Issue May 4

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

FRIDAY,

MAY 4, 2012

VOLUME 106, No. 18

www.thevincentian.com

EC$1.50

A seemingly helpless Celeon King being lifted into a vehicle for transport to the MCMHl.

The Lights Pharmacy at Arnos Vale, where the resident pharmacist was harassed.

Citizens apprehend stalker Stories by KENVILLE HORNE

“OH GOD, Gawd, ah going dead!”

These were reportedly the last words uttered by 47 year-old Celeon King of Byera moments before he succumbed to stab wounds at the hands of 27-year- old Rose Hall resident, Kenroy Jack, on Monday 30th .

A well-placed source told THE VINCENTIAN that an argument erupted between King, a mentally ill man who frequented the streets of capital Kingstown, and Jack, a mute, over the remains of some rum that someone had left at one of the vendors’ stalls adjacent to the Leeward bus Kenroy Jack has been charged with the murder of Celeon King.

Randy Kennedy, of Randy’s Supermarket, gets his vehicle ready for transporting the injured Celeon King to the MCMH. terminal.

The argument is said to have escalated into a tussle, resulting in King sustaining multiple stab wounds about his chest.

Continued on Page 3.

AFTER FAILING TO GET ASSISTANCE from the police, it took three ladies to subdue and tie up a man who frequently harassed staff at the Lights Pharmacy in Arnos Vale.

Resident pharmacist Lisa Casino explained to THE VINCENTIAN that in recent times, a man made it a habit of entering the pharmacy and harassing her verbally, “telling me what he wanted to do to me.”

According to Casino, the perpetrator came into the pharmacy last week and, “told me I should have worn a skirt, so he The alleged stalker bound at could give it to me.” the hands and ankles at the Lights Pharmacy at Arnos Continued on Vale.

Page 3.

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2. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Bequia Focus

What a Difference a Sail Makes A record breaking community project on Bequia construction engineer, and Richard who acted as the catalyst putting people together and raising funds.

Support for the project was amazing, and word spread quickly. The community offered materials and resources. Dave and Bev Neely offered to arrange a film night which raised a moral boosting EC$2000. All the staff and the headteacher attended, placing BAECC in the spotlight.

Meanwhile, whilst building materials were being sourced, the BAECC teaching team embarked on a series of training sessions. They gave up their evenings and were even willing to give up their weekends to attend.

Within the month, the frame for the shelter was erected in the playground. The permanent sail was still on its way from America, so we still had no real The original playground shelter, but then Neil Sanders turned up with an old sail, which did the trick. (The material has now IT WAS MY 6TH visit to Bequia. I planned to stay for 5 arrived and Allick's Sail Loft are busy months and I wanted to make myself useful. sewing).

I called at Bequia Anglican Through Action Bequia, the Early Childhood Centre (BAECC) Mary Tidlund Foundation situated behind the main street. offered playground equipment, I approached a member of staff a giant climbing frame and and asked if they would like any slide. It was erected by a team help. Instantly all the staff and of three from Canada, who children welcomed me in and I were in Bequia to install two got to work, playing alongside much larger playgrounds at the children and even training Paget Farm and Union Levels the staff, who had a vision of under the guidance of the being the best Early Childhood Bequia Mission led by Centre in St Vincent and the Sylvester Tannis. Within 2 Grenadines. weeks, the equipment was It was soon obvious that the fixed and ready for use. The centre needed additional outdoor community teamwork was just play equipment. Also the incredible. children could only play outdoors I had sent quite a few for an hour at the mos, as the emails out to potential donors, sun became too strong and there using the publication ‘Bequia was no shelter. Children learn This Week’.

Earl Tash, best when they are outdoors and manager of Garden Care have the space to move, explore The children take responsibility for Plus, promptly replied and and investigate activities. So watering the plants. arrived a week later, with his there was the challenge; how to team of gardeners, planting a generous array of create shelter and improve children’s play plants which instantly transformed the play area. opportunities.

The Easter holidays arrived; there was still a lot of bare concrete on show, and so a group of enthusiastic amateur artists offered their services Contacts and support In the few weeks I had been staying on Bequia, I had met some lovely people, and through my discussions with them, useful contacts began to emerge. The first port of call was Action Bequia. I contacted Richard Roxburgh who was very keen on the idea of supporting an education project. Richard requested a formal proposal. I submitted my proposal to Action Bequia in early February 2012. A few days later, I was informed that the proposal had been successful, supported by a team of volunteers: Michael Connell, architect; Neil Sanders,

New slide and shelter framework.

Learning in the great outdoors.

led by the resident artist Julie Lea. Despite the heat, the budding Picassos created a bright, colorful collage along a boundary wall and transformed an ugly well. My husband and I completed the art work by painting a bicycle track that routes past imaginary mountains and whales, complete with crossings and stop signs.

The children’s joy Monday16th April. The children returned to school. This was the best part, seeing the children’s reaction. Their eyes opened wide as they entered, smiles appeared, their pace slowed as they looked around in amazement. The parents did the same and many commented to the staff how wonderful it all looked and how nice it will be for their children to learn in such an exciting place.

The team This has been an inspiring example of people and organizations coming together to support a project and seeing it through to completion in record time.....just two months from publication of the original proposal. Thanks go to Action Bequia, for providing the capital and expertise; Bequia Mission for donating learning materials; the Mary Tidlund Foundation for the wonderful play equipment; Earl Tash, who has made the playground so green. Allick and Selma for making the covering, and to all the residents and visitors who have given up their time, and money. Special thanks go to Mrs. Madge Hazell, Head teacher, who supported me throughout, and the early year’s practitioners, Teacher Pam, Teacher Tara, Teacher Docey, Brenda and Kayla. I leave Bequia very soon. I will miss it greatly, particularly the children and staff, However, the team leader has promised to stay in touch and send reports and pictures of how the Centre is progressing.

So, keep up the good work. You deserve to be the best Early Years centre in St Vincent. You can do it.

Kim Young Early Years Education Advisor, England

V News 3 Technica l failure affects Gospel Fest

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 3.

There were no problems for these young performers on the Saturday evening segment of the climax of the 2012 Gospel Fest month-long programme of activities.

THE SVG GOSPEL FEST COMMITTEE has apologized to the many patrons who turned out to the Coca-Cola SVG Gospel Showcase held at the Victoria Park, on Sunday 29th April.

The Committee, in a press statement, said that the poor quality and ‘drop outs’ in the sound at the show were due to electrical problems

experienced at the Park.

This resulted in extensive damage to two amplifiers along with the electronic processor, shutting down.

The show which started at 6.00 pm began experiencing electrical problems from 6.15, at which point numerous attempts were made to contact the electrician who, according to the

rental agreement, should have been on duty at the Park but was not present. Efforts were also made to contact the manager of the facility.

The report further stated that the electrician finally arrived at the park at 10:05 pm; he agreed that there were electrical problems but seemed unsure what to do.

Committee said that the circumstances were However, by that time entirely beyond their control and that of the the quality of the show sound provider NLA had been severely Sounds. The matter has compromised, affecting been reported to the the performances on relevant authorities. stage by local artistes Readers will recall and resulting in the featured artistes aborting that the ‘Steel and Glitter’ show, one of the their performances, the events of Vincy Mas Organizing Committee 2011, was cancelled declared.

The SVG Gospel Fest because of an electrical

Show compromised

problem at Victoria Park.

The National Lotteries Authority gave the assurance at a press conference hosted by the Carnival Development Corporation, that it had taken measures to prevent a re-occurrence of this problem.

The recent experience should be a wake-up call to those concerned with Vincy Mas. (KH)

Man murdered in the city crying, “Help, help!” and when he took closer note of the amount of blood King somehow about King’s body, and managed to run in the the amount of blood left direction of Randy’s both inside and outside Supermarket, Bay of the supermarket, he Street, where he was concluded that King had pursued by Jack. Jack, very little chance of however, was surviving. apprehended by the Kennedy said he tried police before he could get to get someone to to King again.

King actually made it transport King to the hospital, and when that into the supermarket failed, he resorted to seeking help, according using his own vehicle. to Randy Kennedy, With the assistance of proprietor of Randy’s three men, he was able Supermarket. to lift King into the Kennedy told THE VINCENTIAN, “I was in vehicle and sped him off to the Milton Cato the back weighing out Memorial Hospital. cheese, so I didn’t see “When those when he come into the situations take place, I supermarket, but when I saw people looking in the don’t look at the person’s position, I look at the direction of the door, I situation. People might went to find out.”

By this time, King had say, ‘Oh he is a vagrant,’ but we all need Christ,” been ordered or placed outside the supermarket Kennedy told THE VINCENTIAN. by security officers on He revealed that he duty there. did not know the extent of King’s injuries until Kennedy lends a King was placed in the helping hand vehicle.

“The last words I Kennedy explained heard him say were, ‘Oh that when he first saw God, ah going dead’,” King outside the Kennedy recounted. supermarket, he was

Continued from Page 1.

King was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, and while investigations are still ongoing, the Police Public Relations Department has reported that the knife that was used in the killing has been recovered, and Kenroy Jack has been charged with murder.

Right: The fracas in front of Randy’s Supermarket attracted a large number of onlookers.

Citizens apprehend stalker Continued from Page 1.

Casino related that the man returned on Monday 30th , made his way into the dispensary area, which is forbidden to customers, and started masturbating two feet in front of her. Fortunately, a customer came in about that time and was able to assist in getting him out.

“When I called the police, they told me that I had no name and witness, and every time I close my eyes I am seeing the horrific sight,” disclosed Casino.

On probing the culprit’s identity, Casino was able to learn that the man’s name was Dennis and his father’s surname was Delplesche. However when she reported the findings to the police, to her amazement, “they told me I

am assuming,” a distraught Casino said.

On Wednesday May 2, Casino arrived at the pharmacy around 7:15 am and by 7:30 am she heard a loud pounding at the pharmacy’s main entrance. Upon investigation, she saw her stalker.

“I refused to open and he threatened to return,” explained Casino.

She then telephoned the police but no one came.

The stalker returned that same day and resumed his verbal harassment of the woman.

During this time, Casino’s mother and sister arrived and together they were able to bodily subdue the man and proceeded to tie him up.

A call was made to the Calliaqua Police Station, but even after what Casino described as an

inordinately long period of waiting, the police made no appearance.

She then telephoned the media houses.

“The media houses came here and still the police didn’t come. I could have been dead by now,” the female pharmacist advanced.

The police eventually came, hours after, and arrested the culprit.

Casino is perplexed by the reluctance of the police to deal with the matter.

“They are talking about violence and crime against women, when the police are responding so poorly,” she said.

When THE VINCENTIAN contacted the Police Public Relations office on Wednesday afternoon, they were unaware of any report of Lisa Casino’s ordeal.

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4. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Court

Second round for seized money Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS

Attorney Grant Connell chose not to pleasure the FIU with a comment on that Agency’s decision to appeal the Magistrate ruling in the Tex Frederick matter.

THE LEGAl battle continues between Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) Grenville Williams and defence lawyer Grant Connell, in connection with a Court order for EC$200,000 to be returned forthwith to Connell’s client Tex Frederick.

Senior Magistrate Donald Browne had issued the order, March 11, 2012 at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court, after the FIU, during a hearing, failed in its forfeiture claim on

the money.

However, the FIU director told THE VINCENTIAN on Monday that the FIU has filed an appeal against the Senior Magistrate’s decision.

Williams confirmed that the cash is still being held in an interest bearing account, pending the outcome of the appeal. He declined to disclose the grounds of appeal.

When contacted on Wednesday, Connell told THE VINCENTIAN, “Grenville Williams and the FIU’s application is not worthy of a reply.

From now on, I will

No Bruce-Lyle for sentencing hearing SENIOR High Court Judge Frederick Bruce-Lyle will not be presiding over the sentencing hearing involving convicted money launderers Antonio ‘Que Pasa’ Gellizeau and Winston Franklyn Robinson, in the biggest ever money laundering case in the Eastern Caribbean.

Gellizeau, a local businessman, and Robinson, a 69-year-old seaman of Bermuda, are listed for sentencing at the current sitting of the Criminal Assizes.

Justice Bruce-Lyle’s decision is based on the fact that he had presided over a constitutional motion the two defendants had brought prior to the commencement of the matter, challenging the Proceeds of Crime and Money Laundering Prevention Act 2001.

That action was thrown out, and the Eastern Court of Appeal upheld the High Court’s decision.

Justice Bruce-Lyle announced his decision not to preside over the sentencing hearing during the arraignment on April 24.

The men will be sentenced by Justice Wesley James, the other judge presiding over the Criminal Assizes.

On March 9, 2012, Chief Magistrate Sonya Young, sitting at the Serious Offences Court, had convicted the men of two money laundering charges each, stemming from the April 5, 2008 seizure of US$1.73 million, approximately EC$4.6 million, aboard the yacht ‘Jo-Tobin’, in Vincentian waters.

The men were charged separately with bringing the money into the country and concealing the cash, the proceeds of criminal conduct.

Considering the charges to be vey serious, the Chief Magistrate referred sentencing to the High Court.

The men were charged under the Proceeds of Crime and Money Launderering Prevention Act 2001. In the High Court, the offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine.

An application by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) for confiscation of Gellizeau’s assets will form part of the sentencing. The application is in accordance with the Act under which the men were

Justice Bruce-Lyle will not be making sentence in the Eastern Caribbean biggest money laundering case. charged.

No date has yet been set for the sentencing hearing.

Gellizeau and Robinson are represented by local lawyer Stephen Williams and Alberton Richelieu of St. Lucia.

speak with my pen.”

Frederick, 34, of Greiggs, and Barrington Harris, of Bequia, were initially charged with importing into the country, October 8, 2011, in the engines of a speed boat “property to wit $US67,540 amounting to EC$200,000 which in whole or in part directly or indirectly represents another person’s

proceeds of crime”.

They were also charged with concealing the cash. Both charges were dismissed at the Serious Offences Court.

The FIU had made an application for forfeiture of the money which was turned down during a hearing at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.

Murder accused discharged DEVON ASHTON, a Campden Park youth, accused of killing another youngster about four years ago, was on Wednesday discharged at the Serious Offences Court, after Chief Magistrate Sonya Young concluded that a Prima Facie case was not made out for him to answer.

Ashton, 22, was charged with the murder of O’Keefe Lynch, 18, who died from a single bullet to the head, between August 7-8, 2008.

Ashton’s Preliminary Inquiry (PI) had commenced at the Serious Offences Court on February 17, 2012 and continued on April 11. Nine witnesses had testified for the prosecution before an adjournment was granted to locate the key witness for whom a bench warrant was issued.

However, when the matter resumed on Wednesday, the Court heard that the police were unable to locate the key witness, the final witness to be called.

A case could not be made out for Ashton to answer, based on the evidence presented by the other prosecution witnesses.

THE VINCENTIAN understands that Ashton could be re-charged.

Members of the Rapid Response Unit (RRU) had discovered Lynch’s body around 5:45 a.m. August 8, 2008, in the road leading to Joyette’s Garage at Murray’s Road, Kingstown.

Lynch was originally from Lowman’s Leeward, but was living at Murray’s Village with his mother and stepfather, at the time of his death.

Ashton was arrested and charged about three years after Lynch’s body was found.

Lynch’s death was one of eight unsolved homicides recorded in 2008.

Twenty-seven Devon Ashton was found to (27) homicides were have no case to answer, recorded that year. this time around.

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 5.

News

Coast Guard probing wrecked vessel A RELEASE, dated Wednesday 2nd May, from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Coast Guard Service informs that that same agency is presently conducting investigations into the discovery of a sailing vessel on the beach next to Diamond River.

The discovery of the vessel was made sometime last week.

The vessel’s presence on Vincentian soil was made know to the Coast Guard via a telephone call on Thursday 26th April. The call came from a resident of North Union.

NDP leadership briefed on OECS matter THE LEADERSHIP of the New Democratic Party (NDP), which forms an opposition in the House of Assembly here, has been update on developments related to the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States Economic Union, which came into effect in January 2011.

The update was led by H. E. Ellsworth I. A. John, the Director of the Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU) in the Office of the Prime Minister, and was conducted on April 28.

Among the issues discussed was the inaugural session of the OECS Assembly which takes place on June 15, 2012 in Antigua and Barbuda. In keeping with Article 10 of the Revised Treaty of Basseterre, an OECS Assembly must be established to act as a filter for the passage of legislation at the regional level that would be binding on all the member states of the OECS. The OECS Assembly is comprised of five elected parliamentarians from each of the member states, with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition being two of the members from each country.

