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SUCCESSFUL TECHNICAL STOP BY TRONOS
An Avro RJ100 jet aircraft (nine pictures attached), operated by Tronos Jet Maintenance and carrying two Atlantic Star Airlines personnel, successfully conducted a technical stop at St Helena Airport on Friday 21 October 2016 – as part of a delivery flight to a customer in Chile.
Arriving close to its schedule at 15.51hrs GMT, the aircraft performed a smooth landing from the south on Runway 02 and, after disembarking a few passengers, took off, completed a circuit, and performed an equally smooth landing from the north on Runway 20. The aircraft departed St Helena on Saturday afternoon at 14.29hrs GMT.
Positive cooperation between various teams enabled Tronos to gain the necessary approvals for this particular delivery flight. On board were 13 passengers, including Richard Brown and Aiden Walsh of Atlantic Star Airlines – one of a number of potential partners with an interest in operating regular flights to St Helena.
The Tronos flight will provide the Airport with additional real time data and a pilot’s report – all part of building a more comprehensive picture of the conditions under which we will be asking a scheduled air service to operate.
After departing St Helena, the Tronos flight was scheduled to call at Ascension Island, Brazil and Uruguay, finally arriving at Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport, Chile – the final destination.
The arrival and departure of the aircraft attracted much public interest on St Helena, with landside facilities at the Airport made available for public viewing.
Intensive work continues to mitigate the challenges of wind shear at the Airport. Getting this right and putting in place a scheduled passenger service involves complex work and will take some time. Whilst the focus of everyone’s work is to resolve these issues at the earliest possible opportunity, safety remains paramount.
SHG
24 October 2016
The Roads Section would like to advise the public that the road between Cleugh’s Plain and Sunnyside Junction will be closed on Tuesday 1 November 2016 between 9am and 2pm. This closure is to upgrade an under land drain near McDaniel’s Blockyard.
On Tuesday 8 November and Wednesday 9 November the road from New Ground to White Wall will be closed between 6am and 6pm. This closure is to reconstitute the area below Ebony View. Residents in this area will be contacted by staff of the Roads Section regarding access to their homes. All other road users are asked to divert through Sapper Way.
On Sunday 20 November and Sunday 27 November the Grand Parade (in front of the Public Library to the Castle) will be closed from 7am until 4pm. This is to enable road works to be completed. Access to the Seaside can be made via Narra Backs. Traffic will be managed and all necessary signage will be in place.
Anyone requiring further information on these road closures should contact the Roads Supervisor, Peter Moyce, at the Roads Depot, Donkey Plain on Tel No: 23640 or via email: roads.supervisor1@helanta.co.sh
The Roads Section would like to thank the public for their continued support and co-operation.
SHG
24 October 2016
St Helena continues to support the Royal British Legion’s work through the Poppy Appeal.
Tomorrow, Saturday 22 and 29 October and on Saturday 5 November 2016, between 9am and 12 noon, the Poppy Appeal led by Mike Durnford, will be raising funds in Lower Jamestown through the distribution of various poppy apparel including: wristbands, lapel pins, emblem stickers, badges, bendy rulers, bracelets and standard poppies.
The public should look out for uniformed contingents and volunteers now operating from a Poppy Appeal gazebo at the Mule Yard, and not in front of the Canister as previously announced.
Support the appeal and wear your poppies with pride in advance of Remembrance Day.
Any serving or former members of the HM Armed Forces willing to volunteer their services on any of the above Saturdays can contact Mike Durnford on telephone number: 24724 or e-mail: mike-durnford@enrd.gov.sh.
SHG
21 October 2016
LARGE PASSENGER AIRCRAFT TO LAND TOMORROW
An Avro RJ100 jet aircraft (pictured), operated by Tronos Jet Maintenance and carrying Atlantic Star Airlines personnel, is scheduled to fly to Wideawake Airport, Ascension Island, and then to St Helena Airport this Friday, 21 October 2016. Both are technical stops, as part of a route for delivery of the aircraft to Chile.
The estimated time of arrival at St Helena Airport – subject to possible change due to weather and other factors – remains approximately 3.45pm (local time) on Friday 21 October 2016. Listen out for confirmation of timing on local radio.
The aircraft will be carrying 13 non-commercial passengers – including the flight crew – who will overnight on St Helena prior to departure on Saturday 22 October.
