Turks and Caicos Weekly News by TC Weekly News

Weekly News Volume 25 | No. 14 | April 9 - 15, 2011

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Job cuts for civil servants JOB losses coupled with tough 25 per cent cost cuts are on the horizon amid plans for a major revamp of the civil service.

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Hospitals’ rocky road to progress

WIV reporter injured in car crash 5

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A VIOLENT car crash in the early hours of Sunday morning left WIV reporter Joddy Harvey seriously hurt.

Tornado strikes airport

Social health care system celebrates first anniversary PAGE  12

In order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it has to be in contact with the ground and the cloud base PAGE 

ON THE WEB tcweeklynews.com

Gas and grocery

hikes ahead Budget reveals tax increases and broad spending cuts 5 PAGE 

GAS and groceries are first in line for immediate price hikes stinging the pockets of Islanders nationwide under tough austerity measures announced in the budget.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

Job cuts for civil servants Reforms also see retirement age increased to 60 By Gemma Handy JOB losses coupled with tough 25 per cent cost cuts are on the horizon amid plans for a major revamp of the civil service. It’s a dismal outlook for beleaguered public sector workers already suffering from last year’s pay cuts and impending additional reductions in allowances and pensions. Hopes that the controversial 10 per cent wage cuts would be overturned following the recent ‘sick-out’ protest were bitterly dashed this week. And not only are no funds available to reinstate the former salaries, some workers are facing being ousted from the service altogether. Announcing the budget on Tuesday, permanent secretary for finance, Delton Jones, said: “Like any household or business, the public sector cannot continue to live beyond its means. “We know that this is a difficult message, but achieving this goal is not only essential to avoid the spectre of default, it will also have the benefit of providing a major boost to the economy by allowing payments to be made to local businesses and restoring confidence that the Turks and Caicos Islands are financially secure, and a good place for investment.” In addition, the retirement age for government workers will increase from 55 to 60, in line with the NIB retirement age. The relatively young age had long been a contentious point in the civil service. “Transitional protection” has been pledged for those already aged over 50 who had

been planning to put their feet up soon. The silver lining is that the UK has just announced a new $3.2m grant to manage the mammoth reforms ahead. London-appointed chief financial officer, Caroline Gardner, told the Weekly News the aim was for a “smaller and more effective” public sector with better standards of service. “This grant will help us manage the effects of that,” she said. That includes training to help retained staff move into “more promising” jobs, and enable those made redundant to secure alternative employment. “Some training could be on the job, some at the community college, and some with our partners in the private sector,” Ms Gardner said. It could see apprenticeship positions formed and will also help fund transitional arrangements to forthcoming pension changes. “There is no alternative to make sure that both pay and payments are affordable. “The 25 per cent reduction target is in the overall cost of the public service but some areas such as immigration need to be strengthened. “Some people may move between jobs, others will need to move out of government service. There will be some difficult challenges there.” She continued: “There are lots of jobs in tourism with many filled by non-Belongers. “We think it’s important Belongers are well equipped to compete for those jobs so they will be first choice for them.” Proposals on the table also include

Published by Turks & Caicos News Company Ltd. Cheshire House, Leeward Highway, Providenciales P.O. Box 52, Turks & Caicos Islands, BWI W. Blythe Duncanson – Publisher/Editor-in-Chief Gemma Handy – Associate Editor Rebecca Bird – News Editor Faizool Deo – Sports Samantha Dash – Court Cord Garrido-Lowe – Graphics/Production Editor Dilletha Lightbourne-Williams – Office Manager Email: (Advertising) tcnews@tciway.tc, (News) tcweeklynews@yahoo.com, (Talk Back) tcweeklynews@gmail.com Tel. 649-946-4664 (office), 649-232-3508 (after hours) Website address: www.tcweeklynews.com

The Governor said civil service pay cuts would be reviewed once finances were back on track towards a fiscal surplus.

scrutinising ways local businesses can take on some of the work currently done by Government. Ms Gardner said the shift in retirement age reflected the fact that people generally were living longer. “Fifty-five is very early to retire when life expectancy goes into the 80s. “It will mean changes to working lives; people will have to make changes in their career and life plans. “We are looking to manage government costs, give civil servants more flexibility and retire people more fairly in the process. “We are not saying anyone can’t retire but we need to raise the retirement age and how we manage the gap.” Other changes include a cap

of 30 days on accumulated leave. Contract workers will no longer be able to accumulate annual leave to be paid for upon completion of their contracts. The previously announced 10 per cent cuts in allowances, other than housing, will also be rigorously applied. As expected, there will be no salary increases at all this financial year. Pension overpayments will be halted too. People wrongly receiving both government and NIB pensions in full will have the government pension reduced in line with current legislation. And those who retire from the government will no longer be able to draw both a pension and a salary upon being re-employed by government.

Allotted areas for protests, say police By Gemma Handy PLANS for controlled demonstrations in designated areas are being touted by the new police chief as part of a safer approach to staging protests. Commissioner Colin Farquhar hopes the move will avoid a repeat of last month’s vociferous scenes which saw Airport Road blocked off to traffic, causing headaches for airline travellers. “We want a better, more uniform approach for people who want to protest,” he told media. “Protestors want to get their message across and they can do that peacefully. We want to encourage it and make sure safety is paramount. “If you block a road off, all it does is upset people and you don’t get your message heard. “What better than to have a designated area, barricaded off, where people can hand out flyers that tell people what the protest is about?” Angry scenes erupted on March 8 when activists obstructed access to the airport in a bid to force answers from the Government. Members of ‘TCI United for Justice and Equality’ vowed they would not be moved until a date for elections was set. Dozens of protestors took to the streets from early morning with hundreds more convening later to lend support. In the meantime, fed-up travellers were forced to walk a half mile to the airport, luggage in hand, sparking fears over damage to the destination’s

Police hope to avoid a repeat of last month’s angry scenes which saw Airport Road closed to traffic.

reputation. At the height of the clamour, riot police were called in to control the furious crowds, arresting three campaigners. Deputy Police Commissioner Brad Sullivan had been in the position just days when the drama unfolded. He was immediately called on for assistance as tempers reached boiling point. “We took a very measured approach, making sure we had second access to the airport and tried to remedy the situation without using force,” he said. Mr Farquhar added: “We didn’t want to use force because someone

could get injured, whether a protestor, a police officer or a member of the public.” Local activist Euwonka Selver, who has been at the forefront of various recent political demonstrations, welcomed the notion of a designated area. “I think it’s a good idea,” she told the Weekly News. “Why not?” Governor Gordon Wetherell previously said Islanders had a right to peaceful demonstration but asked that they refrain from blocking Airport Road. He deemed it damaging to the country’s tourism industry and the local economy.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

NATIONAL

Gas and grocery hikes ahead Budget reveals tax increases and broad spending cuts

By Gemma Handy GAS and groceries are first in line for immediate price hikes stinging the pockets of Islanders nationwide under tough austerity measures announced in the budget. An extra 25c tax on fuel and a four per cent customs processing fee – on all imported goods – are to be put in place instantly. The interim Government’s dreaded blueprint for fiscal reform also reveals a 10 per cent levy on water bills, a 50 per cent hike to vehicle and drivers’ licences from May, and increases to work permit fees from September. The recently announced 35 per cent surge in business licences will take place from April. In addition, September will see the introduction of a new 10 per cent bank tax on all non-interest bearing services, while 2.5 per cent will be loaded onto general insurance premiums, including life and health. Householders can however breathe a small sigh of relief that proposals for a 10 per cent tax on already sky-high electricity bills have been ditched, following a public outcry. Instead a carbon tax on power generators will be in place from September to encourage companies to go green. The tough tax hikes are estimated to raise $160m by the end of the financial year, rising to $190m in the year after. They are largely temporary measures to pave the way for the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in 2013. Permanent secretary for finance, Delton Jones, said VAT would help safeguard the country’s economic future by removing current market distortions, increasing competitiveness, strengthening the investment climate, and increasing revenue. He also revealed 25 per cent cost cuts to statutory bodies, which include the Tourist Board, TCInvest, the Cultural and Arts Commission, and the Community College, among others. Their subventions alone currently cost almost $11m with total expenditure higher still. Mr Jones said the spendthrift actions and poor financial management of the former ousted Government had left no alternative to the drastic measures. Little over $7m has been

earmarked for essential capital spending. The budget statement also disclosed various plans for the current financial year. They include a review of funding options for higher education which may see a UK-style, low-interest, student loan scheme introduced. The Government plans to kickstart the long-awaited waste management contract, and set up a ‘deposit and return’ scheme for used bottles and cans to boost recycling and fund environmental projects. In addition, Grand Turk’s historical sites are in line for repair and reopening, while the administration is also looking into new regulations to promote the fractional ownership of unsold properties to lift the real estate and tourism industries. UK-appointed chief financial officer Caroline Gardner told the Weekly News there was a “delicate balancing act” between getting the budget in check and avoiding exorbitant cost of living increases. “There was no alternative in getting the budget back into balance. The country would have gone broke without support from the UK Government. The $45m in shortterm loans meant we were able to keep on paying salaries. “On the other hand, we have to do everything we can to make sure we do not make the situation worse by further damaging the economy. “The budget includes both revenue raising measures and spending cuts, making sure they are spread as wide as possible so no one sector gets more than its fair share. “That’s very much at the heart of our thinking.” She said the finance team had “worked really hard” to avoid deterring investors. “No one likes paying more tax. It would have had a much worse effect on investor confidence if we went broke and couldn’t afford salaries. “We are confident that getting this right will make TCI more prosperous in future.” Ms Gardner admitted the controversial new customs processing fee (CPF) would see a hike in grocery costs. “But there are a couple of real advantages – it’s a way to raise revenue and deal with unfair concessions.” She said legally binding concessions, for very long periods of time, had been handed out

Delton Jones, permanent secretary for finance, said there was “no alternative” to the drastic measures.

extravagantly by the former Government, costing the public purse an arm and a leg. “They are certainly very expensive, we don’t know how much it costs in total as the records available are just

not good enough. “Applying the CPF to all of them, will help identify how many have dropped through the net.” Most of the concessions were given to developers and apply to

numerous construction companies. Further losses are incurred by firms which take advantage of the discounts by importing items for family and friends. The increase in work permit fees will also ruffle some feathers with dramatic surges expected to be incurred by many employers. The Government is likely to eventually replace traditional permit fees with a monthly tax on salaries, to be paid by employers. This is expected to collect an extra $15m a year. In the meantime, Ms Gardiner said fees needed to rise by 35 per cent, just to keep up with inflation. “Fees have not been increased for a number of years. There is also a huge number of categories which are difficult to manage. “Some people are employed under a certain category because it’s cheaper than the correct one.” She added that the move would hopefully increase Belonger employment. “We want to see an economy where Belongers are equipped, ready and able to do the best jobs in the future.” Visit www.gov.tc to read the budget statement. Hard copies of the full budget book are available from the Ministry of Finance upon request.

WIV reporter injured in car crash A VIOLENT car crash in the early hours of Sunday morning left WIV reporter Joddy Harvey seriously hurt. The 26-year-old has been treated for her injuries and is currently in a stable condition at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre. At about 1am a white Nissan Titan truck careered into the wall of Graceway Plaza Complex on Leeward Highway causing extensive damage. Firefighters extracted Ms Harvey, the lone occupant, from the vehicle and she was then taken to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre. The hospital’s orthopaedic surgeon DrAttila Boszik explained: “A female patient was brought into the emergency department at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre following a road traffic accident

at the IGA roundabout in the early hours of Sunday. “She has injuries to her leg, chin and a lung contusion and was admitted to the general ward where her condition is now described as both stable and comfortable. “The patient will remain under observation and, if all goes as expected, she is likely to be discharged on Thursday of this week.” Police were called to the scene of the incident and are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash. Asecond crash took place just hours earlier at 6pm on Saturday evening outside the mini golf on Leeward Highway in Providenciales. A F350 smashed into a F150 pulling out of the restaurant and bar onto the highway. One of the vehicles began to

smoke as firefighters attempted to extract the victim and some crew members had to douse it while others immobilized him. Two male Turks and Caicos Islanders are in a stable condition following the road traffic collision. The injured men were rushed to the emergency department at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre by ambulance after the incident. One of the victims, aged 40, suffered a fractured femur and dislocated ankle and underwent surgery that night. The second man suffered a fractured shoulder blade and a minor dislocation which did not require surgery. Both patients are stable and comfortable on the general ward at Provo’s hospital.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

A Weekly News column that puts you on the spot for your opinions on the issues of the day

Fix up the force IT’S now been a month since the new Canadian police Commissioners took up position. They have already signalled their intention to juggle expenditure to tackle under-resourcing, improve police accommodation, push for reinstatement of officers’ 10 per cent pay cut, and investigate complaints against officers by members of the public. We asked readers for additional suggestions as the overhaul of the force begins.

Better offices, better morale

“Upgrade the station so that officers can have a decent work environment. The current Provo station was one of the original Provident buildings built in the 60s for a population of under 1,000. “Public works here is woefully lacking. Maybe the new Commissioner can instill a little Canadian ethic and at least fix the squeaky door and lack of reception space at the Provo station. “Officers proud of their surroundings will presumably perform better all round.”

Corrupt and inept

“It is unfortunate that the TCI finds itself in the awkward position whereby senior foreign police officers have to be brought in to bring back some professionalism, justice and integrity into the force. “It has been a known fact locally that the police force was reputed to be corrupt and riddled with elements of mediocrity and plain

ineptitude yet no one in the senior ranks would do anything to correct the situation and change the poor image it had. “All one has to do is to visit any session at the court house and witness the unforgivable and blatant ineptitude of poor police investigations resulting in criminal elements just making a mockery of the justice system. It is absolutely embarrassing! “How can anyone have confidence in the judicial system, either as a victim or an accused, a plaintiff or a defendant? “The first priority of the new senior commands is to purge the force of corrupt and inept cops from the ranks of constable to the assistant commissioners. “Review promotions since many were made for political favours. Once that is done, provide training for the rest to bring them up to acceptable policing standards. “Secondly, for heaven’s sake, find somewhere suitable even on a temporary basis to house the Providenciales Police Station as the current location is a rat hole and is not fit for human habitation. “Good luck to the new Commissioners as they have their work cut out for them.”

Motoring matters

“To enforce law and order here, the police must first set the example. When in patrol cars, they should fasten their own seat belts, use turn indicators, not park in ‘no parking’ zones (when shopping) and stop driving while talking on cell phones. “As to actual enforcement of traffic laws, how about a few more tickets for poor driving habits by the public as named above (after the example has been set)? The ticket revenues will more than pay for new patrol cars. “We also need to see a better police presence day to day. If there are no patrol cars to drive about in, why not have a few police directing traffic at peak periods at places like Suzie Turn, Kew Town Road and Airport Road and the Glass Shack intersection? “Police officers should also ride the school buses and stop traffic from passing while students are being picked up or dropped off. “It will not be long at this rate until a student is killed by a careless motorist. They do not stop for school buses like the rest of the world does! “All in all, have them get out there and be seen actually doing something.”

Better housekeeping

“The new police Commissioners are wise to re-evaluate the department and it is right to boost pay for qualified officers. “However, a thorough review of qualifications and performance of the members of the force should be done first and officers who are unqualified, have habitually underperformed or have misbehaved should be dismissed. “A fresh start with the same dead wood is doomed to failure.

“I’d also suggest that someone take a close look at maintenance of police equipment. How can it be possible that there is only one functional traffic police car on Provo? At times all of the police boats have been laid up for repairs. “And when private groups on Grace Bay gave the police ATVs to patrol the beach those too were trashed in short order and were never fixed. “Of course, preventative maintenance seems to be an arcane science in many government circles (ambulances, DECR boats, etc.), but the police department is right at the top of the list. “Is there a maintenance department? Is no one responsible for making sure equipment is properly maintained? A good housecleaning is necessary.”

Weed out corruption

“The police are the first in line for dealing with criminals and their prosecution. Better evidence gathering, security for holding evidence for trial all failed under the prior police administration. “Morale building and weeding out corruption in the police department must be top priorities.”

 Become a contributor Want to become a contributor or have a suggestion for a Talk Back topic for us? What questions do you think we should be putting to the public? And what are your thoughts on it? Call our news team on 946 4664 or email tcweeklynews@gmail.com

PDM to stage budget education programme Party accuses Government of leaving the public in the dark By Gemma Handy BUDGET blues have prompted the PDM to stage a public education campaign to ensure Islanders are properly clued up on the tough fiscal measures ahead. The move comes after the party’s eleventh hour call for a freeze on the passage of controversial new taxes was cold-shouldered by the Governor. The PDM had hoped to persuade Gordon Wetherell to postpone the budget by 21 days to allow a ‘round table’ session with stakeholders to thrash out ideas and resolve disputes. They had even formed a mediation council to suggest alternatives to the Government’s no-nonsense plan of increased taxes coupled with spending cuts. But following the Governor’s decision to surge ahead immediately, the party will instead stage a series of public meetings across the Islands to inform people of the impact of the changes being made.

The programme will be headed by former PDM leader and certified public accountant Floyd Seymour. Party leader Douglas Parnell told the Weekly News he thought the Governor had made a “terrible mistake” by rebuffing the suggestion of a round table discussion. He said it was the first time in almost four decades that a budget had been passed without sufficient public debate. Mr Wetherell’s decision to ignore the party’s plea came amid contention among consultative forum members who refused to attend a budget session saying they had not been given enough time to prepare. Mr Parnell said: “The budget would usually go before the House of Assembly with members invited to express their views. “In the absence of the House, there should have been ample time for people to hear the proposals in full. “It has also robbed the interim administration of the opportunity to accurately disclose their

performance over the last two years.” He said party members were “deeply concerned” that Islanders were being left in the dark. “The people will not know how the Government performed last year. And they will not hear the Government respond to the critique of their plans. “The end result is a complete lack of confidence in the viability of any proposed measure.” He continued: “The interim administration are repeating the mistakes of the PNP Government who passed bills without consultation.” Mr Parnell said there was no one better placed than Mr Seymour to head the education campaign. “Floyd Seymour was on the mark every time when it came to critiquing the budget over the last few years. “He will reach out to interested stakeholders and other groups. We are calling on the Governor to officially recognise this campaign.” Mr Seymour told the Weekly News the initiative would help people get a “clear understanding” of how Government intends to raise and spend money.

“At the end of the day, all of us who live here are taxpayers. Every time we pick up a cell phone, 10 per cent of the cost goes to Government, every time we go to the grocery store we are paying import and other duties, every time we fill up our car at the gas station, a portion goes to Government. “If our money is being spent we should know what it’s being spent on.” The tough austerity measures being put in place have also prompted concern from Providenciales’ Chamber of Commerce. The body recently called for the revenue target of $40m to be halved to reduce pressure on the public. “The proposal to raise over $40m additional tax in the next 12 months represents too large a burden on the people of the TCI – approximately $2,000 per adult,” a statement said. Members suggested the Government opt instead for further cost cutting and backtrack on plans to totally eliminate the deficit by 2013. Chamber president Tanya LightbourneParnell said the organisation’s suggestions followed widespread consultation and were supported by the TCI Bankers Association among others.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

NATIONAL

No budget debate for forum Meeting axed amid controversy over tardy documents By Gemma Handy UNDER-fire tax hikes were enacted without input from the consultative forum after members refused to attend a debate saying they had been given insufficient time to prepare. The controversy puts the dissident members at loggerheads with both forum chair Lillian Misick and Governor Gordon Wetherell. Tuesday’s scheduled meeting was cancelled when six members signalled their intention not to go, rendering the session inquorate. They had requested the meeting be postponed by a week to allow them more time to read the relevant documents – not received by some until the day before. But their plea was spurned by the Governor who said the delay would cost the Government more vital revenue and set back progress

towards elections. His sentiments were echoed by Mrs Misick who added that the forum had already received two “extensive” briefings during closed sessions. It’s more unwelcome drama for the body which has been often bitterly divided over both government policy and its own role. A joint statement from the dissenters – Dr Linda Williams, Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson, Karen Delancy, Ethlyn Gibbs-Williams, Drexwell Seymour and Pastor Courtney Missick – accused Mrs Misick’s comments of being “misleading”. They claim they were not given copies of the budget booklet as promised and that Mrs Misick reneged on a previous agreement to reschedule the meeting. “It is important for the public to know that last year, the entire budget team was present in a pre-budget

Forum chair Lillian Misick said it was “regrettable” the opportunity for public discussion had been lost.

debate meeting and we were allowed to raise concerns and ask questions directly from booklets that were sent to us in advance of that meeting,” the statement read. “We do not believe that about four hours of a discussion on a summary sheet with the PS Finance can be considered extensive. “We are disappointed that our decision, individually made, has now been cited as the reason to not

debate the budget publicly when other members were fully prepared to proceed.” They continued: “We are seriously concerned that the milestones to be accomplished are so tightly timetabled that an offset of a week can affect the election date and negatively impact its achievement.” The members added that they remained committed to the forum and its work. “Though unelected, we take our role seriously and felt it a disservice to the people of these Islands if we were to proceed unprepared.” Mrs Misick said it was “regrettable” that the forum had missed the opportunity for public discussion. She said members had received a summary sheet of the budget on March 28. “I believe…we were in a position to proceed with the public budget session which had already been postponed once for our benefit.” Mrs Misick added: “I have also pointed out to members that, given the current state of the country’s financial affairs, there are revenue

measures that must be addressed immediately for the Government to meet its obligations and for us to achieve the milestones within the stated timeframe to enable elections to take place in 2012.” Governor Wetherell also expressed his disappointment. “The public debate on the budget in the forum has already been postponed once. Any further delay in enactment of the budget would cost the Government money in lost revenue: money that we cannot afford to lose.” He warned that a postponement could lead to further tax hikes to make ends meet. “I regret that the forum is missing the opportunity for a serious debate. It would have also been an opportunity for the forum to present their final recommendations to the Ministry of Finance. “I have no choice but to take the necessary steps now to enact the budget,” the Governor added. Revenue and expenditure measures contained in the budget were discussed by the advisory council at its meeting on March 30.

Tornado strikes airport By Rebecca Bird A SMALL tornado drew the attention of dozens of airport workers on Friday morning as it whipped up clouds of dust on the runway. Onlookers snapped photos of the silent twister as it gathered speed near a parked American Airlines plane. Luckily there were no reports of damage to any aircraft or the runway following the remarkable sighting which lasted just 10 minutes. Brian Naqqi Manco, Caicos Pine Recovery Project Manager with the DECR, and his colleague Eric Salamanca were working at the airport when they spotted the weather phenomenon. Brian told the Weekly News: “While making a site visit for plant listing and habitat assessment near the airport, we noticed what we thought was brown smoke coming up from the runway. “After getting a more clear view, we realised it was a big ‘dust devil’.” As they watched, the blowing dust formed a more regular shape and grew in size and speed.

“It was right next to a parked airplane, and the backhoes working in the area were quickly driven away,” he said. “There was no noise coming from it, but it continued to grow, and the dust was drawn all the way up to the clouds, at which point we realised it was a tornado.” The tornado formed a sleek funnel cloud with two ribbons of dust reaching up to the clouds. “It was not the type of funnel cloud one normally sees,” Brian said, “but an inverted shape, wider at the bottom than at the top.” The funnel cloud then lost its definition and “fell apart”, scattering the dust and debris all over the runway apron. Several more times the dust leapt up from the ground “like a fire” and looked as if it would reform. “Finally, a gigantic tower of dust shot up into the air all the way to the clouds. It looked like Sauron’s Tower from the Lord of the Rings film,” Brian exclaimed. “It only lasted a few seconds, and then dissipated. After that, several more little dust devils leapt up but it seemed the main event was over.”

A tornado is a violently rotating column of air, pendant from a cumuliform cloud or underneath a cumuliform cloud, and often but not always visible as a funnel cloud. Eric Salamanca, scientific officer with the government’s Department of Environment and Coastal Resources, explained: “Most tornadoes form from thunderstorms. You need warm, moist air and when these two air masses meet, they create instability in the atmosphere. “A change in wind direction and an increase in wind speed with increasing height creates an invisible, horizontal spinning effect in the lower atmosphere.” In order for a vortex to be classified as a tornado, it must be in contact with the ground and the cloud base. And that is exactly what Mr Salamanca was able to confirm through a series of photographs he took at the scene. He said that the pair first saw the tornado at about 11.11am and it dissipated at about 11.16am. He told the Weekly News: “Although the vortex of the tornado was spotted near the parked American Airline

The twister gathers speed near a parked American Airlines plane

plane there were no reports of damage. “I went to the airport again this morning and asked the TCIAA if there was damage brought by the tornado and was told that there was none.” Brian added: “I’ve seen lots of waterspouts here and have suffered the effects of the relatively frequent tornadoes in North Caicos, but I had never been that close to one on land

and had the opportunity to watch it. “In retrospect, it was probably pretty silly for us to stand there gawking at it, but it didn’t get big enough to be destructive. “It was fascinating to watch and gave us a memorable reminder of the forces that really run the show. “Being close was enthralling, and it had one unanticipated effect: it made me momentarily thankful that I’m not as skinny as I used to be!”

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

Scholarship abuse unveiled By Rebecca Bird HUNDREDS of thousands of dollars in public funds were squandered on excessive scholarship payments during the former government’s time in power. That’s the word from finance experts who recently completed a thorough review of the administration of educational support. This week’s budget document described “major failings” in the way the scheme was operated. It revealed that at least 35 per cent of higher education students were walking away with more cash than they were entitled to. Several received benefits of up to $250,000 – a massive $140,000 over the maximum agreed limit of $90,000.

