The Palace Players emerged overall winners in the Orkney District finals of the Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) festival in Kirkwall on Fridday night.

The Youth group took the honours with their production of Primula the non-sheep dog and the great grey wolf.

Second place went to Stromness Drama Club for Buck Fever and third to the Palace Players for Ending it all.

As there is a SCDA ruling that only one team from a club can progress to the next round, and Palace Players were first and third, the fourth placed team, Ad Hoc who performed Celebration, will be awarded a place in the Divisional Finals.

Click here for full results

Mary Scanlon MSP has called on the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) to meet the concerns of Orkney residents over the new air ambulance service.

The Highlands and Islands MSP said: “The introduction of the EC 135 helicopter, which will be the focal point of the new service, does raise concerns over the loss of a ‘dedicated’ Orkney service. I think that the ideal situation for residents and patients on Orkney would be a combination of advanced technology that the introduction of the EC 135 helicopter offers, combined with the local knowledge of residents.

To mark its 21st birthday, the Lloyds TSB foundation for Scotland is carrying out a special awards programme in 2006, with 15 awards of £21,000 being made across the country.

As such, the foundation are asking Orkney charities interested in applying for an award to contact them on 0870 902 1201.

Young entrepreneurs from Orkney are being urged to enter a major business awards programme and become the region’s Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2006.

The winner of the Highlands and Islands title will go forward to challenge for the Scottish title and, if successful there, go on to compete in London for the title of UK Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006.

The awards are open to all young entrepreneurs between 16 and 30, whose businesses will have been trading for between three and 18 months on March 31, 2006.

An online application form and full entry details can be found at www.shell-livewire.org/win10k.

Barry Johnston of Scotrenewables

An Orkney business has received £40,000 from an environmental fund set up by Shell UK.

Scotrenewables, run by Stromness man Barry Johnston, received the money to help develop its innovative tidal energy business from James Smith, Chairman at Shell UK, at an event in Edinburgh on Thursday night.

Scotrenewables will now head to London on March 7 to compete with up to six other UK businesses for the UK award and a trip to Iceland to see Shell’s hydrogen works.

The Shell Springboard fund was set up to support small businesses with business ideas to combat climate change.

Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie McGrigor has said the Scottish Executive must not allow Orkney to lose the security of the Islander aircraft’s emergency cover.

Speaking in Thursday’s Parliamentary debate, the MSP said: “Unless action is taken by March 31, the security that the well-trusted Islander gives Orkney will end. Orkney Islands Council is concerned; politicians from all parties, including the Executive parties, are concerned; doctors are concerned; and, most important, local people in Orkney are concerned.

An Orkney-based police officer is one of ten Northern Constabulary officers to have successfully completed a new formal qualification in Policing.

Donald Morrison completed the Certificate in Higher Education (Policing) from Stirling University and were handed their new qualifications by Deputy Chief Constable Garry Sutherland at a ceremony in Inverness on Thursday.

They gained their certificates by undertaking a programme of study delivered by the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan, which forms part of their two-year probationary training programme.

This is the country’s first university accredited policing qualification and Northern’s officers were among the first in Scotland to benefit.

The penultimate night of the 2006 Orkney Drama Festival, Thursday, saw a win for Stromness Drama Group's production of Buck Fever.

New livestock shipping arrangements will be put through a trial period, transport minister Tavish Scott has confirmed.

In a letter to Orkney's MSP, Jim Wallace, Mr Scott says the preferred bidder for the lifeline ferry service will be announced before Wednesday, with the contract to be signed as soon as possible after that.

Discussions will then take place with the farming community. Once the contract is signed, "at that stage, all uncertainty over the identity of the new operator will be removed and the operator and my officials will be free to focus on the livestock issue."

The airline currently employs ten engineering staff, but this could be cut following the loss of the air ambulance contract.

A spokesman said on Thursday: “At this moment it is premature to talk about any redundancies because job offers have been made within Loganair.”

Proposals to replace the Kirkwall-based Islander aircraft with an Inverness-based helicopter were strongly criticised by Dr Eleanor Scott, Highlands and Islands MSP, during a parliamentary debate on Thursday.

Highlighting the Islander’s role in maternity cases, Dr Scott added, “Obviously this is not an issue limited to maternity care. Our rural general hospitals have a vital role to play in health care for everyone in rural areas.

"I feel very strongly that the move to the use of an Inverness-based helicopter for air ambulance services in Orkney is a retrograde step that will lead to a reduction in the quality of service to the people of Orkney.”

Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland, has written the Chief Executive of the Post Office, Adam Crozier, following his recent comments that 10,500 Post Offices could close.

Mr Carmichael is seeking more information about the possible closures and warning him of the potentially disastrous impact for people in Orkney and Shetland.

Another youth team - the third so far this week - were declared Wednesday night's winners in the Orkney Drama Festival.

Palace Players Youth took the honours with their performance of Primula the Non Sheepdog and the Great Grey Wolf.

Retaining the Islander aircraft in Orkney to provide emergency air-ambulance cover would cost in the region of £100,000, it was revealed on Wednesday.

Ahead of Thursday’s debate in the Scottish Parliament on air ambulance cover for the county, Highlands and Islands MSP, Jamie McGrigor, has called for the Scottish Executive to retain the Loganair-operated Islander aircraft.

