OFFICIAL OPENING OF CULTURAL CENTRE

Here for the occasion will be Sir George and Lady Martin who spearheaded the fund raising drive for the centre and former Governor of Montserrat Mr Tony Abbott and his wife Margaret who now live in retirement in Australia. It was Mr Abbott who officiated at the ground breaking ceremony in 2001. Mrs Abbott headed a committee to raise money for the seating for the auditorium in the centre.

The centre was designed and built by the Galloway family and was conceived after the famous 'Music for Montserrat' concert was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London in September 1997. The concert, the brainchild of Sir George Martin, raised a huge amount of money and this was disbursed amongst deserving cases in the Montserrat community at home and in the UK. The remaining funds were used to initiate the cultural centre project, which was first discussed in 1998.

In January 1999, a public meeting was held to initiate the planning for the Cultural Centre and at this meeting, Sir George outlined his vision for such a centre. It was agreed at the meeting that a special committee should be set up to move the project forward and with their support and that of the Ministry of Culture, designs were invited from all local architects. A year later, the designs were unfolded at the Governor's Office (then situated at McChesney's Estate) for the public to see. The winning design was submitted by Ivason Galloway. Following this a Business Plan for the centre was completed in March 2001.

The start of construction took some time as more funds needed to be raised. Sir George sought the help of former Beatle, recording star Sir Paul McCartney, who had previously recorded at AIR Studios in Montserrat and who had appeared at the Royal Albert Hall Concert. Together they produced lithographic copies of Sir Paul's composition 'Yesterday' which was a huge hit for the Beatles. Sir George had worked on the original strings arrangement for the song when he was the Beatle's Musical Director. The lithographic copies became an instant hit and have been auctioned off in different parts of the world making large amounts of money for the centre's construction.

By early 2006 the building works at the centre had all but finished and the fitting out phase commenced. A local committee, Friends of the Cultural Centre undertook to raise funds to complete the kitchen and bar areas and a London based committee comprising Sir George, musician Peter Filleul, and engineers Dave Harries and Chris Runciman undertook a technical equipment search for sound and lighting as well as stage fittings. Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of equipment has been donated to this committee. Mr Runciman has been on island since the start of the year fitting all the equipment.

Now everything has come together and after a few events to test out the centre, the big day has arrived. A Governing Board for the centre has been appointed and it is they who have organised the opening ceremony. It is the culmination of very many years of hard work involving thousands of people. The work has produced its fruits - the Montserrat Cultural Centre featuring the Sir George Martin auditorium is now a reality and is a building of which we should all be proud.

RESHUFFLE OF TOP CIVIL SERVANTS POSTS IN MONTSERRAT

A number of top positions within the Montserrat civil service were reshuffled on Monday 2nd April.

This followed a recent recruitment exercise by the Government of Montserrat to fill two vacant positions of Permanent Secretaries in the civil service. Head of the Montserrat Civil Service, Her Excellency the Governor, Deborah Barnes Jones confirmed Mrs. Beverley Mendes and Mr. Elijah Silcott have been promoted as new Permanent Secretaries.

Mrs. Mendes will serve as Permanent Secretary, Health and Community Services, and will replace Miss Lyndell Greer, who has now been moved to the Ministry of Communications and Works. Mr Silcott will take over from Mrs. Sarita Francis, who currently serves as the Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Chief Minister. Mrs. Francis has been transferred to the Department of Administration.

Pictures show from left to right: Lindell Greer, Beverley Mendes, Sarita Francis, Elijah Silcott.

DUTCH ANTILLES DELEGATION PAYS COURTESY VISIT TO MONTSERRAT

They will held meetings with the Honourable Chief Minister Dr. Lowell Lewis and his cabinet ministers, along with other members of the Montserrat Legislative Council and also attend the sitting of the Legislative Council on Tuesday 27th March.

The Dutch Antilles officials were taken on tours of Montserrat's leisure, cultural and sporting sectors, including the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, Montserrat National Trust, and the Little Bay Sports Complex.

They also met with officials from the Montserrat Community College and the Montserrat Secondary School.

Picture shows Minister Roland Duncan.

GOVERNMENT OF MONTSERRAT OUTLINES ITS IMPORT DUTY EXEMPTION POLICY

Under the policy the Government is willing to offer duty and consumption tax reductions on items to be imported for direct use in business activities.

The tax reductions will cover items which are used by tradesmen for the creation of goods and services and in the repair and maintenance of facilities with a value of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00).