Meanwhile close to two thirds of students continued to accept support for study beyond their allotted time period, some continuing for as long as three years. Others went on to receive scholarship benefits for years after they had completed their studies. The report stated that grades were typically provided by students themselves rather than by their educational institution, and 82 per cent of students had incomplete grade records on file. The Ministry of Finance-led review was aimed at “ensuring maximum efficiency in the way public funds are applied to the programme”. Permanent Secretary of Finance Delton Jones said: “The interim

UK border bosses conduct training TWO experienced members of the UK Border Agency visited the TCI this week to host a training workshop. Jane Whitehead and Dave Walsh both have more then 40 years experience in UK nationality law, policy and practice, and have advised on the application of the law to the overseas territories. They held a one week workshop in Grand Turk to pass on some of their extensive knowledge. The course provided training to the staff of the Ministry of Border Control and Labour, the Attorney General’s Chambers and the Governor’s Office. And on Thursday an open

session was held for community representatives to raise awareness of the relevant provisions of UK nationality law. The visitors also spoke about the various routes to citizenship and existing entitlements among the community on the grounds of birth, residence, and descendents. During the week participants reviewed the Turks and Caicos Islands’ current arrangements for the administration of UK nationality law and attempted to improve the registration process for the TCI community at large. The trip was funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

government fully recognises the social and economic importance of providing opportunities for higher education to the young people of the Turks and Caicos Islands. “But it is vital to ensure that this money is properly and effectively spent.” The review quickly uncovered a range of major failings in the way the scheme was operated, with serious abuses dating back a number of years. Mr Jones said that measures

will immediately be put in place to improve the management of the scholarship programme. And payments to students that are no longer entitled to them will be terminated, he revealed. This will reduce expenditure by more than 75 per cent from a massive $17m in 2008/9 to just $3.5m in 2011/12. “For future years we will prepare proposals to replace the existing programme with a new scheme that will focus support on the brightest and

best students who would otherwise be unable to access higher education. “This will be accompanied by a wider review of higher education to ensure that best use is made of the educational opportunities provided by the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College, and that educational support is more closely tied to the needs of TCIG and the wider TCI economy.” About 170 students studying overseas were enrolled in the scholarship programme on November 2010.

Creating Belonger jobs The lump of jobs fallacy IT IS clear from the ‘national conversation’ that the ‘lump of jobs fallacy’ plagues the political debate here, just as it did in Britain in the past. The rise and fall of the popularity of this fallacy, tracks the level of unemployment. It says: If you have a job, and I do not, I may only get a job by taking yours; or equivalently, you have a job, for me to get a job, you must lose yours. The fallacy is that available jobs are like slices of cake: if you have eaten them, the pieces you eat are not available to me.

John Hartley is a retired CEO. He was educated in economics and econometrics at Manchester University and Harvard Business School. He is an occasional contributor at invitational economics seminars at Brazenose College, Oxford.

But what about the supply of labour? The supply of labour is not a lump of constant size. A better way to visualise the available supply of labour is as pool of water, with a tap and a drain. The tap is new supply. Youth coming of age, semi-retired or retired people being tempted back to work or, as in the UK, recently millions of new workers arriving, attracted by high pay. Similarly people move in and out of part time work. As the price of labour rises, so does its supply. The drain is mortality, normal retirement, or low wages making early retirement on pension attractive. As the price of labour falls people leave the market, and its supply falls. The lump of jobs fallacy has been around for centuries. In England in 1830 the Luddites rioted and wrecked the productive machinery that became the source of the wealthiest working class the world had ever known. They were convinced the machines would steal their jobs. About 15 years ago the French passed a law to reduce unemployment. Their geniuses thought that cutting the working week to 35 hours would do the trick by sharing out jobs. The result? Unemployment leapt to double digits and has not come down. As wages fell, so did demand. Also people registered for social security rather than work for low 35hour pay packets. If an economy lacks a flexible open jobs market, it cannot grow because talented people and investment dollars will move to places they are allowed to flourish. The pool of labour that can compete will keep shrinking. It is not possible to escape from market forces. Those who try to escape, as France learned too late, pay a very heavy price. The Turks and Caicos are about to learn that lesson as HMG cuts jobs and raises taxes whilst insufficient efforts are being made to open and deregulate the economy.

Economics Column But with this cake, if more people eat it, it can get bigger, and if less people eat it, it can get smaller. Clinging to the fallacy drives protectionism, which in turn creates poverty. The demand for labour is created by the need for suppliers to produce goods and services. As domestic and export demand for our goods and services at market prices rises and falls, so will the demand for labour. The more competitive and the wider our offering, the greater will be the demand for labour.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

& CrimeCourt

WITH Samantha Dash–RIGBY

Man not guilty of Quality Supermarket robbery A YOUNG man was found not guilty of robbery in Providenciales’ Supreme Court this week. Jervis McLean, aged 24, was on trial for a robbery committed at Quality Supermarket on February 7, 2009. It was said that he rushed into the supermarket and robbed cashier Shelly Millington of about $1,500. Ms Millington told the seven jurors that she had not too long arrived and begun her duty as a cashier that day. Sometime after, she got a brief rest so she turned towards the entrance facing the Leeward Highway. Suddenly a man with a white T-shirt covering his face, except for his eyes and mouth, rushed into the store with a machete and a red bag. “I was shocked,” she said. “I thought it was a Hollywood movie and I was the star.” Ms Millington went on to describe how the crime unfolded and how she begged the robber not to harm her since she had a young son waiting for her at home. She could not run from the attacker because he held her in a vice-like

grip by her throat and demanded that she open her till. He handed her the red bag and instructed her to put all the money into it. The robber saw the store manager approaching and he pressed the knife to her throat threatening to cut her throat if anyone came closer. The terrified cashier said that she felt a burning at her neck and realised that she had been cut. She tried to reason with the man saying that she was only an employee at the store. When he had gotten the bag with the money, he headed towards the door keeping a tight grip on her throat. Suddenly he pushed her violently to the ground, dashed through the door and into the nearby bushes leaving her to nurse a painful arm and the cut to her neck. Other store employees gave chase and chased the young man all the way to the road leading to the Discovery Bay road at the back of Glass Shack. Inspector Clifford Ashton said that when he got the report of the

Hefty bail for men on drug charges TWO young men were granted bail in Providenciales Magistrates Court after they appeared before Magistrate Clifton Warner on drug charges. Jamaican national Tetroy Rose, 26, and 27-year-old Lazario Jennings,

both residents of near Glass Shack, were charged with possession of cannabis and possession with intent to supply. They were each granted $50,000 bail and told to return to court on May 3.

POLICE REMINDERS WITH CALVIN CHASE DETECTIVE POLICE SERGEANT DID you know that if your personal belongings are lost or stolen and you advertise a reward for its return you are committing an offence? Yes, it is an offence, and the charge is ‘advertising rewards for return of goods stolen or lost’. The law prohibits the use of phrases such as ‘no questions will be asked’ or that the person producing the goods will be safe from apprehension or inquiry, or that any money paid for the purchase of the stolen item or advanced by way of a loan on them will be repaid. The publishers of the advertisement could face a $500 fine upon conviction.

robbery he went behind Glass Shack accompanied by other officers and they joined in the search for the robber. He then noticed a male emerging from the bushes walking towards him. He immediately recognised the person to be McLean whom he knew well but, upon sighting the policeman, the man suddenly changed direction and attempted to get away. The police officer, joined by other individuals, gave chase and the defendant was eventually caught about 100 yards away. Detective constable Kevin Clarke said that McLean then led police ranks to various spots in the bushes and pointed out a yellow shirt and a pair of black pants along with a machete and a red bag with money. He told the officers that that was the cutlass he used in the robbery and even offered an explanation as to why he robbed the store. Officer Jepson Victor said that he was there when McLean, who had defecated himself, admitted to committing the offence. The accused reportedly explained that he had to pay a fine of $900 to the court by March 14 or he would be imprisoned. Woman police Kishma Adams said she spoke to McLean and he told her: “Yes maam I did it and I will tell you why I did it.” He explained how he stopped the cashier from running by holding her as though he was hugging her. “I had a short machete so they could see that I came to get the money. As assurance,” the defendant told Adams. He said that he wore a yellow shirt and black pants during the robbery. “I know it’s an offence to rob someone but I did not threaten the cashier.” The young man said that he asked everyone for the money to pay the fine but no one could help him. “I did not intend to put the knife to the cashier’s throat but I had to show them that I was serious. “I am sorry. If I could do anything to make it up just tell me,” McLean reportedly told the policewoman. However, when his turn came, McLean told a completely different story to the jury. He chose not to give evidence from the witness box but instead made a statement from the defendant’s dock. He told the jurors that while he was at the police station, he told Officer Adams that if he did not have his lawyer present he would not give them an interview. His lawyer was not there so, ‘I

Constable Brian Statia Jnr. keeping a firm grip on Jervis McLean.

just sat and stared in their face for one hour’ and did not answer their questions. Realising he would not crack, they took him back to the cell and returned three days later with some papers for him to sign. Without reading what was on the pages he signed his signature to every page. Concerning the police officers’

account of the scene through the bushes, McLean had an explanation for that too. He said that he was in the bushes stooling, when he looked up and saw Officer Clarke aiming a 9mm Glock at him. “So as I turned around and saw him, I just ran,” he told the court. The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

Prisoner obeys order and returns to prison on his own CHIEF Justice Gordon Ward made a landmark decision last Friday, April 1, when he granted the country’s first ever ‘bereavement bail’ to a prison inmate. Justice Ward made the decision after hearing a bail application by HMP prisoner Lorenzo Caesar. Caesar explained to the judge that his mother had died some three weeks ago and he wanted to attend her funeral. The Chief Justice granted Caesar bail providing he adhered to the conditions set.

Caesar was to be released from prison on his own for two days only so that he could travel to Providenciales on April 2. And return to Grand Turk and surrender himself to Her Majesty’s Prison one hour after the 8am flight landed on Monday April 4. Caesar complied with the conditions of the court as he was released from prison unsupervised on Saturday morning and returned to the prison on Monday morning after spending time with his family and burying his mother’s remains.

Tuberculosis inflicted inmates sent home A HAITIAN man was vindicated of unlawful carnal knowledge allegations after spending more than a year in prison and contracting the contagious disease tuberculosis. Sainno Augustin was repatriated to his homeland along with two other tuberculosis-struck former inmates by health officials on a charter flight from Grand Turk. He was the first man scheduled for trial under the amended Offences Against the Person Ordinance. It was alleged that on March 22 2010, at Glass Shack, Providenciales, Augustin had unlawful sexual intercourse with a seven-year-old girl. From the onset, Augustin declared

his innocence telling police that he never had sex with the minor. He even volunteered to give samples of his DNA, namely blood, saliva, urine, pubic hair and hair from the head. The child’s mother said that while bathing the child she saw what appeared to be sperm stains on her underwear. The child was rushed to the hospital where the doctors confirmed that her hymen was not intact and blood was in the vaginal passage. On Monday April 4 however, the Crown offered no evidence against Augustin at his trial as the DNA results came back vindicating him as the person who had contact with the little girl.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

We welcome letters from all members of the public on a variety of topics.

Letter of the week

We cannot give up Dear Editor, Currently in the TCI, we are experiencing unprecedented challenges with a high unemployment rate, financial instability, unbelievable social problems and moral decay. Sometimes I sit in amazement as I wonder what led to this predicament. What has happened to the TCI that I grew up in, that left me with such great childhood memories? One thing that comes to mind when I think about the current state of this county is the definition of

insanity: doing the same thing and expecting a different result. For far too long we have sat silently without doing anything constructive. We have heated arguments and intense discussions with each other about the direction that our country is headed in, but then we have to ask ourselves: “What am I doing to make a difference in our country that will impact it for the good?” It appears that we have fallen asleep; I hear the phrase over and over again: “The Brits are going to

do what they want to do and we do not have any power.” Although this might be true to some extent, we cannot just sit on our hands, give up, and allow them to plan, execute and direct the course of our country and the future of generations to come. It is without any doubt that we have numerous talented, educated and articulate TC Islanders who can make a difference, but once again the question should be asked, why we are not charting our own course for the country?

for this rip-off. Whilst one must agree with Colin Roberts in principle, we wonder why bad ideas, waste, theft, corruption and over-expenditure by the last Government is being foisted on the public for them to pay in the form of higher taxes. There are so many examples of where TCI residents were totally outside of the decision making process even when Ministers were in office but are being asked to pay today. So ludicrous is the idea that TCIs must pay for increased business license fees when none of the increases will go any way to balance the budget. In sum these increases will have the reverse impact because people will close businesses and revenues will decline. So while it is a laudable and brilliant ideal that this country belongs to us all, reality cannot accord with the statement. A judge from London decided the 2003 elections, like the PNP, sold the country out to the PNP and their developers and the rest is history. It is only hoped that asset recovery efforts will ease the debt burden, cause a reduction in taxes and take the heat off the innocent TCI population who are paying for someone else’s wrongs.

quietly away and everything remains status quo. In order for our country to move forward we need people with fresh blood, people with credibility, people who will not serve as a distraction, visionaries who are energetic and passion filled. We can no longer go with the status quo if we are to move forward and see our great country of people accomplish great things. We have to ask ourselves: “What do I want for the future of TCI and what steps am I willing to take to obtain that? “Am I willing to be in it for the long haul? Or will I quit when the pressure is too much?” The one thing that most TC Islanders agree on is that we are our own worst enemy and that we do not support each other. The question is why do we continue to associate with divisive individuals; rather than standing up for what is right? Let us think for a moment and picture in our minds what the TCI will look like if we commit to unity, not just say it but make a conscious effort to support each other. Let us envision a Turks and Caicos where people do not tear each other down with gossip, slander, cause dissention or support idle and unsubstantiated conversations. This would be the icing on our already beautiful by nature country. We would be well on our way to becoming one of the greatest places to live. We need to capitalise on each other’s strengths and combine forces instead of fighting against each other. We need to align the educated, intelligent, articulate and skilled associates with the unskilled. There is something that we can all learn from each other. There should be no distinction between classes of people when it comes time to chart the future of our country. We should utilise the experiences and wisdom of our seasoned seniors; while, joining forces with the high tech, younger generation. We all have a contribution to make; we just need people who are willing to work together for the good of the country whose motives and desires are purely driven by seeing the country succeed.

Straudy Lightbourne

It is my belief that fear serves as the primary reason. We are afraid of being criticised, ostracised, alienated and even sabotaged by our own people when we take a stand. We hear comments like: “Who does he/she think she is?” and “He/ she wants to run for politics, he/she just want name recognition.” Before long the pressure gets too intense, as we cannot seem to win the fight against the sabotages. The persons who can and are willing to make a difference go

Paying for someone else’s wrongs Dear Editor, The statement by Colin Roberts from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office must provoke some serious soul searching by residents of the TCI. Roberts went on to assert another dramatic remark that TC Islanders must develop their own idea of where they, the TCI people, want to take the Turks & Caicos Islands. With respect to Mr Roberts, this idea is not possible and is improbable for a number of reasons. Not since JAGS McCartney or the ill-fated Government of Derek Taylor, which fell victim to experiments and sell-outs of the Labour Government in 2003, were TC Islanders plausibly in charge of their country.

It has been sufficiently debated that local luminaries, along with the FCO and the voters in 2003, all worked to hand the Government over to Mike Misick and, by extension, the developers of the TCI. Since then a ‘corporatocracy’ took over the Islands and as a result Islanders became the hostages of big developers and bankers. What happened was a so-called free people having their future, jobs, labour policy, political direction etc, all decided by these men and these forces. The first sign of trouble was the industrial action at Beaches where workers agitated for more rights and better working conditions. Mike Misick met with Beaches’

LETTERS SHOULD BE KEPT TO A MAXIMUM OF 450 WORDS

boss Butch Stewart, a man he campaigned against in the 2003 elections, and seemingly gave Stewart the green light to fire hundreds of Belongers, import hundreds of workers and the country was Stewart’s. Later Stewart became a Belonger, along with his family, most of whom did not live in the Islands. Later the PNP Government apparently signed a development agreement with Beaches to bring in hundreds of workers while many residents of the TCI went without jobs. So effectively Beaches decided TCI labour policy and who got to work in the TCI. So the assertion by Colin Roberts is interesting and requires further discussion. The national health insurance scheme is another example of where TCI residents did not get to decide. More than anything else it is a massive rip-off with a loan pegged at $125m when the real cost could be way below that. Yet TC Islanders must be forced to pay for a project which has saddled them with heavy debts. When the interim Government took over in 2009, there seemed to be no initiative to investigate the health care deal, have the hospitals revalued and this massive debt inflicted on the people removed. Again no sensible, thinking TC Islander would ever agree to such a rip-off but all TCI residents must pay

Please note that all submissions are subject to editing in keeping with defamation laws and newspaper style. Letters should be accompanied by the author’s full name, location and phone number. Names will be withheld if requested.

April 9 - 15, 2011

Letters

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

continued

The need for action Dear Editor, I fully support what the editors of the TCI Journal have written in their article posted April 5, 2011. The point made is that there is an essential need for those playing central roles in our public life to pause, reflect, and affect a course correction. It should be clear to everyone that the recent attempts to block progress and damage our main source of income required to improve our economic future is counterproductive. It is a sad state of affairs that, two years after recognising what a financial mess we are in, neither political party leader has proposed a plan on how we will get out of it and move forward on a path to economic stability. As Colin Roberts (FCO head) correctly pointed out in the April 2 – 8, 2011 Weekly News, this is our country, not the UK’s! As such, he points out; the UK cannot define a vision for where the TCI should be in 10 to 15 years or decide a path to the future. The TCI must do that starting with some tough decisions on the 2011/2012 budget. It will not go away and the decision to do nothing but refuse to work with the interim Government will set a course to poverty for all of us. We do not escape defining our future by refusing to take part in making the choices we have to make today. What we do today will shape our future and by not participating in making tough decisions now we will have made a wrong choice. We learned that the consultative forum members have decided that they do not want to be part of the tough decisions that must be made with the 2011/2012 budget. The only person willing and able to stand up and deal with the tough decisions to be made is the chairperson, Lillian Misick. Why are the members of the consultative forum abandoning their collective responsibility? Why are the leaders of the two political parties refusing to take positive, constructive action to put forth a plan for economic improvement or address the 2011/2012 budget? The budget for 2011/2012 is a starting point on the long road to economic sustainability if we deal with it or economic ruin if we ignore it. Except for Lillian Misick not one Belonger is prepared to exercise his/ her democratic responsibility and tackle the most important task that will get the TCI to economic stability and growth. Where is the tangible, active support for ‘government by the people, of the people and for the people’? Belongers have the right to vote. That brings with it the obligation and responsibility to work with government to help improve the TCI. You wanted transparency, you wanted to be involved!

If our political leaders and the consultative forum members are not prepared to create a vision for the future, if we are not prepared to set a path to achieve a balanced budget by 2013 then we are condemning ourselves and our children to a lifetime of poverty and a bleak economic future. The TCI is a bankrupt country, unable to pay its massive debts or support its current operational costs. The $260m loan will not solve our fiscal problems! The TCI is $365m in debt! I have written a number of times on the need for us to develop a strategic plan that will provide us with a ‘road map’ to achieve economic sustainability and a path to a bright future. Colin Roberts has told us the UK will not write such a plan; it is the responsibility of the TCI! That plan does not exist today. There was a ‘national development plan’ created a few years ago but it is long on words and short on tactile planning to achieve objectives plus it assumed that the growth of 2007 would continue forever! It has not been updated since 2007 and is not indicative of our situation today. We desperately need to define where we are today, where we want to be in 10 years time and what steps we need to take to get there. Any plan we do today will require updating and adjustment for realities as time passes but without a plan we are a ship without a rudder; going wherever the winds and tides of the competitive world pushes us. It is also clear that, with the exception of Lillian Misick, none of our ‘leaders’ are prepared to take on this task. I believe the vision and plan should be created by the residents of the TCI! I hope Lillian will join with us in doing such a plan! With the above thoughts in mind I would like to invite the residents of the TCI to work together to prepare a draft strategic plan that will set us on a path to what we want the TCI to be in the future and how we intend to get there. I believe by working together we can do this! I invite anyone with constructive input and solution oriented opinion to send an email to: TCI-Plan@ hotmail.com if you want to join in this effort. Please provide your full name, what company if applicable, where you reside in the TCI and what you see as a vision for the TCI that we could achieve in 10 years time or less. I will add your contact information to our list and invite you to join. Once we have collected enough names we will start work on the tasks we need to do to complete a draft plan. Fred Skovberg

Fire the renegades Dear Editor, First there was the burning of the draft constitution, then there was the demonstration that blocked the roads, then the sick-out by civil servants and now the boycott by some of the consultative forum members. What next, one may ask? All these actions have one goal in common and that is to bring this country to its knees. The actions of some of the members serve to reaffirm my long held belief that some of them are there just for political posturing and to gain political mileage. Their actions came as no surprise, having read a letter in your paper not too long ago about the hidden plan to disrupt the positive agenda of the chairwoman Lillian Misick. Today one of the renegade members finally used the word clique; that is exactly what they are. I must say I was disappointed in Mr Seymour and Ms Gibbs, two of the more educated members who would have had a lot to contribute. The rest I would expect that kind of underhanded and undermining

activity, for they are followers not leaders; leaders would have seen the whole picture and acted accordingly. Ms Delancy is still on the back bench; she is so accustomed to sitting in the back just waiting. She has never had anything useful to contribute then and she does not have it now. For so a man thinketh that so it shall be. I lost respect for Dr Williams from the time she was cajoled into joining the now defunct Push. And as for Ms Cartwright, I do not know who is ‘worser’, as they would say. The Governor was right to take the course of action he did, as we say in Bottle Creek. He is the man and he showed you who is in charge. These members should feel ashamed of their actions because their actions did not accomplish anything. They should now resign before they are asked to leave. To the other members who did not follow but chose to think for themselves, I say don’t allow yourselves to become embroiled in the counterproductive

actions of a few. And to the Chairwoman, keep up the good work. I have never seen your rule book, but surely you can fire these renegades. That is the only way you are going to be able to accomplish the work of the forum. We have good men and women out in the various communities who would do well; they are mature and responsible enough to see the bigger picture. I think of Julia Williams, Pastor Denis Swann, Butch Clare, Agnes Swann, Maria Clare and I can go on and on with names of other worthy persons. Next, after watching the news tonight, the Governor should reject Parnell’s proposal for mediation. Parnell is not in charge of this country and he must not be encouraged to act like he already is the Premier. The budget has been passed, that is the end of it. Let us get a move on to electoral reform, another important milestone. J Williams

COMMENTARY

The Wizard of Oz

E’VE all seen it, the MGM smash hit The Wizard of Oz. M y videotape broke, I need a new DVD player. But maybe I don’t have to because we are living it right here. In 2003, like the film, we went from the normal black, grey and white to Oz’s beautiful technicolour in Beautiful by Nature TCI.. We had the wizard himself, the master of smoke and mirrors. Made you believe he was something special but behind that curtain was just a man. Not an ordinary man but one who set out to fool the country of Oz. He tried to make believe he was something special ruling over Oz. It was he who created the lollypop league and a host of other departments filled with his friends - the Munchkins. How about that tinman without the heart. He decided to impose property taxes and before you paid that tax he also wanted to tax your income and charge you for health care.

By David Tapfer It didn’t matter to him, he had the riches and the wizard behind him to side step his tax responsibility. Then the straw man without the brain discovered his attorney hooked him for 800 big ones. The lion without courage, roared a lot but behind the scenes wrote himself letters. That three went to sleep in the field of poppies. Our fairy godmother came to call from Hollywood dressed all in white. Remember the wizard often went to Hollywood on that jet propelled magic carpet we leased for him? We woke up one morning and we were back where we started maybe 20 years ago. The tornado, in our case a hurricane or two, helped us wake up.

Unfortunately Auntie Caroline and Uncle Gordon back at the farm are only human. It was their family that forgot to get us into the shelter before we were carried off to Oz. The sheriffs never seen in the film failed to understand the wizard was a phoney and let it all happen. Somehow I feel we are trying to rerun the story rather than own up to the sheriff’s oversight failures. Remember that despite the great actors, the later remake Dorothy and the Wiz never really made it. So here we are back to black, grey and white wondering if Oz really happened. A few want to get back to Oz and that psychedelic technicolour dream life. Meanwhile the wizard, still around, is trying to attach Spanish subtitles. Somewhere over the rainbow our own Uncle and Auntie will rebuild the farm. All we have to wait for is the balloon to take the problems away. Maybe, just maybe, some garlic from an old horror film will handle any lurking vampires and the wizard himself.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

Providenciales’ hospital has dealt with 42,000 patient visits since April 2010.

Hospitals’ rocky road to progress Social health care system celebrates first anniversary By Gemma Handy LAUNCHING a social health care system was undoubtedly one of the most controversial – and hotly debated – moves in TCI history. A tempestuous beginning saw the country’s two new hospitals forced to fend off a wealth of criticism about everything from sloppy service to vital drug shortages. This Sunday, 12 long months later, staff will celebrate the facilities’ first anniversary in business. The Weekly News caught up with Interhealth boss Roger Cheesman who lifted the lid on the rocky road to progress. Since opening on April 10 2010, the hospitals have dealt with more than 56,000 patient visits, performed almost 1,000 operations and seen a whopping 438 babies born. And while the odd gripe is still inevitable, by and large public perception has evolved tremendously. “The word began to get around pretty quickly that there was a good level of care here,” Mr Cheesman said. “A lot of people grumbled about having to pay NHIP. We still get the occasional fractious person and the odd one that still demands to go to Miami but the vast majority of people are being treated here.” That’s largely due to the

introduction of state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. In 2008, the Government forked out millions for almost 1,600 overseas referrals – notoriously one of the public purse’s biggest bills. In the last year, less than 120 people have been sent abroad for medical treatment, although controversy over the cost still abounds. “Myrtle Rigby had very basic x-ray machines and were forced to send people away for diagnosis. “We are able to do a lot more here now. If we know what we are dealing with, we can usually treat it here. “Also, previously, overseas referrals were just for Belongers. Now they are for everyone.” The Interhealth CEO, who has overseen similar projects in Abu Dhabi and the UK, spoke of “major challenges” during the early days of the scheme. “It was no secret we had issues with supply lines. “We were 600 miles from the nearest vendors; they didn’t know us and we didn’t know them. They wouldn’t send anything without money upfront. “Sometimes we would place orders and still the supplies wouldn’t arrive; they would be left sitting on the docks in Miami.” It took several months before those well documented tribulations were resolved.

