Local News

A new approach to the quality of teaching and learning in the school system,aimed at achieving better positive behaviour, was made this week, in two of the six primary schools in Anguilla, as a pilot project.

This is a story well told of a topic most deserving. Not only for Anguillians but for anyone curious about the power of the pursuit of self determination. It is uniquely objective with no player demonized or deified. It is a report of good decisions and bad, of confidence and fear, overzealousness and humble restraint, cohesiveness and divisiveness, determination, hesitation, frustration and tolerance. Anecdotes of bravery and tenacity are tempered with those of human frailty. But above all, it is a story of harsh reality. It is no fairytale or melodrama.

Members of the Management Team at Her Majesty’s Prison in Anguilla have issued a stern warning to persons who are continuing to throw illegal items, including weapons, over the fence to prisoners.

The Constitution under which Anguilla is currently governed was handed down by Britain in 1982. Since then a few amendments were made in 1990. That Constitution did at least three things which we need to understand in order to appreciate the current quest and urgent need for major constitutional change.

The members of the Soroptimist Club in Anguilla have been commended for their work on the island for three decades.

Visiting Anguilla on Thursday were the new Rotary International District Governor Dr Guy Theodore of Haiti and his assistant, Mr James Ferris from neighbouring St Maarten. Dr Theodore is a surgeon in his native country and enjoyed a tour of the Princess Alexandra Hospital guided by the Rt Hon Dr Sir Kennedy Simmonds, Chief Medical Officer.

More than thirty books were presented to the Public Library last week by members of the Soroptimist Club. The donation was part of the celebrations for the Club’s 30th Anniversary.

A stockpile of cannabis, held in Police custody for some time, was destroyed by fire on Thursday, August 18, at the backyard of Police Headquarters, on instruction from the Magistrate.

Over 80 young people in Anguilla are enlightened and rejuvenated after attending a week-long Summer Youth Programme held by the Ebenezer Methodist Congregation at the Chapel in The Valley and which ended on Friday, August 19.

Large portions of the beaches in Anguilla, particularly those at the eastern end of the island, are strewn with loads of sea moss brought ashore by high seas before and after Tropical Storm, Irene.

Darren Moses is the winner of Cap Juluca’s 2011 “Biggest Loser” challenge. The eight-week competition which was part of the Resort’s Employee Health and Wellness Programme, attracted over 75 participants and ran from 15th May to 20th July.

A campus ribbon-cutting ceremony and a gala cocktail reception and dinner at Viceroy Hotel were the combined grand events which marked the official opening of the Saint James School of Medicine in Anguilla last weekend, August 12 and 13. The occasions came a year-and-a-half into the operations of the institution which placed the introduction of its teaching programmes, enrollment, accreditation, and even its first graduation of students, well ahead of its formal opening.

Two tertiary educational institutions in Anguilla are coming together in a linkage that will benefit each other and, in the final analysis, the people of the island. They are the Anguilla Community College, headed by Professor Delroy Louden, and St. James School of Medicine, whose President and CEO is Dr. KallolGuha.

At a press conference on Friday, August 12, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Hubert Hughes, was asked to comment on a letter from the Anguilla Civil Service Association (ACSA) requesting the Government to restore salaries to the pre-cut position, now that a substantial windfall was being realised from the Viceroy public auction sale. (See ACSA’s letter inside.)

The Police Report for August 10-17 showed that 22 serious crimes were committed in Anguilla during that period.

Of that number, were six burglaries at Stoney Ground, George Hill, Blowing Point, Cannifist and Long Ground. The stolen items included a cash register, jewelry, foodstuff and a sum of money.

Chief Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Hubert Hughes, has taken issue with the decision of the Deputy Governor, Stanley Reid, to transfer four Permanent Secretaries, particularly the two in Mr. Hughes’ Ministry, with effect from January 2012.

As the second class of the Saint James Medical School prepares to complete the Basic Science program, students take a moment to reflect back on their experiences so that others may fully understand the opportunity the Saint James School of Medicine Anguilla offers to those with a dream of becoming a physician. (The Basic Science program is the 16-month program medical students undergo here in Anguilla, before they proceed to the US for an additional two and a half years of clinical education to receive their medical degree).

The Soroptimist Club of Anguilla is celebrating its 30th Anniversary with a week of activities which commenced on Monday, August 15, with a workshop attended by 70 Fifth and Sixth Form students. They were welcomed by President Olive Hodge who gave a brief history of the organisation.

Former Deputy Commissioner of Police, and a customer of Malliouhana Insurance Company, Illidge Richardson, is the winner of the raffle for the month of July which has fetched him EC$1,000.

Let me begin my column this week with a direct excerpt from a public apology delivered over radio and submitted in a signed statement by the Chief Minister, Hubert B. Hughes in 1999. I am moved to include this excerpt because I continue to be concerned about the large volume of lies, half-truths and innuendos, which the Chief Minister propagates regularly in an effort to shore up the rapidly deteriorating image of his Government. I will quote that statement here in part as follows: