I hereby call upon the Director of Public prosecutions, Mr Roger Gaspard SC to invoke his powers under Section 90 of the Constitution to request the Commissioner of Police detail a senior officer to conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain whether the former Chief Magistrate, Marcia Ayers-Caesar or and Chief Justice, Ivor Archie had committed the common law criminal offence of misbehaviour in public office in relation to the present criminal matters left in abeyance by the said Marcia Ayers-Caesar.

Honourable Director, the pertinent fact which should trigger the investigation against Marcia Ayers-Caesar is in the public domain via an official press release by the Office of the Chief Justice in which he stated categorically that Mrs Marcia Ayers-Caesar indicated to the JLSC that only two summary cases and a few paper committal matters constituted the quantum of her part-heard matters and it was on that basis the JLSC advised the President to appoint her a Judge of the High Court. The Office of the Chief Justice subsequently revealed (after the violent protestations in open court by several accused persons on murder charges which were part-heard by Marcia Ayers-Caesar) via another official press release that she had left in abeyance fifty-three (53) outstanding part-heard matters. Simultaneously with this press release, it was revealed that Mrs Ayers-Caesar had resigned her position as a judge of the High Court. And it was also divulged to the public via official press release from the office of the Chief Justice that the JLSC was contemplating disciplinary proceedings against her. It is instructive that retired Chief Justice, Michael de La Bastide stated in a press interview via the print media on Monday, June 5 that disciplinary action could be taken against the former Chief Magistrate for misleading the Chief Justice and the members of the JLSC vis-à-vis her pending part-heard matters.

Honourable Director, it goes without emphasising that if a police investigation were to reveal that the Learned Chief Justice is speaking the truth on this issue, then the former Chief Magistrate may have committed the common law criminal offence of misbehaviour in public office. What the Learned Chief Justice is telling the stakeholders in this matter and by extension the people of Trinidad and Tobago is that Marcia Ayers-Caesar deliberately withheld from him and the members of the JLSC that there were fifty-three (53) outstanding part-heard matters involving her good self because she wanted to be immediately or as soon as possible appointed to the HIGH Court. The Chief Justice is telling us that he was misled by the goodly Marcia Ayers-Caesar when she indicated to him that it was only two summary matters and a few paper committals which were part-heard before her. The Chief Justice by implication is telling us that the former Chief Magistrate lied to him in order for him and the JLSC to recommend her swearing-in as a judge. In other words, he is saying that she could not have cared less. She had pulled wool over their eyes. Thus she was selfish and irresponsible.

Be that as it may, Learned Director (DPP) subsequent to the Chief Justice’s explanation for recommending her appointment to the High Court it was revealed via Sunday Guardian issue June 11, 2017 by the very Marcia Ayers-Caesar that she informed the Chief Justice that she had left twenty-eight (28) outstanding part-heard matters. By implication she is saying that the Learned Chief Justice is a stranger to the truth when he told all and sundry that she had told him that her part-heard matters constituted only two summary cases and a few paper committal matters.

Most alarming of all, the former Chief Magistrate stated that she was forced to resign as a Judge of the High Court and she was told that she would be restored as a Magistrate to complete her part-heard matters and then latter be reappointed to the High Court.

Who is speaking the truth in all this Ivor Archie/Marcia Ayers-Caesar constitutional mess? Who is to be blamed for this sordid affair?

Honourable DPP, I humbly suggest that you note that only a meticulous police investigation would reveal the true facts as to who misled whom and who is to be blamed and most of all who misbehaved in public office.

Thus both the Chief Justice, Mr Ivor Archie and the former Chief Magistrate, Mrs Marcia Ayers-Caesar should be included as persons of interest in a police investigation vis-à-vis misbehaviour in public office.

It is trite law that if a public officer harbours an oblique motive in committing a wrong he/she has committed the common law offense of misbehaviour in public office. Did Marcia Ayers-Caesar deliberately and knowingly lie to the Chief Justice on the issue of the status of her part-heards or did the Chief Justice, made aware that she had at least twenty-eight (28) outstanding part-heard matters, and for whatever oblique motive he may have had, ignore this, did not inform the other members of the JLSC and caused them to put their signatures on the document recommending to the President to appoint her to the High Court.

Is it when the faeces hit the fan with the violent protestations of prisoners left in the abyss of the part-heard matters that the Chief Justice took in front before front could take him and forced Mrs Marcia Ayers-Caesar to resign?

Honourable Director of Public Prosecutions, this is a very serious matter and it should not be swept under the proverbial carpet. I sincerely urge you to be objective and dispassionate, as per your usual self, and regardless of race, colour, class or creed or vaunted position and status of persons involved in this matter, to request a police investigation into this constitutional mess so that on this issue real meaning would be given to the preamble of our Constitution (supreme law of the land) which states that the people of Trinidad and Tobago recognise that men and institutions remain free only when freedom is founded upon the respect for moral and spiritual values and the Rule of Law.

The Rule of Law demands an impartial investigation into this unprecedented constitutional mess in order to ascertain the true facts.

I dare say, as it now stands, both the Learned Chief Justice and the former Chief Magistrate should be duly investigated in order to ascertain who misled whom and who misbehaved in public office. The sixty-four (64) thousand dollar question is, Was there a conspiracy between the Chief Justice and former Chief Magistrate to have her sworn in immediately or as soon as possible, and what was the oblique motive?

Israel B Rajah-Khan

Trinidad and Tobago’s education system is designed to create an elite and a majority failing underclass. Albert Einstein said: “Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid.” This is what is happening to the majority of our youth in the education system.

It difficult to implement change in the education system of the Caribbean because the decision makers are beneficiaries of the present system. They blame the individual for their inability to progress in the current education system. Teachers also get the blame for poor student performance. The system is doing what it is designed to do—create a ruling elite and a majority servile class.

Our ruling class thinks there is nothing wrong with the system but there are lazy people who cause trouble to the society. When I used to mark the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC) face to face I tried to convince some higher ups that the examinations need reform but was unsuccessful.

Since that body is the examining body for the region and T&T they are integral to educational reform. Teachers teach to the test and the test is designed to discriminate.

A plan must be developed and implemented to change T&T’s education system. It can not just be superficial like teacher training and remedial classes for students. The system must aim at developing students’ abilities. The present system aims to select the better students which is inherent discrimination. I contend it is an unjust system. No justice, no peace.

Brian Plummer via email

A review by Marsha Pearce “The poet John Ashbery once said that once we discover that life cannot be a perpetual orgasm, the best we can expect is a pleasant surprise. I would like for (my) show to be a pleasant surprise,” said art critic and curator Dave Hickey as he reflected on what he hoped his Santa Fe exhibition (which ran from 2001 to 2002) would elicit.

The joint show featured self-taught painters Tessa Alexander, with her watercolour/collage pieces, and Shinhuey Ho, with images in oil.

