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HE Governor Mark Capes
On Sunday 8 November 2015, a Divine Service was held at the Cenotaph, in honour of those who had lost their lives or had been injured during Active Duty. His Excellency the Governor and Mrs Capes arrived at 10.55am, when the Right Reverend Lord Bishop, Dr Richard Fenwick, invited those in attendance to pray, before observing a two-minute silence, signalled by the Last Post.
Wreaths were then laid by the Governor, Representatives from the French Republic, (Mrs Susan O’Bey), the Army (Mr Geoffrey Dawson), the Royal Navy (Mr Jack Horner), the Royal Air Force (Mr Marco Yon), the Merchant Navy (Mr Chedrick Jonas), St Helena Police Service (Constable Christopher Joshua) and St Helena Fire & Sea Rescue Service (Mr Matthew Benjamin). Members of the public, including several schoolchildren, also laid wreaths.
Remembrance Day Service
Prayers were led by Father Fred, Father Christopher, Lieutenant Coral Yon and Elder Patricia Duncan. During the Service, hymns were sung, including ‘O God, Our Help in Ages Past’, ‘The Lord’s My Shepherd’ and ‘Praise My Soul the King of Heaven’. The Act of Commitment was made and acts of peace were then offered. The Service concluded with the National Anthem and Blessing, followed by the traditional March-Past outside the Court House, with music from the Get-togethers orchestra and the Salvation Army.
As usual, Remembrance Sunday on St Helena was very well observed and attended.
SHG
9 November 2015
Biosecurity Detector Dog Joins the Team
From Sunday 1 November 2015, the St Helena Biosecurity Team’s work is being assisted by a four-legged recruit – biosecurity detector dog Harriet (photo attached). Harriet is a locally owned dog who has been trained by Paul Laban to detect honey and certain fruit items, and she will be using her superb sense of smell to sniff out concealed items in baggage and cargo.
Honey is one of the items most frequently smuggled into St Helena. But St Helena’s bees are almost unique in the world in having no diseases – and we are keen to keep it this way. Honey is unprocessed, unlike jam and marmalade, and can harbour bacteria and fungus diseases. Island bananas are also free of diseases and it is therefore important to prevent the import of honey and bananas – to protect our local products.
Pest Control and Biosecurity Officer at ANRD, Jill Key, said:
“Having a trained detector dog is a big asset for the Biosecurity Team as it greatly extends our ability to detect concealed restricted items. Harriet is the perfect dog for this – friendly and gentle, yet a very keen searcher.”
Harriet’s first day of work coincided with the arrival of the MS Amadea, where she proved a big attraction for the cruise ship passengers, who were pleased to meet her and take pictures.
Harriet is a young dog, and her training will continue and expand the range of items she can detect.
SHG
9 November 2015
TO ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL READINESS
The St Helena Airport Programme Board – comprising SHG, DFID, FCO and Basil Read – yesterday recommended that it would be necessary and prudent to grant a short period of additional time in order to fine tune the operational readiness of St Helena Airport.
The Programme Board does not anticipate a significant revision to the commencement date for commercial flights beyond the original projected date of late February 2016, but has recommended this pragmatic step now so that we can conclude the calibration works and other preparations for safe and secure commercial operations. Executive Council Members are in agreement, and we have conveyed this decision to Comair and Penspen.
Subject to final certification and operational readiness, the Board still expects St Helena Airport to be accepting commercial flights before the planned Official Opening of the Airport in May 2016.
As before, a decision on when to sell tickets for Comair flights will be made only when the Airport has been certified. To that end, we expect the regulator, Air Safety Support International, to visit St Helena in January 2016 to carry out a full inspection audit of the Airport’s compliance with aviation regulations and that will inform a decision on ticket sale timing.
SHG
6 November 201
WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2015
The second formal session (for 2015) of the Public Accounts Committee will take place on Wednesday, 11 November, at 10am in the Court House, Jamestown.
The Order Paper for the meeting is as follows:
- Chairman’s Address
- St Helena Audit Service: St Helena Airport Project Overview Audit
- St Helena Line Limited
In respect of Remembrance Day, a one minute silence will be observed at the meeting at 11am.
The public is invited to attend.
SHG
9 November 2015
Dr Martin Collins
Dr Martin Collins (pictured) arrived on Island on 14 October 2015 to undertake his role as Fisheries Scientist on the Darwin Plus funded project: Sustainable Development and Management of St Helena’s Fisheries and Marine Tourism. Martin is initially on Island until 6 January 2016, and will return three more times during the project which will see him return in March and August 2016 and again in February 2017.
Martin will develop a fisheries science programme that will underpin the sustainable management of St Helena’s fisheries and build into a fisheries management strategy. He will also be analysing historic data to investigate how the sea surface temperature influences the catch of tuna in St Helena waters.
Martin will also be building a new database to store fish catch and to measure and weigh fish. He also plans to establish a tagging programme for Yellowfin Tuna and some of the inshore species.
Martin said:
“I want to help St Helena get better prices for sustainably caught fish on the export market. There is strong demand for sustainably caught, pole and line tuna, and I think there are opportunities for St Helena to meet some of this demand.”
Martin has worked in the areas of fish and fisheries for over twenty years. After he graduated from university, his first job was as a fisheries observer in the Falkland Islands. He then studied for a PhD in Ireland and was a lecturer at Aberdeen University. From there he worked as a marine biologist with the British Antarctic Survey from 2002-2009. His most recent job was Chief Executive and Director of Fisheries for the Government of South Georgia.
Martin added:
“A good fisheries science programme can help demonstrate and improve sustainability and best practice. This job will involve me spending time at the processing plant at Rupert’s and going out to sea on fishing boats – which I am really looking forward to.”
6 November 2015
SHG
WEDNESDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2015
The Highways Authority has given approval for Side Path Road to be closed on Wednesday 11 November 2015 from 1.30 to 3.30pm. This closure will allow the Rock Guards to stabilise and secure a rock above the road, in the interest of public safety. As normal, only emergency vehicles will be granted access.
The Roads Section thanks the public in advance for their continued understanding and cooperation.
SHG
6 November 2015
ROAD CLOSURE
The public is advised that the Highways Authority has given approval for the road and area surrounding the Cenotaph to Donny’s Place, to be closed on the morning of Sunday 8 November 2015 in order for the Remembrance Day Service to take place.
The road and surrounding area will be closed from 3am on Sunday until the ceremony has been concluded.
Appropriate signs will be in place and the public is thanked in advance for their cooperation.
SHG
6 November 2015
Airport Major Incident Exercise – 4 November 2015
A large scale major incident exercise took place at St Helena Airport on Wednesday 4 November 2015, as part of the Airport certification audits.
The emergency scenario simulated a crash landing at the Airport with a total of 55 passengers and crew onboard the aircraft. This exercise was very challenging with many of the people on board suffering a range of injuries. The response was led by the Airport fire fighting team and other staff, supported by the St Helena Police, Fire & Rescue and Sea Rescue teams, Health Directorate staff and senior managers and Directors. The exercise was also made possible by the large number of volunteers who participated as role actors, safety marshals and umpires (see photo attached).
Chief of Police, Trevor Botting said:
“This was a big day for St Helena Airport and was the culmination of much hard work over the last year as we developed our emergency response capability. I was very proud of all the officers and staff from St Helena who responded to the exercise with enthusiasm, commitment and professionalism.
“One of the most impressive parts of the exercise was the way in which teams from SHG worked very closely and effectively with teams and staff from the Airport. I am confident that the collaborative approach taken on Wednesday will stand St Helena in great stead for the future as we strive to keep St Helena and the Airport safe. I also want to say thank you to all of those who gave up their time as role actors and marshals for the exercise and who helped make it a great success.”
Airport Manager, Nigel Spackman added:
“This was a very important event in the certification process for St Helena Airport as it’s essential that we instil confidence in the Regulator of our ability to react as a cohesive group in our response to an incident.
“Much planning, development and commitment has gone into preparing for this exercise – and taking place alongside other audits made it all the more challenging.
“The feedback I have received from the Regulator has been very positive indeed, commenting that our interagency working was impressive and our emergency response was better than at many well established Airports. I am very proud and thankful to all those who contributed to this effort.
“This has established a robust foundation for our continuing efforts to ensure the Airport has the best possible emergency response – and will help to ensure the travelling public are confident in our ability to keep them safe.”
SHG
6 November 2015
JAMESTOWN
The Police will be running a Parking Awareness Campaign during November. This campaign has been devised following a meeting between the Chief of Police and Elected Members where concerns were expressed about the abuse of the parking regulations in Jamestown.
In response to these concerns, the Parking Awareness Campaign will seek to encourage motorists to adhere to appropriate use of the two hour parking bays and yellow lines. Elected Members fully support this campaign as we head towards a busy time on the Island over the Christmas period.
Chief of Police, Trevor Botting, said:
“I’m grateful to Councillors for fully supporting our activity as we seek to ensure that the parking regulations are enforced in Jamestown. My officers will be looking for the cooperation of drivers through what will essentially be an awareness campaign. Officers will be handing out leaflets and using local radio stations and newspapers to get their message across.
“But motorists should be warned that where people continually disregard parking regulations they may face prosecution. However, I am confident that we will get the cooperation of the local community in managing these concerns.”
Chairperson of the Highways Authority, Councillor Pamela Ward Pearce added:
“The Highways Authority fully supports this campaign and hopes that the public will help to ensure safer streets for us all.”
SHG
The Police Service is seeking the assistance of the public to establish the current whereabouts of a vehicle, described as being a blue Ford motor car – possibly an Orion – with the numbers 270 in the registration.
It is believed that the car is no longer being driven on the roads, and may well have been scrapped.
If you have owned this car in the past or know of someone who has owned this car, then the Police would urge you to make contact with them.
Any information provided will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence. If you have any information, please contact Detective Sergeant David Honan at the Criminal Investigations Department on telephone number 22626 or email: Dave.honan@police.gov.sh
4 November 2015
SHG