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This Month's Bulletins |
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NB: Bulletins appear in date order, the current bulletin can be found at the bottom of the page
NEWS 7.00 pm Thursday, 1st October 2009 The funeral of the late Mrs Mary Louise Peters of Blue Hill who passed away at the age of 75 at the General Hospital yesterday will take place on Saturday. The cortege will leave the Chapel of Rest on Saturday at 10 am proceeding to St Helena and the Cross for the funeral service and on to the Cemetery for the interment. Mary is survived by daughter Shirley, son-in-law Philip in the UK, granddaughter Miranda and partner on island, grandson Gareth in Germany, great grandchildren Tyrone on the island and Elizabeth in the UK, brothers Douglas and James, sister Winifred on the island, brother Dallas in UK, nieces and nephews here and overseas. A bus will be provided for family and friends who want to attend the funeral. If you require a seat, contact Miranda on tel. no, 2882. A Press Statement today from the Police Service said that once again concerns about our youth on weekends have come to the Force. Children and young persons are roaming the town centre and seafront unsupervised, being vulnerable to criminal activity or committing anti social crime such as littering, under age drinking and smoking. Now information has been received of a more serious allegation that our youth are smoking cannabis. On Tuesday, 29th September, a Safeguarding Children Group, consisting of representatives of Education, Police and Public Health and Social Services was held so a partnership approach could be formulated to address this problem. A whole range of issues was discussed and action planned for both short and long term. As part of the plan, it has been decided that proactive action will commence this weekend with Police recording the names and addresses of children and young persons seen unsupervised and loitering in public and asking them to give a satisfactory account of themselves. Dependent on circumstances, parents or guardians may be requested to collect their child. If a parent or guardian cannot be contacted, the child will be taken to a place of safety and a decision will be made based on the circumstances as how to proceed. Any criminal offences committed by youth will be investigated as normal. Police drug dog handlers with the drug dogs will also be patrolling and visiting licensed premises to deter and to detect drug related offences. Police will also be contacting shop owners to remind licensees of their responsibilities and the offences of selling alcohol to minors. With most problems, it is the minority who are responsible. The measures outlined and others to follow are necessary to protect our youth from harm and we would appreciate the support of parents, guardians and the public to ensure children and young persons have the correct supervision and parental control. It would appear that the recent flu bug has hit not only departments but schools as well with many children taking time off school. Derek Henry, Headteacher of Prince Andrew School spoke to Saint FM this morning and confirmed that this is the case. He added that two weeks ago the school had experienced quite a few absentees due to the flu and now with the erratic weather patterns this process looks like it’s going to be repeated. The fuel tanker Jo Acker arrived this morning in Ruperts Bay at half past six. She docked with successful moorings and manoeuverings. Discharge of gasoline commenced before eleven o’clock this morning and finished at about half past one today. Thereafter the diesel came ashore and they will continue to pump diesel until about six o’clock this evening and will resume in the morning at about 6 am and this session is estimated to last for about four hours. Yesterday, a release of a copy of the Accounts for Solomon and Company was made available to Saint FM. They disclosed that turnover for Solomons and Company, including subsidiaries, was almost £7.8m for the financial year ending 31st March this year. This was an increase of about 5% from the previous year. The profit for the financial year in question was £537,000, about 40% more than the year before. As it appears, the Insurance business is by far the most profitable branch of Solomons. It can be estimated, but not confirmed, that the profit from this activity contributes to almost half of this year’s profit. In the account, it is declared that Solomon and Company, within the group, has access to about £2½m in nett cash. It has also been disclosed that the SHELCO option for Broadbottom has been extended without any cash changing hands to 2012. The original option which SHELCO paid a deposit for would have expired in November this year, but was extended with the guarantee that some payments will be made at a time when an airport can be guaranteed.
