COLOMBO—Captain Jason Mohammed and Andre McCarthy stroked hundreds as West Indies A completed an impressive 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka A in their unofficial One-Day International series here yesterday.

Playing at the Khetterama Stadium, the Caribbean side extended their impressive batting form by rattling up 305 for five off their allotted 47 overs, with Mohammed hitting an unbeaten 105 off 108 deliveries and McCarthy getting 102 off a mere 75 balls.

Seamers Ronsford Beaton (2-38) and Kesrick Williams (2-74) then picked up two wickets apiece as Sri Lanka A were limited to 248 for seven off their allotted 38 overs, to go down by eight wickets under the Duckworth/Lewis method.

Set a revised target of 257, Danushka Gunathilaka top-scored with 58 while Milinda Siriwardana (35), Pathirana (34) and Dasun Shanaka (33 not out) all got starts, but Sri Lanka A failed to get that big innings required.

The victory capped off a remarkable series performance by the Windies A, who won the opening game by 165 runs in Dambulla and the second by 109 runs in Kurunegala.

Choosing to bat first, West Indies overcame a stoppage for rain early in their innings to top the 300-run mark for the second straight game.

Chadwick Walton hammered 36 off 41 deliveries with three fours and a six as he dominated an opening stand of 43 with Kyle Hope who failed for the first time in the series with seven.

The visitors lost three wickets for 16 runs to stumble to 59 for three in the 15th over before Mohammed and McCarthy changed the game in a brilliant 163-run fourth wicket stand.

Mohammed struck eight fours and three sixes while McCarthy blasted 13 boundaries and three sixes, as West Indies A powered through the middle overs.

Jamaican McCarthy required 48 balls for his first fifty but then turned on the style, blasting four boundaries in one over from left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana and a pair of sixes off off-spinner Shehan Jayasuriya’s fifth over, to reach triple figures off another 24 deliveries.

Mohammed was more measured, however. He brought up his half-century off 74 balls but then needed only 31 balls to raise his century.

Rovman Powell produced a small cameo with 24 off 16 balls but it was Mohammed’s 47-run, unbroken sixth wicket stand with Kyle Mayers (17 not out) that saw Windies past 300.

Asked to score at over six-and-a-half runs per over, Sri Lanka A got a decent start when Gunathilaka spearheaded two decent partnerships up front.

The left-hander faced 60 balls and counted six fours and put on 44 for the first wicket with Sandun Weerakkody (20) and a further 46 for the second wicket with Jayasuriya (18).

But the hosts lost wickets steadily thereafter to decline to 166 for six in the 31st over and Pathirana and Shanaka’s 51-run, seventh wicket partnership was not enough at the end.

Scoreboard

Sri Lanka A vs West Indies A  

WEST INDIES A (47 overs)

C Walton c Silva b Pathirana     36

K Hope c Gunathilaka b Fernando     7

A Fudadin b Kulasekara    0

J Mohammed not out    105

A McCarthy c Shanaka b Kulasekara    102

R Powell c Jayasuriya b Shanaka    24

K Mayers not out    17

Extras  (lb3, w10, nb1)    14

TOTAL (5 wkts, 47 overs)    305

Fall of wickets: 1-43, 2-44, 3-59, 4-222, 5-258.

Bowling: Kulasekara 9-1-65-2 (nb1), Fernando 9-0-54-1 (w3), Shanaka 9-0-59-1 (w2), Pathirana 8-0-45-1, Silva 5-0-27-0 (w1), Siriwardana 4-0-24-0, Jayasuriya 3-0-28-0.

SRI LANKA A (target: 257 off 38 overs)

S Weerakkody c wkp Walton b Beaton    20

D Gunathilaka st Walton b Mohammed     58

D Jayasuriya c wkp Walton b Permaul     18

C Asalanka c Permaul b Williams     23

M Siriwardana lbw b Jacobs     35

D Shanaka not out     33

S Ashan lbw b Williams     3

S Pathirana c Hope b Beaton     34

N Kulasekara not out    12

Extras (b4, lb3, w4, nb1)    12

TOTAL (7 wkts, 38 overs)    248

Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-90, 3-114, 4-149, 5-163, 6-166, 7-217.

Bowling: Mayers 3-0-24-0 (w3), Beaton 7-0-38-2 (w1), Williams 9-0-74-2, Permaul 9-0-43-1, Powell 1-0-11-0, Mohammed 5-0-25-1, Jacobs 4-0-26-1.

Result: West Indies A won by eight runs.

Series: West Indies A won three-match series 3-0.

Toss: West Indies A.

With his recent novel The Repenters, Kevin Jared Hosein has fulfilled some of the promise which won him the Commonwealth Short Story Prize in 2015. 

He has also firmly positioned himself in the rapidly expanding cohort of Caribbean postmodern writers who have overturned metropolitan expectations of regional literature: abandoning the exotic for the grotesque; exchanging the indiscreet charms of the bourgeoisie or lush landscapes, with the grit of the mean streets of survival in an unhinged, dystopic postcolonial society. 

Yet for all its modernity this distinctively Caribbean bildungsroman recalls the “barrack literature” of the 1930s, with its focus on the urban underclass, the main difference being the entirely authentic Creole voice from below, of the protagonist and narrator Jordan Sant: “It ain’t have no cut to heal if the knife never break the skin.”

Despite Jordan’s protestations (“Never really care for books before”) the shadow of the children’s classic The Little Prince and to a lesser degree those of Lord of the Flies and Crime and Punishment is discernible throughout the narrative of an orphan’s struggle to survive institutional life and its aftermath, following the horrific murder of his parents. 

What distinguishes Repenters from other narratives of childhood trauma and abuse, is its unusual or unlikely framing in Christian faith, which recalls Pilgrim’s Progress. The three sections of the novel (Saints, Sinners, Repenters) can be read as an unholy triptych, the torments of an innocent dropped in a swamp of abuse, whose only apparent salvation lies on the roads of sin. 