The Government says it will also consider extending tax reductions for tools-of-trade items, with values of over ten thousand dollars ($10,000.00) on a case by case basis and following a recommendation to Executive Council by a committee made up of representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Development Unit, Customs and Excise and the Chamber of Commerce.

This committee will also consider for exemptions, high priced capital items (equipment and or appliances), which are required for start up and expansion of business operations, and cannot be classified under the financial incentives ordinance nor any other ordinances.

The Government has also explained its application process for private entrepreneurs seeking financial incentives for their business under the Government's import duty tax exemption policy.

Private business owners will not have to submit an application for items classified as specialized equipment for the construction industry, however applications will have to be submitted for exemptions on Tools-for Trade.

These applications must be made in writing and submitted to the Director Development at the Development Unit, and must state clearly the nature of business, the number of employees, and also include the list of items to be imported and their values.

A similar application process must be followed for private entrepreneurs seeking exemptions for capital items.

More information on the Government of Montserrat's import duty tax exemption policy can be obtained from the Development Unit, located at the Government Headquarters compound at Brades, telephone No (664) 491 2166.

EMERGENCY POLICY GROUP REVIEW SAC REPORT

Having considered the available information from the SAC report, which was issued on 16 April 2007, the EPG decided on the following:

1. That there is no need to extend the unsafe area at present;

2. That, under present conditions, the boundaries of the now existing unsafe area are adequate to protect against the current threat posed by the volcano;

3. That further work should be commissioned to set out details of what would cause the authorities to relax the boundaries of the unsafe area or to extend them further. This to be completed by 8 May;

4. That the alert level remains at Level 4.

In addition, the EPG has set up a committee to review the hours of entry into the unsafe area with a view to extending the current entry hours.

The EPG also requested that there should be further analysis of a request to access Belham to remove stockpiles of aggregate which are needed for the construction industry. In addition, the EPG would consider written requests for other supervised activities in the unsafe areas on a case by case basis.

The EPG requested further information from the SAC on their recommendation to extend the Maritime Exclusion Zone and have commissioned further work on this topic.

The EPG also re-emphasised that the inhabitants of Salem and its environs need not be concerned about any further extension of the evacuation boundaries at this time unless a lateral blast becomes likely or imminent.

The SAC report, now available on line at www.mvo.ms shows that:

• The Gages and Farrells walls appear to be sound
• There is over a 50% likelihood that a dome collapse would go to the east
• The chances of a gravitational collapse of more than 20 million cubic materials of material impacting the inhabited areas were minimal.

Picture shows the Members of the Emergency Policy Group at Work

COMMON VOLCANIC TERMS

Andesite:

This is the name given to the type of magma erupted in Montserrat

Basalt:

This is the type of magma entering the magma reservoir below Montserrat

Conduit:

This is the name given to the pathway which allows the volcano's magma to flow to the surface. It is thought of as a cylindrical tube or a long fracture in the earth.

Lava:

Once magma gets to the earth's surface and is extruded, it can be called lava. Below ground level it is always called magma.

Lateral blasts:

An energetic sideways directed explosion from a lava dome that can generate highly fluid pyroclastic flows.

Magma:

The material that erupts in a volcano is known as magma. It is not simply a liquid, but a mixture of liquid, crystals and volcanic gasses. Magma must contain enough liquid to be able to flow.

Magnitude:

The magnitude of an explosive eruption is the total mass of material erupted.

Mudflow:

A flow of rock debris, ash and mud that occurs on many volcanoes particularly during eruptions and after very heavy rainfall. These are sometimes known as Lahars.

Pyroclastic flows:

These are flows or avalanches of hot volcanic debris and gases, which move at high speed down the flanks of the volcano and can become channeled into river valleys. They can be formed by explosions and by collapses of an unstable lava dome.

Pyroclastic surges:

These are also flows, but they are less dense than pyroclastic flows and are very fast moving. They consist of a mixture of hot particles and hot gas and their behaviour is similar to a severe hurricane. Surges can form above pyroclastic flows or directly by very violent explosions.

Swarm:

A large number of earthquakes occurring in rapid succession with characteristics that indicate they are generated from a similar region in the earth. Can merge with tremor.

Tephra fall:

Tephra is a general tem for fragments of volcanic rock, pumice and ash that are ejected into the air during volcanic eruptions and then fall back to the ground.

Volcanic ash:

Volcanic ash is common in Montserrat. Ash particles are defined as being less than 4 mm in diameter. Volcanic ashfall can result in very poor visibility and can make driving conditions very difficult.