Orkney is receive an additional £186,000 to invest in improving school buildings as part of a national £30 million cash boost from the Scottish Executive.

The cash is to fund energy efficiency measures, enhanced sport and playground facilities and canteen improvements.

The public are being invited to comment on how the OIC's Strategic Reserve Fund is used to support projects in the county.

The OIC want suggestions on how to use the Development committee’s £1.1m allocation from the Strategic Reserve Fund to encourage economic development.

This is the final part of a consultation, which included a seminar with representatives from Orkney’s jewellery, food and drink, renewable energy, tourism and craft sectors in August.

Over £175,000 worth of grants were approved by Orkney Enterprise in August.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who has been called "the world's greatest living explorer, was in Orkney on Friday to climb the Old Man of Hoy.

The 62-year-old scaled the sandstone sea stack as a warm-up climb for his latest expedition- to climb the North Face of the Eiger in March, 2007, and raise £1 million for the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme.

Sir Ranulph, who started climbing when he was 60, climbed the Old Man of Hoy with friend and accomplished mountaineer Sandy Ogilvie.To support Sir Ranulph’s Eiger Challenge, click here.

The islands of Stroma and Swona could be obliterated if proposals in the SNP’s Scottish Energy Review come into being.

The document states that because the islands obstruct the tidal flow through the Pentland Firth, they should be quarried away. This, it says, would allow more energy to be harnessed from the greater tidal currents that would theoretically flow between Orkney and the Scottish mainland.

Commenting on the document, Liberal Democrat Prospective Scottish Parliamentary Candidate for Orkney, Liam McArthur said: “Radical thinking about how we manage and meet our future energy needs is necessary and normally very welcome. However, the SNP plan to remove the islands of Swona and Stroma is a large step too far.”

The Energy Review is available for download here

The winners of the first heat of The Orcadian's Battle of the Bands competition in Fusion on Thursday night were Superego (pictured right), Roll Machine and Audio Narcosis.

They will go through to the final on Thursday, September 21.

The judges, event founder and owner of Grooves, Neil Stevenson, Orkney musician Brian Cromarty, and Jacky Smith from The Orcadian described it as a "tough decision."

Heat Two is in Fusion next Thursday, September 14.

Click here to download our preview
of the bands (requires Acrobat Reader)

NHS Orkney has launched a radical programme to try and secure its services and long term future in the face of mounting financial problems.

"Creating sustainable services for Orkney" will look at all aspects of the operation of NHS Orkney and will identify areas where efficiency could be improved and new partnerships forged.

The plan was unveiled to staff on Thursday, but the board's chairwoman, Jenny Dewar, rejected suggestions that it was simply a new way to describe a programme of cuts.

"This is about delivering a better service not about saving money. There are a number of areas where two neighbouring boards could work together to both their benefits and along those lines we will very definitely be looking north to explore the possibilities with NHS Shetland."

Loganair has apologised to passengers for disruptions to flights earlier this week.

Two of the airline’s aircraft developed technical problems on Sunday, with one flight cancelled and the Kirkwall-Edinburgh flight diverted via Inverness.

However, once the plane touched down at Inverness, it also developed a technical problem, resulting in passengers being transferred to Edinburgh by bus.

The problems were exacerbated by the fact that Loganair’s two spare Saab 340 aircraft were undergoing maintenance.

The chance that leasing the Burwick terminal to Pentland Ferries could jeopardise the subsidised lifeline ferry service between Stromness and Scrabster is one of the issues the OIC must consider before making a decision.

Members of the OIC transportation committee met in private on Tuesday to consider a report on the request that Pentland Ferries Ltd lease the Burwick terminal.

But the OIC has released a summary of the report, because councillors felt it was important the public knew exactly what issues had to be considered before any decision is reached.

Click here for full details

Concerns over the cost of building a new Kirkwall Grammar School were repeated on Wednesday at the OIC’s education committee meeting.

However, education director Leslie Manson gave assurances that the project depended entirely on the funding package offered by the Scottish Executive.

He said: “We have made it crystal clear if there is no money made available by the Executive, we will be doing nothing and will be carrying on, at best, with our current improvement programme.”

The hunt is on for a pair of rugby boots for a 16-year-old Orcadian player - but to fit Sean Corrigall, right, they need to be size 18.

“He currently wears American football boots, “said his sister, Laura, “but they’re very uncomfortable as they’re not quite big enough.”

If he can't find boots that fit, 6ft 8in tall Sean is worried he might have to quit the game.

Can you help Sean? If so please contact the SRU.