The Tronos flight will provide the Airport with additional real time data and a pilot’s report – all part of building a more comprehensive picture of the conditions at St Helena Airport under which we will be asking a scheduled air service to operate. The flight is also planning, weather permitting, to conduct some additional circuits on Saturday to gather further data for the Airport. Atlantic Star is one of a number of potential partners with an interest in operating regular flights to St Helena.
Note to Public
The Airport Terminal Restaurant and Viewing Platform will be open to the public to view the aircraft on Friday 21 October from 5.30pm to 7.30pm.
On Saturday 22 October, the Restaurant and Viewing platform will again be open from 9am to around 3pm – to provide a further opportunity to view the aircraft and to witness its take-off.
The Bank and Tourism kiosks will also be open to the public on both days.
Otherwise, normal arrangements for public viewing will apply, with Horse Point, Millennium Forest, Bradley’s and Woody Ridge areas all accessible on both days. Access beyond Bradley’s will not be available until 5pm on Friday.
Please drive and park responsibly.
Note to Editors
Interested media are invited to a briefing with Atlantic Star on Friday afternoon at the Airport Restaurant, once the aircraft has landed and the crew have been cleared to landside.
Tronos Jet Maintenance is delivering this particular aircraft to Chile. The flight, originating from Zurich, Switzerland, has taken a route which has seen it make technical stops in Morocco, Senegal, Ascension Island and St Helena. From St Helena, the flight will call at Ascension Island, Brazil and Uruguay, finally arriving at Presidente Carlos Ibáñez del Campo International Airport, Chile – the final destination.
SHG
20 October 2016
The Open Agenda for today’s ExCo was quite lengthy, with six items of legislation to discuss.
The Food Safety Bill makes provision for the regulation of food that is produced or procured for the purposes of trade. The Bill also establishes a regulatory authority. Council welcomed the Bill, recognising that this has been discussed widely in the community, and looks forward to the draft regulations which will support its implementation.
Secondly, the Financial Services (Amendment) Bill was intended to be a tidying up exercise and follows the recommendations of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority. This proposal received unanimous approval.
Both of these Bills will be presented to Formal Legislative Council as Government business in December.
For the next item Council recognised that the Road Traffic Bill had been subject to lengthy discussion by Elected Members and other stakeholders over many months. The Bill aims to modernise the current law, including changes in relation to driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and the use of seat belts. The Governor recognised the scale of the work done and thanked everyone for their considerable efforts. The Bill will now be subject to public consultation with the intention of bringing it to Formal Legislative Council in December.
The Customs & Excise (Amendment) Bill contained a number of technical amendments to enable the electronic transmission and use of data, for example through ASYCUDA, together with a Post Clearance Audit function. There will be further targeted consultation on this Bill before presentation to Formal Legislative Council in December.
The Employment Rights (Amendment) Bill was targeted at trading on Sundays and Bank Holidays. If the Bill is passed at Formal Legislative Council in December it will enable shops, stores and businesses to regulate their own opening hours on a Sunday, and to permit the sale of alcohol on Good Friday and Christmas Day.
Executive Council then considered the Marriage Bill 2016, which would allow same sex couples access to civil marriage on St Helena. Following extensive discussion it was agreed to defer further consideration of this Bill until such time as the Social & Community Development Committee had reconsidered its position. There were also some technical issues which the Attorney General would address. The Governor expressed her profound disappointment that the Marriage Bill 2016 could not be agreed today and urged Members to bring it back to Executive Council as quickly as possible.
ExCo
18 October 2016
ALUMNA PROFILE
Chevening Scholarship applications for 2017/18 are open until Tuesday 8 November 2016. These Scholarships offer financial support to study for a Master’s Degree at any UK university, and are awarded to individuals with demonstrable leadership potential and strong academic backgrounds.
St Helenian Tara Wortley studied a Masters in Business Administration under the Chevening Scholarship Programme from January 2013 to February 2014. The SHG Press Office caught up with Tara to find out more about the benefits that studying under the Chevening Scholarship programme has brought to her career:
Why did you take advantage of the Chevening Scholarship programme?
Having left school at the age of 16, the Chevening Scholarship programme was an ideal way for me to rejoin an academic programme.
What benefits has studying under this programme brought to your career?
In addition to the knowledge you are exposed to, being able to live in London and be part of a classroom of international students was an invaluable experience that I could not have had through distance-learning.
How would you encourage someone to apply for a Chevening Scholarship?
