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The Ascension Island Newspaper |
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The Ascension Island Newspaper |
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Sunday 22nd November saw a special event for the Augustus and Hayes families when Dominic Scott Augustus and Ethan Alun Hayes were baptised by Father Keith James at St. Mary's Church.
| (Right) Ethan Alun with his proud parents Jeffrey and Karen Hayes and sister Cerys. Godparents to Alun are Charmaine Lawrence and Tammy Green. Godparents unable to attend as they are in the U.K. are Cheryl Bowden, Gareth Bowden and Alison Bowden |  |
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(Left) Dominic Scott with his proud parents Nicholas and Carolyn Augustus together with Godparents David Joshua, Terence Young, Susan Stevens. Godparen Judy Bennet was unable to attend as she is in the U.K. at present. |
The article below appeared in this week's ST HELENA NEWS and was passed to The Islander by Alexander Schulenburg, who is currently visiting St.Helena.
by Alexander Hugo Schulenburg
(The St Helena Institute)
| The world wide web, better known as the Internet, finally made its mark on St Helena during last month's Radio St Helena Day. E-mails came pouring in and His Excellency was happy to tell listeners where they could find 'us' on the Internet. Alas, the web site referred to is actually based in Sweden and provided courtesy of a group of St Helena enthusiasts. Given also that the Governor's Millennium and Quincentenary Committee is now pondering a presence on the web, it would appear that the time is right indeed for the St Helena Government to take the 'bull by the horns', or the 'Internet by the modem', and finally join the information and communication technologies revolution by way of an official web site. |  |
However, before embarking any further on a discussion of the
advantages of the Internet for St Helena, a few words of
explanation are in order. For the average user the Internet
provides two main facilities, 1, to access information (texts and
images) held on computers anywhere in the world ('web sites' made
up of 'web pages') and 2, the ability to send electronic letters
('e-mail') to users anywhere in the world. Web sites are stored
on computers known as 'servers', which are usually accessible 24
hours a day. Individual users only access ('download') web pages
and e-mail when they choose to connect to Internet via their
Internet Service Provider, such as the Atlantis service provided
by Cable & Wireless. Access to the Internet is by means of
common phone lines.
Given the prolific expansion of the Internet of the last few
years, it is a little embarrassing to be unable to provide an
e-mail address for His Excellency or even for St Helena's Chief
Secretary, although the Administrators of Ascension Island and
Tristan da Cunha have been 'connected' to the Internet for some
time. Despite the increasing number of government departments
with e-mail accounts, the time is ripe for an overall Internet
strategy on the part of the St Helena Government, which should
include a strategy for networking its many departments.
Admittedly, individuals, organisations and, for that matter,
territories, that have no experience of the Internet, often
wonder what the fuss is all about. On the other hand, the
majority of those who do have that experience wonder how they
could ever do without, while wondering, 'virtually', whether
places and organisations not on the Internet actually do exist.
Internet access costs on St Helena are currently too high to
make 'surfing the web' (ie. using the Internet to access
information) an affordable pastime. Even the current off-peak
rate of 20 pence per minute is twenty times that of the off-peak
rate in the United Kingdom. This does not mean, however, that the
St Helena Government cannot meanwhile maintain an extensive site
on the Internet. The web site maintained by the Office of the
Administrator on Ascension Island serves as a very good example.
At present, a number of independent web sites on the Internet
provide a varying range of information about St Helena, largely
of a high standard, but nonetheless unofficial and hence prone to
error and usually out of date with respect to the latest news and
information. An official St Helena Government web site would be
infinitely preferable, even though there will always be an
important role to play for unofficial sites, as well as for the
web sites of independent organisations dealing with St Helena
issues, such as those of the Citizenship Commission and of the St
Helena Institute.
An official St Helena Government web site could consist of the
following main sections:
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One of the principal advantages of web sites is, that the
information contained therein can be updated frequently, if needs
be hourly. Given St Helena's isolation, an official web site
would provide islanders and non-islanders overseas with quick and
easy access to the latest news in the form of the government's
various publications, as well as, for instance, providing
potential investors with extensive and reliable data about St
Helena. The web pages of individual government departments could
provide extensive information on their respective services
The St Helena Government can also already make use of St
Helena domain names (the Internet equivalent of postal
addresses), eliminating the need for the use of the Atlantis
domain name and the anomaly of a site identifiable as based in
Sweden. Instead, the government could have a web site address
(URL) such as
<www.st-helena.gov.sh> and e-mail addresses such as
<tourism@st-helena.gov.sh>.