Leader of the Oppostion Arnhim Eustace and of Opposition Member of Parliament for the Northern Grenadines Honourable Godwin Friday are scheduled to travel to St. Lucia for a meeting on Friday May 4th of opposition members on the Assembly with the Chairman of the OECS, Dr the Honourable Kenny Anthony, to discuss logistics for the inaugural session.

The NDP leadership was also brief on the progress regarding free movement of persons within the OECS, free circulation of goods, the new governance structure enabled by the establishment of the OECS Commission and the expectations regarding enhanced private sector activities.

As of August 1, 2011, all citizens can move across the OECS with a national ID, drivers licence or a passport, and must be granted unlimited stay and cannot be discriminated against for work opportunities. All of the member states except Antigua and Barbuda now have in place the administrative and legislative arrangements for implementation of free movement. Antigua and Barbuda is expected to complete their legislative arrangement in the next two months.

The free circulation of goods comes into effect in June 2013.

This is the second briefing on the OECS for the opposition that has been organized by RIDU.

The vessel, the ‘Okoume’ is twenty-one feet in length, twelve feet wide. It is red in colour with yellow and white strips on both sides, and has the number 405 written on its bows.

There are no signs of a sail or keel on the vessel at it lies at North Union.

Initial investigation by the Coast Guard reveals that S/V Okoume was captained and crewed by Mathieu Claveau of France who was taking part in the Mini Transat (Trans-Atlantic) Race from France to Brazil.

The Transat Race started in France on September 25th with

The Okoume as it sits at North Union, showing damage on the starboard side, caused by an unidentified floating object. seventy-nine yachts destined for Brazil, with a distance of 1,100 nautical miles to be covered.

On 23rd October 2011, Captain Claveau is reported to have communicated that his vessel, Okoume, had collided with an unidentified floating object (UFO) which severely damaged the vessel’s hull, and he was forced to activate his emergency plan and abandon his vessel.

Claveau was rescued by a passing Cargo Ship

The route taken by vessels in the Transat Race (1,100 nautical miles). The Okoume never made it to the end. and Okoume sank, but remains submerged until it found itself on the beach in North Union.

No claim, according to

THE VINCENTIAN’S investigation, has been made on the remains of the vessel.

Hospital gets centrifuges

by SHERON GARRAWAY THE STAFF at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital is working with a bit more efficiency, thanks to a donation of two refrigeration centrifuges by the SVG Helping Hands Inc. Receiving the equipment on April 25, 2012 was Consultant Pathologist Dr Ronald Child, who noted that the donations would have cost the government at least US$40,000, and commended the organization for giving back.

Dr Child noted that last year the main medical facility was broken into and had a smaller centrifuge stolen. He said that these new centrifuges are necessary as they are utilized in making diagnoses of patients, particularly in the preparation of samples for blood.

With gratitude he stated, “I know that the SVG Helping Hands went through a great deal to source, ship and transport these equipment and we, the L-R: Consultant Pathologist Dr Ronald Child hospital staff, will be able to operate their duties receives centrifuges from SVG Helping Hands more effectively because of the generosity of SVG Sheron-France Charles.

Helping Hands Inc.” Meanwhile, Sheron France-Charles, focal point person for the California based SVG Helping Hands Inc., said that the organization was formed by three Vincentian cousins Susan Child-Ellis, Sally Charleston-Regisford and Natasha BullockOdero, who find out the needs of various institutions and fulfill their wish list.

France-Charles further stated that she is elated to be representing the organization which has been quietly doing its part to improve the lives of Vincentians for the three years it has been in existence.

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6. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Economy

‘Get out in the field,’ urges Caesar role to play in the development of this small island state,” he SABOTO CAESAR, this asserted. country’s recently Pointing to the appointed Agriculture, technical staff, Caesar Rural Transformation, urged them to work Forestry, Fisheries and closer with the persons Industry Minister, is urging with whom they were persons working in his attached.

Ministry to adopt a “We have to get out in practical approach to their the fields,” Caesar jobs. stated, with reference to He was speaking at a both technical staff in ceremony to mark the the Fisheries start of a month-long Department and to series of activities Agricultural Extension leading up to Officers generally.

Fisherman’s Day, Monday May 28, Change must come traditionally known as Whit Monday.

Caesar outlined measures to enhance the Appeal to technical trade, including plans to staff expand the fleet fishing here.

Caesar expressed the He pointed to the need need for greater to make use of available productivity nationwide, technology so as to and stressed the need for reduce fishers’ time at partnership in order to sea, maximize resources ensure that the nation and increase the catch. improve and move He urged fishers to meet forward. market standards and While admitting that add value to their the number of persons produce to increase involved in the fishing income generation. industry here is small, Improvements to Caesar is in no doubt as navigational aids are to the importance of expected to add to new persons in the fishing catching opportunities sector, to the nation’s for fishers, but he also economy. urged involvement in “You have a critical aqua-culture practices as

by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY

Fisherman Day activities will culminate again, on Whit Monday. part of the expansion drive.

Caesar, alert to the potential impact of the Argyle International Airport, alluded to the new markets that could open with improved air services, but cautioned about the need to ensure a quality produce.

A more conscious effort aimed at adopting a business-orientation to

their undertaking was also advised by the Minister, and he pointed to the Centre for Enterprise Development as an agent of collaboration in encouraging this change.

Minister Caesar also highlighted the issue of the Red Lion Fish in regional waters. He endorsed efforts to deal with the issue, noting

that. while public education is an integral part of the campaign, research and data collection will also be part of the drive on the Red Lion Fish.

Saboto Caesar, Minister with responsibility for Fisheries, wants to see more activity by technical staff.

Banana farmers awaiting results

by KENVILLE HORNE BANANA farmers are anxiously awaiting quality scores on their recent shipments to the UK. This follows the completion of the three trial shipments during which this country’s banana farmers exported 1935 boxes in the first shipment, 855 in the second and 1845 in the third, for a total of 4635 boxes.

And while farmers await the ruling as per the quality of their bananas, Minister of Agriculture, Saboto Caesar, assured that ‘operation cutback’, a clearing of banana fields following the Black Sigatoka attack, will continue into completion within the next three weeks.

Minister Caesar

This field of bananas was re-planted recently, and represents Vincentian farmers’ intention to remain active in the cultivation of bananas. appealed to the banana farmers to continue to work with all the other stakeholders in the industry, and requested “farmers who would have received significant rejects not to be discouraged.”

More assistance And in a related matter, on Wednesday 2nd May, Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar received a cheque in an amount of EC$98,200 from NEMO’s Deputy Director, Michele Forbes.

The funds came from CEDEMA, the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, as assistance for farmers whose livelihoods were severely affected by the ravishes of Hurricane Tomas in 2010.

The funds are expected to be used for the purchasing and

Minister of Agriculture Saboto Caesar (left) seen here during a visit to farmers in the Montreal area, has promised a ’new’ National Agricultural Plan. distribution of fertilizers to farmers.

This is the second grant received from CEDEMA, the first being an amount of EC$67,922 made available in 2011, and which was used to purchase seeds and fertilizers as income support for affected

farmers.

The Minister of Agriculture announced last week that his ministry is working on a National Fertilizer Plan, and promised a comprehensive National Agriculture Plan by August 2012.

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 7.

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8. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Views The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Managing Editor: Desiree Richards Editor: Cyprian Neehall Telephone: 784-456-1123 Fax: 784-451-2129 Website: www.thevincentian.com Email: vinpub@yahoo.com Mailing Address: The Vincentian Publishing Co. Ltd., P.O. Box 592, Kingstown, St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Editorial

May Day blues WITH THE MORE THAN SUBDUED passing of another May Day, one wonders whether a belated salute to the workers of this country is even worth the paper on which it might be written.

Since that first day 126 years ago when workers in Chicago led the struggle that led to the ‘celebration’ of May Day, the struggle has continued for humane working hours, improved wages and conditions of work, and the right to associate and unionise.

As we situate all of that in our local milieu, we have to admit, even as we make feeble attempts to mark the Day, that we are confronted with threats of retrenchment (stevedores), rising unemployment figures (Ju-c workers still on the bread line) , increasing prices for goods (food items and oil) and services (public utilities, health) and rewarded, if that is the word, with frozen wages and no real attempt to address the need for cost of living comfort measures.

Gone are the calls from Trade Unions here for any kind of system change to address the ‘stuck-in-mud’ reality in which workers here find themselves. Far less, no Trade Union has been ‘brave’ enough to call for or lead a campaign for a political (the broadest sense) alternative. Maybe this is so because they discern the prevailing situation to be one in which the current dispensation has responded adequately and fairly to workers’ need.

School may be still out, but there is a strong opinion that Trade Unions here have reneged on their purpose, have no regard for their genesis, and have therefore, shied away from embracing the struggle for meaningful political change as a legitimate demand on their part. Trade Unions, some say, have become apolitical, some say accommodating to the point of inertia.

Long gone from our Trade Union activity is its role as an independent political platform of working people and the poor. It appears that the Trade Unions have left the working people and the poor to accept whatever is tossed at them in the name of maintaining calm and tranquillity, to facilitate investment that would lead to increased production and impact the GNP positively.

Let’s wait and see, eh?

This is not a call to arms, but working people should realise that we have a patriotic duty and legitimate right to demand better and to drive away any bad government or political entity, and replace such with a government and system that would be committed to the real socio-economic transformation of our lives, and the use of collective wealth for the common good and not to feed the greed of a few.

The question, in the shadow of another May Day, is whether the workers of this country can make their legitimate demands for a fairer share of the collective wealth through existing Trade Unions. Can the existing Trade Union order advance without fear or favor the rights of workers to benefit from the collective wealth?

And while we are at it, can we expect the existing order of Trade Unions to safeguard the working people against policies of economic reform and concessions that are aimed at ravaging, not increasing, the common wealth?

Workers need to wake up to the realization that it is what happens in the economy that determines how governance is conducted — who benefits and at whose expense.

If Vincentian workers are to meaningfully fight against that which denies them their legitimate right to a share of the common good, if they are to beat back whatever corruption or corrupted attitudes that have festered an acquiescing to the status quo that continues to keep them in servitude, they have to organize to rid themselves of the representation that is partly responsible for their current plight.

The country is hard. Those who have found themselves mired in a certain political comfort zone will deny that is so; but the working people have never been known to lie about their daily existence.

Working people here, therefore, have to assume their right to struggle and demand that their representatives advance their legitimate demands; if this is not forthcoming, then the time is right, maybe, for a whole new dispensation that speaks for and on behalf of workers in this country.

To speak of the need to increase productivity without regard for conditions and the right to basic amenities, is to speak of turning straw into gold, and we have not yet learned how to do that.

Peace in the valley: Storm in a teacup Mike De Freitas and Anesia Baptiste MICHAEL DE FREITAS has given up the ghost after a battle for life that lasted some six painful years.

As a boy living opposite the Kingstown Cemetery at Rose Place, I became acquainted with Mikey and siblings who came from Park Hill to pitch camp at Lower Edinboro, to attend Government Secondary Schools in Kingstown in the late 1940s.

I remember well that they used to walk from B.G.S to Edinboro and back during the one hour and fifteen minutes allowed for lunch break. I laughingly put down that dutiful hustling as responsible for Mikey’s choice later in life of buying, selling, and renting cars which swelled to include General Insurance.

In fact, Mikey’s background was from a peasant farming community, Roman Catholic persuasion, Portuguese descent, all conspired to ensure two things: that he entered private industry , even without the advice of Jerry George fifty years later, and that he supported the Labour Party which evolved to form part of our two-party system.

You could not want for a more gregarious, pleasant personality, who dedicated himself to his growing business, even while making friends and influencing people by the droves. He was known to be generous and charitable, with his heart in the right place.

During the 1970s, he switched his political allegiance from the Labour Party to the N.D.P, having with his brother Joseph been impressed by “Son” Mitchell who had been their Grammar School mate way back when.

During the N.D.P years of Governance, 1984 to 2001, Mikey played a prominent role in several government bodies, especially the P.S.C of which I had been chairman. See me and come live with me are supposed to represent two entirely different experiences.

Instead, working with Mikey in the Commission, I found him to be truly constructive always, fair and honest in all our deliberation and not once suffering or discriminating for or against person on the grounds of party preferment.

However, in the election campaigns of 1998 and 2001, the U.L.P had trained many of its guns at the P.S.C as the institution which waged a holy war against its workers, and were generally believed by indoctrinated and gullible U.L.P crowds.

As chairman, I had made the public promise to resign if the U.L.P had won the 2001 election, which they did, handsomely, and I kept my promise, which had been graciously accepted by Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, although our Commission had had another year and nine months to run under the constitution of which it is a creature.

Members of the stature of Michael De Freitas and Erica Mc Intosh volunteered to resign in solidarity with me. Daphne Frederick, another stalwart, had asked not to be considered for re-appointment, in anticipation of the coming floods.

Mysteriously, Mikey’s businesses went into rapid decline and were rescued by shrewd moves in which Mikey was the loser. Amid much family strain, Mikey’s health also took a

nose-dive, never to recover. As somebody once said “when troubles come, they come not in single spies, but in battalions”.

Mikey is now at peace.

I give the following account both as an after-thought and as a sting in the tail. Around mid-1985, “Son” Mitchell had asked me to guess who Mikey had suggested to him to recommend for the Governor-Generalship: Milton Cato, as it would be a great way to bring the two major parties together! We both laughed at the idea, at the time!

My heart goes out to Mikey’s bereaved wife and children, especially his last daughter.

The first “storm in a teacup” has already settled down. Or has it! I will direct my question to Jomo as to when the legal team of which he had been named as prospective member, would assemble in the U.S to straighten out things.

The more painful tragi-comedy of Anesia’s shortened trip to her political kingdom, has already run its “nine days wonder”, and regretfully we speak of her now in the past tense.

The U.L.P is making a meal of Anesia’s replacement, as if it is any business of theirs.

An elected member of the opposition in our House is treated like dirt by the Speaker. As a collective, they are put on show to fulfil the requirements of a two-party democracy, and are seen but not effectively heard.

For over ten years, the N.D.P has not been able to get a debate going on the N.D.P Redemption Charter. So why the fuss on the part of the one- seat majority House to see that the vacancy in the Opposition Senate is filled promptly? We await word for over a year as to whether or not the Speaker had been properly elected in 2010.

Big men enjoy an empty guessing game. I like in particular Selwyn Ryan’s “take” on the matter. It shows great imaginativeness. Firstly, the Major and not Eustace will be taking the N.D.P. into the next elections. Dr. Lewis will at last be appointed a Senator and the other Senator will be Maia Eustace to compensate Arnhim for the loss of the top Job! Somebody or the other, in order to keep the pot boiling, declared that Arnhim is going to ask Louise Mitchell-Joseph to fill in for Sir James!

Other names are bandied about just for the kicks-like Ernesto Cooke, Bert Francois and Frank Da Silva.

The greatest talk, however, swirls about the personality of Linton Lewis. He has attracted the full-throated support of media host Kingsley De Freitas.

But the Senatorship is not just a matter of credentials, it should be anyone who is likely to help the party to win in this case, not necessarily someone who is said to have his seat sewn up already as Kingsley presumes and so talks of “enhancement”.

By the same token, few self-respecting politicians will lose elections on three occasions on the trot, indicate that he wishes the leader’s job, and still look forward to that leader pulling his chestnuts out of the fire by nominating him a Senator.

Still on balance, and considering all sides of the question, Dr. Linton Lewis has my support which carries no weight, on either side of the matter. The Leader, Arnhim Eustace, will perform dutifully as expected, always.

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Supporting Mr. Eustace I WAS REALLY annoyed by the levels to which the ULP has gone to ridicule the NDP Leader, and the NDP as a whole, for the decision taken to dismiss Mrs. Anesia Baptiste as a Senator.

Credit must be given to be Mr. Eustace for the courage to make the decision to dismiss Mrs. Baptiste. He could have easily left the lady in the position of that high office of Senator, where she would have continued to give Dr.

Gonsalves and his bunch a run for their money.

Granted, the lady made a mistake here and there; but generally speaking, whenever she rose to speak in the House of Assembly, persons could expect something from her that made the government uneasy. She no doubt was one for the future; one that would have been a thorn in the side of Dr. Gonsalves, in particular.

Yet, with all that, Mr. Eustace chose to take the

highest form of discipline for her infraction and dismiss her as a senator.

Tell me: How often has Dr. Ralph Gonsalves found it fit to discipline, far less fire some of his Ministers for their mistakes? Instead of taking the honurable step of removing some of them, he apologies for them by blaming their mistakes and incompetence on the poor Public Servants.

Has any one of the ULP Ministers been

reprimanded for any wrong that they have done? I say no. Mr. Selmon Walters is a fine example. He castigates a police office in public, tantamount to breaking the law, but he is now our Consul General in New York. Is that a promotion? If I knew it was so easy to get by in this ULP administration, I might have joined in and taken advantage of the right to do wrong.