In the meantime, it was all hands to the pump with several staff working overtime in the purchasing department to make sure patients got the necessary medication. Another hurdle was ensuring the nigh 300 staff, who hail from a broad range of backgrounds and countries, were able to form a close-knit unit. “We took a large group of people from Myrtle Rigby and Grand Turk, a smattering from the wider Caribbean and some from the UK, Europe and US. “We had a brand new team, a brand new hospital and brand new equipment. We had to make them cohesive.” A task, he admits, was “pretty difficult” at first. “Everyone wants to do things their way but they have to do things the way the particular hospital needs it to be done. “We have since seen a definite grouping together and an identity created for the hospital. People are now seeing themselves as a true team.” Mr Cheesman said international visitors are often surprised by the high calibre of care and equipment offered by a hospital in such a tiny country. “The responses from our patient satisfaction questionnaires have been great; it’s really rewarding.” One of the biggest bones of contention was the revelation that the

Interhealth CEO Roger Cheesman spoke of a “challenging” 12 months.

hospitals would open with just half the number of beds than seemingly promised initially. Reports have abounded in recent months of the Providenciales site being full to capacity. Mr Cheesman admits to a “very busy” three months with “99 per cent occupancy” in December. “Occasionally we have had people waiting for beds, sometimes as many as three or four patients. “We had to move them on stretchers to empty rooms where they could be cared for.” The problem is, of course, funding. Space is available to double the current number of beds but the Government’s cash flow crisis has hindered progress. “With the economic downturn we don’t want to push more expenditure on TCIG.” Instead, medics are being asked

to become more efficient at planning patient discharges. Also, with less than half the beds generally in use at the Grand Turk site, a larger number of elective surgeries will be done in the capital island, freeing up space in Provo. Funding difficulties have also put the brakes on Interhealth’s plans to hire more Belongers. The need for staff to be multiskilled to save costs is curbing some people’s chances of securing employment. “Right now we don’t have the money to train people but we are looking at how we can hire more Belongers in the long-term. We are talking to TCIG about training positions.” And while the Government has been timely in paying its bills to facilitate social health care, sadly not all employers – who must fork out 2.5 per cent of each worker’s salary to help pay for the scheme – have been so responsible. Plans are in the pipeline to haul reprobates before the courts and force them to pay up. First port of call is a compliance officer, set to be appointed shortly. Patients whose employer has failed to make contributions on their behalf will be asked to sign an affidavit stating that they have paid their personal share even if their boss has not. The hospitals are “contractually and ethically” bound not to turn anyone away. Non-contributors to the scheme will be asked to foot the bill for their care. Those who can prove they have no ability to pay will be covered by the Government.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

NATIONAL

TCI’s most dedicated firefighter CONSTANT hard work and dedication demonstrated by volunteer firefighters will not go unnoticed thanks to a new quarterly award. The criteria for the ‘best firefighter’ accolade includes good attendance, knowledge, discipline, team work and presentation. And the first to be recognised by

senior officers this week was proud firefighter of seven years Andy Chattell. Fellow firefighter Ian Arthur told the Weekly News that Andy has consistently displayed excellent leadership skills. He has also attended almost all incidents that he has been asked to

Wetland workshops PEOPLE with a passion for protecting the islands’ precious wetlands can learn more during a series of workshops this spring. Teachers, students, environmental club leaders and ecotour workers are all encouraged to come along to the two-day sessions headed by renowned wetlands and birds professionals from the USA and Canada. The first educational day will be classroom-based while participants will spend the second day on field activities. The project is being hosted by the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR), the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds (SCSCB) and the West Indian Wild Duck and Wetland project. DECR’s scientific officer Eric Salamanca explained: “The TCI has 50,000 hectares of dry land area of which more than 50 per cent are wetlands. “Wetlands act like sponges,

protecting the shore. The binding effect of wetland vegetation helps stabilise banks and shores. “Wetlands also have a key role in ground water recharge and discharge, and in the TCI they are an important habitat for resident and migratory birds.” All participants will receive a copy of the wetlands teachers’ resource book as well as bird identification cards and other reference materials. Organisers will shoulder the costs of lunch and snacks, training materials, conference venue and facilities, while other costs will be expected to be paid by attendees. The workshops will take place on April 28 and 29 in Providenciales and May 2 and 3 in Grand Turk. For more details call the DECR Office in Providenciales on 9415122, in Grand Turk on 946-2855 and South Caicos on 946-3306, or email info@environment.tc or eric@environment.tc

assist at over the years. Ian said: “His leadership is unquestioned and as a leading firefighter he is regularly in charge of a team of firefighters. “Each and every one of us would follow him into a burning building to aid him with a rescue. “When faced with huge obstacles we look to our leaders like Andy for guidance, and the depth of experience Andy has, leads us all to be successful.” He added: “His personality and charisma have filtered down to the other firefighters and has inspired them to continue regardless of the magnitude of the dangerous and devastating scenarios that we face on a regular basis.” Ian also spoke of Andy’s “softer side” describing him as a dedicated husband and father of two. “He is respected within the firefighters and within the local community. He is a true asset to the department and we hope he will continue to serve with us for as long as he is physically capable.” The Turks and Caicos Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department is a 24hour-a-day volunteer organisation. Ian explained: “We regularly get called in the middle of the night and at weekends. We use our personal vehicles and use our gas and spend our time helping the people of the Turks and Caicos. “We carry radios and beepers that alert us to a fire and when they are sounded we will literally drop everything and race to the fire hall to help the persons or property that is at risk. “We do it because we care about

Firefighter of seven years Andy Chattel (right) receives his award

the local community, we do it to benefit the local community and ask for no remuneration. “It is an honour for us to serve the people of the Turks and Caicos.” Volunteers are made up of people from several countries including Turks and Caicos, Haiti, Jamaica, St Lucia, Philippines and the UK. They are trained to international

Provo boasts world’s best beaches POWDER white sand, clear turquoise waters and bountiful marine life have all led to Providenciales being named the world’s top beach haven. Based on travellers’ reviews and ratings, popular travel website TripAdvisor said TCI’s tourist hotspot has the best beaches. It beat competition from Honolulu and Miami Beach to be named as Traveller’s Choice 2011 best beach location this week. The website reads: “White sand beaches, calm clear water and a bountiful barrier reef make the Turks and Caicos island of Providenciales a hot spot for families, snorkellers and divers. “Some call rock-free Grace Bay Beach the best in the world. “For an unusual experience divers can walk along the ocean floor at Smith’s Reef where underwater signs describe the reef’s ecosystem.” Coming second was Boracay, Philippines, while third place went to Palm/Eagle Beach in Aruba.

TripAdvisor said TCI’s tourist hotspot has the globe’s best beaches

standards using state of the art techniques to ensure the people of the TCI are safe and protected. The department relies on donations to help purchase new kit and equipment. To make a donation or to find out more about how to become a volunteer call Provo fire station on 941-8090.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

Lionfish recipe book launched DELICIOUS lionfish dishes created by TCI residents have been documented in a colourful new cookbook. Chefs, cooks and local food enthusiasts all submitted tasty creations for the recipe book which went on sale this week. It’s all part of the Department of Environment and Coastal Resources (DECR)’s initiative to rid the TCI’s stunning waters of the invasive species. Having already got dive companies and fishermen on board with collecting the fish environment chiefs hope that this book will

promote a greater demand for the tasty flaky white seafood. DECR’s director Wesley Clerveaux said: “We wanted to keep the momentum going with our public awareness campaign. “Our aim with this cookbook is to get more and more persons consuming the fish, and also generate revenue for local fishermen who choose to catch the fish.” Fifteen recipes were chosen for the 24-page full colour book which was printed by Dive Provo in March. Some of the delights include lionfish soup with the spices of Grenada, zesty lionfish pate, lionfish wraps with sweet mango salsa and lionfish sushi. The book is available for purchase at the DECR offices, the Unicorn Bookstore and Dive Provo at a cost of $8.95. DECR’s deputy director Jewel Batchasingh said: “The DECR would like to thank Dive Provo for making

this initiative possible by sponsoring the cookbook.” Lionfish were introduced into the coastal waters of Miami in 1992 and since then the lionfish population has exploded in that corner of the Atlantic. In 2006 it spread east, eventually into the waters of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Lionfish are an invasive species, feeding on juvenile reef fish and threatening the population of scores of marine creatures. Since 2007 when the first official reports of the Pacific lionfish were reported in the TCI, the DECR has been actively spearheading the response to this potentially dangerous fish. Department chiefs have attempted to create awareness among the population of the threat that the invasive species poses to human health, biological diversity and the local economics of the fishery. Local food enthusiasts, chefs and cooks all submitted tasty creations for the recipe book which went on sale this week

Passover celebration Take a luxury cruise in Providenciales for Provo’s kids PROVO residents are invited to attend a Jewish holiday celebration this April with food, drink, laughter and learning. The family Passover Seder is a ritual feast that marks the beginning of the eight day festival commemorating the story of Exodus. This year it will be held in the Regent Palms and will feature all the traditional delicacies and lots of wine. Rabbi Sholom Bluming, visiting rabbi to the TCI, explained: “The story of Exodus will come alive through song and Kabbalistic insights sprinkled with humour. “The Seder will be English friendly so everyone can feel welcome. No affiliation or Hebrew is necessary.” The warm interactive community evening will take place on Monday, April 18, from 6.30pm. Attendees will learn the story of how ancient Israelites

were freed from slavery in Egypt. The celebration will continue with a family Passover service on Tuesday, April 19 at 10am, followed by a Kiddush or wine blessing at a location to be confirmed. Children will not be left out this April as back by popular demand is a day packed with fun activities. The kids’ zone will take place on Wednesday, April 13, from 5pm to 7.30pm and is aimed at children aged five to 12 years old. There will be arts and crafts, an opportunity to learn about Passover as well as a chance to make matzo from beginning to end. Snacks will be served at the event at the home of Sigal and Avishay Levy. For more details about any of the above events email Rabbi Sholom Bluming at rabbibluming@ymail.com

WINE, beer and sushi will all be on tap during a luxury cruise in aid of charity this May. Provo Children’s Home is hosting a champagne and sushi cruise aboard the Atabeyra to raise essential funds. There are only 50 spaces up for grabs so staff at the home are requesting that party people buy tickets early. The boat will set off on Saturday, May 14, from the Leeward Dock at 6pm and sail through the sunset until

8.30pm. Then from 9pm attendees and others can enjoy an all night party at Opus near Ocean Club East. Tickets are $150 each and include a selection of tasty wines, beer, sodas, appetisers and sushi. A $25 ‘arm’s length’ ticket draw will take place on board for the chance of winning three great prizes. For more details contact Angela on 231-0670.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

NATIONAL

First trauma patient set for hospital return DIOVANNI Fulford is preparing for an emotional return to Provo hospital. The 20-year-old will be guest of honour when InterHealth Canada celebrates its firstâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anniversary on Monday. Diovanni became the hospitalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first trauma patient after he was knocked down by a car in Blue Hills, just hours after the facility opened on April 10 last year. He was rushed to the emergency department suffering serious multiple injuries and immediately underwent life-saving surgery. Once stable, he was flown to Florida for further treatment before returning to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre to undergo an intense physiotherapy programme. Remarkably, the basketball fanatic returned to work as a ticket agent for Air Turks and Caicos, just three

months after the horrific accident and is now back playing his favourite sport. Diovanni will be cutting a special birthday cake at Cheshire Hall during a programme of celebrations that includes entertainment by pupils from Clement Howell High School. Meanwhile, doing the honours simultaneously in Grand Turk will be Juliet Arthur and her partner Derron Thelwell. Juliet gave birth to twins, Derron Jnr and Derronique, at the Cockburn Town Medical Centre, in December. Unfortunately they were born two months premature and spent the first few weeks of their lives fighting for survival. But thanks to the expertise of medics Derron Jnr and Derronique pulled through. InterHealth boss Roger Cheesman

Diovanni having physiotherapy at Provo hospital in May.

explained: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredible to think we are about to celebrate our one year anniversary. The time has flown by and we have achieved so much. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have seen, treated, and continue to work with, some very

special patients whose lives we have been able to either save or greatly improve. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Diovanni and the Thelwell twins are fantastic examples of the wonderful service we provide the

FirstCaribbean

people of the TCI and we are honoured that they will be helping us celebrate this very special occasion.â&#x20AC;? The Ona Glinton Junior School choir will be entertaining guests in Grand Turk.

CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

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CORPORATE MANAGER INTRO TO AD:

The Manager, Corporate will lead, manage and motivate a relationship team comprised of Credit Managers, Credit OfďŹ cers and Client Service OfďŹ cers with the objective of efďŹ ciently managing a portfolio of corporate clients by providing world class relationship management, top quality risk control and overseeing personal development of team members. This role will be responsible for maximizing customer proďŹ tability by driving revenue growth through generation of loans, deposits, fee income and cross-selling all applicable bank services to existing customer base, identifying and soliciting bank services to non-customers. ABOUT THE JOB: sÂŹSources new clients and foster high quality business opportunities with existing clients through proactive idea generation and selling. Negotiates, achieves acquisitions and growth targets annually. sÂŹManages and signiďŹ cantly grows the existing portfolio by building and broadening the scope of the client relationship and increasing ďż˝wallet shareďż˝ of the clientsďż˝ investment and banking business services. sÂŹContinually tend to assigned portfolio, conducting thorough needs assessments and identifying business opportunities, potential client issues and risks. sÂŹMonitors and controls accounts within the assigned client portfolio, reviewing the quality of the customer group in line with Bank and Corporate policies and guidelines. ABOUT YOU: sÂŹ2ELATIONSHIPÂŹBUILDERÂŹWITHÂŹEXPERTÂŹABILITYÂŹTOÂŹINmUENCEÂŹANDÂŹNEGOTIATEÂŹTOÂŹWIN ÂŹWINÂŹSOLUTIONS sÂŹ3TRONGÂŹANDÂŹMATUREÂŹTEAMÂŹBUILDERÂŹANDÂŹPLAYER sÂŹ(IGHÂŹDEGREEÂŹOFÂŹINITIATIVE ÂŹAÂŹSELF ÂŹSTARTERÂŹANDÂŹSELFÂŹMOTIVATED ÂŹ sÂŹ'RADUATEÂŹSTATUSÂŹWITHÂŹAÂŹMINIMUMÂŹOFÂŹ ÂŹYEARSÂŹEXPERIENCEÂŹINÂŹTHEÂŹBUSINESS lNANCIALÂŹWORLD

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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

Volunteer fair this Saturday NOT-for-profit groups in need of assistance will be gathering together on Saturday during the first ever volunteer fair at the Gustarvus Lightbourne Sports Centre. The event, hosted by Magnetic Media, is expected to draw scores of kind-hearted people willing to lend a helping hand. More than 40 organisations have registered for the all day fair covering areas such as animal care, environment, the poverty stricken, the elderly, the addicted, the distressed, the homeless, and the unwell. Deandrea Hamilton, managing director of Magnetic Media, said: “It is simply amazing what we’ve found in the community. “There are organisations we had never heard of and the people managing and manning them are so impressive. “They are taxed for manpower and money, yet they press on, they continue to show up, day in and day out sometimes putting their lives at risk and this is our way of saluting their dedication and getting them something which matters - new helpers to carry on the goals.” The day will begin at 7am with a march from the parking lot of First Caribbean bank on Leeward Highway to the sports centre. At 8am there will be a brief opening ceremony where organisers

will welcome the attendees to the event. The Volunteer Fair will be carried live on Radio Turks and Caicos for national reach and Blaze 97.5FM will also drop by for a live broadcast. Deandrea added: “And it is not just church, civic or community groups we are seeing, it is also sporting entities that want to get some help in coaching new recruits to learn the game. “We will see Community Fellowship Centre join with Kenneth Adderley of the Bahamas, a former Major League Baseball player with the Baltimore Orioles to launch baseball for the first time in the Turks

and Caicos.” The Turks and Caicos Sports Commission has been very supportive in giving access to the centre and the field all day. From 8am to 4pm there will be an exciting schedule of sports to encourage healthy activity among the young and older population. “You know it is vitally important that we use this season in the Turks and Caicos to work on building it from the ground up,” Deandrea said. “There are so many social ills which deserve our attention and our help. “Truth be told, it is inspiring to watch the expatriate population

spearhead so many wonderful efforts, but it is an opportune time now for the native people to become more involved and find a connection, a place they can serve and gain the many benefits which come from volunteering. “After all these islands belong to the Belongers.” Magnetic Media has contacted schools, colleges, the churches, radio and television audiences to bolster turnout on Saturday. There is also a huge banner hoisted over downtown Providenciales advertising the fair which will feature demonstrations, simulations, presentations, dramatic performances

and dance. “We have set up an ambitious target of getting 500 volunteers and we are making sure people know we are looking for the numbers,” Deandrea said. “We are looking for them to be involved from all over these islands. “We believe we can get that target and we know our volunteer groups will be blessed by the extra help they will and can attract.” There will be food and drinks on sale by Community Fellowship Centre with monies from those sales going to the building fund of Community Christian Academy, home to 160 students in The Bight.

A lifting experience for hospital staff MIND your backs! That’s a phrase you’ll be hearing a lot at the hospitals in Provo and Grand Turk. A group of InterHealth Canada TCI staff have successfully completed a high level ‘manual handling key trainer’ course. The eight participants, whose roles vary from physiotherapists to engineering assistants, are now fully

qualified to advise colleagues on the correct way to lift, push, pull and carry in the workplace. Head of education at InterHealth Canada TCI, Linda Gill, explained: “Firstly, congratulations to the eight members of staff who took part. “Being qualified means they are now able to support their colleagues in any given manual handling task. “This means any job that requires pushing, pulling, carrying or lifting

has to be assessed, planned and operated efficiently and effectively, but most of all safely. “It’s an approach that affects every single member of staff throughout the hospital from lifting a ream of photocopying paper or moving a patient from one place to another.” Group tutor was Jan Crawford from Centaur Training, based in the UK. “Jan is a leading authority when

wishes

Happy birthday Andra!

WE CHERISH every memory of happy times we share, times that were so wonderful because you really cared. On a special day like this one we are thinking of the one who’s a part of all our dreams. You Andra are the one we adore. Happy birthday to a loving daughter, granddaughter, sister, aunty and niece Kitchandra Penn. Greetings from Bea, Kitch, Krishna, Karien, Keleah, Shakerin, Grammy and your special friends Andrew, Kaiden and Juquell. We love you! Send your special occasion to: Rebecca Bird, Weekly News, Cheshire House, Leeward Highway, PO Box 52, Providenciales or email to rebecca-bird@hotmail.com. Free of Charge!

Please limit your messages to 150 words.

Eight staff received the safety training.

it comes to manual handling and we were very lucky to have her here”, added Mrs Gill. “Again it underlines our commitment to provide the very best qualified staff here in the TCI.” The successful candidates were Kadesha Fletcher, Constance McLaughlin, Pheona Brown, Onia Jackson, Stephen McDonnell, Natoy Dilworth, Nicki Mullins and Peggy Samuels.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

NATIONAL

this week

Friday, March 4 to Thursday, March 10 Saturday, April 9  PPC’s annual spring fun walk and run is here again and will take place this Saturday at 6am. The walk starts at IGA’s car park on Leeward Highway and there will be free transportation from Sam’s car park in downtown Providenciales at 5.30am. Participants can enjoy a warm down session, a hot breakfast and great giveaways. An exercise treadmill will be raffled off during the day too. For more details or to register contact Daphne Penn or Judy Missick on 946 4313.

Inspector Hilton Duncan being thanked for his presentation by CAPAA’s secretary Sandy Williams during a former session

Parenting and care skills workshops PARENTS and youth workers are invited to a series of workshops designed to provide useful child care advice. The sessions, organised by CAPAA, will be held throughout Providenciales over the coming months. Entitled ‘Child Abuse Prevention: Strategies for Parents and Community Workers’ the project seeks to bring greater awareness on a child’s right to be protected from abuse. It also aims to promote understanding of the right to life and the prohibition of all forms of inhuman and degrading treatment. These sentiments are found in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), also reflected in articles two and three of the Turks and Caicos

Constitution. The project will also bring about awareness of the remedies for breach of these rights. Parents and youth workers can attend session in Blue Hills at the Clement Howell High School on April 7, 12, 14 and 19 from 6 to 8pm. There will also be sessions at Five Cays Community Centre in The Bight on May 3, 5, 10 and 12, and at a venue to be announced on May 24, 26, 31 and June 2. CAPAA will be providing refreshments and certificates of participation to all participants. To register residents can call 3434821 or give an indication through their school guidance counsellors. CAPAA is a non-governmental organisation that seeks to break the cycle of abuse against children by advocating for the protection of their

rights and safety. It is one of only three nongovernmental organisations in the British Overseas Territories that was successful in receiving a grant from the Commonwealth Foundation Challenge Fund. The organisation facilitated a training of trainers workshop earlier this month to give members the skills necessary to conduct community training sessions. A spokesperson for CAPAA said: “This workshop was co-sponsored by The Sands resort and we take this opportunity to thank this corporate sponsor for reaching out and helping us. “We are looking forward to forging partnerships with other corporate and community entities, as together we seek to better the life chances of our children.”

Adrenaline junkies prepare to catch wind FANS of Provo’s fastest growing sport are hitting Long Bay this April to take part in what promises to be a spectacular kiteboarding tournament. The fifth annual Windvibes event will see kiteboarders of all shapes, sizes and abilities skim Providenciales’ stunning turquoise waters in the hope of winning top prizes. Competitors will try their hand at an array of different disciplines including course racing, jumping, speed and freestyle. Organiser Hope LeVin said:

“Windvibes has grown hugely since its inception and it has greatly promoted kiteboarding on the island.” During the Big Blue-sponsored event there will be tents on the beach for spectators, cold drinks, barbecue food, volleyball and kite flying. “A ton of preparation has gone into this year’s event,” Hope said, “many of the kiteboarders have come together and put in a lot of time. “It’s wonderful having all these positive people coming together and putting their time and effort into this event.

“We’re building stuff, planning out everything, promoting the event, and making it a success together. “As a group we’d like to say a thank you to the sponsors who’ve supported our endeavours.” The event is slated to take place from 10am on Saturday, April 16, at Long Bay beach near the Shore Club. Finals will take place from 2pm. Hope said: “Come one, come all, check out the wind and feel the vibes.” For more information call 3422941 or stop by Blue in Salt Mills on Grace Bay.

 Visit Graceway Gourmet this Saturday from 9am to 2pm to enjoy a traditional farmers’ market. You can buy traditional handcrafts, art, baked goods, jewellery, clothing, local food products and more - all made here in the TCI!  Shape those muscle groups you never knew you had during an early morning resistance training session at IGA Sports Centre. The session begins at 8.30am and costs $12 for one or $100 for 11.  Mums and Tots Dance Party classes are held every Saturday at The Athletic Club in Saltmills Plaza for mothers and their little ones. Mothers, bring your little ones to dance, jump, twist and shake! Children have fun learning movement basics to fun music and mums get a light exercise while spending quality time. Mums and Tots classes begin at 10am and cost just $10. Dads are welcome! Call Shara Bowen on 244-1103 for more details.

Sunday, April 10  Visitors to Middle Caicos can enjoy the breeze while whale watching right on the ocean shore at Daniel’s Café, Conch Bar, Middle Caicos. During 2010, lunchtime whale sightings were a source of pleasure for many from January to March. For more information contact Daniel’s Cafe on 232-6132, email middlecaicos@tciway.tc or visit www. middlecaicos.biz

Monday, April 11  Get rid of the Monday blues with an intense non-traditional aerobic routine with Anca Vasile. The exciting class takes place 7pm at IGA Sports Centre and includes fun and interesting choreography. Classes cost $12 for one or $100 for 11.  Girls and boys aged 11 to 19 years old are invited to take part in a fun singing group. The TCI Youth Chorale rehearses every Monday at 6pm at the Edward

C Gartland Youth Centre, downtown, Providenciales. For more information call 3317176.

Tuesday, April 12  Come and hear the Island Boys duo play at Opus restaurant in Ocean Club East this Tuesday from 7.30pm to 10pm.  Step it up this Tuesday evening with a fun fitness class at IGA Sports Centre. From 6.30pm you will be taken through a number of step combinations mixed with conditioning exercises like squats, push ups and triceps dips. Classes cost $12 for one or $100 for 11.

Wednesday, April 13  Correy Forbes and DJ Cliff will be providing entertainment at Mango Reef Restaurant at the Alexandra Resort this evening. Come along between 6.30pm and 9pm for some great island tunes.  Are you in need of inner peace? Interested in a healthy lifestyle and a toned and flexible body? Then you need David Bowen’s yoga classes at The Athletic Club in the Saltmills Plaza. Come along on Monday, Wednesday or Friday at 7am, Tuesday and Thursday at 6.30pm or Saturday at 9am. Call 941-8686 for more details.

Thursday, April 14  The Doris Robinson Primary School is presenting a concert and Easter play this Thursday evening at the Conch Bar Community Centre in Middle Caicos. The event will begin at 6pm and feature patriotic, novelty and gospel songs, as well as instrumental solos by the students. Tickets cost $5 for adults and $2 for children, while children under six years old get in free. Admission includes light refreshments.  Burn off your week’s excesses with an energetic kickboxing class at IGA Sports Centre. The class begins at 7pm and includes 45 minutes of kickboxing drills followed by 15 minutes of conditioning exercises. Classes cost $12 for one or $100 for 11.  Celebrate good health with wellness coach Benneth Williams every Thursday evening. Come along to Williams Block, suite number six, on Lower Bight Road, Providenciales, from 7pm. There you will get a free wellness consultation and an hour of fun. For more details call Benneth at 246-0300 or email hls_com@yahoo. com

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

Lifestyle... fitness Tip 

Exercise to relieve stress IT’S often been said that if exercise were a drug, it would be the most powerful medication on earth. But when life gets hectic, it’s generally the first thing that gets crossed off the ‘to do’ list. In reality, it should be the last. Next time you tell yourself you’re too stressed to find time to work out, consider the notion that you may be too stressed not to work out. Exercise releases hormones into

the body that allows you to bring balance into your life and focus better on everything you do. It is the natural remedy that brings the body into homeostasis in a frantic world that constantly threatens to throw us out of that balance. The evidence is clear; there’s no doubt that physical exercise has a positive effect on stress and can calm the mind and relax the body. Exercise releases endorphins, the body’s ‘feel good hormones’ and

in as little as 20 minutes a day, can change your entire outlook on life. Can’t fit in 20 minutes right now? Don’t throw in the towel. Even a five-minute stretch and breathing session can provide a calming effect that can last for hours. Try a walking meditation for example. Banish nervous tension by inhaling as you take four steps, then exhaling for four steps. Repeat for at least three minutes. Work up to six to eight steps per inhale and exhale.

Reap the health benefits of lowering your stress level in just minutes.

health Tip 

Banana nut muffins

LOVE muffins but concerned about the effect on your health – and waistline? Try this recipe for a nutritious take on a family favourite. Ingredients: • 1 cup bran • 1 cup wholewheat flour • 1 tsp baking powder • pinch of salt • 2 tbsp sugar • Half cup chopped nuts of your choice • 2 bananas, mashed • 1 cup low fat milk • 1 egg • Quarter cup vegetable oil Method: @@ Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Put all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Be careful not to over-mix. @@ Spoon the mixture into a muffin tray and bake for about 25 minutes or until done.

