Local News

Miss CCB Talented Teen 2006, Shellya Rogers of Little Dix, a 6th form business student at the ALHCS is smiling all the way to school!

A full week has elapsed, but for the record it is important for The Anguillian to report that a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 violently shook Anguilla and a number of other Caribbean islands on Thursday, November 29, 2007 at about 3.00 p.m.

There is a new edifice in The Valley which not only increases the level of business there, but adds much beauty to the centre of the island.

In a small private ceremony at the Governor’s Office on Wednesday 21 November 2007, his Excellency the Governor, Mr Andrew George, presented to Mr Rob Willsher of George Hill, his HM Armed Forces Veterans Badge. This is the first time in Anguilla that such a presentation has been made. Rob’s wife Julie was present at the ceremony.

The kitchen at the WISE (Workshop Initiative for Support in Education) programme facility was officially opened recently. It was made possible by a donation from the Soroptimist Club. Equipment including a stainless steel double sink, large stove, shelving, microwave, toaster, blender and in fact all the equipment needed for the running of the kitchen were donated by the Soroptimist Club. The ribbon to the kitchen was cut by President of the Soroptimist Club, Alison Carty, who said she was very proud to open it on behalf of the Soroptimist members.

In its continuing quest to showcase its food and beverage delights, CuisinArt Resort & Spa threw a wine dinner for many of its guests and brought in wine-maker, Gustavo Gonzalez, from the Mondavi Winery in California, to speak on and demonstrate his wine varieties.

The congregations of the three Anglican Churches – St. Mary’s, The Valley, St. Augustine’s, East End and St. Andrew’s, Island Harbour - held a joint observance of “Family Sunday” on December 2.

The Annual Fund-raising Fair of the Soroptimist Club of Anguilla turned out well on the grounds of Government House on Sunday, December 2, despite the rain that washed out the event the previous, more popular and convenient day.

The Annual Overseas Territories Consultative Conference involving Ministers and officials from the Overseas Territories and the British Government will be taking place in London next week. The Anguilla Government will be represented by Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, whose delegation includes Minister of Finance, Victor Banks, Opposition Member Edison Baird, Foster Rogers, Permanent Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, and Public Relations Adviser, Curtis Richardson.

The ramp for executive jets flying into Wallblake Airport in Anguilla from the North-eastern United States in particular has been crowded over the past several days. The special occasion was the US Thanksgiving holiday week during which a number of American’s “rich and famous,” including actors and former US Vice President, Al Gore, were guests at various hotels and villas on the island.

A cultural fair, which featured string band music, local foods and preserves, art work and various other items of craft, marked the official opening of Tourism Week in Anguilla on Saturday, November 24, under the theme: The Anguilla Experience: Managing Change. The impressive display was held on the grounds of the Caribbean Commercial Complex in The Valley.

The burglaries continued in Anguilla over the past week but to a lesser extent than previously, according to Wednesday’s police briefing.

After what seemed to have been a rush to get the National Health Fund in operation by January 2008, the Anguilla Government has postponed the implementation date having been beaten to the race by a number of uncertainties as the deadline date approaches.

Anguilla’s Minister of Tourism, Victor Banks, said the recent 6th Annual Ministers of Tourism Conference in Montserrat focussed on a number of important issues regarding the development of the industry throughout the Eastern Caribbean.

As the Anguilla Tourist Board considered its 2007/2008 marketing budget of some US$3.5 million, Tourism Advisor, Donna Banks, made a rallying call on the people of the island and all stakeholders in the industry that “Tourism is Everybody’s Business.” Not only did this motivating speaker repeatedly emphasised that statement, but she pointed out that Anguilla has to be aware of the fact that it is “running with the wolves” – a reference to the stiff competition the island is facing with its luxury brand of tourism.

A clean and attractive environment is one of the matters to take into consideration in marketing Anguilla as an up-scale destination. And the Sales Centre at Viceroy, Anguilla, has taken on the task of cleaning the island’s often-littered beaches as a step in that direction.

Almost three hundred people attended the first ever Primary Schools National Awards Ceremony held at the Campus B auditorium on Wednesday, November 21, at 6:00 pm. The ceremony was chaired by the Director of Social Security Mr. Timothy Hodge and was sponsored by ANGLEC. Various dignitaries attended as well as The Hon. Deputy Governor Mr. Stanley Reid and Mrs. Reid, The Hon. Minster of Education Mr. Evans Rogers, Permanent Secretary of Education Mr. Rodney Rey, Chief Education Officer Mrs. Rhonda Connor, and Manager of ANGLEC Mr. Neil McConnie and Mrs. McConnie.

Speaker of the House Assembly in Anguilla, the Hon. David Carty, has been in Westminster, London this week at a seminar on “Climate Change: Tackling the Causes, Managing the Impacts.”

20 November 2007, Kingstown, St. Vincent, Methodist Church Hall. Dame Bernice Lake delivered a rousing lecture entitled, Strengthening the Nation: Deepening the Democratic Process, to an attentive audience of Vincentian citizens hungry for constitutional insight and advice on their 28th Anniversary of Independence as a sovereign nation.

Two week-long workshops, one in Food Safety and Hygiene and the other in Voluntary Audits, have ended at Paradise Cove Resort in Anguilla with the award of certificates to the participants who are now better equipped to continue their various services on the island.