Mr. Eustace, you have done the right thing.

People will see you for the strong leader you are.

George

Thoughts on constitution reform IT IS LUDICROUS that any element of a constitution which will clearly impact on the lives and welfare of significant numbers of people in the society should be insulated from the scrutiny of the court.

This could represent an aperture through which dictatorship could easily crawl to the very top, from where it could effectively suppress and neutralize all challengers. In a democracy, this would be an aberration, and has the potential to cause civil strife in our land.

Enough of the blood of the people has been shed over the last several centuries. We here in St. Vincent today must guard against the adopting of systems which have the potential to leave our grand children in a bloody mess.

It is irrefutable that, despite the perceived short comings of the “handed down” constitution under which we now govern ourselves for over one third of a century, it has never brought us to the threshold of civil war. The closest we came to that was in the year 2000, and that threat was prompted by the arrogance on one side and the lust for power on the other.

While the citizens are being asked to consider proposals for a new constitution, it would be unrealistic to ask them to ignore the orientation, the sincerity, the consistency and the credibility of the person putting forward those proposals.

Our experiences over the last thirty-three years, with particular emphasis on those elements and

approaches which have caused us significant agony, should inform the putting together of the new constitution.

For example, the Ottley Hall Marina project had been a significant drain on our resources, and we are still in the process of addressing that.

Similarly, the Argyle International Airport project threatens to multiply the Ottley Hall agonies by a hundred, and has the potential to be a heavy burden for the next sixty to seventy years.

We must make the next steps with our eyes and minds wide open.

LeRoy Providence

Stray dogs, a concern to the Ministry I SUPPOSE when the Man-About-Town asked the question about whether or not we have a Dangerous Dogs Act here, he was motivated by the letters to the Editor about those pit bulls. That is basis for asking the question, but I want to broaden the issue somewhat.

Sometime ago, the Minister of Agriculture said that the issue of Stray Dogs was coming in for attention by his ministry. He was reported as saying that his ministry was working with the Attorney General towards drafting and introducing legislation to deal with the matter.

That is good to hear because, as much as people prefer to stay away from the beaches and don’t take walks anymore because they are afraid they might encounter some pit bull

or some other dangerous breed of dog, the livestoack farmers and even persons who keep animals for their own use, have been suffering at the teeth of stray dogs.

The interesting thing is that these dogs must have come from some other dog(s)… somebody must have owned those stray dogs or the parents of those stray dogs. But when complaints are made about these dogs, the owners just disappear from the scene.

Kill one of them, and owners come from all over… they want compensation for their dog, but no compensation for the framers who lost his goat and sheep.

I appeal to the Minister of Agriculture and the Attorney General to hurry up with this legislation. The

office of the Attorney General has been known to work overnight and overtime when there is need, or when certain people see the need.

This is an urgent matter, and a matter of bread and butter for those who have suffered losses, so all must get off of their…, and get cracking fast.

A farmer Editor’s note: The issue of dogs — dangerous and stray dogs — certainly seems to be occupying the concern of citizens here. THE VINCENTIAN is pleased to play its part in highlighting this issue, and hopes that the authorities are taking note.

* What is the status regarding the case between Anesia Baptiste and the Government? * Who is paying the workers at Winfarm, the company responsible for marketing our bananas? * How many of the fishing complexes in SVG are really in operation? * Was an appraisal of Prison Officers done before they were assigned to the new prison at Belle Isle? * Are investors in the defunct Millennium Bank now saying that the government of SVG is to blame for them losing their investment? * That if the government had revoked the bank’s licence since 2004 when it was recommended, the whole ponzi scheme would not have been allowed to blow out of proportion?

Give Dr. Child her due honour THANKS to Tipi Punnett for the invitation to the honouring of Dr. Vivian Usborne Child on April 11, 2012, by the St. Vincent National Trust.

It was a lovely occasion, and it was a pleasure to see Dr. Child so vibrant and effusive.

Congratulations to the SVG National Trust, to the Punnett family and the others for putting it all together so successfully.

It is wonderful to demonstrate public appreciation in this manner.

Dr. Vivian Usborne Child’s contributions to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in different spheres were highlighted. She served as a medical doctor, artist, journalist, and author.

It must also be mentioned that she also took the time to visit and play with the children at the Calliaqua Day Care Centre, then called the “Creche”, many years ago. Those children are now all grown.

For many years, consistently, in the newspaper, Dr. Child advocated the need for a safe way to get across the rocks at Villa Beach, walking in the direction from the beach to the Aquatic Club. Now that the walkway has been built and it is such an added benefit to those who use it, and to the area, it may be fitting to name the walkway the ‘Dr. Vivian Usborne Child Walkway’ in her honour.

Cheryl Phills King

Anesia has something to offer WHAT HAS Mr. Arnhim Eustace done? Answer: He has shot himself in the foot.

Now, I am not one for castigating another man’s religion, but let’s admit the truth: We have been attacking one another’s religion from time immemorial. Not least among those that have suffered attacks left, right and centre is the Roman Catholic Church. So, how come now if someone chooses to attack that church, or so the reports say, that that person has

committed a sin?

Sure, Mrs. Anesis Baptiste should be disciplined for not wanting to follow the rulings of the party; but couldn’t there have been some intervention on the part of more experienced NDP members in this regard? The NDP and Mr. Eustace did not think about the future when the action was taken.

The haste with which this action was taken is what bothers me as a sympathizer of the NDP. Is it that some persons in the

NDP felt threatened by the young leader? Did she make her intentions too clear too soon?

I for one will miss her in Parliament and on the rostrum.

A word of advice to her: Tone down on this Thusian thing. You have something to offer this country, and it will be a pity that you don’t accept this opportunity because you feel that you owe a stronger allegiance to your church.

Henry, W

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The operations of modern political parties The issue THE CURRENT debate surrounding Anesia Baptiste and the opposition New Democratic Party, brings into sharp focus the operations of modern political parties. Enough has been said about the “bacchanal” created by the methods used by Arnhim Eustace and his leadership to deal with this issue. It is this “bacchanal” that is the point of departure for a discussion on this topic.

It is generally felt that political parties are important institutions for the full and proper functioning of a democratic state. While one party is elected to office to govern a country, the other political party or parties are waiting in the wings, as alternatives to the ruling regime.

They must therefore, demonstrate in a tangible way that they are equipped to govern when the opportunity presents itself. Many of the activities of modern opposition political parties are geared towards preparing for an eventual period of governance. These include participation in national debates on critical issues, shadowing the ministries of the government in power, and generally providing avenues for the expression and manifestation of political pluralism in the country.

These are not easy objectives, as the NDP is now discovering. It calls for some serious planning by persons who understand the political process, have a penchant for organizational dynamics, share a common goal of love for poor people, with a leadership that understands, and has a special desire for the forward movement of the country.

For this to happen, political leaders must ensure that there are thinkers in their party who are committed to the continuum of modernization.

Sadly this is one area that is lacking amongst the ranks of the New Democratic Party.

To quote from the ULP manifesto of 2010, “the NDP has wasted its last ten years in opposition. It is bankrupt of ideas; it opposes everything which is progressive; it is disunited; it trades daily in the currency of untruths and insults; it has a leader whom everyone knows is unable to lead especially in these challenging times; it looks forward to the past in the full knowledge that its future is behind, and is yet to purge itself of backward elements… .”

Here is a political party that wants to live in the past with little or no desire to exam the issues critical for the future development of the country.

There is so much developmental activity before our very eyes; the International Airport at Argyle, the Education Revolution, the expansion in the Housing and Tourism sector, the recovery in the Agricultural sector, developments in Health, National Security, Culture, Sports, Youth and Infrastructure.

Yet, as a modern political party, vying to replace the ULP in government, the NDP does not and cannot contribute to the national debate on these issues. Instead, all we have by way of debate from the NDP Important philosophies is a set of lies, half truths, “commess”, “bad boyism” and disrespect for hardThere are certain philosophical working Vincentians. issues that modern political parties Modern political parties do not must adapt to, if they are to be operate like this. There is a growing successful. One critical issue is call worldwide for more debate on stability and the avoidance of developmental issues, and so the NDP confusion and chaos. This calls for must take notice of this. Modern tried and tested procedures and political parties are concerned with a policies that are clear, and provide wider range of issues beyond the justice and fairness for members.

These procedures are contained in the classical socialist and capitalist labels of the left or the right. Issues related constitutions that govern the to ethnicity, religion, sexual identity operations of the political party, and and some class consciousness, must there must be a strict adherence to now occupy the attention of modern these, without fear or favour. political parties. At the same time, In the issue with Anesia Baptiste, they have to demonstrate strong the members of the central executive of the NDP never heard the comments leadership. made by Shefflorn Ballantyne, and there was a reluctance to listen to the The NDP in demise tape. So the policy advocated by Arnhim Eustace was at best, based on The Anesia Baptiste fiasco clearly hearsay and not on any tangible shows that the NDP is in demise. evidence. Modern political parties Many of their leaders and cannot operate in this manner. Where spokespersons have gone silent on the justice is to be administered, there matter, and the party faces a barrage must be a sense of fairness, even of questions from their supporters. when the individual is found guilty.

And there are no answers, since the In the ULP, there is a tried and leaders are clueless as to how to tested procedure for handling matters manage this disaster. like these, with a leadership that will Anesia Baptiste is the beginning of apply a common sense approach that the fragmentation of the New eliminates any confusion and chaos.

Democratic Party, and there’s more to Apart from the constitution, there is a come. After more than three decades code of conduct that governs the a political entity in this country, behavior of members and candidates. as the NDP is a spent force. It has lost its direction, is rudder-less, with some Embrace change of their key members and leaders getting involved in petty squabbles Modern political parties must and in-fighting. Unless there is an understand change and be ready to infusion of new talent, with new embrace it. This means that political ideas, there may not be a political leaders must be current with the force called the NDP, by 2015. Will issues which are being discussed in the society, and be ready to contribute Eustace and his cohorts recognise to the debate by helping to define the this, and can they rise above petty jealousies to embrace change? Only issues, and where possible or time will tell. desirable, provide leadership.

Agriculture! Only an NDP government can bring it back THE MAJOR resource base of our country is its land, which has been traditionally devoted to the cultivation of crop and rearing of livestock for export earnings, local food consumption, job creation and income generation.

The New Democratic Party recognizes the central role of agriculture to the economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and its considerable contribution to the livelihood and well-being of Vincentians throughout successive generations.

Our country is the best disposed group of islands in the Caribbean for agriculture. Its tropical climate, very fertile soils and abundant supplies of clean water, coupled with the skill and will of the people in farming, make it ideal for year-round production of high quality agricultural products. For that reason, our country has been correctly categorized as an agricultural country.

The soils in particular are so productive that the claim is made that ‘if you plant a nail, you’d get a crowbar’.

In earlier times, our country had earned the celebrated status as a place of excellence for sea-island cotton, arrowroot and coconuts, as well as its classic hillside contours and contourfarming techniques for the protection and preservation of the environment.

Agriculture has contributed more to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of this country than it has in any other Caribbean country. The agricultural sector has traditionally bolstered the economy; created jobs and employment opportunities for our people; provided honest incomes and earnings for many in our society; sustained significant levels of foreign exchange earnings for extended periods; and offered a measure of food security for the population. Thus, the sector has created wealth and maintained a high standard of living for the widest cross-section of our people. This has been especially true for our peasants, small farmers, processors, marketers/traffickers, and workers, i.e. our local, or indigenous, private sector.

Despite the importance and vibrancy of the agricultural sector, its dominant position in the life of Vincentians has declined substantially in the past decade, as large numbers of people left the sector/industry. Three main causes have been identified for this decline: Government’s virtual neglect and degradation of the sector; the imposition of ill-advised policies like terminating the banana credit system and failure to incorporate the established banana facilities overseas to expand the national diversification efforts; and the negative impact of a range of external factors such as the high cost of imported inputs, stringent quality standards imposed on our exported products, unstable markets, low prices offered for produce, all of which are essentially beyond the control of our farmers, processors and traders.

The very obvious fact is that many established farmers have been forced out of agriculture, and vast areas of formerly highly productive land are now disbanded and lie idle. Even a cursory examination of our countryside, or rural areas generally, reveals a deteriorating situation. Large sections of areas previously deemed part of the national food-basket are now underutilized, or converted to nonproductive uses. This is serious! Our responsibility is to help rehabilitate the sector.

people, provide employment, income, and sustainable livelihoods, while preserving the environment for present and future generations.

The goal is therefore, to regain the elite status that once characterized Vincentian agriculture. This mission and new policy can be realized by developing appropriate activities, in collaboration with stakeholders, to address the following minimum key objectives: to include our marine resources, rivers and ponds as part of the agricultural sector resource base; to encourage/motivate the widest crosssection of Vincentians, especially the youth, to become involved in agriculture; to support the production, handling and marketing of safe, healthy foods; to ensure the safety of food supplies; to develop sound business systems for agricultural production, processing and marketing; to ensure efficiency and international competitiveness of the sector; to establish linkages between/among agriculture and the other sectors; to promote sustainable rural development and the sustainable use of natural resources for present and future generations; to transform the role, structure and functions of the Ministry of Agriculture to confront the new realities of globalization and modernization of the sector; to endorse agricultural education programmes that will produce entrepreneurs of farmers, processors, traders, technicians and others involved with the sector; to incorporate flexibility within the sector to adapt quickly to changing external Global situations.

A New Democratic Party administration will facilitate and support the private sector to tackle these objectives by instituting relevant actions through the Ministry of Agriculture (Food production, Forestry, Fisheries and Rural Development). As such, the Ministry will be repositioned to meet the challenges of the 21st Century, and promote a vision of food and nutrition security, rural prosperity and improvement in the quality of life and livelihood of all Vincentians.

The vision will be shared, or advanced, through strategic planning meetings, seminars, workshops and field visits, in order to encourage partnership, cooperation and participation with key stakeholders in the private sector, NGOs and civil society. Such contact will inform national priorities and development plans, and determine specific programmes and actions. This approach will accordingly motivate farmers, fishermen, processors, marketers, agribusiness entrepreneurs and technicians, to be more productive and gain confidence in the Ministry as a tool, or facilitating mechanism, to aid their business operations.

New Democratic Party will: Introduce an Agricultural Development Bank; establish a special regime of incentives for new farms; establish a Consumer and Prices Advisory Board, with a mandate to address prices for agricultural supplies as well as matters pertaining to prices and consumerism; establish farmers markets in other areas of St. Vincent and the Grenadines including Sion Hill, Calliaqua, Mission Georgetown, Barrouallie and Campden Park; continue to make agricultural The mission of the New Democratic lands available to farmers through the Party is to arrest the deteriorating situation and revitalize the agricultural Land Reform Programme; designate areas for small ruminants (goats, sheep sector to make it efficient, and pigs) production and some for root technologically prepared and internationally competitive, so that the crops to generate national food security; re-introduce agriculture in primary sector can regain its place of schools and a youth appreciation in prominence as a major contributor to agriculture (YAPA) as a programme for the national economy, and guarantee young farmers. NDP AGAIN. the food and nutrition security of our

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The value of practice “Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

Malcolm Gladwell (1963- ), New York Time bestselling author.

IT MAY MAKE A VERY INTERESTING EXERCISE if we were to pause for a moment and take a slow walk through our kitchens. Look around and identify the many “modern gadgets” that were invented to make our lives easier: the microwave oven, the sandwich maker, the blender, and so on. Now, take a walk over to the kitchen cupboard and peek in to see the many packages of “instant food” that are housed there: the instant cereals, canned beans, and a variety of dry foodstuff. Spin around and pull open the door of the refrigerator. Your eyes can now feast on things such as frozen pizza, microwavable meals and so on. Our two-minute sojourn in the kitchen reminds us that our society has relatively quickly moved in the direction of having food “at the snap of a finger” – almost instantaneously. And this is also true of so many other aspects of our lives. So many persons want the instant gratification ... and find difficulty in waiting. So many persons want to reach to the top ... without taking the necessary incremental steps to get there. So many persons want to become proficient in a field of endeavour (e.g. like music, sports, a hobby, and so on) ... without having to practise.

There is value in practice. And as I key in these five words, I can almost hear a little voice saying, “Jules, you are so right. There is value in practice.” There is yet another little voice emerging from my imaginary gathering. This voice reminds us of a popular saying from our childhood, “Practice makes perfect.” But that last comment stimulates yet another comment from another bystander in our fantasy crowd, “There is no such thing as perfection. Practice does not make perfect. It makes improvement.” The philosophers in our make-believe crowd invite us to understand and appreciate the fact that we must discipline ourselves to practise en route to the successes that we desire in life. This is as true for the athlete who wants to break a record, or the student who desires to obtain outstanding grades. It is as true for the musician who aims to become a maestro or the artisan who wishes to produce that piece of furniture that will take our breath away. But skills like these do not emerge overnight; there is no quick way of performing such outstanding feats; it takes determination, dedication, and practice.