But from the beginning of “the long road with no turning” Jordan has faith, heavily seasoned with street sense: “Give God a chance with your soul and you will be okay…All bad things come to an end, but not without casualties. God don’t owe you anything beyond that point. The ones who survive are the people who God have His eye on. And I could tell you one surefire thing. Since the clock ticking...God has watched over me.” If Milarepa, patron saint of Buddhist Tibet was a murderer before his conversion and eventual canonisation, why shouldn’t Jordan Sant also be redeemed?

While the debate/controversy over what defines Caribbean writing and writers meanders on, Repenters sidesteps the local for the universal. 

There is little reference  to landscape; we move from the bare environment of St Asteria Orphanage to the “galvanise wasteland” of Port-of-Spain’s  Sea Lots shanty town and back to St Asteria. 

Trinidad’s national festival, Carnival, gets short shrift from dazed onlooker Jordan: “Cloth, grass and beads, shimmerin under the blazin afternoon sun, spread like the wings of a deformed bird of paradise. Everything movin at the pace of dying earthworms…what I see mean nothing to me.” 

Hosein and his narrator Jordan’s focus is internalised, and as readers we are in Jordan’s troubled head for the most part. 

In the Saints section, like Jordan we observe the inequity of power relations between vulnerable children and their supposed guardians; their sexual exploitation and learned depravity; the cruelty the weak inflict on those who are even weaker; the emotional wilderness they involuntarily inhabit.  

In the Sinners section, Hosein introduces us to the Tarrantinoesque inferno of drugs, brutal sex and violence which, like in Marlon James’s Seven Killings, is the contemporary Caribbean setting which threatens to displace the more innocuous or exotic versions of beach, sea and rainforest.  Jordan survives the unrelenting round of robbery, murder and rape, all of which he is deeply implicated in, to return to St Asteria in the final Repenters section, because there’s nowhere else to go. After the harrowing reading of Sinners, (which requires a strong stomach) Repenters is inevitably anti-climactic and the closure with Jordan reuniting with orphanage friend Ti-Marie a little too neat. 

Yet in the absence of blood family there is a kind of solace when these two orphans commit to caring for each other and another generation of those left parentless. 

For prodigal Jordan there is also redemption: “I have my sins, but they is just one side of me…God is watching over me, and I must do my best to pull these children up from the mire. It isn’t just a task. It is a necessity. It is the way of the world. Somethin to live for…A currency for my tithes, to repay my debts. To heal my wounds.” 

While conforming to the conventional bildungsroman conclusion where the protagonist ultimately finds a place in the community, Repenters shakes up the genre through the worldy-wise focus of Jordan, whose voice though it cracks at times, overrides sentimentality, compelling readers to confront the ugliness which is now both a Caribbean and global reality.

How can we apply creative skills to not only make a living, but solve problems? T&T Guardian feature writer Shereen Ali spoke to sign painter Bruce Cayonne and designer Debbie Estwick to see how their different but related projects seek to find solutions. Today, we focus on Cayonne’s story, while tomorrow, we look at Estwick’s take on recycled design products.

ruce Cayonne has been making posters and signs for almost 30 years now. Born in Guyana, he came to T&T in 1979 at the age of 12; his father is from T&T while his mother is Guyanese.

He remembers that when he first came to T&T, he was struck by its faster pace: “I saw my first TV here...But my childhood in Guyana was really nice, you know. Coming here wasn’t too big of a culture change for me, because remember, Guyana and Trinidad both have people of East Indian and African descent.” 

The family settled in Arima. He recalls: “I always liked living in Arima, especially how close-knit the people here used to be—everybody knew each other. But it’s not so much that way now, because now Arima has grown perhaps three or four times bigger than it was.” 

Cayonne says he loves working from home because it gives him flexibility and independence.

It wasn’t always so, however. He has earned his living running two bars in the past, and has been involved in other businesses. At one point, he had a regular day job working for a fairly large firm, painting billboards for its marketing department. And then, unexpectedly, the firm laid him off.

That was a difficult time for him. He describes it as bittersweet: bitter, because of the loss of reliable income; sweet, because it forced him into being his own boss, and building up his own sign-painting business, which turned out to be a good decision for him. 

“It was salt—real hard for about five years, then income came from the party business,” he said. Sign-painting has now given him an independent income for more than two decades.

“In ’92 I first started promoting parties,” he recalled. 

“It started when a group of us wanted to raise funds to help somebody doing a surgery, so we say, leh we do a party. So I did the posters to advertise the party. Soon after that, promoters started approaching me to paint signs for their fetes,” he said. 

Cayonne reflected that his family has always had a creative streak, which has expressed itself in different ways: “My father was a joiner. He also carved wood, and would make paintings with emulsion paint of sceneries on hardboard. And he had a brother who was involved in all aspects of art—acting, painting, carving, burning.”

Cayonne said his sign work is fairly steady throughout the year, but the July-August period is the best business time for him, with Easter coming second, and Christmas, third. Carnival is slow for him—because radio stations now do a lot of the fete promoting.

When he does a sign, he uses size, colour and style to make the letters convey the main idea or emotion—church signs might be in restrained, stoic blues, black or white, while a “Girls Gone Wild” fete sign would be more energetic, sexy and playful. 

He says he imagines how a voice on the radio might change the pitch and inflection of words to add drama and interest, and he uses this idea to give visual emphasis to words in his signs. 

A single job order might involve making anything from 25 to 400 signs. During one election campaign, he recalled a job for 400 eight-by- four-foot signs. He currently makes 16 different sizes of signs.

“Radio is popular for promoting parties, but it is expensive,” explained Cayonne about the business: “For instance, a party promoter might pay anything from $10,000 to $15,000 for daily radio ads for one to two weeks for just one radio station. 

Whereas with me, $10,000 can buy a whole lot more, and you will see it every single day, 24 hours a day.”

How does he like being his own boss? At ease in his breezy back yard, beneath some mango trees, he says:

“I tell people right now, it is better to work for half your salary (and feel comfortable)...If someone were to come right now, and offer me something far far higher than what I am making, I would say no. It’s not to say that I am making a huge amount now, but I just totally enjoy setting my own pace.  