Clue up on phosphorus BRIEFLY, let me say how proud I am of you my readers for taking the time out to read the information that is provided to you on a week to week basis. This is my pride and joy because I love reading and doing research for me personally. I am a beneficiary of the information that I’ve made available to you and for this I am eternally grateful to God Almighty for giving me the strength and the ability to do so. I sure do hope that you found the health tip about magnesium very helpful? OK let’s read on – ‘phosphorus is waiting for us. What is phosphorus? And are its benefits? According to research, phosphorus is a chemical element in the nitrogen group identified by the symbol P on the periodic table of elements. This non-metallic element is extremely reactive and highly toxic, although it is also an important trace mineral in most living organisms. There are numerous uses for

By Phillip Simmons

phosphorus compounds, and most people interact with some form of the element every day. When you strike a match, fertilise the garden or use most electronics, phosphorus is involved. In the body, phosphorus is good for bone formation, digestion, excretion, protein formation, energy extraction, chemical reactions, cell repair, and nutrient utilisation. The health benefits of phosphorus make it an important part of one’s diet. Phosphorus is an important part of human bones and thus one cannot imagine making a move without an adequate amount of this mineral in the body. Phosphorus is considered the second most

Peanut butter is rich in phosphorus but opt for organic, natural peanut butter not sweetened, fat saturated varieties.

profuse mineral in the human body. One might ask the question, does phosphorus have any deficiency symptoms? According to research again: The deficiency symptoms of phosphorus include weak bones, and discomfort in various body joints as the most significant ones. Phosphorus shares space with calcium in providing strength to bones and thus, its deficiency may

lead to weakness, tooth decay, and other related bone problems. These persons may also experience loss of appetite and stamina to perform routine activities. The most important sources of phosphorus include nuts, legumes and dairy products. Also one may include sunflower seeds, rice, white bread, potatoes, broccoli, and peas.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Lifestyle... How does your garden grow With our green-fingered guru Denis Belanger

GARDENING 

Money Tip

With Mary Hamilton of Meridian Trust

The beauty of ferns Brown bag it

FERNS are graceful, elegant and very lush when planted poolside or around the patio. They can grow well as a potted plant but they also can be used as ground cover or a small hedge. In the TCI there are three ferns that we see more frequently than others as they flourish well here.

NATURE SPLENDOR

For all your landscaping, installation or garden maintenance needs, please call or write for a free estimate: 332-3381 or naturesplendor@yahoo.com

Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus) Native from South Africa, this is the most popular fern that you will see in the Islands, probably because it is a very easy plant to maintain. It grows in full sun to partial shade. It has rapid growth and can even be considered as being invasive at times. It has a spiny stem with narrow, scale-like leaves. It is relatively attractive when in full bloom with its red berries. It is generally pest free and needs to be planted in well drained soil. It is drought tolerant. This plant can be used as a border, as ground cover, in hanging baskets or in pots. It is a very low maintenance plant. Boston fern (Nephrolepsis exalta) Boston ferns are either terrestrial or epiphytic ferns, meaning they can be planted in the soil or can grow in the trunks of palm trees. You have probably seen this fern growing right underneath the leaves of the Canary Island Date Palm. The leaves are arching, flat, narrow, sword shaped fronds. The plant can reach up to four feet tall but in the TCI they commonly reach only about two feet tall. Boston ferns also have a rapid growth rate. This plant will spread by thin, green runners (stolon) from the crowns that root to form new plants. The Boston fern should be planted in either partially shaded or deep shade, in moist but well drained soil. Macho fern (Nephrolepsis biserrata) This fern is native to South Florida. The giant macho fern has deep, green, arching fronds growing up to eight feet in length. The size of the Nephrolepsis fern is considered macho or masculine versus the smaller daintier Boston fern, which is how it got its name. As with the other ferns, it can be used as a potted plant or as ground cover and prefers moist and shady areas. Although ferns here are

considered only to be decorative, in New Guinea the fronds were used to repel cockroaches. In general, you shouldn’t use

fertiliser on ferns. They like rich compost soil, so the best thing to do is just add compost around the plant soil once a year.

Make your own lunch to save cash each week.

BRINGING lunch from home rather than eating out is an easy way to save money. Someone spending $10 a day buying lunch could be spending over $2,500 a year. The cost of bringing lunch from home will vary, of course, but most people already have enough food in their homes to make a lunch each day. Here are some great tips for brown-bagging it to save money.

Say no to plastic

AVOID buying single use plastic items such as plates, cups and cutlery. They might be convenient for you but consider the environmental damage they cause. This week’s tip is courtesy of the TCI Environment Club which meets at the Environment Centre in Lower Bight Road on the first Thursday of each month at 6pm.

Prepare your lunch the night before so you’re not rushed in the morning. Keep it simple. A quick and easy lunch can be a sandwich on wholegrain bread, some sliced veggies, and a piece of fruit. Leftovers also make a wonderful next-day lunch if you have access to a microwave at work. Cook a big dinner and save some for lunch the next day. Put it in individual containers following dinner so you can grab and go in the morning. By cooking at home, you are able to control exactly what goes into each meal, which can be much healthier than

relying on restaurant fare. Plan ahead and buy in bulk with lunches in mind. Don’t fall for the 100 calorie snacks marketing ploy. You can easily buy larger packs yourself and divide it up yourself. Don’t pay more for convenience. If you’re running late there’s nothing wrong with occasionally taking a can of soup or a healthy frozen meal. Most offices have ovens or microwaves you can use for heating. Bring your drink too. Pick up a 12-pack of soda for a few dollars. Compare that with expensive vending machine drinks and you’ve saved even more. Or better yet - drink water. It’s free and better for you! Why not cut costs further by ditching the morning coffee stop too? Many people depend on coffee to get them going in the morning. But someone who stops every morning before work for a large coffee could be forking out over $100 a month. Over the course of a year that’s $1,200. Make it at home instead and take it in a travel mug.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

April 9 - 15, 2011 FAX: (649) 946-4661

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

MYSTIQUE CAR RENTAL & TOURS LTD. Is seeking to employ a

RENTAL AGENT @@Must be Customer Service Oriented @@Must be computer literate @@Fluent in English @@Have a valid driver’s license and clean police record Please forward resume to

Mystique Car Rental & Tours Ltd.

Off Airport Road, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands. Fax (649) 941-5213 no later than April 16th, 2011

ACE PLUMBING Seeking

ONE PLUMBER AND ONE LABOURER MUST BE ABLE TO WORK WEEKENDS AND SOME HOLIDAYS

CONTACT 243 8210

VACANCIES The Sands is now accepting applications/résumé for the following position. Only highly self-driven & motivated, personable and professional individuals, who have the desire to serve others, need apply:

Housekeeping Manager

Responsibilities

• Provides supervision in maintaining the established standards of cleanliness, the orderly and attractive conditions on guest floors, public and employee areas. • Executes the Housekeeping Department’s working rules and regulations set forth by the Executive Housekeeper. • Helps monitor and maintain a healthy and safe environment for both guests and employees. • Conducts and keeps records of goods received, staff schedules, inventories and cleaning projects for guest rooms and public areas. • Familiarizes him /her self and carries out policies and procedures established by the Sands at Grace Bay. • Carries out the following routine assignments

Requirements

@@ Education: A secondary school diploma is an asset @@ Experience: Minimum of one year experience as an Housekeeping Manager is required

LINE POSITIONS

Room Attendant Responsibilities

• Carries out the following routine assignments: • Cleans occupied and vacant rooms on a daily basis and according to the established policy and standards. • Maintains the cleanliness and orderliness of housekeeping storage closets according to the established procedures. • Conducts routine inspection of all assigned rooms for any discrepancy in the status report and immediately coordinate to Housekeeping department for appropriate action. • Requires to do turn down service at night according to the operations policy. • Attends to guest request as needed. Requirements @@ Must have experience in housekeeping at a hotel industry @@ Will be required to work full time Turks Island citizens only need to apply in person to Tiersa Smith, Human Resources Manager at The Sands Resort located on Grace Bay Road, Providenciales, the Turks and Caicos Labour Department, or e-mail: tsmith@thesandstc. com . Applications must be in by April 22, 2011.

ANTHONY GARLAND Is looking for

One Domestic

Worker To work 6 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

Contact: 946-4536 6840

ENGINEER Explorer Ventures Liveaboard scuba vessel seeks an experienced marine engineer who has the ability to repair and maintain all shipboard systems including, but not limited to MEs, breathing air compressors, RO watermakers, generators and A/C. Candidates must have STCW-95 Basic safety certification. Engineer certification and previous liveaboard experience are preferred. Must speak/write English fluently and have excellent customer contact skills.

Please fax qualifications to 941-7450.

THE ROSE GARDEN Is seeking to employ 2

Domestic Workers Send application to:

6848

The Manager, P.O. Box 98, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands or call 241-1429

Making Waves A rt

S tudio

Is looking for a

Silk screen Printer/Painter

Qualifications and Experience: @@Post secondary degree in arts or related discipline @@Min. 10 years experience in silks screen printing, commercial painting and design @@In-depth knowledge of materials for screen printing @@Impeccable customer service skills @@Liaising with suppliers @@Office and computer skills (Min. MS Office and PhotoShop)

Duties include: @@Manual Silk Screen Printing @@Customer Service @@Art Painting @@Art Instruction @@Must be available to work long hours, weekends and holidays @@especially during the season

Remuneration: $12 per hour plus commission Position available immediately Contact Stephen at 242 9588 for more information

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!

the largest readership in the turks & caicos

6838

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

(649) 946-4661 EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES FAX: / NOTICES EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

Experienced Labourer Required

Gilley’s Enterprises IS LOOKING FOR A:

CHEF

Description of job:

• Responsible for ordering all provisions pertaining to food and cleaning supplies and kitchen equipment • Responsible for supervising general cleaning and maintenance of kitchen equipment • Taking food inventory at the end of each month • To make sure your cleaning staff keep your kitchen in good clean and healthy order • Be responsible to discuss menu for

banquets and conferences • Responsible for a respectable food cost • Responsible for purchasing food and negotiating prices Salary: $10.00 per hour

Description of suitable person:

• Must be hard working and efficient • Must have a positive attitude • Be able to work (6) days a week, weekends and holidays if needed Hours are from: 6:30am – 3:30pm – six (6) days per week

Contact: Mr. Tate Forbes between the hours of 9:00am -3:30pm @ 946-4472 or email: gilley’scafe@tciway.tc

6841

For live in on-site position. To maintain the property, gardens and other related tasks as required. Applicant must be fluent in English and have a pleasant manner. Required to work Monday to Saturdays with scheduled breaks and must be available as needed.

REQUIREMENTS

Literate and numerate with High School Diploma Must posses excellent verbal and written communication skills Must have basic personal safety and be vigilant Must have own transportation Must be punctual, dedicated and hardworking Salary: $5.50ph (dependent on experience may increase) Start date: 20th May 2011 Submit applications to Roxann@tciyouthcentre.tc or contact 331-9602 Deadline for applications is April 15th 2011 Belongers need only apply

Vacancy Notice Vacancy Notice Director of Trade

Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communications SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

An exciting opportunity awaits you in the Turks & Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) Service for the post of Director of Trade within the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communication. The incumbent in this managerial position is responsible for overseeing the performance and service delivery standards in the Department of Trade. He/She would be expected to supervise the management of promotions, the development of trade activities as well as oversee all trade and business related activities. He/She would also be expected to establish the Department of Trade, its programmes and staff; complement and develop rules, policies and guidelines on matters affecting the Department. The successful candidate must be able to provide effective leadership for the Department by providing direction to staff and enabling, inspiring, motivating and supporting staff to achieve the Department’s objectives.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The position requires a Bachelor’s Degree in Trade, Business Management, Marketing or equivalent with at least seven (7) years experience. A Master’s Degree with at least ten (10) years experience would be preferred. The candidate must have at least five (5) years experience functioning at a Top Management Level within the field of Investment Trade Promotion or its equivalent. The successful candidate must also possess sound knowledge of Trade Investment, Promotions, Strategic Planning, Project Management and Execution, especially as related to projects in the TCI and Caribbean Region.

REMUNERATION PACKAGE:

SALARY: $50,000 per annum HOUSING ALLOWANCE - $9,000.00 per annum TELEPHONE ALLOWANCE - $1,800.00 per annum TRANSPORTATION ALLOWANCE - $2,220.00 per annum For persons recruited outside the Turks and Islands, a two (2) year contract is offered. Other benefits offered include an end-of-contract gratuity of 15% of salary; return passage for family of up to two children under the age of sixteen (16) years as well as duty free concession on the shipment of personal effects imported within six (6) months of appointment.

Director of Tourism

Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Communications SUMMARY OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

An exciting opportunity awaits you in the Turks & Caicos Islands Government (TCIG) Service for the post of Director of Tourism. The incumbent in this senior leadership position would have to take the lead in updating the National Tourism Policy, and National Strategic Tourism Plan, respectively with emphasis on tourism product development. He/She would be expected to develop a range of policies and standards for each facet of tourism that will individually and collectively pave the way for the implementation of the Tourism Authority (TA). Once fully functioning the TA will act as the Tourism Marketing Research and Promotional Arm. He/ She would also be expected to establish and implement the modalities through which the tourism industry is governed and statistics and performance indicators are maintained. The individual will also support the Permanent Secretary as the Accounting Officer and other relevant bodies by representing the Ministry at meetings, conferences and seminars, and provide impartial, accurate and timely advice to its Management Team. The successful candidate will also be expected to perform any other duties as may be required.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

The position requires a Master Degree with seven (7) years experience in Tourism Management, Business Administration, Bachelors Degree with ten (10) years experience in Tourism Management, Business Administration or its equivalent. The candidate must have at least three (3) to five (5) years experience at a Top Management Level within the field of Tourism Management and must demonstrate the ability to develop and manage budgets to achieve operational objectives and deliver efficiency as well as value for money for Turks and Caicos Islands Government.

REMUNERATION PACKAGE:

Applicant’s resume must include contact number, email address, two letters of reference and a police certificate which should be sent to the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Susan Malcolm, Office of the Public Service Management, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands. Fax (649) 946-1582. Extension: 10318

ONLY SUITABLE CANDIDATES WILL BE ACKNOWLEDGED

DEADLING: April 19, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

World News

April 9 - 15, 2011

Rolando Villazon up for two Classic Brit awards

Brazil school shooting:

TENOR ROLANDO Villazon and conductor Antonio Pappano have both been nominated for two Classic Brit Awards. Villazon, a judge and mentor on ITV show Popstar To Operastar, is shortlisted for album of the year and best male artist. Pappano has also received a nod in the best male category and has been nominated for the critics’ award. Myleene Klass will present the ceremony, which takes place at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 12 May. Conductor Sir Charles Mackerras, who died last year, gains a posthumous nomination for best male artist. For the first time in the awards’ 12-year history, three British artists - trumpeter Alison Balsom, violinist Nicola Benedetti and pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida - will compete for the title of female artist of the year. Dame Mitsuko was born in Japan but is a naturalised British citizen. In another first, the category features no opera singers. The most coveted prize of the night is the album of the year award, which is voted for by the public. The list is compiled from the top

A MAN has opened fire in a school in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, leaving 13 people dead, officials say. It remains unclear whether the attacker, who is among the dead, was then killed by police or shot himself. The gunman is thought to be a 24-year-old former pupil. More than 20 people were also injured in the shooting. Globo TV showed images of the victims being taken away by ambulance from the Escola Municipal Tasso da Silveira school in the western Realengo area. ‘Aiming at heads’ “The person entered, and fired shots,” a spokeswoman for Rio’s police told Globo. The attacker - who was later identified as Wellington Menezes Oliveira - entered the school at about 0800 local time (1100 GMT). Globo said he had told school officials he was there to make a

Best album nominee Isabel Suckling sings in York Minster’s choir (photo Paul Mitchell)

10 biggest selling classical albums of last year, and includes choirgirl Isabel Suckling who is up against her manager Aled Jones for his Christmas release. Other artists shortlisted for best album include Bryn Terfel, Andre Rieu, The Priests, Russell Watson, the Central Band of the RAF and the Benedictine Nuns of Notre-Dame for Voices. US musician Eric Whitacre picks up his first nomination in the composer of the year category, while Karl Jenkins is shortlisted for the

fourth time. Operatic quartet Il Divo will recieve a special award for artist of the decade and are due to perform at the event, which will be screened on ITV1. Meanwhile, the shortlist nominations for The Royal Philharmonic Society Music Awards have also been announced. The Royal Opera House leads the way with nominations in five categories, including three for its production of Wagner’s Tannhauser. (BBC)

W ireless Lounge Get the latest news on wireless technology, cool applications, useful web sites and much more from TCI’s only 3G wireless provider.

World’s Newest Apps Try some of these newly released apps on your mobile or tablet device

SemiSilent lets you select which of your contacts can get a hold of you even when your phone is silenced. Simply select the people with whom you’d like to be available to at all times and if your phone is on silent mode it will still ring for these people.

At Home . On the Move . At Work . Simply Amazing. Samsung introduces the bright and beautiful Galaxy S smartphone which provides users with an enhanced mobile experience. This amazing device delivers Islandcom’s 3G speed promising an unparalleled entertainment experience. Whether you choose to watch a movie, read a book or newspaper with the pre-loaded Kindle for Android App, or surf the web while you’re on the go - you are sure to be impressed. With a slim and sleek design, the Galaxy S 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen is vivid, sharp and super fast. Powered by Android 2.3, the Galaxy S is equipped with a 5 megapixel front and rear camera allowing for face to face video chats, a pre-installed 16GB microSD memory card and an incredibly long life lithium ion battery. Stop by an Islandcom’s Retail Store for more information on this amazing Android device!

Muvee allows Android tablet and mobile users to create live interactive slide shows with photos pulled directly from your mobile device as well as social media sites. Add some music and show off your photo gallery Do you love the tunes your friends have on their mobile devices? Eavesdrop lets you share your music with a nearby friend on the go over Bluetooth or WiFi. Just listen to your media library with Eavesdrop and your friend will be able to tune in. The addictive Angry Birds story continues with the much anticipated ‘Angry Birds Rio’. This time the birds are in the magical city of Rio de Janeiro where they need your help to save their feathered friends lives. BroughtÊtoÊyouÊby

13 dead after gunman opens fire speech. He reportedly had two revolvers and a lot of ammunition. He opened fire aiming at victims’ heads, Brazil’s Estadao newspaper reports. It is still unclear whether he shot himself or was killed by the police. Dorival Porto Rafael, a rubbish collector who was at the school at the time, told Globo online that the gunman walked into a class where students were studying Portuguese. “He came into the class saying he was going to give a talk. He went to an eighth grade class, on the [ground floor], and without saying anything took out a pistol from his bag and started firing,” Mr Rafael said. “The police arrived and he tried to go up to the next floor, but when he saw he was surrounded he shot himself in the head,” the eyewitness added. (BBC)

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

The Provo Jewish community invites you to the

v”c

Family Forever Lasting Love broke the previous Chinese contemporary art record set by a Zeng Fanzhi work in 2008

Triptych by Chinese artist Zhang Xiaogang sets record A THREE-PANEL oil painting by artist Zhang Xiaogang has sold for 79m Hong Kong dollars (£6.3m) - a record auction price for Chinese contemporary art. The 1988 work, Forever Lasting Love, shows halfnaked figures in an arid landscape surrounded by symbols, among them an emaciated ram. It was one of 105 artworks sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong by Belgian collector Baron Guy Ullens. They fetched HK$427m (£34m), more than three times than had been expected. Forever Lasting Love broke the previous Chinese contemporary art record of HK$75m (£6m). That was set by Zeng Fanzhi’s canvas Mask Series 1996 No 6, auctioned in Hong Kong in 2008. ‘Entire spectrum’ Evelyn Lin, Sotheby’s head of contemporary Asian art, said Forever Lasting Love was “a monumental museum-quality work from a defining period of the Chinese avant-garde”. The auction set records for other Chinese artists including Zhang Peili - whose Series “X?” No 3 sold for HK$23m (£1.8m) - and Geng Jianyi, whose Two People Under a Light fetched HK$18.6m (£1.5m). Kevin Ching, chief executive of Sotheby’s Asia, said the works on sale represented “the entire spectrum of contemporary Chinese art”. “I think everyone would be proud to be able to own a piece of that history, that process and a part of that vision,” he added. Baron Ullens, who with wife Myriam set up Beijing’s Ullens Centre for Contemporary Art (Ucca), said the sale did not mean he had abandoned his support for the Chinese movement. Ucca said in a statement that the baron’s dream was to support and promote a younger generation of artists. (BBC)

Passover Seder Monday, April 18th t 6:30 pm at the Regent Palms Join us for a warm, interactive Community Passover Seder. Enjoy a full course, sumptuous Seder feast with all the traditional delicacies - and lots of wine! The story of Exodus will come alive through song and kabbalistic insights sprinkled with humor. The Seder will be English friendly so everyone can feel welcome. All are welcome. No affiliation or Hebrew necessary. d eman KIDS ZONE! d r a ul p o p Wednesday, April 13th t 5:00pm - 7:30 pm by Back an afternoon of fun for children ages 5 to 12 Arts and crafts t Learn about Passover Model Matzo Bakery - come make your very own matzo from beginning to end. Snacks will be served - Location: Home of Sigal and Avishay Levy

Continue the celebration! Family Passover service, Tuesday morning, April 19 @ 10:00am followed by a Kiddush-Location TBA Kindly RSVP by April 8th t For more information Contact RabbiBluming@ymail.com Rabbi Sholom Bluming, Visiting Rabbi to Turks and Caicos

Passover Sponsors THE ATRIUM RESORT IN LEEWARD

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

NATIONAL

European Central Bank ‘encouraged’ Portugal to seek aid Will Smith and son Jaden EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) Portuguese authorities to ask for spokesman Amadeu Altafaj. to star in sci-fi film Portugal follows Greece and the President Jean-Claude Trichet has said support and that was commanded by that it encouraged crisis-hit Portuguese authorities to seek financial aid. He was speaking after the ECB raised rates to 1.25%, which may add to the problems of debt-ridden countries. Portugal’s troubles are also expected to be discussed when EU finance ministers gather later in Budapest. Portugal’s caretaker Prime Minister Jose Socrates said on Wednesday he would ask for financial assistance. “We have encouraged the

the situation after what has happened previously in Portugal,” said ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet. A European Commission spokesman said that a formal request for aid had not yet been received, but that the EU would be negotiating a deal with Portuguese authorities even though there is only a caretaker government in place at the moment. “The Commission stands ready to send a mission to Lisbon along with European Central Bank staff as soon as we are asked to do so,” said

Irish Republic in seeking a bail-out. However, Spain was quick to say it would not be following these countries in seeking assistance. Analysts have expressed concerns about Spain as it has EU’s highest unemployment rate and is struggling to deal with a banking crisis and the collapse of its property boom. But Spain’s Economy Minister Elena Salgado said that financial markets were perfectly capable of distinguishing between the situations in Portugal and Spain. (BBC)

WILL SMITH and his son Jaden, 12, are to star in a sci-fi film - their first big-screen appearance together since 2006 drama The Pursuit of Happyness. It will feature a boy who tries to save himself and his estranged father after their ship crashes on an abandoned Earth, 1,000 years in the future. M Night Shyamalan will direct and co-write the as-yet-untitled film. The Sixth Sense director said making “a scary science-fiction film”

with the pair was his “dream project”. Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith will co-produce, as they did on last year’s Karate Kid remake in which Jaden appeared. The Pursuit of Happyness, based on the memoir of stockbroker Chris Gardner, told of a down-and-out family man left by his wife to bring up his son. Smith’s portrayal of a salesman trying to prove himself in 1980s San Francisco earned him a best actor Oscar nomination in 2007.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

LUMBER & PLYWOOD NOW IN STOCK

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 7-10 years work experience in retail management  computer savvy (POS/BMS/Word/Excel)  willing to work extended hours weekends & holidays  speak/write English. Oth lang is asset  work independently and be team player  Salary dependent on qualification

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April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Entertainment

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

Grammy Awards Is Revamped: New Rules and Categories PEOPLE at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) have decided to reduce the long-list categories of Grammy Awards. From 109 categories, around 52 awards were eliminated and some of them were combined into one to create 21 new fields. This means that Grammys will offer more competitive battles for its frequent nominees like Lady GaGa, Eminem and Rihanna. Male and female artists will bump into each other more often because there are no more separate awards for best male and female vocal in the pop, country and R&B fields. Some of the changes are; solo artists for each genre will simply compete for “solo performance”, the “pop collaborations” will merge

into “pop duos/groups” category, and “best rap solo and duo or group performance” are put together in “best rap performance.” The rap/ sung duet survived the cut, but the instrumental track categories were banished. The new format includes new rules on entries and voting. Each category must have at least 40 artist entries. If a category receives between 25 and 39, only three recordings will receive nominations. If there are less, the category will not be presented. The category will be discontinued if there are fewer than 25 entries for three consecutive years. “Every year, we diligently examine our awards structure to develop an overall guiding vision and ensure that it remains

a balanced and viable process,” The Recording Academy president Neil Portnow said. “After careful and extensive review and analysis of all categories and fields, it was objectively determined that our Grammy categories be restructured to the continued competition and prestige of the highest and only peerrecognised award in music.” “I think the positive side is we’ve taken a good, serious look at what we’re doing,” he added. “We contemporised it, we organised it and we visioned it in a way that will suit us going into the future. In other words, if you just continue business as usual, at some point, typically, you’re going to hit some sort of a pothole in the road.” (aceshowbiz. com)

Simon Cowell was offered $150, 000 to judge a couple have sex and critique their techniques.

Simon Cowell regrets refusing Parents inspire Miley to judge sex technique

Cyrus to reunite with Liam Hemsworth

Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth (photo taken from the the hotlist.com)

THE RECONCILIATION between Billy Ray Cyrus and wife Tish might have something to do with Miley Cyrus reuniting with her ex-boyfriend Liam Hemsworth. A source close to the former “Hannah Montana” star suggested the idea when confirming to Hollywood Life that the co-stars on “The Last Song” are indeed back on. Accordingly, it was Miley’s

parents who played a huge part in the two getting back together. “Miley is so thrilled at her parents reconciling, and it made her stop and think, and realize that Liam is someone special in her life,” shared the insider. “Their feelings for each other never stopped, and now that their schedules are better suited for each other, they have been able to work it out.”