I recently had the distinct pleasure of reading Maxwell Gladwell’s book The Outliers: The Story of Success.

This book, published in 2008, is a New York Times Bestseller. Gladwell advocates that it takes approximately 10,000 hours practice before an individual gets to the stage where s/he arrives at the pinnacle of their skill or profession. Outstanding accomplishments in sport, music, art, and athletics for example, will be largely influenced by the number of hours the individual is prepared to

dedicate to the exercise. He asserts that this is why it is so very important that parents and concerned adults encourage their wards to commence the “training” of their particular area of interest when they are young; it is important to “crank up the hours” very early. The discipline that is developed early in life can make a significant difference in determining the quality of life that individuals experience later in life.

Reflect on the reading habits that persons like Sir Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott developed early in their lives. They were both born in St. Lucia, not much larger than St. Vincent and the Grenadines, but were able to achieve world recognition in economics and literature respectively.

Sir Arthur Lewis received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1979 and Derek Walcott was granted the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1992. These achievements were not achieved overnight. They developed the discipline to pursue their dreams and to practise, practise, practise. Their hearts were filled with passion for their respective fields of endeavour, and propelled them to the pinnacle of success in those disciplines.

We can be encouraged by the words on that great American playwright, Maxwell Anderson (18881959), who wrote the following in the New York Herald Tribune on March 7, 1959: “If you practice an art, be proud of it and make it proud of you.

It may break your heart but it will fill your heart before it breaks it; it will make you a person in your own right.”

Whatever our goals or dreams, we must develop the habit of pursuing them with passion. Whatever our aspirations in life, we must discipline ourselves to exert the effort to practise the skills identified to be the vehicles to get us there. And so, we end our time together by doing a similar exercise to the “kitchen exercise” that we started with. Let us pull back the curtains of our noble dreams and ambitions. There are precious thoughts, brilliant ideas, that we placed in the corner of our minds waiting for a more convenient moment. That moment has arrived; the time is now. Take them up and dust them off. Go the extra mile and determine how regularly you will practise the skills needed to make those dreams real. Don’t be daunted by how elusive the dream may now appear. Take that first step and others will follow — “beginning is half done”. The longest journey begins with a single step. May God give us the courage and the fortitude to take that step now en route to making elusive dreams real; replacing fear (of failure) with faith and embracing the value of practice.

Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to julesferdinand@gmail.com

Donkey say the earth nah level ON APRIL 19, 2012, India test fired a nuclear missile. On April 25, 2012, Pakistan fired a missile in a ‘deadly game’ of anything you can do, I can do it better than you. We better hope those in the nuclear club never get a chance to show who is the toughest, otherwise we may have to say goodbye to earth.

“This launch has really given a message to the entire world, that India has the capability to design, develop, build and manufacture missiles of this class,” said V.K. Saraswat, head of India’s Strategic Defense Agency. With a range of 5,000-plus kilometers, the weapon system can fire nuclear warheads anywhere in Asia and reach targets in parts of Europe.

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh congratulated the scientists who developed the rocket. “I sincerely hope that in years to come our scientists and technologists will contribute a lot more to promoting self-reliance in defense and other walks of national life,” said Singh.

India has a declared policy of ‘No first use’ of nuclear, citing its arsenal as a deterrent.

Pakistan’s missile programme, which is in the hands of the military, is more India-specific. It strives for a capability to threaten as many major Indian cities as possible. Defence experts say that while the exact range of the Pakistani missile has not been revealed, it is capable of hitting targets up to 2,500 to 3,000km (1,550 to 1,850 miles) away - putting archrival India well within reach.

What is significant about the launch by India and Pakistan (both started to test nuclear weapons in 1998) is that both countries are nonsignatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation treaty. But their tests passed without even a yawn from the western leaders and the international press.

Was Iraq not destroyed because President Bush and other Western leaders concluded that the Iraqi government had nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction? Is President Obama, Israel and other leaders of the European Union not crippling Iran with sanctions and preparing to go to war with that country, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, over its alleged plan to build nuclear weapons? Did Iran not say its work is purely peaceful?

Did North Korea just attempt to launch a new missile which they claimed was for peaceful purposes, but the USA and other powerful countries suggested it was for military purposes? Did you notice how the USA was preparing for war and they certainly took the step of shutting off aid?

The hypocrisy around missiles and nuclear weapons is frightening. India and Pakistan have both been allowed into the club of nuclear powers and, at the same time, permitted to not sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is another such nuclear power that has not signed the Treaty.

So, these countries can play nuclear Russian roulette while the United Nations, the USA and the European Union sit back, acting as if everything is normal. This,despite the fact - at least with India - that the

ramifications of their missile launch could heighten tensions with nucleararmed China.

After India launched the missile, China’s state-backed Global Times newspaper responded to the launch by saying India stands “no chance in an overall arms race with China.”

The silence in the West regarding the nuclear programs of Israel, India and Pakistan demonstrates a self serving, but dangerous hypocrisy. All of us need to become alert to the dangers posed by nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately, when countries such as India, Pakistan and Israel get away with either flaunting their nuclear capability or offering implied threats, as does Israel, which refuses to acknowledge its possession of nuclear weapons, there are important ramifications.

The first is that it actually ends up in the interests of non-nuclear powers to secure nuclear weapons. Each time the USA and its allies threaten countries that may or may not possess nuclear weapons or the intent to build them, they actually create an enticing incentive for said countries to create them.

The second ramification is the obvious danger that the weapons will be used. Each time India and Pakistan find themselves on the brink of conflict, the world stops breathing for a moment. A nuclear mistake between these two countries will allow little time to be corrected. The capitals of both countries could find themselves turned to dust in the aftermath of a nuclear exchange. The impact on the rest of the world, of course, is unknowable; though radiation clouds plus further climate change is most likely.

The world population needs to become more conscious of the dangers posed by these weapon systems.

Further, the United States is in no position to suggest that other countries step back from the brink when it is the USA that is capable of wiping out the world several times over. Therefore, the countries with the biggest arsenals must be the first to cut back with the goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons.

If the USA wishes to suggest that nuclear weapons and delivery systems in the hands of the Iranian are unacceptable, why is this not the case with India, which has a far right Hindu political movement that worships nuclear weapons and has been in power, or Pakistan which has a military that is nearly out of control. And what about Israel, the sole nuclear power in the Middle East, with more than one hundred nuclear weapons and which occupies territory not its own?

When the United Nations, The United States and the European Union are selective in which countries and leaders they target, they simply make our planet less safe. Did Donkey not say the earth ain’t level?

Send comments, criticisms & suggestions to wefirst@aol.com

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Celebrating 11th anniversary

with a new jail

unemployment, a high cost of living and high crime in SVG. Gonsalves’ begging bowl has collapsed and caused serious negative growth and fiscal deficit.

The main thing holding back SVG’s economy and preventing prosperity for all Vincentians is the fact AFTER 11 years in office, the main achievement of there were 1116 children — including over 56 per Gonsalves is a jail. What kind of a future has been cent of boys — that failed the CEE. The CEE was so that Gonsalves is not a university graduate in planned for the children of SVG? bad that Gonsalves has refused to publish the 2011 finance and is grossly incompetent as SVG’s Contrast the thinking of Gonsalves and that of CEE results by individual schools. Education for the minister of finance. Having a PM who is severely lacking in intelligence when it comes to economics is the vision of Lee Kuan Yew, the first prime minister poor under Gonsalves’ regime is a catastrophe. a major impediment to SVG’s development. of Singapore, with regard to the challenge of High-tech education is the flag ship Gonsalves is so out of his depth that in 2007, he progress. During the first five years in office, PM of Singapore. Singapore has focused on science, overshot expenditure by $63 million. SVG’s economy Lee Kuan Yew built three universities, reduced the technology and engineering for the engine and its finances are in utter shambles. The economy prison population and closed one jail. During of Singapore’s economy, and that has attracted is getting worse by the day, and poor people are Gonsalves’ eleven years, Gonsalves has not built a massive amounts of direct foreign investment suffering more and more by the day. single university, has overseen an increase in the into Singapore. This economic model has been a The Green economy is the solution for SVG. A prison population and built a jail. tremendous success. The unemployment rate Lee Kuan Yew invested in education to give the in Singapore was reported at 2 per cent in late 2011. Green government will follow a similar path to Singapore and invest heavily in education to give children of Singapore the opportunity of a Notice that Singapore did not focus on tourism the children of SVG the opportunity of prosperity prosperous future and high paid jobs. In Singapore, and the type of useless foreign tourism projects we and high paid jobs. No more jails, but our very own there was a real ‘education revolution’: by 2005, see on Canouan and on the leeward coast of St. forty per cent of the permanent residents Vincent. What benefit are these in educating SVG’s science and technology university, so SVG’s children can get a good education. in Singapore were university graduates. children?

Green economics is prosperity.

In SVG, Gonsalves’ wonderful ‘education Gonsalves uses a policy of begging and borrowing revolution’ has resulted in the worst ever Common as the engine of SVG’s economy. The impact has SVG Green Party Entrance Examination (CEE) in our history in 2011: been very negative and resulted in high www.svggreenparty.org

Frank O. Mason’s 50 years record Cambridge, unleashed a frightful spell of bowling that resulted in what was THIS ARTICLE is partially dedicated not too short of an annihilation of the to F.O. Mason for his heroic exploits Dominican team. They were bowled 50 years ago at the Victoria Park, the out for a paltry 32 runs, with Mason Mecca of sporting rivalries during the starring with bowling figures of 9 for last century.

11, a record that is still unbroken after In 1962, circa May, Frank Mason 50 years. Elliot Cambridge captured led this famous Vincentian cricket the other wicket, that of star batsman team featured here, to an epic victory Irvin Shillingford. against a formidable Dominican team, F.O. Mason on that occasion was which featured outstanding players of exemplary in his leadership. He the calilbre of the Shillingfords, Leroy marshaled his players into a and Irvin, and Clem John. combative unit that would have That game, according to reports, surprised the Dominicans but brought attracted hundreds of cricket fans pride to Vincentians. When discipline from far and near, to support their was most needed, Mason showed that local heroes and to get a glimpse of the he could get that and more out of his redoubtable Dominican outfit. players. This is the hallmark of a good Starring in that game was an leader. eighteen-year-old school boy, Irvin Shillingford, who registered a brilliant The Team century on his debut on Vincentian soil. He executed his trademark Arguably one of the better teams, if square cuts to the delight of the not the best to have emerged in the Vincentian spectators. Dominica early 60s, the players of whom I’ll give chalked up three hundred and plus a brief account impressed enough to runs, then bowled out St. Vincent and earn the status of local cricketing the Grenadines for one hundred and heroes. sixty-eight runs. However, the Garnet Brisbane, as the records Vincentians, while seemingly down, show, was an elegant left-handed were far from dead. number three batsmen who came in It was in Dominica’s second innings handy with some deceptive spinthat a giant in stature and a fast bowling. Manning Jackson was simply bowler of regional reputation decided a gem with both bat and ball. Local that he would lead by example, in cricket enthusiasts of that time were devastating the men from the ‘Land of known to be divided between Brisbane many rivers’. and Jackson with respect to which one Mason, bowling in tandem with his was the better. fast-bowling colleague, Elliot Edgar Cruickshank, affectionately

by PATMOS RICHARDS

known as ‘Cookie’, was a reliable middle order batsman, a useful medium pace bowler and an excellent cover fielder akin to the likes of Clive Lloyd and Augustine Logie.

Then there was Joseph (Back row L-R): F.O. Mason (Captain), Garnet ‘Speedy’ Anthony who Brisbane, Manning Jackson, Celestine Veira, was a fine off-break Edgar Cruickshank, Joseph ‘Speedy’ Anthony, bowler and stable middle Garnet Niles, Elliot Cambridge. (Front row L-R): order batsman. And Arton Clouden, Elliot ‘Muckle’ Bramble, Fred Elliot Cambridge who Trimingham, Marti Clarke, Samuel ‘Sparrow’ with almost equal height Duncan. to Mason, provided no legendary 1962 Vincentian cricket ease with the new ball. team are alive. The hero of that Garnet Niles was known as a unforgettable match, Frank O. Mason ferocious batsman but was nationally acclaimed as SVG’s number one wicket will turn 86 soon. keeper. He was among the line-up for selection on the West Indies team, but Recognizing Mason unfortunately didn’t get the nod of the This writer and many other cricket selectors. and sports enthusiasts are of the view ‘Sparrow’ Duncan and Arton that something, whether it be Victoria Clouden were veritable all-rounders Park or a pavilion, should be renamed who punished bowling attacks with imperious authority. Fred Trimingham in honour of F.O. Mason. His contribution to cricket as well as was a clever off-spinner who could football is renowned, both as player hold his own with the bat. And of and administrator. Our recognition of course, there was the stylish strokethis deserving individual, Frank O. maker Elliot ‘Muckle’ Bramble, the Mason will be another step in our 1962 team’s senior opening batsman. journey to nation- building.

Marti Clarke and Celestine Veira I am happy to conclude by were useful batsman and bowler informing readers that Mr. Mason is respectively, but did not command a happily ensconced with his caring place on this 1962 team. wife, Kathleen ‘KIP’ Mason, at their With the exception of Celestine New Montrose home.

Veira, Joseph Anthony and ‘Muckle’ Bramble, all other members of this

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 13.

Agriculture on the front burner at BishopÊs

by GLORIAH..

The Bishop’s College Kingstown, the only secondary school in the urban area of St. Vincent and the Grenadines which offers Agricultural Science as part of its curriculum, has embarked on a “Vegetable Crops and Poultry Production” project.

CONCEPT The project was conceived as a means of “developing a new outlook for the institution”. The Agricultural Science Club (ASC) has developed this vision for the 21st Century to “meet the current challenges faced today”, especially as the school views Agricultural Science not just as a technical subject, but as a subject “that has direct impact on the economy and the society on a whole”.

All students of the BCK are mandated to do Agricultural Science at the First and Second Forms levels. It is optional in the Third Form, but those who take it at this level begin preparation for the CSEC examination in Form Five.

The school has a current population of 440 students. With a total of 314 students taking the subject currently, representing some 71.4%, the BCKASC Vegetable Crops and Poultry Production has the potential to take the institution in the direction it intends, especially with projections for increase in student numbers.

PROJECT PARTICULARS The Project Coordinator is Agricultural Science Teacher, Mr. Conroy Huggins. A Project Coordinating Committee has been set up comprising of members of staff and students who are members of the BCK Agricultural Science Club (BCKASC).

Other Committee members are: Mr. Doddridge Small, Agricultural Science and Business Teacher; Mrs. Cecelia Akers-King , Principal; and a Representative from the Parent Teachers Association (PTA). The students are: Lorenzo Williams from the Agriculture Science Club (ASC) Executive Body, Dillon Hamilton, Mozette Lee, Marvet Pierre, Chekiesha King, Shawn Blake, Fabian Young and Yannic Bacchus.

The project was conceptualized in 2009 but initiated in 2011. In November, 2011, the school held an Agricultural Exhibition under the theme: “Food and Nutrition Security”.

This acted as an awareness event for the students about the benefits of what the school was currently undertaking.

Before the project’s commencement, the school was engaged in Agricultural Science, but not to such an extent as that which is expected in this current project.

The field was cleared with the assistance of this tractor. prepared the terraces which were determined to be the best format for production according to the lay of the land and the economics involved.

Assistance was given here by a technical person from the Eastern Caribbean Training in Agricultural Development (ECTAD). Some seeds were donated by the Church of God of Latter Day Saints. Planting then began. Thus far, the students have planted butter beans, tomatoes, sweet peppers, chive, cucumber and pumpkin. The poultry segment of the project will come on stream in the next phase. The entire project is estimated to cost approximately $35,696.45 EC.

FUNDING Apart from the persons and organizations that would have given support in the initial stages, no real funding has been received. Backing has been sought from various agencies.

The Project Coordinating Committee is currently exploring the possibility of attracting funding from the FAO Project through ECTAD. The requests to the Ministry of Agriculture are yet to be acknowledged.

PROBLEMS AND WORST FEARS

Coordinator of the project, teacher Mr. Conroy Huggins, told THE VINCENTIAN that one of the main problems is that of security. Although security personnel are employed around the clock, their worst fears of praedial larceny has become a horrible reality. It has been reported that individuals have been stealing the produce at “high day time”. Entire beds of chive have been removed from their terraces and every single sweet pepper has been picked, Huggins reported. Without consideration for the hard work of the students, the thieves have broken and destroyed the pepper trees in their haste to harvest the peppers. These are not the only crops pilfered. This will demand a restart.

