A HISTORIC Grade A listed museum in the Black Isle is having a brand new thatched roof laid - with reeds brought all the way from Turkey.

POLICE are warning Ross-shire residents to be on their guard after two householders were conned out of cash on being told they were lottery winners.

AN Alness man who assaulted his father in a row over money found himself £400 out of pocket at Tain Sheriff Court.

OVER 70 classic and vintage vehicles are expected to roll into Dingwall on Saturday for the annual Great Feil Maree celebrations.

Treasured cars, tractors, lorries, motorbikes and pedal bikes from yesteryear will be on display at the Cromartie Car Park in Dingwall from 11am until 3.45pm when they will all take part in a parade down the High Street led by local pipe bands.

A MUIR of Ord pensioner is behind bars after being convicted of a series of indecency charges involving underage girls, and also of plying some of them with drink.

Ranald Matheson (69), of Balvaird Terrace, Muir of Ord, was found guilty by a jury at Dingwall Sheriff Court, on a total of 16 counts, 12 of lewd and libidinous behaviour and four of supplying alcohol to underage children.

A COMPLAINT of sexual abuse against a schoolgirl went uninvestigated by police, a court case into one of Ross-shire's biggest child sex abuse enquiries heard this week.

A WOMAN who stole perfume from TK Maxx in Inverness had her sentence deferred to see if she can behave.

PUBLICANS who took Tesco to the licensing court over selling alcohol at rock bottom prices have lost their case against the supermarket giant.

A CALL has been made for Highland Council road chiefs to come to Tain to address residents on changes to the town centre roads as part of the development of the controversial new Tesco store.

TOP chefs will be savouring a Taste of Tain when they act as judges in a competition to find first-rate foodie talent in the Highlands.

A BODY which was found on a beach in Moray has been identified as a Ross-shire businessman who went missing from his home, police have confirmed.

Barry Turner (55) had been missing from his home in High Street, Tain, since last month, sparking an air, sea and land search.

A SENIOR cop has warned that police and the courts will show no mercy to people who carry weapons after a Ross thug was this week locked up for three years for fracturing his pal's skull with a baseball bat.

Danny McQuillan (19) repeatedly beat his best friend, Liam Nicholson, over the head with a baseball bat, causing a blood clot on his brain, and leaving him permanently disfigured and with a speech impairment, Tain Sheriff Court heard this week.

THE eyes and ears of local anglers are to be used in an innovative scheme to combat poaching on local rivers.

A THUG who assaulted a man with a pool cue was sent to a detention centre for two years at Tain Sheriff Court this week.

THE funeral will take place in Fortrose on Monday of Black Isle scientist Rory Smart, who was shot dead in South Africa.

A DRUNK driver who overturned a friend's car on the Black Isle tried to do a runner when he was being treated by paramedics because he heard police sirens approaching.

DEVELOPERS behind a five-turbine £10 million wind farm at Nigg say the project has taken a step forward this week with the submission of fresh information about their plans.

Falck Renewables originally lodged plans with the Highland Council for a 10MW wind farm on top of Nigg Hill in Easter Ross in January 2008.

A BOUYANCY aid worn by a capsized canoeist in the Cromarty Firth probably saved his life, rescuers have said.

The drama was sparked at the weekend after Aberdeen Coastguard was contacted by a member of public in Dingwall who reported spotting a canoeist who had capsized, drifting downstream towards the Cromarty Bridge.

A ROW is blowing up in Ross-shire over plans to divert wind farm cash benefits away from local communities and put them into a central pot in Inverness.

A YOUNG woman broke down several times this week as she told a court a Ross-shire man subjected her to years of sexual abuse while a schoolgirl.

A 60-YEAR-old woman who was stopped in her car by police was found to be in possession of cannabis worth more than £2,500.

A ROSS County footballer has been cleared of carrying out a racist attack on a man outside a nightclub in Aberdeen.

WERE you snapped by our North Star photographer at Belladrum?

Check out this week's North Star to see if you or your mates appear in our full page spread of photos from the sell-out festival.

A ROSS-shire distillery has announced a £1 million revamp, claiming it intends to create one of the best whisky-related attractions in the country.

Dalmore Distillery at Alness, owned by multi-millionaire Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, plans to upgrade its visitor centre and shop at the distillery on the shores of the Cromarty Firth.

A DRUNK who downed two bottles of Southern Comfort before stubbing a cigarette out on his own chest and punching and kicking holes at a house in Balintore was jailed for five months at Tain Sheriff Court this week.

AN appeal to demolish a historic pub in Conon Bridge was turned down by the Scottish Government this week.

A ROSS-shire community group is in danger of losing £70,000 worth of funding for a much-needed children's playpark if a landlord fails to renew its lease.

A TEMPORARY road closure affecting the road bridge which crosses the Averon River in Alness will be in place from 7-9.30pm on Wednesday, August 11, to allow for the bridge to be inspected.

A YOUTH who assaulted a passenger on a bus, as well as the police officers who arrested him, was locked up for 10 months this week.