Virgil appointed to CURE post

Government has announced the appointment of Myra Virgil as executive officer of the Commission on Unity and Racial Equality (CURE) in the Ministry of Community Affairs and Sport.

Mrs. Virgil, a Bermudian, is a social worker by profession, trained and educated in Canada.

In her new position she will be responsible to CURE for promoting equality of opportunity and good relations between people of different racial groups, developing and implementing an annual review of employment practices and advising employers on adopting equal opportunity policies.

She will manage the operation of the CURE office and provide advice and recommendations on policies, programmes and procedure to the CURE Director and Commissioners.

Mrs. Virgil used to work for the Human Rights Commission as an investigations officer and she took over her new post on October 20.

Crane in Hamilton breaks down

One of Hamilton's decrepit cranes broke down again this week but Stevedoring Services vice president Henry Hayward said new ones would be arriving in six weeks.

Damage to one of the two cranes had delayed work on the earlier this week while the was still being worked on.

Mr. Hayward said a hydraulic pump was damaged ten days ago, the latest problem caused by spray from Hurricane Fabian.

He said: "Two new cranes are on the way, it will be five to six weeks before they get here."

As well as experiencing fewer breakdowns the higher position of the cab will allow operators to see better what they are doing rather than use the direction of longshoremen.

Stevedoring Services' five-year contract is up for tender at the moment but Mr. Hayward said the $4 million investment showed the company was reasonably confident of renewing the contract.

Ferry cancelled due to bad weather

The Hamilton to St.George's ferry service was cancelled yesterday due to bad weather.

The did not complete its noon or 2 p.m. shuttle service from Hamilton to the East End and and did not complete their 1.30 p.m. or 3.45 p.m. runs.

Marine and Ports Services apologised to the public for the inconvenience due to the "rough marine conditions".

Cycle slides in front of bus

Three females escaped injury after an accident involving a bus yesterday morning.

At 8.05 a.m. a cycle travelling along Middle Road, Southampton, slid out in front of the bus, which was travelling west near the Fairmont Southampton.

The bus stopped suddenly to avoid a collision and two cycles travelling behind collided with the back of the vehicle.

All three female riders received minor injuries ? none of which required medical attention.

'There are no children in that area'

Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) manager Patrick Jones this week responded to stories about the holding area for asbestos filled containers at Southside saying the whole issue has been "over-sensationalised."

Concerns that the area was not secure and could be accessible to children were highlighted by St. David's MP Suzann Holshouser.

And BLDC installed padlocks on the containers, fixed a broken gate and now say that the area is secure.

"It was over-sensationalised. If any person went out there, it's quite obvious that there are no children in that area," said Mr. Jones on Monday.

"We have never noticed children in that area."