NEWS 7.00 pm Friday, 2nd October 2009 The funeral of the late Mrs Mary Louise Peters of Blue Hill will take place tomorrow, Saturday. The cortege will leave the Chapel of Rest tomorrow at 10 am proceeding to St Helena and the Cross for the funeral service at 10.30, on to the Cemetery for the interment. Mary is survived by daughter Shirley and son-in-law Philip in the UK, granddaughter Miranda and partner on the island, grandson Gareth in Germany, great grandchildren Tyrone on the island and Elizabeth in the UK, brothers Douglas and James, sister Winifred on the island, brother Dallas in UK, nieces and nephews here and overseas. Transport will be provided, if you require a seat on the bus, then you contact Miranda on tel. no, 4882. A Memorial Service for the late Mrs Mary Peters will be held on Saturday, tomorrow, 3rd October, at St Mary’s Church on Ascension at 10.00 am. Saint FM received confirmation today that another female candidate had joined the election race. This is the first time in history that such a phenomenal number of candidates will be up for election. With the figure now standing at 25, the stakes are increasingly higher. Amidst all of this, however, Ken Baddon, the Attorney General, sent out a Press Statement to all media emphasising the need for free and fair election. To ensure that we remain a democratic and lawful part of the process, Saint FM has designed a package for all Councillors, both previous and new in the election process. A letter will be sent out offering all potential candidates the opportunity to present themselves with a picture and a short message in the Independent plus four minutes air time on Saint FM. Also Saint FM will be producing a television promotion for each candidate lasting for three minutes each and this will be viewed via the local television network. This has been enabled by two cameramen and that’s Paul Hickling and Desmond Peters. Saint FM released an announcement this week with regards to Solomons Accounts; also released to us today were figures from W A Thorpes and Sons. Nick Thorpe said it’s also our year end and I can report that Thorpes sales are up by 5% over the previous year, which is probably a fair indication that inflation is running at around that figure. Year on sales of food were stronger, non foods, including booze and fags were weaker. Most expenses have remained pretty much the same with the exception of electricity and water charges, which have increased by a whopping 40%. Today the Arts and Crafts Association held a stall outside the National Trust Office whereby donations of homemade jams and jellies, sweets and cakes, along with fresh flowers, were on sale. The idea came about to raise funds for the Arts and Crafts Centre. The products were sold very quickly and it’s anticipated that because of the good response no doubt the sale will be repeated again. Dr Corinda Essex informed us today there have been several expressions of interest received from people for the post of Project Manager for construction of the new passenger and customs terminals at James Bay wharf. The tender process will close next Friday, 9th October and Dr Essex said that the actual numbers of applicants may become available then. It is anticipated that the project management role will be carried out over a period of approximately eighteen months. The tanker Jo Acer left Ruperts Bay this morning at 10 minutes past 11. Her discharge operation finished at about 10 o’clock. Now the fuel is in the tanks and ready to use.
NEWS 9.00 am Monday, 5th October 2009 Firstly, we regret to announce the death of Mrs Hazel Williams of Longwood Hangings who passed away peacefully at the General Hospital at a quarter to six yesterday morning. The funeral arrangements will be announced later. The Master of the RMS, Captain Andrew Greentree, has reported that the crew member who was discharged in Vigo for a non flu related condition was also diagnosed by Vigo doctors with having swine flu. The symptoms of the swine flu were mild and the crew member is now fully recovered. He rejoined the RMS on Friday in Portland shortly before the ship’s departure on her southward voyage. The other three crew members who were isolated as a precaution prior to arrival in Portland because they were exhibiting some cold or flu like symptoms are also fully recovered and are now back at work. The Captain has confirmed that none of these crew members were diagnosed as having swine flu. The Captain has also confirmed that the RMS is following the advice issued by the World Health Organisation, the British Shippers Council and the Passenger Shipping Association as a precaution in order to limit the spread of any further flu like illnesses. In accordance with …..?.......passengers, officers and crew of the RMS will, of course, be routinely tested for symptoms by the port health authorities before they are allowed to disembark on arrival to St Helena or Ascension. Taken together, these measures will help to minimise the risk of any infection being brought to the island. In a previous Press Release, Saint FM was told off for saying