Half a million pounds will be allocated to the OIC recreation and cultural services committee from the OIC Reserve Fund over the next two years.

Among those to benefit will be festival, community project, heritage grants, arts development and sports development schemes.

However, committee chairman, Councillor Mike Drever highlighted: "These are things that we should be able to pay out of our revenue budget, the fact we are having to pay out of the Reserves shows the unfortunate situation we are in."

Councillors recommended awards of £250,000 in each 2006-2007 and 2007-2008.

A mail van carrying post for Orkney went off the road at Berriedale on the Scottish mainland on Wednedsay morning.

A spokeswoman for Royal Mail said the driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital in Wick for treatment to minor bruising.

She added that after being checked for damage, the mail was returned to Inverness for recertification and redelivery.

Orkney MSP, Jim Wallace, raised concerns over the new air ambulance service in the Scottish Parliament on Thursday.

Mr Wallace highlighted the issue in one of the Members’ debate slots, and used the opportunity to make, again, the case to keep the Kirkwall-based Islander aircraft, instead of a helicopter based on the Scottish mainland.

Stromness Drama Club repeated their opening night success by winning Tuesday's heat of the Orkney Drama Festival.

The club's Greenvoe group beat Palace Players Youth and St Andrews Drama Club with their performance of The Retiring Highwayman.

Orkney MSP, Jim Wallace, has written to the Health Minister, Andy Kerr, arguing for an increase in the funding provided to the OIC to run care homes for the elderly.

Mr Wallace also gave his backing to the OIC convener, Councillor Stephen Hagan, who had already raised with the Minister the severe pressure which the county’s community care services are facing with an aging population.

He also highlighted the concerns of South Ronaldsay and Burray residents, whose care home development has been put into question by the lack of revenue funding to operate it, should it be built.

NHS Orkney is to receive a 7.14 per cent budget increase next year.

Health minister Andy Kerr has announced that Orkney will receive £26.852 million.

Orkney businesses are being warned to be aware of a scam currently circulating in the country.

Businesses are being asked to sponsor an anti-drugs booklet for children and pay £199 to support the non-existent publication.

A spokesman for the OIC's trading standards department said: "This is a particularly nasty scam which uses an otherwise worthwhile cause to obtain money from charitable-minded businesses."

Anyone who has been targeted by this, or any similar scam, is asked to contact trading standards on 873535.

Two men, aged 17 and 22, have been arrested and will be reported to the procurator fiscal following a break-in at Stromness Academy at the weekend.

A quantity of computer equipment and electrical goods which were stolen from a classroom in the school were recovered by Stromness police on Monday.

The Stromness Drama Group (Hamnavoe) took the honours in the opening night of the 2006 Orkney Drama Festival on Monday night.

The adjudicator, Lynda Henderson, declared the group's performance of Is it Time Yet Dad? as the winner, beating the Palace Players Youth and the Birsay Drama Group (Brough).

New statistics from the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) show that Orkney lifeboat launches in 2005 were on a par with 2004.

In Orkney, the three lifeboats were involved 33 search and rescues and helped to rescue 40 people last year. The Kirkwall lifeboat launched 16 times, Longhope six times and Stromness 11 times.

A man and woman, who breached bail conditions, were released from custody at Kirkwall Sheriff Court on Monday.

Gail McDowall, 48, of St Colm’s Quadrant, Longhope, and Raymond Andrew Sutherland, 36, of Nelson Naval Hall, Longhope, admitted breaching a bail condition, set earlier, instructing that they remain apart.

The case was adjourned to March 22.

Despite warnings last week, four motorists have received fixed penalty fines for exceeding the new 20mph speed limits around four Orkney schools.

Kirkwall police have expressed their disappointment that motorists seem to be ignoring the speed restrictions, which are only in force when children are going to and from school.

A farmer in Firth has been warned after using an emergency flare to scare birds from his land.

The flare sighting was reported to the Coastguard at noon on Saturday and two members of the Kirkwall coastguard team were dispatched to search the area.

When the flare was traced to a local farmer, he was warned against using distress flares and advised that he could have been prosecuted.

Islands councillors have approved a number of changes to Orkney Ferries’ summer 2006 timetable.

Now, on Monday mornings, sailings from all of the North Isles to Kirkwall will be delayed by 30 minutes. This will have a knock-on effect on the midday boats back out to the isles, delaying them by 10 to 20 minutes.

In addition, the Varagen will not lie out in the islands on one of the three nights previously timetabled.

The changes are due to Hours of Work and Rest regulations in relation to the vessel’s onboard crew accommodation.

Sanday ultra-distance runner William Sichel has been invited to run in this year’s Badwater Ultramarathon in July. An invitation only event, only 90 runners, worldwide, will compete.

Mr Sichel will be the first British international male athlete to compete in this event since its inception 29 years ago.

The race, said to be the ‘World’s Toughest and Hottest Foot Race’, starts in Badwater, Death Valley, and will see runners battling temperatures reaching 55 deg C.

Before then, he will travel to Brno in March for the Czech Indoor 48 hour Championships and in May will compete in the Apeldoorn 24-hour road race.