Carmen Hancock, L'anse au Clair

Does your CAP site need a staff person to assist the public? Is your CAP site trying to generate some revenue? A unique partnership in L’Anse au Clair, Labrador might give you some ideas…

The L’Anse au Clair CAP site is acting as the temporary headquarters of The Jersey Room Archaeology Project, a tourism initiative of the Town of L’Anse au Clair. For a small monthly fee, Carmen Hancock the Project Manager has booked the use of the CAP site to complete her work on the archaeology project. “The Project's short-term duration makes the CAP site ideal, as it is much more cost efficient to pay a fee for the CAP usage rather than purchasing all new equipment” she says. Using the technology and equipment at the CAP site, Ms. Hancock has been able to complete archival and historical research of the site and has begun work on interpretive and promotional materials pertaining to the dig site and the accompanying walking trail. In addition, Ms. Hancock has agreed to perform CAP site employee duties throughout the duration of the partnership, ie: helping users, regular computer maintenance, updating software, upkeep of the CAP site, etc. This sharing of resources has proven to be very effective for both parties. Marilyn Dumaresq, CAP Committee Chairperson, says that “[Ms. Hancock] has been a valuable asset to us …especially over the summer months when we had a number of tourists and youth using the facilities”.

Lumsden is located on the Northeast section of the island of Newfoundland, in an area that is locally called ‘the Gander Loop’. A number of creative and interesting activities have been happening at the Lumsden CAP site under the supervision of its librarian, Kay Hatcher. One of these activities is the ‘Kidsday Web Site’ that has been created by the library’s story time kids and their parents. Using the computers, the kids group has developed a very informative and interesting web site. It illustrates the stories and activities that the kids of this community do during each story time session at the library. Visit their website at www.kidsday2005.piczo.com to see pictures, view the kid’s crafts and sign their guest book. If you have an idea for a website, your local CAP site has the technology to make it happen!

If you have an email address, odds are you have received an email hoax. Generally, they involve a hard to believe story or photo, something free or some dire warning that would make Chicken Little proud. While it doesn’t present as big of a problem as real viruses, hoaxes can be a nuisance. Unlike a virus, they will not damage your computer in any way. However, in mass, they are a problem for the computing and business world. It is estimated that email hoaxes could cost businesses millions of dollars per year either in lost productivity from people reading and forwarding them and from the cost to purchase more expensive servers to handle the increasing amount of email that they create.

There are easy ways to spot hoaxes. Things to keep in mind when reading an email that you suspect to be a hoax are:

• Do they ask you to forward it to a specified number of users?
• Do they give you a way to check out the information they are telling you? If no, then it is most likely a hoax. If yes, check it out.
• Is the email written in an overly dramatic way?
• Is there something about the accompanying pictures that doesn't quite add up to the story that accompanies it?

If you suspect an email hoax, do not forward it. If you want to check the validity of a potential hoax, then browse the Internet for evidence. There are plenty of web sites dedicated to exposing or identifying whether or not those emails are fact or fiction. To find out more about hoaxes and how to spot them, visit the following sites:

• http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
• http://www.truthorfiction.com/
• http://www.snopes.com

The Belleoram CAP site may have opened its doors on April Fools Day, however, the valuable service it provides is no laughing matter! For many residents of Belleoram, the CAP site is the only public point of access to the Internet. Located in the municipal building in Belleoram, the CAP site shares space with the local community channel and the community library. The CAP site is run completely by volunteers and in many instances local high school students keep the site open in the evenings. This enables their peers to avail of the research capabilities offered by the Internet, along with the general public who simply may want to check their email.

When the Belleoram CAP site first opened, it was certainly one of the more unique CAP sites in the province. Due to space constraints, the CAP site was placed in a hallway. To maximize the small space provided, each workstation - monitor included - was placed directly into the wall. While this proved to be great for privacy, it proved to be a problem several years later when they began to upgrade their computers and the new monitors wouldn't fit into the space. With that in mind, they remodeled a sizable portion of their library to accommodate a more traditional computer set-up.

Another big change for the Belleoram CAP site has been with connectivity. Initially, they relied on dial-up service. In 2002, they switched over to a satellite connection which breathed new life into the site. Recently, a new Broadband connection was established in the area through the Coast of Bays Economic Development Corporation and Belleoram, along with many of the other CAP sites in the area may soon be taking advantage of the new speeds and more reliable connection.

The Belleoram CAP site may have faced many obstacles during the past few years, but through hard work and commitment, it has become the successful site that it is today!