Local News

June 2004 is the deadline date for the completion of the extension to Wallblake Airport and for the improved facility to be up and running. Previously it was estimated that the work should be completed by March. The new and more realistic date follows the recent discussions in London held by a three-man Anguillian delegation with British Government officials and the consultants for the project. Three of the delegates Kenn Banks, Marcel Fahie and Fritz Smith reported at a press briefing Tuesday that the talks went well and that the airport project was on course with a total agreed length of 6,000 feet. The process of prequalification of contractors for the civil works and the issuing of tender notices is now being stepped up for early implementation.

Arif Ali, a long-standing Caribbean journalist and publisher residing in London, says that so far the progress his publishing company has made on the tourism promotional book Anguilla, Tranquility Wrapped in Blue, has been very rewarding. It is to be on the market in November for the beginning of the tourism season and is expected to rank highly among similar books he has produced for other regional islands as well as countries outside the region.

Chairman of the Anguilla Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee, David Carty, says another round of awareness-raising initiatives will be made to deepen public understanding of the island’s Constitutional and Electoral Laws and to solicit the views of the people.

In a press release from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Utilities, Permanent Secretary, Kenn Banks, explained that the Government was awaiting a proposal from Cable & Wireless for a flat rate charge for Internet access.
The following is the full text of the release:

Scotiabank (Anguilla) Limited is the first private sector business on the island to give financial support to the Anguilla Race Against Aids Committee for its planned marathon on November 30, this year, in observance of World Aids Day on December 1. The committee is a grouping of the Optimist Club working with other civic groups and individuals in the community to create a greater awareness of the disease. On Monday, this week, Scotiabank donated US$1,000 towards the project and for the first prize in the ladies half-kilometer marathon.

Four of the five Anguillian young ladies who will be competing in the Miss Anguilla Pageant during the Summer Festival, spent some quality time with the inmates of the Miriam Gumbs Senior Citizens Home in a goodwill gesture. They visited the well-kept institution last weekend, presented food baskets to the appreciative dwellers and then sat and chatted with them.

Chairman of the Anguilla Tourist Board, John Benjamin, has accepted an invitation from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) to be part of a slate of eligible candidates to serve on the institution’s Private Sector Consultative Group.

A special general meeting of the Anguilla Archaeological and Historical Society was told that the island played a more major role in Amerindian culture and history in the southern islands and in the Greater Antilles than perhaps previously known.

Bethel Methodist Church, at South Hill, was packed to capacity Sunday night June 22 for its 125th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service.

Seven young ladies from a cross section of the island will be competing for the Miss CCB Talented Teen title.

When someone can pluck a fast-moving fish from the surf of the sea – and a puppy shark at that – with the bare hands, it is no mean feat. That was the case with Jennifer Ashbourne who, along with her landlady, friend and ‘mother’ Maria King (Nan) of Tasty’s Restaurant, was strolling along Rendezvous Beach when the puppy shark surfaced on a huge wave.

I wish to highly commend the contributor of the article “Has Anguilla’s Fastest Racing Boat Been Built?” The perennial question, “Where is the story?” has been answered. It is extremely disheartening and dispiriting to read pages of reports only on other sports, some taking place thousands of miles away.

As part of its initiatives to promote Summer travel to the island, the Anguilla Tourist Board is participating in the annual convention of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce from June 19 – 22, 2003 at the Wyndham El Conquistador Resort & Golf Course in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. Over 1200 participants and 170 exhibitors are expected to be in attendance at the 4-day event which will feature workshops, seminars, business meetings and social activities, under the theme “In firm step with the new generation”.

General Manager of Cable & Wireless in Anguilla, Sutcliffe Hodge, says the telecommunications company is facing challenging times as it makes the transition into the new liberalised environment. He indicated that although the company was facing growing competition in the global market, it was still offering competitive prices and services as it endeavours to stay in business.

The crowd was slow to build up at the Ronald Webster Park for the parade marking the Official Birthday of Queen Elizabeth The Second, but by the time the celebration commenced the many seats under the tents and in the pavilion were largely filled. Among the public and private sector representatives and other members of the Anguillian community in attendance, were the British Defense Attache based in Barbados, Commander Steve Samm and his wife.

Three members of a family-the parents and their child – were seriously injured in a shooting incident at Sandy Hill shortly before midnight on June 16.

In a continued effort to raise the awareness of all Anguillians about matters concerning the Constitution, the Constitutional and Electoral Reform Committee will shortly begin another round of programmes geared at stimulating national discussion about the Constitution.

Sylvester Rogers of Blowing Point was found guilty of sexual offences committed against a fifteen year old girl and sentence to four years imprisonment. Before passing sentence on Friday, June 13, Justice Ola Mae Edwards commented that based on the sentence stipulated for sexual offences, the legislators viewed such offences seriously.

“D A & A Ltd”, a family business in Anguilla, is the newest enterprise to open its doors on the island. The name of the company, headed by Wilmoth Richardson of North Side, along with his wife, Cislyn, is a combination of the names of their three children and is being operated in partnership with Harris Paints Dominica Limited. The building housing “D A & A Ltd and Harris Colour Centre” is located opposite the Woodbine Preschool in The Valley.

Dr. Phyllis Fleming-Banks, who presented a paper on behalf of Civil Society in Anguila to the full body of the United Nations Special Committee of 24 on Decolonisation in New York last week, said the meeting was an historic one for the island.
“It was an honour for me and a great opportunity for us to present our case within the United Nations,” she told The Anguillian. “I think the most important thing was in terms of the information dissemination.” She was happy that some of the issues raised in the paper were discussed at the meeting and that there were questions from the ambassadors and other representatives of the different countries on various matters presented in the document.