Weekly News Volume 28 | No. 50 | December 13 - 19, 2014
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Turks and Caicos
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New police chief PAGE
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A new Commissioner of Police has been appointed to take over the position when Colin Farquhar completes his second term in February.
Talented artists sell Christmas goodies UK confident TCI can comfortably refinance loan
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Three acres of pine flattened in controlled burn PAGE 14
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High school students awarded for excellence
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
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NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
UK police veteran appointed as TCI’s new commissioner A NEW Commissioner of Police has been appointed to take over the position when Colin Farquhar completes his second term in February. James Smith will be in charge of 280 officers and staff at the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) spread throughout the Islands. He is a highly respected police officer with almost 40 years of service in variety of policing environments and legal jurisdictions including Scotland, England, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. Smith said: “It is a tremendous honour to be appointed Commissioner of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. “I believe that my experiences in the UK and overseas have a lot to offer my new RTCIPF colleagues, and I look forward to discussing with them their ideas as to how we can use this knowledge and practical experience to serve all the communities across the Turks and Caicos Islands.” Governor Peter Beckingham, who approves all senior public appointments in the territory, made the announcement on Wednesday (December 10). “I am delighted that we have secured the agreement of Jim Smith to take over as the next Police Commissioner this February,” he said. “He brings the most senior experience from both the UK and Caribbean, having been an Assistant and Deputy Chief Constable in the UK, and was previously also Acting Police Commissioner of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. “He was a Commander in London’s Metropolitan Police
James Smith will take up the position in February 2015
Service, where he was involved in the response to the London terrorist bombings, and introduced neighbourhood policing, a concept which we might usefully further develop here. “He was also a senior officer in the Scottish police. His experience makes him a first class leader to take forward the men and women of the RTCIPF into the next stage of their professional and organisational development.” The Commissioner of Police role was advertised locally, regionally and internationally, and attracted nearly 30 applicants. Six candidates were shortlisted and interviewed by a panel comprising the Governor, Attorney General Rhondalee Braithwaite Knowles, Cheryl Astwood-Tull, chair of the Human Rights Commission, and Larry Covington, Foreign and Commonwealth Office Regional Security Adviser to the Caribbean
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 Rebecca Bird - News Editor Delana Isles - Senior Reporter Daisy Handfield - Staff Reporter Faizool Deo - Sports Editor (At Large) Cord Garrido-Lowe - Graphics Consultant (At Large) Dilletha Lightbourne-Williams - Office Manager Email: (Advertising) tcnews@tciway.tc, (News) tcweeklynews@gmail.com Tel. 649-946-4664 (office), 649-232-3508 (after hours) Website address: www.tcweeklynews.com Follow us on: Facebook: facebook.com/tcweeklynews Twitter: twitter.com/tcweeklynews1
Overseas Territories and a former UK police officer. They made a unanimous decision to appoint James Smith. Current police chief Colin Farquhar was appointed on March 11, 2011. He has over 31 years of policing and leadership experience in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the United Nations, focusing on the development and implementation of comprehensive strategies associated to community safety, international peace and security. The Governor paid tribute to the outgoing Commissioner: “I would like to take this opportunity to publicly recognise the contribution of Commissioner Colin Farquhar to policing here in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which continues to benefit from one of the lowest crime rates in the Caribbean and is widely recognised as a largely safe and welcoming destination for our residents and visitors. “I wish him well as he resumes his policing career in Canada.”
December 13 - 19, 2014
James Smith - Biography JAMES Smith is a highly respected police officer with almost forty years of service in variety of policing environments and legal jurisdictions including Scotland, England, Hong Kong and the Caribbean. Joining the service in Edinburgh, Scotland he gained a three year deployment to the Royal Hong Kong Police where he was in charge of a variety of policing teams including drugs squad, anti-vice team and a riot control platoon. Returning to Scotland he gained considerable experience in a number of uniform and specialist roles including CID, traffic, emergency and events planning and was staff officer to the Chief Constable and spent a period of time with the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency. As a senior officer in Edinburgh he was in command of Central Edinburgh with responsibilities that included the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Courts, the Palace of Holyrood and demonstrations as well as the day to day delivery of policing services. He was both a firearms officer and commanded firearms incidents. Graduating from the Strategic Command Course in 2002 he was appointed temporary Assistant Chief Constable before being selected as Commander in the London Metropolitan Police (MPS). In the MPS he had operational command of seven London boroughs with several thousand staff. In addition to overseeing a large number of operations as Gold Commander he performed the role as National Coordinator for the UK policing
response to the Southeast Asia tsunami and played a significant role in the MPS response to the terrorist bombings in London in July 2005. Over a period of three years he was responsible for the introduction of specialist neighbourhood policing teams across London providing dedicated officers to communities in London for the first time. He was also responsible for youth justice, special constables and a variety of additional specialist staff and was the national lead on neighbourhood policing and represented the Association of Chief Police Officers on youth issues. In 2006 he was appointed as Deputy Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC) and was acting Chief Constable for an extended period. The CNC provides armed protection for all civil nuclear material in the UK and for transportation to numerous countries in Europe as well as the USA and Japan. Smith is credited with modernising the force and forging alliances with other Home Office forces and agencies in the USA to make the CNC a highly efficient and effective force. Following retirement from the CNC in late 2008 Smith was appointed on a temporary basis as acting Commissioner in the Royal Cayman Islands Police until June 2009. Smith has attended a variety of senior police management courses and is the holder of a post graduate diploma in policing and applied criminology from Cambridge, and a post graduate certificate in management studies from Edinburgh Napier University.
UK confident TCI can comfortably refinance loan BY DELANA ISLES AN AFFIRMATION of the Government’s efforts to put the Turks and Caicos Islands in a firm position to refinance the United Kingdom loan guarantee was given during the just concluded Joint Ministerial Council meeting in London. This is according to Governor Peter Beckingham and Premier Rufus Ewing – both of whom attended the event – during a press briefing on Wednesday (December 10) at the Hilly Ewing building in Providenciales. “We had a meeting with the new minister from the Department for International Development [Desmond Swayne] and he went through the figures with the Premier in detail and said at the end that he saw no reason why we shouldn’t be able to secure commercial loans next year,” the Governor said. He added that the ministers and everyone else were very impressed with the strong economic results, the forecast for this financial year, and the strong results from the tourism figures. “Overall I think the ministers were very impressed with the economic picture that the Premier painted and they were very confident that TCI should be able to comfortably secure commercial loans on the markets come 2016.” Beckingham said that the TCI’s performance at the conference was very strong and effective. He added that the Premier took a very forceful and active part in the discussions on security in the region. “We also talked separately to the Foreign Office minister about some of our concerns, about continued
Foreign Office Minister James Duddridge meeting Dr The Hon Rufus Ewing, Premier and Minister of Tourism and Culture in London on December 4
incursions from the Dominican Republic in terms of fishing. “We discussed the need to get better and faster marine patrol vessels which we hope we might be able to secure from the UK and we talked about the continuing numbers of illegal migrants from Haiti,” he stated. Expanding a bit more on the discussions about the need for more marine vessels, the Premier said that not only would the TCI benefit from a stronger marine patrol, but other territories which are in close proximity to the Islands. Ewing stated that he sought the assistance from the UK for the procurement of more marine vessels. He said he also made a number of other recommendations, some of which include the establishment of a greater presence of the Royal Navy in TCI waters outside of the hurricane season so as to increase the chances of intercepting illegal migrants and drug and gun traffickers. He added that he also lobbied for a renegotiation of the financial framework document that sets the targets for TCI. “The renegotiating speaks to how we can have additional funds outside
of the consolidated fund. “A particular fund that we are looking at is the conservation fund dealing with the environment and also the scholarship fund that we would like to establish outside of the consolidated fund.” He said that he believes he was able to convincingly convey that these things are important enough to the Turks and Caicos Islands and that they should form part of the framework document renegotiation. “We also gave the minister an update on the Constitution Review Committee and about the report that was recently submitted.” He noted that they were unable to discuss the details of the report as it is yet to be laid on the table of the House and debated. However, he said that he made the minister aware that such a document has been developed and that he is to look forward to the recommendations. “They are quite confident and happy that we will be able to successfully renegotiate and refinance our loan in 2016 and to set the new stage for TCI progress going beyond that,” Ewing added.
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
A Weekly News column that puts you on the spot for your opinions on the issues of the day
Minimum wage increase
CABINET recently agreed to a 25 percent increase in the minimum wage from $5 to $6.25. Following public input the increase will come into effect on April 1 next year. Do you think it has come at the right time? What effect will it have on quality of life in the TCI?
A good measure
I think this is a good measure. There are states in the US where the minimum wage is high, the quality of life is high and state government revenues do well. It can improve the quality of life because those persons earning at the bottom could spend more and do more with their money. They could save and plan more. This can only be a good measure for them.
Higher prices
As always this sounds like a good deal. However we never know what is really paid to the worker. It could easily be less than the minimum set now or later. The national insurance and health insurance tax will rise at the same level that the minimum is established. This will subtract from the employer and employee and benefit this Government which
loves to tax, tax and tax. All real minimum wage increases are passed along to the consumers as higher prices. This increases the cost of living. Low paid civil servants will see a higher wage but then face higher prices.
Critical help
$5 is not a living wage, and while $6.25 is not much better it will give critical help to those at the lowest end of the wage market. It may even encourage some persons who do not want to work for minimum wage to actually get up and work. As most of the increased wage will be spent on basics, it will actually expand the economy which will benefit the businesses who have to pay the increase. There may be fewer low paid jobs available, which might discourage those who come here legally or illegally for low paid jobs. We need to get our own school leavers into the work force, not imported labour. Most managers start at the bottom and work their way up the ladder.
Too low
Increasing the minimum wage may be good in some respects as the cost of living has skyrocketed over the past four years.
A TCI resident was left in a coma after suffering from multiple injuries when she was hit by a car as she attempted to cross the road. This accident is said to have taken place on Friday, November 28, in the Ports of Call area on Grace Bay Road in Providenciales around 8pm. According to police officials, from the statement received from the driver of the vehicle, he did not see her while she was crossing the road. Jaliyllah Rosati suffered a head trauma that left her in a state of unconsciousness for about a week. She was initially treated at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre in Providenciales, but was then rushed to Nassau, Bahamas, where she was admitted into the intensive care unit at Doctors Hospital. Rosati is a long-time volunteer at the Turks
and Caicos Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (TCSPCA) and is loved by many residents in the TCI community. Staff of the TCSPA dedicated a tribute to Rosati on their Facebook page stating: “It has become very apparent from the outpouring of love and prayers this week that Jaliyllah has touched the lives of so many people from the TCI and she is truly a ‘national treasure’ who cares deeply about the people from this small island nation. “Her work with the TCSPCA for the past few years has helped us to educate hundreds of residents about the importance of caring for their pets and her compassion towards the island animals is never ending. “Also, as you can see from this photo [at the top of the article] she is a beautiful woman who looks amazing for her age and that is because she has such a young spirit within her that we know will help with her recovery.”
Comes too late
Though this is a welcome development especially to the minimum wage earners, there is still a great disparity between the percentage of wage increase as against the percentage increase in the prices of commodities that took place almost four years ago. In fact this wage increase already comes late and has no significant effect to the quality of life of the minimum wage earners. If the Government cannot grant such increase on time, there must be a Government body that regulates the prices especially the basic commodities. In spite of the increase, there remains an imbalance between the purchasing power of dollar in this country as against the prices of commodities which is an indication of a looming inflation in the economy.
Resident in coma after serious car accident BY DAISY HANDFIELD
However, I feel that there was no thought behind the amount. No study conducted to see what the real cost of living is for the average person in TCI. The figure seems low to be honest. When a gallon of milk and a gallon of gas is higher than a person’s hourly earnings something seems wrong with the equation. Further what is truly needed is legislation for equal pay in TCI. Expatriate workers get higher salaries, more benefits and allowances and locals are paid significantly less for the same positions and amount of work. But no one wants to have that discussion. The flip side of increasing the minimum wage is that small businesses and working parents whose salaries more than likely will remain the same, will be forced to pay higher rates for child care and Government mandated social contributions. Is the Government going to ask the private sector to review salaries as a result of the increase in minimum wage? Are they going to look at introducing regulations to ensure fair pay? These are things that need to be discussed in a public forum before we just increase the minimum wage. There are consequences which we should be proactive in addressing as a country.
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Jaliyllah Rosati is in a coma at Doctors Hospital in Nassau
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December 13 - 19, 2014
NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
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Islands being neglected by Gov’t – Opposition BY DELANA ISLES TWO years of PNP leadership and the Islands are still in the same state they were in before, and in some cases they are worse off. This is the view of the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), as expressed during a midterm review press conference on December 1. Leader of the Opposition, Sharlene Cartwright Robinson stated that each Island is suffering and are left hopeless and destitute. She added that after two years of the Rufus Ewing-led administration, people in Providenciales are still struggling and enduring poor treatment and conditions in their work place. In the nation’s capital, Grand Turk, she noted that many suffered a blow when they accepted the voluntary severance packages. “This resulted in an increase in unemployment and other social issues. “The major private sector member on the island remains Carnival and we hear of its threatening to pull out for a number of reasons including the general state of the island with poor roads and general uncleanliness,” the party leader said. She added that in Grand Turk the roads there are among some of the
worst in the country. “And the lack of resources a few weeks ago saw household garbage left uncollected for over six weeks increasing the general uncleanliness of the Islands and the threat of disease spread. “Grand Turk under this Government has been neglected.” FAMILY ISLANDS She said that in South Caicos, the situation is worse and that the people have never had it so bad. “We have kept the issue of the airport front and centre as this is critical in support of the resorts near completion and operating. “We have conducted a media tour of the island to highlight the needs and concerns of the residents there.” She said the youth of the island remain without a sporting ground, while the elderly and the sick remain without a clinic with the basic medication and supplies. The stressful position of having to send prescriptions to Providenciales to be filled by relatives still obtains, she added. Another issue is that of the building standards, which she said are poor. She added that the island remains overgrown and appears un-kept, while the airport remains an eyesore
Five Cays multi-million dollar resort in jeopardy - Astwood THE DEVELOPMENT process for a multi-million dollar eco-adventure resort in Five Cays appears to be at a standstill and elected member for the area is worried that the developers will pull out if things do not start moving. Sean Astwood told the press recently that the Crown Land Unit still has not processed the application from the developers and the Business Unit is still to facilitate the proposal. He added that the time it is taking to get these things done is frustrating to the developers. “I do know that Government departments that have responsibility of facilitating this development need to get their act together. “It has to come from the Premier, there is no getting around it, he has to take a more proactive approach in making sure the departments gets done what needs to get done.” He added: “I am afraid that if that doesn’t happen soon the developers might look somewhere else to do their project.” He said that he has been doing what he can to help facilitate the process, but more needs to be done from the relevant people to get the project started. The elected member is also of the view that the Government still does not have its act together when it comes to foreign direct investment, as well as local investment. “Fortunately for this particular project the developers are people who are on the ground, they are
with a rundown terminal, burnt building and unfinished structure with overgrown bush. “The fishing industry remains challenged. Unemployment is still high. There are concerns about the water supply with the condenser being out of service and the pressure on one tank. “The social needs are great and like many of the family islands, South Caicos remains neglected.” Last year monies were agreed in the budget in an amendment to have $40,000 spent on a works programme and not a dime was released, the party leader stated. In North Caicos, she said the same lack of attention is evident. She added that the island can benefit from the reintroduction of the works programme which will serve keep the island in a better state and inject money into the economy. The party leader stated that the Opposition has called for this since last year’s budget and that they will not abandon their calls. “The residents are still awaiting the new promised ambulance and fire truck and a better housing for the clinic and the police station.” Middle Caicos can also benefit from the reintroduction of the works’ programme, she said. “Both islands face challenges with accessing secondary healthcare often time being asked to bear the cost to travel to an InterHealth Canada facility.” She added that the small school can benefit from the urgent services of an assistant teacher, while the caves are waiting for bathroom facilities since last year’s budget.
“Middle Caicos residents lamented recently that they are in the back of the back burner when expressing their feeling of being neglected.” The tiny island of Salt Cay has a new clinic and a house for its new reverse osmosis plant but they are both empty, Cartwright Robinson pointed out. She added that there are still serious challenges with the water supply and residents are worried about how it may affect its tourist season. They are also worried about the reduced flights in and out of the island. “Under this Government, more than half of Salt Cay’s residents have listed their homes for sale. “Salt Cay once described as the cleanest island is plagued too often with litter. “The victim of voluntary severance, I have made calls for an additional staff member to help to keep the Island clean,” she stated. The introduction of local government is a must for these Islands, she added. NO POWERS The Opposition leader is further reminding the residents of the Islands that the PDM cannot use powers that it does not have “We continue to do as much as we can reminding the people that in a democracy such as ours and in the absence of a coalition Government, only one party (the one who wins the most seats) can govern as a time.” She reiterated that they are not the Government; thereby they have no
Under the tree Elected member for Five Cays, Sean Astwood
not new developers to the country, they know what they are doing, and they have a proven product in the industry.” He added that the project will be a big plus for the Five Cays community and a big plus for the country. The development has been touted as an eco-adventure resort comprised of all of the top notch amenities. The project, which is being undertaken by Adventure Resorts Limited, has already received outline planning permission. Last July 9, Cabinet reviewed the company’s proposal and confirmed its support for the development subject to satisfactory completion of investment processes. The proposal is for the construction of a low-rise, low density building which would blend in with the environment and will include tourist accommodations, spa, fitness areas and recreational areas. (DELANA ISLES)
executive powers. “We have offered to help and have been told by the Premier to wait our turn to govern. “We have reached across the floor and presented a well thought out financial plan as an alternative and the plan was dismissed yet aspects of it were used.” She also pointed to a statement made by the Government’s appointed member in the House of Assembly: “The Hon Ruth Blackman, to loud applause, stated in the House of Assembly that no government listens to the opposition.” The party leader said that the people need to understand that if they want a PDM Government, they have to vote for a PDM Government. “So much is left undone yet we hear boastings about surplus. No we do not expect the Government to go on a spending spree but simply to have mercy on the people and to address some of the priority issues.” She stated that the PNP Government is leaving too much undone. “We are asking the Government immediately to consider the works programme and to clean up these Islands through small and petty contracts and to repair critical roads like the Front Street and Lighthouse roads in Grand Turk.” She further issued a call to residents to do what they can to keep their surroundings clean. “Individuals, home owners, churches, schools, civic groups, and politicians get into your constituency and let’s clean up an area for the good of our country,” she urged.
By Benneth Williams
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NEWS
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
Integrity in Governance is important - Opposition LEADER of the Opposition, Sharlene Cartwright Robinson has welcomed the Turks and Caicos Islands’ first celebration of the United Nation’s designated day for anti-corruption on December 9. In a statement to mark the occasion, she congratulated the TCI Integrity Commission for seeing the value and the immediate benefits in recognising the day. She said: “The fight against corruption is nothing new to any part of the world but it must not be allowed to take root in these Islands. “Unfortunately places and people are too often known for the bad rather than the good but it must then be our determination to ensure that there is much more good about us.” She stated that leaders in the fight of corruption regionally must hold themselves to the high standard that others have set. “We must accept this burden that it places on us and it must become a burden that we are happy to bear.” She said it is therefore incumbent on leaders to do their part to maintain the image set. “On our jobs and wherever we serve we must hold fast to the vision of making today’s theme a reality. “From the home, we must train our children to understand the value of becoming men and women of integrity so that a wholesome and godly heritage can pass on from us to
Opposition Leader, Sharlene Cartwright Robinson
our future generations and we must remember that we ought always to practise what we preach.” She noted that this needs to be the bedrock of the Islands and that as guardians through institutions they must serve and lead with integrity and without fear or favour. She added: “It is only then that we can truly celebrate the accomplishment of today’s theme integrity: The bedrock of prosperity and posterity of the Turks and Caicos Islands.” She stated that the theme simply puts forward that moral uprightness should be the foundation of the wealth and future of these Islands. “Who can disagree with such ambitions and bold positive statements spoken over our country? “This ought not to be met with opposition and we will all perhaps agree that it is or should be.” Cartwright Robinson noted that as leader of the Opposition, she sees her role as critical in ensuring that the country achieve this objective.
The Opposition plays a part in ensuring good governance particularly as a built in oversight body in a democracy, she remarked. “However as elected representatives much rests on my colleagues and I to serve the people of these Islands with integrity whether in our official capacity or in our personal lives. “This ought never to be taken lightly as decisions made today can and affect generations to come and it ought to be our goal to leave a legacy of good decisions, good deeds and good reputation.” She added that the importance of good governance achieved through honest, transparent and accountable actions by persons in elected positions of trust can never be overemphasised. “Integrity ought to become the watch word of those in leadership and this begins in our individual lives.” She said that moral uprightness has not occupied the place of prominence it used to in time past and this must see a reversal. She said the church must also join in ensuring that the tradition is upheld. The party leader also congratulated the commission on its work thus far and pledged her party’s support. The decision to hold several activities over a few days will undoubtedly increase much needed awareness and hopefully will begin a new approach to anti-corruption initiatives and the push to become a country of great repute known for its integrity, she added.
