POLICE are appealing for information following the out of season shooting of two red deer hinds and their two young calves.

TEENAGERS from two towns have kicked rivalry into touch after striking up a friendship on the football pitch.

PATIENTS who book appointments then don't turn up are blocking others from seeing doctors and nurses as quickly as they need to.

In just one week, 41 people failed to turn up for appointments at the Maryhill Health Centre in Elgin, prompting a warning to those who continually fail to appear that they face being struck off.

A DESPERATE Moray mum has poured out her love for the young daughter she has been separated from, in a tear-stained letter telling of her heartbreak.

THOUSANDS of Moray Council workers could down tools next week and walk out in a dispute over pay.

A FATHER has gone missing after visiting his baby daughter in hospital where she is being treated for injuries she sustained at the family's Moray home.

POLICE are searching for the killer of a horse at Birnie three weeks ago after a post-mortem examination ruled out any medical condition as the cause of death.

THE final pruning and preening has been carried out in a Moray town in its attempt to clinch a prestigious horticultural award.

AN Elgin mother has locked horns with Moray Council after a shock bill for nearly £1,000 landed through her letterbox.

MORAY councillors will be asked to revoke the authority's open access policy at all their 54 schools after facing a vandalism bill for over £90,000.

A LAST-gasp fund-raising campaign to save a ramshackle textile mill from collapse has started to weave its magic on members of the public.

A PROPERTY developer has won a planning appeal to build 122 new homes on the site of a disused shipyard, but there are doubts as to whether the scheme will ever be built.

EVERYTHING in the garden is rosy as the Moray capital gets set to welcome some very special friends.

CARERS across Moray are extending the hand of friendship to other people who look after a relative, friend or neighbour by offering them the chance to have a cuppa and a chat.

MINDLESS vandals struck a Moray community at the weekend destroying a floral display days before it was to be judged in a gardening competition.

A FACE-lift could be in line for properties in the centre of Keith, if the Government's national heritage agency gives its blessing.

BUCKIE is in line for a major housing boost after councillors gave the green light to building almost 150 new homes on farmland on the outskirts of the town.

THE weather rained on the parade of Keith Country Show for the second year running, with the weekend's downpours blamed for the crowds staying away.

THE organisers of Moray's only country show, at Keith, were counting their blessings this week for a successful event.

Last year torrential rain and a national foot and mouth alert, which led to many of the livestock competitions being cancelled, dealt a crushing blow to the traditional event.

AN alert has gone out over the loss of prescription drugs in Robertson Road, Elgin, about noon on Friday, August 8.

MORAY councillors have approved a 149-unit residential development in Buckie.

POLICE are investigating the theft of a 4ft length of lead from the roof of a house in Town Hall Lane, Lossiemouth, between 3pm and 5pm on Thursday, August 7.

MORE than 330 litres of diesel were stolen in a raid on a business premises at Nairn overnight on Thursday, August 7. The fuel was taken from a tank inside a compound.

A SHOW horse was the victim of two attacks in a matter of days at separate locations near Elgin last week.

Two-year-old Lucky Lady had her mane and tail cut at a field at Miltonduff, prompting her concerned owner, Abby Anderson, to immediately move her to a meadow opposite the Eight Acres Hotel on the outskirts of the town, to be nearer his home.

AN Elgin man had a brush with death after his home became engulfed in a blaze believed to have been started by a glass paperweight reflecting the sun's rays.

A MINIBUS used by elderly and disabled people has been vandalised by a suspected air rifle attack.

BIKERS fighting the closure of Moray's only test centre fear learners will be left with their L plates on unless the Driving Standards Agency makes a U-turn.

BUS services on rural and town centre routes are to be axed after council officials got their sums wrong.

IN the six years since missing grandmother Patricia Duncan simply vanished off the face of the earth, a lot has changed in the place she once called home.

BOAT owners in Hopeman are calling on Moray Council to erect a gate to deter people from accessing a new £250,000 pontoon after vandals cut loose several vessels from their moorings in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

THE journey of fresh produce from the garden to the plate in Moray could become quicker and more local if a pilot allotment project takes off.

A THUMPER of a rabbit is set to celebrate her first birthday tomorrow (Saturday) and is inviting all her young friends to come and join in her celebration.

VULNERABLE young teenagers in Moray leaving behind a troubled home environment or foster and residential care have a new support service to help them make the transition to young adulthood and greater independence.

THE sun broke through the clouds at Duffus on Tuesday, barely an hour before the judges began their cross country mission to find Scotland's most beautiful villages, towns and cities.

THE picturesque setting of the Alice Littler Park in Aberlour welcomed a crowd of over 4,000 to the annual Highland Games on Saturday.

