Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie said he is quite confident and pleased with the three new diplomats appointed to serve the interests of the country at various overseas missions.

The new appointees are Her Excellency Alma Adams, Bahamas Ambassador to the Republic of Cuba, resident in Havana; His Excellency Dr Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations, New York; and His Excellency Ed Bethel, Bahamas High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, resident in London.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Works and Urban Development the Hon. Philip Davis congratulated Trinidad and Tobago on its 50th Anniversary of Independence and pointed out that the country joins a "select group of nation states within the Commonwealth" who achieved independence 50 or more years ago. "Fifty years as a country is indeed a momentous occasion to mark the achievements of a people," Deputy Prime Minister Davis said at a celebratory ceremony, at the British Colonial Hilton, on August 31.

Deputy Prime Minister Davis said that in 1962 Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica led the way for Caribbean territories towards independence from colonial status within the British Empire. In that same year, he added, they joined with freedom fighters in Africa and Asia in achieving "this milestone in nationhood."

His Excellency Cornelius A. Smith, Permanent Representative of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas to the Organisation of American States (OAS) has officially demitted office after five years of promoting the interests of this country in the world's oldest regional body.

In his departing address to the Regular Session of the Permanent Council on Wednesday, August 22, 2012, Mr. Smith said he left with a deeper understanding and greater respect for the OAS, of which The Bahamas became a member-state in 1982.

Executives from Bahamas Striping paid a courtesy call on Minister Of Financial Services, The Hon. Ryan Pinder, MP, to brief him on the progress made by the two-year old striping company.

Bahamas Striping President, Atario Mitchell, who resides in Minister Pinder's Elizabeth Constituency, updated Minister Pinder on what the local company has done to provide jobs for 13 young Bahamians. Minister Pinder was briefed on how Bahamas Striping continues to invest in Bahamians, giving them expert training in road and car park marking.

An hour before Realtor Mario Carey was set to part the drapes and open the showing of The Residences at Baha Mar to a select group of invited guests, he wondered if anyone would show.

"Tropical Storm Isaac was bearing down on us with gusts of 30-35 mph and the sky was dark and threatening with coming rain," said Carey, founder and CEO of Mario Carey Realty. "I was scared everyone would run for cover and I didn't know if anyone other than the caterers and my team would come out in those conditions." Carey needn't have worried.

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie congratulated Albany Bahamas, on September 3, 2012, for its expansion and the 650 jobs and millions of dollars in revenue the property's new phase will be producing in The Bahamas.

"It's one thing talking about a vision. It's quite another thing to actually see it manifested and then to see the linkages that are being established to make this a real total, integrated and, obviously, very co-ordinated development going on here," Prime Minister Christie said during the groundbreaking ceremony for the first three buildings of the Marina Residences at Albany.

Minister of Education Science and Technology the Hon. Jerome K. Fitzgerald urged students of Claridge Primary School "to pay attention to their teachers, to study hard and to do their homework," during a presentation of five computers, five laptops and two printers by the Ambassador of the People's Republic of China Hu Shan, September 5 at the school.

Held under the theme Education is Key, the presentation was the fifth of its kind made by the Ambassador in his first year in the office. Ambassador Hu said being at the school reminded him of his days as a youngster in primary, junior, senior high and university.

In the early 1980's I had just obtained a flying license and, to practice my skills, I often flew along southern coast of Grand Bahama. From the air I followed the course of Gold Rock Creek and could see that, besides the Creek there was an exceptionally fine beach, an offshore 'rock' (Gold Rock) and inland there was a hammock area that I already knew contained many spectacular caves. All this was in a fairly contained space.

At 1000 feet in the air I had the idea - an epiphany if you like - of creating a National Park in this area. I took my idea to the Grand Development Company and at first I did not get anywhere but then Sir Jack Hayward piped up to say that he had once travelled down the Creek by boat and thought it was one of the most spectacular inland sights he had seen in the Bahamas. That clinched it! We drew a boundary around the most significant areas that came to about forty acres.