Pregnant Mariah Carey poses naked for magazine cover MARIAH CAREY has stripped off for a magazine cover. Just as her husband Nick Cannon confessed recently he was having second thought on their naked pictures, Life & Style magazine uncovers its latest cover photo that features the “Heartbreaker” hitmaker showing off her baby bump in the nude. Looking radiant, she covers her breasts with her hair and one hand. Though she looked comfortable in her pregnant skin, the 42-year-old pop diva did admit to the publication, “I was feeling very vulnerable about taking pictures at all right now.” Nonetheless, she noted, “But then I didn’t want to miss this opportunity to document this once-in-a-lifetime experience. My ultimate goal was to share this incredibly personal moment with my true fans.” Mariah struck the pose when she was already eight months into her pregnancy. In fact, the day before the photo shoot she thought she was

going into labour. She recalled, “The babies were kicking almost the entire time; it was unbelievable. Especially the girl - clearly she’s a diva in training! We didn’t start shooting until 1:30 A.M. because I was in the hospital from the night before until the day of the shoot with contractions five minutes apart!” In the interview, the “We Belong Together” singer additionally noted that being pregnant with twins has given her a whole new appreciation to mothers. “Now I have so much respect for mothers everywhere, especially those who’ve had difficult pregnancies or given birth to multiples,” she said. “We need to have Mother’s Day once a week!” Mariah isn’t the first celebrity posing in her birthday suit while pregnant. Demi Moore has appeared naked while seven months pregnant with daughter Scout LaRue on the cover of Vanity Fair in August 1991. Britney Spears and Christina

SIMON COWELL egrets turning down a bizarre $150,000 offer to watch a couple have sex and critique their technique. The music mogul, famed for giving harsh criticisms on TV talent shows like “American Idol”, was approached by a businessman who wanted Cowell to join him and his partner in the bedroom to judge their love-making skills. The Brit admits he was so taken aback by the odd request, he had to decline. He tells CNN host Piers Morgan, “He offered me $150,000 to criticize him bonking [having sex with] his wife. The crazy part of the story is I said no. If you’re watching, I’ll even do it for 50 thousand.” “Maybe it was just the fact I didn’t

know them that well. I think the fact that he really was taking it quite serious and I knew I would laugh. I just thought, ‘This is too crazy.’ But I genuinely regret it now.” And Cowell reveals it wasn’t the only lucrative deal he’s had to turn down. He recalls, “My agent called me up and went, ‘I’ve got some great news for you Simon. You’ve been offered a million offers for a commercial. But there’s some bad news: it’s Viagra.’ I was trying to work out whether it was a compliment or an insult! I said no. The best form of Viagra is being on TV. Girls will like you more. It makes it easier.” (World entertainment news network)

Wedding bells for Britney-Spears?

A pregnant Mariah Carey poses naked for Life and Style magazine.

Aguilera have also stripped down to show off their baby bump on other magazines’ cover. (aceshowbiz.com)

POP STAR Britney Spears might be ready to tie the knot for the third time. In an exclusive interview with US Weekly, Spears chats up her boyfriend, Jason Trawick, saying that they “have such a great time together. . . . He makes me laugh, and we are so comfortable being ourselves.” When asked about wedding plans, she told the mag, “Maybe . . . never say never!” (miamiherald. com)

Britney Spears

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Science & Technology Sex and exercise = heart attack? SEX AND EXERCISE can roughly triple the risk of having a heart attack, especially in people who do not get regular exercise, a U.S. study reported Wednesday. Doctors have long known that physical activity can cause serious heart problems, but the new study helps to quantify that risk, said lead author Dr. Issa Dahabreh of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, whose study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers found people are 3.5 times more likely to get a heart attack or have sudden cardiac death when they are exercising compared to when they are not. And they are 2.7 times more likely to get a heart attack when they are

having sex or immediately afterward compared with when they are not. People who exercise regularly have a much smaller risk of having a heart attack immediately after sexual or physical activity, said Dahabreh. “It would be really bad if someone thought our paper means people should not exercise,” Dahabreh said. “If anything, it’s the opposite.” The researchers said the period of increased risk is brief, and the risk for any one person is extremely low. “These elevated risks are only for a short period of time (1 to 2 hours) during and after the physical or sexual activity,” said Jessica Paulus, another Tufts researcher who worked on the study. (Agencies)

Tara, a chimpanzee, yawns while watching a video of chimpanzees from her group yawning on an iPod. (CREDIT: Copyright Yerkes National Primate Research Centre)

Chimps demonstrate empathy with yawns

FOR CHIMPANZEES, like humans, yawning can be contagious. And new research offers evidence that for these apes picking up a yawn is a sign of social connection. The researchers showed chimpanzees a video of other chimpanzees and found they yawned more frequently after watching a chimpanzee from their own group yawn than a chimpanzee from another group — evidence that they were more influenced by others with whom they empathised. Like chimpanzees, humans show more empathy — the ability to understand and share in another’s feelings — for members of their own social group. No one has studied whether or not biases like this affect contagious yawning in humans, but the researchers believe we are like our closest living relatives in this regard. “The idea is that yawns are contagious for the same reason that smiles, frowns and other facial expressions are contagious,” write the researchers, Matthew Campbell and Frans de Waal of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University in Georgia, online Wednesday (April 6) in the journal PLoS ONE. “The mechanism that

allows someone to reflexively mimic a smile is thought to also allow for reflexive mimicry of yawns.” Campbell and de Waal showed 23 chimpanzees from two separate groups video clips of other chimpanzees yawning or doing something else. The chimps yawned 50 percent more frequently in response to video of members of their group yawning versus video of the other group members yawning. The researchers note that the chimps paid more attention to the video of unfamiliar chimps. It’s important to note that humans and chimpanzees have different parameters for determining the insider who elicits empathy and the outsider who doesn’t. Humans define their own social group more broadly than do chimpanzees. So, an unfamiliar person can be included within a human social group, but an unfamiliar chimpanzee is by definition an outsider, they write. (Chimps have also been shown to yawn in response to yawning animated characters; however, this is likely because the artificial nature of the animation prevented the chimps from perceiving the character as an outsider, Campbell and de Waal write.)

Genetically modified fungus could fight malaria IN A CRAMPED London laboratory filled with test tubes, bacteria and mosquitoes, scientists are trying to engineer a new weapon in the battle against malaria: a mutant fungus. For years, Angray Kang at Westminster University and colleagues have been testing whether they could genetically tweak a fungus to kill the malaria parasite carried by mosquitoes. Now they’ve found that in lab experiments, mosquitoes exposed to the fungus show a sharp drop in levels of the parasite. If it works that way in the wild, that should make it harder for the disease to infect people. Kang said the mutant fungus could be sprayed onto walls and bednets like insecticides and could be made for a comparable cost. He said the same process of genetic modification could also be used to target other insect-spread diseases like dengue and West Nile virus. The research was done together with scientists at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Early results were published recently in the journal Science. “This is very exciting research,” said Andrew Read, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics at Pennsylvania State University. He has worked on similar projects but was not involved with the fungus research. “It tells us that if you can’t find something in nature

Some species of the anopheles mosquitoes can transmit Malaria.

to do what you want, you can just make it.” Read said using the souped-up fungus might be less environmentally invasive than other genetic approaches. Some critics have warned that competing biological approaches, like scientists creating mutant mosquitoes, could wreak havoc to ecosystems if billions of the insects are released into the wild. With the fungus, “you just spray it on the wall and it does its job,” Read said. “You don’t have to worry about generation after generation of the stuff.” He also said the fungus technology could be a new way of dealing with insecticide-resistant mosquitoes, an

increasing problem that has meant the return of effective but controversial sprays like DDT. “With the (mutant) fungi, you wouldn’t have chemical residues hanging around,” he said. “It would just be a fungus very similar to what is already found in nature.” In laboratory tests, Kang and colleagues found mosquitoes exposed to the mutated fungus had malaria parasite levels about 85 percent lower than normal. When they added a scorpion toxin to the mix, levels dropped by 97 percent. No tests have shown whether using the fungus would curb human malaria cases, but experts think fewer malaria parasites should translate into fewer cases. (nrp.org)

Babies born to obese moms face higher death risk: study Babies born to mothers who were obese in early pregnancy have a much greater risk of dying before, during, or up to one year after birth, a new British study says. Researchers examined nearly 41,000 pregnancies involving deliveries of single babies at five maternity units in northern England from 2003 to 2005. The risk of a baby dying in the womb (fetal death) or up to one year after birth (infant death) was twice as high among women who were obese (BMI of 30 or more) in early pregnancy than among those with normal weight (BMI of 18.5 to 24.5). There were nearly eight more fetal and infant deaths per 1,000 births among obese women than among women with normal weight. The total (absolute) risk of fetal or infant death

was 16 in every 1,000 births (1.6 percent) among obese women and nearly 9 per 1,000 births (0.9 percent) among normal weight women. The lowest risk was among women with a BMI of 23. BMI, or body mass index, is a ratio of weight to height. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight and a BMI of 30 or greater is considered obese. The study was published April 5 in the journal Human Reproduction. “There are likely to be a number of reasons why obesity is associated with fetal and infant death and we don’t yet know the full story,” study co-author Judith Rankin, a professor of maternal and perinatal epidemiology at Newcastle University, said in a journal news release. “For example, there is an increased risk of high blood pressure or diabetes developing during

pregnancy. Understanding the risks associated with obesity is helpful for health-care professionals caring for pregnant women, so that additional monitoring can be provided as necessary.” Most women in the United Kingdom and other developed nations “will deliver a healthy live baby, regardless of their weight at the start of pregnancy,” Dr. Ruth Bell, clinical senior lecturer at Newcastle University, said in the news release. “What’s key is that women should be helped to achieve a healthy weight before they become pregnant or after the baby is born. Our research shows that this will give the baby the best possible start in life. Women should not try to lose weight during pregnancy, but should ensure they eat a balanced healthy diet,” she said. (HealthDay news)

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Barbados’s police were “only concerned with tourist image” – British actress on rape ordeal A FORMER BRITISH actress savagely attacked in her Barbados home by a serial rapist claims the island’s police failed to warn the public about the string of attacks and were ‘apparently only concerned with the image of Barbados tourism’. Hilary Heath, who appeared in films including Wuthering Heights and television series The Avengers, has formally complained alongside two other British victims about the police investigation. They other women, in their twenties, were attacked by the same man after Mrs Heath’s ordeal. She says she had to beg for DNA swabs to be taken when she went to hospital, officers failed to seize vital evidence such as her bed sheets and items handled by the rapist for forensic clues, and a statement taken from her was ‘barely literate’ The name of her attacker, Venslow Small, was even given to police by her colleagues at a charitable foundation, but no further action was taken, according to The Sunday Times. And at a meeting with senior police, she told the paper they shouted and laughed at her, and did not want to issue a public alert: ‘They appeared to be more concerned with the image of the police force and bad press than about issuing adequate warnings.’ Small was subsequently captured after leaving his phone at the scene of another crime. He was charged and convicted for Mrs Heath’s rape, along with those of 16 other women, including seven

Brave: Rape victim Hilary Heath, with exhusband Duncan (Dailymail.co.uk)

other white victims, the paper said. Mrs Heath, 65, the former wife of top showbusiness agent Duncan Heath who has waived her right to anonymity, moved to the island after giving up acting. She decided to train as a counsellor for drug addicts and studied mental health at King’s College in London. A regular holidaymaker to Barbados, she set up home there and, as part of her training, was doing work experience at Verdun House, a charitable foundation which helps addicts after leaving prison. One night in April 2004, she was awoken by masked man who jumped on her back, put a knife to her throat and covered her mouth with his hand. After robbing her safe and stealing from her purse, he raped her. She was left with permanent injuries as, fearing he was about to kill her after the sexual assault, she jumped 20ft from her room onto a concrete path, breaking bones in her back and her heel. The lacklustre police response to her case prompted her to contact the

Foreign Office and also her local MP, Michael Portillo. Mr Portillo wrote to then-Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, indicating a list of white women raped before and after Mrs Heath’s case, and saying the official response was possibly because of training, expertise and resources. ‘The authorities in Barbados seem mainly concerned to protect the reputation of the islands,’ the letter went on. An expert criminologist, Barrie Irving, whom she asked to look at the case, told The Sunday Times the rape investigation ‘gives considerable cause for concern’. She says she decided to speak out after reading about the case of grandmother, Diane Davis, who was raped as she went for an afternoon swim at a family beach near the luxury Sandy Lane resort, not far from Mrs Heath’s £1m home on the west coast. The 61-year-old widow was attacked by a man who had raped another British woman only 48 hours before.

Five, including teen, killed in Jamaica OCHO RIOS, St Ann — A grade 11 male student of Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann’s Bay was among five people killed over a bloody weekend in this parish. Sixteen-year-old Vencot Myers was killed by unknown assailant(s) at his home in Hampstead, Runaway Bay early Saturday morning, shortly after he returned home from a church function with his family. Investigators suspect the boy’s attacker(s) gained entry to his room through a bathroom window and slashed his throat and stabbed him as he slept. Myers managed to crawl to another room on the house where he collapsed. He was rushed to the St Ann’s Bay Hospital where he was

pronounced dead. Yesterday, a cloud of gloom hung over his school as news of his tragic death spread during the morning Devotion. Students and teachers wept openly as they tried to come to terms with the shocking news. “This is really sad. It’s a really a sad day for everyone at school to know something like that happened to one of our students at his home,” a disheartened principal Leslie Riley told the Observer. Counsellors from the Ministry of Education Region Three office in Brown’s Town were called to the school yesterday to comfort grieving students and teachers. “The teachers are crying, the students are crying. He was a very

lively student. He meant much to the school community; he was a good boy, he was very well behaved, and an obedient and promising student,” Riley said, noting that Myers’ death had left the entire school community in shock. Commanding officer for the parish, Senior Superintendent Carlton Wilson told the Observer that he was very concerned about the number of killings which occurred across the parish on the weekend. “That is cause for concern; even though they (the killings) actually occurred in separate districts... what is alarming also is that most of these murders in St Ann are caused by machete or knife wounds,” he said.

April 9 - 15, 2011

DR soldiers arrested for drug smuggling THIRTY-THREE kilograms of cocaine were found in a little girl’s suitcase as she travelled with her parents and sister from Puerto Plata to Toronto. The discovery led to 12 soldiers in the Dominican Republic being arrested after investigators alleged they used the girl to smuggle the drugs into Canada. Ironically, the accused soldiers were assigned to combat drug trafficking in the Dominican

Republic, with eight of them working for the national anti-drug agency at the airport in Puerto Plata. All of the suspects have been held on drug smuggling charges while the investigation proceeds. The little girl’s parents, who investigators suspected of working with the smugglers, were not arrested, although more charges could be pending. (citytv. com)

Guyanese jailed for “hammering” wife in BVI A GUYANESE MAN will face the next eight years behind bars after he was found guilty of hitting his wife with a 14-inch hammer in the British Virgin Islands. Vernon Anthony Paddy pleaded guilty to the attack which initially carried a charge of attempted murder, but was later lowered to causing grievous bodily harm. The 48-year-old was ordered to pay over $5000 in compensation to his wife within six months. If he fails to do so he would be asked to spend another 12 months in jail. The Guyanese man, who has been living in the BVI since 1998, was a former Airport Authority security guard and was once a member of

the Guyana Defence Force. He and his wife had been married for nine years. Information from out of the island press indicated that the incident happened on May 25th last year. When officers visited the house and the investigating officer Fraser questioned Paddy about the incident he is reported to have stated: “Fraser, you know what is frustration?” The victim was seen crying with blood running down her face, leg and right hand; and as a result she spent a total of eight days in the hospital. Recently another Guyanese man was jailed in the USA for a hot-iron attack on his wife.

Barbados police interrogated in connection with Jamaican rape allegations TOP level Barbadian investigators on Monday night interrogated three police officers in connection with the alleged rape and sexual assault of a Jamaican woman while she was in custody. The 27-year-old woman who is from Spanish Town, St Catherine, was arrested at the Grantley Adams airport in late February after about two kilogrammes of marijuana were found in her luggage. She was taken to the Central Police Station where the incident reportedly occurred. The woman claims a female officer let two male cops in her cell during her first night in custody and she was raped and sexually assaulted by the two cops who subjected her to taunts and inhumane treatment. The alleged rape victim has since been remanded to the HMP Dodds facility in St Phillip and is awaiting her trial.

Efforts to contact Assistant Superintendent Curvan Harvey of the Royal Barbados Police Force proved futile. Last month, Shanique Myrie, a Jamaican woman who travelled to the eastern Caribbean island, complained that she was “finger raped” and subjected to humiliating treatment by Barbadian officials before being booted out of the country. Days later three men who went to the island to promote an artiste and to negotiate Reggae singer Junior Reid’s appearance on the Reggae on the Hill concert, also claimed they were beaten, locked up and booted out of the country even though had satisfied all of the island’s entry requirements. The Myrie incident drew cries of condemnation from a wide crosssection of society and prompted government to government dialogue between the two countries. (Jamaicaobserver.com)

April 9 - 15, 2011

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Martelly is new Haitian president – According to preliminary results PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — It was a new stage on Tuesday for Michel Martelly, the former hit-maker who nicknamed himself “president” in song and is now on the verge of serving as the real thing in the devastated country. Far from the glittering carnival floats from which he performed in diapers, dresses and dropped pants as the self-proclaimed “bad boy” of kompa music, Mr. Martelly on Tuesday strode onto a stage in the back of a high-end restaurant that screamed presidential. As if in a State of the Union entrance, he greeted well-wishers for his first post-election news conference as he made his way to a lectern bathed in soft light and flanked by Haitian flags. He wore a conservative gray suit, pink shirt (the official colour of his campaign), red tie and, rarely donned in public, reading glasses. He spoke from a script. It was almost entirely in French, the language of the elite here. The message was reconciliation and unity, not profane takes on past leaders. “I am president for all Haitians,” Mr. Martelly said. “We are going to work together for change.” And so Mr. Martelly, who, according to preliminary results announced Monday, won more than two-thirds of the votes cast in the March 20 presidential runoff, set

about reassuring Haiti and the world that he has the capacity to lead a country still on its knees from the January 2010 earthquake, a cholera epidemic and decades of the worst poverty in the hemisphere. His political skills will quickly face a test, assuming the results hold up when the official outcome is announced April 16. Parliament is dominated by the party of President René Préval, potentially stalling any legislation Mr. Martelly puts forth and complicating his pick for prime minister, who must be endorsed by the legislature. It appears turnout was far lower than in previous elections — an Organisation of American States and Caribbean Community projection put it at 30 percent, but no official figures have been released — potentially diminishing his claim of a mandate. There are also reserves of skepticism among the leaders of the thousands of nongovernmental organisations that form the backbone of social aid, as well as among diplomats of some countries contributing to the several billion dollars pledged, but far from fully delivered, to rebuild the country. Mr. Martelly must now “balance the exigencies placed on him by foreign governments and agencies with the needs and aspirations of the Haitian population,” said Laurent Dubois, a professor of French studies

Tourism is out of control, Caribbean sustainable conference is told TOURISM is out of control, according to Costas Christ, editor at large of National Geographic Magazine. Making the keynote speech at The 12th Caribbean Sustainable Tourism Conference in Bermuda this week, he said lack of control and awareness of sustainability has led to the destruction of many pristine sites. He cited examples such as Haad Rin, the venue for the infamous Full Moon party in Thailand. Christ believes the industry will only get it right if it heeds three basic principles: - Reduce, reuse, recycle - Protect culture, heritage and nature - Ensure that tourism brings

many social benefits for locals. “Whilst much progress has been made there is much more than can be done here in the Caribbean and in the rest of the world,” he said. “No stone should be left unturned in our pursuit of a more sustainable environment and through that a more sustainable tourism product.” Under questioning from the audience, Christ admitted that an even tougher challenge lay ahead in balancing the demands of a tourism economy and those of maintaining cultural, topographical and heritage differences. “Only in this way will the Caribbean remain competitive,” he said. (travelmole.com)

The Haitian president-elect, Michel Martelly, greeting supporters on Tuesday morning. (Allison Shelly photo)

and history and a Haiti scholar at Duke University. “He is entering a particularly complex, multifaceted, and contorted political landscape.” Though large crowds flock around Mr. Martelly as the great pink hope, the process of getting power brokers to look past his carnivalesque stage persona began months ago, as it became clear he was emerging from political obscurity to become a force in the presidential race. He ascended largely on the back of young, desperately poor supporters who knew him and his bawdy act very well. Diplomats began arriving at his mansion in a hilly neighborhood. They took his measure, and he theirs. “We knew Madame Manigat much better, so there was a lot of getting to know you,” said one, referring to Mirlande Manigat, the college professor and former first lady whom Mr. Martelly defeated, who is a longtime opposition figure here. Another diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, said:

“We all had concerns about his preparation to run a country and his background and where the resources were coming from for his campaign. But we started a dialogue.” Mr. Martelly has yet to identify the donors for his multimilliondollar campaign, and supporters of Ms. Manigat tried to use the fact that banks foreclosed on three of his Florida properties to tarnish his claims he would be fiscally responsible. But in these closed-door meetings, he used flashes of humour to disarm his guests and, acknowledging gaps in how government functions, promised to rely on a group of respected professionals along with his wife, Sophia, who runs the family’s charitable foundation. Mr. Martelly began allaying some fears. “He has a lot of good technocrats around him, so that gives us hope,” said an official at a large nongovernmental organisation. Karl Jean Louis, who helps direct Haiti Aid Watchdog, which monitors

nongovernmental groups here, said he had been so favorably impressed with Mr. Martelly’s requests for information following a January conference on aid distribution that he ended up joining the campaign as an adviser. “Haitians have to be a part of the reconstruction effort and people are frustrated at being left out,” he said. “I think he is serious about mobilising Haitians.” Mr. Martelly, among his list of goals like expanding education, also played up kick-starting foreign investment and unclogging a backlog of delayed projects. Reginald Boulos, a pillar of the business community who said he had stayed neutral in the race, said many business leaders initially doubted Mr. Martelly’s readiness but grew more comfortable at the professional nature of his campaign. It was run by consultants who worked with Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, and President Felipe Calderón of Mexico. It also does not hurt to have good relations with the prospective president. “I will call him to congratulate him,” said Mr. Boulos, who is the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce here and a veteran insider. “We elected a priest who did not bring prosperity,” he said, referring to Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former priest of the poor who in 1990 became the country’s first democratically elected president and made a sudden return from exile just before the runoff. “We have elected politician after politician who did not bring prosperity. If Haitians decide he is their choice, and clearly you can see he is their choice, what we can really hope for is the Haitian people will not be disappointed.” (nytimes.com)

BTC closing snags THE BAHAMIAN government is scrambling to clear up an issue that could possibly impact the controversial majority sale of the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) to Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC). Yesterday, CWC was scheduled to have a press conference at the Cabinet Office to signify a new era of telecommunications in the country and the final leg of the British-based company’s deal with the government to purchase 51 per cent of BTC. But the press conference was postponed. The Bahama Journal learnt that the government and CWC had to clear up some outstanding issues with the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA).

In an interview with the Journal last evening, Opposition Leader Perry Christie said he learnt that the government may be in breach of the Hawksbill Creek agreement. “I’m led to understand that the problem the transactions faces is that the regulatory that [sits] with the Grand Bahama Port Authority has to be transferred in some form and that that was not done,” he said. “There could be some legal implications to the Hawksbill Creek agreement and the licensees, who would have become a part of the process through becoming licensees under the Hawksbill Creek agreement. There has been no official announcement of it, but as far as I am aware this will [bring in] an obstacle.” The agreement, which was signed

in 1955, is to encourage businesses to come to Freeport. The cornerstone of the Hawksbill Creek agreement is that residents or licensees in the port area are free from personal income taxes, corporate profit tax, capital gains tax, death taxes or property taxes until 2015. While the rest of The Bahamas is also free of these taxes, the Hawksbill Creek agreement guarantees that residents and/ or licensees would have these exemptions until that date. Thus, even if the tax regime in The Bahamas would change because of to the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, the Hawksbill Creek agreement would provide a special exemption clause to maintain this tax-free status.

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April 9 - 15, 2011

Italian judge adjourns Ivory Coast: Gbagbo ‘negotiating surrender’ Berlusconi sex trial THE UN says three generals loyal to Ivory Coast’s besieged President Laurent Gbagbo are negotiating terms for surrender in return for guarantees of safety for him and themselves. France says negotiators are on the brink of agreeing his departure. Mr Gbagbo is sheltering with his family in the basement bunker of his residence in the main city, Abidjan. Troops loyal to Mr Gbagbo’s rival, UN-recognised President Alassane Ouattara, say they have surrounded the compound. The UN says Mr Gbagbo’s military and civilian advisers are leaving him. Three of his generals - the head of the armed forces, the head of the police and the head of the republican guard - have opened negotiations, the UN told the BBC’s Andrew Harding, who is on the outskirts of Abidjan. The UN said the generals had instructed their forces to stop fighting and hand in their weapons to the UN. Mr Gbagbo’s spokesman, Ahoua Don Mello, told the Reuters news agency there were “direct negotiations based on African Union recommendations which said Alassane Ouattara is president”. “They are also negotiating judicial and security conditions for Gbagbo’s camp and his relatives,” Mr Don

until late May

Armed forces drive on a street in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, April 4, 2011. Cote d’Ivoire’s embattled President Laurent Gbagbo proposed a cease-fire from the UN mission in the country, as forces loyal to his rival, the internationally recognised president-elect Alassane Ouattara have seized the control of the presidential residence, according to media reports on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Kong Hui)

Mello said. “We are very close to convincing him to leave power,” French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe told the National Assembly in Paris. However, Mr Gbagbo denied he was ready to surrender. In a telephone interview with the French LCI television channel, he again

Train crash injures 70 in Argentina A LOCOMOTIVE train collided with a stopped passenger train carrying 250 people early Monday in the town of Monasterio, Argentina, about 150 kilometers (about 90 miles) south of the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, injuring 70 passengers, a report said. The Ferrobaires passenger train left the Atlantic coastal resort town of Mar del Plata at 7:15 Sunday night, destined for the Constitucion train station in Buenos Aires, according to the Telam news agency. At 11:20 p.m., a fire broke out in the engine train, Telam reported. The fire was extinguished without incident but left the train unable to continue the journey, the news agency said. A backup engine train was sent from Buenos Aires to replace it but collided with the stopped train around 1:30 a.m. Monday, causing the injuries, according to Telam. Jorge Lespade, district chief of Buenos Aires province police, said a communication error between the conductor of the replacement

train and the stopped train likely caused the crash, which derailed some of the cabins, Telam reported. The injured were taken to two hospitals in the nearby towns of Chascomus and Lezama, according to Telam. Many have already been released, although at least eight remain hospitalized, the news agency reported. Authorities stopped buses traveling on nearby Route 2 and asked them to take the uninjured train passengers to Buenos Aires, the agency said. It was the second serious crash for a Ferrobaires train in less than two months. On February 16, four people were killed and about 100 injured when two trains collided in San Miguel. Investigators have blamed human error for that deadly crash. The Ferrobaires train line runs passenger trains throughout the province of Buenos Aires, and is funded and operated by the provincial government. (CNN)

insisted Mr Ouattara did not win the election in November. “The army has called for the suspension of hostilities... and it is currently discussing the conditions of a ceasefire with the other forces on the ground, but on a political level, no decision has yet been taken,” he told LCI. The deputy commander of the proOuattara forces, Cisse Sindou, told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme: “We won the battle. Gbagbo is with the French. He is negotiating how to leave the country.” Mr Gbagbo had refused to leave office even though the Ivorian election commission declared him the loser of November’s run-off vote, and the UN certified the result. Forces loyal to Mr Ouattara, a former International Monetary Fund economist, began a dramatic military offensive last week, sweeping in from the north and west. US President Barack Obama has condemned the violence, saying it could have been averted if Mr Gbagbo had respected the election result. “To end this violence and prevent more bloodshed, former President Gbagbo must stand down immediately,” Mr Obama said in a statement. News of the surrender talks has been circulating rapidly. It has not been greeted with excitement but with a weary sense of relief as people ask why Mr Gbagbo had to put them through so much war and destruction. Many civilians remain trapped in their homes. Food, water and electricity are scarce in the city of about four million people after days of fighting.