Principal of the BCK, Mrs. Cecelia Akers-King, told THE VINCENTIAN that the project is not important only for what it produces. “It is a practical part of the Agricultural Science PROJECT ACTION students’ SBA. Stealing hinders the The project will be concentrated on the students from fully completing their SBA’s and makes it difficult to receive ¾ acre of gently sloping, arable lands marks”, she explained. “For us as a situated on the school’s compound. school, the positive is that it helps The field was prepared with the help prepare the students to fit into the of a tractor and driver contributed by economy. It deals with the sustaining IICA. The students themselves

Students take to preparing the terraces for planting.

Right: Giving care and attention to the young plants.

of themselves and their families; management and the other life skills necessary to produce and eat.”

She made an impassioned appeal to persons in the community to help to protect the area. “We are putting measures in place to bring the guilty persons before the law”, she explained.

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14. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

News

The C. W. Prescod Primary School all male choir performing at the recent national CSEC/CXC Awards Ceremony.

All male choir impresses the start of this year’s Fisherman’s Day activities.

THE PERCEIVED DOMINANCE of the female The audience at the Fisherman’s Day sex in mainstream society has had its fair event was smaller than that of the share of vocalization. That dominance may National Awards, but with the be so except in the prison, on the blocks youngsters growing in confidence, their and other places where signs of idleness rendition was more pleasing and created abound. an instant stir.

The C. W, Prescod Primary School is In the future, there will be a group of responding to the challenges facing well rounded youngsters, and they will males here, and is providing an answer owe their credibility to their music in practical expressions. training.

An all male choir from that school appeared at the National CSEC/CXC Setting the pace Awards Ceremony at the Kingstown Methodist Church Hall, April 20, 2012.

The C.W. Prescott Primary is The boys rocked the audience with their breaking ground in the art of child rendition of the perennial test piece, development. They have taken the ‘Joyful, Joyful, We adore thee’. initiative to embrace the youngsters and When they kicked off their it is obvious that the boys are enjoying performance, it was in casual fashion. their new found status and approval.

They appeared shy - not used to facing Not least among the school’s curriculum audiences. is a strong music programme led by It was not until they got into their act Kelson ‘Taffa’ Wilson and encouraged by that they changed the pattern and the school’s principal, Mrs. Hyacinth performed with some sense of natural Harry. flow, and were warmly received.

And to ensure that there is no gender Persons present swayed, tapped their bias, the C. W. Prescod Primary School feet and smiled with satisfaction at the also produced a mixed group which rendition of the male ensemble. performed a choral speech at the Fisherman’s Day launching.

Repeat performance Congratulations to the C. W. Prescod Primary School on its drive to ensure Last Monday, April 30, the same proper development of the nation’s choir appeared at the ceremony to mark youngsters.

by WILLIAM ‘KOJAH’ ANTHONY

Fisherman’s Day Committee eyes the young FISHERMAN’S DAY IS SCHEDULED for Monday May 28. That’s the day when the Fisherman of the Year receives the coveted prize of an outboard engine. That will be the main attraction for fishers .

But youngsters here have not been left out of the exercise.

They have until May 18 to submit designs of posters and essays. Their works must be on the theme: ‘Fishing for economic stability and sustainable livelihood through improved technology, 2012 and beyond’.

Winfield Tannis, Chairman of the Fisherman’s Day Committee, highlighted aspects of the month long activities at last Monday’s launch.

There will be a Junior Fishing Competition

Fish Competition this year. That aspect was introduced so as to reduce the population of the dangerous predator that is threatening to deplete the fish stocks in the region.

The Beach seine competition is fixed for May 21 to 25.

Persons keen on tasting samples of fish dishes can go to Barrouallie tonight, May 4, as events to mark Winfield Tannis, this year’s celebration Chairman of the continue.

Fisherman’s Day Similar activities are Committee, outlined scheduled for the Owia plans for an expanded Fisheries Complex list of activities leading Saturday May 12 and the up to Fisherman’s day.

Calliaqua Fisheries centre on May 18.

Fisherman’s Day scheduled for May 26. To activities take on an ensure an all inclusive international flair with a agenda, a Female Competition is also carded Japan Day, May 19.

Japanese volunteers for May 26. stationed here are The Committee is expected to unfold aspects expanding its activities with the staging of a Lion of their culture. (WKA)

V Adolescent health and development in focus

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 15.

Youth

by GLORIAH… IN THE VERY near future, St. Vincent and the Grenadines could have on its books a very comprehensive Adolescent Health and Development Policy.

Work on this document was continued towards its second draft when a number of stakeholders convened a workshop, Thursday, 19th and Friday, 20th April, at the NIS Conference Room on Upper Bay Street.

According to a statement in the ‘National Adolescent Health and Development Policy’ first draft document, the policy in itself is a “clear manifestation of the Government’s commitment to fulfill its obligation in the area of adolescent health and development.”

First phase Health Planner at the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, Ms. Lucine Edwards, told THE VINCENTIAN that, with the 2001 census showing that adolescents formed more than one quarter of the population, the health and development of this group came into focus.

The development of the policy was led by the National Family Planning Programme in the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). In 2009, national consultations were held to involve adolescents and to ascertain their opinions on issues affecting their particular group. With these discussed, collected and documented, a team of stakeholders worked on the first phase development of the policy.

Ms. Anneke Wilson, PAHO’s Programme Specialist here in SVG, explained that throughout the process, PAHO has “facilitated technical cooperation as it relates to PAHO’s incountry support to the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment in its Biennium Work Programme implementation.” Wilson said that PAHO’s particular area of focus was Family and Community Health, under which the scope of the policy fell.

Policy principles

One of the small working groups at the two-day stakeholders workshop.

The fundamental principles governing the policy centres around the following: active participation in all areas of development; the enabling and safe environment; a rights-based , primary health care and health settings approach; the inclusion of active community participation and active involvement; and multi-sectorial collaboration.

The main components are: physical education and sports, nutrition, parental roles and responsibilities, mental health and substance abuse, sexual and reproductive health, crime and violence, laws affecting adolescents, and health.

Second phase consultations The policy, which “serves to facilitate the development of an environment that optimizes the potential for each Vincentian adolescent, and which outlines measures designed to address the concerns faced by adolescents as raised in various consultancy meetings,” saw its second round of consultations last week. This time, PAHO Consultant, Mrs. Mariana Kastrinakis, was on hand to lend assistance in guiding the process.

According to Sr. Naomi Prince, Director of the National Family Planning Programme, a number of stakeholders, including the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, adolescents, government, non-government agencies, faith-based and communitybased organizations, spent the two days selecting and discussing priority areas from the first draft, and identifying strategies to address these areas.

Consultant Kastrinakis’s extended role will be to incorporate these into the draft and come up with a revised document.

Sr. Prince explained that the process will continue until a refined document that reflects the objectives of the policy is drafted.

Mrs. Mariana Kastrinakis, PAHO Consultant, is trusted with the responsibility of collating the findings of the Workshop into a revised document.

Ms. Anneke Wilson, PAHO’s Programme Specialist here in SVG, ensured that PAHO provided technical assistance for the process.

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16. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Caribbean Poetry Project reaches SVG

Featured poets (L-R): Cecil “Blazer” Williams, Debra Providence, Mark McWatt, Dr. Phillip Nanton, David ‘Darkie’ Williams.

by SHERON GARRAWAY LOVERS OF THE SPOKEN WORD HAD THEIR FILL WHEN THEY TURNED UP TO AN EVENING OF POETRY recitals, Sunday 22rd April, at the Lecture Hall of the UWI Open Campus here.

The evening launched the Eastern Caribbean leg of a project entitled ‘Caribbean Poetry Project’, which is a collaborative effort involving the University of Cambridge, UWI Cave Hill Campus and the UWI Open Campus.

The evening featured: UWI lecturer Dr Phillip Nanton who tickled his audience with humorous pieces such as the characters heard on the radio; Community College lecturer Debra Providence who expressed aspects of love and womanhood; dramatist David “Darkie” Williams who touched on the issue of child abuse; lawyer Cecil “Blazer” Williams who gave a pictorial outlook of natural disaster; and UWI professor Mark McWatt who shared his boyhood experiences and the personal reflections of Peggy Carr, who is a professor in Taiwan.

Coordinator of the event Dr Sandra Robinson said the Caribbean Poetry Project (CPP) is funded by the Cambridge Centre for Commonwealth Education and aims to get teachers

more involved and invigorated about poetry and in particular, poetry of and from the Caribbean.

Towards this end, a two-day workshop with Language teachers was held on 23-24 April at the Teacher’s College.

The CPP, which has its basis in the UK, has already touched down at the UWI Mona Campus, where it is of an undergraduate course. A similar exercise is planned for the UWI St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad, in June/July.

Following on its St. Vincent leg, the project will be taken to Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia and finally Grenada.

Head of the Open Campus here, Deborah Dalrymple, applauded the CPP project and pointed out that the launch meshed perfectly with the local Open Campus’ initiative to make the academic site a centre for the arts.

She announced that the institution was already in the planning stages of hosting, among other things, a book fair and creative writing workshop.

Senior Education Officer of Secondary Schools, Carlton Hall, in giving the thank you remarks, expressed hope that the event was the beginning of an energized appreciation of the arts and in particular, poetry.

A section of the appreciative audience.

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 17.

Arts

ÂHeart of SteelÊ steals hearts movements and interludes.

Movement 1, entitled ‘Give Thanks THE SOUTH EAST STEEL ORCHESTRA and Praise’ featured the song, ‘If I tell MAY JUST HAVE ADDED TO THE NUMBER God’, and moved smoothly through OF HEARTS its members have stolen with with songs like ‘Lift Every voice and their infectious music. sing’ as well as ‘O Praise ye the Lord’ This after the Orchestra’ concert

by Noel Dexter. dubbed ‘Heart of Steel’, staged at the The interludes were particularly Aquatic Club on April 26th and 27th interesting. The first two interludes 2012, transformed that club into a

by Urban Expressions Theatre Co. veritable haven for music and arts were informative yet funny. The first enthusiasts and pan lovers in featured a call in programme during particular. which greats like Bob Marley and The evenings pan, theatre and Mozart called in to weigh in on their dance were filled with an array of respected genres of music. The 2nd different genres of music, from Interlude featured a crowd favourite in classical to calypso, blues, jazz, latin, which 2 boxers, ‘Calypso’ and ‘Reggae’ reggae and gospel. staged a fight to see which genre would come out on top.

The 2nd movement, ‘East meets West’, featured jazzy songs like ‘I’ve got Rhythm’ and ‘Just the 2 of us’, while the 3rd Movement ‘The Caribbean: Land of our Birth’, featured songs from greats like Bob Marley and David Rudder.

The timbre of the pan was rich and vibrant and keen attention to dynamic and expressive elements of the music by the band members was evident, Calypso and Reggae fighting though some endings were a bit for supremacy – one of the abrupt. interludes that was funny but The the 2nd, 3rd and 4th informative. movements had the audience rocking from side to side and showcased guest Through movements and interludes artistes like Shernelle ‘Skarpyon’ Williams, who sang some of his Ragga The programme presentation was Soca Hits and got the crowd involved, unique in itself with its segments of as well as Saeed Bowman whose young

by KARISSA CLARKE

talent is always inspiring.

A splash of Soca was also present with the Rennaisance Dancers performing to “Colours Again”.

Ronnie Robinson Davies also performed as a soloist with Latin flair in an ensemble that featured pan, conga drums and more.

The 5th and final movement, ‘Sweet pan anthems’ fittingly included one of the sweetest local calypsos of 2011, ‘Pan dream’ by ‘Skarpyon’ and Joffre Venner”, closing the concert the right way.

Nanton in control The group’s director, Marla Shernelle ‘Skarpyon’ Williams out front Nanton, has carried on a love affair offered the The South East Steel with the instrument of steel pan for a Orchestra an opportunity to number of years, having joined the demonstrate their dexterity.

GHS Steel Orchestra at an early age, moving on as a member of the Rhythmix steel orchestra and further honing her skills on the pan in New York.

As the first female director of the South East Steel Orchestra, Marla led each piece with clear pleasure and passion for the group and the instrument.

Nanton may be new as an arranger but she most definitely managed to present a repertoire that was entertaining and uplifting “Heart of Steel” was a The South East Steel Orchestra, under the testimony that the love for Pan music in SVG is still very direction of Marla Nanton transformed the Aquatic Club into a haven of musical generes. much alive and important.

18. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 19.

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20. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Youth

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 21.

People

ÂPloomieÊ Lewis: a true Vincentian legend

by HAYDN HUGGINS BASS GUITARIST extraordinaire, Harold ‘Ploomie’ Lewis, has been playing music for almost his entire life.

‘Ploomie’, left these shores more that three decades ago for the United States, where he currently resides and works as a professional musician. He was recently here on a ten-day visit doing promotion for “12 groovy soca songs” he is releasing for Vincy Mas 2012.

Many Vincentians around today may not know when Ploomie made his indelible mark on the musical arena here in the 1960s and 1970s; when he left the crowds at shows and entertainment spots in stitches, with his wizardry on the bass. He is considered to be the best bass player to have ever played the instrument here.

How it all began Ploomie, who hails from Mc Kie’s Hill, Kingstown, started playing music in 1963, then an 11-year-old student of the Kingstown Preparatory School.

He practised with his brothers Norman and Wendel Lewis, along with Trevor Grahame and Kay Coombs, and continued doing so into his junior years at the St. Vincent Grammar School.

Lard buckets were the drums, the bass drum was a hollow body guitar.

Norman played the rhythm guitar, and Grahame the piano, the lead instrument. They practised at the Lewis’ home at McKie’s Hill and also used the Grammar School Assembly Hall or Kay’s home to have access to a piano.

“They say they practising and they needed a bass player, so they said I will play bass, and that is how I started playing bass. The first tune I learned to play was ‘Hang on Sloopie, Sloopie hang on’. I found the instrument fascinating, and I grew to love it. All we did was just practise,” ‘Ploomie’ told THE VINCENTIAN during an interview on Monday.

Journey through the bands ‘Ploomie’ went on to play with Roland Sardine’s ensemble, which included a number of young musicians.

He noted that he was one of the few players in that grouping who had played an instrument before.

He then moved on to a group called ‘Psychodelics’ before joining ‘Checkmates’ which, one gathered, was the beginning of ‘Ploomie’s’ real journey to musical fame.

‘Checkmates’ comprised students from the Boys Grammar School and Intermediate High School.

These included Dennis ‘DJ’ Joshua on guitar, Peter Frazer

on drums, Paul Anderson doing lead vocals and his brother Brian Anderson on key boards. ‘Ploomie’ joined as a replacement for Lennox ‘Age’ Francis, the original bass player.

The group changed its name to ‘Masterminds’ when they decided to start touring, and discovered that a group in Barbados was also called ‘Checkmates’ .

‘Masterminds‘ is credited with positively impacting the local music scene in the 1970s.

“While at first ‘Checkmates’ played a lot of soft standards, we found that we had a lot more talent and we started challenging ourselves with more sophisticated music. We started playing rock and funk,” ‘Ploomie‘ explained.

After Mastermind folded in 1972, Ploomie took a lead role in forming the band ‘Revolution’. Although Revolution only lasted about three or four years, it is considered to be one of the best musical bands this country has ever produced.

‘Ploomie and the Polyphonics’ was ‘Ploomie’s’ last band before leaving these shores in the late 1970s. He considers it to be the best in terms of quality musicians. The group included Shake Keene, Cauldric Forbes, Kerwyn Morris, Paul Anderson, Kenton Kirby, Nickie Farrell, Arnold Mc Intosh and Al Wilson.

“Music in those days was better orchestrated. It brought out the best of the musician. The music today is much more computerized, less sophisticated.

It is more sample stuff instead of somebody taking time out to play an instrument,” Ploomie opined.

Moving out and on He explained, “What caused the migration of musicians in the 1970s and early 80s is that it became difficult for a band to get a job because the establishment was not paying the bands properly, so a lot of the musicians left because there was no more work for them in that area.”

‘Ploomie’ also commented on the

issue of music piracy.

“The level of piracy makes it scary to produce music. You put out your material and hope to make something, and a man has it on the street making thousands of dollars, and nothing going back to the person who put it out. It is an exploitation of the musicians,” he declared.

‘Ploomie’ is expected to return to St. Vincent and the Grenadines for Carnival, and hopes to do several live performances, particularly in the rural areas.

