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Hurricane Advisory Council Meets
The National Hurricane Advisory Council for the first time is a formal legal entity having authority vested in it through the newly enacted Disaster Preparedness and Response Act 1999. The co-chairman reminded those gathered for the meeting that in 1999 there were 8 hurricanes and 4 tropical storms which caused over US$700 million worth of damage in the region and 74 deaths. They pointed out that the 2000 season is expected to be even more severe. The meeting, attended by Government Departments, Cable & Wireless, MVO, Water Authority, the private sector, Health/Police/FireSearch & Rescue officials, Distrrict Committees and NGO's including the Montserrat Red Cross, discussed the levels of preparation and response plans for the 2000 season which started on 1, June. Director of Disaster Services, Horatio Tuitt in his opening remarks said " The potential for economic catastrophe has increased dramatically in recent years. Hurricanes threaten life and property and their frequency has increased. It is imperative that residents and local businesses be prepared to protect themselves and their property - hence our presence here today". He went on to say " We cannot overstate the importance of PREPAREDNESS. The key to effective emergency management is rapid, well planned response. The Emergency Department coordinates training, exercises and response planning at all levels, as these activities ensure that in the event a disaster strikes, emergency managers will be able to provide the best possible response. However, preparedness without MITIGATION is like putting water in a bucket full of holes. So what is mitigation? It is the cornerstone of emergency management. It is the ongoing efforts to lesson the impact disasters have on people and property. Mitigation involves keeping homes away from floodplains, engineering buildings and bridges to withstand earthquakes, creating and enforcing effective building codes to protect property from hurricanes etc." A National Action Plan was developed at the meeting for the 2000 hurricane
season and this involves three simple principles:-
The theme adopted by the meeting is "Be prepared and stay prepared" and it is expected that public education will continue under this theme for the remainder of the 2000 hurricane season. ARROW FEATURED ON AMERICAN TV
Other acts that have appeared, or are scheduled to appear, on the series are Santana, Gloria Estafan, Isaac Hayes, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Nsync, Britney Spears and Sting. But Arrow is the sole soca artist to be booked. Arrow is not surprised at what he sees as an important development for calypso/soca music. "Growing up as I did in Montserrat," he said, "A very tiny island, I knew from early that I had to look outward for the huge audience I always wanted. Calypsonians tend to be very insular in their outlook and this has hurt the music more than it has helped it. It soon became my goal to take calypso to the four corners of the world.Part of making this happen was to become a pioneer in soca (a fusion of calypso and soul) music. This lead to the hit song "Hot, Hot, Hot" which is known widely as the international soca anthem. It is considered the best selling soca song of all time and helped to establish Arrow as the indisputable king of soca. However, Arrow also knows that making good music is not enough. "You see," he explains, "Music is business. Show business. And it's altogether too easy to pay attention to the show, but not to the business. When that happens you're bound to get left behind." Nothing is as distasteful to Arrow as the notion of getting left behind and throughout his career he as taken steps to avoid that. Presently he is putting the finishing touches to a recording project with Gus Dudgeon, the famed English producer who for many years produced Elton John's records. Arrow is expecting to release a song shortly called "Yah Wah" fusing soca, African and pop into a whole new sound. He is also working on a new CD to be released later this year; and has just played the Reggae Riddims Festival in New Orleans and preparing for a tour of Europe in August. "But it's not just about me," says Arrow. "Some of today's most exiting music is coming out of the Caribbean, but at the same time soca music, businesswise, is in the doldrums. I would like my appearance on the Today Show to help change that. I want to make the world dance, but I would also like to pave the way other soca artists to share this great music with the rest of the world."
