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The Editor speaks: Why the long delay in activating hurricane shelters in Bodden Town?

I live in Bodden Town and not one of my representatives did I vote for in the last Election.

As such, I am not in the their loop. I have to find out what, and if my reps are actually doing anything, from intermittent opposition PR’s, and the Marl Road.

One such item I have in common with them is the total lack of any urgency our government has given to the Bodden Town hurricane shelters – meaning the lack of any!

Alva Suckoo, my local MLA, is heartened that work on the Bodden Town Church of God multi-purpose hall to convert it into a hurricane shelter, as well as progress on adapting the primary school, is now moving forward.

Moving forward?

According to the opposition members PR his being heartened is also tempered, because the availability and standards of hurricane shelter provisions for the district for the 2019 season are still on his worry list.

In other words, they won’t be ready for the next hurricane season!

He said, “Beyond the immediate concerns, we hope that there will be no delays in the resumption of works for the completion of the Church of God multi-purpose hall, and that the upgrading of the school’s auditorium will move forward with the necessary haste. These delays are not without serious associated risks.”

I would have said it far more bluntly than that.

Apparently, despite receiving a grant of $180,000 from the notorious nation building Fund, work on the church hall stopped in 2011 due to the church’s cash flow problems.

Why is it left to a church to provide a building capable of being used as a Hurricane Shelter?

Also, apparently, Deputy Premier Moses Kirkconnell had promised to help secure funding.

My. My. An MLA keeping a promise.

There is some good news, however. Planning Minister Joey Hew re-initiated the project for Bodden Town to have a Hurricane Shelter….

Government is now seeking bids by qualified architectural design consultants to “set in motion the construction work.

When?

Is this a Loco-motion? If it’s driven by steam that went out of fashion many, many years ago.

One thing is clear. All talk has produced nothing, another hurricane season looms again, and there will still be no hurricane shelter in Bodden Town

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