Local News

Social Security, now observing its 30th Anniversary, on Monday February 7, handed over a quantity of marine safety equipment to the Anguilla Government valued at just under EC$100,000. The aim is to protect the many persons who engage in fishing as a livelihood and, as part of the food chain, supply the island’s population, hotels and restaurants with a wide range of fish.

Tourism officials in Anguilla met with local agents of cruise ships on Wednesday, February 8, to discuss the promotion of the island as a destination for high-end cruise lines and some of the planned activities for the visitors.

The following is an extract from the Minutes of Executive Council , for the meeting held on Thursday January 19, 2012

REIMBURSEMENT OF TELEPHONE BILLS TO HON CHIEF MINISTER

EX MIN 12/17 of 12 January 2012 refers.

Council agreed that the following statement by the Hon Chief Minister should be reflected under EX MIN 12/17 of 12 January 2012:-

Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. Haydn Hughes led the full Anguilla team at the 30th Anniversary of the Caribbean Marketplace event held in the Bahamas, January 22-25, 2012.

On Friday, February 3, and Monday, February 6, the Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport in Anguilla, temporarily enjoyed the status of a category six aerodrome. The upgraded status was to enable the aerodrome to accommodate a Boeing 737charter aircraft which flew in and out of the island on a flight from and to North Carolina.

In acknowledging the calls he received on his 48th birthday on Sunday, February 5, and his approaching two years in office, Minister of Infrastructure, Evan Gumbs, spoke to media representatives abouttwo of the main matters for which his Ministry has responsibility, but which are being run by separate Boards: water and electricity.

The Valley - Saleem Brooks, resident of Long Bay and employee of Viceroy Anguilla, returned to Anguilla on Tuesday afternoon from Puerto Rico after receiving treatment for wounds sustained during a shooting incident in South Hill in the latter part of 2011.

This week, February 6-10, marked another milestone in the Drugs Abuse Resistance Education Programme (D.A.R.E.) in Anguilla, according to a release from trainer Constable Shawn Lake of the Royal Anguilla Force Community Policing Department.
The above period was the end of the grades 2 and 4 lecture series as well as the graduation of the students at the Teacher Gloria Omolulu Institute. The training, which began on January 10, was delivered to 15 enthusiastic students.

On December 23rd 2011, the Optimist Club of Anguilla was contacted by a visitor to the island (guest at one of our leading hotels). The visitor, who has frequented Anguilla and wishes to remain anonymous, wanted to make donations of food and toiletries to needy families on the island, all in the spirit of Christmas. What may have seemed like a daunting task, for most, was a welcomed challenge by the Optimist Club of Anguilla and notably Food Drive Coordinator Optimist Emma Ferguson who went to work immediately. Showing her true optimistic spirit, she contacted the Department of Social Development to garner names of individuals and families in need.

A husband and wife couple, James and Sonia Morton, of Rock Farm, Anguilla, appeared on national radio to tell of a brutal attack they experienced and what, for Mr. Morton in particular, was a miraculous recovery.

The following is a press release delivered by the Minister of Infustructure, Mr. Evan Gumbs, late last week.

Fellow Anguillians, as Minister with responsibility for electricity I am pleased to announce that the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) – a UK based development funding agency - has agreed to fund a consultancy to recommend amendments to Anguilla’s electricity legislation to allow for integration of Renewable Energy technologies into Anguilla’s electricity profile.

The Royal Anguilla Police Force, which was represented by twelve of its officers at a locally-held five-day intensive course, is now in a better position to conduct surveillance operations on the island.

Clarissa Lloyd, Terrestrial and Wetlands Conservation Officer at the Anguilla National Trust, has been chosen to participate in the Caribbean-Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders (C-EWCL) Programme.

A press release issued by Digicel Anguilla on Wednesday, February 8, stated that a new campaign called "Cash Back 2012" had now been introduced following a high profile Christmas promotion. The current pomotion is aimed at rewarding pre-paid customers for using their Digicel phones.

There has been little or no delay to commence paying Anguillian suppliers of goods and services to the former owner of the Flag/Temenos golf course project. The payments are being made by Mr. Leandro Rizzuto of CuisinArt Golf Resort and Spa, who now owns that property.

The Anguilla Government is pursuing an undertaking it gave to revisit the island’s cruise policy and a number of other policies associated with tourism.

Eight “serious crimes” were reported by Police in Anguilla during the period January 25 to February 1. Among them were four burglaries at Island Harbour, The Valley, South Hill andCannifist. The stolen items included a BlackBerry cellular phone; five-gallon buckets of paint, kitchen cabinets, a passport and jewelry.

Over 270 students from the Adrian T. Hazell Primary School, and its Kindergarten Section, were presented with awards on Tuesday evening, January 31, for outstanding performance in classroom work. The occasion, at Bethel Methodist Church, was the First Annual Dorothy Hughes Academic Award Ceremony.

The newly-appointed Registrar at the Anguilla Circuit of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, Ms. Vernette S. Richardson, has assumed her new duties after serving as Crown Counsel in the Attorney General’s Chambers.

Anguilla’s Director of Environment, Karim V. D. Hodge, is the 24th recipient of the 2011 Euan P. McFarlane Award for Outstanding Environmental Leadership in the insular Caribbean. His selection was announced in a press release by Vice President of Island Resources Foundation, Judith Ann Towle, who is also chairperson of the McFarlane Award Committee.