Orkney Islands Council have agreed the coming year's financial budget, including a freeze in council tax levels for the second year running.

Councillors, at a special general meeting on Thursday, agreed to keep the same levels of council tax, for what will be the third year in a row.

In response to public requests, all of Orkney Islands Council’s recycling centres will open on Sundays from 10am to 3.45pm. Other winter opening hours are as usual – Monday to Saturday from 8.30am to 3.45pm.

The following are accepted at all recycling centres: scrap metal,vehicle vatteries, waste electrical and electronic equipment, garden waste, waste oil, paper, paper-based liquid food and drink cartons, cans (aluminium and steel), glass, household batteries and fluorescent tubes (including energy bulbs)

In addition, plastic bottles and cardboard are accepted at Bossack, Hatston, and Garson.

The possibilities of combining fixed link sea crossings and renewable energy generation are to be explored by Orkney Islands Council and Highland Council in May.

Councillors at a meeting of the transportation and infrastructure committee on Tuesday agreed to an initial meeting with Highland Council to discuss the possibilities of the joint initiative.

Scheduled for May 12, the meeting will take place in Kirkwall with representatives of Highland Council, representatives of the transportation committee, relevant officials and representatives of other appropriate organisations.

Pentland Ferries were left hoping for a break, after the much anticipated maiden run of the new Pentalina catamaran failed to be a success.

The vessel left St Margaret’s Hope for Gills Bay last Friday, but due to a problem with the thruster pumps, it had to sail back to Orkney.

Andrew Banks, of Pentland Ferries, said: “It is disappointing. Our luck would need to change. It was the thrusters, which weren’t working to full capacity. We made four attempts to get in to Gill’s Bay, but decided to cancel and come back in the end.”

A team from south will be hired to work on the Pentalina, and it is hoped that she will be in service in the near future.

Library and Archive users in Orkney are to be asked for their views on the services provided locally. 

A short questionnaire is to be made available at Kirkwall and Stromness Libraries, through the mobile library vans and on the Orkney Library and Archive website. 

Anyone who fills in the questionnaire will be automatically entered into a prize draw, to win free loans on DVDs and CDs for a whole year. 

The survey runs from tomorrow, Friday, February 13, until Saturday March 14.

Log on to www.orkneylibrary.org.uk <http://www.orkneylibrary.org.uk> for more information.

Several windows at the rear of Bruce's Stores, Victoria Street, Kirkwall, were broken sometime between 9.30pm on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday.

Anyone with any information is asked to contact Kirkwall police, on 872241.

Orkney Islands Council is coming to the rescue of Shetland's road users after salt supplies ran low in the long spell of wintry weather.

Shetland Islands Council is sending articulated lorries to the county to pick up the supplies over the next few days, which will be shipped via NorthLink Ferries and Streamline Shipping. Local haulage firm, Northwards Ltd, are handling the transportation from Cursiter Quarry to the SIC depot in Lerwick.

The Shetland council found its stocks of rock salt heavily depleted and Orkney has decided to lend a hand by supplying an extra 400 tonnes to see them through the ongoing Arctic weather.

Primary school teachers in Orkney will take part in a renewable energy session being run by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in Firth Primary School on Friday. The workshops are part of a HIE initiative to raise awareness of renewable energy in schools.

Teachers from primary schools throughout Orkney have signed up to participate in the training sessions, which will assist teachers in delivering lessons relating to renewable energy for pupils in primary six and seven.

To give children further insight into renewable energy and its importance, a toolkit has also been developed by The Educational Resource Partnership, containing specially designed games, fact sheets, equipment, activities, experiments and quizzes.

The former youth hostel on Hellihole Road, Stromness, is being turned into supported accommodation in a bid to curb the town's anti-social behaviour problems.

The one-year trial, from April 1, will see the doors opened to six residents, who are in need of help with their tenancies.

Stromness councillor, James Stockan, said the OIC, Orkney Housing Association, and the police had worked together to find a solution to concerns of anti-social behaviour.

"With the size of community that we are, we should be able to work together to have solutions that other places can't have. We must not shy away from the challenge of that; face it head on and be prepared to do things together,." he said.

Plans to help Orkney farmers cope with an increase in the number of wintering geese have been confirmed by Scottish Natural Heritage.

The greylag goose population has multiplied over the past 20 years to reach a record level of 68,349 in December, 2008. And though Orkney is now the most important area in Britain for wintering greylag geese, it has resulted in concerns being expressed by farmers about increased damage caused by geese to improved pastures and other crops.

Last year SNH, the Scottish Government Rural Payment and Inspections Directorate and the National Goose Management Review Group worked with a number of local farmers to identify ways of help.

As a result, it was decided to run a winter feasibility project to assess the level and type of scaring required to protect first year reseeds. The estimated cost of the feasibility project is £11,270 which will be funded by SNH.

A chainsaw was removed from a premises in St Ola at some time between December 15 and January 26.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Kirkwall Police Station on 872241.

NHS Orkney will receive record funding of £31.4 million next year, Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon announced on Monday.

The sum includes £900,000 for NHS capital projects, such as buildings, IT and equipment.

NHS Orkney chief executive, Iain Crozier, said: "We are pleased to be able to use this capital funding to deliver improvements to services and patient environments alike.

"The improvements to Orkney's major health centre will be felt by all, whilst the alterations to the hospital are in line with changing practice and will provide more rapid and effective services."

E.ON, one of the UK’s leading renewable generators will shortly be generating electricity from the waves in Orkney.

The company made the announcement on Monday, as part of their staged approach towards developing the potential of marine energy.

The initial test programme will be based around a single 750kw Pelamis P2 device which is currently being built in Edinburgh, and which will be installed and tested at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.

E.ON will become the first utility to test a marine energy device at EMEC, which is the only grid connected marine test facility in Europe.

The Pelamis device is expected to become full operational in 2010.

About 12.30pm pm on Saturday, a set of metal ladders were removed from a trailer parked on Willow Road, Kirkwall, near to Rendall's Bakery.

The ladders were later recovered near the top of Clay Loan, Kirkwall.

Anyone who may have seen someone carrying ladders, or with any information regarding this is asked to contact Kirkwall police station, on 872241.

Stromness has received a cash boost from Historic Scotland’s Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme.

The £857,000 grant will help “maintain and improve the historic character and heritage” of the town, Scotland’s Culture Minister Linda Fabiani announced on Friday.

The grant targets “historic areas with social and economic disadvantages that make it difficult to attract investment in sustainable regeneration”.

The money can be used for repairs and improvements to private homes and businesses, as well as restoring local landmarks to bring them back into use.

A meeting is to take place between Orkney Islands Council and those involved with the lairage facility at Hatston Industrial Estate.

Director of technical services of the council, Brian Thomson explained the plans at this week ’s OIC transportation and infrastructure committee meeting as he presented his progress report on building works.

The meeting, with the lead consultant and the operators of the lairage facility, will discuss operational concerns recently highlighted.

Mr Thomson said: “Hopefully they will come back with some remedial action, particularly on the ramp, which seems to be causing particular concern.”

A date is yet to be decided.

Orkney Islands Council is reminding drivers that Weyland Terrace in Kirkwall is now one way only between East Road and Cromwell Drive.

This means that motorists can no longer exit on to East Road.

This has been put in place as part of a new housing development at Weyland Drive, an OIC spokesman explained.