Combatting corruption must start with the young “WE NEED to report corruption, create an environment where the laws succeed and strive for integrity.” TCI National Youth Ambassador Donte Francis gave his views on combatting corruption during an International Anti-Corruption Day open day ceremony on Tuesday (December 9). The ceremony took place in at the Library Tennis Court in Grand Turk and was hosted by the TCI Integrity Commission. “This is a very important day for every Turks and Caicos Islander,” Francis declared. “I notice that this is the first commemoration of the National Anti-Corruption Day and we should be very proud of this. “It is no secret that corruption lies among us within these ‘Beautiful by Nature’ Turks and Caicos Islands.” He said that the day provides the opportunity to reflect on corruption and proclaim the country’s motivation and perseverance to battle it. “There is no society, which exists that does not have to deal with corruption. “Research tells us that corruption exists in all societies,
be it government, civil society organisations or private sector businesses. “Indeed, this is something we face globally. Therefore in addressing corruption, let us stand tall and develop a worldwide concept.” He said that corruption brings to mind something that is contrary to the law. “You would be surprised how many of us in our daily lives perform some act of corruption. “From giving someone a little cash to hasten an application form, paying to not do a driver’s test, manipulating prices when you know the items are not supposed to be that high to ‘blinding’ an eye to someone changing accounting figures.” Often corruption is seen as a way of life, Francis suggested. “We believe that because some things have been going on for years, that bad as we know them to be, we still justify doing them by saying ‘everyone is doing the same’. “We must stop this kind of thinking. We must call these incidents as we see them-acts of corruption that must be eliminated in our society. “We must understand that
corruption affects our social and economic growth and development. Do we want this to become a monetary Ebola?” He said that the country’s young people are a gateway to a brighter Turks and Caicos Islands. “Pushing our youth in accumulating the knowledge of ethical behaviour, eradicating corruption and their right to education are all key things we so need to do to ensure that the key to locking away our future generations of citizens from witnessing a corruption-free Turks and Caicos be locked away.” He said that everyone must report corruption, create an environment where the laws succeed and strive for integrity. “I would also like to echo the words of the song lyrics sang by the students of the Newman’s Preparatory Primary School ‘Integrity’s the only way, I take responsibility for everything I do and say, integrity is the real deal’.” He asked those gathered to join him in repeating a pledge: “I will say NO to corruption, I will say NO to a bribe, I will say NO to corruption, I will not forget my integrity pride.”
Still image from a video of Sunday’s incident showing the plane touching down
Plane touches down without nose gear BY DAISY HANDFIELD
FOUR people escaped serious injury when an interCaribbean Airways aircraft made an emergency landing at Providenciales International Airport. The incident happened on December 7 after the nose gear of the aircraft failed to deploy for landing. The aircraft was carrying two passengers and two crew members on board a flight that departed from Providenciales heading to Grand Turk. The pilot detected the problem with the nose gear as he was about to land. InterCaribbean emergency procedures were activated and the full resources of the company were mobilised to respond to the incident. The aircraft safely landed on the main runway and met by Turks and Caicos Aircraft Fire Services. There were no injuries to passengers or crew that were on board. CEO of the company Trevor Sadler told the Weekly News on Monday (November 8) that during the year that he has been with the company he has not witnessed an incident of this sort.
“We have our own maintenance facilities; our airplanes are cared for and maintained on a daily basis in a proper structured environment, conducive to the proper maintenance of aircraft. “The airplane received its daily check first thing in the morning; signed off by a licensed engineer as a normal procedure once a daily check has been completed.” Sadler said although it was a bad situation, the pilot did an excellent job landing the plane safely. “I think for those who have been able to see the YouTube video footage that was posted, you can see that the aircraft was well commanded and brought to a stop. “The pilot that was well in control of the airplane is a wellseasoned pilot with this airplane type. “He has many years of experience flying the Beech 99 so all of those years of experience and training were brought to bearing when bringing the aircraft to a rest on the runway.” Passengers involved were sent to Grand Turk on a later InterCaribbean flight. The CEO chose not to release the name of the pilot at this point in time, until investigations are complete.
Inmate seriously injures prison officer A PRISON officer was seriously injured by an inmate who violently resisted attempts to give him medication on Tuesday (December 9). The incident happened at about 12pm at Her Majesty’s Prison in Grand Turk. A press release from the Government released the same day said: “Officers were attempting to administer medication to an inmate who then resisted and had to be restrained. “In the process, an officer was injured and is currently receiving medical attention at the Grand Turk Hospital.” Other officers received minor injuries during the brawl but were able to return to work. According to the release the
Superintendent of Prisons Ian Sargent is looking into the matter. InterHealth Canada press relations officer Takara Bain confirmed that a prison officer had been treated at the hospital. “A HMP officer was transferred to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre from the Cockburn Town Medical centre on December 9 for further management and investigations because of a history of trauma to the eye,” she said. “He was assessed, relevant investigations performed and upon review was referred to National Health Insurance Plan for emergency overseas care as the injury was deemed to be of a serious nature and required further intervention not presently available in TCI.”
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
TCI Home Office launched in London A WIDER presence in the United Kingdom and Europe is what the launching and rebranding of the Turks and Caicos Islands Tourist Board office in London is set to accomplish. The office was rebranded and a launched as the TCI Home Office with a reception during the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) session in the UK. Commenting on the launch on his return to the Islands, Premier Rufus Ewing noted that the expansion of the old office is both physical and functional and will assist the TCI in many functions. These are - the promotion of TCI as a tourist destination, the promotion and attraction of investment and the financial services in TCI, and to act as a conduit for relationship between the TCI and UK government and members of parliament. Ewing said that building on relationships in the UK would assist greatly in the TCI moving its agenda forward. The TCI Home Office will also act as a conduit between the TCI Government and various bodies in the UK and Europe, and will be a place where TCI students and residents in the UK can be properly represented.
Premier Rufus Ewing, Minister of Tourism and Culture, at the Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council meeting in London
“We see this home office as that place and we would like to in the future replicate that office in most of the main areas where we do have Tourist Boards now such as New York and Canada,” Ewing added. Governor Peter Beckingham, who also attended the JMC and the launch of the new office, said the event seemed to put TCI very firmly on level with other Caribbean territories that already have offices in London. He added that there were some extremely senior figures from British business at the ceremony. “Some of whom we hope to talk to in the context of building up more,” he said. (DELANA ISLES)
Trial for the murder of Kaziah Burke to start in March CORTEZ Simmons is set to stand trial for the April 13, 2013, murder of 25-year-old Kaziah Burke on March 2 next year. The Registrar of the Supreme Court, David Chetwynd confirmed this to the Weekly News this week. The accused will first have his plea and direction review hearing on February 2. Simmons’ murder trial was put off due to requests from the lawyers involved in the case for a delay in its commencement. It was alleged that the Glass Shack resident could not receive a fair trial if he was tried before the Acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rodney Adams faced his own trial for corruption. Adams, whose link to Simmons was through his involvement in the son’s arrest for Burke’s murder, was recently acquitted by a jury in the Supreme Court. The younger Adams – Roderick – was arrested at the same time as Simmons for the 2013 murder, but was later released when evidence exonerated him. That evidence was initially obtained by his father from a witness to the crime and later turned over to the police commissioner. As a result of this, the senior Adams was arrested and charged for allegedly involving himself in
Murdered Kaziah Burke
the investigation in order to get his son cleared of Burke’s murder. Simmons is the only person who now faces that murder charge. He remains on remand at Her Majesty’s Prison. On the evening of April 13, Burke was killed at the New Era gas station on Airport Road. Police, responding to a report of several gunshots in that area, discovered Burke with multiple gunshot wounds, lying on the ground near the Executive Tours office. He was rushed to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre where medical staff attempted to save his life, but their efforts were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 9.07pm. (DELANA ISLES)
NEWS
High school students awarded for excellence
THIS Friday (December 12) more than 100 high school students will be given special awards for their educational achievements. The 18th annual National Academic Awards Ceremony, which recognises the country’s top learners, will be held at the Wesley Methodist School in Providenciales. The National Academic Awards Council within the Ministry of Education accepted recommendations of the subcommittee for the list of awardees earlier this year. A Government press release on Monday (December 8) said that the ministry congratulates all the students on a job well done. “They are accomplishing it through hard work and dedication, and anchored on the guidance, encouragement and wisdom of dedicated and committed teachers and parents,” the release read. “This is a trend that the National Council hopes will be the norm for the majority of students attending our educational institutions around the country.” The criteria guiding the council’s selection of awardees was that each student had to pass mathematics and English A as a part of a minimum of five subjects passed over four external examination sittings. One hundred and seventeen students from eight secondary schools around the country qualified to be recognised at this year’s ceremony. An additional 27 students qualified to be recognised this year over last year’s amount. “Our students are therefore working to attain the new standard and this is very encouraging,” the release read. This Friday the performances of the students will be recognised in five award categories. Presentation one will recognise the 86 students who passed five to nine subjects and the 26 students who passed 10 or more subjects. In presentation two those students who passed English A and mathematics will be given awards and in presentation three the best performing students in certain categories will be recognised. During presentation four those students attaining five or more general ones of As at one sitting will get an award. And in presentation five the best performing students, those with national scholarships, will receive an award. Leroy Penn of Wesley Methodist School amassed 14 passes to become the TCI’s highest achiever and led his school to become this year’s host. Natalia Williams of HJ Robinson High School captured second place and third place went to Devonte Smith of British West Indies Collegiate. Williams and Krischan Cox of Marjorie Basden High School also earned positions on CXC regional
merit lists. The lists highlight the top ten performers in each subject that sat examinations in the entire region. Williams tied for tenth position in food and nutrition out of 10,146 students, and Cox tied for seventh position in the subject building technology: woods out of a total of 2,380 students. Students from Government schools sat examinations in 30 subjects, up from 29 the previous year - the additional subject was economics. Out of 30 subjects sat, 23 subjects had pass rates between 70 percent and 100 percent. While mathematics did not fall into that category the pass rate improved to 54.72 percent. TCI students continue to perform exceptionally well in the practical areas, the pure sciences and business studies. With the exception of visual arts which was already attaining 100 percent passes, building technology: construction and woodwork, technical drawing, food and nutrition, clothing and home economics management all improved upon last years pass rate. Collectively, the pass rate for the subjects was 92.84 percent. In the business area, principles
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of business, office administration, electronic document preparation and management and information technology all improved upon last years pass rate. Collectively, the pass rate for the subject area was 88.71 percent. “When we add the performances of students from non-Government schools, which continue to show improvement in the quality and quantity of the passes earned, clearly and undeniably, our schools despite their challenges are making strides in the right direction,” the press release said. It continued: “While this is encouraging, what is also undeniable is that there is still room for improvement. “As a result, on our end, we will continue to take initiatives geared towards encouraging our students to strive to continue to improve the quality of their results. “In closing, the National Academic Awards Council congratulates all of the awardees that will be recognised at this year’s ceremony. “We also encourage the administrations of the various schools, in conjunction with their teachers and supported by parents to continue to foster an environment that encourages students to strive for excellence.”
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Not good enough
Senior citizens happy to receive the care packages from Scotiabank
Senior citizens receive food items from Scotiabank BY DAISY HANDFIELD THIRTY senior citizens living in the TCI were given care packages with food items from Scotiabank TCI this week.
A short ceremony was held at the Providenciales branch on Leeward Highway on Thursday (December 11) to hand out the bags. Keno Forbes, assistant manager of business support,
Scotiabank has been putting on this initiative for four years now
said that these individuals were selected with the assistance from the TCI Salvation Army and TCI Social Welfare. “Scotiabank has always been known to give back to the community; it’s actually ingrained in our core values,” he said. “One of our core values is that we honour our commitments in the community in which we work and live because our employees are part of the community.” Forbes said that the bank has been putting on this initiative for four years now. “We have been focusing on Provo because this is where we operate, but we have been doing other things on the other islands.” The value of the bags is about $40 and includes some non-perishable goods such as rice, tuna, chicken and grits. During the event, the attendees sang several Christmas songs and also enjoyed a musical piece performed by one of the bank’s staff members.
Dear Editor, It is with profound regret that I bring to your attention and the attention of your readers what I tern total incompetence in the Registrar Department of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. On Tuesday, October 14, I applied at the Providenciales office for a reprint of a birth certificate for an acquaintance. I paid the funds necessary to obtain two reprints and after processing was told that I should return within three weeks. I stated there and then that I believe that was a very long time to get that document however was content to wait. Today is December 10 and after four visits at the department in Providenciales and a visit at the main office in Grand Turk I have not yet received the reprint of the birth certificate applied for. In this age of computers it is my humble opinion an insult to people like the late Mr Malcolm, the captain for the Sea Horse, who used to bring the mail from Grand Turk to South Caicos, and those sloop captains from Middle Caicos, the late John
Neat and Theodore Higgs, the late Oise Gardiner and Thomas Gardiner from North Caicos and the late Archie Morley and Gus Lightbourne from Providenciales. These captain in their sloops powered by sail use to get the mail to their respective districts within two weeks and it has been 58 days (over eight weeks) and counting and I cannot get a simple reprint of a birth certificate from Grand Turk to Providenciales. When making enquiries people seem to believe they are doing you a favour just to say to you: “We don’t have it yet” without, I might add, attempting to determine what has become of the application. Folks this is simply, NOT good enough! I am aware of concerns expressed by some staff members and how they believe that things could be better however I have no desire to get into all of that. I just want to put Turks and Caicos on notice in terms of how far we have come since the sailing sloops days. Edward C Hall, Whitby, North Caicos
We welcome letters from all members of the public on a variety of topics 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.
Send letters to tcweeklynews@gmail.com
COMMENTARY
Holiday Vaya Con Dios WITH Christmas fast approaching we begin to think of the activities that will soon fill our lives. With all the gifts and goodies on the menu we must pause and remember the reason for the season, the birth of Jesus and the renewal the new year brings. Possibly the most famous popular song of the 1950s was ‘Vaya Con Dios,’ a beautiful old tune. Vaya Con Dios translated into English sends the wish ‘May God
be with you’. Recorded first by Les Paul the favourite electric guitar artist of millions. Les was the whole orchestra having invented multiple recordings and perfected the electric solid body Spanish guitar. His wife Mary Ford sang the lyrics and also harmonised her lead with her beautiful mellow voice. I play their recordings often. You can find Vaya Con Dios on You Tube - enjoy! Thanksgiving, Christmas and even New Year’s Day are all based
on our belief in God our creator, Jesus our saviour, and the fresh start the new year brings. It is a time for gathering with your loved ones and for celebration, gift giving and feasting. Fruit cake anyone? We treasure holidays and will enjoy the coming days with our Grand Caicos friends and extended family. Once again I charge myself and everyone reading this to remember the real reason for the season. For all those who claim that a Christmas tree is not a religious
By David Tapfer
David is a retired mobile hydraulic engineer and business executive. He has been married to Middle Caicos native Yvette Robinson Tapfer for 25 years and has lived in Conch Bar, Middle Caicos, since 2002. David formerly served as branch chairman of the PDM from 2008 to 2011
symbol take another look. The Christmas tree, as all trees is a creation of God. It is an evergreen and has the shape of a pyramid pointing straight to heaven.
We often put a star or angel on top! Vaya Con Dios - may God be in your Christmas celebration and be with you all in 2015.
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Three acres of pine flattened in controlled burn
A HUGE pine yard in Middle Caicos was burnt to the ground on Tuesday (December 9) as part of efforts to preserve the Caicos pine. Experienced environmentalists set alight three acres of woodland in a controlled burn which should later see the healthy rejuvenation of the indigenous tree. The controlled burn team included members of the Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and the United States Forest Service. According to a Government press release: “Controlled burning is the deliberate use of fire on a predetermined and treated land area conducted for the health of the pine forest.” This week’s fire was started to help save the TCI national tree, the Caicos pine, from extinction due to the introduction of the invasive insect, pine tortoise scale, from North America. It was held in by fire breaks and
was overseen by experts who have over 50 combined years and over one million combined acres of burn experience. The Caicos Pine Recovery Project is headed by Kew which works with partners in the UK overseas territories to protect the species. Some of this week’s participants were on the team of the successful controlled burn in May 2012 when about three acres were set alight. Following that event pine tree health improved markedly. The fire was ignited at about 12pm on Tuesday and was controlled throughout the afternoon until it reached the firebreaks and was extinguished. On Wednesday the team extinguished any remaining smouldering material. Middle Caicos has had over 12 inches of rain in the last three weeks, and so the escape of the fire was extremely unlikely. The Government told residents to not be concerned about seeing
A controlled burn of the Middle Caicos pine yards
smoke on the south side of Middle Caicos unless it is after Wednesday, in which case it should be reported to the relevant authorities. The Turks and Caicos Fire and Rescue Department, Environmental Health Department, and Civil Aviation Department were all briefed about the exercise and offered their support. A message on the Caicos Pine
Recovery Project Facebook page read: “Today’s controlled burn went perfectly. We could not have asked for better conditions, and there were no incidents of injuries. “Pine trees in the burn plot look great. Many thanks to the DEMA team members Roddy McLeod and Hoai Tran, and especially the intrepid and aptly named Junel ‘Flash’ Blaise, our very own burn-boss in training.
“A big thanks to our international team members - United States Forest Service fire experts Joe O’Brien and Ben Hornsby, our University of the South Suwanee burn boss Kevin Hiers and firefighter Thomas Walters, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew’s United Kingdom Overseas Territories Programme team Martin Hamilton, Michele Sanchez, and Marcella Corcoran.”
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Deputy Premier pays respects to religious leader A FUNERAL was held for Dr Myles Munroe in the Bahamas last week and Deputy Premier Akierra Missick was there to show her respects on behalf of the people of the TCI. Missick travelled to Nassau with Mary Lightbourne, Head of Secretariat at the Deputy Premier’s Office. On Wednedsay, December 3, they attended a commemoration service that was held at the Thomas A Robinson Stadium for Monroe and his wife Ruth. On the day of the service Missick said: “The world has lost a giant of a man and we mourn and celebrate with
the people of the Bahamas today. “I was proud to be able to share the people of Turks and Caicos Islands’ condolences with our brothers and sisters in the Bahamas including the Prime Minister Perry Christie.” Citizens of the TCI mourned when the renowned religious leader, motivational speaker and writer died in a plane crash in the Bahamas. Munroe, 60, and his wife were among the nine people that were killed when the plane struck a crane at a ship yard near Grand Bahama International Airport on Sunday, November 9.
Land Registry seeks public opinion in its services ANYONE wishing to give their opinion or offer suggestions on the TCI Land Registry can now do it online. The Government department has launched an electronic customer satisfaction survey in a bid to improve its services. Registrar of Lands Brandie Anderson said that the department’s vision is to put customers, quality and innovation at the heart of its services. “This customer service survey is a tool being employed to obtain feedback from customers so that steps can be taken to incorporate their suggestions and comments in improving business. “In any organisation, there are always steps that can be taken to improve the service standards and image.” She said that the clients who use the services of the registry can provide invaluable information as to how the registry can evolve to meet their needs. “We are anxious to see the Land Registry improve to meet customer expectations.” The Land Registry is located in Grand Turk and provides facilitates for legal land transfer. It also represents a central system where details of ownership, title, mortgages and other interests in property are recorded in a public register in keeping with the Registered Land Ordinance. Among its services are the arbitration of land and boundary disputes, the collection of stamp duty, processing registration and other land transaction fees and the custody, maintenance and the updating of the register. Commissioner of Land Tatum Clerveaux said that the survey is being undertaken in line with the mission of department - to strive for continuous improvement in quality, efficiency and meeting customer’s needs.
“The whole purpose of the customer service satisfaction survey is to assist with our internal assessment of how the Land Registry is performing,” she said. “We know the Land Registry is meeting and surpassing its set targets, but we also need to know how its customers feel about the service delivery.” In 2008 a special audit of the Land Registry showed that there was need for significant improvement. “Since that time and in line with the report’s recommendations we have implemented many different procedures and processes including training for the Land Registry staff, to improve the operations of the Land Registry and the service we deliver to our customers,” Clerveaux said. “Within the Land Registry itself we have seen a marked improvement in our procedures and registration turnaround time. “The aim of the customer service satisfaction survey is to find out directly from our customers whether the improvements that we have noticed have been benefitting them.” The survey has been made available on Google Drive and will run until February 28, next year. It can be accessed online at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/ 1ELk8vzRZSb3DkwSZ5MmT untJ9lIRzjnOnX8ZxELzsBU/ viewform?usp=send_form. The survey will also be made available to walk-in clients at the Land Registry office at Government Compound in Grand Turk, and the Lands Division office on Leeward Highway in Butterfield Square in Providenciales. The Land Registry under the auspices of the Attorney Generals Chambers was established in 1968 and it forms part of the Lands Division.
The Premier’s Officer issued condolences: “The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands joins the world on this sad occasion in remembering the life of a spiritual leader, motivator and counsellor, who positively influenced the lives of many nations and who through his ministry won many souls for Christ. “Our thoughts are with our sisters and brothers of our neighbouring Bahamas as they try to come to grips with such a profound loss.” The founder of Bahamas Faith Ministries International (BFMI) and Myles Munroe International (MMI) touched many lives when he gave a presentation in the TCI in March 2012. He spoke to about 300 people gathered for the first National Leadership Conference at the Community Fellowship Centre. Born Myles Egbert Munroe in
Deputy Premier Akierra Missick at the funeral service for Dr Myles Munroe
1954 in Nassau, Bahamas, Munroe grew up poor in a family of 11 children. He became a Christian during his teenage years, later attending Oral Roberts University (ORU) where he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts, Education, and Theology in 1978 and a Master’s degree in administration from the University of Tulsa in 1980. Munroe was also the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from various schools of higher education
and served as an adjunct professor of the Graduate School of Theology at ORU. He was the author and co-author numerous books and Biblical-related study guides as well as a featured speaker on motivational and Biblestudy recordings. His wife, Ruth Munroe, served as co-pastor with him at BFMI. Together, the couple had two children, Myles Jr and a daughter, Charisa.
