RADIO ABACO NEWS
A member of a Whale and Dolphin Research team met his death at Hole in the Wall on Sunday 14th December. With waves reported at 10 - 12 feet, several people approached the hole and two were swept into the sea. A third member dived in and rescued one of those in distress. The other appeared to be injured and unable to respond to efforts to save him. A US Coast Guard helicopter was called but was unable to assist.
Green Turtle Cay celebrated the New Year with its traditional junkanoo festivities. Numbers were lower than in previous years due to the cool and windy weather but Nigel Lowe of Green Turtle Ferry reported carrying about 700 visitors from the mainland.
In his address to the nation on 2nd January, Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham in his New Years Day message to the nation said that the Treasure Cay Hotel would be acquired, renovated, expanded and put into operation in the near future.
Civil servants from all points of Abaco gathered at Mount Zion Baptist Church, Sandy Point, on 4th January. In his address Fr Hugh Chapman challenged the government officials to be honest in their employment and not waste resources. He also admonished the general public to comply with government regulations, particularly with regard to customs duties. It was customs payments, he pointed out, that fuel the ability of government to fully implement its programmes.
The effects of El Niño were felt in central Abaco on 5th January when over 19 inches of unseasonal rain fell in Marsh Harbour, closing Royal Bank of Canada and local schools. Several feet of water flooded Don MacKay Boulevard between Bellevue Business Depot and Abaco Wholesale. There was also flooding on Queen Elizabeth Drive between Golden Harvest and Memorial Plaza Shopping Centre, an area not noted for flooding in the past.
Ricky Sweeting Jr, son of Rev Ricky Sweeting, was surfboarding in the White Sound area of Elbow Cay at about 4 pm on 6th January when he felt his 12 foot surfboard being shaken by a 9 foot shark. The shark, probably a bull shark which is noted for its aggression, ripped off the back fin of the board and tossed Ricky into the water. He made it to shore safely without the shark attacking him. Both father and son credited the escape to prayer.
Abaco lawyer Fred Gottlieb resigned his post as Chairman of the Water and Sewerage Corporation in preparation for a new assignment. Mr Gottlieb had been Chairman of the Board since 1992 and told Radio Abaco: 'The task was challenging, sometimes onerous - but very rewarding. It was a privilege to serve the people of The Bahamas and, particularly, Abaco."
Mr Derek Andrews, Music Director of the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, visited Abaco Central Secondary School and observed a Junkanoo performance by the school's Junior Junkanoo group. It was the first time Mr Andrews had never seen Junkanoo and he was impressed. He said he hoped that there could be an exchange between the school and Toronto with music specialists coming to Abaco to assist in the students' training and, in return, a visit to Toronto by the Junkanoo group which, he felt, would be very well received by the Canadian people. (See Junior Junkanoo)
At a somewhat stormy meeting of the Abaco Central Primary School PTA on 12th January, Superintendent Jackson McIntosh said the new school would be ready for occupancy by 1st March.
A single-engine aeroplane took off and abruptly crash-landed from Marsh Harbour Airport at about 2.10 pm on 14th January. The plane failed to attain altitude and landed 200 yards east of the airport on Caribbean Construction property, just missing a power line. The pilot escaped relatively unhurt and walked from the plane. Local emergency services were on the site almost immediately. The pilot was tended at Marsh Harbour Community Clinic and released.
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