that there was swine flu onboard, but now this has been confirmed. The RMS St Helena departed Portland at 4 minutes past 5 on Friday afternoon with eighty-eight passengers and fifty-six crew. Her expected time of arrival at Tenerife is seven o’clock in the morning on Wednesday. The weather departing Portland was cool, sixteen degrees with light north-westerly winds and a very slight westerly swell. Cargo onboard included 76 containers, 53 vehicles, including the new fire engine and also 60 live chickens. The yacht Sea Jade arrived at Port Noloff on Friday at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and for the crew members everything was well and there will be more to tell about their sailing from St Helena to South Africa shortly. Saint FM received confirmation on Friday that another female candidate has joined the election race. This is the first time in history that such a phenomenal number of candidates will be up for election. With the figure now standing at 25, the stakes are increasingly higher. Amidst all of this, however, Ken Baddon, the Attorney General, sent out a Press Statement to all media emphasising the need for free and fair elections. To ensure that we remain a democratic and lawful part of the process, Saint FM has designed a package for all Councillors, both previous and new in the election process. A letter will be sent out offering all potential candidates the opportunity to present themselves with a picture and a short message in the Independent plus four minutes air time on Saint FM. Also a huge promotion for the elections is that Saint FM will be producing a television promotion for each candidate lasting three minutes and will be viewed via the local television network provided by Cable and Wireless. NEWS 7.00 pm Monday, 5th October 2009 Firstly, we regret to announce the death of Mrs Hazel Williams of Longwood Hangings who passed away peacefully at the General Hospital at a quarter to six yesterday morning. The funeral arrangements will be announced later. The Master of the RMS, Captain Andrew Greentree, has reported that the crew member who was discharged in Vigo for a non flu related condition was also diagnosed by Vigo doctors with having swine flu. The symptoms of the swine flu were mild and the crew member is now fully recovered. He rejoined the RMS on Friday in Portland shortly before the ship’s departure on her southward voyage. The other three crew members who were isolated as a precaution prior to arrival in Portland because they were exhibiting some cold or flu like symptoms are also fully recovered and are back at work. The Captain has confirmed that none of these crew members were diagnosed as having swine flu. The Captain has also confirmed that the RMS is following the advice issued by the World Health Organisation, the British Shippers Council and the Passenger Shipping Association as a precaution in order to limit the spread of any further flu like illnesses. In accordance with …..?.......passengers, officers and crew of the RMS will, of course, be routinely tested for symptoms by the port health authorities before they are allowed to disembark on arrival to St Helena or Ascension. Taken together, these measures will help to minimise the risk of any infection being brought to the island. In a previous Press Release, Saint FM was told off for saying that there was swine flu onboard, but now this has been confirmed. The RMS St Helena departed Portland at 4 minutes past 5 on Friday afternoon with eighty-eight passengers and fifty-six crew. Her expected time of arrival at Tenerife is seven o’clock in the morning on Wednesday. The weather departing Portland was cool, sixteen degrees with light north-westerly winds and a very slight westerly swell. Cargo onboard included 76 containers, 53 vehicles, including the new fire engine and also 60 live chickens. The yacht Sea Jade arrived at Port Noloff on Friday at 1 o’clock in the afternoon and for the crew members everything was well and there will be more to tell about their sailing from St Helena to South Africa shortly. The Police Service received and dealt with a total of 34 reports for the period Monday, 28th September to Sunday, 3rd October. There were five criminal reports, fifteen road traffic reports and two arrests were made. On Tuesday, 29th September, a person was arrested in the Jamestown area for the offence of being found drunk in a public place and detained in custody. The person was later given a formal caution for the offence and released. On Thursday, 1st October, the same person was again arrested in the Jamestown area for the offence of being found drunk in a public place. The person was later charged for the offence, bailed to appear before the Court and released. On Wednesday, 30th September, Police received a report of a burglary and this case is currently under investigation. A person was given a verbal warning for the offence of common assault and another person was given a verbal warning for causing a breach of the peace. Both incidents occurred in Jamestown. Two road traffic accidents were reported and dealt