Local News

A 15-member Cancer Committee has been established in Anguilla to mount a campaign against the disease which is affecting a growing number of persons on the island.

Health Promotion Educator with the Health Authority of Anguilla, Jennifer Gumbs, said the campaign was aimed at addressing various cancer conditions and that a number of private sector organisations were being asked to choose one of them to be fought against.

The Financial Crime Unit of the Royal Anguilla Police Force wishes to inform the general public that we’ve received reports on Anguilla concerning an ongoing internet scam that seeks to defraud unsuspecting persons of their hard earned money. The fraudsters are using social media networks such as Facebook to contact victims and make offers for employment such as ‘A chance to get paid for shopping and dining out’, ‘Stay home and make money- no qualification required’ and ‘Get paid for completing this survey’.

The traditional Easter season kite-flying in Anguilla, banned by the Police in various areas to safeguard low-flying aircraft in the island’s air space, was permitted at the Point, at Island Harbour, as a fund-raising effort on Sunday afternoon, April 17.

The Anguilla Christian Council, comprising the Anglican, Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches, with the participation of their congregations in The Valley, began the present ‘Holy Week’ observance with a large turnout at the Palm Sunday procession.

Two leading Anguillian Ministers, the Venerable Archdeacon, Valentine Hodge, of the Anglican Church, and Superintendent of the Methodist Circuit, Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs, both in St. Kitts, were among other members of the Clergy who participated in the Palm Sunday observance and procession there.

The Optimist Club here has come in for commendation on its participation in the Caribbean District of Optimist International’s Oratorical Contest 2011 in Kingston, Jamaica. The commendation has come from Mr. Timothy Hodge, Director of Social Security, whose daughter Jordia Hodge participated along with Javez Hamilton in the April 9th competition. Jordia, age 12, and Javez, age 14, are both students of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.

Mrs Rhona Richardson Roydon, Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Anguilla Community College (ACC), and Dr Bonnie Richardson-Lake, Chairperson of the Anguilla Community Foundation (ACF), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Friday 15th April, 2011 at the Board Room of the ACC.

Jerome Richardson, of South Valley, may be following the legacy of his father, Pastor Cecil Richardson, in being a noted farmer. But he has gone a step further in substantially expanding and taking over the lettuce cultivation his dad started on the Agricultural Department’s leased farmland in The Valley.

The second part of the Morlens School of Music Spring Recital took place on Sunday 10th April. In an effort not to be outdone by the smaller ones, these more seasoned musicians put on quite a show for the large and appreciative audience. Unlike the first recital, there was a variety of instruments, including saxophone, flute and the violin, on display. Several young pianists shone in repertoire ranging from sacred and classical to popular music. The adult students were also on show with sterling renditions on saxophone.

Some 130 delegates from various regional islands are in Anguilla attending the Annual Caribbean Prison Ministries Retreat in collaboration with the Community Services Department of the North Caribbean Conference Seventh-day Adventists.

The first Country Conference organised by the UWI Open Campus Anguilla will take place from Thursday April 28 to Friday April 29, 2011. The Training Room of the National Bank of Anguilla will be the venue for the two-day Conference which starts with an Opening Ceremony at 9 am on the Thursday.

The Anguilla United Front is continuing to make a strong case that the Interim Stabilisation Levy, recently passed by Government in the House of Assembly, is not in the best interest of the people of the island, in these difficult financial times, and should be repealed. That was the main subject of the party’s press conference held on Tuesday this week. It followed an earlier press release on the matter from the Leader of the Opposition, Evan Rogers, who has also a sent a motion to the Speaker of the House calling for the repeal of the Act.

As part of its initiatives to raise Anguilla’s profile as a destination for Canadian travelers, the Anguilla Tourist Board hosted a group of Canadian travel writers on island from April 14-17, 2011. The writers expressed their pleasure with Anguilla’s product - reactions included “Wow!” and “Wonderful!”

Local ham radio operators on Monday April 18 joined the rest of the world in observing World Amateur Radio Day. For the past 30 years the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU), of which the Anguilla Amateur Radio Society is a member, has marked April 18, the anniversary of the IARU in 1925, as World Amateur Radio Day.

A week-long training workshop for Census Enumerators began on Monday this week at St. Gerard’s Conference Centre. This is in the run-up to the Anguilla Population & Housing Census set for May 11.

The Literacy Development Project, of the Ministry and Department of Education in Anguilla, one of the most fitting national initiatives requiring substantial funding, has been presented with a donation of EC$300,000 for the joint work. The contribution was the biggest slice of a quarter million dollars donated by the Social Security Board from its development fund to seven recipients on Tuesday this week. The cheque presentations were made by Deputy Chairman of the Board, Alkins Rogers.

The first carefully-selected students from forms two and three at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School have graduated as Nursing Cadets following six months of basic training.
Their graduation ceremony, on April 9, with all the pomp and splendour attached to it, was held Aleta Restaurant at Viceroy Hotel, where some training sessions in fine dining were undertaken at Coba Restaurant recently as part of the programme.

The western area of Anguilla, in the tourism belt, is the first section of the island to have a sub-station linked to the Electricity Company’s main power plant at Corito. It was officially opened on Tuesday this week some distance behind the branch offices of the Caribbean Commercial Band and the National Bank of Anguilla.

His Excellency the Governor, Alistair Harrison, announced in a press statement on Monday, April 11, that he had suspended the issuing of Visa Waivers in Anguilla. The statement reads as follows:

There were no reports of burglaries in Anguilla during the period April 6-13. However, seven thefts were reported in Rey Hill, Stoney Ground, Island Harbour, Little Harbour, West End, The Valley and South Hill.