The Islander - Thursday 6th August 1998

CHANGES TO ST HELENA TAX SYSTEM MAY HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR SAINTS IN ASCENSION

There is a possibility that the major review of the tax laws in St Helena might result in a system whereby payments are made according to citizenship rather than place of residence. A full statement from the Economist of the Government of St Helena, Mr John Siraut, appears inside this weeks issue

LOCAL LAD PROGRESSES

The new scheme for recruitment of St. Helenians into the British military is being well and truly established. Young men and women are accepting the challenge and continuing the loyal tradition of St. Helenians, a people of just six thousand, serving in Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

Congratulations to Shaun Leo, who, as one of the first young men to leave Ascension Island to undertake the recruitment process three months ago, has been successful.

Proud mum, Delphia, and younger brother, Benjamin, along with other family members, attended the Passing Out Parade that took place on the 31st July, at the Army Training Regiment, Pirbright.

Shaun will soon start technical training at the School of Electronic and Aircraft Engineering at Arborfield, with the The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

Ascension Island 30 July 1998

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH ASCENSION ISLAND EXPEDITION 98 NEEDS YOUR HELP !

A team of six ecology students from The University of Edinburgh is currently undertaking a seven week visit to the island. The team comprises Lucy Webster, Paul Robinson, Alan Gray, Lucinda Kirk, Sam Gardner and Zoe Smolka. The purpose of their visit is to gather important data on the populations of the unique flora, in order to contribute towards any proposed conservation programmes.

Currently they are seeking out the seven remaining endemic plant species on Ascension, of which they have identified five.

As outsiders, most of their information comes from books and published journals, so they may be missing out on information known only by local people. It would be a great help to their research if you could take a few minutes to fill in their simple questionnaire published on the back of this week's issue, and leave it in the bar at Two Boats Club (Expedition HQ !)