The facilities for a St Helena Government presence on the
Internet are already in place, and an official web site need not
come at an outrageous cost. For one, the attraction of the
Internet is that the software needed to create and maintain web
pages is available for free and is easy to handle even by
novices.
Considering that the Internet still has a long way to go on St Helena, the St Helena Government should certainly be the one to lead the way.
***
The St Helena Institute was founded in 1997 to co-ordinate and undertake research into the Island of St Helena and its dependencies, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
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| Dear Editor, In the St. Helena News, dated 4th
September, 1998 an idea was put forward to encourage each
St. Helenian offshore worker to contribute towards a
Trust Fund. Sustained financial support is desperately
needed to bring about positive improvement to some of the
many under-funded, struggling but valuable and important
causes within St. Helena's society. If all St. Helenian
off-shore workers on Ascension and the Falklands should
agree to make fixed monthly payments into a Trust Fund to
help support worthy causes in St. Helena it will have a
resounding effect throughout the Island and be profoundly
appreciated. Yours sincerely |
Dear Editor,Notice of a New SocietyA small number of Islanders intend forming a new Association which is not linked to any of the other existing Island organisations or clubs. The club, to be termed the "Caledonians", will meet occasionally to discuss, entertain themselves, educate and promote all matters of a Scottish nature and heritage. Queries in the first instance should be directed to me. Yours Sincerely |
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SITUATION VACANT |
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Cable & Wireless
Ariane Technician
Cable & Wireless (Ascension Island) are offering a 2 year contract for an Electronics Technician at the Ariane Tracking Station in Ascension Island.
Ariane is part of the European Space Agency, and this station tracks the Ariane 4 and 5 rockets during the launch trajectory until the delivery of satellites into orbit. Minimum qualifications: HNC (or equivalent) in Electronics, Telecommunications or related subject and 5 years experience in operations and fault-finding down to component level. All communications with the Space Agency is in French, so knowledge would be useful, although training will be given if necessary.
Interested persons should contact either John Cavana General Manager, Cable & Wireless or Pete Johnson, Station Director, Ariane Station.
NEWS FROM ASCENSION AUXILIARY AIRFIELDOn 22
November, we supported the successful launch of a Delta II rocket
carrying a Bonum-1 satellite built by Hughes Space and
Communications Company. This satellite will provide high quality
communications coverage to Russia and adjacent areas in the 18/12
GHz frequency range.
On 17 November, the base was visited by five VIPs. However, there
were several changes in attendees as outlined in my last article.
We were fortunate, however, to be visited by Col J. Carlton
Tickel from Headquarters Air Force Space Command. He is the Chief
Civil Engineer for the Command. We exposed him to a number of
issues regarding environmental initiatives and construction
projects. The visit was a resounding success, and I sincerely
appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in this effort.
The double elimination softball knockout tournament at Moon
Valley Stadium continues with the final night of games and awards
presentation scheduled for Wednesday, 25 November. The results
since my last article are as follows:
Wednesday, 18 November Wednesday, 25 November Georgetown 29 Georgetown Bad Boyz 23 Admin Admin must win twice to win championship Monday, 23 November If necessary, Game 2 will follow Game 1 Admin 27 Awards presentation will follow Fire/Security 21 Admin 44 Bad Boyz 29
On 10 November, the minutes of the quarterly 45th Space Wing
facilities board were released. This board establishes funding
priorities for the Wing's five major installations. For fiscal
year 1999 (1 Oct 98-30 Sep 99), Ascension Auxiliary Airfield was
awarded five projects:
Wing Priority Project Amount ($)
4 Warehouse Corrosion Control 200,900
29 Upgrade Antenna Pedestal 379,000
33 Install Powerplant Generator 200,000
44 Repair Potable Water Lines 380,000
49 Repair Rock Quarry 122,000
We were also awarded 12 projects for fiscal year 2000 at a cost of $1,474,600. One of these includes a project to do termite eradication at a cost of $180,000. Additionally, our facility demolition plans for fiscal years 1999-2004 include 32 facilities at a total cost of $936,700. Lastly, we were awarded one environmental project for fiscal year 1999 to install some potable/nonpotable water backflow preventors at a cost of $150,000.