Alexander’s series depicted coconut and sno-cone vendors, midnight robbers, moko jumbies and Savannah scenes among other subject matter. In her painting The Card Game, players clad symbolically in the colours of T&T’s political parties—yellow, red, green—deal and take their chances in a sport that plays out on a table the artist renders with bits of headlines and articles torn from the daily newspapers. Viewers could discern “SoE” and “crime” among the collaged content on the table’s surface.

Alexander pictured the game of politics and pointed to its fallout. However, this does not offer a new way of seeing or reconsidering what is known. Her new body of work is titled Mapping The Familiar but it does just that: records the commonplace without recasting it in an unexpected light.

Similarly, Ho shared familiar images: lit deyas, sunsets, roses and children playing at the beach, among others. This artist showed a deft handling of her medium but did not give much in terms of evoking a double take.

There were, however, works in the exhibition, which served as exceptions to an overall feeling of a presentation that was par for the course. Ho’s Poui at Botanical Gardens carried a delightful potency. Its dramatic lighting and strong tonal contrasts depicted the poui as more than a flowering tree—as rather a bold protagonist in an epic tale.

Alexander’s Companions offered its own revelation. It was easy for the viewer to be absorbed in watching two figures walking through the savannah, their fluid forms matching the easy, relaxed air expressed in dripping and spattered paint. Yet in moving away from the piece, one experienced the visual equivalent of a whisper. Something caught the corner of the eye: scratched into the base of a tree are the words “stay safe.” Surprise. The viewer is compelled to look at the piece again with this ominous lens.

Works by Tessa Alexander and Shinhuey Ho were on display at Horizons Art Gallery, St James, from June 6- 17.

His passion for his work and for lighting design, which he describes as a labour of love because it is unpaid, show through in his demeanour.

Paula Lindo If you’ve been to Queen’s Hall in the last 20 years, more than likely you’ve seen a lighting design made by lighting designer and technician Knolly Whiskey. Whiskey has been at Queen’s Hall for the last 38 years, beginning as assistant electrician and retiring as senior lighting technician this June.

Whiskey began his career working on the Queen’s Park Savannah stage in 1975, when his father sent him to work with the foreman there, Ralph “Socks” Coker, when he expressed an interest in electricity. After blowing up a fuse in a dramatic initial encounter with the element, Whiskey went to trade school and graduated with distinction.

In 1979, he took up an offer to work at Queen’s Hall made by the then head electrician, Carlton Joseph, and began work immediately. It was here that master lighting designer George Williams introduced him to the beauty of lighting design. His first experience creating a lighting design on his own was for The Love Movement chorale in 1984.

“Mr Williams took a backseat because we had a new lighting console and he was very old-school, so he told me to go ahead. I lit that show and it was so exciting, it pushed me to do many other productions. I used to get butterflies in the beginning but now I realise that even if a lamp blows or a cue doesn’t run when it’s supposed to, the audience doesn’t know any different.”

Whiskey said he worked his way up through the ranks at Queen’s Hall through the years, lighting performances for Best Village, Music Festival, operas and others.

“I lived through six or seven government changes and managers and board changes while I was here and it was very exciting. What I look at is the transition, what has happened since I came here in 1979 and those changes, and the development of Queen’s Hall, I was so proud to be part of that.”

After about a decade and a half working at Queen’s Hall, Whiskey wanted to study with theatre practitioner Benny Gomes at Northern Illinois University but could not get permission from the board since he was employed as an electrician and not a lighting designer.

When UTT hired Gomes and he moved back to T&T, he called Whiskey. “Knolly,” Whiskey recalls Gomes saying, “I am here, you don’t have to go anywhere, the university is offering the same course.”

Whiskey entered UTT in 2010 and did a four-year degree, graduating with a BFA in the performing arts with specialisation in theatre design and production, Magna Cum Laude.

In 2015, he did an MA in Carnival studies under Dr Hollis “Chalkdust” Liverpool, graduating in 2016.

Whiskey is known as the Bird, because he is unafraid of climbing to the heights needed to be an electrician in the theatre. His passion for his work and for lighting design, which he describes as a labour of love because it is unpaid, show through in his demeanour. He has won three Cacique Awards for Most Outstanding Lighting Design—in 1999 for Tony Hall’s Red House Fire! Fire!; 2005 for the 3Canal Show Jack in the Box; and 2006 for the 3Canal Bacchanal Show.

Now that he has retired Whiskey longs to become a teacher, as he wants to pass his knowledge on to the next generation. “There aren’t many people who want to be electricians and lighting designers. I think it’s a lack of the drive and people like myself to drill it into the youth to look at the theatre as an option because you can earn money.”

Singer and dancer Jillia Cato’s debut concert, Jillia in Concert, was a mix of original songs and covers chosen to show off the songbird’s range of musical ability. The concert, the second event in the recently concluded Pride Arts Festival 2017, was presented by I Am One T&T on June 3 at the Big Black Box, Woodbrook.

Cato has been singing since age 12, beginning in church and moving on to local open mic forums. She did her first small acoustic set at Kaiso Blues Café in 2015, as part of the Unplugged and Chill series hosted by Yung Rudd and Mark Hardy. Cato dances with soca bands Machel Montano HD and Kes the Band and has a BFA in performing arts as well as a BSc in engineering.

Cato said she chose the songs in the concert to tell a story of love, loss and strength. Her opening song, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, provided a smooth, upbeat start to the concert, with Cato channelling Tina Turner as she danced across the stage.

Cato’s first original song in the set, Excited, was written when inspiration struck after a dance performance. It talks about the thrill of being on stage. Kes the Band keyboardist Mario “Im4rio” Callender produced the track; Im4rio sang along with Cato during the song’s performance. Im4rio then sang Something So Real, a song he wrote and produced along with Cato.

Her cover of Lost Boy by Ruth B, which opened the second half of the concert, gave Cato an opportunity to introduce herself and chat with the audience. She said the song told the story of someone who feels lost and has to find a happy place within themselves.

Her original song Ceramic Heart, a mixture of R&B and soft rock, spoke about finding sweet love, while Stay the Night, reminiscent of TLC’s Creep, was the story of a couple spending the night together for the first time. As the relationship story continued, So Hot spoke of the pain of a breakup and the final song, Mystery of Love, was about taking revenge and finding the strength to move on with life.

Cato was backed by vocalists Anton Berryman and Nnukeisha “Nix” Pierre, lead guitarist Miguel Charles, guitarists Kemi Ible and Hadassah Esther Bovell, SASS bassist Candice Marcus and drummer Kyle Samlalsingh. Dancers Jonatha Sutherland and Lucette Regis of 6th Position Dance Co also performed in the show.

Jazz singer Tevin R Gall and vocalist Kevin Humphrey were the show’s opening acts.

Cato is planning another full band concert at MovieTowne Fiesta Plaza and to finish an album of songs.

In November 2009, Loverne Henry’s life changed forever. She was gang raped in front of her husband while 18 weeks pregnant. The perpetrators of the crime robbed the family of valuables, chopped her husband about the body, and left Henry with a permanent scar which she said has been painted in the skyline of her mind.

