Journal 1/6/1982
P8 Ataji blasts neglect of Ebeye
Nitijela opened its third Constitutional regular session January 4 and Charles Takao Domnick was sworn in as the member for Maloelap. In a strongly worded statement on the floor, Minister of Internal Security Ataji Balos complained about lack of government support for his department especially the lack of a fire truck for the capital. Balos again pointed out that the problem of raw sewage leaks on Ebeye is not yet being solved. He cited children playing in the filth.
Journal 1/11/1991
P3 Imata to government expats: Don’t make decisions for us
The Nitijela opened Monday and Kwajalein Senator Imata Kabua got right down to business. After the finish of the formal ceremony, Kabua spoke out strongly against outsiders in high positions in government who he said are dictating policies or making decisions that Marshallese should be making in their own islands. “We inherited these islands from our ancestors and we don’t need foreigners coming in to make decisions for us,” he said.
P5 Says it best
We were talking with President Kabua about the Trusteeship termination and that led to discussion about changes in the Soviet Union and worries that the old-style, authoritarian rule was returning to that country after five years of Gorbachev’s “glasnost.” President Kabua, in a comment that is as poignant for the Marshalls as the Soviets it was directed to, said: “Once people have tasted democracy they will never go back.”
Journal 1/7/2011
P1 Hero saves 17
The big story behind the successful rescue of 17 passengers and crew from the RMI vessel Jeljelet Ae that sank New Year’s Day is the action of ship Captain Reynold ‘Butti’ Reimers. “He’s the hero of this story,” said Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation board Chairman Alson Kelen, who helped rescue the group who were clinging to a makeshift raft about 40 miles west of Aur Atoll at 3:30pm Saturday. Jeljelet Ae, Shipping’s 146-foot landing craft vessel, was loaded with construction materials and equipment for work on an elementary school on Likiep. They encountered rough seas. Some 90 miles north of Majuro and west of Aur, the vessel started taking on water from the bow as it was being battered by winter ocean conditions. As the ship got into trouble, Reimers radioed Aemman, which was serving the central Marshalls. As the ship started to sink just before 5am the onboard emergency radio transmitting beacon, known as an “EPIRB,” was activated, instantly alerting the US Coast Guard in Hawaii, which then communicated with RMI National Police. They abandoned ship in the two onboard lifeboats to get a safe distance from the Jeljelet Ae, which sank a few minutes later. Meanwhile, shortly after being alerted to the sinking around 6am, the Marshall Islands Shipping Corporation sprang into action. Shipping Manager Wally Milne and Kelen, with two other Shipping staff, fueled Damien Milne’s Marah, a 35-foot Magnum speedboat and roared out of Majuro on its twin 340hp engines about 9:30am. “The boat was flying in the air most of the time (as it sailed into, through and over 12-foot waves),” Kelen said. “All we could think about was 17 people floating in the water. When we got closer we saw red smoke from a flare they set off.” Everyone was there, all 17, including a mother and her 10-year-old son. After the four men on Marah pulled everyone on board their boat, the Coast Guard HC-130 flew overhead and made radio contact. Kelen said the Coast Guard expressed concern about the number of people in the Marah because of the wave conditions, so the plane stayed on station to monitor everyone’s safety as they motored toward Aur.