FAR North rail passengers face more travel disruption tomorrow (Saturday) as industrial action hits services.

A CAITHNESS councillor has expressed his concern about the number of potholes on local roads and the need to get them repaired.

THE association in charge of running junior football in Caithness is in danger of folding.

A SMALL number of norovirus cases have been confirmed at Caithness General Hospital, it has emerged.

A spokesperson for NHS Highland yesterday told the Caithness Courier that "staff are managing the situation and infection control measures are in place" to tackle the virus which is also known as the winter vomiting bug.

MEMBERS of the Highland Council's education, culture and sport committee are being asked to approve a cost benefit analysis exercise on the redevelopment options for Wick High School.

PROPOSALS to give legal force to support children and adults with autism have been welcomed at a forum in Thurso.

THE body of a Lybster pensioner who went missing from his home last Tuesday has been found.

Following a report from a member of the public shortly before 9am on Saturday, police, coastguard volunteers and a crew from Wick lifeboat attended a remote location 3.5 miles south of the village.

SPECIALIST dog teams were yesterday deployed in the hunt for a Lybster pensioner who has gone missing from his home.

Hopes of finding 65-year-old Sammy Macdonald alive were dwindling after a ground and air search on Wednesday night drew a blank.

PEOPLE in Caithness are being urged to keep faith in marine power being able to deliver a major boost to the local economy.

A NORTH MSP is attempting to find out exactly how much it would cost to install barriers at ungated level crossings in the Highlands.

LOCAL dog walkers are ignoring "no entrance" signs at a community woodland, it has emerged.

CAITHNESS presbytery is interested in taking part in a two-year pilot scheme which could have major implications for the way the Church of Scotland is run.

CELEBRITY cyclists were given a warm send-off from John O'Groats on Monday as they braved the cold to begin an energy-sapping million-pound fundraising challenge in aid of Sport Relief.

Youngsters from Canisbay Primary School were among those who turned out to bid farewell to the star-studded team which included actor and comedian David Walliams and TV presenter Davina McCall.

FARMERS and hauliers in the Far North on Monday declared themselves foursquare against mooted EC plans to impose tougher controls on livestock transport.

MOVES are under way to complete the arrangements for the operation of the first common good fund run by the operators of Dounreay.

A NEW trial date was set yesterday for a young man accused on indictment of having unlawful sexual intercourse with three underage teenage girls.

THERE was a record attendance at the first meeting of a farm scheme in Caithness run by Quality Meat Scotland.

A LITTLE brown trout, not a salmon, was the first fish to be hooked on the River Forss when it was declared open on Monday.

In glorious sunshine, but below-freezing temperatures, the 2010 season was launched by local MSP Jamie Stone.

A CASTLETOWN woman has criticised ScotRail's service on the Thurso to Inverness rail line following a trip this week in an unheated carriage.

THE Dunbar Hospital is not going to close.

A PROJECT to expand the NHS dental surgery at the Dunbar Hospital is expected to get under way in the summer, Thurso community councillors heard this week.

AS the Wick and Thurso retail outlets owned by the Ethel Austin prepare to close this weekend, a Thurso community councillor has asked if public money was involved in getting the company to set up in Caithness.

THE former treasurer of the Wick Town Improvements Association embezzled £22,000 from the organisation over a three-year period but could not explain what happened to the money.

JOHN O'Groats will welcome a number of celebrities on Monday morning as they take part in a Sport Relief challenge to cycle non-stop to Land's End.

A LOCAL woman yesterday spoke of her shock at the floods and mudslides in Madeira which have claimed the lives of over 40 people, including a British tourist.

WICK and Thurso-bound rail passengers travelling from Inverness over the next fortnight could face further disruption.

A THURSO man lost his licence for three months and was fined £200 for using a hand-held mobile phone while he was driving his car.

A FAMILY-run convenience store at the heart of the Lybster community closed its doors for the last time on Saturday.

Eric and Eileen Farquhar have retired after running D. Munro - better known as the café or Eric's - at its present location for 46 years.

The firm was initially opened by Eileen's parents Diane and David Lloyd George on August 12, 1954.

A CLAIM that wind farm development in Caithness could have "a potentially disastrous effect" on the number of visitors coming to the area was rejected by tourist bosses at a meeting in Thurso this week.

THE Scottish Parliament's rural affairs and environment committee will meet in Thurso on Tuesday to hear about the challenges facing crofting in the 21st century.

COUNCILLORS should not have their lunches provided for them when they are attending meetings in Inverness.

A SENIOR animal welfare inspector has issued an appeal for help after two albino rabbits were found abandoned at Loch Watten.

MOVES are under way to prevent a planning wrangle delaying the creation of an industrial park near Scrabster.

A LOCAL writer has predicted a grim future for the arts in Caithness after Highland councillors agreed to cut the sector's remaining funding of £59,000 in the coming financial year.

George Gunn, a former artistic director of the Thurso-based Grey Coast Theatre Company, accused the local authority of "a lack of foresight and a lack of vision" over its plans.

THE prospective operators of a major new tourism venture in John O'Groats expect to have it up and running by the 2012 season.

A CAITHNESS man will be among a group of campaigners meeting health secretary Nicola Sturgeon next week in a bid to secure the future of a North health facility.

A BID to have the Berriedale braes improved by funding from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority was rejected last week.

SHOPPERS at the Somerfield store in Wick found the shelves empty of a range of dairy products, fresh and cooked meats at the weekend.