Friday’s school closures, due to bad weather, hit the prelim examinations.

Councillors at Wednesday ’s OIC education, recreation and cultural services committee meeting backed recommendations to rebuild Kirkwall Grammar School - described as “not salvageable as a 21st century school” - on the current site.

If the recommendations are approved by full council, KGS looks set to be rebuilt at its current location.

They were also told of proposals to rebuild Stromness Primary School on a site near the town’s Lorry Park.

Councillors also supported plans to build a new halls of residence in the vicinity of the current site. Meanwhile, Kirkwall’s Pickaquoy Centre is likely to host a new six-lane swimming pool as replacement to the current facility at KGS.

An Orkney Islands Councillor has filled a vacancy on the board of the Orkney College Management Council.

North Isles Councillor Graham Sinclair accepted the position at Wednesday's OIC education, recreation and cultural services committee meeting.

He was nominated by the man he is replacing on the board — Councillor Roderick McLeod, who has served with the body for more than nine years, and is a former chairman.

Councillor Sinclair joins fellow councillors Mike Drever and Janice Annal, who are already board members.

The Orkney skipper of a vessel which sank in about ten minutes has spoken of his relief as Kirkwall lifeboat appeared in the distance.

Owners and skippers of the Excelsior fishing boat, Cliff Cooper, 21, and his brother Ryan, 19, and crewman Ben Blenkinsopp, 22, of Orphir, were hauling creels off Mull Head, off Deerness, early on Wednesday morning when they struck the shore.

Cliff said: “Ryan and Ben were on the deck getting ready for hauling the first drop. It was dark and all of a sudden we hit the shore. It stopped us dead.

“The water was coming in like mad. We were not making much of it even with the bilge pumps going. We got the liferaft out and jumped in it,” he said.

Cliff believes that their plotter may have failed.

Kirkwall lifeboat and the Coastguard helicopter were tasked to rescue three crewmen from a fishing boat sinking off Mull Head in Deerness on Wednesday morning.

The Kirkwall-registered Excelsior ran aground at 6.20am and the vessel sank shortly thereafter.

The crewmen made it into a liferaft where they remained until being picked up by the lifeboat just after 7am. The men were unharmed so were transferred to Kirkwall.

Extra sailings to the south isles are to go ahead this summer, providing £54,000 can be found by the OIC to cover the additional costs.

Members of the OIC's transportation and infrastructure committee agreed to recommend that the mv Thorsvoe operate on the route for three days each week, between May 26 and September 21 - provided cash could be sourced by the policy and resources committee.

The Orkney flag was at half-mast over the council offices in Kirkwall on Tuesday – a mark of respect for the funeral of Holm woman Karen Aim.

Prior to the scheduled meeting of the OIC’s transportation and infrastructure committee, the chamber stood while council chaplain, Rev Christine Farrington said a prayer and a minute’s silence was observed.

Around 300 mourners attended Ms Aim's funeral on Tuesday, including council convener, Councillor Stephen Hagan and Councillor Andrew Drever.

A last ditch attempt to change the name of Peerie Sea Loan in Kirkwall was narrowly defeated at Tuesday’s meeting of the OIC’s transportation and infrastructure committee.

Councillor Jack Moodie failed to be swayed by the official’s recommendations that the name should not be changed to Peedie Sea Loan, given the historical accuracy of the name Peerie Sea – the common name of the nearby body of water, prior to the gradual adoption of the dialect word “peedie” in the 20th century.

His counter-motion that the name be changed was defeated, four votes to three.

A traffic order to make Weyland Terrace in Kirkwall one-way was deferred by islands councillors on Tuesday.

The OIC’s transportation committee heard that the proposal had seen a letter of objection, along with a petition raised by residents of the surrounding area – all of which were against the idea.

The proposal, brought about by the construction of a 19 house development off the road, would have seen the movement of traffic in a southerly direction on Weyland Terrace, at its junction with East Road, prohibited.

However, an amendment from Councillor Andrew Drever, put forward by chairman Jim Foubister, that the decision be deferred, pending further consultation with the roads department, the residents and housing developer, was agreed.

• Meanwhile, a proposal to make Kirkwall’s West Castle Street one-way was agreed by councillors.

Islands councillors have approved a 20mph speed limit around the St Margaret’s Hope and Burray schools.

Like others around eight schools in the county, the speed limits will be temporary.

The new speed limits will come into effect on March 1.

The first in a series of fire safety risk assessment workshops, designed to alert small businesses and voluntary organisations to changes in fire safety legislation and how it affects them, takes place in Kirkwall next week.

The free event, in the St Magnus Centre on Tuesday, February 5, will provide fire safety guidance and offer practical assistance to help participants comply with current fire safety legislation. 

Part three of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 has implications for everyone with responsibilities for non-domestic premises, even if they have never previously had to consider fire safety. 

The Orkney public is being asked to take part in a new OIC consultation - the subject of which is consultation itself.

Orkney Community Planning Partnership is currently carrying out a Best Value review of the way they consult with people in Orkney – looking at the way they consult with the public and trying to find ways to improve.

Members of the public are invited to complete an anonymous survey questionnaire, which asks for their experiences of being involved in consultations and how this could be improved.

The questionnaire is available on the OIC’s website. Alternatively, call 873535 and ask for a hard copy to be sent out to you.

The chief executive of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, Jacqui Watt, is visiting Orkney Housing Association Ltd (OHAL) this week for a full agenda of meetings and site visits.

Ms Watt will also be meeting with OIC officials and attending a programming meeting between OHAL and Communities Scotland as well as making site visits to housing developments.

Ahead of the visit – on Wednesday and Thursday of this week – Ms Watt said: “I am looking forward to hearing from people working on the ground in Orkney what the challenges are in providing the islands with affordable housing."

Stromness-based environmental consultants Aquatera has been nominated for a week-long entrepreneurship programme in America.

The business will be attending this week’s event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Entrepreneurship Centre in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

The competition for places was organised by Inverness-based Fusion - a membership organisation supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which aims to stimulate interest in innovation and enterprise in the region.

Around 50 members of the Kirkwall City Pipe Band are in Shetland to take part in the famous fire festival, Up Helly-A'.

Invited by this year’s Guizer Jarl, Roy Leask, the band travelled north on Saturday for nearly a week of performances.

Up Helly-A' takes place on Tuesday, January 29, and with the band arriving early, they will have time to get acquainted with the Jarl Squad, and perform some shows of their own.

Catch the band’s performance at the Market Cross, streamed live via webcam, at www.visitshetland.com/lerwick_2/

A petition calling on the Scottish Government to restore the OIC's internal transport funding has been launched by Orkney MSP Liam McArthur and MP Alistair Carmichael.

The Scottish Executive, in recognition of the soaring running costs, previously provided extra funding for the internal air and ferry service.

But the latest financial settlement from the Scottish Government did not include the extra cash, leaving the council with a £1 million hole in its budget.

The "Give Us Back Our Million" petition form can be downloaded from Mr McArthur's website - www.liammcarthurmsp.org.uk