It took her months to recuperate from anxiety and depression, and even longer to rebuild her business and bring back stability to her family life. Although her life seemed crushed, Henry did not allow it to consume her. Two years later, in August of 2011, the Victim Support Foundation (VSF) was incorporated.

Its mission? To be a catalyst for recovery through which victims of violent crimes benefit from professional support and experience mental, emotional and spiritual wholeness.

“I can safely say as of this year we have touched the lives of people in the mid-hundreds,” Henry told the Sunday Guardian during an interview. She said not only women seek support but families who are directly and indirectly affected. They seek assistance through various support services from sponsored therapy, support groups, crisis interventions, and training.

Henry refers to her experience as her personal 9/11.

Of the traumatic ordeal, she said, “Back then, I was a proud mother of a toddler with another baby on the way; the wife of a loving and hard-working husband; a dedicated student pursuing my degree; recently changed careers from banking to business owner; and a faithful believer in Christ…life was doable.”

She said being raped in front of her husband and seeing him chopped repeatedly while trying to save her remain painted in her mind. Despite it all, she survived, physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally.

Henry said she started her spiritual recovery with many questions to God, not in anger, but seeking an understanding of purpose and what a relationship with him truly meant. She said she didn’t want to just survive but to overcome.

“His response to my questions cannot be articulated but his gentle word and loving care in the midst of this planned attack against my life, has given me a peace that cannot be explained.”

Her advice to women who face violence in any type of situation: “You survived, be intentional about thriving and take it one day a time. You are not alone, you can allow this pain to strengthen.”

More can be done to protect victims
Henry believes that more could be done to encourage people to show support for victims since different sectors play different roles. She said women, men, and children are all victims.

“Each sector (of the population) holds an integral role on how they influence the recovery of a victim. The media have role in respectful reporting, the State through legislation and its enforcement, the criminal justice system has a key responsibility as it handles the victim without making them feel as though they are guilty until proven to be the victim.”

Henry added that the social community has a role to play as well as the religious society.

She said, “Our clergy needs to stand up and be heard on issues such as domestic violence and gender violence, and the business society has a role to play as well since victims are either employers or employees and they need to provide emotional and mental services.”

She said while T&T was far from being an ideal society, everyone has a role to play in response to victims and their rights. However, she said change was encouraged one step at a time.

Through the VSF, victims and their families are educated on support techniques to help them on the road to recovery; they are provided with emotional and practical support and after care; and are empowered to embrace hope and seek assistance in developing their new normal.

Healing is a journey
Healing is a term that could be misunderstood, Henry said when asked if a victim can truly heal. Henry had switched careers from banking to being a new business owner and was pursuing a degree.

For her, in the months that followed her experience, she said her maternal power had been crushed as her expectation of a normal delivery crashed into emergency Caesarean section.

“The stress won the battle against my need to breast feed. Post-partum issues added to my clean-up campaign while still trying to salvage any aspects of the old me that I could offer my new baby.”

Henry’s event management business dwindled without her at its helm because she was unable to focus for over a year. She also was not prepared for the physical pain her husband would endure—headaches, seizures, and the decrease in the family’s income. They also had to sell their home.

She said: “Some believe healing is about getting over or covering up or even forgetting, but a traumatic situation like this is actually about learning to understand and love the new you that survives these ordeals and embracing the continuum of healing that happens every time you turn to help someone else on their journey.”

Henry said healing was a journey not an event and it is up to the person to embrace the journey, or constantly fight to return the old “you”. She likened it to grow an amputated leg. “You can’t, but you can embrace the new normal.”

To learn more about the Victim Support Foundation and its services, call 222-3457, or send an email to Info@tntvsf.org

The Judiciary has again come under scrutiny, this time as an attorney who was given a letter of appointment to serve as a judge in 2009 but was never sworn in by the President has made an application against the Registrar of the Supreme Court and the Law Association of T&T (Latt).

The attorney received her letter of appointment to serve in the High Court in August 2009 but Sunday Guardian understands that even though she was expected to sit as a judge from September that year, had a court list prepared and a swearing-in ceremony scheduled at President’s House, it never materialised. No reason has ever been given.

She never took the oath of office and never assumed the duties of a judge. To date, there is no evidence that her appointment has been revoked.

As a direct consequence of those events, she experienced difficulty paying her annual fees to the Latt as required under the Legal Profession Act and has been unable to obtain a practising certificate for several years.

The woman filed an application in the High Court in early June under Section 25 of the Legal Profession Act for the practising certificate. Her matter will be heard on Wednesday at 10:15 am before Justice James Aboud.

Sunday Guardian obtained a copy of the June 14 supplemental affidavit in which the attorney makes reference to the principal affidavit dated June 7 where she stated she exhibited her letter of appointment and that it was “always my understanding that my appointment was a for a period of six months only”.

She further stated that she ceased practice to assume office from mid-September 2009 and at the end of October 2009, some six weeks later, she resumed full-time practice which continued from 2009 to 2011 and to the current time. She said she held a valid practising certificate from 2009 to 2011.

A legal source told the Sunday Guardian that once an attorney does not hold a practising certificate for a period of one year , an application has to be filed before the High Court and a judge has to issue an order for the practising certificate, provided that the judge is satisfied that all fees due to the Law Association have been paid and a reasonable explanation has been proffered for the failure to pay the fees within the requisite time.

However, the source said if on Wednesday the judge is not satisfied and doesn’t issue the practising certificate, “then just like Mrs Marcia Ayers-Caesar, the attorney will be in limbo since she would not be a judge nor able to practice law”.

The Sunday Guardian understands that no formal notification was ever issued to her to indicate that her appointment had been revoked. Court protocol and information manager at the Judiciary, Alicia Carter-Fisher did not respond to questions sent via email. Chief Justice Ivor Archie, as head of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission (JLSC, did not respond to a text message sent last evening. Latt president Douglas Mendes did not respond to calls to his mobile.

In April this year, three judicial officers were elevated to the High Court—former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, magistrate Avason Quinlan and attorney Kevin Ramcharan.

To qualify for appointment as a High Court judge, a candidate should have at least ten years’ standing as an attorney.

JLSC flawed for almost a decade

Several legal luminaries told the Sunday Guardian that a closer look at the situation showed how flawed the JLSC selection process has been for close to a decade.

One legal source said, “In addition to this attorney’s situation, the JLSC had also tried to elevate magistrate Lucena Cardenas-Ragoonanan as a temporary judge but the Law Association voiced concerns over her alleged friendship with the Manning’s and her appearances at various PNM events. She was not appointed.”

A leading member of the inner bar said a question that has to be raised is what steps the JLSC implemented to bolster its selection process since 2009 and why in the face of Mrs Marcia Ayers-Caesar there was no staying of her appointment after Gerald Ramdeen raised concerns.

“One would have, in those circumstances, expected that the prudent course of action would have been to defer the swearing in just as happened with the attorney and magistrate Ragoonanan, while a thorough review as to the state of her part heard matters were investigated.”