“Where I am living here, I can see bus route maxis passing, I see people going to work every morning, half-past six, seven in the morning, their heads back and sleeping...they are tired and they ent reach to work yet. Coming home in the evening, is the same sight I seeing. Some of them have little children with them at that time, all six o’clock in the evening and school finishing since half-past two. 

“So to me, that is a sorry sight. Not to mention the traffic jam and all that kinda headache. To feel that you have to go through that. 

“So working here on my own, I come out here on a morning, at whatever time. Sometimes I work in the evening. I can totally set my own pace. And it is more relaxing and more satisfying.”

Changes to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley will be announced after lunch on Monday.

Well-placed sources told Guardian Media that shake ups are coming in the Ministries of the Attorney General, National Security, Health, Foreign Affairs, Public Utilities, Sports and Energy.

In January, Prime Minister Rowley added Foreign Affairs Minister Dennis Moses and former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Toco/Sangre Grande MP Glenda Jennings Smith to the crime fighting arsenal at the Ministry of National Security. 

But by Rowley’s own admission the fight against crime has been failing so much so that the PM told the PNM Convention on Sunday that “I propose to take a direct interest in overseeing a comprehensive review of the way in which community policing functions are introduced within the Police Service.”

Rowley lamented that billions of dollars were spent in the last two decades but yet still it was a “small deadly minority” who continue to act with impunity in the country.

The Prime Minister has been unhappy with the way Dillon has been handling the crime situation and may well do what Basdeo Panday did when he was Prime Minister and assume the National Security portfolio himself.

Sources say the Prime Minister also intends to move the Energy Minister Nicole Olivierre whose performance has been deemed as “lacklustere.”  

Gerry Brooks is the man hinted to take the job he will be given a senatorial appointment. Brooks is currently the Chairman of the National Gas Company.

The Cabinet shake-up will also see changes in the Ministry of Health. 

Minister Terrence Deyalsingh we are told will be shifted to another portfolio and the country may well see the return of Marlene Mc Donald, who on Sunday was retained as a deputy political leader of the PNM. McDonald is under probe by the Integrity Commission over allegations of hiring her spouse to work at her constituency office.

Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon may return as Foreign Affairs Minister,  a portfolio which she held under the former Patrick Manning administration and Stuart Young may be given the job as Attorney General. 

Our sources say if the change is not made to the Office of the Attorney General Young may be brought in to the National Security Ministry where the Prime Minister feels he needs the strongest talent at this time.

Cabinet sources told the Guardian that the decision as to who stays and who goes rests solely with the Prime Minister.

The PNM’s campaign manager for the 2015 general election Rohan Sinanan has been appointed Minister of Works and Transport, and former works minister Fitzgerald Hinds is the new Public Utilities Minister, in a reshuffle announced today by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley via a media release.

Sinanan, deputy political leader of the PNM, is expected to take the oath of office at President's House this afternoon.

Former Public Utilities Minister retired Brigadier Ancil Antoine has been axed along with former energy minister Nicole Olivierre who has been replaced by former Rural Development and Local Government minister Franklin Khan.

This means Olivierre and Antoine will be an MPs without portfolio.

Khan has been replaced in the ministry of Local Government and Rural Development by former San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein.
Hosein’s term as mayor ended just last week.

In making the announcements the Prime Minister’s office said the Office of the President had been advised to Revoke the appointments of Sarah Budhu as a Senator, revoke the appointment of Olivierre as Minister of Energy and Energy Industries; and to revoke the appointment of Antoine as Minister of Public Utilities.

President Anthony Carmona was also advised to:
·         Reassign Franklin Khan from Minister of Rural Development and Local Government to Minister of Energy and Energy Industries;

·         Appoint  Kazim Hosein as Senator and Minister of Rural Development and Local Government;

·         Reassign Fitzgerald Ethelbert Hinds from Minister of Works and Transport to Minister of Public Utilities;

·         Appoint  Rohan Sinanan, a Senator, as Minister of Works and Transport;

Stuart Young Minister will now be Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister.

DENNER, ERROL FITZHERBERT formerly of Port of Spain and retiree of BWIA, died on Friday 21st October 2016. Father of Desmond, Richard, Errol Jr. & Anthony.

Funeral will take place on Wednesday 2nd November 2016 at Clark & Battoo Funeral Home Chapel, 11 Tragarete Road, Port of Spain at 9:00am and thence to the Cinerary Long Circular Road, St. James for cremation at 11:00am. For enquiries please contact Clark & Battoo Chaguanas @ 665-5266.

ST. LOUIS: DIANNE HELEN passed away peacefully on Friday, 28th October, 2016. Daughter of Eldon and Ena St. Louis (both deceased). Relative and friend of many.

Funeral Mass of the late Dianne Helen St. Louis takes place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, 3rd November, 2016 at The Church of The Assumption, Long Circular Road, Maraval. Private Cremation. For enquiries please contact R. M. de Souza Memorial Chapel Limited at 223-2007/637-2009.

OSBOURNE, KENNETH WAKEFIELD of 144 Emerald Drive, Diamond Vale. Age 91, died peacefully at home on 29th October, 2016. Son of Ouida Osbourne (dec.) Husband of Jacqueline Osbourne Father of Kenneth Jr., Wayne, Patricia and Lennox.

Fatherin- law of Donna, Fitzroy and Ava. Brother-in-law of Joan Daniel, Marjorie Alexander, Merlyn Vidale, Audrey Ashton and Winston Daniel (dec.) Grandfather of Nieja, Akyann, Kyn, Kenon, Keone, Khalid, Tamaan, Tamika, Sylva, Khera, Ryan and Rhia. Great Grandfather of Eight(8). Uncle of Jan Osbourne, Kathy, Hazel-Ann, Marcia, Lisa, Lester, Michelle, Sean, Ian and Barry. Relative of the Osbournes. Friend of the Woo Ling family, Siewdath Maharaj and many others.

Funeral service of the late Kenneth Osbourne takes place at the All Saint's Anglican Church, Marli Street at 10:00 a.m. on Friday 4th November, 2016 thence to the Western Cemetery, St. James. For enquiries; call C&B: 625-1170. To send condolences please visit our website www.clarkandbattoo. com.

