney’s “prehistoric treasures” were placed fifth in The Scotsman newspaper’s Seven Wonders of Scotland.

Readers of the newspaper were asked to vote for their favourite in a shortlist of ten Scottish “wonders” – wonders which included the Forth Bridge, whisky and golf.

Orkney's treasures - which includes Maeshowe, Skara Brae, the Stones of Stenness and the Ring of Brodgar - received 2,286 votes out of the 50,000 received.

Channel Four programme makers are appealing for Orcadians to take part in a study for a new series, The Face of Britain.

The programme is aiming to decode the history of people’s faces, and with the help of the latest DNA analysis, carry out the biggest ever research project into genetic make-up.

A spokesperson for the series said: “We are hoping to reach a large proportion of the Orkney population, and we are asking them to send in photographs of themselves or family members if they believe they have the typical look of the region.

Anyone interested in taking part in the study can contact Sorrel May at: dnauk@wagtv.com or call 0207 5038606.

Click here for full details

Following the discovery of avian flu in a dead swan in mainland Scotland, the OIC have issued guidelines for anyone who comes across one or more bird corpses.

Anyone finding one or more dead swans or wild fowl, more than three dead birds of the same species or more than five dead birds of different species, in the same place, should contact Defra Helpline on 08459 33 55 77.