News Archive
9/11/2006
Reach Exploration To Test Drill For Oil Onshore In Caithness
At a recent meeting of the Clyth Latheron and Lybster Community Council two representatives of Reach Exploration, Mr Miles Newman and Mr Phil Mason, addressed the meeting as to the future plans of the company's drilling and testing for oil to the immediate south west of Lybster. The company concentrates on what is considered to be the best places to drill but with a success rate of only one in three and only 50% of the one producing quantities of commercial value it is very much a high risk business.7/11/2006
Public Participation In Options For Dounreay Site End State
ISSUED BY UKAEA, ON BEHALF OF THE DOUNREAY STAKEHOLDER GROUP Options for the Dounreay site end state are the subject of a public consultation announced today. While a final decision on the future use of the land does not need to be made for a number of years community views are being sought now to allow the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and its contractor, UKAEA, to finalise their plans for decommissioning the site with greater certainty.7/11/2006
Public Invited To Attend HIE Board Meeting
HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will be holding its next board meeting in public for the first time on Tuesday, November 14. HIE conducts eight board meetings annually at various venues around the Highlands and Islands.7/11/2006
Win A Trip To Boston To Help Your Business Grow
Entrepreneurs with ambitious business plans are encouraged to enter a competition to win a trip to the world famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Boston, USA. Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and UHI Millennium Institute (UHI) are offering a unique opportunity to help businesses reach their full potential.A Unique Caithness and Sutherland 2007 Calendar - Only 50 Printed - Sold Out
Update on Sell-out Calendar The Calendar has been an instant success and all copies are now sold. Martina promises to start earlier next year and come back with a larger print run.
5/11/2006
Options Identified For Dealing With Particles In The Environment
A panel of experts has identified a short-list of 11 feasible combinations of options for addressing the legacy of radioactive particles in the marine environment around Dounreay. The options will be detailed for the first time tonight at the Environmental Research Institute in Thurso when Phil Cartwright (UKAEA) and Paul Dale (SEPA) will provide an update on the recent work undertaken to understand the extent of the contamination and the human health aspects respectively.5/11/2006
DIGITAL TACHOGRAPHS - NEW WEBSITE FROM FTA
A new website from the Freight Transport Association provides comprehensive information, advice, guidance and details of services to support commercial vehicle operators in managing their responsibilities for drivers' hours and digital tachographs. The interactive site explains and demonstrates products and services with moving icons and video clips showing how FTA digital tachograph equipment works.4/11/2006
Sheila Fleet Jewellery At John O'Groats Saturday & Sunday
Walter Mowat and his staff from First and Last will be at Seaview Hotel with display of the unique collections of jewellery made by Sheila Fleet from Orkney. Sheila has created a new collection based on the flower that is only found in the far north of Caithness and Sutherland in in parts of Orkney.
Send Family Portraits This Christmas
A family photograph is something that can be treasured by families for generations. Why not get award winning photographer John Baikie to take photos to send to your family or to keep yourself this Christmas..
24/10/2006
Dounreay Bulletin - Issue 13
GROUP PUBLISHES SOCIO ECONOMIC STRATEGY. A working group chaired by John Thurso MP and comprising of key stakeholders in the economy around Dounreay has completed its work with the publication of a strategy for addressing the social and economic consequences of site closure.24/10/2006
SEPA Welcomes Radioactive Waste Decision
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is pleased that a clear policy framework for managing higher activity radioactivity wastes in the UK has been decided upon. Today's (Wednesday 25 October) announcement by the UK Government and devolved administrations in response to the recommendations made by the Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) foresees this type of radioactive waste being managed in the long term by means of geological disposal and, until such a facility exists, it will be stored in safe and secure interim facilities.24/10/2006
Carbon Monoxide - The Silent Killer
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today issued a warning about the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. As the cold weather approaches, it has urged homeowners and landlords to ensure that their gas appliances are safe to use.24/10/2006
Employers Urged To Retain Older Workers
Food and drink manufacturers in Scotland are being urged to introduce more flexible employment opportunities to help retain older workers. New research commissioned by Improve, the food and drink sector skills council, shows that opportunities such as shorter hours, working from home, or self employment, are more likely to entice employees aged 55 and over to remain in their jobs.19/10/2006
Updated Manpower Forecasts For Decommissioning Dounreay
UKAEA Dounreay today published updated figures about employment at the site and projections of reducing manpower needs as more of the fast reactor experiment is cleaned out and demolished. The report - available on-line here states: Current employment levels of approximately 2000 are expected to reduce by 500 over the next five years.
18/10/2006
Biodiesel Trial Looks To Drive Environment Agency Future
Recycled vegetable oil is being harnessed in a two-year biodiesel trial announced today, that will see 100 Environment Agency vehicles reducing their emissions by 20%. The trial will aim to demonstrate the environmental and economic viability of this part renewable fuel, with an independent auditor verifying the effects of long-term biodiesel use on the fleet.18/10/2006
Hie Commits Further £12million To North Highland Regeneration
HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) today announced it is to invest an extra £12million in Caithness and Sutherland. The extra funding, a 50 per cent increase on the current budget allocation for the area, will be used over the next three years to help address the considerable challenges posed to the area's economy by the decommissioning of Dounreay nuclear plant.15/10/2006
Indicative River and Coastal Flood Map (Scotland)
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) is distributing, under licence, initial copies of this map to organisations, including the Scottish Executive, local authorities and emergency services. The map gives an indication of the areas in Scotland potentially at risk of flooding from either rivers or the sea, or both.15/10/2006
The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion
Do you know anyone who has been key to the promotion of enterprise skills and attitudes in the UK? If so, they could be inline for an award from the Queen. The Queen's Award for Enterprise Promotion was launched in 2004 to recognise individuals who make a significant contribution to the promotion of business enterprise or enterprise skills in the UK.15/10/2006
Britain's Enterprise Challenge Returns
Teenagers and twentysomethings across the country are today being called upon to compete in the UK's biggest ever live and simultaneous enterprise challenge - the 2006 Make Your Mark Challenge. Following a successful pilot in 2005 - when over 11,000 students from secondary schools across the UK took part - the 'Make Your Mark Challenge' is back.15/10/2006