In his Vincy Mas 2012 release, ‘Ploomie’ did arrangements and sings lead vocals on all the tracks. He also played all the instruments except for lead and rhythm guitars. He also did most of the back vocals except for some additional singers which were brought in to add some variety. The steel pan is included in one of the songs. Musical producer/arranger Adrian Bailey added his touch and expertise to the final mix.

Among the tracks are ‘The big snake’, ‘The pull’, ‘Let’s do something’ and ‘Nice to be back’.

Harold ‘Ploomie’ Lewis, seen here during a visit to THE VINCENTIAN, is ready to impact the local music scene once again.

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22. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Business/Youth

Invest SVG focusing on youth Invest SVG, the agency charged with the responsibility of promoting St. Vincent and the Grenadines as an attractive option for direct foreign investment, is ensuring that its purpose and opportunities inherent to its charter, do not escape the attention of young people here.

Towards that end, the Agency was involved with the North Union Secondary School (NUSS) in its Career Fair, held on Wednesday 25th April, and the Graduation Ceremony of the St. Joseph’s Convent Kingstown (SJCK), held on Thursday 26th April.

The involvement with

L-R - Brianah McKie (Most Outstanding Student in Spanish), Brenelia Kirby (Communications Officer at Invest SVG), Arianne Greaves (Student that Best Reflects the Ideals of St. Joseph’s Convent Kingstown), and Zenica Francis (Most Outstanding Student in French).

the NUSS was, from all reports, well received.

Invest SVG highlighted its functions and services, provided information on career opportunities available at the agency, and more particularly, promoted its 2nd Annual Secondary School Summer Internship Programme (SSSIP).

The SSSIP, inaugurated in 2011, targets fourth and fifth formers. It runs for one month during the July/August vacation period, and offers students the opportunity to intern at Invest SVG, where they are expected to gain first-hand exposure to the operations of Invest SVG. Currently there are four (4) internship spaces, but plans are afoot to increase this number, support permitting. The interns receive a small stipend during their attachment.

L-R: Sehon Marshall (left front -Business Facilitation Officer), Mr. Maloney (Left back - Form teacher), students, Brenelia Kirby (2nd from right Communications Officer), and Jeanne Martin (right - Marketing Officer-IFS).

With respect to its involvement with the SJCK, Invest SVG awarded trophies for outstanding achievements in three areas. The awards were: ‘The student that best reflects the ideals of SJCK’ - awarded to Arianne Greaves; ‘Most outstanding student in

French’ — awarded to Zenica Francis; and ‘Most outstanding student in Spanish’ — awarded to Brianah McKie. The SJCK students were also briefed on the SSSIP. According to a release from Invest SVG, a nationwide school tour to

promote the programme will soon be underway and applications would also be made available to all secondary schools.

More information on the SSSIP can be had by contacting Invest SVG at 457-2159, or visiting the website at www.investsvg.com

Students, appropriately attired, assumed the role of their teachers for the day.

NUSS stages Business Week activities LAST FRIDAY was ‘Role Reversal career Day’ at the North Union Secondary options School (NUSS). Students were given available to Representative of the opportunity to assume control of them upon Green House, winner the school for the day. leaving of the Inter-House The principal’s position was filled school.

Business Quiz,

by Mr. Macroy France, Head Boy, and A brief receive their trophy he was ably assisted by ‘a staff’ drawn opening from Rosemarie Ryan, from fourth and fifth form. At the end ceremony Head of the Business of the day, some ‘student-turnedwas held, Department, NUSS. teachers’ expressed the view that during which being a teacher was difficult after all. featured That event was preceded by several speaker, ASP Jonathan Nichols, head other events. The Key Career was of the SVG Police Force Complaints administered to the 4th and 5th and Public Relations Department, Formers on Monday 23rd by the encouraged the students to be Counselor Mr. Edward Smith and a disciplined in every aspect of their team from the Ministry of Education, lives.

On Thursday 26th, it was the turn headed by Career Officer, Ms. of the Third Formers and their Kathleen Jeffers.

On Tuesday 24th the Houses faced Parents/Guardians. A Seminar was held to assist them in selecting the off in the annual KDLT Chartered most suitable stream for fourth form.

Certified Accountants Inter-house NUSS Business Week 2012 was Business Quiz. This year’s quiz, held under the theme, ‘Exploring centered on the history of the school, Simple Possibilities Amidst Great was won by Green House.

Uncertainties’, and is an integral part of the school’s thrust to continue to The bi-annual Career Fair on Wednesday 25th was the major event. assist its students in making intelligent career choices.

During the day personnel from several government departments and private sector enterprises interfaced with the NUSS students, along with students visiting from neighboring secondary schools, exposing the Teachers turned back the hands of time to assume the role of students to the possible students. Principal St. Claire Da Santos is seated front right.

V Musicians urged to ÂBe humbleÊ

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 23.

Entertainment

Taking THE VINCENTIAN through a musical journey, the bassman HAROLD ‘Ploomie’ Lewis, considered to extraordinaire was quick to admit that be the best bass guitarist this country it took the musical group ‘3 plus I’ has ever produced, is advising all from the United States, to convince musicians to be humble and always be him that he had a lot more to learn. prepared to learn.

‘Ploomie’ was at the time playing THE VINCENTIAN caught up with bass for the group ‘Checkmates’ when ‘Ploomie’ on Monday during his tenthey shared the stage with ‘3 plus 1’ at day visit here to promote a number of a show here in the late 1960s. groovy soca songs for Vincy Mas 2012.

“In those days I was very popular, His visit also included mastering of and I was becoming very egotistical. his music with the expert assistance of At 17 years old I was the most popular musical producer/arranger, Adrian bass player in St. Vincent and I was Bailey. considered to be the best by music Stories by HAYDN HUGGINS

Ex-tempo monarch pleads for support THREE TIME national ex-tempo calypso monarch, Vincent ‘Blakie’ Cuffy, is pleading for support structures to make his life better.

‘Blakie’, who won the ex-tempo competitions in 2009, 2010 and 2011, made the appeal on Monday while speaking to THE VINCENTIAN. “I looking for a betterment in the country, a good job that I could go by daily, something to keep me going so that I don’t have to be stressed out,” the former primary school calypso monarch pleaded.

‘Blakie’ explained, “I need a job because when calypso season come, a lot of people look for me, a lot of fans would be looking out for me. I go need a pair of shoes, a pair of socks, pants and so on, so that the media could pick me up.”

The crowd pleaser, who sings with the Graduates Calypso tent, added, “I am not getting the kind of support I need. I have to scrunt (beg) to get the things I need and this should not be.

After Carnival I come like a vagrant. I only still singing because I love the art form.

“Right now I working as a vendor selling leather slippers and sandals for someone else and at the end of the day I could hardly get one sell,” he lamented.

Blakie, with an involvement in the calypso art form that dates back to 1975 when he was fifteen years old, is hoping to retain the ex-tempo title when he competes tomorrow at the

Vincent ‘Blakie’ Cuffy, the ex-tempo king, says he stays with the art form because he loves it. official launch of of Vincy Mas 2012.

His tent song for 2012 is ‘Swing de bumsy so’, but if he makes it to the National semi-finals, his other calypso would be ‘Everybody come alive and vote Michael Fife’.

‘Blakie’ returned to the calypso arena about three years ago after a prolonged absence.

fans.

“The bass man from ‘3 plus 1’ took me out of that egotistic state of mind and forced me to further study the instrument.”

‘Ploomie’ recalled that after Checkmates finished playing and left the stage, the ‘3 plus I’ bass player came to shake his hand.

“I refused to shake his hand. I thought I was good and nobody should have to shake my hand to tell me that.”

Harold ‘Ploomie’ Lewis learned a lesson which he ‘Ploomie’ began thinking differently after has carried with him since that day.

‘3 plus I’ took the stage. that night. He regained some “That band was real good. Their confidence after someone in the music was clean and I never knew audience shouted, “No matter what that a bass guitarist could have done some of the things that that guy did. It you do, ‘Ploomie’ still better than you.”

Undoubtedly, Ploomie’s experience was then that I realized that I had a with ‘3 plus I’ made him a different long way to go. I learned from that person. He is advising all musicians: experience and it made me a better “Be humble. No matter how good you bass player.” are, there is always somebody better ‘Ploomie’ admitted that he was than you.” ashamed to even return to the stage

Leisure

ARIES (Mar. 21- April 20) Don't let your partner start any arguments. Passion should be redirected positively. Try to be patient with their inability to accept your new beliefs. Be careful not to exaggerate when interacting with your lover.

TAURUS (Apr. 21- May 21) You're in the mood for love.

Travel opportunities should be your first choice. Your dedication and fortitude when dealing with humanitarian groups will enhance your reputation.

GEMINI (May 22-June 21) Resist any idle chatter. You will have good ideas for home improvement projects. You will make new friends through physical activities.

CANCER (June 22-July 22) You may find yourself in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

Your tendency to vacillate will drive everyone crazy. Your stubbornness coupled with your mate's jealousy don't make for a favorable time.

LEO (July 23-Aug 22) You need to spend some time reflecting on past experiences and involvements. If you work in conjunction with someone else you may find they're trying to steal your thunder. You have bent over backward trying to help them and now it's time to let them stand on their own two feet.

VIRGO (Aug. 23 -Sept. 23) Do things for them but don't allow them to make unreasonable requests. You will attract new love interests. Make changes that will enhance your appearance and entice potential partners.

LIBRA (Sept. 24 -Oct. 23) You need to get out and be an observer. Friends may not be completely honest with you.

Family members may feel anxious if you make promises you don't deliver.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24 - Nov. 22) If you can include them in your plans, do so. Be sure that the person you're drawn to is not already involved. Make alternate plans just in case you need to make a career shift.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23 -Dec. 21) Use your inventiveness to find solutions. They will jump at the chance to do something without you if it sounds like more fun.

Enjoy a quiet dinner for two and discuss some of the plans you have for the future.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22.- Jan. 20) Try to think things through. Don't get involved in idle chatter that will hurt your position. Call siblings or old friends to catch up on recent news.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 21 -Feb. 19) You may have a problem dealing with elders. You can surprise members of your family, which in turn will bring you a pat on the back. You may want to get a little extra rest. You are prone to infections and fevers.

PISCES (Feb. 20-Mar. 20) Don't be afraid to speak in defense of others. You can deal with large institutions or government agencies successfully today. Spend some quality time with the one you love.

Your talents will shine at work.

ACROSS 1. Heroic narrative 5. Rancid 8. Coke flavor 12. “Tomb raider” heroine 13. Turkish title 14. On the lam, military style 15. French holy women (abbr.)

16. Pig home 17. Unwind 18. Half a fly 20. Certain hoppers 22. Markets 24. Frequently, in poems 25. Circles of light

26. Grinds, as teeth 30. Parts of a gal.

31. Diva’s feathered wrap 32. Request 33. Raised one’s voice 36. Gravelly voiced 38. Overly sentimental 40. Shoulder wrap 42. Question’s opposite (abbr.)

43. Leg part 44. Tax inits.

46. List shorten er (2 wds.)

50. Where Lima is 51. Butterfly

52.

53.

54.

55.

catching device “So long!” (2 wds.)

Lab creatures Dorothy’s aunt and others Luxurious resorts DOWN

1.

2.

3.

4.

Raised rails Dab Great wrath Cuban leader Fidel 5. Army camps 6. CIA employee (abbr.)

7. Florida racing locale 8. Gem weights 9. Was obligated

10. Defeat 11. Flight height (abbr.)

19. Rds. 21. Three __ kind (2 wds.)

22. Trig or calculus 23. Part of AKA 25. Operation ctrs.

26. “__ Only knows” 27. Leftovers dish 28. See at a distance 29. Place for planes 31. Straight route 34. Neptune’s neighbor 35. Pull a trailer 36. Operate 37. Advantages

39. Ship poles 40. Where the Mets used to play 41. Trumpeter Al 43. May’s season (abbr.)

45. Sleep stage (abbr.)

47. Strike lightly 48. One __ time (2 wds.)

49. Vegas intro

LAST WEEK’s SOLUTION

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24. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

THIS WEEK ON

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

MONDAY

May 4th, 2012

May 5th, 2012

May 6th, 2012

May 7th, 2012

May 8th, 2012

May 9th, 2012

Morning

Morning

Morning

Morning

-b&wMorning

Morning

CNN Matt’s Wam Movie Fan ‘Pg’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” 10:00 Movie “Pinocchio”

6:00 CNN 7:00 Kingdom Life 8:00 Trinity In Touch 8:30 Mik 9:00 Bible Speaks 9:30 Faith & Truth 10:00 Movie

FRIDAY

6:00 CNN 9:00 Shepherd’s Chapel 10:00 Caribbean Newsline 10:30 Bernie Mack Show 11:30 Live Up

6:00 7:30 8:00 8:30

6:00 CNN News 9:00 Shepherd’s Chapel 10:00 Untamed & Uncut 11:00 CSI: Miami

TUESDAY

6:00 CNN News 9:00 Shepherd’s Chapel 10:00 Caribbean Newsline 10:30 My Child & I 11:30 Meet The Brownes

WEDNESDAY

6:00 CNN News 9:00 Shepherd’s Chapel 10:00 Caribbean Newsline 10:30 House Of Payne Afternoon 11:00 Meet The Afternoon Brownes Afternoon Afternoon 12:00 Headline News Afternoon 11:30 Caribbean 1:00 Las Vegas 12:00 Headline News Passport 12:00 Headline News 1:30 3D 12:30 Movie Ani ‘G’ 12:00 Paula 1:00 Still 1:00 Law & Order “Piglet’s Big 2:00 The Doctors 12:30 Turning Point 1:30 3D 1:30 3D Movie” Afternoon 3:00 Kick Buttowski 1:00 Direction 2:00 Las Vegas 2:00 CSI 1:30 3D 3:30 Fish Hooks 3:00 Youn 2:00 Movie Adv 1:35 Entertainment 12:35 Headline 4:00 Phineas & Ferb 3:00 Planet Earth 4:00 Cat In The Hat ‘Pg-13’

By Design 4:00 The Cat In The 4:30 Suite Life On News 4:30 Jelly Jam 2:00 SVGTV Sports “Indiana Hat Deck 1:00 House 5:00 My Little Pony 3:00 In The Dance 4:30 Jelly Jam Jones & The 5:00 Caribbean 1:30 3D 5:30 Martha Speaks 3:30 Meet The 5:00 Jewel In The Last Power 2:00 Modern History Brownes Palace Crusade” Outreach Evening 3:00 Youn 4:00 Basia (Baja) 5:00 Law & Order 5:30 Girl Friend 5:00 Inside Story 4:00 Fish Evening 6:00 The Right Of 4:30 Deck Evening Evening The People Evening 6:0 Entertainment By 5:00 Basia 6:30 Yes There Is Design 6:00 Ran Hope 6:00 Paula 6:00 Health Talk Evening 6:30 We Cooking 6:30 Living Water 7:00 SVGTV News 6:30 In Touch 6:30 Flash Back 7:00 SVGTV News Ministries 7:50 Caribbean 7:00 SVGTV News 7:55 A.P.I Presents 6:00 Paula 7:00 My Child & I 7:00 SVGTV News Passport 7:55 Encounter 8:55 3D/Lotto Draws 6:30 Serving The 7:25 Sportweek 8:00 Rights Of The 8:25 To Be 8:25 The Law & You 9:00 Tele-Classified 7:55 Voice Of People People Announced 8:55 3D Freedom 9:10 SVGTV 7:00 SVGTV News 8:50 3D/Lotto Draws 9:00 Movie Action 9:00 Tele-Classifieds Obituaries 9:00 Tele-Classifieds 8:25 F H Videos 7:50 Chronicles ‘Pg-13’ 9:10 SVGTV 8:55 3D 9:15 Bold & Beautiful 8:00 North Leeward 9:10 SVGTV “X-Men 2” Obituaries 9:00 Guinness Rush 9:30 Caribbean Obituaries In Focus Hour 11:15 Movie Com ‘R’ 9:15 Book Review Newsline 9:15 Bold & Beautiful 10:00 Movie Act ‘R’ 8:35 Book Review 9:30 Caribbean “Your 10:00 Movie Com ‘R’ 9:55 Super 6 Draw 8:55 3D “True Lies” Newsline Highness” “The Lucky 10:00 Movie Act ‘R’ 12:30 Movie Com ‘R’ 9:00 Tele-Clssifieds 10:00 WWE Monday Ones” 1:00 Movie Action ‘R “The Rock” “National 9:05 SVGTV Night Raw 12:00 Movie Drama “Speed” 12:30 Movie Com ‘R’ Lampoons: Obituaries 11:05 Movie Com‘Pg’ ‘Pg 13’ “Ringmaster“ 3:00 Movie Comedy Senior Trip” “The Game 9:10 Bold & “Skateland” 2:00 Movie Crime ‘R’ 2:05 Movie Act ‘R’ ‘Ur’ Plan” Beautiful “Small Town “Rumble In “Housewives 1:35 Movie Com ‘Pg’ 1:30 Movie Com ‘R’ 9:30 Caribbean “100 Girls” Murder The Bronx” From “The Game Newsline 3:15 Movie Dra ‘R’ Songs” 3:40 Movie Adv Another Plan” “Hotel ‘Pg-13’ 3:20 Movie Dra ‘R’ 10:00 Movie Action World” 4:00 Law & Order CI “Twister” California” “The Ledge” ‘Pg-13’ 5:00 CNN News 5:30 CNN 4:50 CNN News 5:00 CNN News 5:00 CNN News “Inception” 12:30 Movie: Evening 10:00 Movie Comedy Adv “R” THURSDAY Morning Afternoon ‘Pg-13’ “Gladiator” 6:00 New Life Baptist “Vampires May 10th, 2012 3:10 Movie Drama 12:00 Headline News Church Suck” ‘Pg-13’ 6:00 CNN News 1:00 Challenge 7:00 SVGTV News 11:15 Movie Com/Hor ‘R’ “Water For 9:00 Shepherd’s 1:30 3D 7:55 A.P.I Presents “Vampire In Chapel 2:00 Burn Notice 8:55 3D Brooklyn” Elephants” 10:00 Caribbean 3:00 Pink Panther 9:00 Tele- Classifieds 1:00 Movie Act/Fan ‘R’ 5:00 CNN News Newsline 4:00 Chowder 9:10 SVGTV “Underworld” 10:30 House Of Payne 5:00 Jewel In The Obituaries 3:00 Movie Adv ‘R’ 11:00 Entertainment Palace 9:15 Bold & Beautiful “Sanctum” * Programme guide subject

By Design 9:30 Caribbean 5:00 CNN News 11:30 We Cooking Newsline to change.