Representatives from KB Homes, head of marketing Ava-Dayne Fulford and winners Zelda Parker and Ashley Parker
Digicel announce winners of Christmas promotion BY DAISY HANDFIELD TWO people were awarded $1,000 cash prizes as part of a nationwide Christmas competition on Tuesday (December 9). Digicel TCI hosted a press conference at the KB Homes furniture store to announce the winners. Courtela Forbes and James Menelas each won a $1,000 prize for purchasing handsets. Mother Zelda Parker and daughter, Ashley Parker were announced as winners of a home makeover, which was won by topping up their handsets. Zelda said that coming to Christmas time they were trying to see how they were going to renovate their home. “Our kitchen was the part that needed it the most. We had a fridge that went bad about a month or so ago. “The stove – three or four burners were missing out of it, and we were wondering how we are going to
makeover our kitchen.” Ashley Parker said that she was thankful for the prize from Digicel. “I know I was going to win it, but I didn’t know the prize that they were going to give. “I just made a top-up of $10 and about two days after I got a call saying that I won. “We would like to thank Digicel for this great promotion. We have been using Digicel from the first day they open.” Head of marketing for Digicel Ava-Dayne Fulford presented the winners with their prizes. “Digicel is pleased to present one of our makeover winners with their prize this morning. “We launched our Christmas promotion on November 11, and that promotion entitles anybody who tops up $10 or more enters to win one of two makeovers.” She said that they were happy to have the winners there, after flying them in from Grand Turk. “We have had winners from
Middle Caicos; we have had winners from North Caicos; we have had winners from Grand Turk and South Caicos.” Fulford said that Samsung and Digicel smartphones are handsets that are the base of the promotion. “In addition, when they purchase their handsets, they walk away with a 30-day data package free. “So they walk from the store with a 4G data plan on it.” KB Homes store owner Manish Uttamchandani said that he was happy to partner with Digicel as well. “We have received a pretty good response [from the partnership with Digicel]. “A lot of people turn up to the store asking what the promotion was all about. “As you can see, the winners are from Grand Turk, and we will be happy to provide them with the prize in Grand Turk.” This promotion continues until Christmas week.
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Lucie Stubbs of Driftwood Studios with her vibrant artwork
Atelys Adrian displays some of her beautiful handcrafted jewellery
Talented artists sell Christmas goodies HUNDREDS of tourists and residents bought stunning arts and crafts items at the annual Christmas expo last weekend. The event, this year based under tents at Saltmills Plaza in Grace Bay, Providenciales, featured paintings, photographs, pottery, Christmas decorations and much more. It was held on Saturday and Sunday (December 6 and 7) and dozens of local artisans took part. Lucie Stubbs of Driftwood Studio and artist Emma Halliday helped to organise the fifth annual event which they described as exceptional this year. “We had around 40 plus artists representing not just Provo but all of the family islands which helped push the ‘handmade in the TCI’ philosophy of the expo,” they said in an email following the event. “The art scene has definitely grown over the past few years and the expo is a great way not only
for the artists to sell their wares, but also to meet other like-minded artists and crafty people to get together and talk about techniques, ideas and develop their own creative flow. “We are so glad that the expo is growing every year in momentum and next will be even bigger and better!” The event was put on to raise funds for the Turks and Caicos Friends of the Arts Foundation (TCFAF) through the cost of the stalls. This year more than $1,200 was gathered for the society, which supports local performance arts. “We would like to thank the TCFAF, Big Blue, Paradise Arts, Driftwood Studio and all the amazing helpers that worked behind the scenes to pull off another amazing show.” Anyone interested in taking part in next year’s show can email artexpotci@gmail.com.
Katie Hinks and Irene Danics, authors of Explore the Turks and Caicos Islands
Health staff trained to ship infectious substances MEMBERS of staff from the Ministry of Health learnt how to safely ship infectious substances at a recent regional training session. The workshop, sponsored by the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) and Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), aimed to increase the Caribbean’s preparedness for Ebola and other high risk threats. The Infectious Shipping Training took place from November 17 to 19 and focused on categorisation, packaging and shipping of infectious substances. Successful participants received certification for two years to package and ship Category A infectious substances.
Minister of Health and Human Services Porsha Stubbs Smith said: “The Turks and Caicos Islands now have four medical technologists certified as Category A professionals. “These four medical technologists are the only persons trained to handle and package infectious substances such as Ebola specimens. “In addition to being trained and certified, the participants who have been trained at this workshop will become trainers in their respective institutions and countries. “This is another example of the Government’s commitment to strengthen its internal resources by
utilising all opportunities to do so.” The training took place in accordance with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance on regulations for the Transport of Infectious Substances 2013 to 2014. It helped to remind staff from laboratories of the procedures that they should follow at all times when handling samples. TCI medical technologist Andrico Garland said: “I was privileged to have been among 13 participants from 12 Caribbean countries. “I am now an IATA certified Category A professional and prepared to continue my contribution to the Government.”
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Schools receive cash grants from charity project THREE schools and an autism group will be given grants totalling almost $24,000 to help with teaching and learning. Charitable organisation Pine Cay Project announced the cash donations in a press release on Tuesday (December 9). The schools to benefit are Clement Howell High School (CHHS), Enid Capron Primary School and the BEST Institute in Providenciales. A grant of $7,600 will go to CHHS for materials for science experiments and also the purchase of multiple microscopes. Enid Capron Primary School will receive $6,400 for books and other educational materials for schoolwide educational improvement. And the BEST Institute will get $4,840 to improve the teaching of reading, with a special focus on meeting the educational needs of students with limited skills in English. Pine Cay Project is also giving $5,000 to the Hope Foundation for Autism Awareness for the training of educators and parents. This will help them to improve their understanding of autism spectrum disorders and allow them to instruct students with these conditions.
All four grant recipients had earlier submitted detailed applications explaining their educational needs and their plans for addressing these needs. After review by the Pine Cay Project board of trustees, they voted to fund the plans presented by the four applicants. Pine Cay residents formed Pine Cay Project in 1989 to support improvement in the education of children, youth, and adults in the TCI. To achieve this mission, the project funds applications from the TCI’s educational institutions. Since 2002, Pine Cay Project has provided more than $600,000 in TCI education grants. Among those that benefitted are the TCI Community College, the Turks and Caicos National Museum and several schools. Donations to Pine Cay Project are tax-deductible for United States tax-payers. Members of the Pine Cay Project board include Marie Landel (Boston and Paris), Carlton Mills (Providenciales), Elizabeth Pickman (New York), Beverly Plachta (Pine Cay), David Rochat (Chelsea, Vermont), Jay Saunders (Providenciales), and Terry Smith (Buffalo, New York).
Poker tournament raises more than $4,000 for Maskanoo BY DAISY HANDFIELD A GRAND total of $4,150 was raised at a fundraiser poker tournament held on Sunday (December 7) to cover cost of the fifth annual Maskanoo festival. An additional $1,850 was added to the pot for a grand total of $6,000 as players bid on an incredible list of high valued items during the silent auction. The initiative took place in Providenciales at 5pm at Casablanca Casino, attracting 46 players. This event was hosted by the casino in collaboration with the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association (TCHTA), the Department of Culture and the Maskanoo Committee. David Bowen, Director of Culture and Maskanoo Committee chairman, said that he felt indebted to the management and staff of Casablanca Casino for putting on this fundraiser and for being such model cooperate citizens. “If more private sector businesses like Casablanca supported cultural events like Maskanoo, the entire country and its main industry, tourism, would benefit greatly.” Bowen said that the buy-in for the tournament was $120 which included dinner and a Maskanoo cake carters by Fresh Bakery, Liviu and a welcome drink of the Wine Cellar’s rum punch. The fundraiser also featured a live dance performance by the four
member girl group, Ooh La La, mentored by David Bowen. Maskanoo, an annual cultural festival spearheaded by the TCHTA along with the Department of Culture in collaboration with the Maskanoo Committee, is an event that showcases the best of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ musical bands and cultural heritage. It mixes Junkanoo (taken from TCI's Bahamian linked heritage) with masquerade to create Maskanoo. The fifth-annual Maskanoo will be held on Boxing Day, Friday, December 26. This festive affair will once again be held in TCI’s tourism capital of Providenciales, following a route along Grace Bay Road between the Seven Stars and the Le Vele Plaza. People attending Maskanoo will enjoy a street festival, local music, island food, cultural items on sale, arts and crafts. Entertainment on the main stage will feature Kino and Kazz, Elroy and Dez, Kew Band Links, Carl Lewis, Ooh La La, The Breezy Beach dancers and the Methodist Church Steel Pan Band All-stars as well as a street jump-up and festive Maskanoo parades led by Kitch Penn and We Funk. More information on how to sponsor or participate in Maskanoo is available at the Department of Culture on 941-8434 or email maskanoo@gmail.com.
The Energy and Utilities Department present at Clement Howell High School in Providenciales
Students learn about smart energy use RENEWABLE energy and smart energy use were two major topics of discussion during this year’s Energy Week. The event, which was organised by the Government’s Energy and Utilities Department, was supported by power company FortisTCI, and green energy companies Urban Green Environment and Green Energy Trail. The companies held exhibitions at Clement Howell High School in Providenciales and Helena J Robinson High School in Grand Turk as part of the local activities. Students were able to look at real as well as demonstration models powered by renewable energy and interactive animation.
They were also given flyers and brochures featuring simple steps that can be employed to conserve energy, and the benefits of energy efficiency appliances and renewable energy technology. Electricity Commissioner Malike Cummings said: “We were impressed by the level of interest, attentiveness and engagement of the students as well as teachers, who all seemed quite fascinated by the wealth of information available on sustainable energy initiatives, as well as the simple behavioural changes that can be taken to minimise energy wastage. “The intention is to continue to target the youth through collaborative efforts between the
department and the local partners, by reaching out to the schools throughout the TCI to increase the level of awareness and to create a passion in the youth population to bring about behavioural changes that will ensure smarter energy use now and into the future.” CARICOM Energy Week was established as an annual event based on a mandate from energy ministers in 2011. They wanted to provide a platform for increased awareness about energy matters, given the critical importance of energy to economic development. CARICOM’s member states observe the week in early November each year.
Apprenticeships up for grabs at Beaches HIGH school graduates are invited to apply for a youth apprentice programme which will give them an insight into the resort industry. The Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Culture and Library Services has joined forces with Beaches Resort and Spa to host the intensive work experience. Those who graduated high school in 2013 or 2014 can submit applications for the positions which will see them experience several different departments.
Students will receive a stipend on a biweekly basis to assist with their expenses. Applicants must be willing to start classes on February 2 next year at the resort and continue for six months. They must not be currently attending classes at the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College or an A-level programme. They must also be willing to comply with the company’s policies and procedures including standards of appearance. Applications forms are
available from the Ministry of Education in Grand Turk, the Education Department and Youth Departments in Providenciales, the Labour Department and District Commissioners’ Offices throughout the Islands. All applications along with high school leaving certificates should be forwarded to the Ministry of Education in Grand Turk on or before January 30. Successful applicants will be responsible for their own living arrangements during the six months.
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Aids awareness fundraiser gets great support By Kandida Hariraj THE SUCCESSFUL Turks and Caicos Aids Awareness Foundation (TCAAF) World Aids Day Cocktail Party once again showed the generosity of the foundation’s directors and community members in raising funds for the Edward C Gartland Youth Centre. Despite weather conditions forcing the event originally scheduled on December 1 (World Aids Day) to be postponed to December 8, it saw a great turnout of supporters. Held at Seven Stars, the fundraiser featured a fabulous collection of silent auction items including jewellery, water sports activities and hotel accommodation donated by several leading corporate sponsors. Attendees delighted in bidding on the items, while enjoying hor d'oeuvres, steel pan entertainment by Val and music by DJ Dayoh. Proceeds from the evening’s funds are funnelled towards running programmes at the Edward C Gartland Youth Centre, which was built by the TCAAF just over six years ago. The centre, which currently has more than 1,000 members, provides young people of the TCI with a safe, fun place to spend their free time, develop hobbies and learn new skills.
Other than the charitable focus of the event, members took the time to remember loved ones who died from the disease and hoped to raise awareness and eliminate the stigma and discrimination. This year, World Aids Day 2014 was celebrated under the theme ‘Closing the Gap,’ hopeful of the prospect of harnessing the power of social change to put people first and close the gap in discrimination, access to treatment and support services. During the event speeches were made by the foundation’s associates, a representative of the HIV Prevention Unit and the Minister of Health, Porsha Stubbs Smith. The health minister said she was very pleased by the partnership with the TCAAF and the work members have been doing in the TCI. The foundation is a non-profit organisation that was founded in December of 2003 by a group of individuals who lost friends and family members to Aids. From the inception of the disease, great breakthroughs have been made in treatment and governments and NGOs continue to educate on prevention and care if infected. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, testing for HIV or Aids as well as treatment is free in the public hospital.
The TCAAF cocktail party is held annually to raise funds for a worthy cause
Christmas play opens this weekend A SPECTACULAR Christmas play filled with song, dance, humour and drama is opening this weekend. The Turks and Caicos Friends of the Arts Foundation (TCFAF) is putting on another popular festive pantomime and this year it is called ‘A Caribbean Sleeping Beauty’. A press release from the TCFAF on Monday (December 8) read: “With so many heart stopping shows over the years in theatre, dance, music and voice, this season’s pantomime will be no exception. “We have come to expect an all-round great time with these pantomimes, and A Caribbean Sleeping Beauty has it all.” The press release described the show as “a classic story of
romance, great songs that you will be humming for days, wonderful dance numbers, and hilarious jokes and dialogue from this year’s cast”. The cast includes Cora Malcolm as Maleficent the evil fairy, Christine Cain as Princess Beauty, Alex Fortunate as Prince George of North Caicos, Abria Henry as Queen Gertrude, Dave Volkert as King Clarence, Matthew Williams as Muddles, Stephen Wilson as Nanny Antonella, Tatiana Cleare as the good fairy Florizel, Marilyn Cooper as the good fairy Fidget, Karen Kidik as the good fairy Firefly, Tyler Landy as Lucky the Potcake, Asa Williams as Slimeball, Tatianna McTaire and Akia Guerrier as Maleficent’s Mafia, and many more.
It has been five years since the TCFAF last put together a production of this type after the hugely popular production ‘The Little Caribbean Mermaid and the Enchanted Ring’ in 2009. A Caribbean Sleeping Beauty will be the group’s fourth pantomime and 76th show since 2002. Tickets are on sale at Unicorn Bookstore, Art Provo and Tiki Hut. The play opens on Saturday, December 13, at 7pm at Brayton Hall, and will run for eight shows on December 14, 15, 16, 18, 19 and 20. It was written and directed by Justine ‘J’ Richardson, co-directed by Cora Malcolm and promises to be hilarious, romantic, witty and dazzling.
POLICE SAFETY TIPS
Men are being abused as well WHILE the majority of domestic violence victims are women, abuse of men happens far more often than you’d probably expect. Typically, men are physically stronger than women but that doesn’t necessarily make it easier to escape the violence or the relationship. An abused man faces many obstacles, especially when it comes to gaining custody of his children from an abusive mother. No matter your circumstances, though, you can overcome these challenges and escape the abuse. If you’re a man in an abusive relationship, it is important to know that you’re not alone. It happens to men from all cultures and all walks of life. Men are often reluctant to report abuse by women because they feel embarrassed, or they fear they won’t be believed, or worse, that police will assume
By Audley Astwood Audley, a former police detective and broadcaster, is currently the press officer for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. His main focus is on crime prevention and community policing. For more information call 941-4448 or visit www.tcipolice.tc.
that since they’re male they are the perpetrator of the violence and not the victim. An abusive woman may attack you physically or destroy your possessions. To make up for any difference in strength, she may attack you while you’re asleep or otherwise catch you by surprise. She may also use a weapon, such as a gun or knife, or strike you with
an object, abuse or threaten your children, or harm your pets. Of course, domestic abuse is not limited to violence. Your partner may also verbally abuse you or humiliate you publicly. Be possessive, act jealous, or harass you with accusations of being unfaithful. Take away your car keys or medications; try to control where you
go and who you see. Try to control how you spend money or deliberately default on joint financial obligations. Make false allegations about you to your friends, employer, or the police, or find other ways to manipulate and isolate you. Threaten to leave you and prevent you from seeing your kids if you report the abuse. Many people have trouble understanding why a woman who is being abused by her boyfriend doesn’t simply just leave him. When the roles are reversed, and the man is the victim of the abuse, people are even more bemused. However, anyone who’s been in an abusive relationship knows that it’s never that simple. Ending
an abusive relationship is rarely easy. Many men feel great shame that they’ve been beaten down by a woman or failed in their role as protector and provider for the family. Just as with female domestic violence victims, denying that there is a problem in your relationship will only prolong the abuse. You may believe that you can help your abuser or she may have promised to change. But change can only happen once your abuser takes full responsibility for her behaviour and seeks professional treatment. For more information, please visit www.tcipolice.tc.
December 13 - 19, 2014
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Thousands of kids benefit from annual toy drive SHRIEKS of delight, bright smiles and expressions of gratitude were in abundance at the Enid Capron Primary and Clement Howell High Schools earlier this week when the Sandals Foundation conducted its annual Christmas treat and toy distribution. “This is awesome!” said Amya Capehart, a grade six student at Enid Capron Primary as she clutched her gifts – a tiny pink pony and a board game. Capehart was one of more than 600 Enid Capron students who were treated to a delicious lunch and an exciting array of toys on Monday (December 8) thanks to a team of Sandals Foundation volunteers who took on the role of Santa and his elves. Excited girls screamed with joy when they received the in-demand Baby Alive doll while the boys were equally happy to receive Transformer robots. The school’s principal Sophia Garland said she was grateful for the Sandals Foundation’s benevolence. “We are very happy because not every home is able to provide a gift for their child or children. “The children appreciate the
Children from the Enid Capron Primary School. Here with Sandals Foundation volunteer Tiffney Ellis
This Clement Howell student receives his sweet treat from a smiling Sandals Foundation volunteer
gesture and they look forward to receiving the gifts and the goodies. “On the whole, the Sandals Foundation is showing that to give back is a wonderful thing.” On Tuesday (December 9), Sandals Foundation volunteers extended the cheer to the Clement Howell High School, delivering sweet treats to 1,100 students and providing exciting toys for 154 first formers. The toys distributed are a result of the longstanding partnership between the Foundation and Hasbro Inc who donated a total of 13,000 toys to be shared across the Caribbean. In addition, to celebrate the Sandals Foundation’s fifth anniversary, the ‘High Five’ Holiday Toy Drive campaign was born. Through this initiative, when consumers donate $25 or more to the
drive Hasbro Inc will donate another toy or game to a child in need. Heidi Clarke, director of programmes at the Sandals Foundation, said: “It is heartwarming to know that our Christmas treats bring so much joy to so many children and we are very grateful for all the partners, donors and volunteers that make it possible. “We realise that even more important than the act of giving is the impact it has on those who receive. “It means the world to us to be able to do our part to make sure the children are happy and have a very merry Christmas.” In the coming week, the Provo Children’s Home, the New Beginning School of Continuous Education and the Bight Community will benefit from more Sandals Foundation treats.
wishes
Happy birthday Jhari! Dancing to the festive music at the wellness centre
A resident receives a Christmas gift bag from Acting Governor Anya Williams
Christmas tree switch on at wellness centre STAFF and residents at the Grand Turk Wellness Centre enjoyed some early festive celebrations on Monday evening (December 8). The fifth annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony was held at the care centre and members of the public were invited to attend. The tree lights were switched on and attendees enjoyed Christmas music by a local band Yellowman and Sons. Gifts, which were donated by
various community members, were given to the delighted residents. Centre supervisor Alexia Durham said the event was a great way to “kick start the holiday festivities”. Acting Governor Anya Williams attended the event and met several residents who she greeted with gifts and hugs. “This is one of my favourite events of the year,” she said. “I would like to thank the staff for their dedication and commitment to
the residents, and to celebrate their considerable talents in this important vocation.” Also in attendance were the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health and the Chief Nursing Officer. The Grand Turk Wellness Centre is based at the former hospital in Cockburn Town and provides residential facilities and care for the elderly and those with special needs.
Happy seventh birthday Tajhari Williams for Saturday, December 13. From your parents Elwood and Dilly your sisters Krizia, Kridijah and Krishannah and your big brother Addly. Greetings also coming from your grandparents,
aunts, uncles, cousins and godparents. Enjoy your day.
Send your special occasion to: Weekly News, Cheshire House, Leeward Highway, PO Box 52, Providenciales or email to tcweeklynews@gmail.com. Free of Charge!