Another legal source said citizens deserve a truly robust and independent selection process by virtue of which only the most competent persons were elevated.

Contacted yesterday, the attorney questioned where the newspaper got the document (affidavit) and why it was being reported. She said it was a private matter.

When asked whether she had been practising without a certificate from 2009 to 2011, she asked, “May I ask who provided you with these documents?”

Told that we were not at liberty to say, she said, “Well yes, precisely. This is a private matter and has nothing to do...if this is going to embark on something to do with the Chief Justice, this has nothing to do with that. This is between me and the court.

Told that she was appointed and never sworn in, she said, “Which means that there is nothing to report.”

Asked why she never raised any questions for almost a decade, she said, “That was a very long time ago and this really just has to do...well, listen. I am going to have to discuss this...”

She said the matter being heard on Wednesday “has nothing to do with any of that (appointment).

“It has to do with the fact that I was appointed a judge in 2009. When I went after the whole thing was over...well to pay for my practising certificate as a lawyer, I was refused because they could not produce the evidence that my appointment had been revoked and it is possible that it has never been revoked, so I’d never been able to get a practising certificate at that time so my application to the court is for the court to respond so it doesn’t really have anything to do with anyone.”

Angelo Bissessarsingh’s book, Woodland Shadows–Stories From The Mythology and Folk­lore of Trinidad and Tobago— became available from Nigel R Khan Booksellers on June 1. It was a work three years in the making, a work sadly that An­gelo did not live to see published.

There have been other works and depictions of the folklore of T&T, the most notable being the work of Gerald Besson also a friend and mentor of Angelo.

Besson says in the foreword, “To appreciate this collection of charm­ing and very revealing anecdotes, tim-tims and tall stories, one has to understand that the writer, pos­sessed of such individuality, of such a grasp of the unusual and of love and deep regard for the history and culture of Trinidad and Tobago, is, himself, far more unique than the subject matter of this collection.

Angelo Bissessarsingh’s approach to our collective past is one of de­light, the delight of the scholar who is now fortunate to have stumbled upon a treasure trove. For a treasure trove it is, because here in Trinidad and Tobago, you will find a wealth of material, fascinating remnants, intriguing curiosities and histori­cal links to a time when our country was young, all persisting beneath the tangled vines of contesting anec­dotes. But you will have to look, for the past is not only deep but is also covered by a layer of indifference.”

Angelo’s work, however, takes a new twist. Many of the stories in the book have never been told.

Those that are familiar are written with a different twist, a new para­digm, a different interpretation of time-worn characters. No longer are douens and Papa Bois seen as creatures of sinister demonic per­suasions, grotesque and hideous, but as protectors of the forest.

Co­lonial imperialism had demonised the original stories of the Africans, East Indians, French and Spanish so as to make the forests a frightening unholy place for those brave enough to abandon the estates. A child not baptised in Christianity would face the possibility of becoming a douen if they died prematurely. Angelo questions the brainwashing of the past, those hundred years of the colonisers and carries us through tales that create and foster a new identity of T&T.

He precedes his stories with the following, “Island-wide electric­ity only became available in the late 1950s and there are still some isolated settlements in the island which have never known the harsh glare of a light bulb. Here, near the equator, there is no real dusk. Night descends with startling ra­pidity.

In the homes of yesteryear, the onset of the evening would see the family gathered around a kerosene lamp, the words ‘Home Sweet Home’; glazed on the shade, and then the stories would begin. They would be of the most varied sort, phantoms standing across roadways to crush people between their bony legs, headless apparitions, jumbies and things which move just out of the corner of one’s eye”

The original artwork and concepts make this a book to be treasured for generations to come. The siren of Toco depicts an entirely new con­cept of the spirit of the waters, a tale brought from Africa so many centuries ago. The tale of the Ghost Rider of the sugar cane, Dumfries Baba, lagahoo, soucouyant and the vivid oil paintings accompanying each story reinforces the continu­ity from one generation to another.

Angelo has created our own super­heroes and villains in the mold of Stan Lee. He has also left waiting to be published dozens of anecdotes of these mythological characters to be done in comic book form. Never one to be satisfied, his legacy continues. May the children of this generation be inspired to always question and challenge conventionalism through his writings.
 
 

The United National Congress (UNC) intends to file a no-confidence motion in House Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George following a heated sitting of the Parliament on Friday night which culminated in a walkout by the Opposition.

In a media briefing yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the party staged a walkout of the Parliament around 7.15 pm after “racist” remarks were made to Princes Town MP Barry Padarath.

Speaking to the Sunday Guardian last night, Annisette-George described the possible motion of no confidence against her as “part and parcel” of the job. “That is their prerogative and if they do so the Standing Orders will dictate how it is done, and I think that is all part and parcel of the job as Speaker.”

During Friday’s sitting of the House of Representatives Annisette-George granted permission to Persad-Bissessar to raise a definite matter of urgent public importance related to the aftermath of Tropical Storm Bret.

That debate began at 6 pm.

Around 7 pm, Rowley entered the debate. Rowley said he noticed that during the debate every member from the opposition bench took the opportunity to “grand stand on this tragedy”.

He also defended his stay in Tobago over the weekend. “Let me tell you something, I have to make no apologies to any of you for being in Tobago, I have a house in Tobago and I live in Tobago. So I make no apologies to any of you for being in Tobago and for sleeping in my house in Tobago,” he said.

Rowley said the storm hit on Monday night and he monitored the developments from Tobago.

“By Wednesday after lunch, I was in Oropouche. If the member for Siparia was missing me so much had I known that I would sleep down there. Had I known she was missing me so much I would have gone down there, but I have no house in Siparia,” he said.

Padarath, the MP for Princes Town entered the debate after Rowley.

“The prime minister went to south Trinidad with his hands swinging, not a crix, not a tin of sardines to deliver to the people,” Padarath said.

“I know that he has a disdain for the people in south Trinidad because they believe that they are UNC (United National Congress) people. The people of south Trinidad will not forgive them,” he said.

This statement sparked crosstalk in the Parliament from both benches.

During that crosstalk Padarath claimed Leader of Government Business Camille Robinson-Regis called him a racist.

Annisette-George suspended the sitting for ten minutes.

When the sitting was resumed at 7.10 pm, Annisette-George called for the sitting to revert to the debate on the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill.

Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Stuart Young rose to continue his contribution on that debate.

However, the Opposition called for Annisette-George to rule to have Robinson-Regis withdraw the statement and apologise.

While Padarath was calling for the ruling from Annisette-George, he claimed Rowley said he was in fact a racist.

Padarath countered that Rowley was a racist. Persad-Bissessar then staged a walkout by the Opposition.

At the end of the sitting, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi delivered greetings to the Muslim Community on the Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations.

The Opposition, however, were not in the House to deliver their greetings.

WE GOT NO JUSTICE IN PARLIAMENT—KAMLA

Speaking yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said the Opposition felt they got no justice in the Parliament.

