A CAITHNESS mother-of-four who died in a road accident in December 2008 was driving a Toyota which could have had a potentially lethal flaw, it has emerged.

A PLANE had to make an emergency landing at Wick Airport around nine yesterday morning after the crew noticed smoke in the cockpit and cabin.

A NUMBER of Caithness people have been concerned about a woman who was caught up in the recent earthquake in Haiti.

A GROUP of surfers who had been enjoying the waves at Thurso fell foul of the weather over the weekend, when heavy snow caused treacherous conditions on the county's roads.

The surfers came to grief a quarter of a mile north of Latheron on Sunday at around 7.30pm when their minibus overturned.

AN investigation into an incident at Castletown Primary School which resulted in head teacher Sheila Malcolm and a female member of staff checking young girls' underwear after a problem in a toilet should be completed in just over a week's time.

PLANS to remove one of the most troublesome bottlenecks on the A9, at Berriedale Braes, are moving a step forward with funding secured for a full feasibility study.

WICK High School looks set to be without a rector at the helm for a number of months.

A FAR North motorist was killed yesterday when he crashed through the bridge at the causeway over the Kyle of Tongue.

A TERMINALLY-ill cancer patient had to make a 10-hour return trip from Caithness to Inverness to get an X-ray and see a consultant.

Describing the situation as "totally ridiculous", Thurso Community Council vice-chairman Bert Macleod said the person made the journey because the consultant no longer holds clinics in Wick.

A CLAIM that Tesco plans to delay the building of its new supermarket in Thurso has been denied by the company.

A SCOTTISH Government minister has been told that people in the North do not feel safe using ungated level crossings.

FEARS about a dramatic rise in fly-tipping in the Highlands have not been realised.

RENEWED concerns about the future of Thurso Police Station are to be raised with Northern Constabulary's chief constable Ian Latimer.

A THURSO teenager who was seriously injured in a road accident has been fined £200 and had his licence endorsed with six penalty points for driving carelessly.

ANGRY parents yesterday called for the head teacher at Castletown Primary School to be sacked after girls in primaries one to five had their underwear checked.

THE prospective new owners of Dounreay were yesterday given a strong steer about the annual level of government funding for the remainder of the site's clean-up.

CREDITORS of a failed Caithness firm which supplied log cabins are continuing their fight to secure at least some of the money they are owed.

SERVICES on the Far North line returned to normal yesterday following the train derailment in Dingwall on Friday night in which more than 70 passengers escaped serious injury.

THE manager of a Far North social enterprise has expressed her shock at the number of local families struggling to put food on the table.

Michele Whibley works for the Thurso-based HomeAid charity which is a registered distributor of Blythswood Care's food parcels.

CUTS in the funding of Dounreay's clean-up would endanger a hoped-for construction boom scheduled to create 500 jobs.

THE closure of a family-run convenience store established in Lybster 56 years ago will signal the end of an era.

CULTIVATED cannabis believed to be worth over £42,000 has been discovered by police officers following a raid on a house in Reay.

TWO prominent local businessmen have given their support to a wind farm development in Caithness which will see 30 jobs created during its construction.

A LOCAL food company has been selected by celebrity Scottish chef Nick Nairn to supply products for two leading supermarkets.

A DUNBEATH-based writer has described as an "absolute disgrace" the pollution blighting a Caithness beauty spot.

Over the weekend Janis Mackay collected mounds of debris - mostly associated with the fishing industry - which had washed ashore along a half-mile stretch of beach just south of the river mouth at Dunbeath.

NORTH health chiefs are being tackled about ongoing fears that moves are under way to downgrade the county's two hospitals.

PRIMARY schools in both Wick and Thurso could be in line for closure or amalgamation as a result of a review which is set to get under way this year.

A NORTH MSP has made it clear the Scottish Government has no intention of bringing additional nuclear waste to Dounreay.

MOTORISTS are being urged to wake up to the dangers faced when they approach ungated level crossings.

TWO Caithness families have failed with pleas to win places for their children on the school bus that passes their homes.

FEARS about the long-term future of a controversial heating scheme in Wick were raised yesterday after an internal audit report revealed a catalogue of failures which could cost the Highland Council over £13 million, although that figure could be much higher.

A CAITHNESS councillor this week compared the Scottish Government to "a modern-day Patrick Sellar" over its decision to grant approval for the Baillie wind farm, west of Thurso.

A LOCAL man who survived more than seven hours in sub-zero temperatures after slipping on ice and banging his head, has spoken about his ordeal.

THE Highland Council is being accused of undermining the Far North rail line in its draft development blueprint for the region.

A NUMBER of lanes and car parks around the centre of Wick are to be given a face-lift in a bid to encourage more people into the town.

A LOCAL family has been devastated by the vandalism of a memorial bench placed overlooking the Trinkie outdoor pool at Wick.

A CALL was made yesterday for Network Rail to install full barriers at ungated rail crossings following the accident near Halkirk at the weekend in which a van and a train were in collision.

The plea was made by Landward Caithness councillor Willie Mackay and came as it was confirmed that a 20-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident.

THE Scottish Government yesterday gave the go-ahead to a controversial wind scheme on farm land west of Thurso.

NEWS that the Bignold Park in Wick has been earmarked as a possible site for the town's new high school has met with strong criticism.

A LOCAL girl has spoken of her horror when she spotted her pony trapped in a frozen river.

A DRUGS operation which was carried out in Wick had a Keystone Cops element to it, the town's sheriff court heard on Friday.

NORTH MSP Peter Peacock has secured a commitment from the Scottish Government to increase the broadband budget available through EU LEADER funding for rural development, if demand shows there is a need.

TREACHEROUS conditions are causing a problem for local posties endeavouring to deliver mail safely.

Wick-based delivery manager Alex MacDonald has issued an appeal to customers to salt their paths and driveways to reduce the risk posed to postal workers on foot.

SHOPS in Caithness had a merry Christmas and a good New Year despite the credit crunch.

THE go-ahead for a major upgrade of the Beauly to Denny power line was welcomed yesterday by the head of the Far North agency set up to counter the Dounreay jobs rundown.

FAR North MSP Jamie Stone has voiced concern about plans to tighten control over absentee crofters.

MEMBERS of the Caithness branch of Diabetes UK are looking for suggestions from members of the public on how to best utilise funding locally.