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
GARDENING
December 13 - 19, 2014
How does your garden grow
Christmas tree – fake or real? EACH Christmas season, there seems to be a lot of focus on the socalled debate over real vs artificial Christmas trees. Overall people should feel free to choose either type of tree. Both types of Christmas trees have very distinctive characteristics and a recent life cycle analysis concluded that neither tree has a significant negative impact on the environment. It really comes down which kind of tree or trees best fits your lifestyle. The Christmas season should be a time of celebration not a platform for debate. So if a Christmas tree is part of your holiday celebration, relax and celebrate with the Christmas tree of your choice. To help clear things up, here are some answers to the most common tales. Maybe you’ve heard some of these or even had these very same thoughts yourself. Either way, it may be worth your time to read on: Artificial trees aren’t part of
BY DENIS Belanger - NATURE SPLENDOR
Denis is a passionate landscape architect who enjoys the creative process and his clients’ joy when projects come to life. Contact Denis at Nature Splendor for your landscaping, installation or garden maintenance needs. For more information call 332-3381 or email denis@naturesplendor.net.
Christmas tradition: If your holiday traditions began before the 1960s, there’s a good chance you are right. However, a recent survey conducted that more than 80 percent of American households with Christmas trees are celebrating with an artificial Christmas tree. Artificial trees don’t look real: It’s ironic, there are also people who say that artificial Christmas trees look ‘too perfect’ to be real. In any case, many testify that their artificial trees appeal to even the most scrutinising of relatives. Admittedly, artificial trees in the past looked nothing like the real thing, but now they appear like genuine Christmas trees. Advances in artificial-tree design have helped many obtain the perfect
Stress relievers WE’VE all experienced stress while trying to balance our personal and professional lives. Not having enough hours in the day to manage conflicting priorities causes us to go into overdrive, leading to stress. The best way to relieve stress is by managing stress – it’s important to your health. You can reduce stress by learning to control your responses to everyday situations. Here are some tips to help you say goodbye to stress: At-ti-tude The old saying is true – attitude is everything! We invest a lot of time
and energy into tackling everyday situations with uncertain outcomes. The best way to approach these situations is by creating manageable expectations, prioritising and having a positive attitude which will make your decision-making less stressful. Just breathe Does your body tense up in challenging situations? If this happens to you, take a deep breath and concentrate on a nice, long exhale. You’ll instantly feel more alert, focused and rejuvenated. Stressed shallow breathing only uses the upper portion of the lungs, so remember to breathe from the diaphragm and concentrate on exhaling.
tree for the holidays – without looking too perfect. Artificial Christmas trees harm the environment: This is the myth that does the most harm to the wellmeaning, environmentally conscious consumer. A study concluded that there was no significant environmental impact from the use of either an artificial or a real Christmas tree. Consumers should feel great about choosing either kind of tree and many consumers are choosing to display both kinds throughout their homes and in their outdoor Christmas displays. Now that’s the Christmas spirit. Artificial Christmas trees don’t smell as nice: On the surface, this is a fair point. But along with that fresh
pine smell comes nearly 10 times the amount of mould normally found indoors. For those predisposed to allergies, this is no small matter. A study conducted shows that after two
YOUR BODY Dr Craig Zavitz is a Canadian chiropractor registered in the Turks and Caicos Islands. He specialises in gentle manual therapies, activator, therapeutic laser, and smoking cessation. To make appointments call 941-5252 or email craig@gracebaychiro.com. For more information visit www.gracebaychiro.com.
weeks of being indoors, a live Christmas tree emitted significant amounts of mould spores into the air. The truth is that fresh pine smell can be replaced with a special fresh pine scent and scented ornaments.
BY Dr Craig Zavitz
Drink water Quench your thirst with water. Research has shown that we think better when hydrated. Fuel up Eating healthily is important to maintaining a balanced diet. Avoid skipping meals and eating on-the-go, or while at your desk, so that you’ll digest your food better. Choose high-protein snacks which will take longer to digest and will help sustain your energy level throughout the day. Keep moving Regular exercise helps the body cope with stress…so keep it moving! Go for a walk, jog, run or swim. Stretch before and after. Sleep Stress and
worries
sometimes
prevent us from getting enough shuteye. Remember, the body needs at least seven to eight hours of sleep at night to restore itself. Our ability to handle stress is improved when we
are well rested. Zavitz will be in Providenciales from December 10 to 17 and in Grand Turk on December 12 and 13.
December 13 - 19, 2014
Lifestyle... Makeup and skin care
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Thea LoweGangasingh
Thea Lowe-Gangasingh is a professional makeup artist based in Providenciales certified with Chic Studios NYC. To book an appointment for any occasion with Thea Makeup Artistry email info@theamakeupartistry.com or call 242-4627.
The Dentist and you Mark Osmond BDS (Lond) LDS RCS (Eng). Mark Osmond Dental Clinic - (649) 432 3777, drmosmond@gmail.com or Find us on Facebook
By Dr Mark Osmond
How can I improve my smile?
Part two
Eye shadow types and finishes UNDERSTANDING the following terms will help you in choosing and deciding what products will work best for you.
Eye shadow
Eye shadows can come in a variety of forms with various finishes: Loose powder - Highly pigmented loose shadow. Compact/Pressed powder This is the most common type that you can purchase anywhere. Baked - Shadows are usually dome shaped and can be applied wet or dry. If applied wet, the application will create an intense colour payoff for a more dramatic look. A dry application will yield a softer more natural colour payoff. Cream - This can come in a pot, tube, pencil or stick.
Eye shadow finishes
Eye shadow finishes vary by brand; some companies have more variety compared to others. The following are most of the finishes available on the market and do not come from any one specific brand of cosmetics. Matte - Usually has a high level of pigment with no shimmer, sheen or shine. This is perfect for reshaping and defining the eyes. Matte shadows work well on every age range especially mature skin as it won’t attract attention to fine lines or create a crepe like texture on the lids. Do be careful as matte shadows do sometimes tend to be chalky or patchy but will blend
better and work great once an eye shadow base is applied. Satin - Has a soft sheen instead of an intense frosty effect. It is a medium between matte and frost and is great on all skin types. Persons with mature skin can use a little of this shadow on the eyes. Metallic - Shiny look that resembles actual metal like gold, silver, foil, copper and bronze. This works well on ebony or darker skin tones. Persons with mature skin or with fine lines and wrinkles should avoid this as it will settle into the lines. Frost - Iridescent with the most shine. It usually has reflective white or silver particles and can be layered on top of other shadows. This finish can accentuate fine lines and wrinkles. Shimmer - Sheer coverage with a subtle shine and hint of sparkle. Lustre - Similar to frost but contains finely milled glitter particles to give an intense sparkly effect. Persons with mature skin should avoid this type. Glitter - This is usually pure glitter particles that may require a tacky base for adhering it to the eyes. Marbled - These consist of various colours marbled together in one pan. You can apply the colours individually or swirl your eye shadow brush through and apply to the lids. This creates a unique colour each time you apply.
IN THIS, the second column looking at how your smile can be improved, I look at the use of veneers, crowns, bridges, dental implants and orthodontics. If teeth are more heavily restored (have a lot of fillings), are discoloured or out of place then one possible solution is the option of veneers and/or crowns. A veneer is a thin porcelain cover designed to go on the outside surface of a tooth. Veneers are only used on front teeth and are generally used for cosmetic purposes, for example to restore chipped or broken teeth, or to change the colour, size or shape of teeth. The teeth generally require a small amount of preparation. A more robust solution than a veneer is a crown, sometimes called a cap. Crowns are often used for clinical reasons although they can be used as a cosmetic treatment too. A crown covers the whole tooth above the gum and is suitable for both front and back teeth. Crowns involve a greater reduction of the natural tooth’s surface than a veneer but the result is greater strength. Crowns are used both for cosmetic and clinical reasons, for example when a tooth is badly decayed but the root is still intact. If crowns are indicated but there are also missing teeth then a bridge may be a good option. A bridge is used to replace one or more missing teeth, for example after an extraction, and, unlike a denture, is permanently fixed in place. A bridge is attached to adjacent teeth (either natural teeth or implants) and carries one or more artificial crowns to fill the gap of the missing teeth. If several or lots of teeth are missing more than one bridge maybe the solution. As an alternative to bridges, implants can be used to replace missing teeth and can be used in combination with natural teeth or crowns to recreate your smile. A dental implant is a titanium fixture that is implanted into your jaw to act as the root of the tooth.
A crown or bridge is then screwed to the fixture. Titanium has a unique quality in that bone will attach to it, so that once the implant is placed it becomes firmly secured naturally by the bone growing around it. Orthodontics is the area of dentistry that aims to improve the appearance, position and function of crooked or abnormally arranged teeth. Orthodontic treatment may be performed for clinical (medical)
reasons such as to improve how the teeth meet and therefore function, or for cosmetic purposes such as straightening teeth or closing gaps. Orthodontics can be done with the use of braces - brackets and wires or Invisalign orthodontics.
Weekly Recipe Helen Barkworth-Knight is a teacher and qualified baker with a lifelong love for cooking for friends and family. She is a mother to Owen, almost two, who has very particular tastes in all things, especially food. Hence she has become an expert in hiding vegetables in all sorts of dishes!
Sweet and sour chicken and vegetable SERVES: 4 to 6 adults
INGREDIENTS
• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into thin strips • 1 medium carrot cut into ribbons with a vegetable peeler • 1 red pepper cut into matchsticks • 5-6 mushrooms, thinly sliced • 3 green onions, sliced • 1 small can bamboo shoots, drained and rinsed • For the sauce: • 1 cup cold water • 1 ½ tablespoons corn starch • ½ cup rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar) • 2 pots of pineapple tidbits in 100% pineapple juice, drained, reserving juice • 4 tablespoons tomato paste • 4 tablespoons sugar • ½ teaspoon salt
METHOD
• Dissolve the corn starch in the cup of water. • Put the rice or cider vinegar, half cup of the pineapple juice from the tidbit pots, tomato paste, sugar and salt into a saucepan, then add the corn starch and water mixture. • Heat up gently on a medium heat, whisking continuously until the sauce bubbles, thickens and becomes translucent. • Remove from the heat, cover and set aside.
• Stir fry the chicken in one tablespoon vegetable or coconut oil in a wok or large saucepan until browned and cooked through completely. • Remove from the pan into a warmed bowl and cover with foil. • Stir fry the carrot, pepper and mushrooms in the same wok or pan, along with the green onions (reserving some of the greenest parts for garnishing the dish once cooked). • Cook until soft, but not browned. • Add in the bamboo shoots and pineapple pieces and heat through, then return the chicken to the pan. • Add the sauce and bring everything back to the boil. Simmer gently until everything is piping hot. • Serve with rice or noodles, and garnish with the green onion pieces.
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December 13 - 19, 2014
December 13 - 19, 2014
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Entertainment
Instagram now has 300M users.
Instagram now bigger than Twitter INSTAGRAM has told Newsbeat it has the potential to “change the world” as it announced it has overtaken Twitter with 300 million users. The company’s CEO Kevin Systrom described the milestone as “exciting” and said the company would “continue to grow”. Twitter claims to have 284 million users accessing the network each month. Facebook, which boasts 1.35 billion monthly active users, bought Instagram in 2012. Speaking to Newsbeat ahead of the announcement,
Kevin Systrom said: “Instagram is about seeing a live pulse of the world right now, it’s not just about taking a photo of a cute baby or a cute dog.” Instagram is also introducing verified accounts similar to the blue tick symbols used by Facebook and Twitter. Newsbeat understands regular users who have been impersonated could be verified, alongside celebrities, sports stars and brands. “We want to be all about authentic users and you making sure that you know you’re following real people
not bots, not spam accounts, not fake accounts.” Mr Systrom added. In an attempt to get rid of fake accounts or those breaking the company’s rules, Instagram said it is deleting “spammy” accounts. The company has warned that some users may find they have fewer followers as a result. Instagram’s co-founder hinted the company would soon be adding new features based around specific events. “You’re literally getting a view of what’s happening in the world right now. (News Beat)
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Call 946-4894 or stop by our Leeward Highway store today
Clothes now Available
NO HIGHER THAN
$50
BIG AND SMALL
December 13 - 19, 2014
December 13 - 19, 2014
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Regional News
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
Tension mounts in Haiti as clock ticks on electoral impasse THE Obama administration and the United Nations are pressuring Haiti’s government to resolve a long-festering dispute over postponed elections in the face of anti-government protests across the impoverished Caribbean country. U.S. and U.N. diplomats are in talks with Haiti’s government and opposition politicians aimed at reaching agreement in the next few weeks. The clock is ticking, with the terms of senators and lower house representatives ending on Jan. 12. A lack of agreement by then would effectively dissolve parliament, and would likely set off a national political crisis. In recent weeks street protests about the elections and alleged government abuses have spread across the country, shutting down some towns and blocking major roads. Officials fear the protests will grow, and turn more violent, if a deal is not reached by Jan. 12. Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said the U.N. is making “maximum ef-forts” to reach an accord but is concerned about the lack of agreement on a framework for elections. “The window of opportunity is fast closing,” he said. U.S. officials have also raised red flags. “The continuing delay in scheduling long-overdue elections is a serious concern,” Thomas Adams, the U.S. State Department’s Haiti Special Coordinator, said during a congressional hearing in Washington last week. Legislative and municipal elections have been held up by a dispute between the government of President Michel Martelly and a group of opposition senators over details of a proposed electoral law. Municipal elections have been delayed for three years, while elections for a third of the Senate’s seats were to have been held in 2012. Last week, Martelly, who has pledged to hold elections “as soon as possible,” created an 11-member
The ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won its fourth consecutive five-year term. (credit: facebook/roosevelt skerrit)
Demonstrator carries portrait depicting Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe as demon during antigovernment protest, Port-au-Prince, Dec. 6, 2014.
commission to come up with proposals to break the deadlock. Opposition leaders have accused Martelly of scheming to rule by decree during the final year of his term in order to manipulate presidential elections scheduled for next year. They say the government has not seriously engaged the opposition or offered reasonable concessions. For its part, the government has accused the opposition of holding the country hostage and trying to sabotage democratic rule. In one statement, Information Minister Rudy Horiveaux described the opposition as “cockroaches” and “a spectacle, symptomatic of the stupidity of a certain retrograde political class.” Haiti has a long history of convulsive elections and is still recovering from an earthquake nearly five years ago that leveled much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Some observers say the United States let the crisis drag on too long by seeming to side with the Martelly government, emboldening the fierytongued president, who once was a singer of bawdy folk songs known as “Sweet Mickey.” “They coddled Martelly far too long … though that finally seems to be changing,” said Robert Maguire, a Haiti scholar at the George
Washington University.U.S. officials have defended Martelly, noting that he enjoys a popularity rating hovering around 60 percent. “Haiti has made a lot of progress since the earthquake, but the electoral gridlock is adding to the current tensions,” said one senior U.S. State Department official. “We believe Martelly is committed to making a deal, and we think they can make an agreement in time,” he said. One plan under discussion: extending parliamentary terms until elections next summer, with presidential elections in November. Foreign donor countries, however, would prefer that Haiti hold legislative, municipal and presidential elections on one day next year, which would cut costs by half. It is estimated that if held separately each election would cost $30 million – money Haiti can ill afford. Many in the international community, including key lenders such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, say Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe has run an efficient administration and has improved infrastructure, including rural roads. But the country’s debt, which was forgiven after the earthquake, is mounting again, including more than $1.6 billion owed to Venezuela’s preferential Petrocaribe fuel program.
Bermuda ranked #2 in world: Hour of Code
BERMUDA has been ranked second, on a per capita basis, among more than 150 countries for participation in The Hour of Code, a global initiative that aims to encourage people, both children and adults, to apply themselves for a short time to computer programming. According to the website, the ranking is “based on the number of events compared to the population
of a country.” Bermuda, ranked with a population of 64,237, took part in seven events. The event’s official website says, “The Hour of Code is a global movement reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries. Anyone, anywhere can organise an Hour of Code event. One-hour tutorials are available in over 30 languages. No experience needed. Ages 4 to
104. “Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problemsolving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path.” The USA was ranked number 1, while Italy was ranked third, the USVI fourth and the Cayman Islands fifth.
Ruling Dominica Labour Party wins fourth consecutive term PRIME Minister Roosevelt Skerrit won a third consecutive term in office on Monday as his ruling Dominica Labour Party (DLP) won its fourth consecutive five-year term in power, withstanding a strong challenge from the main opposition United Workers Party (UWP). Preliminary results show that the DLP won 15 of the 21 seats in the general election, with the UWO, which won a mere three seats in 2009, doubling its tally to six. Prime Minister Skerrit, who comfortably won his Vielle Case constituency, will have to do without his Information Minister and DLP deputy leader, Ambrose George, who lost to newcomer attorney Joshua Francis, while Health Minister Julius Timothy lost to Danny Lugay. UWP leader, Lennox Linton, who predicted earlier that his party wouldwin 15 seats in the election, easily won the Marigot constituency which he took over from former prime minister Edison James. In a radio and television soon after it became apparent that the DLP had won the election, Prime Minister Skerrit appealed for unity in building the country after the six week campaign. “I accept the will and verdict of the people,” Skerrit said, after he watched his 18-3 majority in the last Parliament shrink to 15-6. Skerrit congratulated Linton on entering the new Parliament, saying the outcome of the polls showed that the island had become a “mature democracy”. Skerrit said he wanted to thank Dominicans for conducting themselves “properly throughout the campaign and minimising the incidence of intimidation, violence and destruction which we often see taking place elsewhere”. But in an immediate response, Linton told radio listeners that the election result was one based on intimidation and bribery and accused the ruling party of orchestrating such a strategy to ensure it remained in power. “So at the end of the day the
election leaves us with more questions,” Linton said, noting that despite the statesmanlike address given by Skerrit, he and his DLP had “flagrantly” disregarded the code of conduct drawn up by the religious groups to govern the conduct of the parties and politicians on the campaign. “The church must ask itself a question of relevance,” Linton said, adding “who fools who,” telling his supporters “let us keep hope alive” and promising that his party would continue with its policy of conducting campaigns that would bring forward the ills confronting the country. In his address, Skerrit said that the DLP victory had “refuted the simplistic argument that democracy is about giving parties two or three bites of the cherry and then send them home packing. “\the truth is that in any country, especially in developing countries, a party that consistently delivers on its promises and takes the country along a clear path of development can win a fourth consecutive term. Tonight we can celebrate the fact that Dominicans will continue to enjoy the rie in standard of living and quality of life as we had been doing since 2000”. Skerrit said that he was delighted that the population had studied his party’s achievements in office and that every national had benefitted from the socio-economic policies of his administration. “I am sure this is your way of showing gratitude, this is why yo have decided to give us the new mandate to continue to deliver the very many realistic promises we made to you in the manifesto,” he said, adding the manifesto had been drawn up “not just to win the election but also to serve as a manual to guide our governance of Dominica during the next five years”. Skerrit said that the composition of his new administration would be announced at a later date and that while he was mindful of the need for a relaxation, Tuesday would not be a public holiday. (CMC)
December 13 - 19, 2014
Regional News
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Nassau world’s 5th most expensive city for hotel vacations NASSAU’S was on Monday ranked as the fifth most expensive city in the world for hotel accommodation, a finding that will further raise concern that this nation is slowly pricing itself out of the global tourism market. A survey of 150 cities by GoEuro, a Berlin-based travel search website, ranked Nassau behind just New York, St Moritz (Switzerland), Macau in China and Miami when it came to the average price of hotel accommodations. The average nightly room rate in Nassau was pegged by GoEuro, which surveyed some 60,000 properties across the 150 cities, at $150. New York led the way at $246, with Miami coming in at $167. The findings will add to the perception of the Bahamas as a highcost destination, especially when factors such as air fare and other charges are included in the pricing equation. Nassau ranked in the ‘top 20’ most expensive cities fin all categories of hotel accommodation. It was eighth most expensive in the five-star hotel category, with an average rate of $541, and came in fifth in the onefour star category with $172 as the average nightly rate. Nassau also had the 14th most expensive nightly hostel rate at $37, and came in 17th for the cost of short-term apartment rentals with a rate of $171. The Bahamas Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) has repeatedly expressed concern that this nation’s
high operating costs, which force hotels to largely target the highend, premium price segment, are squeezing market share. And that was before the imminent arrival of Value-Added Tax (VAT). Stuart Bowe, the BHTA president, speaking at last week’s Energy Security Forum, organised by the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC), said: “We’ve very expensive. Right now, the average vacation in the Bahamas, we’re ranked second in the region.” An August 11, 2014, presentation sought to reinforce this message, drawing on research from last year that showed the Bahamas currently draws on just 35 per cent of its potential tourist market. Based on how much a couple was willing to spend for airfare, hotel and ground transportation, the BHTAcommissioned report showed that a collective $500 increase in these costs could drop the Bahamas’ US market draw to just 19 per cent. High labour and utility costs make its extremely hard for resort developers/owners to generate the needed returns on their investment, depriving them of the profit margins/ cash flow essential to financing the constant product upgrades demanded by the market. With new investment deterred, and hotel owners not executing on expansion plans, the creation of additional Bahamian jobs becomes impossible.
