REACTOR CONTROL ROOM IS CONSIGNED TO HISTORY. What was once the hub of the next generation of nuclear power plant, a hive of activity buzzing with the thrill of ground-breaking technology, is now in stark contrast an empty shell.
Speech by Liz Cameron Chief Executive Scottish Chambers of Commerce Caithness Chamber AGM, Park Hotel, Thurso 19 September 2006 Ladies & Gentlemen, good afternoon. First may I say how delighted I am to be here in Scotland's true North East? It is always uplifting to the spirit to leave the City behind and breathe the clear air, admire the stunning scenery and enjoy the warm welcome of the North of Scotland.
In a bid to raise the standard of computer services within Scotland, Blue Ivy Ltd has made available a guide to alert small businesses to the practices of less scrupulous computer service companies. Blue Ivy Ltd, the Wick based Small Business IT Specialist, has made this guide available after the increasing number of home and business customers requiring additional work on their computer systems after they had been 'fixed' by friends, neighbours or other computer service companies.
The Freight Transport Association has published its new Guide to Managing Drivers. The 94-page book constitutes comprehensive need-to-know information for transport managers and those with responsibility for the operation of commercial vehicles and the deployment of drivers.
Jimmy Manson (18) of Lower Gills, Canisbay, a 2nd year apprentice joiner with D B Smith Joinery, Wick was awarded first prize in this years Scottish Timber Trades Teachers Competition. A module made by Jimmy while attending North Highland College was chosen to be their entrant.
Wick-based KP Technology has been recognised at the Highland and Islands' leading business awards ceremony for developing and exporting new measurement systems. KP Technology collected the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Award for Excellence in Research and Development at the Scottish Council for Development and Industry (SCDI) Highlands and Islands Dinner and Awards ceremony which took place on Friday at the Highland Conference Centre in Nairn.
All of Scotland's bathing beaches have passed the European standard water quality tests for the first time since monitoring began 20 years ago. On the final day of the 2006 bathing waters season, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) can reveal that all of the 63 designated bathing waters have passed either EC 'mandatory' or stricter 'guideline' standards.
Ross-shire young entrepreneur David Skea (20) has won the Highland final of the 2006 Prince's Scottish Youth Business Trust (PSYBT) and Royal Bank of Scotland Business Awards. David from Alness started his business in 2004 marketing diver-caught shellfish.
In recognition of the growing complexity of IT systems and the increasing sophistication of e-business software applications, Naver Technology Ltd (Navertech), the Thurso based E-Business specialist, has appointed a dedicated IT consultant to provide support to existing and new customers. Steve Trezise (47) is a Cornishman who moved north a year ago and now lives with his wife in Bower.
People in and around Caithness who use a solid fuel system are set to benefit from having a new local supplier to provide their wood fuel. Paul and Diane Barrett moved to Caithness from Essex, following the purchase of South Quintfall Forest Lyth, four years ago.
ENTERPRISE funding has been secured to enable a range of Seafood Scotland (SFS) market development services to continue to be delivered to the Highlands and Islands seafood sector. The £57,000 financial package from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) will provide funding towards the costs incurred by SFS in the Highlands and Islands over the next two years and builds on the success of a previous package of assistance.
The latest new store to open at the Wick Retail Park opened with bang offering up to 60% off normal prices. The new store is the sixth one to open at the retail park at Wick's South Road.
UKAEA has completed a three-month programme of offshore monitoring surveys to improve understanding of the location of irradiated fuel particles in off-shore sediments using a remotely-operated monitoring device. The results are being compiled and a preliminary report has been sent to the Dounreay Particles Advisory Group and Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
HOTSPUR CELL CLEAN-OUT IS DECOMMISSIONING MILESTONE. Dounreay has passed an important decommissioning milestone by successfully cleaning up and dismantling the first of the heavily-shielded facilities in the fuel cycle laboratories, known as the Hotspur cell.
Personnel from BNG's sites at Chapelcross and Hinkley Point visited the practical training facility at Dounreay recently, to watch a training session for the second year SVQ apprentices taking place in the simulated nuclear plant. Gordon Anderson, John Rogerson and Charles Thomson were on a fact-finding visit to see at first hand how the simulator training is improving the skills of the apprentices.
Dounreay is once again the location for the child safety awareness event Safe Highlanders. Around 335 primary seven pupils from Caithness and North Sutherland will attend the event, sponsored by Caithness Community Safety Action Team and UKAEA, at Dounreay Visitor Centre over the next two days.
Companies in the Highlands and Islands who are interested in exploring new ways of maximising their business opportunities now have the opportunity to take part in an innovative new programme. Supported by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the Intellectual Assets Management company development programme aims to help businesses to harness untapped value to help unleash their potential.
FOOD and drink producers in the Highlands and Islands are invited to come along to the Inverness Caledonian Thistle stadium on September 26 to learn some valuable advice on developing their business operation. The event, featuring a number of leading speakers, is the first in a new programme of meetings organised by the Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Forum.
An E-learning system developed by The Highland Council to train staff on Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit fraud awareness is such a success that it is now being used by 270 other local authorities across the UK. The training package entitled "Focus on Fraud Awareness" makes the process of delivering quality training to a large number of front-line staff spread across a large geographical area both effective and efficient.
