RADIO ABACO NEWS

November 2000 Table of Contents

RADIO ABACO NEWS

Illegal Immigrants Apprehended: It was an unlucky 13th September for a group of undocumented Haitians who were questioned early in the morning by police on routine patrol in Marsh Harbour. Seven of the workers, on their way to work on the cays, were held in custody by Immigration. Three were able to produce papers and were released. The other four were sent to Nassau. It is expected that police will beef up their patrols to apprehend more illegal immigrants in the future.

More Light! The Dundas Town Committee is to ask Bahamas Electricity Corporation when street lights in the settlement will be brought up to standard. There are 33 lights in the community that are not working. The Committee did not bring up the matter earlier because of the extensive repairs BEC employees had to make after Hurricane Floyd.

Troubles at School: More than 230 parents attended a PTA meeting of Central Abaco Primary School held on 26th September to discuss landscaping and overcrowding in the classrooms. The school is in great need of landscaping and it was suggested that parents each pay $20 towards beautifying the school grounds and making them safer. It was also stated by Principal Eunice Mills that the three Grade One classes all had 37 children, a number too large for effective teaching. The school's population is 610, which includes 25 pre-schoolers. At a 16th October PTA meeting, Ms Mills was able to announce that a new Grade 1 teacher, Dolly Methuveeran, had been appointed and the class sizes had been reduced considerably.

Police Arrest Four: Marsh Harbour police arrested four men of Haitian descent in connection with recent robberies at Lowe's Furniture warehouse and Standard Hardware. The warehouse was broken into and "enough mattresses and items of furniture to satisfy a quarter of Marsh Harbour" were stolen. The thieves used a back road which connected the warehouse to S C Bootle Highway. At Standard Hardware it was estimated that over $30,000 worth of tools had been stolen.

Minister Knowles Visits Dock Site: The existing dock in Marsh Harbour is more than 35 years old and plans are in place to replace it, starting in 2001. Minister of Works James Knowles viewed the dock site with a delegation which included the Family Island Engineer Richard Bruno. Mr Bruno explained the the development of the contract was under way and that construction documents for the final development of the dock were being dealt with by a Bahamian engineering company. Another engineering company was doing water analysis to find out where rock lines were for dredging purposes. The new dock will be almost 15 acres in size comprising a domestic part and an international part.

Landscaping Delayed Again: Landscaping for Central Abaco Primary School has been delayed until summer 2001. The school has over 600 children of primary and pre-school age and at the present the terrain is rugged with no drainage. Last year a contract was awarded to a Nassau company by central government to complete the first phase of the landscaping of the school but, according to Director of Works Melanie Roach, the contractor was fired. Speaking to Central Council on 5th October Director Roach said work had to wait until May or June 2001. Money would be wasted if the landscaping was done while children were at school as the new plantings would need six to eight weeks to become established.

Man Found Dead on Lawn: Police were called to investigate the death of a man who was found dead on a lawn opposite Golden Harvest supermarket in Marsh Harbour. It is believed the 44 year old man, known as 'Black Jesus' had been sleeping in the area recently and foul play is not suspected.

Fisherman Dies: The body of 35 year old Jackson Swain of Mores Island was discovered on 5th October in his quarters aboard the 50-foot Lobster Hunter, a fishing vessel owned by Paul Jones of Mores island. The boat was in the Berry Islands at the time and there were 14 other men on board. Foul play is not suspected.

North Abaco Man Drowns: A cold front passed over Fox Town early on 9th October bringing windy weather and rough seas. By 3 pm the winds were gusting to 40 knots with 8-14 foot waves. A crawfish boat returning from working the Carter Cays area reported that one of its dinghies had broken loose and that 39 year old Jerry McIntosh had dived into the water to retrieve it. He went under after a short swim and never resurfaced. His body was discovered next morning by a search party.

Last Discovery Day: Abaconians enjoyed their last Discovery Day holiday on 13th October, a day which commemorated the arrival of Christopher Columbus in The Bahamas on 12th October 1492. The holiday will be known as National Heroes' Day in the future.