ST. LOUIS: DIANNE HELEN passed away peacefully on Friday, 28th October, 2016. Daughter of Eldon and Ena St. Louis (both deceased). Relative of the Johnsons, Gittens, Gillezeaus, Hatts, Quashs, De Silvas, Seignorets, St. Louis, Hernandez, Thomas and Pattersons, friend of many. Former teacher at Providence Girls Secondary School 1968- 1999.

Funeral Mass of the late Dianne Helen St. Louis takes place at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, 3rd November, 2016 at The Church of The Assumption, Long Circular Road, Maraval. Private Cremation. A collection will be taken up for The Vitas House Hospice. For enquiries please contact R. M. de Souza Memorial Chapel Limited at 223-2007/637-2009.

WILLIAMS, MARJORIE of #4 Picton Street Ext, San Juan died Wednesday 26th Oct, 2016 Retiree of Gov t Printery. Wife of Kelvin Williams aka Sheppy. Mother of Sherwin, Sharon and (Seon deceased). Stepmom of Beverly. Mother-in-law of Gillian Gill-Williams. Grandmother of Shaquille, Emmanuel, Anna-Maria, Vianney-Marie, Joseph, Christian and Mark. Sister of Hollis, Monica and Marva (all deceased). Glenda, Kenneth, John, Elvin, Debbie and Lindra.

Funeral at 11:00 am Wednesday 2nd November, 2016 at St. John s the Baptist R.C. Church, San Juan thence to the San Juan R.C. Cemetery. TO SEND CONDO LENCES PLEASE VISIT www.clarkandbattoo.com For enquiries; call C&B: 625-1170

Newly-installed president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA) Lynsley Doodhai says his executive’s first order of business would be to address the continuing expansion of the Primary Curriculum Rewrite (PCR).

He said the PCR was akin to the Continuous Assessment Component (CAC) which was introduced in 2012 under the stewardship of former Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh and scrapped in February last year by current Education Minister Anthony Garcia.

Doodhai said it was just another form of “pressure” on the shoulders of primary school pupils. He was speaking after an installation ceremony at the union’s Curepe head office yesterday.

He said the new executive was eager to resume the monthly meetings with the Ministry of Education during which it intended to raise the PCR matter. The first meeting is carded for tomorrow.

In response, Garcia said: “We will be willing to discuss the matter when we meet. We share a close relationship with all stakeholders and TTUTA is one such body.”

Immediate past president Davanand Sinanan urged the incoming executive to come together and work to promote and preserve teachers’ rights.

He acknowledged the mud-slinging during the recently concluded election campaign but said the time had come for all to “get on with the job.”

NEW executive

The new executive, led by Doodhai, includes first vice-president Marlon Seales; second vice- president Kryrla Robertson; third vice-president Darren Lee Him; returning general secretary Fitzroy Daniel and returning treasurer Gewan Durga.

Daniel’s position was unopposed while Durga retained his post.

Seales is the cousin of Michael Seales, president of the Police Service Social and Welfare Association.

A homeless man has lost in his novel legal bid to block the Port-of-Spain City Corporation from locking him and other homeless people out of Tamarind Square at nights. 

In a 28-page judgment delivered in the Port-of-Spain High Court, Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell refused Hugh Bernard permission to pursue his judicial review claim against the corporation for implementing the measure without providing alternative facilities. 

While Donaldson-Honeywell praised Bernard for raising awareness of the plight of homeless people in T&T, she said the case could not proceed as Bernard’s lawyers should have pursued a constitutional motion instead. She said his claims focused more on how the decision affected his constitutional rights to life and liberty as opposed to the legality of the decision. 

“Street dwelling is a concern not only for those unfortunate persons who, whether by choice or having suffered dire life experiences, seek to stake a claim to entitlement to reside in public places but also presents a threat to other members of the public whose freedom of movement, safety and enjoyment of public places may be adversely affected by such occupation,” Donaldson-Honeywell said. 

Bernard filed the claim earlier this year after the corporation erected fences along the perimeter of the park in East Port-of-Spain and placed padlocks on its gates. He claimed that he has been homeless since being deported from the United States in 1993 and has been living on the streets as the Centre for the Socially Displaced at Riverside car park (located near to Tamarind Square) is unfit for human habitation. 

In his claim Bernard’s attorneys also alleged that under the Municipal Corporations Act, the corporation was not allowed to limit accesss to public parks without enacting by-laws, which was not done in this case. In addition to seeking to have the corporation reverse its decision, Bernard was also asking the court to order the corporation to construct temporary facilities at the location to accommodate homeless people. 

Donaldson-Honeywell disagreed as she said that the corporation had wide discretion to manage the facility and did not have the duty to provide facilities for homeless people. 

“The Corporation is neither charged with, nor does it have the power to provide housing or facilities for homeless persons and it can only act within its jurisdiction. Further, allowing the displaced persons to build structures in the square could possibly cause injury to other users of the square and the respondent would bear the liability for such injury,” Donaldson-Honeywell said. 

As part of her judgment, Donaldson-Honeywell called upon the Government and citizens to partner with each other to address the issue of homelessness. 

“The reasons for the plight of the persons reduced to living in such circumstances are many and varied. However, what is certain is that in a society as small as ours these persons are connected perhaps by less than six degrees of separation from each of us. Accordingly, this issue of street dwelling is a matter that requires urgent attention and it is a concern from which no member of society can feel absolved of responsibility,” she said. 

Bernard was represented by Christopher Hamel-Smith, SC, Imran Ali and Krystal Richardson, while Eduardo Martinez represented the corporation.

As a means of influencing young people away from criminal lifestyles, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has taken the bold step of assuming personal and direct responsibility for reviving community policing.

While that responsibility will not include the day-to-day tracking down and bringing criminals to justice, it is significant that Dr Rowley is putting his reputation, the resources of his office and his credibility on the line to tackle the biggest problem in the country—rampant crime. This speaks volumes about the desperate and dangerous circumstances in which citizens of T&T now live.

