Local News

St Gerard’s Roman Catholic Church recently welcomed its new parish priest. Fr Pawel (Paul) Czoch, who replaces Fr Digno Jore, was officially installed during the regular 9 am mass on Sunday Oct 4th 2009 at St Gerard’s by Fr George Williams, Permanent Delegate for the Bishop of the Diocese of St Johns-Basseterre.

Prolonged applause echoed throughout the 7,200-square-foot Campus B auditorium on Monday evening this week, as the multi-purpose facility was renamed the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium in honour of the distinguished educator.

The honour, approved by the Executive Council, was conferred on Mr. Rey as he sat in the company of a large and appreciative audience. The gathering included family members, scores of Government officials, fellow educators, past and present students at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and a large cross-section of the public including members of the Bethel Methodist Church.

The incidence of reported crime fell sharply to only five for the period September 23 to 30 in stark contrast to recent weeks. The five comprised two burglaries in North Side and North Hill where a cell phone and CDs went missing, and three thefts in The Quarter, Island Harbour and The Cove. Here the criminals hightailed with two gold chains and a cell phone.

A tiger shark, tagged 140 miles off the coast of Massachusetts in the United States of America, was recently captured by an Anguillian fisher, at the north eastern end of the Seal Island reef, on the north coast of Anguilla. The shark, estimated at 8 feet in length, originally tagged in July of 2008 migrated over 1500 miles from the US to Anguilla.

An adult female green turtle fitted with a satellite transmitter tag has migrated over 900 km and has visited three UK Overseas Territories in the Caribbean since the beginning of September. Suzie the turtle was fitted with the tag in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) at the end of June earlier this year, after being bought from a fisherman. After the turtle was tagged and released, she spent two months in TCI waters, but started migrating on the 1st of September, swimming over 820 km straight to the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

Since I am not Michelle Obama, I feel safe in saying that on Monday evening of this week, Anguilla made me proud at the honouring of one of her illustrious sons, Rodney McArthur Rey. Many of us present at the delightful event put on to name the ALHCS Campus B auditorium in his honour, have our own special memories of relationship with Mr. Rey, in one of his many offices.

Grim-faced and uncomfortable, but calm, Chief Minister Osbourne Fleming, told reporters on Tuesday this week: “This morning I phoned the Governor of Anguilla and told him that I was in the process of calling London today to find out what has become of the response we had been awaiting regarding our financial position. He told me that he would not recommend that I call because by tomorrow morning [Wednesday] we should have word from London.”

The Anguilla Red Cross has once again collaborated with another organisation to help spread the word of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This time it was the Soroptimist International of Anguilla, the local chapter of a well-known and respected Global Women’s Organization.

A number of young upcoming footballers from the Primary Schools, as well as various members of Kicks United Football Club, were recipients of awards presented to them by Kicks United at a ceremony at the Teachers’ Resource Centre on Saturday evening, September 26.

U nderneath the calm or blistering sea
You find a part of life, forgotten and unsold
What hidden gems lie peacefully?
A graveyard and a treasure trove, the history lies untold
So powerful the drive, for generations grabbed
Treasures taken, traded, sold
History salvaged and passed out

Opposition Member, the Hon Hubert Hughes, said that despite the tight employment situation in Anguilla, there was still a level of construction work going on in the western end of the island. He charged, however, that there were Indians working in jobs which Anguillians had done in various islands over the past forty or fifty years.

The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Bank met in its 6th special meeting at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Headquarters in St Kitts and Nevis on September 18, under the chairmanship of the Honourable Roosevelt Skerritt, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Dominica.

September was Literacy Month in Anguilla and a number of schools celebrated the time with activities centred on reading, writing and language skills.

The Adrian T. Hazel Primary School in South Hill was one such institution where the end of the month in particular saw a variety of competitions and other activities throughout the various class levels. Activities ran from Monday September 21 to Wednesday September 30.

On Saturday September 26 the Anguilla Soroptimist Club held a Health Fair that included many health professionals who gave advice on healthy living and offered free tests. Doctors, nurses and several associations were present at the Health Fair, held on the grounds of the Ruthwill Auditorium.

After some concerns expressed particularly by the Elected Member for Road North, the Hon. Edison Baird, in connection with the parent Proceeds of Crime Bill, recently passed in the Anguilla House of Assembly, an amending measure, which has come closely on its heels, was passed on Tuesday, September 22.

It has come to light from a report received this week that Non-Self-Governing Territories like Anguilla may be in a position to get assistance from United Nations bodies in the area of economic and social development. With this available information, it may be worth the while for the Anguilla Government to make some inquiries and appeals at the UN in these difficult times.

Crime in Anguilla took a further relieving nosedive as it went from 21 reports last week to 11 for the period September 16 to 23.

Topping the criminal activity list was theft with five reports coming from South Hill, Roaches Hill, Island Harbour and George Hill. Items stolen were a cell phone, a lady’s blouse, gasoline, auto parts and a goat.

Anguilla’s Chief Minister, the Hon. Osbourne Fleming, told reporters on Wednesday this week that the Government was relieved that it was in a position to pay the salaries of civil servants and other public sector workers this month, September. “Going forward, we cannot say what will happen. However, I believe this will be an ease to a lot of our people to note that there will be no problem in accessing their salaries for the month of September,” he stated.

The Anguilla House of Assembly has strongly condemned a burglary attack at the residence of Second Nominated Member in the Anguilla House of Assembly during which she sustained injuries to an arm.

The President of the Anguilla Police and Prison Cricket Team, Peterson Boland and other executives are grateful to the main office of NAGICO on the island for a much-needed donation of US$1,000.