three year term.

The Corporation of Hamilton yesterday announced there would be a nomination day held on June 22 and an election on June 29.

Alderman Lawson Mapp has indicated that he will be standing for the office of Mayor and the Corporation noted that he had their backing and support.

The Corporation also announced that senior councillor Tommy Dickinson will be stepping down from that post to run for the office of alderman, and councillor Sutherland Madeiros will be stepping down after serving six years.

Two people have expressed interest in the vacant councillor positions -- Jay Bluck and Harriet Kenien.

However former independent candidate Charles Spanswick, who voiced his intention to run for the post of Mayor some weeks ago, yesterday announced he was giving up his election bid.

The community activist said he had consulted with his lawyer and was unable to stand in the Mayoral election because he was not a registered voter.

He went on to say that he could have taken legal action in a bid to win the right to stand, but said he had decided against it.

DRUG DEALERS MAKING BIG PROFITS DGS Drug dealers making big profits Local dealers are making huge profits on the illegal drugs they sell locally, Hamilton Parish residents heard this week.

Chief Inspector Larry Smith told the residents who attended a public meeting on crime at Francis Patton School on Thursday night that: "Once you see the kind of money involved, it's no wonder why people get involved in drugs.'' Using cocaine as an example, Ch. Insp. Smith said the purity of the drug -- which in Bermuda typically ranged from 50 to 70 percent -- determined how much the drug was worth.

While cocaine was sold in the northeastern region of the United States for between $18,000 and $24,000 a kilo, he continued, that same amount packaged and sold on the street in Bermuda was worth $195,375 to $291,221.

In smaller measurements, the profit was still significantly above the price spent on acquiring the drug.

A selling measurement called an eightball, an eighth of an ounce, cost between $90 and $160, again depending on purity.

In Bermuda, that same amount was sold for $350.

And a fourth of an ounce sold for $750 and a half of an ounce for $1,000. A whole ounce of cocaine will cost $3,000 on the streets in Bermuda.

Similar profits are made on other drugs, such as heroin.

DRINK DRIVER SENT TO JAIL CTS Drink driver sent to jail After flaunting court rulings which banned him from driving, 20-year-old Weldon Robinson of Henny Hill, Hamilton Parish was sent to jail yesterday.

Acting Senior Magistrate Edward King jailed Robinson for driving while disqualified after he heard that the charge was Robinson's third this year.

Mr. King pointed out that the maximum penalties for the offence were one year in prison or $1,000 fine or both.

Robinson told Mr. King: "It was an emergency. My girl is having a baby and her water broke.'' Mr. King suggested to Robinson that calling an ambulance would have been better, but Robinson argued with him: "But she called me so I had to get a bike and I had to go. That's just how girls are.'' Robinson was sentenced to three months in prison with no fine or extended disqualification period added on to his current sentences. He is banned from driving all vehicles until March 5, 2002.