Securing a peaceful and safe environment for the development of the individual, the society and the economy should be top priority for any government. The fact that Dr Rowley is taking a direct hand in seeking solutions for what is a generational problem means he understands the essential work his Government needs to do. His involvement also makes a statement about his confidence that his efforts will save another generation of T&T’s young people from the influence of criminals. 

Of all the previous prime ministers that have held office in this country, only Basdeo Panday ever took on the national security portfolio, albeit for a fairly short period of time. Near to the end of that tenure, he expressed frustration at not being able to make headway in the fight against crime. 

No doubt differing views will be expressed about Dr Rowley’s decision. Don’t be surprised if some claim the Prime Minister has diminished the stature of National Security Minister Brigadier Edmund Dillon and that his actions demonstrate a lack of faith in the minister’s ability to achieve the objective of reversing the country’s worrying crime trends.

On the other hand, given the enormity of the problem and the failure of successsive governments to find sustainable solutions—the reality is that so much is riding on the Government achieving this elusive goal—Prime Minister Rowley’s action may also be seen as taking charge like any commander should. 

Dr Rowley’s plan can, and will be interpreted, dissected and portrayed in many ways, including by some of his detractors as pure “mamaguy” to win in the local government election on November 28. It may also be seen, given the suspicious and cynical nature of local politics, as interference in the work of the police.

However, the direct involvement of the Prime Minister could ensure that community policing programmes are adequately resourced and, if administered under the Office of the Prime Minister, more likely to achieve crime reduction objectives that have so far been elusive.

Dr Rowley’s move is not altogether unexpected. It was actually foreshadowed by his meeting several weeks ago with police divisional leaders, calling them to account for law enforcement efforts in the jurisdictions they head. If nothing else, this was a very clear signal that there will no longer be hiding behind the office of the Commissioner—all will have to take full responsibility for the shortcomings and failures in their divisions.

The new approach seems to be to widen the understanding and assessment of crime and consistently analysing preventive measures taken to date for more firm and decisive action to get criminals off the streets, improve the rate of detection and achieve more convictions.

Simply knowing about the problems and their sources is no longer enough. A very urgent requirement on all national security fronts is to identify solutions and implement them in the shortest possible crime.

Community policing, the best strategy for mending the broken relationship between police officers and the public, is but one strategy, as important as it is, in what must be a multi-faceted crime fighting plan.

Defending champions and two-time winners, T&T will come up against 2008 winner Martinique in Pool E of next year’s Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Men’s Championship here in T&T.

The eight-team finals will also see T&T, which won the title last time it was held in 2014 here in T&T as well facing Curacao and Jamaica in their round-robin group.

Pool D will comprise former winners, Bahamas and Barbados, Haiti and Suriname.

The tournament will be of utmost importance to all teams involved as it will also served as the Second Round of CAZOVA FIVB World Championship Qualifying. 

T&T and Barbados, as the top two ranked teams in CAZOVA were automatic qualifiers to the Second Round while Haiti (Pool C), 2012 winner Bahamas (Pool A) and Jamaica (Pool B) were winners of their respective Round One qualifying pools. 

Commenting on the pooling, Gideon Dickson who has led T&T to its two titles said it was a very interesting set of groupings. 

He added, “Martinique won the title in 2008 and have always proven to be a tough challenge while Jamaica is on the up once again with some emerging talent as well as Curacao.

“However, we know the amount of work we have to put it and within two weeks we will commence our preparations with some elite athlete strengthening and conditioning work.”

“This will be the first phase of our preparations as we look ahead to a hectic schedule next year which will also include the Pan American Cup and the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Game,” said Dickson.   

From the eight-team finals, the top two teams overall will again qualify to the Third Round of FIVB World Championship qualification while crowning the eventual champions of CAZOVA.

At the NORCECA Continental, the CAZOVA duo will join the USA, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico along with two from Central America and two from the Eastern Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (ECVA) in the top-12 qualification process to determine the eventual qualifiers to the World Championships.

Two years ago, T&T outside-hitter Simon Blake was voted as the “Most Valuable Player” after leading the host to a come-from-behind 22-25, 25-23, 25-18, 25-19 defeat of Barbados in the final for T&T’s second title in four years after beating the same Barbados in the 2010 decider when the tournament was held in Suriname.

A crowd favourite for his points celebrations, Blake also copped the ‘Best Outside Spiker” and “Best Scorer” awards while team-mate Ryan Mahadeo was the “Best Libero” awardee.

Apart from T&T and Suriname, perennial kings and record nine-time winner Barbados (1992-1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006) and Netherlands Antilles (1991) are the other past winners.

T&T women to US Virgin Islands

T&T will also play host to the Women’s CAZOVA Championship for which the “Calypso Spikers” and Jamaica, ranked as the number one and two ranked teams in the region respectively have qualified automatically.

T&T will be joined in Group D of the women’s eight-team finals by US Virgin Islands who were second in the Round One Pool A qualifiers at home behind Curacao, and the winner of Pool B (Suriname, Haiti, Aruba, Martinique) and the runner-up of Pool C (Guadeloupe, Bahamas, Bonaire, Cayman Islands.

Jamaica and Curacao will be joined by the winner of Pool C  and Pool B, runner-up.

Pool B will take place from November 25-28 while Pool C is slated for Cayman Islands from November 11-14. 

Two years at the Jean Pierre Complex, Mucurapo, the then France-based Channon Thompson was voted as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after leading host T&T to a 25-12, 25-13, 25-12 win over Jamaica in the 15th CAZOVA final.  It was a historic first regional triumph on home soil after third and second place finishes in 1993 and 2002 respectively.

The MVP accolade was one of three won by Thompson who also collected the Best Server and Best Spiker awards after leading her team to a record fifth straight crown (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014).

The win took T&T past Barbados which won in 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2004 as the teams with the most wins on the trot.

However, both T&T and Barbados now have the same amount of titles overall, six.

Barbados was also crowned champions in 1993 and 1994 while T&T got its first in 1996.

Thomas Nicholas bagged the Precision Masters shooting title on the second and final day of the sixth annual Tobago Rifle Club Nationals at John Dial on Sunday. Nicholas recorded a score of 417 to take the top spot ahead of Mohammed Ali (365) and Andy Lutchman (363). 