with. None of the accidents were alcohol related. The first occurred on Tuesday, 29th September in Jamestown involving two vehicles which sustained damage. The driver at fault was given a verbal warning for driving a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention. The second accident occurred on Wednesday, 30th September in St Paul’s area involving two vehicles. The driver at fault was given a verbal warning for driving a motor vehicle on a road without due care and attention. Ten persons were dealt with for failing to comply with an indication given by a road traffic sign, namely the two-hour car parks and broken double yellow lines in Jamestown. Three persons were also dealt with for driving a motor vehicle on a road whilst exceeding the speed limit in Jamestown. Two reports of loud music were also dealt with. On Saturday evening, 3rd October, as part of the Safeguarding Children Group Plan, Police commenced the proactive operation and spoke to unsupervised children and young people found in Jamestown. It was quite obvious that some parents had taken the Group’s advice as there was a reduction in the number of children and young persons seen in Jamestown for a Saturday night. Those children and young persons seen could not give a satisfactory account of why they were in town as a Hop was organised at the Mule Yard but they did not take advantage of the Hop nor could they say what they were going to do after the children and young people activities had finished and could not say how they were going to get home or what time they were going home. It was pleasing that some parents had arranged to collect their children around 10.30 pm and that several young people had their New Horizons Identity Card. Those children and young people that were seen their names will be given to Social Services for their information for any follow up action. The operation will continue next week. The Cancer Awareness Week this year will be from Thursday, 22nd October through to Friday, 30th October. It is very much regretted there will not be street carnival this year. Hopefully this can be arranged for sometime next year. Further details on the programme for Cancer Awareness Week, which is being organised by the St Helena Cancer Support and Awareness Group and the Public Health and Social Services Department, will follow shortly.
NEWS 7.00 pm Tuesday, 6th October 2009 It has been very quiet about the airport on St Helena lately. Since the debate during the Consultation Facilitator, Rosemary Stevenson’s visit in June very little has been heard and considering the wide range of opinions it is not likely that the candidates in the forthcoming elections will dare to commit themselves to the airport or shipping camp. It has been reported that Rosemary Stevenson has delivered her draft report to DFID who will submit to Ministers once Parliament returns next Monday and the report will be published on the DFID website at the end of October. So far Saint FM has counted to twenty-six candidates or possible candidates for the elections on the 4th November. So far it has been said eight nomination forms have been handed in to the Receiving Officer down at the Castle, but there’s still plenty of time as the nominations do not close until 21st October, in two weeks time. It has been eight and a half months since the idea of a Bailey Bridge was born. Ex Engineer Michael Mercieca said the landing facility was due to be operational in September this year, but prior to that there will be some trials. September has come and gone and no Bailey Bridge. Saint FM spoke to Richard Farmer, Chief Engineer at Public Works and Services Department and he said that works are continuing on the project. He said that they were still looking at the design and that the bridge was still under construction. He added that there were other concerns about how the bridge should and would function. He also said that they would continue to keep the media aware of what was happening as it wishes to operate on a non secrecy policy with the public. Saint FM can confirm that at ….?..... is going in the Bailey Bridge. Interestingly, everyone will remember when the Aurora sailed off into the sunset taking with her quite a bit of revenue for the island. It was said that this should never happen again and so appropriate landing facilities were discussed, but here’s a focal point, listeners may not be aware of, the Aurora sailed off on 22nd January and the following day, which was 23rd January, details were released in the St Helena Independent involving plans for landing facilities. It was actually the Independent newspaper that raised the issue of an investigation into the possibility of appropriate landing facilities at the wharf. Elections continue to be the talk of the town with just eight nomination forms received at the Castle out of a possible twenty-six by yesterday. Saint FM advised on Friday that another female candidate will also be running. Today we can reveal that the candidate as the youngest lady ever to run in an election campaign is Tara Thomas who resides at Seaview. She