Bahamian minister Pinder quits RYAN Pinder, Minister of Financial Services in the Bahamas, has reportedly resigned from his Cabinet post to take up a position with a private bank, several sources told The Tribune earlier this week. It is unclear when the resignation will take effect, however The Tribune was told that Mr Pinder handed in his resignation to the government last week. According to sources close to Mr Pinder, an announcement from the government on the matter is expected shortly. Mr Pinder did not respond to several requests for comment on the reports yesterday. However, several well-placed sources close to the Christie administration told this newspaper that the Elizabeth MP has been offered a “big job” and an “offer he couldn’t refuse” at Deltec Bank & Trust, a private bank and investment management firm with its principal operations based at Lyford Cay, New Providence. The Tribune understands that Mr Pinder does not plan to
Ryan Pinder will take up a position with a private bank.
resign from his seat in the House of Assembly, which, if he did, would result in a bye-election. The reported resignation raised concerns from one political observer who questioned which other Progressive Liberal Party member could replace Mr Pinder as minister. There was also speculation from some quarters that the reported resignation could lead to a shuffle of the prime minister’s cabinet.
29
Police officer shot in the head in the Bahamas
FOUR days after a police officer was shot in the head and killed, Assistant Police Commissioner Stephen Dean and a team of officers canvassed the crime scene and surrounding community searching for clues that could point to a suspect. Sergeant 145 Wayne Rolle was shot at point blank range in the back of his head as he sat in a jeep around 7pm with a female friend on Durham Street off Montrose Avenue last Thursday. Hours after his murder, police arrested a man recently released on bail for a double murder. However, the man has since been released from police custody. Police have made no other arrests in relation to this murder. Sgt Rolle’s death was one of five killings that happened last week. ACP Dean said while all murders are heinous acts, the murder of a police officer warrants a little more disgust. He said police do not believe they can solve this murder without information from the public. “We are here to revisit a scene where one of our officers was shot a few days ago. We thought it was fitting that we come back here to see if we can find any piece of evidence that can help us solve this matter. We are following some lines of inquiry, but without the public’s support we do not believe we will have a break
in the case,” he said. “We are pleading to members of the public who remember passing this particular area, who might have seen something that seemed unusual, who may have been passing around 7pm Thursday night to please come forward, you do not have to give your name. Someone knows what happened that caused this officer to die, leaving his children alone. We need to being closure to this matter, we are cognizant that there are other homicides happening but sometimes it gets a little higher when you hear a law enforcement officer has been killed. An officer who has for years protected our people, sacrificed for our people now his life was sacrificed to homicide.” As police canvassed the area,The Tribune spoke to several residents in Durham Street who said despite the murder, they still feel safe. Barbara Taylor, who said she has lived in the area for more than 20 years, said: “I feel safe through here, through this corner we have each other covered. I still feel safe, I still sit out in the front of my yard everyday. I was shocked when it happened but it does not change my feelings about my community.” However, one resident, George McCartney, whose sister Maud
McCartney, 73, was brutally killed in July, said he is angry at the amount of crime in this country. He said no matter how many “walk-a-bouts the police do” he will “never feel safe”. He said: “I feel angry. In July of this year my sister was murdered on Collins Avenue and up to now no one has been arrested. When I hear about these things happening every day and I watch the news and I see the nonsense police talk about, but the real question is why doesn’t someone go down by the justice department and see if they could stop letting these criminals out on bail five minutes after they are arrested? The police are doing a pretty good job, but five minutes later the criminals are back on the streets laughing at police. The criminals believe they can do anything in this country and get away with it and the rest of us are sitting ducks.” ACP Dean also appealed to parents who may be harbouring and benefiting from the proceeds of their “criminal children” to turn them in “or face the consequences”. Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS. (Tribune242)
Castro pledges Cuba’s cooperation with CARICOM CUBA is pledging its continued cooperation with its neighbours in the Caribbean Community, according to Cuba President Raul Castro. The Cuban leader was addressing the Cuba-CARICOM Summit in Havana on Monday. “We will honour our pledge to co-operate and share our modest achievements with our sister nations in the Caribbean,” he said, emphasising the country’s decision to support “under any circumstances” the “right of small and vulnerable countries to be accorded special and different treatment in terms of access to trade and investments.” The challenges of this century, he said, were forcing the region to “unite in order to face together the effects of climate change and natural disasters and to co-ordinate our approach to the post 2015 Development Agenda.” He said Cuba was willing to offer its help on the fight against climate change, offering to share Cuba’s
President Raul Castro says that Cuba will honour: “our pledge to co-operate and share our modest achievements with our sister nations in the Caribbean”.
experience gained by a series of studies on the dangers facing coastal areas. CARICOM and Cuba have had diplomatic relations for 41 years. “our forty-one years of diplomatic relations have been markedly fruitful as a result of functional cooperation in the areas of health, education, sports, culture, agriculture, disaster management, energy and construction,” Bahamas Prime Minister Perry Christie said. “We must continue to support each other in international fora, always providing reciprocal support for our initiatives, whether it is in advocacy for the rejection of any blockade against Cuba; support for the re-classification of middleincome economies; negotiations for a strong post-2015 agenda that favours small island developing states; support for Cuba’s leading role in the CELAC process; and support for candidacies for election or appointment to multilateral bodies.” (Caribjournal)
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
World News
CIA ‘violated human rights’ - Afghan president AFGHAN President Asraf Ghani has said the CIA’s brutal interrogation programme “violated all accepted norms of human rights in the world”. He is among many world leaders condemning how the agency imprisoned and questioned al-Qaeda suspects. A US Senate report on the programme has said the harsh methods did not lead to unique intelligence that foiled plots. The report also concluded the agency misled politicians and public about the 2001-2007 programme. The CIA has defended its actions in the years after the 9/11 attacks on the US, saying they saved lives. And President Barack Obama has said it was now time to move on, despite acknowledging some of the CIA’s actions amounted to torture. None of the countries where the prisons were located has been identified in the report, but several countries suspected to have hosted sites reacted strongly to the publication. In a press conference on
Ashraf Ghani said there was “no justification for such acts”.
Wednesday, Mr Ghani, who became president in September, called the report “shocking”. “There is no justification for such acts and human torturing in the world.” He vowed to investigate how many Afghans had suffered abuse at US detention centres.
On Wednesday, US military officials said the final prisoners had left Parwan Detention Center at the Bagram air base, bringing to an end the US operation of any prisons in the country after more than a decade of war. Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Myles Caggins told the BBC that all prisoners held at Bagram had now been either transferred to Afghan custody or repatriated. He said the Kabul government would now be responsible for all detentions in Afghanistan. Bagram is one of the sites identified this week in the US Senate report. Meanwhile, Poland’s former president has publicly acknowledged for the first time his country hosted a secret CIA prison. Aleksander Kwasniewski said that he put pressure on the US to end brutal interrogations at the prison in 2003. “I told Bush that this cooperation must end and it did end,” Mr Kwasniewski told local media. (BBC)
Palestinian minister dies at West Bank protest A PALESTINIAN minister has died after a confrontation with Israeli troops at a protest in the West Bank. Palestinian medics told the BBC Ziad Abu Ein had died from complications related to tear gas exposure. But several witnesses said the minister had been hit and shoved by soldiers. One said he had been hit in the chest by a tear-gas canister fired by them. Israel’s Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon expressed regret for the minister’s death in a statement. The Israeli military (IDF) said it was investigating the incidents surrounding Mr Ein’s death. Israeli and Jordanian experts would attend a post-mortem examination, the IDF said. It has also proposed setting up a joint team with the Palestinians to investigate Mr Abu Ein’s death. UN Secretary General Ban Kimoon called for an investigation into the death and urged “all sides to exercise maximum restraint and avoid escalation”. Following the incident dozens of Palestinians reportedly gathered at the scene, near the village of Turmusaya, setting fire to tyres and throwing stones at security forces. Palestinian President Mahmoud
Thousands of demonstrators expressed their anger on the streets on Paris on Wednesday.
France economy: Valls announces reforms amid protests FRENCH Prime Minister Manuel Valls has announced reforms aimed at boosting the economy and combating unemployment. The plans include increasing the number of businesses operating on Sundays and opening up regulated sectors to competition. Thousands of opponents demonstrated in Paris in response. Critics say the measures go against the political beliefs of the country’s left-wing government. Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron who outlined the controversial plans to government ministers. On Wednesday, Mr Valls acknowledged stiff resistance to the
plans from within the ruling Socialist Party, remarking that the planned reforms were “more popular with the French voters than with some in public life”. “This is not a law about the protected professions or about working on Sundays,” the proposed legislation states. “This is a law which seeks to remove, in a pragmatic way, obstacles we have identified in several sectors to free up untapped potential for growth and activity.” The reforms may help France avoid fines - being threatened by Brussels - for breaking European Union rules on the size of its public deficit.
Prince Albert II of Monaco married Charlene Wittstock in 2011.
Royal twins born in Monaco Photographs appeared to show Ziad Abu Ein (left) being held by the throat by an Israeli soldier.
Abbas held a Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) meeting in Ramallah following news of the death of the minister, whom he called a “martyr”. Mr Abu Ein, a minister without portfolio, was among dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists taking part in a protest against land confiscations. They had planned to plant olive tree saplings on a patch of land near the Jewish settlement of Shiloh, which Palestinians believe has been earmarked for annexation by Israel.
In the course of the protest, they came into confrontation with a group of about 15 Israeli soldiers. Leading Palestinian activist Mahmoud Aloul, who was also at the protest, told the Associated Press news agency the soldiers had fired tear gas and had beaten some of the activists with rifle butts. At one point, Mr Abu Ein was hit by a tear gas canister, Mr Aloul said. A Reuters photographer said he had seen Mr Abu Ein being struck by a hand on the neck during an altercation with two soldiers.
IF YOU bet on the princess, you win. Monaco’s Princess Gabriella Therese Marie was born at 5:04 p.m. (11:04 a.m. ET) Wednesday, beating her brother Jacques Honore Rainier into the waking world by two minutes, the royal family announced on Facebook. The twins are the first children born to Charlene Wittstock, the former South African Olympic swimmer who married Prince Albert II in 2011. Their birth took place at the Princess Grace Hospital Monaco, named after Albert’s mother -- and late legendary Hollywood actress -- Grace Kelly. “The Princess and the children are doing well,” the royal family said. Prince Albert hadn’t been married before, but he did have two children
born out of wedlock in 1992 and 2003. Yet it’s the twins born to Wittstock who will get first crack at the throne, because Monaco law dictates that “succession passes, upon death or abdication, to the direct legitimate (descendant) of the previous prince.” And in this case, it would be Albert’s son Jacques, even though he arrived after his sister. While Gabriella will be the “second child in the line of succession,” according to the royal family, Jacques “is the Crown Prince” and receives the title of Marquis of Baux (in Provence). Princess Gabriella is now known as the Countess of Carlades (in Auvergne).
December 13 - 19, 2014
31
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
World News
Malala, Satyarthi accept Nobel Peace Prize, press children’s rights fight
North-west England was also hit by high waves, as seen here at Whitehaven in Cumbria.
‘Weather bomb’ hits power and travel in northern UK HIGH winds and huge waves have affected north-western parts of the UK as bad weather hit power supplies and travel. The “weather bomb” brought hundreds of lightning strikes, temporarily cutting power across the Western Isles. Energy firm SSE said it had managed to reconnect 28,000 homes that had their supply cut, but 2,800 are still without power. A wind speed of 144mph was recorded on the remote St Kilda islands, with gusts in excess of 80mph elsewhere. A Met Office amber warning to “be prepared” for parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland was
downgraded to yellow - “be aware” - at 18:00. BBC Scotland correspondent Laura Bicker said the Western Isles and Northern Isles had “borne the brunt” of the storm’s force and travel restrictions remained in place. Explosive cyclogenesis - known colloquially as a “weather bomb” - is when a storm intensifies as the pressure at its centre drops rapidly (by more than 24 millibars in 24 hours). The storm currently affecting parts of the UK formed in this way. Speaking from Barra in the Outer Hebrides, Donald MacLeod, coxswain of the island’s lifeboat, said there was rain, hail and “plenty of wind”.
TO THUNDEROUS and sustained applause, Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai and India’s Kailash Satyarthi received the Nobel Peace Prize on Wednesday, an award that a Nobel official said he hopes encourages others to fight for young people’s rights. The two learned they would take home the prestigious prize two months ago. Wednesday’s ceremony in Oslo, Norway -- attended by royalty, international officials, even some of Yousafzai’s classmates from Pakistan -- made it official. Both recipients had much at stake as they battled for what they believed in. In Satyarthi’s case, it was to end the exploitation of children for financial gain. In the case of Yousafzai -- the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, at 17 -- it was for girls’ right to an education, a quest that nearly cost her her life when Taliban fighters called her out and shot her in the head two years ago. “We need people like Satyarthi and Yousafzai to show that it helps to fight,” said Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee. Jagland, who is the secretary general of the Council of Europe, added that in addition to bringing attention to children’s rights, he hopes the joint award will also bring India and Pakistan closer together. Those neighboring countries have long been at odds, politically and at times militarily. “While it is in the nature of extremism to create enemies and frightening images, and to divide the world into us and them, the laureates show us something else,” Jagland said. “A young girl and a somewhat
Nobel Peace Prize laureates Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi (R) received the award on Wednesday.
older man. One from Pakistan, one from India. One Muslim, the other Hindu. Both symbols of the world needs -- namely, more unity.” Satyarthi spoke first after accepting his prize, giving a rousing call to action and a condemnation of the reality in many places worldwide. “I refuse to accept that the world is so poor when just one week of military expenditures can bring all children to classrooms,” he said. “I refuse to accept that all the laws and constitutions and police and judges are unable to protect our children. I refuse to accept that shackles of slavery can ever be stronger than the quest for freedom.” Next up was Yousafzai, from northwestern Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The Taliban began establishing themselves there in 2003, bringing with them their conservative views -- including that girls should not be
educated. Yet Yousafzai didn’t only continue going to school, she blogged about her experiences for the BBC. That led to her being singled out on a bus by the Taliban and shot. After her recovery, Yousafzai has expanded her campaign for girls’ education -speaking all around the world for the cause. Speaking Wednesday, she said the Nobel Peace Prize “is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.” “I’m here to stand up for their rights, to raise their voice,” she said. “It is not time to pity them. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action, so it becomes the last time ... that we see a child deprived of education.” (CNN)
World’s children paying price for political rifts: UNICEF Nathan Robinson (left) stabbed his father to death and dismembered his body.
UK: Body parts killer sentenced to life in prison for father’s death
A SON who killed his father and put his dismembered body into storage boxes he was using as a TV stand, has been jailed for life. Nathan Robinson, 27, cut up William Spilller’s body at their flat in Bournemouth in May 2013. He subsequently travelled around the country spending his father’s cash. He was found guilty of murder following a trial at Winchester Crown Court. Robinson was told he must serve a minimum of 30 years in jail. Robinson, who lived with his
48-year-old father in Stedman Road, had admitted manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility at his trial last month. He had told the court he had only limited memories of the killing and that his father had abused him as a child. Robinson cut up his father’s body with a Stanley knife and hacksaw then stored the body parts in plastic boxes, with a television placed on top in the victim’s bedroom. Mr Spiller’s head was placed in a box and put in a filing cabinet.
DIVISIONS among the vetowielding powers of the UN Security Council are harming the world’s children and sowing the seeds of future conflicts, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said this week. This year, riven by conflicts, has been the worst in two generations for children around the world, but 2015 looks set to be even worse, said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. “This reflects the indisputable fact that the world is more divided politically among and within nations than ever before,” Lake told Reuters. UNICEF estimates 15 million children are caught up in wars in Syria, Iraq, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Ukraine and the Palestinian territories, and 230 million children globally live in areas affected by armed conflicts. “If you compare the severity of the plight of the children with the
attention of the world to that plight, I don’t suppose that gap has ever been bigger.” The big powers have always been divided, but the consequences of their divisions are now greater than ever before, said Lake, who served as US National Security Advisor under President Bill Clinton. It was in their own security interests to stop conflicts such as Syria’s war and prevent humanitarian crises, he said. “If these conflicts become endemic in the next generation and the generation after that, then what hope is there for the whole region in the Middle East, and ergo, what hope is there for the kind of stability there that the rest of the world needs for so many reasons?” At the same time aid agencies, stretched by new crises like Ebola, lingering ones like Syria, and forgotten ones like those in Yemen or Afghanistan, have less and less
capacity even to put “band aids” on the conflicts, Lake said. The foundations of the future would be built in the hearts and minds of children, not the physical infrastructure of schools, he said. Lake has stopped asking refugee children about their hopes for the future because it was “too heartbreaking”. “If you can’t get these kids into school where they will both learn things and feel safer, then they are going to be very ill-equipped to rebuild their societies someday because they simply won’t know enough.” Traumatized children need help to cope with the horrors they have seen, he said. “Otherwise they are simply going to recreate what they consider to be normal in the next generation and seek revenge rather than reconciliation, and everybody is going to pay the price.” (Reuters)
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Job Listings Services Auto sales real estate
Brama Kumaris
Raja Yoga
Classifieds
Meditation Centre Turks and Caicos Islands
Telephone 946-4760 & 332-4101
www.bkwsu.com Email: bkpadma@bkwsutci.com
FOR SALE
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
946-4664 Fax: 946-4661
Email: tcnews@tciway.tc
Website: tcweeklynews.com
FLOWER GIRL
Wanted urgently
Floral Designer
Must have thorough knowledge in the floral business with 3-5 years experience.
Call: 231-3788
Construction scaffold and roof tiles for sale CONTACT: 431-1591 OR 231-3788
ALBERT’S CLEANING SERVICES
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
ALBERT HIGGS NORTH CAICOS Is looking for a
Is looking for a
laboUrer labourer To work 6 days Must be willing to work 5 days per week salary $5.50 per hour
contact: 243-7785
10739
10759
contact: 243-7785
per week salary $5.50 per hour
FORBES CONCIERGE is seeking a MASTER SOMMELIER for immediate employment • The successful candidate will have: • A formal sommelier or hospitality based on qualification this will be advantageous but not essential • A minimum of five years experience in a fine restaurant or at a luxury five star property • A strong restaurant and staff management and guest interpersonal skills • Contactable references • A clean police record • The successful candidate will: • Be responsible for maintaining a top shelf wine list and the beverage department as a whole • Be responsible for ensuring the ultimate profitability of the beverage department • Manage the cellar and ensure that stock levels and ordering are handled efficiently • Train the service team on a regular basis • Engage with the chef on offering interesting wine pairing Salary commensurate with experience resumes to be received by December 14th, 2014
P.O. Box 675 Leeward Highway, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands 649-241-2225 or email Obrien@forbesconcierge.com
GENERAL MANAGER/ MANAGING DIRECTOR
CORE RESOURCES LIMITED Is seeking a
Secretary
to work Monday – Friday 8am-4pm salary $6.50 per hour contact: 649-946-5387 or email: coreresources@gmail. com
Please enquire at 649-332-5939 10752
10755
CERTIFIED DIVEMASTER labourer
is currently looking to hire a
• Must be a holder of SEASCH -196/359/363/53 • Must have a clean drivers license • Must be willing to commute daily to Chalk Sound • Must be willing to work nights, weekends and holidays Salary $10.00 per hour
• Must be willing to work 6 days per week • Must be willing to work with little or no supervision • Must possess a valid drivers license • Must be able to drive a manual vehicle Salary negotiable
Contact: 231-0824 10754
Acting on behalf of our clients: Discount Auto Parts and Tires
DAPHNE’S VARIETY STORE
Contact: 231-0209 10767
TOP END MILLWORK Is looking to hire 5
is looking for a
Laborer $6.50 per hour
Katia Jacob
Labourer $5.50 per hour
Charles Barber Shop
domestic worker Skilled finish To work 5 days
Olabasi
per week salary $5.50 per hour.
Contact: 347-6642
contact: 232-5443
Barber $6.50 per hour
Laborer $6.50 per hour 10738
carpenters/furniture
Must be able to read drawings salary $7.00 per hour contact: 247-4065 between the hours of 10am-3pm
10764
Plumber $8.00 per hour
10768
Smith’s Electrical and Plumbing
DOMESTIC
WORKER To work 6 days per week salary $5.50 per hour must be able to work flexible hours Must speak English.
Contact: 941-2407
10766
SUNSET PHARMACY
Required for complex tour operation
Candidate must reside in Grand Turk and have the following experience and expertise: At least 7 years experience in tour, cruise ship and or shore excursion operations, ability to generate and interpret financial reports, QuickBooks, Excel, Word, Publisher and PowerPoint, excellent written and verbal communication skills, experience in negotiating with vendors, government agencies and cruise lines, a keen understanding of margins, managerial accounting and budgeting, tour product development, tour guide training and human resources Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications
TRIPPLE S CONSTRUCTION
C & J CONSULTANCY
CLASSIFIEDS 33
10715
December 13 - 19, 2014
Is looking for a
DOMESTIC WORKER
To work 6 days per week salary $5.00 per hour. contact: 941-3751
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!! the largest readership in the turks & caicos
SALES!!!
Due to change of season we are selling lots of items at discount prices. Towels, curtains, bathroom sets, bathroom coordinates, napkins, cups and glasses, canisters, mixing bowls, serving trays and much more for your house.
10740
Administration and Finance Officer – Providenciales Part time 30 hours a week
The Red Cross is looking for a part time experienced Administration and Finance Officer who will be responsible for ensuring the fluent financial and administration management of the TCI Red Cross in relation to the overall TCI Red Cross at a national level, along with providing support to the Provo office, it’s programmes and the overall management of the financial systems.