The soldier beat the field recording a tally of 179 on the his first target and then improved to 238 on the second. Ali shot 147 on his first and 218 on his second while Lutchman returned marks of 151 and 212. Nigel Marchand, 330 (148/182) and Christopher John 324 (136/188) rounded off the top five. Winner of the Saturday’s Production title Kendrick Mohammed was sixth 310 (143/167) with Tobago’s Brian Armstrong, 306 (139/167) and Walt Reid, 293 (149/144) finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. 

In the Precision Masters competition the participants shot at targets from fixed distances of ten-metres, 20m and 25m. They also shot from in the standing and kneeling positions.

In Saturday’s events, the shooters had to aim at targets from varying angles, distances and positions over five stages. In the Standard Class Overall winner Anthony Bailey achieved the top scores in Stage Three (What’s Your Angle), Stage Four (Over/Under/Around) and Stage Five (Take Ah Seat) and was third in Stage Two (Standing/Kneeling/Prone). He was 15th in Stage One (Mind Games). 

Bailey was also the top Masters. Mohammed Ali was the best in the A Class. Peter Frederick took the honours among the B Class shooters, while Jude Gordon beat the field in the C Class and Hamlyn Dipnarine took home the D Class Honours. Brian Armstrong was the top Senior while Joanna Baptiste walked away with the women’s title. She was also third in the B Class. 

Production Class champion Mohammed captured Stages Three and Four and was second in Stage Five. He was 10th in Stage One and 11th in Stage Two.  Mohammed was also took home the top Grand Masters prize. Christopher John was named the top A Class Shooter. Aneel Ramjit landed the B Class trophy. The C Class award was captured by Jason Mills while Randel Luces copped the D Class. Andy Lutchman was victorious in the Senior category.  

For the first time in the history of the Tobago Rifle Club Nationals the competition was held under the rules of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC). 

The shooters received their trophies the event’s prize-giving ceremony at the Bar Code Bar in Mt Marie on the final day.

Shooters competing at the Nationals earned points towards selection to compete in the Top Gun competition to the held on December 3 at the Tucker Valley Range. 

(Sportscore Tobago)

RESULTS

Precision Masters (Sunday): 

1 Thomas Nicholas 417 (179/238), 2 Mohammed Ali 365 (147/218), 3 Andy Lutcham 363 (151/212), 4 Nigel Marchand 330 (148.182), 5 Christopher John 324 (136/188)

Production (Saturday)

Overall: 1 Kenrick Mohammed 368.95, 2 Aneel Ramjit 355.84, 3 Christopher John 308.97

Stage One (Mind Games): 

1 Aneel Ramjit 45, 2 Adisha Alleyne 44.34, 3 Donovan Mohammed 43.88

Stage Two (Standing/Kneeling/Prone Reverse): 

1 Andy Lutchman 80, 2 Kirk Collins 73.60, 3 Christopher John 70.19

Stage Three (What’s Your Angle): 

1 Kenrick Mohammed 130, 2 Avesh Phagoo 85.66, 3 Clement Marshall 84.15

Stage Four (Over/Under/Around): 

1 Kenrick Mohammed 95, 2 Aneel Ramjit 80.54, 3 Tarike Phillips 79.63

Stage Five (Take Ah Seat):

1 Avesh Phagoo 75, 2 Kenrick Mohammed 62.84, 3 Nicolas Ali 60.88

Seniors: 

1 Andy Lutchman 285.31, 2 Dave Ramlal 226.49, 3 Fabien Alexander 170.84, 5th Garth Dennis 87.07

Grand Masters: 

Kenrick Mohammed 368.95

A Class: 

1 Christopher John 308.97, 2 Dave Ramlal

B Class: 

1 Aneel Ramjit 335.84, 2 Avesh Phagoo 306.22, 3 Tarike Phillips 302.67, 4 Clement Marshall 210.93

C Class: 

1 Jason Mills 293.14, 2 Andy Lutchman, 3 Nicholas Ali 276.02, 4 Adisa Alleyne 226.30, 5 Joel D’Heaux 51.40

D Class: 

1 Randal Luces 288.41, 2 Donovan Mohammed 285.35, 3 Avidesh Maraj 251.36, 4 Rajesh Boodoo 211.79, 5 Keston Suttle 201.83

Standard (Saturday)

Overall: 

1 Anthony Bailey 388.04, 2 Mohammed Ali 348.02, 3 Gerard Persad 339.85

Stage One (Mind Games): 

1 Kelvin Sabastien 45, 2 Ken Williams 42.8, 3 Brian Armstrong 41.18

Stage Two (Standing/Kneeling/Prone Reverse): 

1 Mohammed Ali 80, 2 Gerard Persad 79.8995, 2 Peter Frederick 68.53

Stage Three (What’s Your Angle): 

1 Anthony Bailey 130, 2 Mohammed Ali 91.25, 3 Gerard Persad 118

Stage Four (Over/Under/Around): 

1 Anthony Bailey 95, 2 Marlon Moses 83.52, 3 Sherwin Assing 83.63

Stage Five (Take Ah Seat): 

2st Anthony Bailey 75, 2 Gerard Persad 61.02, 3 Mohammed Ali 60.92

Women: 

1 Joanna Baptiste 220.75

Seniors: 

1 Brian Armstrong 267.10, 2 Sherwin Assing 247.89, 3 Lester Johnson 170.07, 4 Shadrack Mohammed 130.20, 5 Eddie Williams 90.23

Masters: 

Anthony Bailey 388.04, 2 Marlon Moses 334.28, 3 Brian Armstrong

A Class: 

1 Mohammed Ai 348.02, 2 Gerard Persad  339.85, 3 Kevlin Sabastien 276.25, 4 Ramadin Ramnarine 252.32, 5 Ken Williams 239.64

B Class: 

1 Peter Frederick 298.90, 2 Sherwin Assing, 3 Joanne Baptiste, 4 Roger Umaid 175.27, 5 Hendrickson Herbert 147.84, 

C Class: 

1 Jude Gordon 137.87, 2 Mitra Durbal 184.98, 3 Lester Johnson, 4 Shadrack Mohammed

D Class: 

1 Hamlyn Dipnarine 228.77, 2 Adrian Peterson 225.95, 3 Nicholas Thomas 178.64, 4 Wayne Mystar 141.13.  

Imagine a mother’s dismay at being told by a teacher that she should have planted peas instead of having her child. Or imagine her shock when an educational psychologist says her young son is incapable of learning—so George Street would be a good place to send him.