AN ITALIAN judge has adjourned the trial of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi on charges of paying for sex with an underage prostitute until May 31. The ruling came not long after the opening of proceedings Wednesday in Milan. Berlusconi also faces charges of using his influence to cover up the incident. Prosecutors say Berlusconi paid a 17-year-old Moroccan girl known as Ruby for sex at his villa. They say he later tried to have her released from police custody when she was arrested for theft out of concern she would reveal their relationship. The prime minister has denied the accusations. Prostitution is legal

Silvio Berlusconi (internet image)

in Italy, but not for women younger than 18. Neither Berlusconi nor the woman at the centre of the case was in court Wednesday. (VOA)

Philippine tribal gunmen free teachers TRIBAL GUNMEN on the Philippine island of Mindanao have freed 12 hostages, most of them teachers, five days after seizing them, police say. The 12 were seized in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur Province, by Manobo tribesmen demanding the release of a jailed tribal leader. They were freed after the leader was temporarily released, reports say. Talks had been hampered by the gunmen’s poor education and inability to grasp the law, officials said earlier. A total of 15 teachers and pupils were seized in Prosperidad but a child and two adults were released soon afterwards - the adults on condition they returned with food, water and medicine for the other hostages. The gunmen were demanding the release of tribal leader Jobert “Ondo”

Perez. He is awaiting trial for murder and kidnapping over an incident in 2009, when 79 people were taken hostage in the same area during a clan feud. A spokesman for the police negotiators, Senior Superintendent Nestor Fajura, said earlier that none of the gunmen had completed even primary education, meaning they had left school before the age of 10. He said that police were trying to find a mediator who could explain to them “in terms that they can easily grasp and understand the ramifications” of their demands. Mindanao, resource-rich but impoverished, makes up roughly the southern third of the Philippines. Communist and Muslim insurgencies have claimed thousands of lives on the island over recent decades. (BBC)

New Estonian cabinet inaugurated ESTONIAN PRESIDENT Toomas Hendrik Ilves on Tuesday inaugurated the new cabinet of ministers led by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip. “The strong parliamentary majority won in the election gives you a mandate and an opportunity to make decisions based on that majority. However, sound political culture means that different opinions also get noticed and taken into account,” Ilves said at an inauguration ceremony. The president called on the new cabinet to bring public debate out of Parliament and its committees, and to listen to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), professional associations and non-partisan experts.

In his address to the Parliament, Ansip outlined his government ‘s goals for the next four years, stressing the importance of improving the quality of people’s lives. “The government’s goal is the creation of an Estonia where our culture will develop, where more children will be born and Estonians will have longer lifespans, and where people will want to live happily,” Ansip said. Ansip pledged to continue structural reforms in education and pension, make strategic decisions for the national energy sector, create an insurance system for industrial accidents and improve labour market flexibility.

April 9 - 15, 2011

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US census shows Hispanic and Asian children surging – as whites and blacks shrink

Photographers aim at the rescued dog, ‘Ban’ - found Friday drifting on the roof of a house floating 1.8 kilometres off Kesennuma.

Japanese dog adrift for three weeks reunited with owner A DOG RESCUED from the sea atop the floating debris of a house has been re-united with her owner, three weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan. Images on Japan’s NHK TV showed the medium-sized brown dog, named “Ban,” wagging her tail in the arms of her owner Monday at an animal shelter in the quakebattered region of Miyagi.

Ban was plucked off the wreckage of a house drifting almost two kilometres off the shore last week by a Japanese helicopter rescue crew. The dog’s owner, whose name was not made public, saw the rescue on television and rushed to claim her pet. Thousands of people are still missing three weeks after the disaster, which left more than 12,000 dead and orphaned dozens of pets. (Xinhua)

41 die in four days in Juarez killing spree, official says THE MOST DANGEROUS city in Mexico -- Ciudad Juarez -- suffered one of its bloodiest stretches this year, finishing with 41 homicides in a four-day period, among them a 10year-old boy who was shot and killed during an attack meant for his father, the spokesman for the Chihuahua state prosecutors office told CNN. “On Thursday the 31st of March, we had a day with many violent attacks. There was an attack at a bar where 10 people were killed and four more died in different attacks,” spokesman Arturo Sandoval said. On Friday, a group of suspects launched Molotov cocktail bombs into a second bar, causing it to go up in flames. Five people inside the business were burned or died from asphyxiation. Another three people were injured in that attack. Late Monday, prosecutors said their investigation into the attacks on the bars has not advanced. “We are doing research and conducting interviews with family and friends of the victims,” Sandoval added. By the end of Sunday, April 3, there were 41 homicides in a 96hour span, approximately one person killed every 2.3 hours, according to Sandoval. Last year, prosecutors said more

than 3,000 people were killed in Juarez, most of those killings drugrelated. In 2010 Juarez averaged eight to 11 murders a day, according to the state prosecutors office. In 2011, Juarez has averaged five to six murders a day, Sandoval said. “In March, we had an average of five a day. Throughout the year, approximately, there have been between five to six homicides a day,” he added. “The police have practically done nothing in Juarez. On certain occasions they have made some arrests, but what happens is that the police are patrolling, but there is no real strategy of the police to stop crime and violence in Juarez,” local criminologist and Juarez professor Oscar Maynez told CNN. The real problem in Juarez is the lack of strategic collaboration between the local and federal police, and the Mexican military, Maynez said. “At this moment the violence is undergoing a process of degeneration of moral values because the murderers are even killing children. These people are drugged and insensible people who have no obstacles in performing their jobs,” he added. (CNN)

AMERICA’S CHILD population grew more far diverse over the past decade as a decline in the ranks of white children was offset by surging growth of Asians and Hispanics. All told in 2010, the Census Bureau counted 74.2 million people under age 18, up 1.9 million from 2000. The number of non-Hispanic whites fell in 46 states and 86 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas. In 10 states, white children are now a minority among their peers, including six that tipped between 2000 and 2010. Others will follow soon: In 23 states, minorities make up more than 40% of the child population. The number of black and Native American children declined as well, but by a far smaller degree than whites, according to an analysis of 2010 Census data to be released Wednesday by the Brookings Institution, a left-leaning think tank in Washington. The Census Bureau released the first results of its once-a-decade head count of U.S. residents, regardless of citizenship, late last year; over subsequent months, Census released state and

local data. The report reflects a transformation under way in the country’s racial and ethnic makeup. “It’s a new melting pot in the United States,” said William Frey, a demographer at Brookings who wrote the report. “This is the beginning of how our country will look.” The data show the extent to which the U.S. has become dependent on minorities—Hispanics in particular—for the next generation of Americans. From 2000 to 2010, almost half of states saw a decline in the number of children. Without Hispanics, America’s under-18 population would have declined between 2000 and 2010. And in places that did see an increase, Hispanics accounted for most of the growth. In Texas, the state with the largest population gain over the decade, Hispanics accounted for 95% of the growth among the population under age 18. Most Hispanic children have parents of Mexican origin. The origins of the Asian children are fairly evenly split, with five countries—China, India, the Philippines, Vietnam and

Korea—accounting for about 80%, according to Jeffrey Passel, senior demographer at the Pew Hispanic Center. The Asian population is concentrated along the West coast and in metropolitan areas while Latinos live in rural and urban areas across 50 states, according to Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the Carsey Institute at the University of New Hampshire. From 2000 to 2010, Hispanics and Asians were the driving force behind growth in the under-18 population. The number of nonHispanic white children fell by 4.3 million over the decade. Children in two other longstanding U.S. minority groups, blacks and Native Americans, also saw small decreases. Meantime, the number of Hispanic and Asian children grew by 5.5 million, with 4.8 million of those Hispanic. Part of the decline in white children is a result of an increase in mixed-race children, who remain a tiny share of the overall population but grew 46%–or roughly 900,000— between 2000 and 2010. The Census population counts don’t specify how much change came from births compared with immigration.

Australian Defense Force calls in police to investigate sex video scandal AUSTRALIAN Defence Force on Wednesday called in police to investigate sex allegations made by a first-year female cadet at the Australian Defence Force Academy. An unnamed 18-year-old female student at the academy has gone public with the latest sex scandal, claimed that vision of her having consensual sex with a male cadet was broadcast to other cadets. According to Academy Chief Commodore Bruce Kafer, Australian Federal Police (AFP) will investigate the incident. He warned that if those cadets alleged to have been involved are found guilty of a crime, this could result in termination of their military careers. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said defence force personnel need to be able to trust their colleagues, and he cannot imagine a greater “betrayal of trust” if it is true a defence force cadet filmed himself having sex with another cadet and broadcast it via webcam. The new sex scandal is another hit to the Defence Force following the release of final investigation into the

activities on board of Navy HMAS Success. That report said a “predatory sexual culture” existed on the ship, with senior sailors engaging in alcohol-fuelled public sex acts. “Across the history of the

Australia Defence Force, particularly since the 1990s, there have been persistent incidences of the sexual abuse of women,” Dr Ben Wadham, a senior lecturer in sociology and military culture specialist at Flinders University, told ABC AM.

Protests continue in Afghanistan against Quran burning ABOUT 1,000 protesters gathered in front of Kabul University on Tuesday morning, as protests continue throughout Afghanistan to condemn the burning of a Quran by a pastor in the United States. The demonstrators marched toward the city center amid a heavy police presence but without incident, said Kabul City police official Abdullah Mahboob. The sight was in marked contrast to earlier demonstrations, some of which turned deadly. On Sunday, police and stonethrowing demonstrators clashed in Kandahar with as many as three

people killed in the violence. At least nine people were killed and 73 injured in Kandahar on Saturday, and 12 people died Friday -- including seven U.N. employees -when angry demonstrators stormed a U.N. compound in Mazar-i-Sharif. The demonstrations were sparked by the actions of a controversial Florida pastor who presided over what he called a trial of the Quran on March 20. The holy book of Islam was “found guilty” by members of Jones’ tiny church and burned, according to a release posted on the church’s website.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Job Listings Services Auto sales real estate

weeklylistings

Great Rate // ► $1 per word minimum 15 words ► $5 for additional graphic for sale

Professional Building For Rent

Good location, near NIB and Courts On Leeward Highway Fully furnished, ready to move in (3,000 sq feet) Ideal for a lawyer, accountant, doctor or architect Tel: 946-4664, 946-4894

Apartment for rent High quality decorative

curtain rails for sale 4 X 1.5m long plus 3 extendable rails 28-48 inches long Call 245 6620

$850 per month One bedroom Richmond Hills Contact 946-4894

Need Help Looking for that Perfect Apartment ?? Call 941-4100 or 2434921. We can assist in finding you Short or Long Term Rentals. Don’t see exactly what you’re looking to Rent. Contact us, we have others!!!

One Bedroom

Leeward Palms House 1 bath 1 bedroom Fully Furnished/ Washer & Dryer Asking Price $850 p/m

Wedding Gown for Sale Size 18W champagne & Beige wedding Dress. Worn once in good condition Asking $800.00. Call 241-2000

realty

Chalk Sound , Ocean View (Located Before Silly Creek Area) 1 bed 1.5 bath Fully Furnished/ Wrap around deck/ VerySpacious/Washer & Dryer Asking Price $1000 *********************** Royal Diamond Villa 1 bed 1 bath with Balcony Fully Furnished / Ready to Move-in Asking Price $1000 p/m *************************** The Venetian 1 bed 1 bath Fully Furnished/ Upstairs/ Downstairs unit/ Onsite Pool Asking Price: $1200 p/m **************************** GREAT DEAL !!!! Leeward Palms 1 bed 1 bath duplex Fully Furnished /Washer Asking Price $1300 p/m ALL Utilities Included !!! ****************************** Venetian Road Apartment 1 bed 1 bath Fully Furnished/Very Spacious

ERB CONSTRUCTION Seeks to fill the following positions

Masons

@ $12.00 per hour

Carpenters

@ $10.00 per hour

@ $12.00 per hour @ $12.00 per hour

Electricians @ $12.00 per hour

April 9 - 15, 2011

Classifieds

Mechanics Salesman

salary based on commission

Labourer Plumbers @ $6.00 per hour To work 5 days per week Contact 231-4162 or 331-1067

Asking Price $1250 p/m (Slightly Negotiable) **************************** GRACEBAY STEAL!!! Trade winds Condo Hotel, Gracebay 1 bed 1 bath Fully Furnished /Washer & Dryer/End Unit Facing Pool/ Asking Price $1200 p/m ************************** TWO BEDROOMS Chalk Sound, Water Front 2 Bed 2 Bath Fully Furnished REDUCED Asking Price $1700 p/m (Negotiable) ************************* Real Steal !!Leeward Palms 2 bedroom 2 baths Fully Furnished Asking Price $1100 p/m **************************** Chalk Sound, Ocean View (Located Before Silly Creek Area) 2 Bed 2 Bath Fully Furnished/Very Spacious/Wrap around Deck Asking Price $1650 p/m ****************************** Grace Bay Townhome -End Unit ( 3 minutes from IGA Gourmet) 2 bedrooms 2 ½ Bath/ Nicely Furnished/Screened Porch with Direct Pool Access Asking Price $ 2400 p/m Juba Sound Apartments Located in Lovely Living Environment!! 2 bed 2 bath Nicely Furnished Asking Price $1400 ************************** Grace Bay Condo Grandview 3rd Floor unit 3 bedroom 3 baths Nicely Furnished Call for More details !!! *************************** The Venetian 2 bedroom 2 bath Fully furnished / Fully Equipped Kitchen/Pool Asking Price $ 1800 p/m ************************** Sunview Town Homes, Grace Bay Road 2 Bed 2.5 Bath with Pool Asking Price $1,600/per month ************************* Long Bay Beach Front 2 bed 1 bath w/ Loft Fully Furnished/ Screened Deck facing Beach Asking $2000 p/m

*********************** Ocean Club Plaza, 2nd Floor Unit, Grace Bay 2 Bed 2.5 Bath, with Pool/Fully Equipped Kitchen Asking Price $2,000/per month ************************* Leeward Landings Townhome 2 bedroom 2 ½ bath Fully Furnished Asking Price $1600 ************************** Long Bay Apartments 2 bed 1 bath Fully Furnished/Washer & Dryer Asking Price $1200 p/m Three- Four Bedrooms ************************* MUST SEEE !!!! Beautiful Home Discovery Bay Canal Front Home 3 bedroom 2.5 bath Spacious Beautifully Furnished/ Fully Equipped kitchen /52” Plasma Televisions Asking Price $2300 p/m Negotiable ************************* Juba Sound Home 3 Bed 2.5 Bath Ocean View, Terrace, Asking Price $2200 REDUCED !! ************************* Low Cost Home, Blue Hills 3 Bed 2 Baths Furnished Central AC/ Washer & Dryer/Dishwasher Asking Price $1,350/per month ************************* Leeward Canal Front Home 4 bedrooms 3.5 baths Spacious/Nicely Furnished Asking Price $4000 p/m

ONE BEDROOM • Cooper Jack, Canal Front cottage, 1 bed, 1 bath, furnished, spectacular southern view, wrap around deck, small dock, loads of room, laundry area. Cistern water to manage cost. Asking $800 per month negotiable. • Richmond Hills apt. 1 Bed, 1 bath, washer/dryer, furnished, 2 available parking spots, landscaped. Centrally located Asking $1,000 per month TWO BEDROOM • Chalk Sound Water Front, 2 bed 2 bath, fully furnished with lots of space and storage. Asking $1,500 per month (negotiable) • Grace Bay Town Home, 2 bed 2.5 bath, 2 storey, fully furnished with washer and dryer, central a/c, screened porch and near to Grace Bay amenities. Asking $2,400 per month • Grace Bay, Sunview Town Homes, Two Storey, 2 bed 2.5 bath, Pool and BBQ area on site. Asking $1,600 per month (negotiable) • Longbay House with Loft (Minutes from the beach) 2 bedroom 2 baths Asking $1500 per month (slightly negotiable) THREE AND FOUR BEDROOM • Belglade Home, 3 bed 2 bath, nicely furnished, central a/c, washer and

Position Available

Website: tcweeklynews.com

dryer. Asking $1,100 per month • Hawksbill Town Home, 3 bed 2.5 bath, nicely furnished, a/c, washer dryer, pool on site, parking spaces $2,200 per month • Leeward Home, Canal Front, Two Storey, Brand New, 4 bed 3.5 bath, Spacious and nicely furnished. Asking $4,000 per month. Contact us for possibly more options !!!! Office: 941-4100 Carolina 231-4461, Natishka 243-4921

vehicles for sale Mac Motors

New Vehicles with Factory Warranty; 2009 FIAT 500 Sport BZ 1.2 2Dr Auto (Bossa Nova White) *248033* - 29,700. 2009 FIAT Panda Dynamic 1.2 Auto (New Orleans Blue) *323248* - 22,900. 2009 FIAT Grande Punto 1.4 Auto (Ambient White) *466162* - 26,500. 2009 FIAT Bravo Dynamic 1.4 Auto (Steel Grey) *196447* - 35,500. 2008 Land Rover Discovery III SE TDV6 (Keswick) *469067* - 68,000. 2008 Dodge Caliber SXT Sport App. 2.0L (Surf Blue) *599952* - 27,000. 2009 Dodge Journey SXT FWD 3.5L (Silver Steel) *535698* - 37,000. 2009 Dodge Durango 4x2 SLT 4.7L V8 (Silver) *703733* - 40,000. 2009 Jeep Patriot Sport 4x2 (White) *186265* - 32,000. 2009 Dodge Dakota SLT 4x4 (Deep Water Blue) *765339* - 35,000.

Certified used vehicles;

2006 Jaguar X-Type Estate Manual Trans, 2.0L Diesel, AVALABLE FOR LEASE - 39,000. 2006 Land Rover Freelander TD4 Atacama Sand 22,500. 2007 Dodge Ram Mega Cab 5.7L V8 4x4 Hemi (Red) Very LOW MILES!!! - 41,000. 2008 Dodge Ram Sport 1500 5.7L V8 Hemi 4x2 (Sunburst) - 36,500

Mac Motors

FULLY FRANCHISED DEALER FOR LAND ROVER, JAGUAR, DODGE, JEEP, CHRYSLER & FIAT SALES / WARRANTY* / SERVICE / DIAGNOSTICS / BODY REPAIRS FREE First Service with New Vehicles Finance available for qualified buyers *Land Rover / Jaguar : 3 Years Factory Warranty *Dodge / Jeep / Chrysler : 2 Years Factory Warranty *Used : 3 Months Warranty on 'Certified Used Vehicle’

for sale 10m 2010 Torch is for sale for $950. The kite is in very good condition with only one small tear, which was repaired. Also selling 130cm Momentum for $400. It comes with new foot-pads and fins.

The board has some scrapes on the bottom. Contact 342-2941

services Earn money now. Sell Avon 346-1434 / 246-1434

The Flower Girl Bed and Bath Shop Bed and bath sets and Lingeries For more information, call us at 649-9464894 or 649-2313788, you may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@yahoo.com ******************************** We now accept Upholstery jobs. Have your cushions re-covered at excellent prices Drape fabrics are also in stock For more information, call us at 6499464894 or 649-2313788, you may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@ yahoo.com The Flower Girl Bouquets, Mix and Tropical Arrangements for all occasions Price ranges from $15.00 and up For more information and reservation, call us at 649-9464894 or 6492313788, You may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@yahoo.com *********************** Easter Baskets and Easter Dresses available For more information, call us at 649-9464894 or 6492313788, you may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@yahoo.com ********************** Cards for all occasions, Gift Sets for men and women Designer Vases on display. For more information, call us at 6499464894 or 649-2313788, you may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@ yahoo.com ************************ Fresh and Silk flower Arrangements available for centerpieces And decorations in all sizes ************************* Customized Gift Baskets for her and him…tell us what You want and we’ll do it for you! ************************* Decors and flowers for wedding from ceremony to Personal flowers and all through the reception ************************* Sympathy Wreath and Casket Sprays available in different sizes *************************** Inspirational Gift Items and baskets in different designs On display For more information, call us at 6499464894 or 649-2313788, you may also e-mail us at flowergirlprovo@yahoo.com

Is looking for a

Be 18 years of age or older Hold a valid driver’s license Have experience caring for small children Light cleaning and cooking Have current CPR and first aid certification Be able to communicate effectively in English

Please Contact 332-2538

Resume and references required

Fax: 946-4661

Email: tcnews@tciway.tc

Middle Caicos

Nanny required – $5.00/hr For 3-4 afternoons/wk • • • • • •

946-4664

R & J Construction

6831

Driver

/ Heavy Equipment Operator To work part-time salary negotiable contact Ashwood Hall at 231-1620

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

Due to circumstances beyond our control...

ROTARY BINGO has moved to the

Cactus Bar & Grill

in the Bight across from Tropicana Doors open at 7:00 pm

ALL CASH PRIZES!!! PROGRESSIVE JACKPOT NOW

OVER $6,200 (JACKPOT PAID BY CHEQUE)

Food and drinks available

35 FAX: (649) 946-4661

Material Testing Engineering Ltd. Is seeking the following position:

Office Manager Provide administrative support to the QC Engineer and Director of the company. Duties include general clerical, receptionist and construction inspection based work. Project a professional company image through in person and phone interaction. Persons must be computer literate, experience in producing general arrangement. The candidate must be a team player with the ability to work late hours, work alone and meet deadlines. Salary - Commensurate based on qualification and experience.

Please email CV to atolleson@tollesonltd.com or call 649-941-3324 between the hours 8:30am until 5pm. Or submit to The Labour Officer, Providenciales.

6837

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

CRÈME X RECORDS Is seeking the services of a

RECORDING ENGINEER / PRODUCER

• Must be able to do the following: • Self conduct studio sessions • Maintain, upgrade and repair studio hardware • Use Protools, Sonar, Nvendo and other DAW’s Arrange, create, mix and master music *in addition to above persons who are proficient in computer programming would be an asset

RECORDING ARTIST

Who specialize in Reggae, Dancehall music and who are able to write and arrange their own songs • Male or female • Between the ages of 18 – 30

Interested persons can contact Livingstone Lightbourne at 649-345-1247 or email cremexrecords@yahoo.com

6612

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

FAX: (649) 946-4661

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

Pelican Designs

SENIOR MARINER POSITION AVAILABL AT SOUTH SIDE MARINA LTD. PROVIDENCIALES

Labourer Is looking for a

MARINA ASSISTANT MANAGER With total responsibility for all marina business • Cruising experience absolutely required (for our marketing goals) including ability to run cruisers net and weather report • Master in command experience vessels up to 60 feet • Must live at Marina 24/7 on call • Bookkeeping by computer including P AND L monthly report to owner/ manager • You will typically be an accomplished mariner with many years of experience Salary shall be base rate plus commission on sales

To work 6 days per week. Salary $5 per hour.

For interview apply to: Marina Assistant Manager c/o Twa Marcelin Wolf, P.O. Box 209, Providenciales, Fax: 649-946-4110

Contact 941-5699

**THIS IS ONLY A FOUR (4) MONTH POSITION: JFMA/2012**

TURKS AND CAICOS NATIONAL INSURANCE BOARD

Vacancy DIRECTOR (CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER) Reporting:

Directly to the Board of Directors and, as required, to the responsible Minister

Janitor 1 LABORER 1 SECURITY OFFICER needed To work Monday With 5 years experience to work 6 days per week. $5.00 per hour. Contact Q. Dean at 231-4897

Reporting Positions:

Deputy Director – Operations, Deputy Director – Corporate Services, Financial Controller, Investment Manager

HEAD HOUSEKEEPER

Indirect Reporting:

Branch Managers – Grand Turk & Providenciales, Marketing & Public Relations Manager, Legal Counsel, Human Resource Manager, Information Systems Manager

Liaising Relationships:

The Minister and Ministry of Finance, The Chief Financial Officer of the TCI Government, Actuaries, External, Auditors, Brokers, The National Health Insurance Board, Banks, Investment Companies, Insurance Companies, Government Agencies, other National Insurance Organizations, Employers and Scheme participants, the public media

6801

Wanted

thru Saturday from 7:00am-3:00pm salary negotiable deadline for applications is April 13th, 2011.

6811

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

April 9 - 15, 2011

Contact 941-5632 6815

Olympia Destination Management Company Ltd. (ODMC) Is advertising for the service of a

For a small hotel

Basic requirements: • Language skills essential English and French • Minimum 15 years hotel experience • Basic computer skills required • Must have own vehicle • Must be prepared to work long hours, weekends and holidays • Pleasant personality essential • Good understanding of front desk operation in case of emergency

Objective:

The achievement of overall objectives of the National Insurance Board within the guidelines of the National Insurance Ordinance and Regulations and in keeping with its Mission: to achieve social protection for the aged, working population and their dependents by being financially viable and providing social security in a reliable caring and effective manner through competent motivated staff and informed leadership

Key Responsibility Areas:

• Provision of strong leadership and management of the NIB’s staff in pursuit of its objectives and the fulfillment of the NIB’s responsibilities. • Achievement of strategic, financial and actuarial targets, and meeting obligations to subscribers. • Proper fiscal management and safeguarding the financial viability of the National Insurance Fund. • Development of strategies, policies and procedures for sound governance and ensuring adherence. • Coordination of the development and implementation of effective human resource and performance management systems throughout the NIB. • Development and execution of internal and external communications strategies, including marketing and public relations, to engage stakeholders for effective policy formulation and operations. • Provision of sound advice, recommendations and reports to the Board of Directors and the responsible Minister.