Qualifications • • • •
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Working knowledge of Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel) Financial Software (Quick books) Seven plus years of finance experience Three plus years in basic administration
Experience in the Red Cross or another humanitarian organization would be an asset. The successful candidate will also be sensitive to diversity, able to work cross-culturally and adhere to the Red Cross principles throughout daily responsibilities as well as working with the most vulnerable in the community. You will be required to provide support and work in Disaster Response. For the full job description and an application form, please contact our Provo office on 941 8056 or by email redcrossprovo@tciway.tc
Deadline for applications is 19TH December 2014.
10752
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!
the largest readership in the turks & caicos
POSITION AVAILABLE
Audio/Video Editor
Main Purpose of Job:
Responsible for Preparing programs for television, advertisements, titles and graphics
Essential Duties:
• Responsible for creative materials liaising with the creative team, graphic designer and the Marketing Director to ensure smooth and efficient delivery. • Responsible for accuracy and consistency of written, visual and web materials. • Work with various offices to produce production schedules for creative proofs and liaise with international offices.
Kitchen Labourer
Job Requirements: • • • • • • •
Perform Kitchen services Perform preventative maintenance on kitchen equipment Maintain the proper use, cleaning, maintenance and storage of all tools. Responsible for cleaning grease traps Washes dishes, utensils and cookware following established procedures Place clean dishes, utensils, and cooking equipment in storage areas. Maintain kitchen work areas, equipment, and utensils in clean and orderly condition. • Assists in performing cleaning tasks as needed in the kitchen Qualified Belongers need only apply. Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience
Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than September 19th @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 Email: humanresources@gracebayclub.com Fax: (649) 946-5758 P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies 10770
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!! the largest readership in the turks & caicos
MARTINEZ AUTO REPAIR
GILLEY’S ENTERPRISES Is looking for a
labourer
Is looking for a
Tire Man
Salary $5.50 per hour Contact: 649-9464472 between the hours of 9am-3pm or email: gilley’scafe@tciway.tc
To work 6 days per week salary $5.50 per hour.
10761
34 CLASSIFIEDS
Experience, Qualifications and Skills:
• Certificate or Diploma related to video editing • Eight or more years’experience in Television Broadcasting (must possess relevant certification) with good production/trafficking skills and be able to work in a fast paced environment. • Skilful operator of Audio/Video Editing Systems working on both online and offline materials as well as on special communication projects • Knowledge of TV, Camera, and Lighting for Quality Control, Animations • Production experience, good interpersonal skills and creative ability, good storytelling skills, a methodical mind, and ability to communicate well. • Ability to meet deadlines and have strong organizational skills as well as an eye for detail. • Management skills would be an asset. • Required to work evenings, weekends and holidays Salary commensurate with experience.
Send Resumes to kay@acltci.tc or P.O. Box 230 Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. No telephone calls please. 10748
Richmond Hill Preparatory School Is looking for a
Trained primary school teacher With a minimum of seven years’ teaching experience. Please apply in writing to richhillprep@yahoo.com
10769
contact: 241-3297
10747
WILFREY & TONY BARBER SHOP AND BEAUTY SALON is looking for a
Hairdresser must be willing to work 6 days per week salary $5.00 per hour.
contact: 231-0082 10738
December 13 - 19, 2014
HEPBURN’S KA- BOOM FIREWORKS SALE DO IT YOURSELF
• • • • • •
CLASSIFIEDS 35
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
500G Repeaters Artillery shell Roman Candles Missiles Sparklers Firecrackers
• • • • •
Parachutes Rockets 200G Repeaters Fountains Spinners
Contact: 343-1888 or 242-0540/241-2749 10760
Part-time position for a
Cook &
Housekeeper twenty hours per week must be able to work weekends, nights and holidays salary $10.00 per hour must have own transportation Cleaner needed to work 8 hours per week salary $7.00 per hour.
Contact 331-1809 closing date for applications is January 21st, 2014 Belongers only need apply 10756
NATASHA CONSULTANCY acting on behalf of our clients is looking to fill the following positions:
REFRICOOL SERVICES Is looking for a
SRF CONTRACTING Ltd. Steel Man – $7.00 per hour 247-9445
LINSEY RIGBY Painter
– $6.50 per hour 344-2653
TERRANCE SMITH LaboUrer
– $5.00 per hour 244-8205
10763
Refrigerator Technician to work 6 days per week salary $7.00 per hour
contact: 245-8939 or 343-9437 10751
Ricardo Fulford Consultant Services on behalf of his clients
Eden Yacht Charters LTD
is seeking employment for the following:
1) Marketing Manager
Interested candidate may contact 431-7889 for further details regarding employment.
Massage Therapist/ Esthetician
Danny Buoys
is seeking employment for the following:
1) Restaurant Manager
Interested candidate may contact 431-8477 further details regarding employment.
Job purpose:
Grace Bay Club is looking for a Massage Therapist/ Esthetician who is an enthusiastic team player with excellent customer service. 10757
Ricardo Fulford, Immigration and Labour Consultant President of Ricardo Fulford Consultant Services ricardofulford@gmail.com (649) 346-1125
GENERAL PRACTIONER/ EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR REQUIRED
They must possess excellent communication skills and be able to learn the product and service knowledge necessary to effectively provide wellness solutions to meet the needs of our guests. The therapist will be required to properly care for equipment, perform prep work, clean and restock spa rooms. The Therapist must be in good physical condition, able to assist in all areas of spa operation as requested by supervisors or coaches.
10765
Be flexible with your schedule, supporting the needs of the spa. Build respectful and cooperative relationships with colleagues and leaders He/ She must maintain the standards of Grace Bay as found in the standard operating procedures of the department, and as they are amended from time to time.
Education and Experience:
• Secondary level education is required. Good writing, reading, listening and basic computation skills are necessary. • Previous experience in a 5 star spa is preferred. • International qualifications (or qualifications equivalent to international standards) are required in Massage therapy. • Must be certified in First Aid and CPR. Qualified Belongers need only apply. Salary Range: Commensurate based on qualification and experience Interested persons can contact our Human Resources Department no later than September 5th 2014 @ (649) 946-5050 Ext. 1050 Email: humanresources@gracebayclub.com Fax: (649) 946-5758 P.O. Box 128 Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands, British West Indies
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!
the largest readership in the turks & caicos
10699
• General practice with some emergency room work • Full time 8 hour working day with varying shifts between 8am-8pm to meet the needs of the business • On call duty at least 2 nights per week plus 1 in 2 weekends • Must have at least 8 years post qualification experience and be registered with the Health Practioners Board • Remuneration structure available on request Please email resume to amp@tciway.tc
The Therapist will be responsible for administering professional facial, massage and body treatments to our guests. They must have a thorough knowledge of the skin with numerous massage modalities, possess a general understanding of body treatments and be willing to train in our spa’s specific facial, massage and body treatment offerings.
Labourer
Is looking for a
labourer To work 6 days per week salary $6.00 per hour. contact: 231-0005
10796
CHARLIE’S CONSTRUCTION
Is looking for a
Who will be responsible for the daily maintenance, cleaning of the building, refuse removal and any other related duties. All applicants must possess a valid driver’s license. Willing to work weekends and holidays. Must be able to drive a manual vehicle.
mechanic
Please submit all application between 9am – 5pm Monday – Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm. Bayview Motors Ltd. P.O. Box 619. Leeway Highway Providenciales
contact: 231-1489
contact: 649-343-8261
D’ BELLE BEAUTY SALON
DINESHWAIRE JAINARINE
10783
Colmelita Handfield seeks the following person:
One Gardener
To work six days a week. Salary $5.00 per hour. contact 946-7705
10789
To work 6 days per week and on call salary $12.00 per hour.
10792
Is looking for
CARETAKER Applicant must be fluent in Spanish and English salary $5.50 per hour.
10781
Is looking for a
Cabinet Maker To work 6 days per week salary $12.00 per hour interested persons can contact Mr. Charlton Gardiner at 231-6966 between the hours of 9am-5pm 10775
DOMINIQUE BEAUTY SALON & BOUTIQUE
BARBER SALARY $5.00/ HOUR
CONTACT: 241-5325
laboUrer To work 4 days per week salary $6.50 per hour.
contact: 231-0001 EXPRESS EQUIPMENT
IS LOOKING FOR
is looking for a
FIRST GLOBAL INSURANCE BROKERS LIMITED. Is seeking a qualified individual to fill the following position:
UNDERWRITER
1 LABOURER 1 GARDENER
Hair Stylist To work 6 days per week salary $150.00 per week.
Contact: 649-245-2897
GOLD STAR NAIL CENTER BEAUTY SALON IS LOOKING FOR
GUTTERS EXPRESS
IMPERIAL SECURITY SERVICES SECURITY SPECIALISTS
10794
$6.00/HOUR
1 HAIR STYLIST $7.00/HOUR
labourer To work 5 days per week salary $7.50 per hour.
Salary $6.00 per hour.
MANEX GABRIEL
MARIE WILSON
TAKERA FRANCIS
to work 6 days per week salary $6.50 per hour must have at least 8 year experience.
Contact: 649-342-5450 10776
10785
is looking for a
Tailor labourer 10777
Security Officer contact: 649-231-1207
10788
is looking for a
info@fgibtci.com Attn: General Manager First Global Insurance Brokers Limited P.O. Box 117, Caribbean Place Providenciales, Turks & Caicos Islands
is looking for a
contact: 347-9104
Is looking for a
Applications must be emailed to:
10784
CONTACT: 347-6642
10793
Salary commensurate with experience and qualifications.
• Electronic troubleshooting technician • Technician on ABS Brakes System Minimum of 5 years experience
contact: 343-3918
1 CASHIER
OTHER DUTIES - Must be able to attend to on-call duties especially in emergency situations particularly during Catastrophes
2 HYDRAULIC TECHNICIANS
CONTACT: 331-7792
Is looking for a
The successful candidate would meet the following requirements: - College Degree minimum bachelors level or Diploma in Insurance - Minimum 15 years experience in Commercial Underwriting - Minimum 15 years experience in Risk Management in Property, Casualty and Employee Benefit insurance - Proficient in oral and written communication - Computer literate & especially familiar with Broker 1 Underwriting and Accounting software - Good negotiation Skills - Able to effectively deal with Insurance Companies, Brokers and Agents
Applications must be received by 10th January 2015
CLEAR VIEW WINDOW CLEANER
Is looking for a
10786
is looking to employ a
CALASCO
To work 5 days per week salary $5.50 per hour.
contact: 342-9957
10791
BAYVIEW MOTORS
10795
ALPHEUS GARDINER
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
10772
36 CLASSIFIEDS
domestic worker
To work 6 days per week salary $6.50 per hour must be willing to work holidays and weekends please fax all Cv’s to 649-946-4433 deadline for applications is December 31st, 2014 10771
December 13 - 19, 2014
Mills Institute
Ports of Call Resorts
is seeking to employ the following;
Job Vacancy
Trained teachers
One (1) Front Desk Staff One (1) Houseman
Domestic worker
Please email your resume to millsinstitute@gmail.com
SICILY ROBERTS
10778
– with own vehicle
Person must be able to work holidays and weekends and be willing to work as a part of a team. Resume can be email to info@ portsofcallresort.com. Belongers will be given first preference; proof of status is required.
10773
– with a minimum of 5 years experience
is looking for a
CLASSIFIEDS 37
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
R.A. SHAW DESIGNS LTD.
VACANCIES HUMAN RESOURCE OFFICER
Grand Turk (Salary T 30 $ 33,360.00) 19th December, 2014 The job holder will be responsible to advise Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments on the implementation of policies relating to the effective use of personnel throughout the Public Service in accordance with the Public Service Ordinance, the Employee Handbook and the Financial Regulations. The successful candidate will be assigned to a number of departments and will have responsibility for coordinating a wide range of human resource functions required by those departments. Previous applicants need not reapply
labourer To work 6 days STONE MASON per week salary Is looking for an experienced
10787
contact: 244-1091
contact: 941-4394 ext. 104
TCIPS COMPREHENSIVE HIGH SCHOOL
10749
$5.50 per hour.
with particular skills and experience in dry staked indigenous stone veneers remuneration commensurate with skill
T’S TEES N THINGS
VACANCY
A qualified and experienced teacher with a very strong classroom management skills is required at the above named institution for the post of:
HOME ECONOMICS TEACHER/ GUIDANCE COUNSELLOR
WARD’S CONSULTANCY Acting on behalf of our clients: Coyaba Restaurant and After 5 is looking to fill the following positions:
Kitchen Helper Maitre D Sous Chef Catering Supervisor
Salary $5.50 $8.00 per hour. contact: 345-7512 10792
WRS DREAM VILLA MANAGEMENT Is looking for a
Customer Service Rep To work 6 days per week weekends and holidays on call 24/7 must be willing to clean indoors and outdoors Must have a pick up truck or SUV salary $6.00 per hour.
Contact: 649-231-3069 10774
SOCIAL WORKER
Grand Turk (22nd December 2014) SALARY: $24,840.00 per annum The incumbent in this position will be responsible for counseling clients and their families, interviewing and assessing foster families and collaborating with other departments and organizations to ensure that the needs of disadvantaged persons in the communities are met.
FIRE SAFETY OFFICER
The incumbent in this position will be responsible for safe guard.
is looking for a
To work 6 days per week salary $6.00 per hour.
Kindly email resume which should include two references to: admin@tcips.com not later than December 30th, 2014
The Director of Agriculture will be responsible for the Administration of the Department of Agriculture, the enforcement of Laws and Regulations pertaining thereto. Also the securing and the holding of Borders as this pertains to National Agricultural priorities and control of and elimination of Feral Animals.
Providenciales (22nd December, 2014) SALARY: $16,200.00 per annum
Sales Clerk
Eligibility requirements: • Bachelor’s Degree in Home Economics • At least a Diploma in Family Life Education • At least 5 years teaching experience • Able to teach up to the CSEC Level • Creative, passionate and hardworking • Good communication skills
DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE
Providenciales (22nd December, 2014) SALARY $55,000.00 per annum
CLERICAL ASSISTANTS (Various)
North Caicos and Providenciales (22nd December 2014) SALARY: T1 $15,720 per annum The incumbent in this position will be responsible for clerical and administrative tasks to support the daily functions of the Office.
contact: 241-5403
Grand Turk (22nd December, 2014) SALARY: $57,600.00 per annum (tax free)
ADVERTISE
As one of a bench currently comprising three magistrates, the post-holder will be responsible for the conduct of the Magistrate’s Court in Grand Turk of cases regarding criminal, traffic, youth justice, juvenile (care and protection), guardianship and custody of children, maintenance/affiliation and civil matters and coroner’s inquests.
10787
IN THIS SPACE! ONLY
$33
PER WEEK
CALL 946-4664
MAGISTRATE
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS Providenciales (16th January 2015) SALARY: US$125,000 per annum
The successful applicant must be able to provide legal advice to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police and other Statutory Bodies in the investigation and prosecution of the full range of criminal offences, and, in particular, direct investigations, prosecutions and related proceedings in connection with serious fraud and money laundering cases.
10790
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY!!
the largest readership in the turks & caicos
38
December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Science & Technology
Obese lose up to eight years of life BEING severely obese can knock up to eight years off your life and cause decades of ill health, a report says. The analysis showed being obese at a young age was more damaging to health and life expectancy. The team, at McGill University in Canada, said heart problems and type 2 diabetes were major sources of disability and death. Experts said people were frequently “ignorant” of the consequences of obesity. The health problems caused by obesity are well known. The report, in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, used a computer model to take those risks and calculate the impact of weight on life expectancy throughout life. In comparison with 20 to 39-year-olds with a healthy weight, severely obese men of the same age lost 8.4 years of life and women lost 6.1. Men also spent 18.8 more years living in poor health while women spent 19.1 in that state. Moving up an age group to those in the forties and fifties, men lost 3.7 years and women
“The pattern is clear. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health, the report claimed. (BBC photo)
5.3 years to obesity. Men and women in their sixties and seventies lost just one year of life to obesity, but still faced seven years in ill health. ‘CLEAR PATTERN’ Prof Steven Grover said: “Our computer modelling study shows that obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and
stroke, and diabetes that will, on average, dramatically reduce an individual’s life expectancy. “The pattern is clear. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health, as they have many years ahead of them during which the increased health risks associated with obesity can negatively impact their lives.” Responding to the findings,
Barbara Dinsdale, lifestyle manager for the charity Heart Research UK, said: “How many more wake-up calls do we need? “This research study yet again supports the clear message that by becoming obese you not only take years off your life, but also life off your years in terms of experiencing more years in poor health rather than enjoying a happy, active and productive life.” “Whatever size you are, small, manageable but sustainable changes are the way forward for a happier, healthier and longer life, and reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.” Tam Fry, of the National Obesity Forum, said: “People persist in thinking that fat is just fat and appear ignorant of the many diseases that a high body mass index triggers. “If they were told that they could lose a leg or go blind from diabetes or develop lifethreatening complications from other similar diseases, I am sure they would think hard and twice before piling on the pounds.” (BBC)
Instruments on board the Rosetta spacecraft were able to analyse the chemical structure of the water and determine that 67P’s water did not match the signature of Earth’s H2O.
Rosetta finding deepens mystery of where Earth’s water came from THE first major finding of the Rosetta space probe has upended the theory that water was brought to Earth by comets. Observations from the Rosetta mission, which landed on comet 67P in November after a decade-long mission, reveal that water vapor found on the 2.5-mile long comet is significantly different from that found on Earth. The results were published in the journal Science and were detailed on the European Space Agency’s website. The distinct nature of the comet’s water was measured in August when Rosetta reached 67P and three months before the spacecraft’s lander Philae touched down on the
cosmic mass. After the formation of Earth some 4.6 billion years ago, one hypothesis is that water would have come after the planet cooled down, likely from collisions with comets and asteroids. Instruments on board the Rosetta spacecraft were able to analyse the chemical structure of the water and determine that 67P’s water did not match the signature of Earth’s H2O. Differences were detected in the ratio of deuterium, which is an isotope of hydrogen with an extra neutron, to that of normal hydrogen, according to the European Space Agency, sharpening the mystery of how the planet’s oceans originated.
Superbugs to kill ‘more than cancer’ by 2050 DRUG resistant infections will kill an extra 10 million people a year worldwide - more than currently die from cancer - by 2050 unless action is taken, a study says. They are currently implicated in 700,000 deaths each year. The analysis, presented by the economist Jim O’Neill, said the costs would spiral to $100tn (£63tn). He was appointed by Prime Minister David Cameron in July to head a review of antimicrobial resistance. Mr O’Neill told the BBC: “To put that in context, the annual GDP [gross domestic product] of the UK is about $3tn, so this would be the equivalent of around 35 years without the UK contribution to the global economy.” The reduction in population and the impact on ill-health would reduce world economic output by between 2% and 3.5%. The analysis was based on scenarios modelled by researchers Rand Europe and auditors KPMG. They found that drug resistant E. coli, malaria and tuberculosis (TB) would have
Drug resistant E.coli bacteria are already a significant problem in Europe.
the biggest impact. In Europe and the United States, antimicrobial resistance causes at least 50,000 deaths each year, they said. And left unchecked, deaths would rise more than 10-fold by 2050. Mr O’Neill is best known for his economic analysis of developing nations and their growing importance in global trade.
He coined the acronyms Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and more recently Mint (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey). He said the impact of the would be mostly keenly felt in these countries. “In Nigeria, by 2050, more than one in four deaths would be attributable to drug resistant infections, while India would
see an additional two million lives lost The review team believes its analysis represents a significant underestimate of the potential impact of failing to tackle drug resistance, as it did not include the effects on healthcare of a world in which antibiotics no longer worked. Joint replacements, Caesarean sections, chemotherapy and transplant surgery are among many treatments that depend on antibiotics being available to prevent infections. The review team estimates that Caesarean sections currently contribute 2% to world GDP, joint replacements 0.65%, cancer drugs 0.75% and organ transplants 0.1%. This is based on the number of lives saved, and illhealth prevented in people of working age. Without effective antibiotics, these procedures would become much riskier and in many cases impossible. The review team concludes that this would cost a further $100tn by 2050. Mr O’Neill said his team would now be exploring what action could be taken to avert this looming crisis. (BBC)
Calculations from NASA and the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, show that the asteroid 2014 UR116 does not pose a danger to Earth for at least the next 150 years.
Newly found massive asteroid not a threat to Earth: NASA CLAIMS that Russian scientists have discovered a huge asteroid that could threaten Earth in the near future are just not correct, according to NASA. Recent news reports from Russia have stated that a researcher discovered a 1,312foot (400 meters) space rock that could pose a danger to Earth. However, calculations from NASA and the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, show that the asteroid 2014 UR116 does not pose a danger to Earth for at least the next 150 years. “Some recent press reports
have suggested that an asteroid designated 2014 UR116, found on Oct. 27, 2014 at the MASTER-II observatory in Kislovodsk, Russia, represents an impact threat to the Earth,” officials at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California said in a statement Monday (Dec. 8). “While this approximately 400-metre sized asteroid has a threeyear orbital period around the sun and returns to the Earth’s neighborhood periodically, it does not represent a threat, because its orbital path does not pass sufficiently close to the Earth’s orbit.”
