AMI’s first anniversary

Journal 4/24/1981

P1 Govt seeks FAA registration for AMI aircraft Minister for Resources and Development Kessai Note, accompanied by Marshalls Attorney General Wayne Kidwell, left Majuro April 22 for Hawaii where they will meet with Federal Aviation Administration officials concerning registration of Airline of the Marshall Islands aircraft. The two government representatives will also be working to obtain insurance policies for the two Nomad planes presently being operated.

P4 Ebb and flow Advisor Tom Getty returned from Hawaii April 19 with some artifacts from 700 AD and more recent. Among the modern artifacts were several hundred Big Macs which sold at the Yacht Club to raise funds for Coop School.

P5 AMI nears first birthday Airline of the Marshall Islands is nearing its first birthday and AMI Manager Erron Driver said a report on the first year of operations can be expected soon. Staffed by Australian pilots and engineers, the two-plane national airline regularly serves nine airfields from Majuro. Enewetak service has now been increased to three times per month. The steady increase in fuel prices, now $1.74 per gallon, keeps pressure on.

Journal 4/23/1993

P3 New youth council formed The leaders of 23 youth groups in Majuro came together to form the Majuro Youth Leadership Council and inducted its four newly elected officers: President Inok Lautej, Vice President Abel Anien, Secretary Alcy Samson and Treasurer Jorjen Langrine.

P10 Time to start talking with US The Compact with the US doesn’t end until 2001. But eight years is a short time and Washington Ambassador Wilfred Kendall for one believes it is time to begin considering what happens after the Compact. “My recommendation to Cabinet is we start looking at the next 15 years (after 2001),” he said.

P19 Roma is flying high The only male flight attendant from the Marshalls working for Continental Micronesia is Roma Bejiko — one of four Marshallese flight attendants. Bejiko has been flying with Continental for three years and is based in Guam. The former educator with the Family Planning program in Majuro said that he had dreamed of flying for many years when the opportunity to become a flight attendance came up.

Journal 4/23/2004

P10 Call again “Oh, I’m sorry but he (or she) just stepped out,” is the frequent answer to phone calls to government offices. Well, this past week and at least through next weekend, May 1, it’s going to get worse, and not only for government offices but for businesses, too. That’s because everyone in town is out playing softball, volleyball, basketball and tug-of-war at all hours of the day as part of the year’s huge 25th anniversary celebration of the RMI Constitution. Of course, the people playing need people to watch them play, and since the majority of games ares scheduled during day time hours, starting from around 9 in the morning, you’ll be seeing fewer and fewer people in offices as the competition gets down to the final days.

P22 Mound bound for Utinban A new dump/landfill site is to be established soon in Long Island to replace the current dump at Baktan that is nearly full. The new “interim” dump is to be located at Utinban weto on the oceanside reef flat. “This is an interim plan until we figure out the longterm plan for the Jenrok ocean side landfill,” Public Works Minister Mattlan Zackhras said.

P28 RMI wears $9.6 million loss over loans More than 90 percent of Compact loans funding cannot be collected by the Marshall Islands Development Bank, according to the most recent report of the RMI Auditor General. The report that was presented earlier this year to Nitijela said that of the $10.5 million in Compact funding used by MIDB for loans, $9.6 million is considered “losses.”