The prospect of signing up for an academic course can be quite daunting, but I found that all of my classmates – those in their early 20s to those in their 40s – all felt the same. The Chevening Scholarship offers a fantastic opportunity to dedicate your time and energy into studying. Because your travel and living expenses are covered by the Scholarship, you are left really free to apply yourself to your course. I often thought I would never have the opportunity to rejoin an academic path but the Chevening Scholarship made it all possible for me.
Tara started working in London as a receptionist at the age of 19, worked her way through the company and was eventually promoted as its Business Development Manager. She then moved onto one of the UK Government’s Regional Agencies as part of their European Funding Team, before moving back to St Helena in 2009 when she was elected to serve on Legislative Council. Tara served as a Member of ExCo until she departed St Helena for the Chevening Scholarship at the end of 2012. Tara is now the Sales Manager of her family owned business and is responsible for all overseas orders and managing their contracts with local agencies. Marketing is a big part of Tara’s current role as well as identifying new business opportunities and assessing their viability.
SHG
18 October 2016
CRIMINAL DAMAGE
The St Helena Police are appealing for any information regarding two incidents in Jamestown where windows were smashed at the Castle and Customs Terminal building.
The incidents occurred during the last two weekends – Friday 7 to Monday 10 October, and Saturday 15 to Sunday 16 October 2016.
Inspector Jonathan Thomas said:
“Once again we need the assistance from our community to let the persons responsible for these mindless acts of vandalism know that they are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
“We are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed or knows about the damage, heard the sound of breaking glass or saw anything suspicious in these areas on the dates in question.”
Members of the community with any information, regardless of how minor they may consider it to be, are asked to contact the Investigating Officer, Police Constable Clayton Crowie, on Telephone no: 22626 or via email clayton.crowie@police.gov.sh.
Alternatively you can speak to a Police Officer of your choice, or leave a message on the Police confidential crime line on telephone no: 22888.
The community is thanked for their assistance.
SHG
18 October 2016
Port Control would like to advise the public that the lower Wharf will be closed to unauthorised users this coming weekend – Saturday 22 October and Sunday 23 October 2016 – between the hours of 7am and 4pm. This is due to maintenance works taking place on one of the cranes.
Port Control would like to thank the public in advance for their cooperation.
SHG
17 October 2016
Executive Council will meet on Tuesday, 18 October 2016, at 9.30am in the Council Chamber for the following Open Agenda items:
- Food Safety Bill
- Financial Services (Amendment) Bill, 2016
- Road Traffic Bill, 2016
- Marriage Bill, 2016
- Customs and Excise (Amendment) Bill, 2016
- Employment Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2016
Executive Council Members are: Brian Isaac, Christine Scipio-O’Dean, and Pamela Ward Pearce. Councillors Cyril George and Mike Olsson will serve as temporary Members of ExCo while Councillors Lawson Henry and Derek Thomas are on overseas business.
Non-voting members of ExCo are: Chief Secretary Roy Burke, Financial Secretary Dax Richards, and Attorney General Angelo Berbotto.
SHG
14 October 2016
Around 3pm yesterday afternoon, Wednesday 12 October 2016, Sea Rescue personnel spotted a large plume of smoke in the Blue Hill area whilst conducting a training exercise in Thompsons Bay.
The St Helena Fire Service was alerted and immediately attended the scene. They were able to confirm that the blaze was a forest fire on a ridge on Ebony Plain and was spreading rapidly.
At 5pm the Police, Fire, Sea Rescue, Emergency Planning and staff from the Agriculture & Natural Resources Division (ANRD) attended a planning meeting in Jamestown. Advice was sought regarding the wind direction which indicated that there was no imminent threat to human life.
A plan was then put in place to monitor the fire overnight using Fire Service and Police resources. In the event that the wind direction changed, a contingency plan had been formulated whereby several residential properties would have been evacuated.
At 7am this morning, Thursday 13 October 2016, a further planning meeting was held to discuss options for tackling the fire today. The Fire Service, assisted by ANRD and the St Helena National Trust, deployed to the Blue Hill area and over the course of the morning extinguished the fire.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage and there is no suggestion of any criminal activity. There were no injuries to any persons and no damage to residential properties.
Acting Chief of Police Steve Riley said:
“I would like to thank all those involved in tackling this fire, together with the residents in the Blue Hill area for their patience and understanding over the past 24 hours.
“Overall, this was a great team effort across SHG which brought the situation to a successful conclusion.”
SHG
13 October 2016