RADIO ABACO NEWS

June 1998 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

RADIO ABACO NEWS

Lighthouse Lamp Re-lit. The Hole in the Wall Lighthouse lamp was out for almost a month due to battery problems. A team from the Port Authority completed two days of repairs on 22nd April and returned the unmanned solar powered station to full functionality.

FNM Women's Association. The Abaco Branch of the Free National Movement Women's Association held an installation banquet at Bay View Restaurant, Dundas Town, on 25th April. Speakers included Sen Hon Geneva Rutherford, President of the Association Ludel Theophilus, and Hon Theresa Moxey Ingraham. Officers installed were: President, Maria Bethel; First Vice President, Alice Williams; Second Vice President, Linda Albury; Secretary, Sandra Albury; Assistant Secretary, Valeria Lightbourn; Treasurer, Lee Pinder; Assistant Treasurer, Sheila McDonald; Chaplain, Isadora Pinder; Assistant Chaplain, Annie Darville; Trustees, Mailin Sands, Vernita Walker and Christina Cartwright.

Tourism Retreat. The Grand Bahama Tourism Promotions Board held a retreat at Abaco Beach Hotel & Resort on 27th April to plan for the future with Grand Bahama businessmen and Ministry of Tourism personnel. On hand were Minister of Tourism CA Smith, Director of Tourism Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace and Board Chairman Albert Miller.

Goodbye, Jack. Popular Deputy Island Administrator Jack Thompson was bid a fond farewell by the people of Abaco as he left Local Government to take up the senior post in the Passport Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There were several celebrations, the last official one at SC Bootle Secondary School in Coopers Town which was turned into an amphitheatre on the evening of 27th April. Jack Thompson came to Abaco as a District Commissioner and helped to successfully oversee the transition to Local Government. His activities as an evangelical Christian and concerned civic leader endeared him to the public he served and it was fitting that many of the tributes were in the form of gospel songs. On hand was Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, MP for North Abaco. "I could have continued his service here," he told the large assembly, "but he's deserving of moving further in the public service of The Bahamas." Prime Minister Ingraham said he was grateful to Jack and to his family for the service they had given. "I am extremely touched by this outpouring of love," Jack Thompson said. "I am extremely grateful and I thank you all for being here tonight."

School Vacated and Vandalised. When school started for the Summer Term, students of the Marsh Harbour Campus of Abaco Central Primary School were relocated to the new campus on Forest Drive. Within days the vacated buildings had been extensively vandalised with windows smashed, toilet fixtures removed, 'Mud Doggs' written on the walls and human excreta left on the floors.

British High Commissioner Visits. Peter Young, British High Commissioner, accompanied by John Bethel Jr, visited Abaco on 5th and 6th May. He first went to Green Turtle Cay after being met by a delegation of local government dignitaries, where he was received by Roswell Sawyer and noted citizens of The Cay. Mr Young toured the settlement of New Plymouth and paid a special visit to Amy Roberts School. In the evening he was a guest of Chief Councillor for Central Abaco Mike Malone for a dinner reception at Wally's Restaurant in Marsh Harbour. Next morning the High Commissioner's party visited Hope Town. Abaco, said Mr Young, was far more picturesque in real life than it was in promotional photos. He also noted that British Airways had abandoned flights to The Bahamas from 1992 to 1995 but now had two regular weekly flights and would soon have three.

FTAA Address. President of the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce Neil McKinney addressed a group of Abaconian businessmen during a luncheon at Bay View restaurant, Dundas Town, on 7th May. The subject was the Free Trade Area of the Americas and a perusal of the options the Bahamas government may consider employing in order to be eligible. "The government is sending mixed signals to the private sector," Mr McKinney told the local businessmen. "They must take the FTAA very seriously." The Prime Minister is on record as saying he has no interest in any process that will reduce the standard of living in The Bahamas."

Aeroplane Crash. A Major's Air Services plane crashed a few hundred yards short of the northern end of the runway at Walkers Cay at the conclusion of a flight from Freeport on 8th May. Five female passengers were on board the Piper Aztec piloted by Eddie Thomas. Mr Thomas, 44, was killed and one of the passengers, Ann Border, was airlifted to a Florida hospital. Four other passengers - Monique Curry, Denise Hield, Felicia Frazier and Carolyn Higgs - were taken to Rand Memorial Hospital, Freeport, for treatment. A helicopter assisted in the rescue of survivors. It was speculated that strong winds might have contributed to the accident.

Car Accident on Highway. Nineteen year old Drexel Armbrister of Dundas Town was flown to Nassau on 9th May following an early morning crash on the S C Bootle Highway between Blackwood and Treasure Cay Airport. The H & L Rental car 321 that Armbrister was driving lodged between two trees and was foreshortened by two and a half feet. First on the scene was taxi driver Dudley Davis of Murphy Town. When Davis tried to assist the victim, Armbrister complained of numbness everywhere below his neck. He was taken to Coopers Town Clinic in a state of paralysis. Later word from Nassau said Armbrister needed a $4,000 neck brace which was flown in from Florida to Princess Margaret Hospital. A passenger in the crashed car escaped from the scene and was later being questioned by police after driving away in Davis' taxi. Davis reported that two cars had overtaken him at speed before the accident, which occurred on a stretch of road that had been newly resurfaced.

Electricity for Bahama Palm Shores? Freeman Duncanson of Bahamas Electricity Corporation said at a meeting on 8th May that BEC would provide electricity to the Bahama Palm Shores development on the basis of a five year $2,500 service charge. This figure was considerably lower than a previous offer, Mr Duncanson said, because of a communication from Patrick J Bethel that indicated growth in the development would be considerably enhanced once electricity was available. Fifty percent of the residents would have to commit before BEC went ahead with the provision.

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