Please email CV to P.O. Box 446, Providenciales

La Vista Azul Is seeking to employ a

Required Qualifications:

Labourer Who will also perform other domestic chores Salary is $6.00 per hour.

Contact 649-946-4000

6729

WARD CONSULTANCY Acting on behalf of our clients Horse Eye Jack

Security Guard

• A minimum of ten (10) years experience in a senior executive capacity in a similar or related industry, preferably including some experience working with a multi-disciplined Board of Directors • Masters Degree in Business Administration or related discipline from a recognised institution • Proficiency in strategic planning, financial analysis and portfolio management • Training in contemporary management practices and human resource development • Training in marketing and public relations, presentations development and execution, and report writing • Information technology knowledge and its application in monitoring performance standards • Strong communication and interpersonal skills • Proven track record of sound decision making and managerial performance

• Must have at least 2 years of experience in working in a resort • Must be able to communicate in English • Must be ready to work 6 nights a week and on request • Duties will include protecting of the resort Salary $6.50 per hour

Please send your application and résumé by April 21, 2011. Compensation will be within the range of US$95,550 to US$110,000. Please respond by mail to:

The Secretary Turks and Caicos Islands National Insurance Board Waterloo Plaza, Waterloo Road Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, BWI 6808

Contact: La Vista Azul, Reception Office, Fax: 649-941-8118

Is looking for 2

Kitchen Helpers To work 5 days per week. Salary $6.00 per hour.

Contact 241-2866

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

Security Officer – $6.00 per hour

Domestic Worker – $5.00 per hour

Waitress – $5.00 per hour

6851

Contact 941-8283

Hnow C & J Employment Is looking for the following persons on behalf of our clients: Janabe Williams, Elaine Louise Williams, Collin Clare, One Stop Laundromat, Dwight Swann, Platinum Security, Security Center and Wymara Ltd.

4 Domestic Workers – $5.00 per hour

Security Officer – $6.00 per hour 4– Laborers $5.00 per hour

Cook Contact 941-8283 – $7.00 per hour

6813

Is looking for a

Domestic Worker

BETHANY’S EDUCATIONAL & SOCIAL TRAINING (B.E.S.T.) INSTITUTE

2 TEACHERS

• Applicant should possess a trained teachers diploma or certificate with 10 or more years experience in the classroom • Applicant with first degree beside their teacher’s diploma/ certificate will have an advantage • Applicant must be energetic and creative and a good team player preferably of the Baptist Faith

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

Contact 241-3217

DOMESTIC HELP NEEDED 24 hr Live-in help, 6 days a week • Must be excellent at cleaning, laundry, ironing, and caring for and grooming large dogs • Must be excellent at cooking American and European meals • Must be willing to shop and prepare 3 meals a day for owner’s, plus cook and serve for dinner parties • Must have a car and a valid drivers license • Must be willing to work all holidays if needed Salary $5.00 per hour

Call David at 431-4444/431-1111 KAMULA PENN

Turks Islanders only salary range $20,000 - $24,000. Position available immediately.

Contact Alan Jardine @ 946-5029 for an interview 6814

The individual should meet the following requirements: • Possess a valid food handler’s permit • A born again Christian preferably of the Baptist faith • The ability to read and write English • Must be able to assist in the preparation of healthy meals on a daily basis for over 100 students • Be able to manage the stock and prepare orders • Handle cash effectively to ensure all checks and balances

All application can be drop off at B.E.S.T. Institute Office, Wheeland, Blue Hills, Providenciales 6800

POSITION AVAILABLE BUSINESS SUPPORT SUPERVISOR

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Labourer

• Develop, implement and evaluate Office procedures, increasing productivity and work flow • Coordinate, develop, and manage marketing and advertising strategies and collateral • Manage Accounts receivables & payables • Data Entry • Assist to Identify and develop sales opportunities • Answer phones and provide customer service

Must be able to work 7 days per week salary $5.00 per hour

REQUIREMENTS:

• Degree in business management. • Minimum 10 years experience in a supervisor/managerial capacity, with marketing, customer relations, and accounts management experience. • Proven success and experience in the development of office procedures and accounting practices • Good process orientation and project management skills from development to implementation. • Demonstrated success in working in a team environment. • Exceptional communications skills – written and verbal. • Strong analytic abilities. • Detail Oriented • Advanced computer skills and knowledge of MS Office, Quickbooks, and windows applications. Salary: Commission ONLY

Contact 242-2130

ATTORNEY

CORPORATE/COMMERCIAL Solicitor or Barrister required with a minimum of 10 years post-qualified experience and with the following additional qualifications: - Masters in law or equivalent - International taxation experience - Experience in large commercial transactions - STEP member or willingness to sit requisite exams - Proven ability in, and willingness for, training of junior colleagues - Willingness to travel to and possibly relocate to the firm’s other international offices Belongers are particularly encouraged to apply.

Send CV and References to: Breaking Waves Management Solutions at bwms@tciway.tc 6810

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!

6804

Apply in writing, with CV and cover letter to Christian Papachristou via fax to (649) 946-4484 or cp@bpandp.com with a copy to the Labour Office, Providenciales.

2 DOMESTIC WORKERS

Breaking Waves Management Solutions is seeking to fill the above position

Is looking to fill the following positions

EXPERIENCED SCUBA INSTRUCTOR

FAX: (649) 946-4661

VACANCIES

DAVID COX

6812

Is looking or the following persons on behalf of or clients: Security Center, Carrington Williams, Danny Buoy’s, Mercie St. Fleur.

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

6806

C & J EMPLOYMENT

the largest readership in the turks & caicos

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Is seeking to employ 2 highly motivated comedians with the ability to work an international and local crowd. A minimum of 3 years experience in a five star resort or similar, with a natural ability to make people laugh. He or she must be witty and be able to think on their feet. In addition to humor, comedian must also have superior public speaking skills since they will be performing in front of audiences for between five minutes to more than an hour at a time. Salary based on experience.

Interested person may apply to: admin@windsongresort.com <mailto:admin@windsongresort.com> .

Labourer To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 241-4061

6847

JUNIOR RIGBY Is looking for a

Labourer

Is looking for a

Domestic Worker

To work 4 days per week salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 341-5919 6832

Room

Contact 241-3737

Attendant

Must be able to work weekends and long hours also holiday when necessary. Applicant must be able to work without supervision.

6830

Nanny required

Hair Stylist • Must have at least 3 years experience • Must be professional and courteous • Must be able to work long hours Suitable applicant should

PARADISE ARTS Is looking for a Part-time

$5.00 per hour

For 3-4 afternoons per week • Be 18 years of age or older • Hold a valid driver’s license • Have experience caring for small children • Light cleaning and cooking • Have current CPR and first aid certification • Be able to communicate effectively in English

Please contact 332-2538 Resume and references required 6831

6849

Is looking for a

To work 3 days per week. Salary $5.00 Per hour.

Contact 231-000

Contact: General Manager Mr. Thomas at 232-4272

NANCY HAIR STYLIST

Needed

• General Laborer • Able to work with little or no supervision, be physically fit, dependable and hard working • Must be self motivated and able to understand, read, write and speak English fluently

MERLINE GROCERY STORE

LE-VELE RESORT

Laborer

LABOURER/ METAL STEEL WORKER Send inquires to: Norstar Group Ltd. P.O. Box 52 Suite 2-C, Courtyard Plaza Leeward Highway Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands Telephone: 649-941-3600/3500 or fax: 649-941-3608

Contact 342-1239

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

6825

Contact 347-7945

6843

Contact 231-4064

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

needed

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

To clean yard and paint. Must be able to work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

Cosmetologist

Labourer

Is looking for a

6827

Windsong Resort

Is looking for a

6821

Needed

J.I.D. BARBER SHOP

HARTMAN HANDFIELD

6824

Comedians

IRA BAPTISTE

FAX: (649) 946-4661

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

6822

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

April 9 - 15, 2011

Artist Assistant

Cleaning required. Salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 941-3014 6837

Contact 241-1742 6844

RESTAURANT

MANAGER

For busy restaurant Oversees all aspects of the restaurant, POS System knowledge, accounting, customers relations, scheduling, ordering, wine menu, staff management, cost control, special events are all responsibilities, 8 years experience and second language helpful for international guests salary based on experience.

Belongers only apply 941-8408

6845

April 9 - 15, 2011 PHONE: (649) 946-4664

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

The Sands/Hartling Group is now accepting applications/résumé for the following positions. Only highly self-driven & motivated, personable and professional individuals, whom have the desire to serve others, need apply:

BUTLER Responsibilities

• Receiving guests. • Maintaining the operations of the household and/or running personal household tasks for clients or the employer. • Supervision of service vendors. • Arranging travel plans for the employer as well as the household guests. • Maintaining household security. • Assisting in cooking as well as serving meals and drinks to guests. • Arranging the table for serving meals. • Drawing household budgets. • Keeping wine cellars and having knowledge regarding fine wines. • Offering general valet services. • Managing various supplies in secondary dwellings. • Hiring and supervising junior staff. • Setting maintenance programs for miscellaneous equipment within a hotel or resort such as planes, boats and stables. • Managing housekeeping duties. Requirements • Possession of excellent public communication skills. • A passion for serving guests and collaborating with other staff. • Ability to work under pressure and for long unscheduled hours. • Excellent managerial and supervision skills. • Diploma or certificate in butlery or catering

CHEF Responsibilities • Estimate amounts and costs of required supplies, such as food and ingredients. Inspect supplies, equipment, and work areas to ensure conformance to established standards. • Instruct cooks and other workers in the preparation, cooking, garnishing, and presentation of food. • Monitor sanitation practices to ensure that employees follow standards and regulations. • Order or requisition food and other supplies needed to ensure efficient operation. • Analyze recipes to assign prices to menu items, based on food, labor, and overhead costs. • Arrange for equipment purchases and repairs. • Meet with sales representatives in order to negotiate prices and order supplies. • Prepare and cook foods of all types, either on a regular basis or for special guests or functions • Supervise and coordinate activities of cooks and workers engaged in food preparation • Collaborate with other personnel to plan and develop recipes and menus, taking into account such factors as seasonal availability of ingredients and the likely number of customers • Coordinate planning, budgeting, and purchasing for all the food operations within establishment.

Requirements:

Knowledge 1. College or culinary training or extensive cooking and production experience. 2. Commitment to quality service, and food and beverage knowledge. 3. Basic math skills. 4. Knowledge of basic training techniques. 5. Awareness of local, state and federal health and sanitation laws. 6. Understanding of proper use and maintenance of major kitchen equipment, including stoves, refrigeration, slicer, knives, and dish machine. 7. A minimum of 2 years working in a food preparation position. Skills/Aptitudes I. Professional communication skills, oral and written. 2. Actively supervises, motivates and disciplines employees. 3. Assists with hiring and training of all new employees. 4. Ability to work in a high-energy and demanding environment. 5. Organization and leadership skills. 6. Demonstrates strong leadership skills and is a team player. 7. Works well under pressure. 8. Can effectively solve problems. 9. Able to take direction. 10. A minimum of two years working in management. 11. Beverage responsibilities for a minimum of one year.

Turks Island citizens only need to apply to the Human Resources Manager at The Sands Resort located on Grace Bay Road, Providenciales or e-mail: tsmith@thesandstc.com or the Labour Department, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands. Applications must be in by April 18th, 2010.

FAX: (649) 946-4661

SALE BY PUBLIC AUCTION Pursuant to the provisions of the Registered Land Ordinance, Temple Mortgage Fund Ltd., The Temple Financial Centre, Providenciales HEREBY GIVES NOTICE that it will cause to be sold by public auction the following properties:

TITLE DESCRIPTION REGISTERED PROPRIETOR 50200/40 Sandy Point North Caicos

Ocean front luxury residence with 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a Guest House & a pool with over 5000 square feet of living space

60602/133 Norway & Five Cays Providenciales

Approximately 0.70 acres of undeveloped land located north of the Provo Airport with views of the Southern and Western part of the Island.

60720/58&59 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill Providenciales

Approximately 2.54 acres of undeveloped land, with a top ridge view of approx 80 feet above sea level, which gives good views of the south side of the island & the new Cooper Jack Marina. Either parcel can be purchased separately.

61112/34 Long Bay Hills Providenciales

Two storey apartment on approximately Albray Butterfield Jr. 0.35 acres. It comprises of two, one bedroom apartments on the lower floor, and a two bedroom apartment on the upper floor. The entire building is approximately 1850 square feet. The property has direct access onto Leeward Highway.

60718/158 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill Providenciales

Maverick Holdings Ltd.

Gilbert Selver

Albray Butterfield Jr.

A two storey apartment building with six, one bedroom apartments on approximately 0.66 acres of land. The property is accessed via Venetian Road which continues through to the Flamingo Lake.

Naomi Bassett

60715/11 Cheshire Hall & Richmond Hill Providenciales

Approximately 0.69 acres of vacant land accessed directly from Leeward Highway, situated between Carib Glass and Supplies (Glass Shack Building) and Temple Financial Group.

Naomi Bassett

10203/169 North West Suburbs Grand Turk

Undeveloped land, approximately 0.27 acres. Naomi Bassett It is part of a residential subdivision close to the western shores of North Creek. It is located on the west hand side of Quarry Lane, some 900 feet from North Wells Road and Quarry Lane junction.

The auction will be held at 10:00 a.m. Friday 15th April 2011 at the offices of Temple Mortgage Corporation Ltd., Temple Financial Centre, Leeward Highway, Providenciales. Conditions of sale may be obtained from Temple Mortgage Corporation Ltd., The Temple Financial Centre, Leeward Highway, Providenciales, telephone (649) 946-5293, fax (649) 946-5289. Interested persons may bid by way of sealed tender delivered no later than 4:00 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 2011 addressed to Temple Mortgage Corporation Ltd., Temple Financial Centre, Leeward Highway, Providenciales clearly marked “ AUCTION BID-APRIL 15 2011. Block____ / Parcel__.” Should the bid meet the reserve price and constitute the highest offer, the property will be considered sold to the person making the bid. Note that a 10% deposit is required immediately from the successful bidder at the auction. Note that Temple Mortgage Corporation Ltd. accepts no responsibility in respect of the receipt or otherwise of sealed bids and prospective purchasers are encouraged to ensure safe delivery of sealed bids to Temple Mortgage Corporation Ltd. in good time and further to attend at the auction to ensure that the bid is properly made. 6747

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!! the largest readership in the turks & caicos

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

April 9 - 15, 2011

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES BERNADETTE SMITH

Ana Araijo Johnson

Is looking for a

Cosmetologist To work 5 days per week salary $6.00 per hour.

Labourer

Jose Joyeria Is looking for a

Labourer

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 241-9194

6791

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 241-5693

BUTTERFIELD GOLD GROUP OF COMPANIES

POSITIONS AVAILABLE Butterfield Gold

One (1) Executive Assistant/ Procuremnt Specialist Primary Duties Building Material Procurement Specialist Assistant to Chief Operating Officer and Vice President Operations Prepare and dispatch correspondence Assist with Financial Analysis, Budget & Project preparations Prepare various reports; take notes at meetings and prepare minutes Schedule management appointments Qualification, Experience & Abilities Minimum of two (3) years work experience and knowledge in purchasing all types of building materials, including but limited to roofing prefab building structures for the Construction & Maintenance division for the company. Minimum of five (5) years working experience in an administrative position with duties including, Project preparation, Report Writing and assisting with financial project management and evaluation. Five (5) CXC subjects or equivalent We require on the job training, courses and/or diplomas relevant to above duties. Proficient in Microsoft Office Applicant must have excellent communications skills, both oral and written. Applicant must be able to work independently with minimum supervision. Applicant must be open to being on call outside of regular business hours to deal with and complete assigned tasks. Wages: Commensurate with experience starting from $2,250.00 per month

FAX: (649) 946-4661

Repair Shop Mechanic

Requirements: • Certified in combustion engines • Certified in electrical systems • Must have a minimum of 7 years experience in 2 and 4 cycle engines • Must have minimum of 7 years experience in diesel and gasoline engines • Must have at least 7 years in repairing electrical tools • Must have knowledge of OSHA

• Must have excellent written and oral communication in English • Must have prior experience in training new staff • Must be a high school graduate • Must hold a valid TCI drivers license • Must be able to work weekend, holidays and overtime when needed • Must have a clean police record • Must have 2 written work resume Wages are $400 per week

Applicants will be subjected to extensive testing and background checks to confirm above criteria. Deadline for submission of applicants with resumes and references April 18th, 2011 Submit to: infor@ptsequipment.com

6834

Quantity Surveyor A Quantity Surveyor is required with the following qualifications • Degree qualified • 10 years of Contractor Quantity Surveying experience • Subcontract Management • Cost Control/ Management • Purchasing • Pricing/ take-off • Project Management • Experience working in other Caribbean countries

Send inquiries to: Norstar Group Ltd. P.O. Box 532, Suite 2-C, Courtyard Plaza, Leeward Highway Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands

6829

BUTTERFIELD GOLD GROUP OF COMPANIES

POSITION AVAILABLE

One Account Clerk Primary duties Posting credit sales to customers Posting all invoices from local vendors Posting the company’s daily sales Prepare monthly statement and supporting documents for credit Filing monthly statements Assist with customer’s queries and delinquent accounts Requirement Must have working knowledge of QuickBooks Enterprise Solution Must have four (4) subjects including Math & English Prior work experience preferring above or similar duties

Coral Quarry

Only Belongers apply for these positions. Application forms available from Butterfield Gold Human Resource Department. Only applicants selected for interview will be notified.

Minimum of three (3) years work experience and knowledge in painting/spraying vehicle including but not limited to repairing body of vehicles. Wages: commensurate with experience starting from $7.00 per hour

Submit applications to by April 6, 2011 to: Butterfield Gold Ltd., Human Resource Department, Town Center Mall Providenciales. Tel: 649-946-4211.

One Painter/Vehicle Body repairman

Only Belongers apply for these positions. Application forms available from Butterfield Gold Human Resource Department. Only applicants selected for interview will be notified. Submit applications to by April 6, 2011 to: Butterfield Gold Ltd., Human Resource Department, Town Center Mall Providenciales. Tel: 649-946-4211

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!

the largest readership in the turks & caicos

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES CHRIST IS THE ANSWER MINISTRY

B.E.S.T. INSTITUTE (A BAPTIST INSTITUTION)

Is seeking a

Is seeking a suitable candidate for the position of

Domestic Worker

Secretary Salary $5.00 per hour.

6741

Interested individuals should send their application to:

The Principal B.E.S.T. Institute P.O. BOX 498m Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands

contact 241-5563 6846

C & S PROFESSIONAL S ervices

HENRY claude Louis

Is looking for a

To work 5 days per week salary $5.00 per hour

Contact 946-5759

Labourer To work 4 days per week. Salary $5.50 per hour. Contact 246-4700

6709

6797

GERALD WILLIAMS Is looking for a

DOMESTIC

WORKER

Needed

• Must be able to work Monday thru Friday • Must have knowledge of cleaning services Salary starting $200 - $250 Belonger preferred P.O. Box 954 6833

FAX: (649) 946-4661

ROUSSEAUX

CONSTRUCTION SERVICE

Maid Is looking for a

The individual should meet the following requirements: • Possess a valid food handle’s permit • A born again Christian preferably of the Baptist Faith • The ability to read and write English • Must be able to assist in the preparation of healthy meals on a daily basis for over 100 students • Be able to manage the stock and prepare orders • Handle cash effectively to ensure all check and balances

Labourer

Labourer To work 6 days per week. Salary $35.00 per day.

Contact 231-1313 6705

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.50 per hour. Contact 241-0386

FOR RENT Two beautiful houses in Richmond Hill. Rent reduced to $850 per month. Only professionals need apply.

Telephone: 231-3788

Real Estate Sales Associates Coldwell Banker Real Estate Turks & Caicos is looking for experienced and professional Sales Associates

Portland Cement Type I High quality imported At 8.75 per bag

Cement exclusive brandOpen hours 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Call now and place your order!649-339-2548 / 649-333-1906

Caicos Depot, South Dock Road, Providenciales, T&C E-mail: hardrock.tc@gmail.com

Experience and expertise in the sale and purchase of residential homes and land, commercial developments and land, condominiums and fractional-ownership sales, marketing and advertising experience is required. Applicants must have successfully completed a recognized real estate course as well as possess strong written, verbal and presentation skills, and be computer-literate in all Microsoft programs including Excel and Publisher. Own vehicle and cell-phone is essential. The job will involve working long hours, including evenings, holidays and weekends. Remuneration by commission only.

Interested parties, please forward your hand-written letter and resume to P. O. Box 775, Providenciales

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

COSIMO TRIPODI

BLUE PARROT LTD.

Domestic Worker/ Caretaker

Caretaker

To care for two infants the applicant must be able to work from Monday thru Friday some weekends and when call upon at nights salary will be based upon experience

Needed To work 6 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour.

Please submit application to The Manager

P.O. Box 97, Caribbean Place, Providenciales, Fax: 649-946-4564 with a copy to Department of Labour, Providenciales

6788

Send resumes to

EJ Maintenance

Is looking for a

DSR BUILDERS LTD.

Labourer

Is looking for a

EDELINE CESAR

FAX: (649) 946-4661

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

Is looking for a

dominikan75@hotmail.com deadline for application is April 6th, 2011 6795

FLORINDA TALBOT Is looking for a

Is looking for a

Pot Washer

Duties: • Construction help, yard maintenance and any other duties assigned • Hours: • Monday thru Friday 8am-5pm and Saturday 7am-12pm • Salary: $6.00 per hour

To work in a busy kitchen. 6 days per week. Salary $5.00 plus gratuity. Belonger or PRC status preferred.

Contact 331-6762

Closing date is April 14th, 2011

Contact 242-534 or 941-3442

6740

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

April 9 - 15, 2011

6790

VACANCIES J & W CONSTRUCTION

Is looking for qualified and experience applicants for the following positions. All applicants should send resume to (jwconstruction.tc or fax: 941-7247)

Babysitter To work 2 days

To work from 9am-5pm Monday-Friday-Saturday from 9am-1pm. Salary $6.50 per hour.

Contact 247-4548

6793

per week salary $40.00 per week.

Contact Edwin Hernandez at 346-3918 or edwinhernandez.8@gmail. com Belonger Preferred

6781

Labourer

To work 6 days per week. Salary $150.00 per week.

Contact 242-2391

6787

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER COMPANY LIMITED (the exclusive agent for Caribbean Airmail (C.A.M.) in the Turks and Caicos Islands) seeks To be a part of our team in Providenciales

1 MONEY TRANSFER SUPERVISOR & 1 TRANSFER CLERK DAILY TASK WILL INCLUDE (BUT NOT LIMITED TO):

• Process food and money transfers accurately based on customer’s requests. • Follow the established C.A.M. procedures to receive incoming transfers and disburse the cash quickly and efficiently to our customers. • Accurately collect and count cash for transfers from customers and hold the money securely in the cash till during the business day and identify fake or altered notes and apply anti-money laundering procedures and policies as required. • Applicant will be expected to supervise branches in Provo as well as our office in Grand Turk. • Applicant will also be expected to liaise regularly with our head office in Miami.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Applicants must be 25 years or older and have a clean police record; • Must have excellent communication skills and must be able to read and write English and the ability to fluently speak at least one other language (French/Creole). • Must have at least 2 years of supervising experience • Must have good knowledge of computers and be able to work without supervision; • Ability to work shifts, including weekends, holidays and days off as required • Must be willing to undergo training and work in different C.A.M office as required by the business. BELONGERS ONLY NEED APPLY All interested persons should submit their application in writing to:

PROJECT MANAGER

• Must have 5 – 10 years practical field experience managing residential and commercial • Construction projects. Applicant must be competent in the following fields for several projects running concurrently. • Quantity Surveying, Contract Development & Negotiation, Data Management, Site Management, Material Procurement, Sub Contract Management and Contract Closeout. • Ability to work under pressure. • Good oral and written communication skills. Salary starts at $40, 000 per annum. Only Turks Islanders need to apply. 6784

VACANCIES

AND Construction Ltd Is seeking candidates to fill the following positions for contracts in Grand Turk & Providenciales:

Site Supervisor ($500 p/w) Estimator ($600 p/w) Steel Fixer ($7 p/h) Laborer ($5 p/h) Mason ($7 p/h)

Tile Layer ($7 p/h) Domestic Worker ($5 p/h) Carpenter ($ 7 p/h) Store man ($6.5 p/h) Quantity Surveyor ($550p/w)

All applicants must be hard working, willing to work long hours, weekends and public holidays to meet project objectives. Applicants should apply in writing, with covering letter, resume & references to:

Director, AND Construction Ltd, PO Box 559, Leeward Highway, Providenciales Or via Fax to 649 946 5714, or via email info@andltd.tc

VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!

Human Resources International Transfer Company Ltd. Unit 1, Southern Shores Building, Leeward Highway P.O. Box 398, Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands And copy to: The Labour Department, Providenciales/ Grand Turk 6786

the largest readership in the turks & caicos

6758

Handyman

ELECTRICIAN $10, LABOURER $5.50

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHONE: (649) 946-4664

EMPLOYMENT / SERVICES / NOTICES

MANVELLA PRATT

Island Network

Is seeking the employment of a

Is looking for

One Lecturer

Invites application from suitable qualified applicants for the following positions:-

Caretaker

Contact Darlene Hudson

At 946-4736 between the hours of 12-5. Position now available 6798

Interested persons can contact 343-0241

6794

TOP O’ THE COVE

TIKI HUT

Is looking for a

Dishwasher/

Is looking for a

Kitchen Cleaner Helper To work 6 days Night shift

Job requirements:

• Mopping floors • Cleaning restrooms • Washing dishes/ general maintenance Shift 4-11pm Hourly rate $7-$9 previous experience required

per week salary $5.00 per hour.