Despite being turned down for additional revenue funding by several other OIC committees, the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness was given a glimmer of hope at Wednesday’s education committee meeting.

Councillors agreed to submit a bid as part of the corporate resource plan process for additional cash for the centre.

However, a final decision on whether any money is allocated will be subject to further reports to various council committees.

Anyone wanting to nominate an unsung healthcare hero for this year’s Scottish Health Awards should get their applications in before Monday, September 11.

So far two applications have been received for healthcare professionals from NHS Orkney and people are being called on to support their healthcare heroes before nominations close.

Steve Conway, chief executive of NHS Orkney said: “We have many examples from our patients of healthcare workers consistently going the extra mile and I would encourage local people to consider nominating them to ensure Orkney gets the recognition it deserves in the Scottish Health Awards.”

An air and sea search was called on Tuesday afternoon, after a diver was reported missing in Scapa Flow.

The Stromness and Longhope lifeboats were launched and the Coastguard rescue helicopter scrambled, after the dive boat Invincible reported a man had gone overboard en route to a dive site off Fara.

The search was stood down within minutes after the man was found safe and well by a diver from the dive boat Stormdrift.

Orcadians have the highest life expectancy in Scotland according to new statistics from the Registrar General.

On average, Orkney women are reaching 81.4, compared with 76.7 in Glasgow, while the average for men is 76.3.

Click here for more details

The Orkney Language Unit, based in Papdale Primary School, provides a high quality service to children, according to the latest HMIE inspection report.

The inspectors praised the unit’s positive ethos and high quality of pastoral care.

The report describes how parents are happy with the work of the unit and are appreciative of the work of the staff.

Councillors have agreed to ask the Scottish Executive for permission to install storm gates to forcibly close the Churchill Barriers in extreme weather.

In addition, a technical solution is to be sought to alleviate the problem of waves crashing over the second barrier.

Members of the OIC’s transportation committee heard on Tuesday that doing nothing was not an option. The council is vulnerable to claims from anyone suffering damage on the causeway and some motorists are ignoring the current road closure signs.

Islands councillors have balked at a multi-million pound proposal to install small-boat berthing facilities in the isles.

Members of the transportation committee on Tuesday were discussing a £79,000 feasibility study by consultants Halcrow Group Ltd but the consensus of opinion was that the project was too expensive.

Orkney’s biggest primary school has been given the thumbs up from education inspectors.

The HMIE report published on Tuesday reports that pupils and parents are highly satisfied with almost all aspects of Papdale Primary School.

The inspectors praised the politeness and courteousness of the pupils, the school’s “warm and welcoming” atmosphere and the high morale among staff.

Attainment in both English and maths was good, but inspectors would like to see a greater focus on raising attainment across all areas – in particular Information and communications technology.

Orkney distillery Highland Park is to benefit from an £18 million global investment plan to double annual sales over the next five years.

The plan - described as the most ambitious in the brand's 208 year history - will see Highland Park undertake an aggressive sales and marketing drive in the UK and key overseas markets, where parent company Edrington has built a strong distribution network for its other brands.

The news coincides with the unveiling of a new bottle and pack following a £750,000 packaging makeover. 

Work on removing oil from the wreck of the Royal Oak is underway again.

Divers from Briggs Marine started work on Monday, and will continue for two weeks.

A woman was transferred to hospital in Aberdeen on Monday morning following a road accident in Westray in the early hours of Sunday morning.

Two females were injured in the single-vehicle accident. The passenger was treated by the Westray doctor, but the driver, who was suffering from a fractured jaw, was transferred by air ambulance to the Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall.

Police inquiries are ongoing.

The OIC has fixed a date for negotiations with Trade Unions, both full time officers and shop stewards, on the implementation of the Single Status Agreement. 

In common with almost every other authority in Scotland, the Council is concentrating on addressing equal pay issues in respect of a number of the former manual workers who have not been in receipt of bonus payments. 

The OIC has now approved the terms of a proposed settlement for these staff and intends to make proposals to them in the next two months.

Only days into a national campaign to clamp down on underage drinking, Kirkwall police are expressing their disappointment after a number of teenagers arrested over the weekend.

Of the five arrests, four involved youngsters and alcohol.

They were all taken into custody and charged with crimes of disorderly behaviour in Kirkwall town centre late on Saturday night and the early hours of Sunday morning.

Work restoring the lower courses of a medieval building in Westray was completed last week and the site is now open to visitors.

Archaeological reconstruction specialist Joffy Hill was in Orkney for the three-week reconstruction project at Quoygrew, an abandoned settlement site on the north side of Rackwick.