A look back at events of 2004

April

• There was no April fooling going on at OIC where officials were more than happy to announce that they could be free of housing debt during the next two years.
  
  It was proposed that the council might soon have £1 million to spend each year with the option to build new council houses for the first time in more than ten years.
  
  Orkney's assistant director of housing, John Richards, said: "We are an unusual council in that we have virtually no housing debt - in the next two years we will be debt-free."
• The future of Orkney and Shetland's lifeline ferry services was thrown into doubt again in April.
• The Scottish Executive eased a turbulent time for the Orkney Tourist Board by awarding funding of £201,000 for the forthcoming year.
  
  The Executive decided to abolish area tourist boards and replace them with "hub" marketing organisations under the control of VisitScotland. It was hoped that local authorities would be able to make financial contributions under service level agreements, which will specify what output the council will get.
• It was announced that Orkney would benefit from a £90,000 windfall to help the county become greener.
• The Scottish Executive announced a £20 million investment in energy efficiency in a bid to save up to £70 million during the next five years.
• It was announced that Orcadians would be able to donate blood for the first time on the island, if authorities could meet the strict deadlines.
  
  A massive military-style operation would need to be carried out to ensure that the blood could reach Edinburgh within 12-hours to test for HIV, hepatitis and syphilis.
• Two water treatment plants in Orkney would come on stream after a five-year wait and a cost of £5 million.
  
  Scottish Water confirmed that the treatment plant at Kirbister loch in Orphir, which will supply Kirkwall's water along with Boardhouse loch in Birsay, which will supply Stromness, would be ready by early summer.
  
  It was further decided to decommission treatment works at Stromness and Wideford water-works when the sites started running.
• The massive costs of paying for locum GPs in Orkney, which is around £750,000 per year, was blamed for crippling the health board's already flagging budget. The £750,000 bill, for 2003 to 2004, was five times more than usual, according to NHS Orkney's assistant medical director, Alex Clark, who admitted that the board could not afford long-term locums any longer.
• A drive to encourage Orkney primary school pupils to learn a musical instrument before the age of 11 was launched in April. The move came under a Scottish Executive drive to increase the opportunities for youngsters wanting to learn music.
  
  OIC director of education Mr Leslie Manson said that the Executive wanted to "ensure that, by 2006, every primary school pupil should have the access to at least one year's free tuition by the time they had reached primary six."
• Householders in Stromness were being urged to lock their doors following a series of thefts in the area. Cash and cards were stolen over a short time period in the town, prompting police to urge residents to lock doors to deter the thieves.