confirmed today of her intentions. The election campaign is both historical in that this is the first time we have had as many candidates running and also two of the candidates are still in their twenties. There can be no limits rights now on to the amount of candidates entering, but one can’t help wondering whether one’s main objectives may be at risk in what is fast becoming a contest. More positive news is coming out regarding the possibilities to drill for oil at the Falklands. Desire Petroleum, prospective recoverable resources nett in Falkland Island waters are over three billion barrels of oil in the Company’s ten top prospects. Moreover, at fifty US dollars the barrel price, the minimum economic threshold can be estimated in a fifty-six million barrel recoverable field. It sounds like good news for the Falklands and now it’s up to the drilling to give the proof. NEWS 7.00 pm Wednesday, 7th October 2009 Firstly, we wish to inform the community that this afternoon just after 3 pm the Editor and Manager of Saint FM and the Independent had been arrested. Mike Olsson was arrested by three senior Police Officers. Shortly after this, a Press Statement from the Chief of Police was issued which said – “Shortly after 15.30 hrs today, Wednesday, 7th October, a search warrant issued by a Justice of the Peace was executed at Association Hall, Main Street, the premises of Saint FM broadcasting studio. As a result, property was seized and a person was arrested on suspicion of theft of documents. The person is currently in custody whilst investigations continue”. Staff of Saint FM tried to visit Mike at the Prison but we were unable to, so, however, we were told he was still in discussions with the Public Solicitor, Neil Davidson. We also saw Ken Baddon outside of the Prison and enquired of him whether he had any information as well. He had none except to say that Mike had been taken care of by the Solicitor. As most people know, the UK Conservatives Party Conference is ongoing in UK. As it is likely that the Conservatives will win the next election next year the messages from the possible future Ministers are of importance to St Helena. Tomorrow, the last day of the Conference, Andrew Mitchell, the Shadow Secretary of State for DFID will talk about the plans for International Development. Airport supporters here and overseas are hoping that Mr Mitchell will say something about the Conservatives approach to the Overseas Territories, among them St Helena, and maybe even something about our airport plans. It has been very quiet about the airport lately since the debate during the Consultation Facilitator, Rosemary Stevenson’s visit in June, very little has been heard and considering the wide range of opinions it is not likely that the candidates in the forthcoming elections will dare to commit themselves to the airport or shipping camp. It has been reported that Rosemary Stevenson has delivered her draft report to DFID who will submit to Ministers once Parliament returns next Monday and the report will be published on the DFID website at the end of October. Elections continue to be the talk of the town with just eight nomination forms received at the Castle out of a possible twenty-six. Saint FM advised on Friday that another female candidate will also be in the running. Today we can reveal that candidate as the youngest lady ever to run in an election campaign. Tara Thomas who resides at Seaview confirmed with us of her intentions. This election campaign is both historical in that it is the first time we have had as many candidates running and also two of the candidates are still in their twenties. There can be no limits right now on to the amount of candidates entering, but one can’t help wonder whether one’s main objective may be at risk in what is fast becoming a contest. Marlene Yon and Nicola Constantine, Friend of Guiding and the Guides, came to Saint FM today to talk about a special event that is being hosted at Prince Andrew School on 21st of this month. The event is taking the form of a concert called “We’ve got Talent” which will involve entertainment for the whole family, including song, dance and comedy acts. Tickets for the concert will be on sale at the Canister this Saturday at 8.30 am to 10.30 am and will cost £3.00 each. The monies raised from this concert will go towards sending five Guides and two Leaders to a special Guide Camp in the UK to celebrate the centenary of Guiding in July/August of next year, said Marlene, who is the Guide Commissioner for St Helena and Ascension Island. The estimated cost for this venture is around £10,000. The Bank of St Helena has launched an open invitation to all its customers, both current and future, for the official opening of the new bank premises dated 19th October 2009. The new Bank will be open for viewing between 10 and 11 am and then normal business will resume at 11.30 am. The RMS St Helena departed Tenerife this afternoon, Wednesday, 7th October, at 15.45 hrs with 84 passengers and 56 crew. The expected time of arrival at Ascension Island is 07.00 hrs on Wednesday, 14th October.