THE owner of a horse killed in what she believes was an horrific attack has branded the perpetrators of the crime as evil.

Rebecca Baillie, has been left devastated by the death of Henry, her 25 year old thoroughbred cross, in a field at Birnie last week and urged anyone with information to come forward.

A CALL has been sounded for Moray's fragile rural communities to "dig in and fight some more" to fend off the threat of future post office closures.

THE prospect of a regional sports centre for Moray has taken another step forward with the money available for the building now standing at around £5 million.

KEITH'S Hip Bumpers are making a final call to the public to give them a helping hand in the 2008 National Lottery Awards.

TAXI boss Dave Christie will be burning rubber through Elgin next weekend in the name of charity.

THE findings of a year-long study into how to turn Moray into a magnet for tourists is about to be revealed.

THE key to unlocking Moray's tourism potential rests with an integrated transport strategy, not just for Scotland but for the whole of Britain.

A FORMER policeman, who has also served his country as a Marine, has been left unable to work after being branded an illegal immigrant.

SWAP the streets for Elgin Youth Café is the message to young ­people and you will have fun, make new friends and learn new skills.

A new-look youth support team is looking to build on the success of the project for 12-18-year-olds.

ONE of Scotland's best loved cartoon characters has provided the inspiration for some ringside fun with a competitive edge at this year's Keith Country Show.

BIKERS are set to ride out to honour a friend who lost his life in a road tragedy.

BUCKIE Rotarians had a special birthday cele­bration this week.

THE family and friends of a young Elgin woman have donated money raised in her memory to a teenager soon to receive a life-saving bone marrow transplant.

More than £1,000 was given to Kyle Whyte, from Alves, thanks to the organisers of a darts doubles tournament held in honour of Lisa Parkington.

A PARALYSED man has been asked to give up his satellite television subscription so he can find the cash to pay Moray Council for his care costs.

SHOCK demands for as much as £1,500 in maintenance charges have left Moray home owners reeling.

TWO sisters killed in a car crash last week were laid to rest beside the boyfriend of one on them, who also died in the accident.

ANIMAL lovers in Moray have been left devastated after seven cats died at the hands of a suspected pet poisoner.

A BELLY dancing duo have wriggled their way to a £5,000 Lottery award.

A MORAY couple have resurrected plans to regenerate a landmark Elgin building as an entertainment venue.

A WARNING advising householders in upper Speyside to boil tap water has been lifted – but water quality monitoring will continue on a daily basis.

PROUDLY displaying the medals he earned during almost 30 years of military service is Alister MacGillivray's way of remembering the soldiers who did not return home from duty.

PRESIDENTIAL candidate Barack Obama was given a Highlanders welcome to Iraq by a Moray soldier.

A WELSH bank has been chosen as the preferred bidder to develop over 300 former Ministry of Defence homes at Kinloss.

IT is clear a quality water supply is on-tap following a £600,000 investment to replace a seaside village's outdated mains.

CLOSING a Moray job centre would be a 'poor show' for those people in a former unemployment black spot trying to get a job.

THERE is not a councillor, MSP, MP, MEP, Hitrans member or, it seems, member of the public who does not think that goods should go by rail and relieve the road system of heavy lorries – but it is not happening. Why?

THERE was heavy rain to go with the heavy events on Saturday as Tomintoul Highland Games endured a series of showers.

POLICE are trying to track down a registered sex offender who has been missing for a fortnight.

POLICE are investigating the theft of a grey Land Rover Discovery from the Leys Road car park in Forres.

FIVE motorists in Moray have been caught under a special campaign targeting people driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

A CAR stolen from Morven Crescent in Findochty has been found burned out on the west coast.

LOSSIE bridge isn't ­falling down quite yet, but its days are numbered.

For years it has provided a walkway to the golden sands of the East Beach for countless visitors, but the community feels the time has come to have it replaced amid health and safety concerns.

THE loss of someone you care for is a devastating event and death by suicide can leave those left behind feeling isolated and with many unresolved issues.

THE hustle and bustle of Elgin's Saturday Market may seem like an unlikely venue to find some spiritual comfort.

READERS of 'The Northern Scot' have rallied to an appeal for old wartime bomber parts.

VISITORS to Speyside and the Cairngorms are being encouraged to rise with the lark and venture into the great outdoors to take in the area's wonderful wildlife.

A MORAY conservation charity aiming to restore the Caledonian Forest has seen its funds grow, thanks to a donation from a financial services company.

POLICE have named the RockNess fan who died yesterday as Ryan Fern Munro (18) a builder from Harbour Street, Hopeman.