Credit Union Expands: The signs of a prosperous community can be gauged by the number of financial institutions it encompasses. In Central Abaco there are six commercial banks. Add to the numbers the Teachers' and Salaried Workers Cooperative Credit Union Limited. On 14th October they moved their offices from Dove Plaza to B & L Plaza in Marsh Harbour. On hand for the occasion was Mrs Theresa Ingraham, Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce. Mrs Ingraham said she was herself a member of the Union and borrowed money to send her daughter away to school.

Golden Girls: Radio Abaco gave intensive live coverage of the visit of the Golden Girls. Listeners were concerned Geo the Leo might have a heart attack before breakfast was over! As extensive as the coverage was, bringing the experience to all of Abaco, the Abaco Journal has incorporated Radio Abaco's coverage into its Golden Girls reports. But what a wonderful job, you guys and gals of Radio Abaco. If only you had a feed through to Nassau you'd have brought the city to a standstill better than the unions did! (Ed: The Abaco Journal reports Radio Abaco News faithfully, but when we have additional information [which may be just a name or a few additional facts] we move the article to our own domain and area of responsibility.)

Towns to be Zoned: If the Abaco Central Council gets its way the unsupervised development of the district will come to an end. In a meeting on 17th October Council called upon townships to discuss zoning within Marsh Harbour, Dundas Town, Murphy Town and Spring City. The exercise would put in place guidelines for township committees and licensing authorities which would restrict approval of new commercial development in residential areas. It would also enable persons to make good decisions when seeking sites for prospective business ventures. They would know aforehand the type of development allowed before they purchased property. The categories proposed would include residential, tourist, commercial and industrial.

Prime Minister Delivers Principal Address: Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham delivered the principal address at a Movers and Shakers Banquet held at the Spinnaker Restaurant, Treasure Cay, on 20th October by the North Abaco Constituency Branch of the Free National Movement in order to honour long serving and dedicated workers for the party. Mr Ingraham said the honourees made him feel more appreciated over the years. The Prime Minister congratulated Roosevelt Curry, George Russell, Ida Russell, Millie McIntosh, Alan Russell, O'Donald McIntosh, Floyd Lowe, Roosevelt Sawyer, Walter Roberts, Natalie Bodie, Moxey Williams, Rev Roland Swain, Venable Gomez, Kayla Lockhart, Augustine Williams, Sybil Ferguson, Rev Carlton Dorsette and many others who had done so much for the community, the branch and himself personally.

Woman Murdered: The badly burned body of Jessie Mae Swain, 35, of Oleander Street, Dundas Town, was found by police late morning on 21st October. It was reported by her brother, who had been a visitor to the house, that Mrs Swain and her companion had been arguing before the brother left at 2 am. At 3 am neighbours heard sounds that might have been Mrs Swain calling for help but at the time they thought it was just their imagination. The lower part of Mrs Swain's body was burned worse than the upper part. The next day Mrs Swain's companion, Billy Davis, turned himself in to police in Marsh Harbour for questioning.

You Call This a Work Permit? On 22nd October a Piper Navajo, allegedly operated by Lee Air out of Nassau, landed at Marsh Harbour International Airport from a foreign destination expecting clearance from Immigration and Customs. Upon inspection of the documents presented, diligent Immigration officials noted that five work permits belonging to Dominican nationals appeared to be fraudulent. There were also three Bahamians on board, one a retired police sergeant. The Dominicans appeared before Magistrate Everette Hart on 23rd October and were in custody remanded in Nassau until 15th December. The three Bahamians were also taken to Nassau in custody and charges of smuggling may be brought against them.

Garbage Collection Tender: Dundas Town was the first township to complete the tender exercise to replace the present garbage collection contract which expires on 31st December. The winning tender was from Pastor Alex Archer and will call for twice weekly collection in the Dundas Town township.

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