NEWS 7.00 pm Thursday, 8th October 2009 Yesterday afternoon, the first political arrest in St Helena for decades took place in Jamestown. The Police released “that shortly after 3.30 yesterday, Wednesday, 7th October, a search warrant issued by a Justice of the Peace was executed at Association Hall, Main Street, the premises of Saint FM broadcasting studios. As a result, property was seized and a person was arrested on suspicion of theft of documents.” Later it said, “Further to the Press Release given by Police, the male person arrested today, Wednesday, 7th October, at 3.30 on suspicion of theft of documents, was released this evening on Police bail pending further investigations.” The arrest was made after Saint FM and St Helena Independent published a news item regarding Solomons accounts last week. Solomon & Company is 63% owned by St Helena Government. At the station itself, all staff were kept busy by the phone which never stopped ringing. Calls and e-mails came in both nationally and internationally; the support from the community was outstanding and overwhelming. Some even suggested an all night vigil and demonstration. This morning the calls continue here at Saint FM with good well wishes from all. This latest action by the law and Government was a flagrant attempt to stifle free media and the right of freedom of speech in St Helena. It is certain that democracy and good governance will come to St Helena even though it might take some time. A Press Release from the CEO of Solomon and Company, Mandy Peters, this afternoon, said – “I refer to the news item from Saint FM this morning relating to the publication of a news item regarding Solomons accounts last week. The accounts of Solomon and Company (St Helena) plc are contained in a document belonging to the Company and I would advise the public that the Company did not provide this document to the media. As such, this represents a serious breach of confidentiality for the Company as the accounts have been advised to the general public before the shareholders have accepted them through the process of the Annual General Meeting. Good governance dictates that Solomon and Company (St Helena) plc complies with the Articles of Association of the Company as a Public Limited Company. As Chief Executive Officer of the Company I have a responsibility to the Company’s shareholders to operate within the governance procedures of the Company. Under these procedures, the accounts should not be released for general public information until the shareholders have accepted them formally at the Annual General Meeting. Immediately following the announcements of the details of Solomons accounts last week, the shareholders of the Company who represent a significant proportion of our island community were each advised by individual letter that a breach of confidentiality had occurred and that I would be undertaking an investigation to identify who provided this document to Saint FM without the authorisation of the Company. The focus of the investigation was to ascertain how Company information was provided to the media, namely Saint FM, without the authorisation of the Company it belongs to. Consequently, I made a report to Inspector Jonathan Thomas requesting a Police investigation into the matter and I can confirm at the time of this Press Release that the Police investigation is ongoing.” It is most enjoyable to read that the investigation is focused on internal shortcomings. How could this then lead to the arrest of the Manager and Editor of Saint FM and St Helena Independent who has nothing to do with Solomons internal procedures. This is not known. Maybe this was an opportunistic opportunity for the authorities to show their power against the free press. Saint FM spoke to Terry Richards at Fisheries today and he told us that an old crane that had previously been at the wharf has been bought from SHG by tender. The crane will be restored to its former use by Adrian Duncan and will be set up at Ruperts Jetty specifically for offloading of fish. The crane was transported earlier this morning from the wharf to Ruperts Bay. The Agricultural and Natural Resources Department sent out an announcement today to say that the three-year project to mitigate for impacts on the Wirebird population aspires to undertaking restoration work on the existing dry grassland pastures of Deadwood, Middle Point, Woody Ridge and Bottom Woods to improve their capacity to support suitable Wirebird habitat and livestock production. They will shortly begin restoration work at the mitigation site at Bottom Woods, located before the Weather Station on some 90 acres of land for sheep grazing. The Department will be seeking interest from a grazier or group of graziers, preferably located in the areas of Longwood, who are interested in managing this area following restoration works. The planned restoration works will take place towards the end of October. Yesterday, Marlene Yon and Nicola Constantine, Friends of Guiding and the Guides, came to Saint FM today to talk about a special event that is being hosted at Prince Andrew School on 21st of this month. The event is taking the form of a concert called “We’ve got Talent” which will involve entertainment for the whole family, including song, dance and comedy acts. Tickets for the concert will be on sale at the Canister this coming Saturday morning between the hours of 8.30 am to 10.30 am and will cost £3.00 each. The monies raised from this concert will go towards sending five Guides and two Leaders to a special Guide Camp in the UK to celebrate the centenary of Guiding in July and August of next year, said Marlene, who is the Guide Commissioner for St Helena and Ascension Island. The estimated cost for this venture is around £10,000. The Bank of St Helena has launched an open invitation to all its customers, both current and future, for the official opening of the new bank premises dated 19th October. The new Bank will be open for viewing between 10 and 11 am and then normal business will resume at 11.30 am. The RMS St Helena departed Tenerife yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, 7th October, at a quarter to four with the following onboard: - 84 passengers and 56 crew. The expected time of arrival at Ascension Island is seven o’clock on Wednesday, 14th October, weather providing.
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