INTREPID seafarer Chris Cooper has been forced to abandon plans to paddle across the Pentland Firth in a traditional Canadian canoe this weekend.

PEOPLE in Caithness will be unable to hear what their local Highland councillors think about moves to signpost Gaelic versions of towns and villages in their wards.

LARGER louts are the target of a proposed new Pubwatch network in Thurso.

ANIMAL rights activist Joanne Simm is taking the bull by the horns in her latest anti-cruelty demonstration.

TWO pre-school pupils have won an appeal to get places in the next primary one intake at Hillhead Primary in Wick.

THE number of cases of swine flu in the Highlands has doubled in the past week – going up from two to four cases.

THE future for the workforce at Vulcan has become less secure now that it looks certain the Ministry of Defence will not be extending its current contract at its reactor base in Caithness.

A CAITHNESS councillor yesterday described proposed cuts in the local authority budget of £100 million over the next four years as "horrific".

Thurso Highland councillor John Rosie said the savings – required because of the current economic recession and the freeze on council tax – would impact "on the Far North and all areas of the Highlands" and affect education, roads and social work budgets. Sport and the arts could also suffer because of the financial difficulties.

A WICK charity shop had cause to celebrate last week as its total sales figures passed the £1 million mark.

UP to 15 jobs could go at North Highland College UHI as managers battle to balance the books in the face of the recession.

STAFF in Caithness have just been awarded a two-year extension to their current contract to manage an industry-wide nuclear pension plan.

CAITHNESS councillors who lost their latest battle to persuade the Highland Council to only apply its controversial bilingual policy on signs in areas that want them may take their fight to the European Parliament.

A HIGHLANDS and Islands MSP has voiced concerns over the Scottish Government's latest school building program and what it means for Wick.

TRADERS in the centre of Thurso have been quick to take up an initiative to help breathe new life into the area.

A CROFTERS' organisation formed in Sutherland in reaction against the controversial Shucksmith Report on the future of crofting claimed that the report's proposals to "devalue property and increase bureaucracy" were the only ones being taken forward for proposed legislation.

THURSO High School pupils were among those to receive prizes in a global writing competition, it has emerged.

Beth O'Connell was named winner in the secondary section of the local authority's Neil Gunn writing contest, while Neil Henderson came second.

They both attended a prize-giving ceremony held in Inverness Town House on Tuesday.

A MAN yesterday admitted causing the death of a promising young footballer in a horror crash.

A COMPUTER designed by Wick High School pupils for a technology competition has sparked interest from a variety of big names including Dame Joan Bakewell, Kenneth Clarke MP and an ex-NASA astronaut.

TWO cases of swine flu have now been confirmed in the Highlands although it is understood that neither involve people from Caithness.

IT was the end of an era as Wick slaughterhouse closed for the last time on Wednesday.

A DATE was fixed this week for a new inquiry which is hoped will reveal how the Peterhead fishing boat Trident was lost off the Caithness coast 35 years ago.

LOCAL MP John Thurso claimed a total of £889,933 in expenses over a seven-year period from 2001 to 2008, according to figures published online by a national newspaper.

A WOMAN took exception to being accused of stealing a handbag and hit the other female with an empty bottle.

A CASE of swine flu has been confirmed in the Highlands but the local health authority has refused to disclose the location, although it is understood the person – a woman – was treated in Caithness.

The case is thought to be travel-related and not to involve any local person.

A WICK street had to be cordoned off by the police after a teenager climbed onto a roof of a three-storey building and threatened to kill himself.

A SHERIFF this week warned of the consequences of people carrying weapons when he jailed a Wick man for six months for possessing a knife.

ONE of Dounreay's biggest contractors is aiming to be in business in the area after the site's scheduled closure in 2025.

MOVES are under way to help stimulate extra business in the centre of Thurso in what is seen as a do-or-die initiative for some traders.

PUPILS from Thurso High School raced to an electrifying victory at the weekend when they won the Scottish Shell Greenpower electric car-building competition.

THE Far North is set to strengthen its growing reputation as the hub of the global marine energy industry with the announcement yesterday of a multi-million-pound investment package in North Highland College UHI.

The funding injection – totalling £14 million – will be ploughed into creating new state-of-the-art training and research facilities at the Thurso campus. And it is hoped this will lead to long-term benefits in terms of jobs and other economic spin-offs.

