News

The Anguilla Tourist Board, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism and the Anguilla Hotel & Tourism Association will be observing 25 Years of Tourism this year starting from February 2003.

Fourteen newspapers in the Eastern Caribbean have signed on as members of the Eastern Caribbean Press Council (ECPC) at its official inauguration in St. Lucia at the weekend.

It was with an air of quiet confidence that the West Indies World Cup Squad departed for South Africa on Tuesday evening. Manager Ricky Skerritt was pleased with the manner in which the players had applied themselves to their preparation and at their level of commitment to the job in hand.

In the CCB Cricket League matches played last weekend, Saturday’s game ended with the All Stars victorious over VP United, whilst on Sunday The Farrington was able to overcome the boys from the ALHCS.

The Editor
The Anguillian

Dear Sir:

LET’S GET ON WITH WALLBLAKE AIRPORT

I was pleased to read that plans are well underway for the expansion of Wallblake Airport. It is high time that this development work get started not just to facilitate one particular airline which is pulling out its smaller aircraft, but as part of the general development of the island and the tourist industry.

The West End Primary School project which still has a long way to go before its completion is very much alive.

The long-awaited Hurricane Lenny Rehabilitation Road Programme in Anguilla will commence next month at East End and Little Harbour simultaneously. These are two of six sections of road damaged by the flood waters of 1999 and are now to be substantially reconstructed and otherwise repaired. The others are Covecastles road, Sandy Ground road the Quarter road and Island Harbour road.

A Waterfront facility providing boutiques for tourists, other public services and greater parking space for motorists is being proposed for Island Harbour Bay, one of the island’s attractive east coast beaches. Elected Representative for the constituency, Kenneth Harrigan, made the disclosure on Tuesday January 21 to The Anguillian.

Luckily for all of us, Anguilla is a place of low crime. However, as part of a world besieged by every vice imaginable, and in fact to a great extent unimaginable, we do not expect our little island to continue as it is today. There are already uncomfortable signs that changing times and behavioural patterns, as well as certain influences, are resulting in a steady increase in the crime rate and something ought to be done to keep the situation under control. There seems to be a mushrooming of the number of young people appearing before the Magistrate’s Court week after week. This is perhaps a matter of much concern because a small island like Anguilla needs well-disciplined youth to help shape our future and to fulfill our ideal dreams.

When I became a member of staff at the Anguilla National Trust in January 1996, it struck me immediately that public relations would be an important part of my job even though that was not explicitly stated in my job description. Therefore when Mary Walker and her husband Eugene stepped through the door for what was to be our first of many productive meetings, I heard their American accents and immediately began my PR spiel, which the Walkers politely tolerated. I was totally embarrassed when the then Director of the Trust introduced them as friends of Anguilla who had been visiting the island on an annual basis for some time and more so when I found out that in some regards they knew more about Anguilla than I did. It was from Mary’s Anguilla Flora Project that we learned so much about the plants growing on our island and from this project, the Anguilla National Trust has been able to share categorised plant lists with students, developers, consultants, government agencies and others.

This eating disorder is also referred to as Bulimia affects mainly young females, and can take a heavy toll on patients and their families. Bulimia is a very serious disorder and can result in death.

The Anguillian has obtained the following letter written to the Hon. Edison Baird, Elected Member for Road North, by H. E. Governor Peter Johnstone.

Three interest groups on the island have given their full support to the Wallblake Airport expansion project. They were participants in a series of meetings with representatives of the Airport Project Board and Alan Campbell, an engineer with Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick, the British firm of consultants contracted to undertake the design and supervision of the project.

As plans continue for the construction of the Wallblake Airport expansion project, the local media have been told that efforts were being made to raise sixteen million US dollars in loans from the commercial banks on the island towards the financing of the project.

Dawn C. Hodge is now a Colonel in the United States Air Force. She was promoted to that rank after previously serving as a Lieutenant Colonel. The newly-appointed Colonel is the eldest daughter of Mrs. Molly Hodge of Sandy Hill and the late Joseph Vanier Hodge.

Self-employed persons in Anguilla are now fully covered under the Social Security system and the Minister the Hon. Victor Banks has announced that the necessary regulations governing their contributions have been signed.

A workshop has been scheduled for January 30 – February 1, 2003 for the mid market and budget properties on the island in particular. The workshop is aimed at enhancing the quality of the product as well as the promotion and distribution efforts of the properties so as to ensure the highest levels of visitor satisfaction and financial success for the properties.

This brings me to a personal instance in 1966, the first year that I was promoted to a headmaster at the West End Primary School. I had been there for less than an academic year, and the school received no passes. This was an extra-ordinary result for the school. I cannot recall that the parents of the students from Long Bay or West End openly casted judgement on my stewardship, but to be sure some of the members of the teaching fraternity had me belittled saying, “What kind of headteacher is he?” It must be realized that in those days promotion to headships were keenly contested.

Anguilla’s Minister of Social Development, Hon Eric Reid, says people will only come to accept their responsibility of being their brother’s keeper when they treat them equally regardless of infirmity.

It has been announced in an Australian Cricket Board Media Release that leg-spinner Shane Warne will retire from international one-day cricket after the ICC World Cup 2003 which starts in South Africa next month.