“The Speaker suspended the House and when we came back we again called on the Speaker under the relevant standing order for a ruling. Again, the Speaker refused to give a ruling and it was at that point we felt that there was no justice in the Parliament and we decided to leave the Parliament.”

She said this incident was the latest the Opposition has faced in the Parliament and this makes it difficult for them to properly represent their constituents.

“Now this is just one in a series of matters that we have great concern about in terms of properly representing our constituents in the Parliament, for our freedom of expression to take up issues in the Parliament. Today, I received a letter from the national executive from the party calling upon us in the Parliament to file a motion of no confidence in the speaker, based on not just last night’s incident but there have been several incidents throughout the course of the year in this session.”

She said Annisette-George was not functioning in the role of Speaker as she should.

“The Speaker’s role is to facilitate freedom of expression within the standing orders. And it is the duty of the Speaker to let parliamentarians have their say in the Parliament. We have experienced a state of affairs and it culminated yesterday where we are of the view that the Speaker has not been facilitating that freedom of expression and we have many examples in that regard.”

PADARATH WAS GROSSLY DISRESPECTFUL—ROBINSON-REGIS

Contacted last night, Robinson-Regis said she felt Padarath was “grossly disrespectful” to Annisette-George on Friday night but that it is the Opposition’s right to file a motion of no confidence against her if they wanted.

“They consistently (walk out of the Parliament) when they feel that they are not getting their way and they consistently disrespect the Parliament and they also take the people’s business for granted,” she said.

“But then again, if they feel that is the way they should conduct their business we consistently stay in the precincts of the Parliament and do the people’s business, and even whilst we were in Opposition we did not resort to that until that time when they put out the Opposition Leader (Dr Keith Rowley),” Robinson-Regis said.

Robinson-Regis said “walking out of the Parliament is not a mechanism for conducting the people’s business effectively but again, I reiterate all these things are their prerogative”.

Robinson-Regis said she felt that Padarath’s statement about the Government treating the people of South with disdain was “highly disrespectful and highly improper” as the PNM has five MPs who represent people from the Southern part of the country.

She said Padarath’s statement had “undertones”.

Questioning when the Government’s $25M relief fund will kick in, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called on members of the public to donate relief items to flood and storm-affected citizens. Persad-Bissessar was speaking during a media briefing at the Fun Splash Water Park in Debe, where the UNC MPs, senators and chairmen of opposition-controlled regional corporations met for an all-day Strategic Planning Session.

“It is very clear that the Government has collapsed, it is very clear that the Government in the wake of tropical storm Bret has failed and/or neglected to adequately provide for citizens in our country, especially in badly affected areas,” Persad-Bissessar said.

“We will be establishing emergency collection centres for persons who wish to donate in the relief for those who suffered in the storm. These centres...we will start first with the party headquarters in Couva. We are also asking good Samaritans to donate relief items.”

She said in those areas where the regional corporations were UNC-led (the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation, the Princes Town Regional Corporation, the Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo Regional Corporation, the Chaguanas Borough Corporation, the Siparia Regional Corporation and the Mayaro/Rio Claro Regional Corporation) donations can be dropped off at the the respective offices. The party would be setting up special collection centres in all other areas.

She said despite the Government’s announcement of a relief fund, there are many questions as to how the fund would operate.

“While the Government has announced a $25M fund, and this was long after we had called for that, the problem is that we still have no idea how, what, when why, where those funds will be distributed.

“I am told that certain corporations have been told to go out there and give whatever relief they can. But those corporations have no money sitting in their coffers which they can expend. Therefore, Government cannot simply announce the fund without instructing various corporations as to deposits from that $25M. So, we will continue with our relief efforts and I am calling upon those who are willing to assist.”

The party will also be sending medical teams to assist and assess flood-hit areas, Persad-Bissessar said.

“There is a need for medical teams out in the flood-affected areas. Thus far, the Government has not seen it fit to issue one public health advisory and therefore we are going to get medical teams of volunteers.”

She also called for international assistance as she said two organisations outside of the country have contacted the UNC to offer help to flood victims.

“We are also issuing an international SOS for kind persons outside of Trinidad and Tobago who are willing to assist. Already, two organisations have contacted us and they are going to be engaged in efforts outside of Trinidad and Tobago to bring relief to us here in T&T.”

The Social Services Unit of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) will conduct an assessment to determine whether emergency relief could be provided to Ramrajie Chance, the pregnant mother of five, who was told to leave a shelter on Friday after her home was flooded during Tropical Storm Bret.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell confirmed that the HDC was aware of Chance’s plight and had committed to sending a team to the woman’s Penal home between today and Tuesday.

Mitchell said the HDC had taken note of other requests for emergency housing following Tropical Storm Bret’s lashing of T&T between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

He said the process involved a means test, an interview and home visit as well as other HDC selection criteria.

Mitchell said while a house was not a guarantee for Chance, it was clear that she was in need of other social services and the HDC’s unit would, in addition to determining whether the family qualify for emergency housing, make referrals for them to access services and intervention from other arms of the State.

Four of Chance’s five children do not attend school because of the family’s inability to afford it.

Chance and her five children were rescued from rising flood waters and taken to a shelter on Tuesday but were told by officials from the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) that they would have to return home as the building was needed by the village council to carry out their usual activities.

When questioned, PDRC chairman Allen Sammy described Chance as one of many who needed help, but made no commitments to assist.

The family’s outhouse was filled with water and the galvanise roof and walls were still shifting with the wind, while Chance feared that scorpions, caimans and snakes would pose a greater threat to the children in the wake of the storm.

After speaking to the Guardian, Chance’s common-law husband, Sameer Ali, called the official at the corporation and was told they would be allowed to stay two more nights. They have been giving no assurances what would happen after last night.

Ali said he will go back home but that the children would be at risk.

“I just need a little bit of material, ten sheet of ply and some galvanise. I’m living there seven years now. I would be thankful if anybody could assist me a little bit and I will go back to my place.”

Up to last night, Ali said the children were dry and happy but feared taking them back to their home.

“If I carry them in that cold it will not be nice for them. The way how the place open if it rains it will go through the two or three sheet of galvanise and the ply. I would be grateful for a little bit of help.”

The Guardian also spoke to Chance’s MP, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar following a press conference yesterday afternoon.

Asked what kind of help Persad-Bissessar would be able to provide for her constituent, she said she would look at what kind of representation could be made for the family.

She also called on good samaritans to come forward and assist the family with their needs.

Persad-Bissessar said Government needed to review its policy on aiding squatters after a natural disaster and described as “wicked” any policy that refused help for such people.