December 13 - 19, 2014
Scientists make ‘feel full’ chemical SCIENTISTS have created a chemical that can be added to food to make people feel full. Initial tests showed it helped people to eat less and slow weight gain. It harnessed the power of a proprionate, which naturally makes us feel full when it is produced by breaking down fibre in the gut. Writing in the journal Gut, the UK researchers said their chemical would have to be eaten regularly to have an effect. The ingredient is a foultasting soluble powder, but the team, from Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, are trying to incorporate it into bread and fruit smoothies. The tricky part of the research was finding a way to deliver the proprionate into the colon, where it triggers the release of hormones that control appetite. Adding it on its own to food would not work because it would be absorbed by the intestine too early. So the team found a way to bind it to a natural carbohydrate found in plants, called inulin. Once bound, the propionate can safely make its way through the digestive system before being freed from the inulin by bacteria in the colon. In initial tests, 20 volunteers were either given inulin on its own or the new ingredient, known as IPE, and then allowed to eat as much as they liked from a buffet. Those who had been given IPE ate about 14% less food. In the next part of the study, 49 overweight volunteers were either given IPE or inulin in powder form and asked to add 10g (about a spoonful) to their food every day. After 24 weeks, six of the 24 volunteers given inulin had gained more than 3% of their body weight while only one of the 25 given IPE had done so. Study leader Prof Gary Frost, from Imperial College London, said: “We know that adults gain between 0.3kg and 0.8kg [1lb 12oz] a year on average, and there’s a real need for new strategies that can prevent this. “Molecules like propionate stimulate the release of gut hormones that control appetite, but you need to eat huge amounts of fibre to achieve a strong effect.” Dr Douglas Morrison, from the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre at the University of Glasgow, said the experiments had shown that propionate may play an important role in weight management.
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
CLASSIFIEDS 39
JOB VACANCY Human Resources Manager
REPORTS TO (TITLE): CEO. Type: Permanent Location: Digicel TCI/Digicel Play, Leeward Highway, Providenciales
Primary objective of the job: Partnering with the Line Managers of all departments in Digicel to: • Manage the day to day HR services provided to these departments which include Learning and Development, Performance Management, all Employee Relations activities, following the local appropriate processes and some aspects of recruitment and selection. • Provide support and HR presence in the development of the department structure, manpower planning and job profiles to ensure alignment to business objectives. • Perform in capacity of “Key partner” to Line Managers and employees in these areas to ensure that the objectives, policies, procedures that have been implemented and adopted are being consistently carried out. Number of persons managed/supervised and their positions: • Nil Main Duties and Responsibilities: Performance management: Working in accordance with the Digicel performance review guidelines to manage the semi-annual DPR process for all departments with key activities to include: Providing guidance and training to all reviewers (up to line managerial level) and reviewers to ensure clear understanding of the objectives of the DPR tool/process. • Ensuring semi-annual reviews are accurately completed and submitted based on deadlines set. • Ensuring all Individual Development plans and Objectives for next review period are accurately completed for each employee. • Ensuring the accurate tabulation of performance scores are submitted to payroll to facilitate timely payment of bonuses. • Ensuring the issuing of bonus letters to all employees are done on a timely basis. • Preparing and presenting analysis of DPR results to management team. Training and Development: Collaborate with CEO, Regional L&D Manager and relevant line managers to effectively manage and execute all training and development activities: • Ensuring that managers have completed 1-2-1 sessions with all employees on a monthly basis • Developing training needs analysis based on Individual Development Plans (IDPs) and identify relevant training programs to ‘match’ employees’ career development path. • Where applicable, provide career counseling guidance to individual employees. • Setting up course templates, training sessions, and managing registration roster to ensure attendants of employees to selected training courses. • Identifying training facilitators to conduct training sessions as well as facilitate the delivery of Training sessions where applicable. • Develop methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs and prepare monthly reports accordingly. • Partner with Line Managers to execute succession planning activities and ensure its continuity. • Managing the company’s Induction Program. • Succession planning, developing member of the HR Team to HR Manager level. Employee Relations: Partnering with Line Managers to oversee the management of all employee relations activities as it relates to: • Resolving management and employee issues by investigating complaints/ grievances, evaluating all responses and offering possible courses of action, providing advice, guidance and direction for speedy resolution. • Maintaining human resources records by coaching and directing managers/supervisors in the preparation of clear documentation of incidents and resolution of problems and the importance of building employee confidence by protecting reputations and keeping information confidential. • Assuming full responsibility for all staff communication – staff meetings, management retreats, attending all departmental staff meetings, communicate organizational changes, new HR initiatives etc. • Ensure that all senior managers communicate the results of the EOS with
their respective teams ; follow up to ensure that all Senior Managers complete their assigned actions based on EOS feedback • Assisting with the formulation and updating/reviewing of all HR policies and procedures and ensuring timely communication, interpretation and consistency of policy application. • Overseeing the execution of employee relations activities associated with, termination, exit interviews, employee assistance program, employee recognition and rewards programs, employee opinion surveys, staff welfare issues (sports and social club activities, health and wellness). • Collaborating with line managers to monitor staff morale by providing counseling and staff relations services in an effort to foster and maintain a harmonious working relationship. Recruitment and Selection: In compliance with the company’s recruitment guidelines: • Partnering with HR Team and Hiring managers to ensure job profiles and manpower budget are relevant to support each department. • Participating in the interviewing and selection process. Other: • Participating in the annual budgeting process ensuring the departments achieve its Opex budgeted targets. • Providing direction and guidance for the assigned HR & Facilities team in the performance of their day-to-day duties as well as ensure the appropriate development mechanisms are in place to achieve success on the job. • Participating as resource leadership team to support policy, program and procedure development as well as legal and compliance issues and other HR projects as required. • Oversee Facilities team, ensure office operations are run smoothly by the Office Manager in order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency. • Oversee organization of office operations and procedures and ensure relationships with external suppliers are maintained to a high level. Academic qualifications and experience required for job: • B.Sc. in Management Studies or Human Resource Management • Four (4) years’ experience in Human Resource Management at Managerial Level Functional Skills: • Working knowledge of employment legislation and labour laws. • Advance working knowledge of MC Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Visio • Excellent counseling, facilitation and negotiating skills • Knowledge of manpower and budget planning. • Exceptional communication, interpersonal and people management skills • Ability to exercise considerable judgment and discretion in establishing and maintaining positive working relationships and creating harmonious environment. • Displays high level of confidentiality. • Ability to be flexible and respond to a variety of issues in a dynamic, fastpaced environment. Internal/External contacts: • All Departments within the business as well as overall cross section of employees within the company. • Recruiting and Training agencies, suppliers, business partners, group HR, prospective candidates. Key Performance Indicators: • Ensuring all HR Programs, policies, processes and practices are properly documented, current and support the achievement of company’s objectives. • Driving employee satisfaction upwards & establishing Digicel as a top employer to work for • Ensuring consistent compliance to all HR policies and practices • Operating in an objective and transparent manner, sets high work standards and establish clear direction to ensure subordinates HR targets and objectives are achieved on a timely basis. • Ensuring development and welfare of employees is timely and adequately addressed. Only Belongers need apply – Salary Based on Experience Interested applicants should forward their resume to hrtci@digicelgroup. com Deadline for submission is 29th December 2014
40
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Momentous Ltd. Is seeking qualified individuals to fill a number of openings. Only candidates who meet the minimum qualifications and requirements will be considered. All candidates must be willing to work unusual hours including weekends and public holidays. All candidates must be non-smokers. Applicants will be required to pass a written skills test. Compensation will be commensurate with experience. Suitably qualified Belongers who possess the qualifications listed are encouraged to apply. All applications accepted at www.momentous.tc.
Assistant Manager – Communications & Sales Experience & Qualifications:
• Ability to communicate, liaise, and negotiate internally and externally using appropriate methods to facilitate the development of profitable business and sustainable relationships • Strong understanding of Microsoft Office applications and ability to troubleshoot/diagnose computer and network issues • Manage and maintain effectiveness of IT • 5+ years project management experience • 5+ years managing and executing marketing plans • 5+ years computer network experience • 5+ years experience in legal contract drafting and negotiation • 5+ years experience in troubleshooting computer hardware/software issues • 10+ years sales experience • 10+ years experience management, training, and recruiting staff according to company policies and employment laws, ensuring relevant HR procedures are followed
Assistant Manager – Product Development & Operations Experience & Qualifications:
Demonstrated experience managing the full product development lifecycle, including product briefing, conceptual crafting, product line development, costing, prototyping, spec development, manufacturing, designing, testing, release ;; Create, execute and track agile project plans, including the User Story/Acceptance Criteria process ;; Plan and manage sprint cycles. Ensure the timely and bug-free delivery of sprints. ;; Build and lead a high performing internal team of development, technical, engineering, and design staff, while also leveraging external industrial designers, product designers, and vendor/factory resources to develop compelling new products ;; Ability to gather and analyze data and trends by extracting data directly from databases using Microsoft SQL ;; Experience in domain name industry including familiarity with launch and life cycle of new gTLDs. ;; 3+ years experience building hi-profile products and demonstrating a minimum of 3 successful product launches ;; 3+ years experience with agile development methods ;; 10+ years experience strategy development and project management ;; University degree from top-tier university
Assistant Manager – Technology Experience & Qualifications:
;; The ability to work in a collaborative and agile environment using an iterative & incremental approach to development ;; Experience with high-traffic, load-balanced, secure and redundant applications ;; The ability to effectively lead & motivate a team ;; 10+ years programming knowledge including .NET, PHP, VBScript, Pascal, & COBOL ;; 10+ years experience with Transact-SQL and Microsoft SQL Server including Query Analyzer, Enterprise Manager or including SQL Server Management Studio ;; 10+ years experience in domain name industry ;; 10+ years experience managing ICANN accredited registrars
Assistant Manager – Development Experience & Qualifications:
• 5+ years programming experience including: C#, SQL Server, Visual Studio 2010, Amazon AWS (RDS, EC2, VPC, Route 53, S3, SES), SVN, HTML, Javascript, jQuery, MySQL, CSS, PHP5, Team City, Java. • 5+ years experience architecting complex applications and services, planning, designing, and implementing new products • Experience in domain name industry • 5+ years experience reviewing and commenting existing use case documents and sequence diagrams • 5+ years reviewing existing application architecture and proposing performance enhancing solutions. • Must be fluent (Written & Oral) in both English and French 10779
Entertainment
December 13 - 19, 2014
Mayweather witnessed murdersuicide of rapper and VH1 star IN a stunning twist to the murder-suicide between a rapper and television dancer inside their Los Angeles apartment on Monday, boxing champ Floyd Mayweather was on FaceTime with Earl Hayes when the rapper went on a rampage, according to a bombshell report. Police swarmed the Palazzo East apartments after a neighbor reported a woman’s screams and a barrage of 10 gunshots, LAPD officials told KTLA. The responding officers discovered the victims, identified as Hayes — an artist on Mayweather’s Money Team record label — and Stephanie Moseley, a dancer who starred in VH1’s drama, “Hit the Floor.” Hayes reportedly called Mayweather, a good friend, upset that his wife had been unfaithful, sources close to the boxer told TMZ. Mayweather pleaded with the rapper when he threatened to kill Moseley. Then Hayes pulled out a gun, shot his wife and killed himself, TMZ reported. “Floyd is in shock and is having extreme difficulty dealing with the fact that he witnessed a horrifying murder/ suicide,” the source told TMZ. The violent and tragic end
Stephanie Moseley, a dancer who starred in the VH1 drama ‘Hit the Floor,’ and rapper Earl Hayes were found dead Monday morning in a Los Angeles apartment complex.
stunned friends. “I’ve had sit-downs with both of them so whatever happened behind those doors we’ll never know,” Burrel L. Wilks, who described himself as a friend and life coach to Hayes, told NBC Los Angeles. “But I heard out of her own mouth, he never raised a hand on her so this is kind of stunning,” Wilks said. Tributes to Moseley flooded in, from rapper Chris Brown to actor Columbus Short.
“RIP baby girl,” Brown wrote on Instagram. “Danced with me on tour and was always the coolest person. My prayers go out to you and HAZE family.” VH1 also issued a statement: “We are incredibly saddened to hear the news of the passing of Stephanie Moseley. VH1 and the entire Hit The Floor family send our thoughts and condolences to her family and friends at this difficult time.” (NYdailynews)
Swedish police shut down Pirate Bay SWEDEN has shut down The Pirate Bay just days after several movies stolen from Sony (SNE) appeared on the file-sharing site. The website -- used by tens of millions to swap movies and music -- was taken offline after a police raid in Stockholm. Paul Pinter, the Swedish police national coordinator for intellectual property enforcement, said “quite a few” servers and computers were confiscated because of suspected copyright infringement. Films leaked from Sony during a recent hacking attack -- including “Fury” and “Annie,” which is scheduled to premiere December 19 -- were among the Top 100 downloaded movies on Pirate Bay. The raid was triggered by a complaint from the Rights Alliance, a Swedish group that fights cybercrime. The complaint -- one of several
Pirate Bay founder Peter Sunde was recently released from prison.
made against the site -- was based on the group’s own independent investigation, said Sara Lindback, a lawyer for the alliance. The Pirate Bay is huge. It had 40 million active users at the time it was shut down this week. “It was the 88th most popular site globally,” Lindback said. Related: Why the Sony hack is one of the worst hacks
ever Sweden’s battle against The Pirate Bay has been going on for years. The site was taken down once before, in 2006, although the shutdown lasted only three days. The website’s founders have argued they are not breaching copyright law, because Pirate Bay users download files from each other via peer-to-peer links, rather than from the site itself.
December 13 - 19, 2014
Entertainment
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
West and Usher to receive 2015 BET honours
Doctors, nurses and other staff who show “courage and mercy” were singled out by the magazine for praise.
2014 Time ‘Person of the Year’ goes to Ebola workers TIME magazine has named Ebola healthcare workers in West Africa its ‘Person of the Year’ for 2014. Doctors, nurses and other staff who show “courage and mercy” were singled out by the magazine for praise. “The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight,” said Time’s editor, Nancy Gibbs. The runner-ups included Ferguson protesters, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba. Nearly 6,331 people have been killed by the Ebola virus, most of them in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. About 349 healthcare workers have died after contracting the disease.
Henry Gray from Doctors without Borders, said: “We are happy for this recognition but will be even happier when the last Ebola treatment centre is closed and the crisis is declared over.” The White House expressed its approval as well. Speaking for President Barack Obama, Press Secretary Josh Earnest said he “could not be prouder of the brave men and women who have committed themselves to this effort in a foreign land”. “But we must not forget that in order to bring this epidemic under control on the front lines, indeed the only way to prevent additional cases here in the United States, we need more of these medical professionals” Mr Earnest continues. Several US aid workers contracted the virus in West Africa and returned to the US for treatment. (BBC)
Reggae star Banton hoping for an early release date GRAMMY winning reggae artiste, Buju Banton, who was convicted on cocaine trafficking charges in 2011, has filed a motion in court in an attempt to secure an earlier release date. The Tampa Bay Tribune reports that Buju,whose given name is Mark Myrie, filed his own motion from prison asking to be released early based on a recent change in federal drug sentencing guidelines. This would mean an earlier release date and deportation to Jamaica. Buju is currently serving a mandatory ten-year sentence for his conviction on a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He is scheduled to be released in 2019. However, the amendments do not apply to those serving minimum mandatory sentences under the law. This would only be possible where the convicts cooperate with investigators or at give a full confession to their crimes.
Buju Banton, who is scheduled to be released in 2019, was convicted on cocaine trafficking charges in 2011.
According to the paper, this is unlikely to happen, as Buju has maintained his innocence since being arrested. Buju was convicted in February 2011, days after he won a Grammy award for his album, “Before the Dawn.” (CMC)
US rapper Kanye West will receive the visionary award at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) honours. The 37-year-old is one of five acts to be honoured for their achievements in art, music, theatre, technology and business at the ceremony. R&B star Usher, whose hits include Yeah and Confessions, will receive the music award for his twodecade career. Phylicia Rashad, best known in the UK as The Cosby Show’s Clair Huxtable, is to receive the theatrical arts award. Her credits on Broadway and in regional theatre include August: Osage County, Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, Medea and Raisin in the Sun, for which she won a Tony Award. Director of the National Museum of African Art, Dr Johnnetta Betsch Cole, will pick up the education award. John W Thompson, who replaced Bill Gates as chairman of Microsoft earlier this year, will be honoured with the technology and business award. West, who among the acts being rumoured as a headliner for next year’s Glastonbury Festival, is one of the most successful rappers of his generation.
Kanye West is one of five African-Americans to receive BET honorary awards next year.
His sonically adventurous, genredefying albums have generated hits like Gold Digger, Stronger and Black Skinhead, while his innovative live performances have incorporated ballet, Margiela masks and striking production design from Britain’s Es Devlin. The performer’s notoriously spiky interviews and awards show interventions have also made headlines around the world. The BET Awards were established
in 2001 to honour African Americans and other minorities working in multiple disciplines. Past honourees include Dr Maya Angelou, who received the literary arts award in 2012 and Whitney Houston, who received the entertainers award in 2010. The 2015 Honours, presented by Wayne Brady, will take place at the Warner Theatre in Washington on 24 January and will be shown on the BET channel on 23 February. (BBC)
Diddy punches Drake ‘three times’ during brawl outside Miami club: sources IN A nightclub brawl early Monday, rap mogul Diddy left a muchyounger Drake seeing stars over Miami Beach, sources told the Daily News. Tension at the swanky LIV nightclub boiled over into fisticuffs between the millionaire entertainers that ended with Drake on the wrong end of a Diddy smackdown. Witnesses said 45-year-old Sean Combs clocked the 28-year-old “Worst Behavior” singer about 4 a.m. outside the Fountainbleau hotel on posh Collins Ave. in a brawl capping an Art Basel Miami bash. “Drake definitely got the s--t kicked out of him,” said Bullet magazine editor Ray LeMoine, who’d been partying at LIV earlier that weekend and got a flurry of texts from friends who’d stayed behind. “I heard they were taking him to the hospital.” Drake left the club after the two scuffled, sources said. “Diddy punched Drake three times,” a witness who was at the club at the time of the fight told The News. Sources confirmed that Diddy and Drake were both staying at the upscale hotel during the weeklong Art Basel festival. Diddy and Drake were among a
Drake, left, and Sean (Diddy) Combs, right, are reportedly at odds after a brawl broke out early Monday over a snide comment by Drake.
bevy of musicians celebrating DJ Khaled’s birthday late Sunday into the early morning hours Monday when the melee broke out. “Diddy put hands on that boy … And he ain’t go 0-100 … That
boy left,” wrote DJ Sam Sneak on Twitter, alongside an emoji of a sleeping face. “Drake at the hospital smh,” he also wrote. “He dislocated his shoulder. Yall pray for Drake.”
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Jamaican Olympian first black woman to win World title JAMAICAN star Alia Atkinson wrote her name in history here Saturday, storming to victory in the 100m breaststroke in World record time at the World Short-course Championships, to become the first black woman to hold a global title. The 25-year-old stunned defending champion and World record holder, Ruta Meilutyte, touching the wall first in a time of one minute, 2.36 seconds ahead of the fast-finishing Lithuanian. Meilutyte was timed at 1:02.46, missing out on becoming the first woman to successfully defend the 100m breaststroke title. Moniek Nijhuis of the Netherlands clocked 1:04.03 to take bronze. Atkinson’s time also shattered the championship record of 1:02.43 set by Meilutyte during Friday’s semifinals. “I couldn’t believe it! It came down to the same thing as the 50 and on the 50 I got out-touched so in my mind I went straight back to that,” said Atkinson, who celebrates her 26th birthday next Thursday. “I just thought ‘oh okay’ and
Jamaican star Alia Atkinson wrote her name in history Saturday, storming to victory in the 100m breaststroke.
looked up at the board and it didn’t really click yet and then it really started to click. It took a while!” Meilutyte looked the favourite to successfully defend her title when she took an early lead with Atkinson in strong pursuit, and was ahead at the half-way point.
However, Atkinson closed quickly off the final turn and just got up in time to beat Meilutyte, to create the upset. Atkinson is a three-time Olympian and was good enough to finish fourth in the 100m breaststroke at London 2012 in a time of 1:06.93. (CMC)
Barbados cricketer feared for his life after being struck on his head OPENING batsman for Barbados Pride Omar Phillips said he feared for his life after he was struck on his head and lost consciousness against Windward Island Volcanoes in the fourth round of the WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL). Phillips was forced to retire hurt for 38 during the first day of the match Friday, after being hit in the head while at the non-strikers end, from a ball powerfully driven by his batting partner Shai Hope. Phillips, who regained consciousness after he was rushed to the Milton Kato Memorial Hospital, in Kingstown, said he kept thinking about Phillip Hughes, the Australia cricketer who died after he was struck by a bouncer last month. “It has been a difficult situation for me in terms of having a seen a cricketer die of a similar injury,” Phillips told ESPNCricnfo. “So that had been kind of bothered me at first.” The ball struck the left handed batsman at the bottom right of the rear of the helmet. The incident occurred just before lunch on the opening day of the match between Windwards and Barbados. Doctors, having carried out tests and scans, declared Phillips was safe and had suffered concussion.