Only Belongers need apply 6796

946-4694

6759

Contact 344-6072

WANTED

Assistant Manager

6789

Contact Chloe at 232 4030 or at Marco Travel. Evan Harvey

WALTER STUBBS

Owner of the following companies

E.L. H REPAIR SHOP E.L. CONSTRUCTION EVANIA SALON

Is looking for a

Labourer/ Handyman

Wishes to employ a

Domestic Worker, Nail Technician, Laborers, Truck Driver and a Hair Dresser Must have clean police record. Must be honest and willing to work late hours. Wages starting at $5.50 per hour.

6792

General Manager

Application should have the following qualification/experience: @@Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering @@Masters degree in Business Administration @@A proven track record in electric utility business @@At least five (5) years experience working in a similar position @@Salary being offered: - $85,000.00 -$90,000.00

Generation Engineer

Core Function includes: @@All engineering functions relating to the maintenance and operation of a power plat @@Training and staff development @@Qualification/Experience @@Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering with a minimum of five (5) years relevant experience in a power a plant environment @@Training in projection management @@Formal Training in Supervisory Management @@Sound Knowledge of diesel engine operation & Maintenance @@Sound knowledge of distribution system operation and maintenance @@Working knowledge of PLC systems @@Salary being offered $$48,000.00 - $54,000.00

Journeyman/Lineman

Core Functions include: @@The construction and maintenance of high voltage distribution system @@Working on both overhead and underground distribution systems @@Qualification and Experience @@Completion of an approved Journeyman/Lineman training programme @@Certificate in Electrical Installation and maintenance or equivalent from a recognize technical institution @@3 – 5 years working experience on a high voltage distribution system @@Should be computer literate @@Ability to operate specialize utility vehicles for pole-line maintenance @@Salary being offered: - $ 28,000.00 - $ 31,000.00 per annum

Distribution Engineer

To coordinate swim, run, cycling sports adventure activities. Must have hands-on experience in developing, organizing and coordinating open water swim race events, including all logistics, as well as significant experience in swim racing. Must have experience in managing arrivals and departures of large numbers of people. Significant personal interaction with international clientele required. Must have proven ability to relate well to variety of people in a tourism environment. Must be mature with excellent oral and written communications skills. Multilingualism a plus.

To work 5 days per week. Salary $5.00 per hour. Contact 346-0798

VACANCIES

Turks and Caicos Utilities limited

For holistic studies

Requirements: • Study in humanistic transpersonal therapy • Minimum of 5 years experience • Metaphysic in the human energy field • Salary based on experience

FAX: (649) 946-4661

Contact 231-6153

Core Functions include: @@All engineering function relation to the maintenance and operation of overhead & underground 12.47KV HV distribution systems @@Training and staff development @@Qualification/Experience @@Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering with a minimum of five (5) years relevant electric utility experience in a similar position @@Training in project management @@Formal Training in Supervisory Management @@Sound Knowledge of transmission and distribution line operation and maintenance @@Sound knowledge of system protection, line design, load flows and network analysis @@Working knowledge of power plant operations @@Salary being offered: - $ 48,000.00 - $54,000.00 per annum

Distribution Line Supervisor

Core Functions include: • Supervise the installation and maintenance of overhead and underground distribution lines and auxiliary equipment up to voltage of 12.47 KV • Supervise work teams of up to six workers, assign and monitor their work to ensure compliance with technical and safety standards. • Ability to diagnose and interpret line faults and electrical system breakdown. • Ability to deliver reports in both oral and written forms. • Ability to operate specialized vehicles for pole line work. • Should be computer literate. • At least 7 -10 years working experience on distribution systems. • Exposed to specialize training conducted by CARILEC or other recognized technical institution. Salary being offered $35,000.00 - $38,000.00 per annum. Application along with detailed resume should be sent no later than April 19th 2011 to:

General Manager, Turks and Caicos Utilities Limited P.O. Box 80, Pond Street, Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos Islands, BWI

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

Sports International

Indian dedicate World Cup win to Tendulkar INDIA’S CRICKETERS have dedicated their World Cup final victory over Sri Lanka to legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Co-hosts India were magnificent as they beat Sri Lanka by six wickets, with Tendulkar - who scored 18 winning the World Cup at his sixth attempt. “This is the proudest moment of my life,” said Tendulkar, 37. “This is the ultimate and I’m experiencing it.” Paying tribute, batsman Virat Kohli said: “Sachin carried the burden of a nation for 21 years so he deserves it.” Fellow batsman Gautam Gambhir, who scored a superb 97, added: “The guys must have thought [the World Cup in] 2007 was a nightmare and this is a dream. Congratulations to Sachin, all credit goes to him and this victory is for him.”

Sachin Tendulkar was instrumental with the bat for India all throughout this year’s Cricket World Cup. (AFP)

Tendulkar was carried around the pitch by his team-mates during a lap on honour after the match at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. He failed to score his 100th international century - he has 51 in Test matches and 48 in one-day internationals - in the

game, but India successfully reached their target of 275 with six wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare. After Mahela Jayawardene’s magical 103 not out from only 88 balls had taken Sri Lanka to 274-6 from their 50 overs, India were reduced to 31-2 when Tendulkar was caught

Pharmacist Required for Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands

Bachelors Degree from a recognized University eligible to register with TCI Health Practitioners Board willing to work flexible hours including weekends and holidays if required must be highly computer literate with previous experience using dispensary management software and retail POS evidence of continuing education required must have excellent English language skills with Spanish as a second advantage must have a pleasant outgoing personality, reliability and ability to work well under pressure

Salary commensurate with experience ranging from $35-$40k basic Please email Cv to: islandpharmacy@tciway.tc

WARDS CONSULTANCY

SMITH & BRAZILE CONSTRUCTION

Labourer Is looking for a

For more information call Ireal Smith @ 343-1046 from 7:00am – 5:00pm. Deadline for applications is April 11th, 2011

6826

Interested person should be willing to work hard and long hours at times, starting salary $6.00 per hour.

On behalf of its clients: Villa Del Mar, Bottoms Up Restaurant is looking for the following positions

2 Kitchen Helpers – $6.00 per hour Houseman – $5.00 per hour Contact: 241-2866

behind off Lasith Malinga. But Gambhir batted sublimely, first in tandem with Kohli (35) and then captain Mahendra Dhoni, who struck an imperious unbeaten 91 from 79 balls to lead his team home, smashing a massive six to win. Tendulkar, who finally got his hands on the World Cup trophy after missing out in 1992, 1996, 1999, 2003 and 2007, paid tribute to his teammates and the Indian coaching staff as the country won the sport’s biggest one-day prize for the first time since 1983. “It’s never too late, as they say,” added Tendulkar. “Thanks to all my team-mates. Without such fabulous performances and such consistency it would never have happened. “Our support staff worked very hard and we worked on the mental side, coping with the pressure. This team stuck together through ups and downs and when people were doubting our ability. “The self-belief is greater in this team than maybe in the past. We’ve been more consistent in the last couple of years and it’s a great honour to be involved with this group.” (BBC)

April 9 - 15, 2011

Rooney powers United to first-leg win MANCHESTER United took a firm grip on the Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea as Wayne Rooney’s winner gave them a crucial first-leg advantage at Stamford Bridge. Rooney rounded off a fine move involving Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs after 24 minutes to put United in the ascendancy as they battle with Chelsea to face Inter Milan or Schalke 04 in the semi-final. After being hit with an Football Association charge for swearing into the camera after scoring in United’s win at West Ham United on Saturday, Rooney was all smiles as he delivered the away goal his manager Sir Alex Ferguson had demanded ahead of the all-Premier League confrontation. Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti paired Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres in attack - but it was another fruitless and frustrating night for the Spaniard as his goal drought goes on since his £50m British record transfer from Lverpool. Drogba struck a post and Patrice Evra cleared off the line from Frank Lampard in first-half injury time, while Chelsea and their supporters were infuriated when two penalty claims were rejected

Wayne Rooney scored the winning goal. (soccernews.com photo)

by Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco in the dying seconds. Ramires tumbled under challenge from Evra while Torres went down as he tangled with Antonio Valencia. Chelsea’s demands went unanswered - and Torres saw insult added to his injury when he was booked for diving. Sir Alex Ferguson, who had Rio Ferdinand available for the first time since February, was elated at the final whistle as all his pre-match demands were fulfilled in the fight to face Inter Milan or Schalke 04 in the last four. And victory will have tasted sweet for Ferdinand after he was taunted by Chelsea’s fans following Fabio Capello’s decision to reinstate John Terry to the England captaincy in place of the Manchester United defender. (BBC)

Experienced

lABOURER Required for live in on-site position. To maintain the property, gardens and other related tasks as required. Applicant must be fluent in English and have a pleasant manner. Required to work Monday to Saturdays with scheduled breaks and must be available as needed.

REQUIREMENTS

@@Literate and numerate with High School Diploma @@Must posses excellent verbal and written communication skills @@Must have basic personal safety and be vigilant @@Must have own transportation @@Must be punctual, dedicated and hardworking Salary: $5.50ph (dependent on experience may increase)

Start date: 20th May 2011 Submit applications to Roxann@tciyouthcentre.tc or contact 331-9602 Deadline for applications is April 15th 2011 Belongers need only apply

April 9 - 15, 2011

Sports International

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

2015 CWC is reduced to 10 teams THE INTERNATIONAL Cricket Council has confirmed its decision to cut team numbers for the World Cup from 14 to 10 starting with the 2015 tournament. It means there is no place for Ireland, who beat England in the 2011 World Cup. Only full ICC members - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, West Indies, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe - will compete in four years time. For the 2019 event, the 10 teams will be decided by qualification. The possibility of a 12-team

tournament was also discussed by the ICC’s executive board at a meeting in Mumbai, but it opted to approve its previous decision to exclude all associate and affiliate member nations from the next edition of the competition. Apart from Ireland, who also beat Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, the other nations outside the ICC’s full members to take part in the 2011 event were Kenya, Canada and the Netherlands. Associate members had opposed the change, and Ireland bowler Boyd Rankin apparently described Ireland’s exclusion as a “shambles” on Twitter. (BBC)

Phil Mickelson will be defending his Masters’ title

Mickelson looking to defend Masters’ title PHIL MICKELSON started as hot favourite to defend his title at the 75th Masters which began on Thursday. The 40-year-old three-time champion won last week and has 13 top-10 finishes in his 18 appearances at Augusta. Before Mickelson’s win in Houston, the year’s first major was being billed as one of the most open in recent years. Europe has six players in the world’s top 10, including the top-two ranked players - Germany’s Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood of England. The last European to win at Augusta was Jose Maria Olazabal in 1999 but in Kaymer and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, the continent has the reigning USPGA and US Open champion respectively. England’s Luke Donald has an impressive record at Augusta with a best of third place in 2005, and has won in the United States this season - while countryman Justin Rose has led at some stage on all four days of the tournament and also brings some confidence from recent third and fifth places in PGA Tour events. Former world number one Tiger

Woods, now ranked seventh, is seeking a fifth Green Jacket but has been struggling for form after last year’s divorce and programme of swing changes under new coach Sean Foley. Woods, though, was fourth on his reappearance last year following a spell out of the game after a sex scandal and there are some, including former coach Hank Haney, who think he will feature prominently this week because of his knowledge and liking for the course. Woods’s last victory at Augusta was in 2005 and he won the last of his 14 major titles in 2008. A new breed of young Americans are also capturing the headlines for their big-hitting, putting prowess and confident approach. Nick Watney was seventh last year and is the form player on the PGA Tour, while Dustin Johnson went close in both the USPGA and US Open last year and has also had some good results this season. Bubba Watson lost in a play-off to Kaymer in the 2010 USPGA but left-handers are thought to have an advantage on certain holes at Augusta and could also feature. (BBC)

New-look West Indies team named

WEST INDIES have announced a new-look squad for their oneoff Twenty20 international against Pakistan in St Lucia on April 21, featuring four new caps and recalls for Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samuels, who is once again eligible for selection after serving a two-year ban for his alleged involvement with illegal bookmakers. The match will be West Indies’ first since Pakistan eliminated them at the quarter-final stage of the World Cup, and true to the intentions of their coach, Ottis Gibson, the team is the first step towards a new era for Caribbean cricket, as it features few of the elder statesmen who were sent packing from the tournament with a humiliating ten-wicket defeat in Dhaka. Though Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard are not eligible for selection because they did

Barcelona crush Shakhtar Donetsk BARCELONA produced a Champions League masterclass as they took a giant stride towards the semifinals by crushing Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1 at the Camp Nou. The superb Andres Iniesta slotted them ahead before his majestic pass enabled Dani Alves to take a touch and prod in. Gerard Pique’s shot deflected in off Yaroslav Rakitskiy but Rakitskiy turned a cross in as Shakhtar pulled one back. However, Barca were rampant and Seydou Keita hit an unstoppable fourth before Xavi tapped in late on to wrap it up. Barca must still survive the second leg in Ukraine on Tuesday to complete their passage into the last four and if they do, they will almost certainly meet their great rivals Real Madrid, who dismantled Spurs 4-0 in their first leg. That would set up the mouth-watering prospect of four El Clasicos in the space of little more than two weeks, with the clubs also due to meet in La Liga on Saturday 16 April and in the Spanish Cup final on Wednesday 20 April. (BBC)

Marlon Samuels returns to the West Indies team.

not play in the Caribbean T20 earlier this year, there is no place either for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan or Sulieman Benn. Darren Sammy retains his place as captain, with Devendra Bishoo and Andre Russell, two young players who made good impressions at the World Cup, both included. The uncapped inclusions are Danza Hyatt, a powerful Jamaican righthander; Christopher Barnwell, an allrounder from Guyana; Ashley Nurse, an off-spinner from Barbados, and left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie, also from Jamaica. Simmons, the nephew of the Ireland coach, Phil, is back in the squad for the first time since the tour of Australia in 2010.

Clyde Butts, the chairman of selectors, said: “The squad includes players who have performed well in the Caribbean T20. We are looking to expose players as he build towards the next ICC World T20 Tournament next year. Samuels and Simmons have both played at this level before and performed consistently in the Caribbean T20. We believe they will be key members of this team. “Hyatt, Santokie and Nurse played in the West Indies A Team against Pakistan A and they did well. We have decided to give them the opportunity in the senior West Indies team and we believe they will make the transition to the higher level. Barnwell also did well in the Caribbean T20 and he also had exposure for Guyana in the Champions League last year. He is a lively and enthusiastic cricketer and we expect good things from him as well. “Hyatt is a hard-hitting batsman who has demonstrated his ability to be a match-winner when he played against Pakistan A. Santokie has been exceptional in the Caribbean T20 using the new ball for Jamaica. Nurse is a clever bowler, a hard worker and has the ability to make vital runs in the lower order as well.” West Indies squad Darren Sammy (capt), Christopher Barnwell, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Andre Fletcher, Danza Hyatt, Ashley Nurse, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Krishmar Santokie, Lendl Simmons. (cricinfo)

Mahela Jayawardene and Sri Lanka selectors resign SRI LANKA vice-captain Mahela Jayawardene and the country’s four selectors have resigned following the World Cup final defeat by India. They follow Kumar Sangakkara, who quit as one-day and Twenty20 captain on Tuesday, but remains as Test captain. Ex-captain Jayawardene said the time was right to “move on”. The selectors, headed by former national skipper Aravinda de Silva, handed their resignations to Sri Lanka’s sports minister on Wednesday. The quartet’s term was due to end at the end of the month but De Silva, alongside Ranjith Fernando, Amal Silva and Azwer Ali chose to leave early in the wake of the sixwicket defeat by India in Mumbai on Saturday. (BBC)

Mahela Jayawardene resigns

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011

Sports National TCI heading to Suriname for ICC Cricket tournament THE TURKS and Caicos Islands senior cricket team will head to Suriname from this Saturday to compete in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Americas Division Two tournament from Sunday to April 15th. The side, which will be led by Rohan Ash, includes a number of new faces, some of whom have dominated Provo cricket of recent. The team will play four twenty20 matches and one 50-over clash. The other nations competing in the event are: Brazil, Belize, the Bahamas, Panama and the home team. TCI’s strength should be their batting with the likes of Garvin Bruno, Ash, century maker at the last ICC tournament Douglas Brown, Nuwan Bodhinyake and Gareth Butler to name a few. In all fairness TCI should be able to bat from 1-11. The side also consists of some nifty bowlers in both the pace and spin departments. The full team reads: Rohan Ash (captain), Terrence Thomas (vice captain), Garvin Bruno, Robert Johnson, Nuwan Bodhinyake, Marcus Charlemagne, Gareth Butler,

Police’s captain in the Provo Cricket Association, Garvin Bruno, will need to carry his good local form onto the international stage.

Damian St. Ange, Sabuton John, Jeremy Jones, Howard Dickenson, Henry Saunders, Douglas Brown and

Calvin Chase with Michael Pereira as manager and Ralph Doughty as coach.

Women’s Beach Soccer League:

Ballers and Predators record exciting wins THE WOMEN’S Beach Soccer League produced two exciting clashes last weekend as both games went into extra time with one ending in a suddendeath penalty shootout. In the opening game the Beach Soccer Ballers edged past the New Wave Warriors in a tense affair that went all the way down to a dramatic penalty shootout. The score was tied at 7-7 after the regulated three periods with goals coming from Sarah Cenary (4), Patrice SeniorClayton (2) and Jessica Foley (1) for the Ballers and Willandra Elliot (3), Gaya Smith (2), Iola Smith (1) and Rebecca Castillo (1) for the Warriors. Both Cenary and Senior-Clayton scored in the shoot-out as did Gaya Smith for the Warriors, but Elliot’s miss gave the victory to the Ballers who have now moved up into second place in the league table. The second game was just as exciting as the Caribbean Predators claimed a 9-8 win in

extra time against the All Star Shrimps. The game was tied at 8-8 before the teams went into the extra period which was decided when Kadine Delpin’s pressure forced an own goal by the Shrimps. In another high scoring game Christina Hinds took her league total to 18 goals by scoring a double hat-trick on the day (6 goals) and Jenny Flerenvil added a goal for the Shrimps. Delphin was also impressive in front of goal scoring five for the Predators. Simone Smith (2) and Lilli Fenelus rounded off the scoring for the victors. Delphin and Hinds were voted MVP for Week three. The league is still very close as only three points separate all four teams. This Sunday the top two and bottom two teams will face each other in what promises to be two very closely contested games. The Da Conch Shack Men’s Beach Soccer League will begin on Sunday April, 17.

Josh for Sports

Kid Porter – A native international legend A FEW months ago, I wrote an article informing you, my faithful column followers, about the second [latest] attempt at forming a national TCI Boxing Association /Federation. There are a few of us who are boxing enthusiasts, who have the interest of promoting the sport at a national level, which would in turn translate to TCI becoming competitive on an international level. The designated president of the association was expected to be Mr. Cardinal Porter, Mr. Gary Lightbourne was the proposed vicepresident while yours truly was expected to be the secretary.

WHO IS CARDINAL PORTER Cardinal Porter is a native born Turks and Caicos Islander who acquired the sporting name of Kid Porter while growing into adulthood in the Bahamas. Kid Porter became an international boxer, bodybuilder, self-defence expert (third degree black belt) in taekwondo while he also studied

ninjutsu for five years. A ninja is basically, in general what one would call a silent, vindicator, enforcer or exterminator or more direct—a silent killer. Porter is also an ex-police officer in the TCI, acquiring the rank of corporal (1979-84), while he is a heavy duty equipment operator and a fashion designer. As if those accolades are insufficient he is also an Auto Service Excellent Master which teaches/qualifies a person in bodywork, painting and welding etc. FAMILY Porter was born in 1956 in Grand Turk to Ms. Nelly Tucker of Salt Cay. His father was actually a North American Indian by the name of Anthony Porto of the Sioux Indians from the Black Hills of the Dakota Mountains in the USA. His father was in the US Army stationed at Navy Base in Grand Turk. Porter and his dad were separated when he was just a year-old. He re-

By Joshua Gardiner met him at age 30, in Beverly Hills in California. If his dad was alive today he would have been well over 100 years. MIGRATION TO THE BAHAMAS Porter, at age 2 ½ was sent to his grandmother Tina Tucker [a native of Salt Cay] in Nassau, Bahamas. SPORTS HISTORY Porter got into serious sports around

the age of 15. The reason he got into boxing was because he was tired of being bullied. Kid Porter sparred with nationally known boxers in the Bahamas [persons whom I knew personally or who I knew of, having lived there for 36 years as a national household sporting name and champion]. The kid sparred with the likes of Elisha Obed [formally Everette Ferguson] who became world welterweight champion under Angelo Dunder , Sugar Ray Sears, Kid Nassau, Kid Cruise and Boston Blackie [Leonard Miller]. Actually he was trained by Boston Blackie and Sonny Boy Rahming— his amateur record was 3-2. The youngster studied karate under masters Kermit Ford and Gus Cartwright. He also competed against the top bodybuilders in the Bahamas. INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE THE

BAHAMAS (1986) In 1986 the kid hooked up with Master Bosten Timmons of the taekwondo discipline. He studied in Fort Lauderdale, FL. He competed in karate competitions in Florida and California. He became an expert in weaponry. Porter has a desire to pass on his vast knowledge and expertise to children in the TCI. PRE-CONDITION Porter emphasises and demands dedication, focus, punctuality and seriousness from his prospective students. He said: “You have to pay the cost to be the boss” APPEAL I am making a special appeal to any and all philanthropist-minded individuals to please assist Mr. Porter in anyway conceivable. He desperately needs a home building/ location, sponsorship and seriousminded students and persons to assists.

April 9 - 15, 2011

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

PHL mini-division final:

2011 ISSA Champs:

Dragons fire way to Caicos Cup Williams deliver in 200M IT CAME down to the final game and two great mini-division teams had everything to prove—but the Dragons ended with glory. There was no clear favourite between the Grace Bay Car Rentals and Sales Owls and the Coco Bistro Dragons as both sides had battled hard throughout the regular season and the playoffs. After winning game one, two Saturday’s ago, at the Graceway Sports Centre the Dragons were psychologically ahead, but that edge was grinded down by the Owls who won game two, 7-6. Sebastian Turbyfield led the way with three goals and an assist while Javed Shearer and Dylan Brubaker scored two goals each. The hero of the day, however, was the Dragons’ Orrin Campbell who scored all of his team’s goals in game two.

– Leads Munro College to relay victories DELANO Williams is the undisputed 200M prince in Jamaica. The 17-year-old TCI native stormed to victory in that event at the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA)/Grace Kennedy Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships last weekend in the sprinting capital of the Caribbean. After finishing third in the 100M with a time of 10.55s the youngster re-composed himself to win the 200M in fine style. He thrilled the spectators when he took a commanding lead at the 50M mark. That lead was maintained until the very end for a 21.00s finish.Green Island’s Odail Todd finished second with a time of 21.42s while the 100m champion Jazeel Murphy clocked 21.48s. Williams won two other gold medals when he ran the relays. In the first he teamed up with compatriot Ifeanyi Otuonye, who led off; Rajiv Service and Waynee

Delano Williams easily lifted the 200M title at the ISSA Champs

Hyman to upset favourites STETHS in the Class 1 4x100M, winning in 38.92s. The teen then started off the 4x400M team which included Hyman, Service and anchor Kaneil Harrison. They won in 3:12.90 minutes.

PHL bantam-division final:

Sharks sweep series

THE SANDS/PALMS Sharks swept the Star Foundation Lightning in the Provo Hockey League (PHL) bantam-division’s best-in-three final to lift the Caicos Cup. After winning game one, the previous Saturday, the Sharks smelt victory and pounced on their

opponents for the 6-2 win. Gabriel Diotte-Joly who dominated the bantam-division with quick goals finished with five while Justin Hagan scored the other. For the Lightning Cole Nickson and Ricardo Valcin were on target.

The deciding clash between the Owls and the Dragons ended 7-5 and again it was Campbell who dominated. The youngster scored five goals while Jamie Gray added two goals and an

assist. Gabriel Osmond also made an assist. For the Owls Sebastian Turbyfield scored thrice while he made an assist. Shearer and Brubaker both finished with one goal each.

PHL TCBC division:

Flames win thriller to lift Caicos Cup THE TWO-TEAM TCBC (midgetdivision) clash between the J & W Construction Flames and the Twa Marcelin Wolf Pirates was a thrilling encounter and embodied the competitive nature of the Provo Hockey League this season. The teams battled hard, but it was the Flames who stole the Caicos Cup in overtime after the Pirates had forced a game three. Facing a clean sweep the Pirates started the final day with a positive frame of mind and Miguel Malcolm, who has been very instrumental for the side, especially towards the end of the season, delivered with seven goals in the 10-6 victory. Rajhan Munnings, Gabriel Saunders and Serena Delancy added the others. Munnings also finished with two assists while Wellington Williams and Stuart

The PHL skills competition The Sharks swept the bantam-division finals

The 2011 PHL mini-division winners the Coco Bistro Dragons

Mini League: Speed Skating: Javed Shearer Sharp shooting: Sebastian Turbyfield Bantam League: Sharp shooting: Kennon Higgs Break Away: Gabriel DiotteJoly Top goalie: Senga Brubaker and Benjamin Saunders Midget League: Sharp shooting: Gabriel Saunders Break away: Gabriel Saunders Top goalie: Stuart Ewing and Patrick Musgrove

The J & W Construction Flames won the Caicos Cup in overtime of their third game in the best-in-three final.

Ewing made one each. Christian Robinson scored three times for the Flames while Quinn Higgs and Luis Turbyfield also penetrated the goal posts. The final game of the season which decided a winner—was won in overtime 9-8 by the Flames when Robinson scored the second of his two goals. Turbyfield led the attack

with four goals and an assist while Higgs added two and three assists and Peter Esper one goal. Munnings had one of his best scoring days when he chalked up five goals and an assist for the Pirates, but even with an unselfish Malcolm scoring twice while making five assists and Clayon Bennett and Saunders scoring one each it was not enough.

2011 ISSA Champs:

Otuonye breaks 13-yearold TCI long jump record LAST YEAR’S CARIFTA silver medal winner Ifeanyi Otuonye broke the national long jump record after a solid performance at last week’s ISSA Champs in Jamaica. The youngster, who made his name in high jump after his second place finish at the prestigious event (CARIFTA) last year, leaped 7.15M (in long jump) to eclipse the 7.10M made by Levard Missick in

September of 1998. Otuonye has had a good long jump season; last month the Munro College student soared 7.0M, in one attempt, to win the Western Champs also in Jamaica. On track he has also played his part. In the 4X100M race at Champs he led the Munro College Division 1 boys to a great start, a race which well anchored and won by Delano Williams.

TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS

April 9 - 15, 2011