GRANT INFO

EMERGENCY SHELTER

RELIEF GRANT

The grant available to citizens during emergencies is the Emergency Shelter Relief Grant and has a value of $15,000. The process to access the grant is as follows:

Applicants must provide

a) Copy of national identification or birth certificate

b) Letter addressed to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development PS from MP or councillor recommending that the grant be given

c) Photographs of damage (if possible) or copy of Damage Assessment Form from Disaster Management Unit of the corporation

d) Evidence of property ownership eg deed or affidavit of declaration

e) Quotations from any hardware for repair materials

WALTER ALIBEY

Caribs RFC, on Saturday set aside the disappointment of losing their club house recently, to beat rival Harvard 23-10 and claim the opening Robert Farfan Memorial Cup at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella.

Two tries from Richard Staglon and another from national standout Leon Pantor had set the tone for victory, which was followed by two penalties and a conversion from the talented Carlon Alexander that humbled the battling Harvard, who got tries from Tariq Cheekes and Nigel Ballanton. After the game Caribs coach Brendon O’Farrell said he was happy to have won the match and praised Harvard for an excellent display.

“I think Harvard played an excellent game, especially in the second half and will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in the future,” O’ Farrell said.

The game picked up midway in the first half with Caribs using their experience to gain the better of a younger Harvard unit. O’Farrell said his players appeared to have been motivated by the loss of their club house and gave it everything they had.

Asked if he was expecting the victory, which comes as part of the club’s domination of the sport in T&T, O’Farrell said no.

“We are happy to have won but we were not expecting it. The guys came out and played their hearts out. And to beat Harvard it was a tremendous achievement because Harvard played really well on the day,” O’Farrell explained.

Both teams will not focus on their matches in the season.

T&T’s Che Benny saw his idol Juan Mata play at the famed Old Trafford football pitch in England, courtesy FLOW which presented him with the opportunity from the Ultimate Football Experience (FUFE) in May.

For the 16-year-old who plays for St Ann’s Rangers, seeing the famous midfielder was a joy. FUFE was the culmination of a series of competitions throughout the Caribbean.

The finals at President’s Grounds, St Ann’s saw two young footballers, one from the 13-14 age group and another from 15-16 age group, from each country vying for the coveted prize.

Among the 30 participants, 15 countries were represented—Grenada, St Vincent, Barbados, St Lucia, Dominica, Montserrat, Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Anguilla, BVI, TCI, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Curacao and T&T.

Following his success at the two-day competition hosted by Flow and Manchester United Soccer School, Benny and his coach enjoyed the prize of seeing Manchester United play against Crystal Palace.

The Premier League match ended with a Red Devils’ victory which added to Benny’s experience.

“Unbelievable! I got to see Mata play close up,” Benny said.

Although he didn’t get to meet Mata personally, just being in the stands at Old Trafford watching him play was enough.

He also saw all the FA cup trophies at the Manchester United Museum as he took in the history of the club. This was followed by a tour of the iconic stadium.

“I also got to be with my family living in England, and I got to ride many trains,” Benny said.

Meet Jael Hope Jackson.

She was born on Friday at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital weighing six pounds, 12 ounces.

Her mother, Karma Jackson, 32, says it was nothing short of a miracle when “angels” came to her rescue in rising flood water at El Carmen Village, St Helena, on Wednesday.

The simple act of kindness and bravery by strangers who ventured into almost four-foot high water, on board the tray of a flatbed truck, has inspired many in the country that all hope in mankind is not lost.

“I’m doing fine with my bundle of joy,” she said yesterday during a telephone interview from her home. She was discharged from the Port-of-Spain General Hospital on Saturday.

Yesterday she had a special visitor, Emergency Medical Technician Lindford Lewis—who without hesitation jumped about the truck to guide her to safety.

Jackson, who moved into the community only a year ago with her husband, Akil, and seven-year-old son Jakaden, said she is usually a reserved person in her community and like most people kept to themselves.

She said on Tuesday night after the passage of Tropical Storm Bret she could not sleep.

“My head was banging and I was having difficulty breathing,” she said.

She said she had a scheduled clinic appointment in Port-of-Spain that day as she was 40 weeks pregnant and her due date was on Friday. When she looked out the window of her two-storey home she saw the streets around her home flooded.

“It is the first time we experienced anything like that. When I saw the flood I realise I can’t go anywhere,” she said.

Panic set in. She and her husband began calling for help.

The Fire Services, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management, Emergency Health Services and at one point thought about calling the police. Many of their attempts were met with a busy tone. Her grandmother, who lived in La Horquetta, managed to get on to the ODPM who promised to contact the Jacksons in five minutes. No one ever did.

“I was in a depressed stated...I felt it was a lost cause with them (the emergency agencies),” she said. She eventually got on to an officer from the Fire Service who advised her to call an ambulance. The officer told her that the ODPM was aware of the flooding situation in St Helena and they were trying to deal with it.

Karma said she thought at least the Fire Service would come to her rescue as they had big trucks to navigate through the flood but was left disappointed.

“The pain was getting worse and there was no way to get out. I needed to see my doctor,” she said.

By then, her husband had gotten on to an EHS dispatcher who prepped him to deliver the baby if it became necessary. She was told an ambulance had been dispatched but could not venture into Constantine Road as the water was too deep. The dispatcher remained on the phone until the woman was rescued.

“All I could remember was the sound of a truck horn. I told my husband I’m hearing a truck. He fly up and see you all coming,” Karma said.

“I really have angels...sometimes people are in crisis and no one comes to their assistance. It was a moment, not only was my husband by my side, but strangers were there to save me. Thanks to the truck driver, the men who jumped into the flood water to take me aboard the truck, and everyone else involved.

“I felt special...you see not everyone is for themselves. I saw the good the country have in it. There is still a lot of love out there,” she said.

“I don’t think we can thank them enough. It was really a blessing. The relevant authorities, the EHS, they came and waited for two hours and delivered me to the hospital. Thanks to Guardian Media and CNC3 for airing our situation, if it wasn’t for you all the problem would not have been highlighted,”Karma said.

She said even after she got on the ambulance she remembered the driver nearly shutting down as he had to rev the engine as he passed through more flood waters on his way to Mt Hope Women’s Hospital.

She said while the nurses at the hospital were sympathetic, she met a doctor who wasn’t. She was asked why she did not attend her scheduled clinic appointment and was not given any medication to ease her pain.

Karma said after she was discharged after noon she had to travel to Diego Martin by her mother-in-law as their vehicles were marooned at their home. The following day she celebrated her third wedding anniversary with her husband—an event that she would remember for the rest of her life.

On Friday she gave birth to her bouncing baby girl at 2.45 pm.

She said she had a great experience at the hospital although she had been sceptical about the treatment in public institutions before. She had made arrangements to give birth at the Mamatoto Resource and Birth Centre in Belmont, where she had her first child.

Karma said after she was discharged she saw the CNC3 report on social media and was amused by some of the comments.

“Those who named my child Bret and Bretta had me laughing...I was overwhelmed by the love of T&T...There are still good people out there,” she said.

Today marks one week since the Chance family were ejected from their one-room shack by flood waters brought on by Tropical Storm Bret.

The life of the seven members of the family have changed drastically since then.

Now, Ramrajie Chance, 31, her five young children and her common-law husband, Sameer Ali, have hope that they may be allocated a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) house. Chance is pregnant with her sixth child.