THERE are fresh hopes for a new Wick High School as the Scottish Government this week announced £800 million worth of investment to build new primary and secondary schools.

THE chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise, William Roe, may not be in his post much longer, according to a North consultant.

FAR North MSP Jamie Stone has congratulated bus firm Stagecoach for moving quickly to resolve a local service difficulty.

WICK Sheriff Court could have a new visiting sheriff on occasions.

PLANS to give the Scottish Parliament greater tax-raising powers and more political control over its affairs have been welcomed by Far North MSP Jamie Stone.

PEOPLE in Wick gathered in the town centre yesterday afternoon to help celebrate the contribution armed forces personnel have made to Scotland.

As part of Caithness Armed Forces Day (AFD), a street concert took place, led by the pipe band of The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) accompanied by members of the Highland Youth Pipe Band who were wearing "The Pipers' Trail" tartan kilts, which were donated to the band from the Army in Scotland's 51 (Scottish) Brigade.

FEARS for the future operation of Wick's maternity service have not been assuaged by assurances from NHS Highland.

CAITHNESS Chamber of Commerce is seeking to trigger a reversal in the recent downturn in fortunes of Wick and Thurso town centres.

A DISQUALIFIED motorist was sent to a detention centre for 13 months and banned from driving for life after ramming two police cars during a chase on the Wick to Thrumster road.

THE Dounreay nuclear site, which is currently being decommissioned, will play a part in a plan to try and reduce the amount of waste going to low-level repositories.

FRESH interest has been expressed in the county's two former Woolworth stores but the firm marketing them has stressed that nothing has been settled.

A NORTH MSP yesterday said the chairman of Highlands and Islands Enterprise should consider his position after an internal audit revealed his private consultancy company, Rocket Science UK Ltd, received almost £150,000 in contracts from the agency.

William Roe is to step down as chairman of Rocket Science on June 30 but vowed to continue his senior role with HIE despite concerns raised in the investigation about the way the firm was awarded the work.

A FAR North community stalwart has hit out at personal flak he has faced from would-be wind farm developers.

A SCOTTISH Government minister is to visit the Far North to take part in discussions to identify high-quality training and employment opportunities in the wake of the decommissioning of Dounreay.

THERE are no cases of swine flu in the Highland Council area but four new cases have been confirmed in Argyll and Bute, which is part of NHS Highland.

FIRST ScotRail is being urged to encourage more passengers to use the train for journeys within Caithness.

FIRMS bidding to pioneer commercial marine power production in the Pentland Firth are being encouraged to maximise their use of the local supply chain.

NHS Highland managers are being quizzed about a recent rise in Far North mothers giving birth in Inverness rather than Wick.

Local trade union representatives fear that after two abortive attempts to downgrade the maternity unit at Caithness General, the health authority is seeking to effect a run down through "stealth".

HIGHLAND Liberal Democrats are celebrating after coming top of the region's results in the Euro poll – although public apathy was also a notable factor, with less than 23 per cent of the electorate in Caithness bothering to cast their vote.

PLANS are afoot to set up a trust to provide community spin-offs from any future onshore oil drilling operation at Lybster.

A MAN with "an appalling record" has been jailed for 60 days by a sheriff who described him as "a pest".

A DEVASTATED mum wept as a danger driver was found guilty of causing her daughter's death in a horror smash – shattering the 15-year-old's future "dreams and ambitions".

COMMUNITY representatives in Caithness are backing plans to bring in an early warning scheme to flag up when equipment in children's swing parks needs to be repaired or replaced.

A LYBSTER man who threatened to stab a police officer in the eye with a corkscrew has been jailed for five months.

TECHNOLOGY enthusiasts from Wick High School have taken to the airwaves to promote their touch-screen computer design.

ICT Youth Challenge finalists last week visited the studio of Caithness FM in Thurso as guests on the Jim and Ali show.

A DRIVER accused of causing the death of a teenage girl in a horror crash denied he was showing off to his passengers just three days after passing his test.

PARENTS of a 14-year-old Thurso boy yesterday claimed he is at the end of his tether after being subjected to systematic bullying at school.

LOCAL backing has been given to renewed calls for the introduction of a minimum alcohol pricing scheme in Scotland.

A SENIOR Caithness police officer has said that assistance from the public is playing a "crucial" part in bringing criminals to book, particular drug traffickers.

STAGECOACH'S recent timetable review hasn't impressed Lybster man Robert Bain.