RADIO ABACO NEWS

March 1999 Table of Contents - Current Issue of The Abaco Journal - Abaco Bahamas' Home Page

RADIO ABACO NEWS

Minister of Tourism Visits Abaco: Minister of Tourism C A Smith visited Abaco on 22nd January and did a walkabout in New Plymouth where residents showed him that that were keeping up with the 1990's while preserving their architecture of the late 1800's. The Minister and his party took a tour of the Memorial Garden created by sculptor James Mastin and the New Plymouth Museum. Host David Bethel said he looked forward to New Plymouth being declared a historic district, the first on the Family Islands. "I am amazed at what we have here in terms of history," said Minister Smith. "We should capture what we have, preserve what we have, and to a great degree use it as a tourist attraction." He was impressed that the children of the community were playing a part in gathering information and helping record the past by interviewing elderly residents. After lunch at the Green Turtle Club, Minister Smith returned to the mainland to open the second Abaco Arts Festival at the Abaco Beach Hotel & Resort Pavilion. He was impressed with the number of displays and the quality of work on display. "This can only become bigger and bigger," he said and congratulated Manny Alexiou and Penny Turtle, the hosts of the show. At a dinner reception which followed, Minister Smith had to 'fly right'. Honoured guests Colyn Rees and Capt Leonard Thompson sat on either side of him. They both have distinguished World War II service records and between them hold the first and second Commercial Pilot's Licences ever issued in The Bahamas. Minister Smith received several gifts from Chief Councillor Mike Malone on behalf of the people of Abaco, including a Regatta tee shirt and video presentation.

British High Commissioner Talks to Rotarians: In a humorous and typically understated talk to the Rotary Club of Abaco at the Jib Room, Marsh Harbour, on 25th January, His Excellency Peter Young, British High Commissioner to The Bahamas, delineated the duties and qualities of a diplomat. "A diplomat must, of course, represent the interests of his own country. He must also find areas of mutual concern between the two and reconcile any differences." The most important quality of a diplomat was, however, that he or she should be able to 'get on with people'. He noted that for the first time in many years, assistance from Scotland Yard was requested by Bahamian authorities in apparently connected Paradise Island, Nassau, murder cases. "Scotland Yard responded," Young said, "by sending their most senior man." The knowing nod and smile as he said that probably indicated that His Excellency knew that his company was aware that the Scotland Yard inspector was robbed at gun point while in Nassau.

The Party's Over Now... The final celebrations of the 1998 Silver Jubilee birthday party for The Bahamas took place at Central Abaco Park, Murphy Town, on 29th January, when over 40 Abaconians were given awards for their service to Abaco. The Master of Ceremonies was DSE Jackson McIntosh and the welcome was given by Don Cornish, Chairman of the Abaco Independence Committee. Presentations of awards were made by Senator Michael Bethel, Administrator Everette Hart and Chief Councillor Joseph Norris and there were uproarious skits by Nettie and the Girls, Leroy Thompson & Co, plus Austin Mills & Co. The evening ended with refreshments and a fireworks display. The recipients were: NORTH ABACO - Archilaus Cooper, Ann Bootle, Inez Pritchard, Ezekiel McIntosh, Burnell Williams, Roosevelt Curry, Roswell Sawyer, Walter Roberts, Vertrum Lowe and Jonathan Curry. CENTRAL ABACO - Eustace Penn, Joyce Smith, Patrick Bethel, Capt Leonard Thompson, Marcel Albury, Merle Williams, Nehemiah Hepburn, Robert Ferguson, Haziel Albury, Arthur Elden, Gurth Russell, Rotary Club of Abaco, Theodore Malone, William Swain and Eddison Key. SOUTH ABACO - Rev Samuel Sands, Rev Haywood Swain, Capt Ernest Dean, Frank Hepburn, Virgie Lightbourne, Nettica Symonette, Sandra Albury, Vashti Albury and Capt Ivan Stuart. MP Robert Sweeting presented Special Independence Awards which went to Percival Archer, Cecil Mills, Roland Swain, Joseph Norris, Modesta Smith and, posthumously, to Gordon Hudson.

Fire in Dundas Town: There was a miraculous escape from death by four adults and twelve children when a large wooden 4-bedroom residence in Dundas Town erupted into flames in the early hours of 3rd February. Rudy Smith, Tony Douglas and their wives and children quickly evacuated the building when smoke was detected. Within minutes the house was a conflagration and everything was lost. The Marsh Harbour Volunteer Fire Brigade was quickly on hand to prevent the fire spreading to adjacent buildings, including the popular Mother Merle's Fishnet Restaurant.