V

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 25.

Advice

Sharing the matrimonial bed Dear George, FOR A WHILE now my husband and I have been talking about involving another man in our bed. It was a fantasy of mine, and when I put it to him, he agreed, on the basis that I would, at a later date, allow another woman in bed with us.

The time came for us to carry out our plan. In the beginning, it went well until my husband started objecting to some of the things the guy was doing to me. He told me that I allowed the guy to do things to me that he was never allowed to do to me, and that upset him greatly. He ended up asking the guy to get out of the room, and went as far as to accuse me of having a liking for this guy, and wondered out aloud if I was ever involved with him before our experiment.

Since then, things have got tense between us.

My husband would not change his mind about me and this guy, but he has the boldness to ask me to follow through with the other part of the plan. Of course, I strongly objected, and that got him even more wild and irrational.

We have been sleeping in separate rooms since and I see no way in sight to arrest this situation.

Sorry Dear Sorry, It is never a good thing to play with fire if you cannot risk being burned. When you begin to involve others in your bedroom affairs, you are asking for trouble, and that will eventually erode the quality of your relationship and marriage.

A marriage is between two people, and should remain that way. There are other things you can do to add excitement and flair to your marriage, and soliciting the help of a marriage counsellor is a good place to start. Obviously, your husband has not learned his lesson for wanting to follow through with part two of your arrangement. You two need to wise up and regain your focus if you want to stay married and happy.

George

Looking for forgiveness Dear George,

terribly unhappy?

I DID A HORRIBLE thing to my husband, and I need his forgiveness. However, asking him for his forgiveness would be to expose my good friend and partner in crime.

For some time now, we have been engaging in what we referred to as harmless sex. He is a good friend of my husband, and somehow we managed to hit it off.

What was supposed to be a onetime thing became a regular occurrence. I promised this individual never to tell my husband about him, and he promised never to say anythig to his wife about us. I must admit that he has been keeping his end of the bargain, but I cannot keep this from my husband any longer.

The guilt is killing me.

I do not want to make bad for my friend, but I have no choice any more. I cannot look my husband in his eye and tell him “ I love you,” neither can I look him in the eye when we are in bed together. I have to be turning the lights off when that time comes around.

I want to come clean regardless of the consequences. My friend is begging me not to talk because he does not want his relationship to be disturbed. His favourite slogan is “What she does not know can’t hurt her”.

Should I honor the promise I made to him and remain silent, even though it is making me

Deep Waters

Stay out of your sonÊs marriage Dear George, SINCE MY SON got married, he has not been eating well, and has developed a stomach problem as a result. His wife is a professional and does not have time to cook for him. I wanted to talk to her about this for some time now, but never found the right moment.

My son told me, maybe not in so many words, that he has not been eating well. I offered to cook for him, but his wife strongly objected, even though my son would not mind.

George, he works hard and needs to eat to maintain good health. His wife seems not to care by not giving my son the food he needs.

I want to raise the subject with her again, but I am sure it would cause

his wife to get into a fight with me.

How must I proceed?

Concerned Mom Dear Concerned Mom, Your son’s wife is correct in asking you to keep out of their marriage.

Your son is a big boy and should know how to feed his body. They are now man and wife and you need to know your role as mother-in-law. You had your time to cook for him, and you need to know when and how to let go.

It could be very difficult to accept that your son may have need for a wife at this stage, more than he needs a mother. Step back and give him time to settle into his marriage.

George

Dear Deep Waters, It is good that you have come to your senses and are contemplating rebuilding the blocks of honesty in your relationship.

Your friend should have known that allowing outside interference of his relationship puts

everything at risk, and he should not look to you to be the custodian of his dark secrets.

Your husband deserves to know the truth, and you must at least take some credit for

deciding to come forward with it. Leave your friend to paddle his own canoe, and let your husband know what a bad girl you have been.

George

V

26. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

News

Arnos Vale Methodist Church

celebrates its Golden Anniversary A YEAR of celebratory activities is being planned in commemoration of the establishment of the Arnos Vale Methodist Church, which opened its doors for worship for the first time

in September 1962.

A place for worship became necessary as Arnos Vale developed as a residential area. Before the church was constructed, Methodists

who lived in the area had to journey to Kingstown, Calliaqua, Gomea and other surrounding areas to participate in services of the Church. Public transportation was not

The Arnos Vale Methodist Church has grown into a strong mission expression of Methodism in this country. readily available 50 years ago.

This significant

milestone in the Church’s life will be marked by the activities

Lions plant 100 trees MEMBERS of the Lions Club South of St. Vincent joined the marking of World Earth Day, April 20, and the Lions global network intention to plant one million tress worldwide, by planting 100 trees at the Montreal Watershed.

Speaking at a brief ceremony following the tree planting exercise on April 25, Forestry Supervisor Cornelius Richards said that , “within recent times,

there has been far too many instances of deforestation within the forest reserves, and this has contributed to the decline in certain species, which are essential for the environment”.

He informed that the Department has embarked on a reforestation drive in the area of the Montreal Watershed, and expressed pleasure in supporting the efforts of

Lions Club South members and personnel from the Forestry Department at the site in the Montreal Watershed area where the trees were planted. the Lions Club South.

Among the variety of trees planted were Blue Mahoe, Galba and Fiddle Wood.

In a statement

subsequent to the planting exercise, the Lions Club South described the planting exercise as “part of its contribution to global

biodiversity,” and declared its commitment to ongoing projects of this nature by making the exercise an annual one.

around the theme, ‘Holy Spirit Transform your church through your Power’, with the acronym for Power being Prayer, Outreach, Worship, Educate, Relationship.

The 50th anniversary activities will be launched this Sunday, May 6th, when Methodists who worship at Arnos Vale will welcome all to joyful worship at the church, beginning at 9:00 a.m.

May 6th is of particular significance; it was the day when the cornerstone for the church was laid.

V

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 27.

News

The implications of Anesia BaptisteÊs senatorial revocation

adverse comments on other persons’ religious denominations, was not an issue of any real significance, and that Anesia Baptiste reserves her democratic right to be critical of any religious body.

And then there is the vanguard of the New Democratic Party who may have aided and abetted what they consider to be Mr. Eustace’s political acumen in revoking Baptiste’s senatorship; to them her recalcitrance in not complying to the party’s policy on religious matters smacks of repugnance and impiety.

Anesia Baptiste, renowned for her firebrand style of politics, is undoubtedly not going to allow this issue, which has seemingly thwarted her political career, to rest easily; she is likely from now Anesia Baptiste at her press conference on to be a thorn in the NDP flesh. during which she rebutted her dismissal Undoubtedly, Anesia Baptiste as an opposition senator. would have been building a political following of her own

By PATMOS RICHARDS sorts. Many people admired her forthright approach to national THE NEWS OF THE REVOCATION OF political issues, and esteemed her for ANESIA BAPTISTE’S senatorial her pronouncements on human rights. appointment sparked tremendous furor On the other hand, there seemed to and shock waves across St. Vincent and have been a suspicious group of NDP the Grenadines. support, which never invested an iota On the streets, in bars, in churches, of trust in her, all because of her in high and in low offices, Anesia tigress-like attitude.

Baptiste’s senatorial demise was the talking point, lay critics and local Implications political pundits attempted to come to grips with the perceived sudden action What are the implications of Anesia on the part of the Leader of the Baptiste’s audacity in dispatching an Opposition, Arnhim Eustace.

11-page epistle to her boss, Arnhim Eustace? This could be the beginning Differing views of the end to her political career, for it is unlikely that the ruling ULP, whom In the New Democratic Party she chided on several public circles, there were ambivalent views platforms, will embrace her. Perhaps on Anesia Baptiste’s displacement her only hope will be to contest from an organization to which she had elections independently; but will she sworn allegiance, and on whose behalf be able to still make the impact she she worked with political vigour. once had on her prospective Some avid NDP supporters declared supporters? that Mr. Eustace had acted There are those in the ULP who irrationally, reflecting his inept will feel vindicated by the treatment leadership, and that he should have handed out to Anesia Baptiste. In treated Baptiste’s insubordination in a short, her demise is like a panacea to more tactful way instead of the Unity Labour Party. impetuously exposing her behaviour in In conclusion, Baptiste’s senatorial the public domain. demise could adversely affect the mass Others opined that the ruling made support of the NDP as there are by the New Democratic Party on party clearly mixed views and opinions on members refraining from making the issue.

Anesia Baptiste was at the forefront of the NDP protests following the 2010 general elections.

28. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Paul’s Avenue, P.O. Box 592, Kingstown Tel: 456-1821 Fax: 457-2821 E-mail: metrocint@vincysurf.com Website: www.metrocintsvg.com

V

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 29.

Lowmans Leeward retains netball title Lowmans leeward Anglican School – repeat champions of Primary School Netball in SVG. Left: Richland Park Government School – third place.

Below: Shania Daniel, leading goal scorer in the preliminaries, receives her trophy from Woodrow Williams, Senior Sports Officer.

Owia Government School, second place in the 2012 Competition. the Kingstown Netball Centre.

The young netballers from the Lowmans Leeward School THE LOWMANS LEEWARD demonstrated their superiority ANGLICAN SCHOOL defeated the Owia Government School to retain and exerted their dominance when they thrashed their the Inter-Primary School Netball opponents 33- 15. championship on Friday 27th , at

by KENVILLE HORNE

Owia government showed some promise early in the game but never really challenged a more organized Lowmans Leeward Anglican, which displayed good passing and shooting ability.

Shania Daniel from Lowmans Leeward scored the most goals, 17, in the final.

In the third place play-off, Richland Park Government School netted 19 goals to defeat Questelles Government School who registered a mere 6 goals.

During the presentation ceremony that followed, Itesha Matthews, of Lowmans Leeward, with 50 goals from 89 attempts, earned the award for most goals in the preliminaries.

The Most Improved Player award went to Danielle Michael of the Fancy Government School, while the Most Valuable Player in the final was adjudged to be Yannesha Scipio of the Lowmans Leeward Anglican.

Zonal winners in the 2012 competition were: Zone A Owia Government; Zone B Richland Park Government; Zone C - Lowmans Leeward Anglican; and Zone D Questelles Government.

Zonal MVP awards were as follows: Zone A - Shaniah Browne of Owia Government; Zone B - Amara James of Richland Park Government; Zone C - Itesha Matthews of

Lowmans Leeward Anglican; and Zone D - , Miah Palmer of Questelles Government .

TSSS: Good Showing at Penn Relays THOMAS SAUNDERS SECONDARY SCHOOL male and female relay teams won their respective heats in the 4x400m, at the 118th Penn Relay Championship staged last weekend in Philadelphia, USA. The female athletes however, didn’t’ maintain their form in the 4x400m final and finished 6th in a time of 4 minutes 15 seconds.

The boys dominated their heat in the 4x400m relay winning in a time 3 minutes 29 seconds compared to last year’s time of 3 minutes 28 seconds.

They finished second in their heat in the 4x100m in a time of 44.37 secs.

Godfrey Harry coach of the team said he is pleased to see the improved performance, especially from the female relay team who finished in the top 35.

He said one of his objectives was for the team to finish in the top 50 but securing 35th , “it’s an achievement.”

He surmised that they should have done better in the men’s 4x100m had it not been for a fumble on the third leg, after leading the race in the first 150 meters. He believes complacency had the better of the athletes even though they were confident they could win the race.

Harry accepts his school’s second outing at the Penn

Relays as another learning experience for the athletes which, he hopes, they would take to heart as they continue their athletics career.

He welcomes the opportunities such as the Penn Relay events where the athletes have exposure to different conditions.

As he looks ahead to next year’s championship, Harry is of the view that with more organized training with respect to the relay events, his team of athletes should be able to compete stronger.

I.B.A.ALLEN

Athletes of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School’s relay teams with school and sponsors’ officials.

Inset: Godfrey Harry, Coach of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School Athletics programme.

V

30. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

Sports

Skerritt hits first century NATIONAL middle order batsmen Harley Skerritt stroked the first century of the 2012 season as Rivals comfortably defeated newly promoted ASCO by an innings and 142 runs, in the National Premier Division cricket competition on the weekend.

Skerritt, who registered a record number of centuries in the First Division last year, Harley Skerritt stroked 152 for followed up his Rivals.

98 last week against Police with a dashing 152, as Rivals declared their only innings at 303 for 4, at the Arnos Vale Two Playing Field. He was supported

by Ronald Jeffery with 53 and Marvin Small, 34.

ASCO in reply were dismissed for 103, led by national selectee Desron Maloney who topscored with 41. Deighton Butler 4 for 15 and Olanzo Jackson 3 for 31 set them back. Facing a deficit of 200 on first innings, ASCO fared even worse, mustering 58. Asif Hooper with 4 for 8 and Deighton Butler 3 for 9, did the damage..

Saints created an early upset by defeating former champions OLA Boutique Radcliffe by 78 runs, at Arnos Vale One. Saints, batting first, made 102. Kenroy Peters topscored with 24 and Sunil Ambris hit 23. Dyke Cato grabbed 6 for 33.

Radcliffe in reply were bowled out for a paltry 45. Romario Bibby took 4 for 26 and Kentish Phillips 4 for 1. Saints in their second innings reached 159, led by 87 from Devane Warner. Dyke Cato bagged 4 for 30 to finish with match figures of 10 for 63, while Delorn Johnson had 3 for 29.

Radcliffe, set 216 for victory, were dismissed for 138. Delorn Johnson led with 39 and Jomo Toney hit 36. Ray Charles took 6 for 43 and Romario Bibby 3 for 39.

Police Two took first innings honours over News Spartans at the Stubbs Playing Field. News Spartans posted 235. Dawnley Joseph hit 48, Nixon McLean 42 and Gidron Pope 33. Elmore Alexander took 3 for 54 and Rolando Wright 3 for 63. Police Two replied with 237, led by Elron Lewis 62, Salvan Browne 56 and Danny Alleyne 35.

Tiron Simon took 3 for 72. News Spartans in their second innings reached 95 for 4 when play ended.

Gidron Pope hit 25.

In the First Division, Victors Two defeated LOG Masters by an innings and 116 runs at Buccament.

Victors Two made 203 for 7 declared. Nicholas Baptiste topscored with 52. Kishore Shallow hit 40, Damal Phillips 38 and Javed Harry 35. Jimmy Sam took 4 for 46. Log Masters in reply were dismissed for 22. Javan Samuel took 6 for 16 and Javed Harry 3 for 4.Log Masters batting a second time made 65. Damal Phillips took 5 for 8.

This weekend, in the Premier Division, Police One will face Police Two at Arnos Vale Two and News Spartans will oppose Victors One at Stubbs.

In the First Division, Bryden Frutee Youth United will play LOG Masters at Buccament, while Belmont United oppose Smashers at North Union.

Jamuel Matthews (right) of Rivals F.C receives champion trophy from Rudy Daize.

