MORAY MP Angus Robertson has attended a "very moving" session of the inquest into the deaths of 14 service personnel on board Nimrod XV230, which crashed over Afghanistan on September 2, 2006.

A VALUABLE Buddhist statue which was stolen from a retreat in Findhorn in the new year and was the subject of a police appeal for information leading to its discovery, has mysteriously re-appeared.

A CALL has gone out for people in Forres to step out for a new initiative which was launched last week, aimed at helping people get healthy, with minimum effort and the support of a friendly group of people.

A PART of Forres's past is due to be consigned to the history books this week as the owner of the Forres Auction mart brings down his gavel for the very last time.

THE sunshine last weekend was a welcome reminder that summer is just around the corner, but it also brought to the fore a problem that has blighted Forres in recent years... litter.

RURAL communities around Moray are once again being targeted by British Telecom, who are planning to remove public phone boxes around the area.

THE Coroner's Inquiry into the explosion of a Nimrod aircraft over Aghanistan in 2006 was due to get underway in Oxfordshire this week, with some of the families of the fourteen airmen who were killed, expected to attend.

FORRES Highland Games, which are celebrating their 80th anniversary this year, are set to benefit from the proceeds of a special blend of whisky which was launched by a local distillery last weekend.

A DISABLED rights campaigner has just returned from a special celebration to mark 60 years of the Leonard Cheshire disability charity, which exists to change attitudes to disability and to serve disabled people around the world.

THERE was high drama when Logie the Osprey returned home to her nest last week, following an epic 3,619 mile journey, taking 43 days from the Guinea Bissau in West Africa to woodlands near Forres.

A GROUP set up to make a local impact on the global problem of climate change is cracking ahead with its aim of making environmental changes in Forres.

FUEL was a scarce commodity in Forres as the "Gazette" was going to print on Monday, with a trickle of deliveries anticipated which should keep the town moving.

VISITSCOTLAND have apologised for a blunder in their newly issued tourist guide for Moray in which a picture of Lossiemouth beach was captioned as Findhorn beach.

A SEMI-retired Forres driving instructor said he was lost for words after a council employee suggested that he should climb up onto a neighbour's roof to deal with the problem of noisy, messy seagulls which were causing him a nuisance.

WORK being carried out at Chapelton for the Mosset Burn Flood Alleviation Scheme has resulted in the closure of a popular footbridge used by local walkers.

A PROUD Forres mum is anxiously waiting the safe return of her son, who is currently serving with the Highlanders, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, on a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan.

MORAY Wastebusters have been praised for their good work and helpful attitude by a man who was clearing timber and rubbish from the garden of his elderly father who was hospitalised.

A FORRES man said he was glad that police had been able to apprehend three youths who he claimed he saw carrying out an act of vandalism outside his home.

A WILD bird whose fantastic story featured in the "Forres Gazette" last year was close to arriving back at her nest in woods near Logie this week after a migration journey of nearly 3,500 miles.

THERE was mild panic at the petrol pumps around Forres on Monday morning with the threat of a fuel shortage looming around Scotland as the result of a strike by workers at the Grangemouth refinery which supplies most of the country's fuel.

NEW Forres police inspector Craig Donald, who was only recently appointed, has said he realised that vandalism and anti-social behaviour were the crimes that most concerned the public.

FORRES community councillor, Lorraine Dingwall, has challenged Moray Council planners to come up with an exact figure for new houses and flats built in the Forres area since the 2000 Local Plan was put into action.

A FORRES bakery and a Nairn garlic producer will be among companies from the Moray and Highlands area showcasing their wares at the Tesco Taste of Scotland event which is taking place in Glasgow this weekend.

MORAY MP Angus Robertson swapped suit for motorcycle leathers at the weekend, joining hundreds of motorcyclists who attended a rally in Elgin to protest at plans to close testing centres in Elgin and Buckie.

MORAY Council members are being asked to approve a dedicated transport strategy for Forres, in light of the increasing amount of development taking place in the south of the town.

FORRES has been associated with Scotland and Britain in Bloom competitions for more than 30 years and has been very successful, although the actual Forres in Bloom committee was not established until 1989, paving the way for them to enter the Europe in Bloom competition.

THE Horizon Scotland business incubation centre at the Forres Enterprise Park is home to a new clinic offering innovative treatments for serious conditions such as schizophrenia, autism and multiple sclerosis.

THE parents of the only female skipper taking part in the Clipper 07-08 Round the World Yacht Race dropped in to visit her sponsors at Benromach Distillery last week, to thank them for their support.

A ROADSHOW which was held in Forres recently aimed at getting people back on their bikes, was a great success.