The family had to be rescued by their neighbours when rising flood waters swept through their home on Sunrees Road, Penal, on Tuesday, trapping them inside.

They were taken to the La Costena Activity Centre in Penal and have been housed there since. They have received assistance in the form of food, clothes and toys from concerned members of the public and the Penal/Debe Regional Corporation and are mostly comfortable at the shelter.

Chance had said earlier this week that she could not return to the one-room house with her children as the family’s outhouse was filled with water and the galvanise roof and walls were still shifting with the wind. She feared that scorpions, caimans and snakes would pose a greater threat to the children in the aftermath of the storm.

She had said the family was being evicted from the centre but the president of the La Costena Village Council Satnarine Ramcharan told the T&T Guardian yesterday the group is not being evicted as they empathise with them.

On Saturday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell told the T&T Guardian HDC would visit the family and conduct an assessment to see if they could be granted emergency relief.

That team, led by the HDC’s Social Department manager, Maria Mc Cleve visited the Chance’s Sunrees Road, Penal home yesterday.

In an interview yesterday, HDC chairman Newman George said, “They are doing an assessment and an evaluation and just having a chat to see what the family require. And although tomorrow is a holiday, we will ask Mc Cleve to come in and give us her report.

“We will try to do our duty and assist in any way that we can, we will inform the minister and see what we can do from there.”

A hopeful Ali told the T&T Guardian yesterday that a HDC house will give the young children a proper home to grow up in. “I have a little hope that things might work out, it’s not really for me, I live my life already,” he said.

“I done live my life and I will just be happy to see the children get somewhere comfortable to live.”

If that fails, Ali said he would be grateful for the donation of building materials to rebuild the small house.

“At the end of it, your own is your own, no matter how small. If we don’t get through with this, although it would be so much better for the children, I will try to patch up the house and we could go back to it.”

The mother of a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy was found murdered at her home in Gasparillo yesterday.

Ornella Philip, 28, was found sprawled on the living room floor of her home on Thompson Street, with a single gunshot injury to the chest.

Philip lived in a ground floor apartment of the building with her eight-year-old daughter, Kayla, who has cerebral palsy.

Kayla was left with her grandmother, Joanne Seepersad around 11.30 pm on Saturday to spend the night.

Seepersad lived in an apartment to the back of the building and the family has two groups of tenants who also live in the building.

Police reports stated that around 10 am, a man from the area went to purchase a cigarette from one of the tenants and noticed the front door to Philip’s apartment was ajar.

He called out to her and saw her body on the floor in the living room area. The man told his friends who were nearby and they then alerted Seepersad who was upstairs.

When Seepersad entered the apartment, she discovered her daughter’s body.

At the scene yesterday, neighbours reported hearing a loud bang around 1 am on Sunday but said no one investigated the noise.

Philip’s relatives were hesitant to speak to the media and a relative would only say that Philip was a full-time caretaker for her daughter.

Insp Ramkhelawan of the Gasparillo Police said Philip’s murder was the fifth in the district for the year.

He said although the district’s homicide rate is relatively high, other serious crimes have decreased.

PC Noyan is continuing investigations.

Philip’s death brings the number of people who have been murdered for the year so far to 243.

In an unrelated incident, Siparia Police are investigating a possible homicide in the area.

According to reports, Miguel Lalman, 26, was hunting at Location #119, Range Resources, Quinam Road, Siparia, on Saturday when he called his father-in-law around 10 pm and told him he had been shot.

Lalman lived in Mendez Village, Siparia.

The father-in-law and another man went into the forest to search for Lalman and brought him out to a clearing and called the police. However, by the time officers arrived, Lalman had died. He had been shot once in the upper right shoulder.

Siparia police are continuing investigations

Is there gender discriminition in sports in Trinidad and Tobago or this is more reflective with the the more more development countries around the world that see sport as part of their culture?

According Messner (1998) the “women’s movement into sport represents a genuine quest by women for equality, control of their own bodies, and self-definition, and as such it represents a challenge to the ideological basis of male domination,” (198).

According to Birrell and Theberge (1994), the structure of sport and physical activities in society is informed by:

•Sport being a patriarchal institution which privileges males

•A sexist ideology and stereotypes which disadvantaging females in sports

The founder of the modern Olympics, Baron Pierre de Coubertin in 1896, did not believe that women biologically had the capacity to deal with the demands of sports (UN Women 2000 and Beyond).

In the US, Title IX 1972, requires that women be provided an equitable opportunity to participate in sport; that female athletes receive athletic scholarships proportional to their participation; and that female athletes receive equal treatment, for example in the provision of equipment and supplies, scheduling of games and practice times, coaching, practice and competitive facilities, access to tutoring, publicity and promotions, and recruitment of student athletes. Title IX has also increased the salaries of coaches for women’s teams.

In 1994 the Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport was adopted and signed by 280 delegates from 82 countries including Trinidad and Tobago to promote gender equality in sport in society through greater participation of women as athletes, officials and administrators.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Charter, adopted in 2004, states that one of the roles of the Committee is to “encourage and support the promotion of women in sport at all levels and in all structures with a view to implementing the principle of equality of men and women.”

In 2013, Lydia Nsekera of Burundi created history by becoming the first ever woman to be elected to FIFA’s Executive Committee. Locally, also in 2013, Annette Knott became the first female Secretary General of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee.

In 2014, Becky Hammon became the first full-time, salaried female coach in NBA history and 2016, Debbie Hockey became the first woman president of the New Zealand board in its 122-year history.

Today, despite these advances, there is still a gender discrimination that still limits sporting opportunities for women. Despite Title IX’s successes, the playing field is far from level.

Although women in division I colleges are 53 per cent of the student body, they receive only 41 per cent of the opportunities to play sports, and 36 percent of overall athletic operating budgets, (Carpenter and Acosta 2006). Women footballers and cricketers are still battling for salary increases while there still under representation of women at key positions in most major sporting organisations locally, regionally and internationally.

Given the historical structure of sport, the “optimistic predictions that women’s movement into sport signals an imminent demise of inequalities between the sexes are premature,” (Messner 1988; 198). Institutional frameworks have been instituted to facilitate gender equality in sport but the changes have not been widespread and have not challenged the patriarchal normalisation of sport. Therefore, a serious dent to gender discrimination in sports must be addressed by implementing and monitoring gender equality policies and practices.

The trio of Bishop Anstey Junior, Sacred Heart Girls’ RC and St Patrick (Newtown) Boys’ RC all kept hold of their respective titles when the Atlantic National Primary School Swim Meet hosted by Blue Dolphins Swim Club on behalf of the Amateur Swimming Association of T&T ASATT) took place at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, recently.

The Co-Educational category proved the most keenly contested division when the water settled just before 6pm on June 11, with Bishop Anstey Junior amassing 301 points to cop the title ahead of Dunross Preparatory (286.5) and the steadily improving Pt Fortin RC which ended third with 255.5 points.