Best goalkeeper, Allesco Samuel, gladly accepts his trophy.

N’ Leeward football awards Rivals F.C were rewarded for their triumph in the 2011 Rudy Electrical North Leeward Football Competition, at a ceremony at the Petit Bordel Playing Field last weekend.

The event, organized by the North Leeward Sports Association, also served to launch the 2012 Vinlec North Leeward 20/20 cricket competition and the 2012 North Leeward Carnival, and included the official turning on of the electricity at the Petit Bordel Pavilion, made possible by the Richmond Power Plant.

Jamuel Mathews collected the champion’s trophy on behalf of Rivals F.C of Petit Bordel. FH Predators finished second, and defending champions Outstanding Guage were third.

The best goal keeper award went to Allisko Samuel of Rival FC. Best defender was Shorn Seales of FH Predators, with the best midfielder award going to Kevin Small also of FH Predators. The best striker was Donald Delpleche of Hot Vibes Enforcers 2. The most goals, 6, were scored by Nashan Delpleche. MVP of the finals was Allisko Samuel.

Speaking at the ceremony, Managing Director and primary principal of Rudy Electrical, Rudy Daize, affirmed his Company’s commitment to the

North Leeward Football Competition for another year stating that as a son of the soil, he was always willing and

Nashan Delpleche collects a trophy for scoring the most goals in the competition. happy to be associated possible. with sports and its development and Stories by I.B.A.ALLEN continuity in any way

SVG trail St. Lucia in Volleyball St Vincent and the Grenadines finished second behind St. Lucia in the NORCECA Men’s Group B World Championship Qualification tournament, held in St Lucia on the weekend.

St Vincent and the Grenadines defeated Grenada 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-12) to St. Lucia, winner of the NORCECA win the opening Men’s Group B World Championship match by a 3-1 margin. They also Qualification tournament. recorded wins over the Grenadines, newcomers St Eustatius to secure have booked their promotion. berths in the Host St Lucia ousted St Vincent and the Grenadines 3-0 (25-16, 25- 18, Eastern Brian Burke, Caribbean 25-13) in the Final, to clinch the top coach of the SVG Volleyball spot in the championship. team, hopes to Association Brian Burke, Coach of the St take the (ECVA) Senior Vincent and the Grenadines team, experience as a Championships, admitted to the St Lucians’ motivator towards set for later this superiority. greater things. year.

“We were simply beaten by a SVG took superior team,” Burke stated of his away some added pride when Marlon team’s performance in the final.

Williams was named Best Receiver Burke however, believes that his and Best Digger of the tournament. team was guilty of making too many Another Vincentian, Cleuvvan errors.

Cumberbatch, was the Best Blocker.

Looking ahead, Burke said his Three players from St. Lucia were players will be using the knowledge among the other awardees. Benson gained from the tournament to take Tertullien copped the Best Libero, Kas them through to other tournaments.

Charles the Best Server, and Servin St Lucia, St Vincent and the Mungroo was the Best Setter.

Grenadines and Grenada go through Final positions: 1. Saint Lucia, 2. St to the second round in 2013 for the Vincent and the Grenadines, 3.

World Championships Qualification, Grenada, 4. St Eustatius. whilst St Lucia and St Vincent and

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THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 31.

Sports

Sports and politics THE ISSUE of politics and sport has always been a bone of contention. Governments have to be wary about interference in sports. But that is an element of confusion. However one looks at it, it is in government’s interest to ensure that everything is well in the sporting arena.

They are responsible for providing basic amenities. That includes provision of infrastructure and its maintenance.

Sport is the invisible platform of a country’s potential to develop. A country that excels in sports most naturally tends to benefit from economic advances.

It is disappointing that the Annual Sports Award has been forfeited. It offered an opportunity for those who excelled in the sporting arena to be rewarded.

Such recognition ought never to be overlooked.

The National Sports Council should complete the programme at least in the calendar year, and have a double recognition. That will make up for the delay and complete the 2012 event.

December should be the deadline for the event, and the session could be organized to coincide with end of year activities.

Sporting personnel ought not to be subject to the vagaries of their associations, and where in some instances there may be negligence or indifference, the NSC should determine the authenticity of the nomination.

Constitutional matters are causes of much contention. In this age of egotism with which some sporting organisations are confronted, differences can harm the progress of the sport and indeed harm the nation’s image and development.

There are sensitive issues when it comes to sport, as indeed with many aspects of life. The ongoing saga with Chris Gayle and the West Indies Cricket Board is a glaring example.

And when it comes to finding a solution, not even the most passionate attempts by Caricom leaders seem to have any impact.

Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves must be disappointed that his efforts to bolster a resolution have turned into a stalemate.

Over fifty years ago, attempts at political integration in the Caribbean failed and the Federation died in infancy. That process continued on the sporting field by the West Indies cricket team.

The Caribbean enjoyed some level of buoyancy and pride when the West Indies team was doing well.

When the team hit a downward trend, cracks in our regional solidarity appeared.

The region seems to have lost persons who can overcome the stigma of insularity.

While Sir Franck Worrell was prophetic in seeing the region as all inclusive, some persons, from the so-called bigger territories, and even some from the smallest of the islands are intent on driving the seeds of division and distrust within a population where there is more that unites us than what divides. And the region has been established as a melting pot. For there are not many other places where the mixture of so many different peoples and cultures condensing into a melting pot.

That describes the Caribbean. So perhaps that’s the basis on which we are so easily diverted from the path of peace and tranquility which are natural assets of this hemisphere.

Under-13 football tournament concludes

by GLORIAH… THE ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Football Federation (SVGFF) has expanded its programme into a series of competition matches for youths, who are involved in football training sessions in the various communities around St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

This particular competition, which involves the Under-13 youths within these communities, will culminate in a third place playoff tomorrow, Saturday, 5th May, at the Richmond Hill Playing Field in Kingstown, and the tournament final on Sunday, 6th May at the same venue.

In a conversation with President of the Federation, Mr. Venold Coombs, THE VINCENTIAN learned that this championship is a new initiative in national football.

According to Coombs, “The idea behind it is to start molding young footballers, so that in seven or eight years time there will be a group of well organized, disciplined footballers who could take SVG beyond the sub-region, to the Gold Cup and beyond.”

This competition has seen involvement coming from the eight communities: North Leeward, Barrouallie, Layou; South Leeward, West Kingstown, Central Kingstown, East Kingstown, and Calliaqua. It began on Tuesday, 11th April with matches being played at the Richmond Hill Playing Field on a 60m x

West Kingstown, one of the teams involved in the nursery level football.

40m playing area; and each team fielding nine players.

The Federation President told THE VINCENTIAN that it was under a “previous presidency” of his that the Under-15 competition was initiated. It was out of the phases of this, he said, that footballers like Rodney ‘Chang’ Jack, Dexter ‘Awu’ Walker, Dexter Browne, Curtis ‘Fame’ Joseph, Kendol ‘Ken-I’ Velox, Otis Blackette, Keith Ollivierre, Cornelius Huggins and several others emerged to represent the country in the Gold Cup. The training of Under13 youths, therefore, is simply the next step in the development of football here. President Coombs and his Federation now look

forward to this level becoming a nursery of young players who will continually graduate to higher levels: Under-15, Under-17, Under-19 and Seniors.

With the setting in place for development in football, Coombs explained that, “Interest is keen among these youngsters. You’ve got to help them out with their expectations.”

The Under-13 finalists will be determined after Saturday’s semi-final, but the weekend will be rife with football as the Under-17 and Senior finals will be staged on Sunday, 6th May. These other finals will kick off at the Victoria Park from 5:00 pm.

Even the young are exposed as officials in the Under-13 competition.

Action in the Barrouallie versus South Leeward match.

Venold Coombs, President of the SVGFF, places much emphasis on the development of youth football.

V

32. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

People

Sister Azucena Williams (left) and Pearl James with Mike Browne, President of VVFA.

Williams sisters to visit Venezuela FOR SISTERS PEARL JAMES and Azucena Williams who were born in Venezuela, the dream of seeing the land of their birth is closer to reality, thanks to the efforts of the Venezuela Vincentian Friendship Association (VVFA).

Pearl, an 80-yearold dressmaker, and her younger sister Azucena, a 76-year-old retired teacher and former Secretary of the Girl Guides Association, H.E. Yoel Marcano. said that their mother, Venezuelan Ambassador Irene Haynes, lived in to SVG, has come in for Trinidad and later much thanks from the migrated to the Williams sisters.

Spanish-speaking country to work with a petroleum company.

The duo left Venezuela when they were six and two years old respectively and admitted that although they don’t have a lot of memories, they feel very excited about making the trip back to their homeland.

Williams exclaimed, “We are looking forward to it…I’m so happy that we are going back to the land of our birth!”

James expressed, “We wish to thank Ambassador Yoel Marcano for giving us this trip and we’re also thankful to the government of Venezuela. We are praying every day for President Chavez and wish him a speedy recovery…we can’t wait to see him.”

Former parliamentarian Mike Browne, President of VVFA, said the organization is helping to arrange the trip in keeping with his association’s commitment to do what it could to facilitate the visit by the sisters.

He further explained that through the efforts of Ambassador Marcano, Venezuelan Ambassador to St Vincent and the Grenadines, passports were obtained for the sisters and an itinerary for the visit was also arranged.

Browne said that they are now awaiting finances to effect the trip. Support for the trip will include a stipend for Angela Ideshia Jackson to accompany the elderly ladies as a translator.

The VVFA President pronounced that there are also plans to replicate the initiative so that other persons born in Venezuela, who have never been to their homeland, can get their Venezuelan passports and visit that country without any complications.

The sisters are expected to visit Venezuela in mid May for about 10 days.

V

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 33.

News

Garifuna retrieval effort to continue in SVG and other interested persons, with the intention of ascertaining and recording IN AUGUST 2011, a group of persons of their views on how the programme Garifuna descent, resident in New York, impacted their lives.

USA, arrived in their ancestral homeland, These views were to be incorporated St. Vincent and the Grenadines. into the production.

They came with a clear objective: St. Hill reported then, how To begin a process leading to the impressed she was by the eagerness of reintroduction of the Garifuna culture the Vincentian public to have the Vincentian children performing after having been involved in Garifuna dance to Vincentians. For three weeks, the workshop return to Yurumein in 2012. sessions in August 2011. group conducetd sessions in Garifuna Members of the workshop viewing of the Habinaha Garinagu

by Garifuna artistes, including Paula drumming styles and dance, and Organizing Committe, told THE Castillo, Quellar and James Lovell, lessons in the Garifuna language.

VINCENTIAN that, although funding Workshop Documentary from 2011.

Authentic Garifuna foods, and music will also be a feature of the event.

Children and adults from to realize the activity was sought, it throughout the state attended the was not received. workshop, dubbed ‘Habinaha However, committed to continue the Garinagu Yurumein’ or ‘Dance successful project of Garifuna cultural Garifuna SVG’. retrieval, the Committee has already An audio-visual documentary was begun to put structures in place to produced from this workshop, return to ensure its continuation. showcasing the talents and prowess of Towards this end, a fundraiser is the participants. scheduled for Saturday, 19th May, In January 2012, Trish St. Hill, one 2012. It is slated to be held at ‘Casa of the principal players behind the Yurumein”, located at 1184 Fulton documentary, returned to SVG to Avenue in the Bronx. present a preview of the rough cut of It will take the form of an evening the documentary to the participants of entertainment, and will include the

by Gloriah…

Long standing associate of Blondie Bird and Friends Keith Boyea (right) accepts sponsorship cheque from Vance Garraway (centre) in the company of Elroy ‘Blondie Bird’ Boyde, band leader.

Karib Cable sponsors Blondie Bird 2012 CARNIVAL Band of the Year defending champion Blondie Bird and Friends has been sponsored a total of $5000 by local cable television provider, Karib Cable.

According to Vance Garraway, Marketting Manager of Karib Cable, the gesture is yet another demonstration of his company’s support for the culture of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and carnival in particular.

Elroy ‘Blondie Bird’ Boyde, leader of the Mas Camp, expressed thanks to Karib Cable for its support and promised, “we will also be supporting them.”

Karib Cable, which also provides telephony and internet services, has

chosen to sponsor, appropriately so, the section ‘Fibre Optics’ from Blondie Bird’s ten-section 2012 presentation entitled, ‘A Glimpse of Kingstown’.

The band highlights how Kingstown has developed, and uses symbols to represent the many services that are now available in the capital.

Other sections include, among the ten, ‘Heritage Square’, ‘Lady Justice’, ‘Little Tokyo’ and the ‘Vegetable Market’.

Patrons to tomorrow’s (Saturday 5th May) official launch of Vincy Mas 2012 can look forward to previewing the section ‘Heritage Square’.

Blondie Bird and Friends are on a hattrick of wins, and has already given indication that they are the ones to beat.

The Secret to Incredibly Healthy Hair

V

34. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. THE VINCENTIAN

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V

THE VINCENTIAN. FRIDAY, MAY 4, 2012. 35.

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OLGA CHRISTIANA HOMER RICHARDSON RAYMOND PIERRE Burial: Sunday 29th April, 2012 Service at: Mt. Sinai Spiritual Baptist Church Carriere Time: 3:00 pm

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Burial: Monday 30th April, 2012 Service at: Mt. Ararat Spiritual Baptist Church South Rivers

Burial: Saturday 28th April, 2012 Service Our Lady of P.S. Anglican Church Spring Village

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Time: 3:00 p.m.

GEORGE ALEXANDER TIMM Burial: Sunday 29th April, 2012 Service at: Kingstown Evangelical Church Time: 3:00 p.m.

The National Newspaper of St. Vincent and the Grenadines

FRIDAY,

MAY 4, 2012

VOLUME 106, No. 18

F O R

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MAN FOUND HANGING AFTER BEATING MOTHER

by HAYDN HUGGINS

THE BODY of Glamorgan resident Kendol Lee was found hanging last Monday, April 30, about three hours after he had reportedly beaten his mother, Denise Lee. Brent Bradshaw, a family friend, reportedly discovered the body of the 26-year-old labourer, hanging by the neck with a curtain, next to the doorway in front of Kendol’s home, shortly after 3 p.m.

Mother attacked Kendol’s mother, who lives in a separate house in the same yard where her son lived alone, told THE VINCENTIAN, Kendol had run her down and viciously beaten her earlier that day.

Denise said she was coming from a relative’s shop around midday when she saw Kendol running behind her. She ran to one Mr. Martin’s home, but her son pursued her.

“He (Kendol) grabble me, pitch me on the steps by Mr. Martin and started to beat me with his hands. He slam me on the ground and started to blam my head on the ground,” the mother of four related.

Denise said she sustained injuries to her head, forehead and ear. She was taken, by ambulance, to the Stubbs clinic where she was treated and discharged.

Strange behaviour A close family member, who preferred not to be identified, recalled that earlier that day, Kendol took his mattress into the yard, threw his clothes, sheet, pillow, wallet and other belonginds on the mattress, lit it and began speaking to himself. He then put out the fire and took the mattress and other items back inside.

The family member said that shortly after, Kendol came back outside eating a mango.

“He threw the mango skin in the yard, but I did not know where he went after,” the close relative said.

She added that a few hours later, as she was leaving for Kingstown, Bradshaw discovered Kendol’s hanging body.

“When I nearly reach to the road, he (Bradshaw) calling me and I went back down and saw he (Kendol) was there slinging. I can’t believe,” the relative sighed.

Kendol Lee is the second reported suicide victim in recent times.

She revealed that early last year, Kendol had attempted suicide at his home. On that occasion, she had entered Kendol’s house and found him already making preparations for the act.

“He already had the curtain in the roof near his bedroom. When I watched him in his face, he just watched me and laugh,” the relative explained.

Bad relationship Kendol’s mother thinks that something had been worrying him, her only son and first child, ever since he entered an intimate relationship with a certain woman, about three years ago.

She said Kendol was recently treated at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital for an infection she believes he contracted from the woman. His mother had warned him repeatedly about that relationship.

“Kendol life just wreck. From the time

Published by The VINCENTIAN Publishing Co. Ltd, St. Vincent and the Grenadines;

Denise lee, the victim’s mother, reported that her son had Denise Lee, the victim’s mother, reported that her beaten her. son had beaten her. that girl come into his life, Kendol dey scampy.

Kendol nah want to bathe he skin. Kendol nah want to wash he clothes. The least little ting Kendol want to come lick you down. I never do he nothing. If he want a five dollars me go ge um. I use to still mind Kendol,” Denise related.

She is saddened by her son’s death, but does not intend to let that keep her down.

“I feel sad because I am his mother, but me nah go tek it on to raise up me pressure. He chose his way so all me just ah ask God is to have mercy on his soul,” the woman said.

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