MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco -- Bahamas Striping has added to its generous giving by donating 100 Christmas toys for children and 50 hams for the elderly to be given through Urban Renewal 2.0 in Abaco. The company presented the donations to Member of Parliament for North Abaco Renardo Curry on behalf of the Urban Renewal Commission at the opening of the Urban Renewal Center in Marsh Harbour on Friday.

The donations added to the 200 toys and 100 hams for Nassau given to Prime Minister Christie on behalf of Urban Renewal 2.0 on Wednesday this week. The young company decided to give back to the Bahamas generously because it has at last received striping work for the first time on major public roads as promised by Deputy Prime Minister “Brave” Davis in August this year.

According to Bahamas Striping President Atario Mitchell, the donations are a way of saying thanks to the government for “putting Bahamians first” and letting the benefits of local employment stay in the country. Mitchell stressed that “giving back to the community” is a cornerstone of his company’s philosophy.

Minister for Abaco, the Hon. Renardo Curry said: “The people of Abaco and Urban Renewal are very pleased to see companies like Bahamas Striping partnering with government to bring relief to the people. I commend Bahamas Striping for the work they do throughout the country donating services, training our young men and giving them jobs.”

MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco -- On Friday 29th December 2012, around 7:40pm, wanted suspect Nevin Russell age 44 years of Crockett Drive, Marsh Harbour Abaco, who was wanted by police for Housebreaking, Shopbreaking and Stealing was arrested by police in the Pigeon Pea area.

He will be arraigned before the Magistrate Court in Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

DUNDAS TOWN, Abaco, The Bahamas – Because of the potential that the programme has for community and social development in Abaco, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said, on December 21, 2012, that the official launch of Urban Renewal on that island was an historic event.  

“Today, I would like to say that we are making history,” Prime Minister Christie said, at the ceremony at the Urban Renewal Office, Dundas Town, Abaco. “It is important and we want to use this day as the reference point for all that we do.  

“My Government is making another promise a reality.”  

Among those present for the ceremony in Abaco were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip Davis, Minister of National Security Dr. the Hon. Bernard Nottage, Minister of Tourism the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe, Minister of Social Services the Hon. Melanie Griffin, Minister of State for Investments in the Officer of the Prime Minister the Hon. Khaalis Rolle, Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security Sen. The Hon. Keith Bell, Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister in Abaco the Hon. Renardo Curry, Senator Gary Sawyer, Urban Renewal Commission Permanent Secretary Diana Lightbourne, Permanent Secretary Cresswell Sturrup, Assistant Commissioner of the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) Emrick Seymour, RBPF Superintendent Stephen Dean, Director of Social Services Melanie Zonicle, Co-Chairs of the Urban Renewal Commission Cynthia “Mother” Pratt and Mr. Algernon Allen and other senior Government officials.  

HOPE TOWN, Abaco -- Hope Town, once the capital of Abaco, may have given up that title to Marsh Harbour, but this year, one of their very own, Miss Erica Pinder, is fighting hard to win the title of Miss Abaco! She is the very first contestant to enter from one of the Abaco Cays in the long and much storied history of this great pageant.

Erica was born and raised in Hope Town, and graduated from Forest Heights Academy in 2007. She feels a deep connection to the area, given her family’s roots. Her father’s family was one of the first on Hope Town and 8 generations back, she is related to Wyannie Malone, a prominent Bahamian during the American Revolution.

Along with her Bahamian flavor though, Erica also has a sense of international flair! She has lived in Arizona where she attended Arizona State University and worked towards a Bachelors degree in Graphic Design Management. She believes that this fusion of local and international culture make her a strong competitor for the title of Miss Abaco and will help her in representing Abaco and the Bahamas in the next round if she were to win, and move on to the Miss Tourism pageant in China.

If she were to win Miss Abaco, Erica believes that she could do a good job of bringing exposure and recognition to Abaco by using the wide array of marketing skills that she has learned from working at Damianos Sothebys International Realty for over a year now. After that, she hopes to finish her Bachelors degree in Graphic Design Management and would like to one day be a magazine editor here in the Bahamas.

MARSH HARBOUR, Abaco -- Officers of the Abaco District are seeking the whereabouts of Nevin Russell, age 44, of Crockett Drive, Marsh Harbour Abaco.

He is described as being a 5’7” slim built Caucasian with blonde hair.

He is wanted by the Central Detective Unit for questioning in reference to Housebreaking, Shop breaking and Stealing. He is to be approached with caution as

he is considered to be armed and dangerous.

If seen contact the Abaco Police at telephone numbers 3672560, 3673437, 911, 919 or contact your nearest police station.

See wanted poster below.

– C6-APV

Abaco Air Crash

The Ministry of Transport and Aviation, through the Civil Aviation Department’s Air Accident Investigation and Prevention Unit (AAIPU) has now completed its preliminary report on the helicopter accident which recently occurred and is releasing the following statement:

“On Thursday, November 22, 2012 at approximately 1:10PM EST, an AS355F1 Helicopter registration C6-APV, manufactured by Aerospatiale Eurocopter Group, departed Marsh Harbour International Airport with five [5] persons onboard. While attempting to land, control was lost, resulting in the helicopter crash-landing at Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club, Great Guana Cay, Abaco.

The crash took the life of one [1] passenger and left the remaining four [4] passengers with injuries of varying severity. The surviving passengers were rescued and stabilised prior to being transported to Marsh Harbour for further evaluations prior to being airlifted to South Florida [3 persons] and Nassau [1 person].

On Friday, November 23, 2012 the Bahamas Civil Aviation Department dispatched a team of three [3] investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Prevention Unit to the accident scene. Upon arrival, members of the Baker’s Bay Golf and Ocean Club and Royal Bahamas Police Force provided a detailed briefing to the Aircraft Accident Investigators, prior to handing over control of the scene. The Bahamas Police Force had responded shortly after the accident, taken control of the site and secured it up to that point.