LOCAL ROTORACT CLUB WINS AWARDS In mid June, members of the local Rotoract Club came back victorius from The West Indies District Conference 2000, held in Trinidad. There were part of the 260+ rotaractors present at the conference. Each Rotaract Club in District 7030 (the West Indies) was represented. The Montserrat Club received an award for best community service project. In addition the DRR (District Rep, Rotaract) visited each club in her district and said in her year end report that the Rotaract Club of Montserrat had a better relationship with their Rotary sponsoring club than any other club in the district. The Rotaract Club of Montserrat has 24 members and it's liaison officer is local Rotarian, Bruce Farara. GIRL GUIDE ASSOCIATION PRESENTS AWARDS The Montserrat Girl Guides Association held an awards ceremony at Government House on Monday evening 26, June. Some 60 invited guests and girl guides were treated to entertainment, reports, speeches, and the awards ceremony itself. Visiting Girl Guide Trainer Mary Livesey from Lancashire, UK was the guest of honour on the completion of her training stint in Montserrat. The Commissioner of the local Girl Guides Association, Mrs Angela Skerritt, told those assembled " The MGGA has gone through many challenges like every other group in Montserrat during the volcanic crisis. Prior to 1995, there were 4 Brownie Packs, 4 Girl Guide Companies and 1 Ranger Unit with a total membership of 207 persons. During 1996 this was reduced to 2 Brownie Packs and 2 Girl Guide Companies meeting at MSS Salem Campus and at the Cudjoe Head Clinic. Due to the escalating volcanic crisis in 1997 there was only one functioning Guide Company - the 8th Montserrat Company - which met at Cudjoe Head with a membership of 44. Their last recorded meeting was in April 1997. By the end of 1997, only 6 of the 42 guides remained on island and for the next nine months there were no meetings. However, meetings resumed at Brades on Saturday afternoons with Brownies and Guides together. Rangers meeting restarted in September 1999. The association wishes to thank Mrs G. Mason, Mrs A. Winspeare, Mrs J. Ryan. Mrs C. Thompson, Mrs G. Cabey, Mrs A. Skerritt, Mrs O. Jemmotte and Miss D. Lee for keeping Guiding going during these hard times. Having survived the ongoing volcanic crisis we now need to strengthen and grow as an association to promote a balanced Guide programme for all the girls and young women in Guiding. We believe that the principles and foundation of Guiding helps girls and young women to develop in a holistic manner. This is very important today, especially with the many challenges facing young women on the island. It is recognised that leaders are urgently needed, both for expanding the number of groups and for promoting the quality of leadership abilities. It is with this in mind that the Commonwealth HQ were approached to provide a Guide Trainer to come to the island. As a result Mrs Mary Livesey is now with us. During her training programme over the last week, some 21 women attended the sessions.This indicates that these women have an interest in the development of young people in Montsrerrat and are willing to do their part in the fostering and mentoring of balanced and well adjusted young women." The awards ceremony saw Training Certificates, badges and pins awarded to members of the Girl Guides. In a special part of the ceremony Mrs Oslyn Jemmotte, who was Guide Commissioner for eight years was presented the prestigious Laurel Award for dedicated service to Girl Guiding. Mrs Mary Livesey in her comments said that it had been a joy to be here for the training sessions and was full of admiration on how resilient the people of Montserrat and the Girl Guide movement were in the face of the volcanic activity. She thanked H.E. the Governor Mr Tony Abbott and the his wife Margaret who is the President of the Guiding movement in Montserrat for hosting her at their home during her stay. Member of the Guiding movement entertained the assembled guests with poems and songs and prayers were led by Fr. Larry Finnegan. The vote of thanks was confidently presented by the President of the Ranger Unit. NEW ELECTORIAL SYSTEM
ELECTIONS OFFICERS (I) THE SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS The Supervisor of Elections shall
(II) REGISTERING OFFICER The Registering Officer and every Assistant Registering Officer shall, before entering on his duties as such take and subscribe an oath in the form set out in the Second Schedule and shall transmit such oath to the Supervisor of Elections. The Registering Officer shall prepare in relation to each polling division a preliminary list of voters. The Registering Officer shall examine the qualification in respect of which a claim to be registered as a voter is made and shall receive such evidence as may be necessary to prove to his satisfaction that claimant possesses the qualifications in respect of which he claims to be registered as a voter. The Registering Officer shall within twenty- one (21) days ascertain whether any of the voters registered as voters in the Register of Voters for the Electoral District, have ceased to retain the qualifications in respect of which they were registered or whether any of them are dead and he shall in the next list of voters to be made up by him in accordance with the provisions of section 43 write the words “objected to” against the name of every person who he has cause to believe, has ceased to retain the qualifications in respect of which he was registered, and shall write the word, “Dead” against the name of every person who he has cause to believe is dead. The Registering Officer shall within the space of twenty-one (21) days from the last day upon which any notice of claim as provided in subsection (2) of section 42 is allowed to be made, prepare an alphabetical list in the form set out as Form No. 3 in the Second Schedule of all persons residing in the electoral district for which he is appointed who in his opinion are entitled to be registered as voters, and shall cause a copy of such list herein referred to as the (first list of voters) dated and signed by him to be posted on the outer doors of the Court House, Police Station, church, chapel, school, house or other building in the Electoral District which in his opinion will give publicity to such list. The Registering Officer shall ensure that the first list of voters shall during the course of business in each day for a period of ten (10) days after the posting thereof be open to inspection of the public free of charge at every police station in the Electoral District to which such list applies and at the Court House in Brades. The Registering Officer shall prepare a Voters List in alphabetical order of all persons entitled to vote within a specified time and shall publish the same on the notice board of the Court House - Brades, Police Station, or any public building where it can be viewed by all persons concerned. (III) POLLING DIVISIONS For the purposes of registration and voting the single island constituency will be subdivided into convenient polling divisions by physical boundaries as listed.
