By John Denny Observer Reporter
(Charlestown, Nevis) ” At an awards ceremony last week at the Red Cross building, cash and prizes were handed out for the most aesthetically improved villages on the island. The first place prizes were $1,000 and a weed eater and those went to the village of Pond Hill in St. John Parish. The contest was announced on Earth Day earlier this year with the theme “Wise up, Team up, Clean up” and was scheduled to coincide with the 25th Independence celebrations Cotton Ground placed second and Barnes Ghaut came in third. Judging was done by members of the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society. Wednesday Online Code for Issue # 728 is NEL Other participating villages were: Fothergills, Camps, Mount Lilly, Market Shop, Zion, Bath Jessup’s, Pond Hill and Fountain. The keynote speaker for the evening was Deputy Premier and Minister of Health the Hon. Hensley Daniel. The minister extended his gratitude to both the participants who did the work and all the sponsors who paid for two weed eaters for first and second place and an abundant amount of shovels, rakes, gloves and other assorted yard tools. There ended up being more prizes than participants to accept them, but the prizes all found good homes. The minister said the Village Beautification contest was a perfect example of what patriotism should be: pride and selfless labor for one’s community. This selflessness will not go unrewarded because a beautiful Nevis will bring the lifeblood of the island: tourism. “People do not want to visit places that are untidy,” he said The contest was sponsored by Four seasons Resort Estates, Four Seasons Resorts, Nevis, Surrey paving and Aggregate, Live Nevis Development Ltd., Deon and Associates, Rodney Flemming, Nevis Solid Waste Management and the Nevis Housing and Land Development unit.