Major Jeff Lowdermilk
A FOND FAREWELL (From the Hill family)It has finally come round,
nobody thought we would actually know when and where we
were going, least of all us, but eventually it was
inevitable. Good luck to Steve, Lyn and the boys on your stay on Ascension. We sincerely hope you enjoy your stay here as much as we have. Mick, Elaine, Emma and Lucie. |
Private
Julian Fagan is one of the newest recruits into the British Army.
Julian from Georgetown on Ascension Island, who has just
completed the tough eleven-week basic training course at
Winchester in Hampshire. Julian has chosen to join the Adjutant
General Corps as a Clerk, because he is interested in computers.
Julian who attended Two Boats Secondary School on Ascension has
done very well in training and is looking forward to a career in
a Corps that prides itself on the initiative of its soldiers and
its administrative skills.
Julian in an only child but enjoys all team sports including
football, tennis and squash and was a member of his local scout
group for six years.
The training has been busy, with a week of Adventurous training
that included rock climbing, canoeing, and hill walking in the
South Downs, as well as the usual military skills such as drill,
weapon training, PT and first aid. The instructors have been
delighted with the progress made by Julian and feel he has a
promising career ahead of him in the British Army. The next step
is ten weeks trade training at Worthy Down, Winchester which
includes driver training.
Private Fagan won the sought-after prize for being the Most
Improved Recruit. The photograph shows him in his parade uniform.
Major N.P. Moffat AGC (SPS)
Julian has since completed his trade training gaining a
certificate for Best Student. He has spent the last week in
London talking about his experience to young people and would-be
recruits.
Many congratulations to Julian from everyone here on Ascension
Island.
Due to the
excellent response from the public in raising a grand total of
£1,039.62 for the
Sue Ryder appeal, the Committee have decided to share some of the
profits with the youth of Ascension, to be divided as follows:
| The Guide Leader for Guides, Brownies and Rainbows | £100.00 |
| The Scout Leader for Scouts, Cubs and Beavers | £100.00 |
| The Playschool | £50.00 |
| The Youth Club | £50.00 |
I take this opportunity to thank the following for making the
fun day such a success:
To the star of the day, Donald Johnson, who co-ordinated
everything from start to finish.
The RAF Station Commander for the use of the field. The Committee
(ably assisted by
Donald Johnson) - Alison Reade, Sheryl Hunt, Kate Hayward, Cedric
Henry and Teresa Ryan for their hard work both before the event
and on the day. Debbie and Nathan Prince for their BBQ skills.
Prudy Peters for manning!! the bar. John Joshua for
announcements. The glamorous cheerleaders - Kirsty Anthony, Jodi
Joshua, Sara Thomas, Shanade Thomas, Cassie Duncan, Natasha
Williams, Justine Yon, Terri Nicholls and Kelly Leo. VIP's Graham
and Chris Avis,
Adrian and Kate Hayward, Sid and Doris Youde and Eric and Ivy
George for their presence on the grandstand. Cheryl Anthony and
the Guides. Johnny Hobson and the Scouts. Turner GCMS.
The Cricket, Rounders and Football Teams. The Georgetown Police.
All the ticket sellers and buyers.
The following who gave donations for the raffle: The
Administrator, Ascension Island Services, CSO Staff, MERLIN
Communications, RMS "St. Helena", One Boat Golf Club,
Cable & Wireless Plc, Turtle Nest, Rock Shop, June's Gift
Shop, Maersk Ascension, Alex Turner,LUC Shop, Saints Club, Two
Boats Club, The American Legion, The Volcano Club, CSR, SERCo,
Eurest and all householders who emptied their larders into the
hampers.
And finally the spectators.
My apologies to anyone who I may have left out.
Sylivia Henry - Chairman
Last
updated: 27/11/98 |
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