After the sadness of last week, it's perhaps time for a little levity and good news. Several of our medical patients are doing really well and are ready for adoption - some featured previously in this column and some on our Facebook page. If you don't already like us on Facebook, please do! We'd be thrilled to reach 1000 likes by the end of the year.

There is nothing happier than a puppy finding the perfect home and this week we have a great puppy adoption story. Two weeks ago, a lady named Lisa, from Massachusetts, happened to see one of our Facebook posts about a new litter of puppies at the shelter. Lisa and her family had recently lost their 11 year old beloved Golden Retriever due to cancer. We love when people are ready to honour the pet they lost by opening their heart and home again to another needy dog or pup. After much correspondence, reference checks, and a home visit carried out by a previous potcake adopter friend in Massachusetts, we were ready to send Angel to her new mom.

The Grand Bahama Children's Home proudly announced its first "Steak Fest" to be held at the Home on Saturday, September 29, 2012, in aid of much needed funds for Home - which has provided a safe haven for more than 2,000 abandoned, abused and neglected children in Grand Bahama for over 30 years.

Noting how the challenging economic times inevitably affect the Home - particularly as the children head back to school, Mrs. Sheila Smith, of the GBCH Executive Committee, said the event will go a long way in raising important funds to assist with the operational expenses for the Home.

Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville on September 5 began his courtship with the cruise industry, with a view of helping to grow the industry on Grand Bahama and eyeing potential job opportunities for locals onboard the various cruise ships serving the island.

Dr. Darville spent most of Wednesday morning meeting with the top brass at Celebration Cruise Line, including company president Charles Kinner. The Celebration sails four times weekly between Grand Bahama Island and West Palm Beach Florida.

Both the Minister for Education, the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, and Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville agrees that the newly relocated Lewis Yard Primary School with be a modern state of the art school.

The two Cabinet Ministers touched on the relocation of the campus from its site at Lewis Yard, to the old St. Vincent De Paul School in Hunters.

Recently, the board of directors agreed to move the yearly annual general meeting (AGM) and election of officers and directors to October 31, 2012 instead of the historical Thanksgiving weekend. This decision was made in an effort to align the new administrative board more closely with the fiscal year.

Chamber members will remember that in previous years, the AGM was held on the last week in November of each year notwithstanding the fact that, the Chamber's fiscal year begins on October 1st of each year. It would seem natural for the incoming board to be in place at the beginning of the fiscal year rather than several months later in the year.

This is more often than not the groom's undertaking. Yet securing a bar that suits the needs of your reception guests can sometimes have you wishing to serve water instead of wine when those outrageous charges start rolling in. First, know the types of bars available:

The Consumption Bar - This bar is charged per drink. The bill is usually tallied and paid at the end of the evening. This is a great bar for wedding parties with large numbers of light drinkers, several children or elderly persons. Key note: request the beverage list for this bar before booking.

Open Bar - This bar is charged hourly. Although it may be a higher rate, if your wedding attendees are heavy drinkers, it may be more of an assistance to your bottom line to pay for unlimited drinks per hour for your guest rather than pay per drink.

In the latest of a series of intelligence gathering exercises, Financial Services Minister Ryan Pinder recently met with the Abaco Chamber of Commerce to discuss the group's concerns and present challenges. The August 24 meeting follows the Minister's earlier trip to Grand Bahama where he also visited that island's Chamber of Commerce to learn more about the issues businesses face there.

In Abaco, Mr. Pinder met with representatives from the Abaco manufacturing industry, who now report that their yearly returns have been significantly impacted due to the absence of accessibility to concessions on goods. One of the issues discussed was the lengthy renewal process for customs duty exemption permits that has led to many manufacturers paying duty on items that are eligible for exemptions.

On Wednesday 5th September 2012, around 12:00pm, police received information that persons believed to be illegal immigrants where on Castaway Cay, South Abaco.