December 13 - 19, 2014
Scotiabank inks multiyear deal with CONCACAF THE Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) on Tuesday announced a wide-ranging agreement with Scotiabank covering several international tournaments. The multi-year agreement makes Scotiabank the first official partner of CONCACAF, and covers a number of tournaments through 2018. They include the region’s most important club competition – the CONCACAF Champions League –now to be known as the Scotiabank Champions League beginning February 2015 with the Championship Round of the ongoing 2014-15 edition. “I am extremely proud to welcome Scotiabank to the CONCACAF football family and commemorate this strategic partnership,” said CONCACAF President Jeffrey Webb. “This agreement exemplifies the growing value of CONCACAF’s properties and demonstrates the trust and confidence in our Confederation.” In addition to title sponsorship of the Champions League, Scotiabank becomes an official sponsor for the CONCACAF Gold Cup – the Confederation’s flagship event for national teams
– for 2015 and 2017. Scotiabank will also support several 2016 Olympic Qualifying events, and men’s and women’s tournaments at the under-20 and under-17 levels, starting with the CONCACAF Men’s Under-20 Championship Jamaica 2015, set to kick off in January. The deal further includes sponsorship for the next two editions of the CFU Caribbean Cup and the UNCAF Central American Cup, as well as upcoming CONCACAF championships in Beach Soccer, Futsal and at the Girls’ and Boys’ under-15 levels. “Scotiabank is proud of our deep roots and strong commitment in the CONCACAF regions – supporting customers, businesses and communities for over 180 years,” said John Doig, Scotiabank’s Chief Marketing Officer. “This partnership is a natural fit for Scotiabank. Football is a passion we share with our customers and we’re excited to support current and future football stars. We are looking forward to celebrating the sportsmanship and teamwork of this beautiful game.” Headquartered in Toronto, Scotiabank has a presence in over 55 countries including Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Asia. (CMC)
Pele won three World Cups with Brazil between 1958 and 1970.
Football legend Pele leaves hospital Omar Phillips was forced to retire hurt after being hit in the head while at the non-strikers end, from a ball powerfully driven by his batting partner Shai Hope.
“I don’t really remember what happened after I got struck. All I remember was waking up at the hospital,” he recalled. “At that time I kept thinking about the whole Phil Hughes stuff. And I was kind of scared because you never know with a head injury how serious it could be.” Five years ago, in a first division match in the domestic league in Barbados, Phillips was hit on the front of the helmet while fielding at short leg after the batsman pulled a short delivery straight into him.
In previous round of the PCL against Guyana, Phillips had his right hand injured trying to fend off a straight hit into his body while fielding at forward shortleg. “It is not the first time I have been struck. It won’t be too hard to come back because I have done that earlier,” he said. “You know the risk you are up against when you take the role to play as a cricketer or even as a sportsman. It is just a matter for me now to get back in the nets and get my mental game right.” (CMC)
FOOTBALL legend Pele joked with reporters Tuesday after he was discharged Tuesday from a Sao Paolo, Brazil, hospital. “I was worried, but I never feared I’d die. Because I am from Tres Coracoes, (“I have three hearts”), it will be difficult for me to die,” the three-time World Cup winner said. “But my doctor warned me that I very nearly lost one of my hearts back there.” Pele, born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, was moved out of intensive care on Sunday, Albert Einstein Hospital said. Pele, 74, had been hospitalised since November 24 and had kidney dialysis for several days.
He said he was surprised by the outpouring of love from his fans worldwide. “I received messages from China, Pakistan, all over Europe,” he said “I didn’t know everyone was paying attention to my situation.” The athletic icon had one kidney removed during his days as a player, his aide, Jose Fornos Rodrigues, said last week. “When I went to play at Cosmos, I wasn’t feeling well, and the doctor told me I was playing for a while with just one kidney. He said I had both inside but only one working. That’s why I had surgery in New York and nobody found out about it,” Pele said Tuesday.
December 13 - 19, 2014
Sports Interational
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Bermuda to pay $77 million Champions League: Roma’s dreams left to host America’s Cup in ruins as Manchester City triumphs BERMUDA wooed America’s Cup organisers with a US$77 million package to host the 2017 regatta. The figures have been revealed in an address to the Bermudian House of Assembly by the tiny island’s Minister for Economic Development, Dr Grant Gibbons. Bermuda is still celebrating beating San Diego for the rights to be the next venue for sport’s oldest trophy, but it won’t take long for the economic realities to become apparent for the 65,000 residents of the British territory in the north Atlantic. The key figures revealed by Gibbons include: - US$15m event fee to the America’s Cup Events Authority - US$25m underwrite to cover any sponsorship shortfall by ACEA. - US$14m for site preparation and infrastructure for docks and America’s Cup village - US$11m operation expenses for the America’s Cup village. - US$12m to cover transport costs, security, emergency services, insurances and legal bills. Spinning the good side of the equation, Gibbons forecasted that the island could gain “approximately US$250m [NZ$321m] from hosting the event” while US$14m (NZ$18m) was predicted to come in via taxes and duties. Gibbons said the Bermuda forecasts were based on “on available economic impact studies” of former host venues, including San Francisco, Valencia (Spain), and Auckland. Sir Russell Coutts, the New Zealand CEO of cup holders Oracle Team USA, was heavily involved in the process and made it clear that Bermuda had won the hosting
rights from San Diego for an ability to deliver “two key criteria” - a centralised base to house all of the competing teams and its favourable time zone which worked best for TV coverage that subsequently satisfied the needs of the event’s and teams’ sponsors. Working with an open canvas, Bermuda has promised an extensive Cup village that, most importantly, could have all the team bases in the one location with strong interaction for fans. “That would have been very, very difficult in San Diego,” Coutts told yachting website sailingscuttlebutt. com as he discussed the decision to go with Bermuda. “It’s just that they [San Diego] didn’t have an open space which could effectively house even six AC62 teams together. But I should add, that’s quite a difficult criteria for most of venues to achieve.” That was something San Francisco never achieved with teams scattered around the large bay at various locations. Coutts defended the decision to take the cup to a neutral venue and believed that the regatta was moving with the times. It was no longer a case of “we’re just going to host it in front of our own club” and Oracle’s club Golden Gate Yacht Club in San Francisco were aware of that. “We could have looked at it very narrowly, but this is an international event. It’s got international teams, and those teams have sponsors, and the broadcasters are an important part of that sponsorship. So we looked at some of those things and weighted them very, very highly,” Coutts said.
MANCHESTER City booked its place in the last-16 of the Champions League following a 2-0 victory over Roma on Wednesday. Samir Nasri’s stunning 60th minute strike and Pablo Zabaleta’s late effort gave City all three points and secured second place in Group E behind Bayern Munich. Roma, who hit the post in the second half through Kostas Manolas, also had an effort cleared off the line. But City held out to ensure its place in the knockout phase of the competition. “I think the performance of the team was amazing,” Nasri told Sky Sports. “It was important for me to score, after the surgery I took a while to get to my full level, now I am.” The result was even more of an achievement for City given the absence of three of its star players. Sergio Aguero, who scored a hat-trick in the 3-2 win over Bayern Munich was ruled out with a knee injury, while captain Vincent Kompany failed to shake off a hamstring problem. City was also without its talisman midfielder Yaya Toure, who was suspended after being sent off during the 2-1 defeat by CSKA Moscow. A tense opening hour was finally brought to life by Nasri who produced a wonderful piece of skill to give his side the lead. The Frenchman’s shot from 20-yards flew off the post and into the net to stun the home side. Roma, now requiring two goals to progress, came close with Joe Hart making a number of important saves before Manolas’ header struck the post. The home side continued to push
Samir Nasri’s spectacular 60th minute strike gave City a 1-0 lead following a tight contest in the Italian capital.
forward in search of an equalizer but Mattia Destro’s effort was hacked off the line as City’s nerves began to fray. But with four minutes of normal time remaining, City broke at speed and Nasri played in Zabaleta to fire into the far corner. “We recovered our normal performance, playing good pressing and playing well with the ball,” Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, told Sky Sports. “We are a solid team, we are recovering the ball in the correct way. I had a lot of trust in what we could do. I said I didn’t want to talk about players not in the team. This team deserve a little more credit than the press always give us.” Bayern Munich, which had already won the group, defeated CSKA Moscow 3-0 courtesy of goals from Thomas Muller, Sebastian Rode and Mario Gotze. In Group F, Barcelona sealed top spot with a convincing 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, once of Barcelona, gave the visiting team the
lead before Lionel Messi equalized with his 75th goal in the competition. Neymar and Luis Suarez added further strikes to ensure Barcelona will face a team which finished second in its group when the draw is made on Monday. In the same group, Ajax thrashed Cypriot side Apoel Nicosia 4-0 in Amsterdam. Chelsea rounded off its group stage campaign with a 3-1 win over Sporting Lisbon at Stamford Bridge. Cesc Fabregas, Andre Schurrle and Jon Obi Mikel scored the goals for Chelsea while Schalke’s 1-0 win at Maribor allowed the German club to take second spot in Group G. Elsewhere, Porto and Shakhtar, both already through to the next stage, drew 1-1 while Athletic Bilbao claimed a 2-0 win over Bate Borisov The Belarussian side has the rather dubious honor of having conceded the most goals ever in the history of the competition’s group stage, beating the previous record of 22 held by Dinamo Zagreb and Nordsjaelland. (CNN)
Button secures McLaren seat alongside Alonso JENSON Button is to partner Fernando Alonso at McLaren next season. The team are to announce their driver line-up at a news conference at their factory in Surrey on Thursday. But BBC Sport has learned they have decided to retain Button after weeks of leaning towards Kevin Magnussen. Button, the 34-year-old 2009 world champion, will continue into a 16th season and has his wish granted to test himself against the man widely regarded as the best in F1. McLaren signed Alonso some weeks ago, but had been vacillating over the identity of his team-mate. Chairman Ron Dennis had been keen to retain Magnussen, 22, but the continuing delays over making a decision have tipped the balance back in favour of Button. The two were evenly matched
for pure pace in 2014, with Button out-qualifying the novice 10-9 in 19 races. The Englishman scored more than twice as many points as Magnussen over the season. McLaren had intended to retain Magnussen on the basis that the team’s data had suggested he was fractionally quicker and had youth and promise on his side. But Button’s strong finish to the season, his experience and perhaps unrest at boardroom level over Dennis’s position has influenced the team to go the other way. Magnussen may be retained as reserve driver for 2015. McLaren, as well as representatives of both Button and Magnussen, were unavailable for comment on Wednesday. The farrago over the identity of the team’s second driver has detracted
Jenson Button (right) and Fernando Alonso will partner at McLaren next season.
from the impact of McLaren’s signing of double world champion Alonso. This is quite a coup considering his standing in the sport and the fact
McLaren have succeeded in luring him away from Ferrari. Ferrari had their least successful season for 21 years in 2014 but still finished ahead of McLaren, largely
thanks to the efforts of Alonso. But the Spaniard was convinced by the arrival of new engine partner Honda and a restructuring of the team, including the signing of key personnel, that they were more likely to give him the chance to secure the third title he has been seeking since he won his second in 2006. Alonso is reputed to have signed a deal worth $40m (£25.5m) a year, which would make him the best-paid driver on the grid. His contract is believed to be for two years with the option for one more, but Alonso will almost certainly be able to leave at the end of 2015 if McLaren’s performance is not up to expectations next season. Button will be on a one-year deal at a salary reduced by at least half from the reputed £12m he was earning in 2014. (BBC)
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
Josh for Sports
From TCI Superwoman to Sonia the comet lander
ONE has to be extremely careful about the dreams that one follows after visualising such, for sometimes we wake up and discover that we have trail blazed an almost impossible path for those left behind/ unborn to follow.
SONIA THE TCI COMET Sonia please forgive me, but I don’t think that it has sunk in yet, to you or to this country about the heights and depths of your colossal achievements. Not long ago I spoke about you shooting for the stars, missing the moon and instead ending up on Mars. GRAVE INJUSTICE I could not have made a bigger error in my eight years of journalistic endeavours as a sports columnist. For I never dreamt it possible even
Do not be boggled by these figures, they are realistic facts. Halley’s Comet appears once every 75 years or so. Sonia’s Comet has picked up speed and is now travelling at 100,000 MPH and she is holding firm.
By Joshua Gardiner
in my craziest visionary moment for one to end up landing on a comet— the phenomenal part of it is that it took you some 10 years to reach your point of rendezvous travelling at some thousands of miles per hour at a total distance of some two billion miles. The distance of the Earth from our Sun is 93 million miles (or 92,955,807 miles to be more precise).
EVENTUALITY The 10 years it took Sonia to reach this milestone is the time she sat as a general secretary of the TCIFA. Sonia you cannot remain president of the TCIFA indefinitely. You are pre-destined for greater responsibilities. It must sink in that realistically you have reached your full potential in FIFA. You must fulfill your national obligation by building a cohesive team around you in the TCIFA to the point where they become the most professional
national body in the region and indeed the world per capita. When you die your legacy must live on, pass on your experience and expertise with humility. He/she that shall be the greatest master of all is first and foremost of all the greatest servant. You must instill your over flowing pride, humility, confidence and magnetise personality among your executives and players alike. Your other obligation is to get that state of the art football stadium build here in Provo. Get China to build it for 30 million. Next I personally charge you to use your position to assist us in getting into the IOC in time for the 2016 Games in Brazil. You must help to create a national TCI Sports Hall of Fame. Finally, I’m beseeching you and the TCIFA to assist me in my fight
against the medical dilemmas that confronts myself and other TCI Sports icons who are in need. US TC ISLANDERS LIVE IN A STATE OF BLISSFUL IGNORANCE Do we realise the gem that we have in Super Nova Sonia? I think not! Sonia can command millions of dollars in endorsements and sponsorship for any cause she champions. There is not one person who can walk in the shadow of her accomplishments. Sonia needs to be declared a national treasure of the TCI and be given the highest accolade possible and award by her majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Commemorative coins and stamps should be made in her honour. So long for now, Love Josh
Provo Hockey League:
Owls win twice in latest games THE Saunders and Co. Owls recorded back-to-back victories in the latest fixtures of the Provo Hockey League
when action continued on Saturday last at the Graceway Sports Centre. Playing in the Bantam Division
the Owls got past the Sailrock Lobsters 7-2 with Carson Greatrex scoring all four of his goals in the
100th anniversary of WWI football friendly:
The two teams that competed in the friendly clash.
Grand Turk XI beat Governors Select XI
GRAND Turk XI easily got past the Governors Select XI in a special game arranged last Saturday at the Parade Ground on the capital island. The game which finished 6-1 was played to commemorate the 100th anniversary of World War One’s famous Britain soldiers versus Germany soldiers’ football match at Christmas in 1914.
first period while Joshua Saunders scored twice in the space of 17 seconds. The other Owls’ goal was scored by Jayden Robinson. Vijay Kalliecharan and Zachary Scholar scored for the Lobsters. Greatrex (also an assist) and Saunders were in scoring mode in the other Owls’ game. Against the Coco Bistro Lightning in a 6-2 win, they both scored a pair. The Owls enjoyed a slim 2-1 lead after 1, but they outscored the Lightning 4-1 in the second period. Tristan Grandsire and Dylan Ayer also found the back of the net for the eventual winners. Joe Canham opened the scoring in 8:18 in the first period from a Michael Saunders assist, but the Lightning went scoreless until 11:05 of the second period after Noah Reid found the target.
NOVICE DIVISION In the Novice Division Big Blue Thunder romped to another win after a big first period over the Grace Bay Car Rental Islanders. Again it was the explosive (league scoring leader) Kurt Rivers who led the attack with all six of his goals in the first 12 minutes of play. Nelson Heino had opened the scoring in the first 30 seconds, while he added to his tally in 1:05 before Rivers
scored three consecutive goals. A Jack Blain strike tied the game at 3-3 in the ninth minute, but Rivers scored his other three goals in quick succession to take his team ahead before an eventual 8-5 finish. In the other novice clash, it was a close finish as the Sociabank Sailfish got past the Grace Bay Resorts Conchorers 7-6. The game proved to be a first half clash since the second period was scoreless. The Conchorers took an early 2-0 lead after Max Scholar scored in the first minute of play, but Maddox Jones had an impressive game as he scored six goals for the Sailfish to ensure a win. Scholar finished with four. MIDGET DIVISION In the Midget Division the Twa Marcelin Wolf Pirates defeated the BCQS Flames 12-5 to take an early lead in the division. Darius Coakley scored five goals and made an assist, while Liam Delancy scored twice and made two assists. Gregory Louis (one assist) and Simran Kahlon also finished with two goals apiece. Dockarick Barret made two assists to go with his lone successful strike. For the Flames Sean Karam finished with three goals and Daniel Forbes (also an assist) and Liam Karam ended with one goal each.
December 13 - 19, 2014
Sports National
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
Turbyfield says goodbye to TCI rugby – Aims to make US juniors TCI national rugby player Luis Turbyfield has technically said goodbye to the national team after agreeing to try for a place on the US junior rugby side. Turbyfield, who has made a name for himself at both the junior and senior levels here, was invited to the USA High School All American Rugby Camp this month after an outstanding school performance at the Archbishop Curley high school in Baltimore, Maryland. He will join 99 other top junior players in the US. Turbyfield, who was born in the US, but came to the TCI as a baby, has excelled in numerous sports, including roller hockey and football (where he played at the national level). In fact he moved to Baltimore
on a football scholarship. “The USA National under 19’s coach Salty Thompson invited me to the High School All American Rugby Camp this Christmas, This is where Coach Thompson will find his players for the under 19’s national team.” The 18-year-old called the move bittersweet. If he plays another national game for the TCI he would be capped with us, which would make him ineligible for the US team. “Much of my rugby knowledge and skills came from TCI, it is my home. I loved growing up in Turks and Caicos. I love representing the TCI in the men’s and under 19’s rugby teams. I am truly sad and I have a bittersweet feeling since if I make the USA team I will not be able
to play with the TCI team.” Turbyfield, who was also outstanding in football this season, is confident that he can become one of the 25 players to be selected. “I’ve been working so hard over the past few years and I’m very determined to make it.” The teen, who is already talking to several colleges including three top D1A rugby schools in the US and Hartpury College in England, said he is grateful for all that TCI rugby has done for him. “My dad Harry, and all the senior rugby guys Keith, Lloyd, Fraser, Blair, Simon, Sean, Jessie and many more had the patience to show me the game of rugby. And I’m truly grateful for all the opportunities.”
Luis Turbyfield was one of 100 juniors called to the USA High School All American Rugby Camp.
HAB Group TCICA T20 Cricket:
Old rivals meet in grand finale TWO of the more seasoned cricket teams in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Jaguars (now sponsored by Sunny Foods) and Police will meet in the final of the HAB Group sponsored TCICA T20 cricket competition this Sunday. To pick a favourite would be difficult, more so because both teams have proven and tested players, who are capable on any given day to produce match-winning innings. The two teams have also split their two-match clash in the regular season with Jaguars winning the first and Police coming back strong in the second. In terms of momentum Police have won back-to-back clashes while Jaguars were defeated two weeks ago, nevertheless the Jaguars did finish with the most wins in the regular season and would fancy themselves against a Police side that is without national all-rounder Garvin Bruno and a few others respectable players. SEMI-FINAL WIN Some Police players have stepped up; the perennial Ira Baptiste has led from the front with both the bat and the ball for most of the season. In their semi-final clash against Jam Turk last Saturday, it was Baptiste who top scored. At the Downtown Ballpark (the venue of the competition) Police won the toss and muscled their
Ira Baptiste has been outstanding this season for the Lawmen.
way to 171-9 from their allotted overs with Baptiste leading the attack with 49 (5X4s and 4X6s) and Grantley Williams adding an unbeaten 39. Glen Campbell and Ian Heath led the Jam Turk bowling attack with 3-45 from three overs and 2-22 from three overs respectively. In the chase Jam Turk crumbled for 109 with only Kevin Hinds showing some resistance with 30. Baptiste, Jerry Grant and Hayden Spring finished with two wickets each, but it was leg spinner Vaurice Jervis who snapped up three wickets in two overs for 18 runs. The Lawmen have a fairly
The Sunny Foods Jaguars finished the regular season with the most wins.
respectable bowling attack, but their batting has been somewhat suspect this season. Chabbie Charlery, who scored 72 against the Jaguars and 70 against KB Home, needs to produce another good knock at the top. Damian St. Ange, who is very capable with the bat, also needs to make his presence felt at number 3. If a good foundation is set Baptiste could play his free flowing hardhitting game. JAGUARS’ WIN The Jaguars recorded a nine-wicket win in their semi-final clash on Sunday. They won the toss and restricted KB Home to 88 (former
Barbadian all-rounder Marlon Graham led the attack with 24), with Lowell Anderson and Walter Henry picked up two wickets each. In reply Jaguars knocked off the needed total with nine wickets to spare. Jettu Ganlani and Odain Ewart scored 30 runs each. In their preliminary wins the Jaguars relied heavily on Nuwan Bodhinayake. The left-handed opener scored 39 against KB Home in the opening fixture, 94 against Jam Turk in a 10-wicket win, 59 against Police and 74 against Jam Turk. If he can click and batsmen like Smijo Devassy, Ganglani and Ewart, who all have had starts, can play their
parts, then Jaguars can romp to a big total in the final. Jaguars are not a one-dimensional team. Opening bowler Winick Caleb has blossomed this season. He has captured wickets in almost every game and has proved to be one of the most consistent bowlers in the competition. If Anderson, who picked up 5-18 against Police when they met the first time, can produce another stifling spell and Devassy and Henry can find their mark the bowling should hold. Whatever the outcome, the battle is between two teams that respect each other and who are aware of the other’s potential.
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014
LAND FOR SALE In beautiful Bottle Creek, North Caicos
.46 acres overlooking the creek, spanning King Road and Windsor Road
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December 13 - 19, 2014
TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
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TURKS AND CAICOS WEEKLY NEWS
December 13 - 19, 2014