NORTHERN Constabulary's top officer is being accused of deceit over calls for a fresh investigation into the Kevin McLeod case.

A LAND-and-sea search was under way yesterday (Thursday) for German man Kai Thieroff after his car was found abandoned on the main north-coast road on the Kyle of Tongue.

A SENIOR North police officer has warned those involved in criminal activity in Caithness to watch out – for they could be about to get a knock at their door.

BUDDING tennis players are being sought in a bid to form a new club at the refurbished Rosebank Playing Fields in Wick.

THE Beatrice oilfield has emerged as the likely source of an oil spill washed ashore on several parts of the Caithness coastline.

A BOMB disposal team is expected to arrive in Wick shortly to take charge of two marker flares which were discovered on Keiss beach at the weekend.

A WICK couple have said they are touched by the support they continue to receive for the memorial football event they hold annually in memory of their son.

WICK was reported as being devastated in a storm of hurricane-like proportions which left many houses submerged and locals facing a rising death toll.

THE Highlands and Islands remains the safest place to live, according to the latest crime figures released by Northern Constabulary.

A LEADING member of the Scottish Association of Community Councils has backed the campaign for the retention of under-threat telephone kiosks in the Far North.

THE future of a popular arts venue in Caithness has come under threat after its latest funding application was rejected.

The Scottish Arts Council this week announced it would no longer support Lyth Arts Centre under its flexible funding programme.

THE public is being advised to keep off the beach at Sinclair's Bay, near Wick, following the discovery of tar balls, which have been washed up along the length of the shoreline.

BUS services in Caithness could be taken over by the transport giant Stagecoach.

CAITHNESS councillors have given their backing to the fight to save the Wick tax office, which is under threat of closure.

THE quality of teaching and the imaginative learning experiences provided by staff at Wick's Hillhead Primary School have been identified as key strengths in a new report.

PETROL retailers in the Far North have robustly denied claims that they have been profiteering from the fuel crisis.

RURAL telephone kiosks in Caithness are being considered for closure in the latest review being undertaken by BT.

WITH lambing in full swing on the Mackay croft at Buldoo, newborn lambs do not tend to create much excitement.

But that all changed on Saturday afternoon when the owners realised one of their ewes had given birth to sextuplets.

ALTHOUGH conditions at Wick High have been described by a member of the House of Lords as "deplorable", the school is not believed to be breaching the human rights of pupils or staff.

WORKERS in Thurso are to pilot a pioneering new homeworking set-up which could revolutionise the way call centres are run in the UK.

FILLING stations and garages in Caithness were getting back to normal yesterday after the panic-buying of fuel last week in the lead-up to the 48-hour strike at Scotland's only oil refinery.

A DRIVER who caused a head-on collision with another vehicle while under the influence of drugs has been jailed for a total of 23 months.

A PLEA is to be made to the Highland Council to introduce traffic-calming measures at the entrances to Castletown in a bid to curtail speeding motorists.

THE group campaigning for a new Wick High to replace the present dilapidated buildings has played down the poor turnout at this week's open evening held in the school.

A CAITHNESS filling station ran out of petrol and diesel this week as motorists panicked before a 48-hour strike begins at Scotland's only oil refinery.

STAFF at the Wick tax office have expressed fears that it could be a closure casualty under a national review.

THE UK Atomic Energy Authority has succeeded in keeping private details about enriched uranium and plutonium stockpiles at Dounreay.

AS a community woodland on the outskirts of Wick faces indefinite closure, more has emerged about the safety concerns which prompted the decision to keep the public out.

SALES of petrol in Caithness have increased sharply over the past few days as motorists respond to concerns that a dispute at Scotland's only oil refinery at Grangemouth could lead to shortages nationwide.

THE state of Wick High School has been described as Dickensian by a North MSP.

IT'S an unenviable task but somebody is going to have to do it.

THE late Queen Mother's soft spot for livestock is being used to provide a new attraction for visitors to her former holiday home in Caithness.

HIGH-tech local firm KP Technology Ltd has added a prestigious Queen's Award for Enterprise in Innovation to its list of accolades.

A PROMINENT member of the SNP group on the Highland Council has rebuffed an offer by church leaders to present each councillor and top official with a copy of the Bible.

THE alarming rundown in the number of filling stations in the Highlands and Islands is set to continue, a new study is predicting.

WICK High pupils are to harness their creative talents in support of the parent council's campaign to secure a desperately-needed replacement for the present run-down school buildings.

CAITHNESS councillor David Flear is to stand down at the next election.

A RAIL campaigner yesterday said it was amazing that no-one was injured or killed in an accident which occurred on the Wick to Inverness line this week.

A PROBE is continuing into claims that over a quarter of a million pounds of public money raised to benefit Caithness businesses has been improperly siphoned into a Highland-wide kitty.

NORTHLINK Ferries is set to relaunch its successful family and friends discount travel scheme thanks to a new computerised reservation system.

FAR North MSP Jamie Stone yesterday gave a ringing endorsement to a venture being conceived to breathe fresh life into Thurso harbour.

A TIDE of plastic washed ashore at Dunnet beach has been blamed on shipping traffic passing through the Pentland Firth.

WHILE many would-be wind-farm developers in the Far North await planning decisions, the operator of the first large-scale venture in the area is struggling to resolve a quite different problem.

A THURSO contractor has won his appeal against a delay by the Highland Council in taking a decision on his controversial workshop development on the Ormlie Industrial Estate.

HIGHLANDS and Islands SNP MSP Rob Gibson has lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament congratulating Historic Scotland on commemorating the first man in space in a stone tablet at Skara Brae.

SUBSEA 7 at Wester had a double reason for celebration at the weekend.

MUMS-to-be in Caithness now have another option when it comes to giving birth in Wick – they can do so in water.

THURSO'S superstore wars have taken a fresh twist with confirmation that Tesco is gearing up to develop the town's derelict auction mart.

POLICE have said they are well satisfied with the response from the emergency services to an aircraft drama at Wick Airport this week.

AN award-winning post office in the east of Caithness has closed its doors for the last time.

RAIL links between the Highlands and the rest of Scotland should be "substantially improved" as a national priority, according to Friends of the Far North line.

A LOCAL community councillor this week hit out at the controversial decision to have Gaelic and English road signs in Caithness.

A LOCAL Highland councillor this week said he had no objections to a 50 per cent increase in burial charges.