A team of officers from Abaco went to Castaway Cay and upon arrival, discovered nine (9) persons including (1) one male Haitian National, six (6) male Jamaican Nationals and two (2) female Jamaican Nationals on the island. A search was made of the Cay and no other persons were found.

Ocean Conservancy announces the 27th annual International Coastal Cleanup, taking place September 15, by asking volunteers around the world to pledge to 'Take on the Trash.' Those who pledge will help build the collective movement for Trash Free Seas - both by reducing their own trash impact and helping clean up what's already out there.

Starting 8 a.m. until 12 p.m., clean-ups on Grand Bahama will include McLean's Town, High Rock, Free Town shorelines; Gold Rock, Barbary, Fortune, Taino, Williams Town and Xanadu beaches; Lovers' and Crystal beaches; Deadman's Reef and West End shorelines. To register, or for more information, contact Pauline Wells(pwells@bahamas.com) or Renamae Symonette (rsymonette@bahamas.com) at (242) 350-8600.

When the call came to join the hunt for Manhunt International Bahamas, seven Bahamian men courageously signed up to bare their soles and display their model good looks and style for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to represent The Bahamas at Manhunt International later this year in Bangkok, Thailand.

"Our seven contestants are from New Providence, Bimini and Grand Bahama, and have varying backgrounds in modeling. We are very pleased with the selection and know that any one of them would be an acceptable model to compete internationally," said Oswald Ellis, event organiser.

The Grand Lucayan is a Platinum Sponsor of the 13th Annual Red Rose Charity Ball under the distinguished patronage of the Rt. Hon. Perry Gladstone Christie, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Proceeds will benefit HIV/AIDS education and the construction of a Health Education/Resource Center to accommodate the Grand Bahama AIDS Awareness Committee on Grand Bahama Island.

The resort's Grand Ballroom will be the setting for the black-tie charity event, themed "Las Vegas Cabaret" featuring entertainment from Harold Melvin's Blue Notes from Philadelphia as well as local entertainers including Jullion Collie's New Wave Dancer, Miss Talented Grand Bahama 2012, and Patricia Sweeting and The Matrix House Band.

'King' Eric Gibson has secured corporate sponsorship for a new 'A' Class boat for the upcoming Grand Bahama Regatta at Taino Beach. The 'Palm Cay Princess' will set sail and compete in her first race at the Grand Bahama Regatta September 27th - 30th.

Richard Browning CEO of Palm Cay, the residential Marina development on Yamacraw Road, has said that he supports The Bahamas' island regattas and ocean sporting events. Earlier this year, Palm Cay sponsored and introduced the Palm Cay Sir Durward Knowles Cup; the only one to bear Sir Durward's name, it is a regatta circuit floating trophy which made its first appearance at the February St. Valentine's Day Regatta in Nassau.

Every Thursday evening for the past six weeks, more than 125 BTC staff members left stress behind, headed to Mario's, sunk their fingers into a bowling ball and kept their eye on the prize. They are the bowlers of the 21 BTC teams.

This Thursday, rounds of play culminated in championships. Competition aside, the real celebration, said the champion, was team-building.

Animal cruelty

Re: Animal cruelty in Grand Bahama

They have laws in the United States which protects animals and the same should be here.

Have you thought of putting together a video and distribute among the schools from Kindergarten right on up to High School?

There is no reason for people with common sense to mistreat any type of animal they not only save lives but are a great companion.

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National Health Insurance

By: Dr. Marcus Bethel, former Minister of Health

National Health Insurance also known as Universal Health Insurance is designed to provide a comprehensive system of mandatory health care coverage for all eligible individuals.

National Health Insurance has been implemented in most developed and many developing countries. It has been endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an equitable system to achieve quality health care and improved health outcomes of populations.

Though the application of universal health insurance varies widely, all such jurisdictions embrace the basic concept of the pooling of dedicated funds to provide health coverage for the entire defined population regardless of age, preexisting illness or financial means.

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