Elizabeth-Ann St Clair ignored these harsh comments from people who ought to have been encouraging and responsible. She pushed past their pessimism because she believed her son was something special. 

Today, 30-year-old Akini Gill, who had a speech impediment and was diagnosed with dyslexia (a learning disability that can cause problems with reading, learning and writing) and dyspraxia (poor motor co-ordination), has a Master of Arts degree in music education from New York University. 

Gill, originally from Laventille, has taught music at Diego Martin Central and Mucurapo West Secondary Schools as well as Chaguanas Government Primary. He is now an instructor at the Centre of Education Programmes at the University of T&T. 

When he was six, Gill’s mother—who was a late reader herself—first recognised her son’s challenges.

“My mother used to read stories to me and my younger brother Efiba, and at the end of the story, she would ask simple questions about it, and my brother would be able to answer these questions but not me,” Gill said.

It was difficult for Gill at school, as his bad lisp and poor hand coordination made it difficult for teachers to understand him when he spoke and wrote. His mother was often summoned to the school to listen to teachers gripe about these problems.

Switching schools did not help either, as teachers at his new school also complained to his mother about the same issues.

“My mother thought it was just the school and the way the teachers taught, but it wasn’t,” she said.

His mother sought professional help from chairman of the Dyslexic Association of T&T, Catherine Kelshall. Kelshall referred Gill to a speech therapist, who recommended that Gill should be seen by an education psychologist at the Mt Hope Children’s Hospital. This was the doctor who made the “George Street” comment.

“In his report, it was said that my language was in the retarded range,” said Gill.

He was 11 but had the learning level of a six-year-old. 

Kelshall began to give Gill remedial lessons. He did the secondary school entrance exam (called Common Entrance at the time) and based on his results, Gill was placed in post primary school. 

St Clair knew that another ordinary school wasn’t going to help her son, so with Kelshall’s help, Gill enrolled in Eshe’s Learning Center for children with learning disabilities on Ariapita Avenue, Port-of-Spain.

Gill had a second evaluation by another education psychologist, Allyson Hamel-Smith, who assessed him as having dyslexia and dyspraxia.

After two years of remedial classes and attention at Eshe’s, Gill did an entrance exam at Belmont Boys Secondary and surprisingly, he was accepted. Now 14, Gill was placed in Form Two, but he struggled.

“I was unable to finish my work on time and though my handwriting improved a little, it was still an issue. It was difficult to keep up with the conventional teaching because there was nothing specialised for someone like me,” Gill said.

Gill’s experience at Belmont Secondary was mixed. There were some teachers who encouraged, as well as those who didn’t. 

He recalled being heartbroken after a Parents Day meeting, when a teacher told his mother it would have been better if she had planted peas instead of giving birth to him.

In Form Three, things looked up and Gill had his first milestone of beating all his classmates in a coursework assignment. Gill said he was so surprised that he did not believe it until he actually saw his report book.

While some celebrated this victory, others said the teachers conspired to give him the grade.

At CXC, Gill obtained three passes. On the advice of psychologist Hamel-Smith, he was able to do the exams with the help of two writers appointed by the CXC board and received an additional 15 minutes on every hour of the exam.

Gill praised his former music teacher George Sambrano and English teachers Christopher McMaster and Lucy Reyes-Griffith who is now the school’s principal, for their role in his success, but he lamented that the education system did not cater for children with learning disabilities.

“This is very disappointing because at this time after so many years and so much development, there should be trained teachers from pre-school to university existing in the system to deal with learning disabilities.”

While at secondary school, Gill consistently attended music classes at Trinity All Generations School of the Arts (Tags), at the Trinity Cathedral where he had enrolled while attending Eshe’s. 

At the music school, he was hampered by his poor hand coordination which meant he was unable to hold pan sticks properly.

“I spent a lot of years shaking the chac chac, hitting the tambourine and just watching my peers move on,” he said.

After sitting CXC examinations in 2004, Gill was encouraged by music teacher Sambrano to apply for the music certificate course at the UWI, St Augustine. 

He had his issues, but a determined Gill successfully completed the two-year course.

He did not stop there; in 2006 he applied for the Bachelors in Musical Art and was accepted.  Two years into his studies Gill began teaching at Chaguanas Government Primary under the Pan in the Classroom Unit, an initiative by the Ministry of Education. He also became a music tutor at Tags and would teach there on specific days.

It was an honourable moment for Gill when he graduated from UWI with honours in 2009. 

Gill later received a national scholarship which afforded him the opportunity to attend New York University. He said he felt much more welcome at NYU than he did at our local educational institutes.

“Nobody looks at your disability. They look at your capability,” said Gill.

From a true place, Gill’s thesis was titled: Teaching Music to Children with Learning Disabilities in T&T.

So well done was his thesis that lecturers said his oral presentation was one of the best ever from the music education department at NYU.

Gill is now in the process of writing a book about his life, From The Bridge To An Impossible Dream. 

From a boy who had speech problems, poor motor skills and learning disabilities, Gill beat the odds, shut the mouths of naysayers and showed that education psychologist from Mt Hope Hospital that if he ever visited George Street, it would only be to patronise vendors for their produce.

“There are a lot of children in the education system who give up on themselves because they may not have that strong support system they need, like I did, to get me to my present state. I thank God for my mother and those who held my hand and believed in me along the way,” said Gill.

“There needs to be a shift in culture regarding the way we think; a revolution of the mind that would make T&T a better place for everyone, especially those of us with learning disabilities. We are people too. Don’t forget us.”

WHAT IS DYSPRAXIA?

Dyspraxia is a brain-based condition that makes it hard to plan and coordinate physical movement. Children with dyspraxia tend to struggle with balance and posture. They may appear clumsy or “out of sync” with their environment.