In the girls category, Sacred Heart Girls’ RC emerged victorious with 69.5 points, 33.5 more than Tunapuna Girls’ RC (36) with St Finbar’s Girls’ RC, a further six points behind in third.

However, Newtown Boys had things all their way as they cruised to victory with 130 points, a 62-point margin of victory over Tunapuna Boys’ RC, with Rosary Boys’ RC, a distant third with 25.

This year’s competition which made it debut at the state-of-the art venue attracted record numbers with respect to participation with a 13 per cent increase in school participation up to 103 schools and a 10 per cent increase in student participation up to 643 young swimmers which resulted in the first sold-out event at the National Aquatic Centre since its official opening in September 2016.

Several of the country’s top young age-group swimmers competed, including CCCAN National Team members Zarek Wilson, Gabrielle Vickles, Savannah Chee-Wah, Neishelah Caseman and Soriyah Aphonso as well as many Goodwill National Team hopefuls.

The stand-out performers of the day were Giovanni Rivas of Cunupia Government School and Zarek Wilson of St Peter’s Private both winning all four events on the day in the 8-9 and 10& Over competitive categories respectively.

Overall Team Scores and Individual Overall Winners are listed below Co-Educationals

1. Bishops Anstey Junior - 301 pts

2. Dunross Preparatory - 286.5

3. Pt Fortin RC - 255.5

Girl Schools

1. Sacred Heart Girls RC - 69.5 its

2. Tunapuna Girls RC - 36

3. St Finbar’s Girls RC - 30

Boys School

1. Newtown Boys (St Patrick) RC - 130

2. Tunapuna Boys RC - 58

3. Rosary Boys RC - 25

Individual, Non Competitive Seven & Under Age-Group Girls

1. Jade Haynes (St Andrew’s Prep) - 28

2. Alyssa Reid (Eniath Prep) - 26

3. Netania Edwards (Tunapuna Girls RC) - 23

Boys

1. Karlon Browne (UWI) - 30

2. Adam Scoon (St Monica’s Prep) - 24

3. Triston George (Grant Memorial) - 18.5

8-9 Age-Group Girls

1. Kaori Robley (Lambeau) & Arianna Rogers (St Finbar’s)- 30

2. Keryn Burke (St Gabriel’s) - 23

Boys

1. Brennon Davis (Tunapuna Boys) - 26

2. Evan Gillard-Bruce (Rosary) - 25

3. Michael Charles (Arima West) & Micaiah Leach (Bishop Anstey Jr) - 23

Girls (10 & Over Age-Group)

1. Makaira Wallace (Dunross Prep) - 27

2.Alliyah Alexander (Longdenville Gov’t) - 21

3. Nathalia Charles (Arima West Gov’t) - 19

Boys

1. Nicholas Look (St Peter’s Private) - 27

2. Dillon Jaglal (Christian Academy) - 24.5

3. Justin Chin Lee (St Monica’s Prep) - 22

Competitive Girl (7 & Under)

1. Asia-Marie Pouchet - 31 pts

2. Katelyn Richards - 30

3. Reese Ash - 27

Boys

1.Rylan Thomas - 34

2. Alejandro Agard - 30

3. Jude Neckles -22

Girls (8-9)

1. Madara Edwards - 31

2. Shauna Nelson - 25

3. Atiyah Walter - 23

Boys

1. Giovanni Rivas - 36

2. Zachary Anthony - 27

3. Darren Belfon & Shaelen Reece - 16

Girls (10 & Over)

1. Kiara Goodridge - 31

2. Gabrielle Vickles - 30

3. Joy Blackett - 20

Boys

1. Zarek Wilson - 36

2. Sheni St Hillaire - 26

3. Stachys Harley - 22

An Arima doubles vendor who was reportedly kidnapped was found alive in Arima on Saturday.

Brandon Sandassie was reported missing by his wife on Friday after she received a text message on her phone that her husband was “kidnapped.”

The woman told police a ransom demand of $200,000 was demanded for her husband’s safe release.

Sandassie’s wife made a report to the Arima police.

The report was circulated on Missing Persons Trinidad and Tobago’s Facebook page.

Insp Wilson, Cpl DeLeon and officers from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit and Arima CID conducted inquiries which led them to a house in Arima where Sandassie was found.

Officers said they found Sandassie in company with a woman in a house at Longden Street in Arima on Saturday and he did not appear to be in any harm.

They were taken to the Arima Police Station where they were questioned by the police and released.

Detectives said they could not charge Sandassie because he did not make any report and his wife was acting on the information she received via a text message from an anonymous number.

Family members said yesterday “everything is okay and we do not wish to comment at this time.”

Within the past few months, several other citizens claimed to be “kidnapped” have been charged with wasting police time.

In May, Reshma Maharaj, a doctor’s secretary, claimed she was kidnapped by three men and managed to escape from a locked car trunk at M2 Ring Road, Debe.

Maharaj, 30, of Penal, was charged with wasteful employment of the police by knowingly making a false report. She was released on $20,000 bail.

Last December, Heather Barriteau was reported missing by her husband, Devon Paul.

She claimed she was abducted, brutally assaulted and dropped off at a parang party in Marabella.

Barriteau, the woman at the centre of a fake abduction, has confessed that she lied.

In an interview with the T&T Guardian, she said, “I was not abducted, I went on my free will and had a time for the weekend and that is it.”

Paul made a missing person’s report to the Southern Division police after his wife went missing. He said Barriteau, 35, disappeared after leaving their Sobo Village, La Brea home to do some shopping in San Fernando.

​She was last seen drinking at the Edge Bar on Mucurapo Street, San Fernando, with a male companion that same day.

Opposing gang members squared off in Maloney Gardens yesterday trading a volley of gunshots at each other.

Luckily no one was injured, police said.

Residents said several men from Building 12 opened fire on Building 13 and other men in the car park returned fire at them.

A video circulating on social media showed children from a nearby building looking outside soon after the incident took place.

Lawmen said when they arrived at the scene several spent shells were recovered but no one was injured.

Residents said the shooting was ongoing for the past months following the death of 38-year-old Akino Suya.

Suya was a reported gang leader from Maloney who was hiding out in St Helena.

He was shot dead KFC’s St Helena outlet last month. Two men, whose images were captured on CCTV cameras, remain on the run.

Northern Division’s Senior Supt McDonald Jacobs said officers will continue to be patrol in the area together with the Defence Force.

Wallerfield man shot by police

A 43-year-old man remains under police guard at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex after he was shot by the police at Wallerfield yesterday.

Police said they executed a search warrant at a house in Jacob’s Hill, Wallerfield, when they were confronted by the home owner.

A report said around 1 am, the officers went to the house and the man attempted to run through a door.

The police said the man then picked up a cutlass and lunged at the officers.

One of the officers shot the suspect in the leg.

He was taken to the hospital where he was treated and warded.

Police said they searched the house and a quantity of marijuana was discovered in small packages.

Investigations are continuing.