More Fire: Marsh Harbour Volunteer Fire Department fought a series of potentially dangerous bush fires in February, including the area around Marsh Harbour Airport Motel and Forest Drive in the Eastern Campus confines. Forest Drive was closed to traffic for several hours on 8th February while firefighters dealt with a bush fire.

Death in Church: As the second evening of the annual convention of Mount Zion Baptist Church, Sandy Point, was coming to a close on 15th February, one of the celebrants, Mrs Pleasant Bain, collapsed and was taken to the local clinic where she was pronounced dead. The preacher for the evening had been Mrs Bain's nephew, Rev Napoleon Roberts.

BCPOU Protest: Members of the BCPOU demonstrated in Marsh Harbour on 17th February against provisions of the upcoming privatisation of BaTelCo. The 40 or so demonstrators bore placards with such slogans as "Privatisation means loss of jobs" and "Keep BaTelCo 100% Bahamian". Area Vice President Rick Smith said: "First and foremost, and most of all, is the matter of redundancy."

A Child is Born; a Child Dies: Radio Abaco took out several hours of air time to focus on the sad case of a Bahamian child who was not allowed to live because his natal needs were more than his society could provide. Quenzin Bastian came into the world as a breach baby and the Marsh Harbour Clinic was unprepared to meet him. Sent to Nassau on 21st January while his mother was in labour, Quenzin encountered red tape and company rules that would have frustrated a mature adult. Once Quentin reached the hospital in Nassau the fight was, in effect, already over. Little Quenzin was kept on support system but was allowed to die in his father's arms on 10th February. His parents, Mr & Mrs Quentin Bastian of Dundas Town, praised Abaco's Trauma One ambulance service and the nurse from Marsh Harbour Community Clinic who accompanied the Bastians on their emergency flight into Nassau. There didn't seem to be anybody else to give praise to. The Tribune of Nassau carried a sad front page photo of little Quenzin in his incubator - a little boy who could have been Prime Minister, the greatest athlete of his age, a scholar of Nobel proportions. But it was not to be. The medical services available to little Quenzin could not keep him alive. There was not only public dismay over little Quenzin's inability to get a passport to life in The Bahamas, there was Abaco rage. It appears that Abaco - the premier place to live in The Bahamas - has a third rate medical emergency situation. Little Quenzin's horribly brief artificial life is a clarion call to our community to not ever - ever - allow this to happen again. Hundreds of Abaco women will bear babies in the next few years. Let there be no more Quenzins. [Editor's Note: Your Editor was also a breach baby who was dragged screaming into this world on 1st March 1942. It would be nice to think that The Bahamas could provide better service to Abaco residents than was available in a home situation in a small mining community in Perkinsville, Chester-le-Street, Durham, England, in 1942. Look at my scars and think of Quenzin.]

DPM Visits Abaco: Deputy Prime Minister Frank Watson visited Abaco on 18th February and held a town meeting at the Anglican Church Hall. The new water rates were delineated by the minister responsible, Hon Anthony Rolle. In effect, bills for everybody would at least double. Sandy Point residents requested that power from Marsh Harbour be extended to them from Crossing Rocks, the southern extent of the grid at present. They also requested that the water supply be improved with permanent electric pumps. Snake Cay residents requested improvement to their roads and the possibility of purchasing their residences. Spring City residents wanted street lights and attention to their unique sewerage system. Most touching of all, however, was when Quentin Bastian (see previous story) presented the Deputy Prime Minister with a petition with over 1,000 names which had been collected in less than 12 hours. DPM Watson extended heartfelt sympathy to Mr Bastian and his wife and said the petition would be forwarded to Dr Ronald Knowles, Minister of Health.

Coroner's Inquest Hearing: From the time of Jeannie Sands Pinder's death on 15th September 1997 on Green Turtle Cay, there was outrage at the apparent lack of official concern and lack of focus in the investigation. So much so that lunch sales were held to support the Sands family in its attempt to get to the truth of the matter. The coroner's inquest presided over by Coroner Winston Saunders, with a jury of two women and five men, decided that Jeannie Sands' husband, Andrew Pinder, was involved in his wife's death. After the verdict, which was greeted with unanimous applause by the public at hand, Mr Pinder was taken to Marsh Harbour Police Station. A point of legal clarity on the verdict was dealt with on the next day, 19th February, and the charges were changed from conspiracy to manslaughter.

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