As he admitted that the public needed to know more about the function of the National Drug Commission (NDC), board chairman Malcolm Butterfield denied that anything was amiss at the agency which was recently branded by some critics as “a waste of time”.

In the October 7 edition of The Royal Gazette, sources who spoke to this paper claimed that the agency was virtually defunct due to staffing issues.

While he admitted the NDC was going through a staffing shortage, Mr. Butterfield yesterday said it was not an indication of bad times for the agency: “We are going through challenging times,” he said. “All organisations go through cycles.”

“We are looking for a chief executive officer as the position has not been filled.”

In the interim, Dr. Quedelle Phillips will be the acting CEO.

Mr. Butterfield denied claims that the NDC has a large budget with nothing to do with it. “We are the only entity in Bermuda responsible for the co-ordination and implementation of a national drug strategy...we have been working hard to develop such a plan...

“In addition to this, we continue to fund a number of organisations working in the anti-drug effort. It should be clear to the public that as the central co-ordinating body, we give direction to a number of organisations who work on the frontlines and that continues to this day.”

And this is something that the chairman said he wants the public to understand - the NDC is a productive and viable agency in Bermuda. However, he admitted that one of the challenges the NDC faced is getting people to understand how it functions.

“We are looking at re-branding the NDC so that we can better present ourselves publicly and privately,” he said.

Mr. Butterfield also told The Royal Gazette that he took exception a source saying that the NDC board lacked direction: “Our board has always maintained our level of integrity and it would be remiss of me to stray away from our objectives.”

And while he indicated that changes were in the making at the NDC, he would not elaborate on what they were, but stated that the organisation was “on very strong footing”.

The chairman also added that while he was used to having his name come up in the Press, he would have preferred the sources to unveil their identity.

“I take great exception with them remaining anonymous.”

A woman with convictions for fraud who was recently dubbed ‘Goldilocks' for illegally living in someone's house is suing Police over her arrest.

Valerie Marcia Akinstall, 46, was given a conditional discharge in June after being remanded in custody for psychiatric reports for living in a house without the owner's permission.

Akinstall, who pleaded guilty to the offence though claiming she had permission to live in the cottage in Southampton, was asked by Magistrate Carlisle Greaves if she thought she was ‘Goldilocks'.

Yesterday Akinstall issued a writ against Police Commissioner Jonathan Smith citing sections of the Constitution which protect citizens against arbitrary arrest.

Police refused to comment on the action yesterday.

Akinstall, who formerly ran a women's research group, Akinstall International, was investigated by Police in May 1997 over allegations that she did not pay about $20,000 to Coretta Scott King, the widow of the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King, when she visited Bermuda.

It was reported at the time that a mystery benefactor stepped in to to pay the bill.

Akinstall pleaded guilty to three counts of defrauding the Rosemont Guesthouse and Tio Pepe Restaurant by using Bank of N.T. Butterfield cheques which bounced in July and August 1997.

Akinstall, who was fined $700 and ordered to pay $333 compensation for the offences, told the court when she was sentenced in 1999 that a Saudi Arabian prince had promised her a “research grant”, but reversed his decision, leaving her with no money to pay bills.

Despite pleading guilty to the charges of gaining credit by false pretences, Akinstall maintained she was innocent and blamed the bank, former Premier Pamela Gordon, and Bermuda Small Business Development Corporation for her problems.

The West End bus crisis came a step closer to resolution yesterday with both Government and the West End Development Corporation (WEDCO) signing off on plans to change Dockyard roads.

Mini-buses have stood in for bus drivers who are refusing to drive to Dockyard because they say Pender Road is too narrow and dangerous.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said the Minister of Finance had sanctioned plans to make Pender Road one-way going into Dockyard while WEDCO had agreed to revamp Freeport Drive for outward bound traffic.

He refused to say how long the road works would take until he had heard from the Bermuda Industrial Union on whether they backed the plan and would call off their action. Buses have been stopping at Watford Bridge.

He said: “I don't want them reading it in the paper before I put it to them.”

Police are on the lookout for an escaped prisoner who has been missing from the Prison Farm in St. George's since October 9.

Fifty-seven year-old Sidney Wayne Harvey is described as being 5'8, and weighs approximately 160 pounds. He has a dark complexion, brown eyes, and has a short, trimmed beard.

The Royal Gazette understands that although Harvey has been missing last Wednesday, Police were only informed of his escape yesterday.

Police are urging anyone who has information regarding his whereabouts to call Central CID at 295-0011 or the Confidential Crimestoppers at 1-800-623-8477.

The public is reminded that harbouring a fugitive is an offence and is punishable by law.

Senator Leonard Santucci will today be named as the United Bermuda Party's candidate for the upcoming Pembroke East Central by-election.

The announcement will be made close to the St. Monica's Mission area known as 42nd Street.

A by-election must be held by November 26 to fill the House of Assembly seat made vacant as a result of the death of David Allen.

The ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) has not yet announced its candidate but a number of people are believed to be interested.