Boundaries of Polling Divisions 1. Belham River and Runaway Ghaut from coast to source. 2. Runaway Ghaut and Soldier Ghaut from coast to source. 3. Soldier Ghaut and Caines River/Collins River from coast to source. 4. Collins River from coast up to junction of Yellow Hill and Northern Main Road; Down Yellow Hill Road to Hospital junction; Trants road to Quashie Spring; Along Quashie Spring to junction with Brimm’s Ghaut; Brimm’s Ghaut to coast line. 5. Bottomless Ghaut from source to Trant’s Road; Trant’s Road to Hospital junction; Yellow Hill road to junction with Northern Main Road; Down Collins River to junction with Caines River; Up Caines River to source. 6. Brimm’s Ghaut from coast to junction with Quashie Spring; Along Quashie Spring to Trants Road; Along Trants Road to Bottomless Ghaut; Bottomless Ghaut to coast.
POSSIBLE POLLING STATIONS
PLACES WHERE VOTERS’ LIST MAY BE DISPLAYED (a) Salem Methodist Church (b) St. Peter’s St. Peter’s Rectory (c) CudjoeHead Pentecostal Church (d) Brades Brades Primary School (e) Davy Hill Davy Hill Wesleyan Holiness Church (f) St John’s Day Care Centre (g) Lookout Lookout Secondary School
(VI) AT THE POLLS 1. Each voter has nine (9) votes. This means that he/she is entitled to vote for nine (9) candidates. 2. Each voter would only be permitted to cast his/her votes in the polling division in which he/she is registered. 3. Each voter must place an X in the slots next to the names and photographs of the persons he/she wishes to vote for on the Ballot Paper.
Spoiled Ballots • A ballot with ten or more X’s in ten (10) or more different slots on the ballot paper. • A ballot with more than one X in any given slot on the ballot paper. • A ballot on which was placed any symbol other than an X.
VII) ELECTION RESULTS – UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM 1. The nine persons receiving the highest number of votes cast and receiving not less than six (6) percentum per person of the total number of votes cast, shall make up the Legislative Council. 2. Those persons who did not receive six (6) percentum of the number of valid ballots shall be required to stand once more for seats still unfilled in the Council. 3. The person(s) receiving the highest number of votes cast, not being less than six (6) percentum, shall be declared elected to the seat(s) to be filled. 4. Where there is an equality of votes between two or more candidates who though they may have received six(6) percentum of the votes, have received the least number of votes of those candidates who would otherwise have been declared elected and Where to declare those candidates with an equality of votes elected would result in the election of more than nine (9) members, those receiving an equal number of votes shall not be declared to be elected but shall be required to stand once more for elections. 5. A candidate shall lose his deposit if he has received less than six percentum of the number of valid ballots in the election and has failed to win a seat in the subsequent election run-off. (VIII) ELECTORAL OFFICE Address Department of Legislature, E-mail Legis@cand.ag Telephone/ Fax Office Hours will be from 8:30 a.m – 3:30 p.m. Contact Persons Supervisor of Elections - Claudette Weekes (Mrs)
Sample Ballot Paper
SURVEYING PROGRAMME TO BEGIN The Government of Montserrat's Ministry of Agriculture,Land, Housing & the Environment has announced that its programme of assistance for the surveying of unclaimed land will commence in early July. Under the auspices of the Caribbean Development Bank (CBU) the University of the West Indies (UWI) will provide the services of three Land Surveyors who will be on island in July to conduct land surveys. All persons with unclaimed land on Montserrat and who require assistance with land surveying for the purpose of land registration are entitled to benefit from this programme of assistance. In response to an invitation on Radio Montserrat, over the last several months persons have indicated their interest in this programme and all owners of unclaimed land are still welcome to register their need for help with land surveying. The services of the visiting Land Surveyors will be free of cost and land owners are reminded that in order to take advantage of this assistance, they must ensure that the boundaries of their land are properly and completely cleared prior to the arrival of the Land Surveyors in early July. Persons claiming ownership of previously unclaimed land have until 31, December 2000 to register this land, under the Crown Title Amendment Act 2000.
QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST The Queen's Birthday Honours List 2000 shows that two persons from Montserrat have been awarded MBE's. They are; Father Cordwell Victor Randall Peters for outstanding service to the community throughout the volcanic crisis and Pastor Kenrick Decosta Harewood for many years service as a member, now Chairman, of the Salem District Disaster Committee. Also honoured in this year's Birthday Honours are Christopher Burgess, former Commissioner of the Royal Montserrat Police Force, who receives The Queen's Police Medal and Head of the Governor's Office, Mr Robert Webb, who receives the OBE. MVO SPEAKS TO MONTSERRATIANS IN DOMINICA The Montserrat Volcano Observatory's information and outreach activities are continuing throughout the region, with the recent visit of MVO Director Simon Young and Information & Press Officer Chelston Lee to Dominica mid June. In Dominica, Dr Young and Mr Lee met with Disaster Officials, Local Historians, relocated Montserratians and members of the Dominican general public. The two MVO officials also addressed the nation via a live Radio and TV broadcast Press Conference, after which they met with Fifth and Sixth form students from various schools across the island. Since late last year, the MVO has embarked on an intense regional public education campaign, and as a result, from time to time, MVO officials will meet with relocated Montserratians, Disaster Officials and school students from around the region, bringing them up-to-date with first-hand information on the volcanic situation in Montserrat. The MVO has already made official visits to the UK, Antigua and Tortola. After the Dominica trip, the next targeted islands will be St Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St Thomas and St Croix. The MVO's meetings with regional disaster officials demonstrate the MVO's foundation in being an organization of scientific excellence, not only serving Montserrat but also making available its expertise throughout the region and worldwide. The MVO believes that it is necessary to try and avoid some of the inaccurate information that is around the region, and one of the ways in attempting to do so is to take first-hand information directly to neighbouring countries. So far, the feedback from relocated Montserratians already visited by the MVO demonstrates one of sincere gratitude and increased confidence in the monitoring capability of the scientists and their newly created information dissemination strategy. INTERIM DIRECTOR AT THE MVO An interim Director, Dr Gill Norton, has been appointed at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) following the departure of Dr Simon Young on end of contract leave. Dr Norton who is a previous Interim Director and Acting Director at the MVO is employed by the British Geological Survey and arrives on island 1, July. Until her arrival, Dr Richard Herd one of the scientists working at the MVO will be the acting head. Dr Young left island on 27, June on the completion of his contract. At a farewell ceremony in his honour at the Tropical Mansions Suites Hotel on Monday evening 26 June, H.E. the Governor, Mr Tony Abbott praised Dr Young for all his hard work in Montserrat throughout the crisis. He said that Dr Young had earned the confidence of the officials and people of the island and that his volcanic predictions had been spot on. "Everything Dr Young said would happen did indeed happen" said Mr Abbott, "this helps to build confidence amongst the people" Similar sentiments were expressed by the Minister of Communications & Works, the Hon. Rupert Weekes who spoke on behalf of the Government of Montserrat. He said "Dr Young is part of the Montserrat scenario and we expect to see him back here in the future". The Interim Director of the MVO, Dr Norton will be supported by four scientists as DFID recently agreed to fund a fourth position at the Observatory. In addition, there are seven local staff at the MVO working in seismic monitoring, equipment repair and callibration and in administration. DFID has also recently committed itself to fund new monitoring equipment for the MVO.
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The National
Hurricane Advisory Council, which is now a legislated body, met on Wednesday
14, June to start preparations for the 2000 hurricane season. The meeting,
co-chaired by His Excellency the Governor Mr Tony Abbott and the Director
of Disaster Services Horatio Tuitt, reviewed the effects of hurricanes
in 1999 and reviewed plans for 2000. 
Arrow,
the soca King of the world, scored yet another first for Caribbean music
when on Saturday, June 24, he featured on the Today Show Summer Concert
Series on NBC TV. The show was seen world wide via cable TV.