Dyspraxia goes by many names: developmental coordination disorder, motor learning difficulty, motor planning difficulty and apraxia of speech. It can affect the development of gross motor skills like walking or jumping. It can also affect fine motor skills like the hand movements needed to write clearly and the mouth and tongue movements needed to pronounce words correctly.

Dyspraxia can affect social skills too. Children with dyspraxia may behave immaturely even though they typically have average or above-average intelligence.

Kids don’t outgrow dyspraxia. But occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy and other tools and strategies can help.

Crowned Eagle all set to swoop today and make it third time lucky for John Gosden’s charge in the seventeen-runner, division one, of a two-year-old Maiden Stakes over a mile of good to soft Nottingham, which has stood up well to the rigours of many meetings this season.

Nowadays racecourses are subjected to barrage and the legacy of over-watering is illustrated without fear of contradiction, race-times tell their own story. Ironically there has been little watering these last few weeks, after all it is the first week of November.

That hasn’t stopped one or two noted, over-zealous, clerks from “turning on the taps” and, unfortunately, watering will be the bane of our lives, for ever.

Husbandry/turf management should be crucial and qualification absolutely necessary. Last week we noticed Newmarket had been shorn of natural growth which leaves a cushion. Discolourment was evident and indeed there were a few clods flying about.

Good to soft at this time of year is vastly different to mid-summer and I’ll bet race-times illustrate a demanding surface on Colwick Park where Crowned Eagle was a creditable four lengths course and distance third to Century Dream three weeks ago. A neck away in fourth, Dick Tracy, our well-backed winning nap last Monday.

Crowned Eagle is expected to recoup recent losses and in division two Ralph Beckett-trained Melodic Motion could also make it third time lucky. 

The 5lbs fillies’ allowance weighs heavily over this somewhat extreme distance for juveniles, especially if the surface is indeed demanding!

Melodic Motion is a similar standard to Crowned Eagle, their time-handicap marks are up to scratch for what is usually required; however we’re fully aware several yards have probably got aces as trumps having been patient due to constant virus problems. Betting markets aren’t always the best guides and don’t cater for surprises!

The obligatory Wednesday-nighter on Kempton polytrack contains four two-year-old races and a chance for Alouja to make amends for an unexpected debut defeat last month in the Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over seven furlongs. 

What beats her will win!  

Among other explanations, suicide is a reflection of a gap in the emotional wellbeing of our population. If we can be honest about all the malaise surrounding us, we would probably admit that there is an unquestionable deficit in the areas of social and mental security.

Even so, with accurate education and intervention, suicide is preventable. What it requires though is some level of investment, and that not just of financial resources but also greater collective commitment to the mental wellbeing of our population.

This is a public health issue which must be addressed at a population level. It requires political will and political commitment (and even as I write these words the despair deepens).

The WHO says that “political commitment is essential to ensure that suicide prevention receives the resources it requires as well as its fair share of attention from national and state leaders.” The WHO also recommends ways to build political commitment which it says can include:

• Enhancing awareness of national and state leaders;

• Frequent publication of well-researched policy and position papers on suicide prevention;

• Identification of political leaders and/or an ambassador who may particularly empathise with the issue (e.g. someone who has lost a family member or friend to suicide);

• Frequent and adequate reference to suicide as a public policy issue in the media;

• Consistent lobbying with parliamentarians as well as government representatives at various levels.

I had been contemplating the reported death of a 14-year-old by suicide and the words used by his mom, saying: “He didn’t even say anything. He could have come to me.” It was a sobering story, because much of what I gleaned from the reported conversation by this Form Three pupil required that someone should have paid attention to the signals. 

There were a few things that should ring an alarm for anyone listening to this youth before his demise. I read the story thinking mainly of the need to educate people sufficiently and quickly. 

Speaking to the media, his mother said: “She knew her son was sad, but did not know he was so depressed to the point to take his life.”

She was reported as saying that recently she had a talk with the teenager in which he admitted that “he felt sometimes that if he wasn’t around, he believed the family of six would be better off.”

While watching television before his demise, his mother reported him as saying, “he didn’t like looking poor and wearing cheap clothing and things like that.”

He said, “Mammy, I feeling bad because I can’t help you, look how small I am, and I can’t help you. If I left the family that would be the only way because you would have one less mouth to feed…” 

The report quoted his mom also as saying he was always worrying about the finances of the family, working on weekends to try and help out. 

To her eternal regret, Mom, who possibly does/did not have the information that would cause her to be alarmed, said, “But I didn’t take it seriously because I was tired and didn’t think for the life of me he would have done this.” 

We are lost without the appropriate education. And as much as we may want to think that people should be knowledgeable and sensitive enough, we cannot assume that they know what to look or listen for when there is a cry for help. Very often we live in the disbelief that our loved ones would suicide.

“I am at a loss. I can’t believe he did this,” his mother said. “I can’t believe he was hurting so much that he thought this was his only option, and he didn’t even say anything. He could have come to me.”

He did go to her. He said many things, too. But if we do not know what we are looking for in these conversations then it would elude us.

Still contemplating this incident and the level of unawareness in which we live, I was again faced with the news of a 13-year-old who was discovered hanging at her home on the weekend. She was also a Form Three student, and this time the report said she was a student at Cowen Hamilton Secondary School, my alma mater. It felt even more personal.

Since our national overall response to mental health and mental illnesses is so trifling, I am tentative about suicide becoming a political priority. It seems imperative then that initiatives in schools, churches, homes, and communities must be employed to educate on how to listen and look for the signs of the suicidal. We need, as a start, to each consider learning Mental Health First Aid so that we can discern the signs of suicide in those around us.

Police are investigating the shooting death of a security guard in Maturita, Arima this morning.

Initial reports indicate that the killers came to rob a delivery truck of cigarettes.

According to reports, the guard was on security duty on the delivery truck when it stopped at a shop on Kingdom Drive, Maturita.

It was then that the assailants shot him and escaped with the vehicle, which was later found abandoned in the Heights of Guanapo, minus the cigarettes