PABA SEMIS HEATS UP FOR PREDATORS & KNIGHTS
The Predators and Knights lead the PABA best of five semi-finals series 2-1 in their respective games as game 4 gets set to kick off Wed night.
The Predators preyed on the Flyers 74-71 to clinch the win on Monday night in an overtime thriller. Charlton Stubbs scored 15 pts and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Predators. Carlos Bassett chipped in with 14 pts 8 rebounds and Darly Francois added 12 pts.
Jakee Been led the way for the Flyers with 18 pts, 6 rebounds while Anthony Cash chipped in with 13 pts, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Turnovers, missed layups and free throws plagued the Flyers. Ray Harris of the flyers had a chance to win the game for his team but issued two crucial free throws to send the game into overtime.
In game two the Knights tamed the Stallions 88-87 in another nail biter.
Clifton Jean scored 21 pts 12 rebounds and Enrico Smith chipped in with 15 pts, 9 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Andujar Gardiner did most of the damage for the Knights with 27 pts, 5 rebounds and 5 steals but was eventually fouled out of the game in the fourth quarter.
Melvin Elsie junior added 18 pts, 5 rebounds and 2 steals for the Knights for the win.
It's a matter of do or die, win or go fishing for the Flyers and the Stallions tonight. Flyers must minimize their turnovers, score free throws and focus on the game if they are to take this series to a game five says Kelcy Brooks. While Amin McCartney added that the GT Stallions must get some assistance from their second unit coming off the bench if they intend to stop the Knights prolific scoring by Andujar Gardiner and the speed of Melvin Elsie.
Caribbean Tourism Organization delegation visits Turks and Caicos Islands
The Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage & Culture in collaboration with the Ministry of Education welcomed, on 1st May a delegation from the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) namely Ms. Faye Gill, Director of Membership Services and Ms. Bonita Morgan, Director of Resource Mobilization & Development.
The delegation met with Minister of Tourism Hon. Ralph Higgs and Minister of Education Hon. Josephine Connolly, including senior personnel from the Ministries and members of the Turks and Caicos Tourist Board. The primary objective of the meeting was to provide insight and opportunities offered by the CTO and to address avenues of assistance as it relates to the inclusion of tourism subjects in the school's curriculum.
Minister Higgs commented; "We are indeed grateful for the opportunity to have met with officials from CTO where we were able to discuss ways to advance cooperation and mutual interests with respect to tourism related topics in our schools. The Turks and Caicos for a number of years, has enjoyed a solid relationship with the CTO of which we plan to build on."
CTO is the regions tourism development agency, whose mission is "To provide to and through its members the services and information necessary for the development of sustainable tourism, for the social and economic benefit of the People of the Caribbean". There are approximately 28 member countries including the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The CTO recently launched its digital tourism education learning series which includes four e-tourism workbooks, activities and videos designed for use by teachers and students ages 6-11. The aim is to integrate tourism topics in schools curriculum to build greater awareness among young students regarding tourism.
Hon. Josephine Connolly stated; "The tourism and hospitality sector is a major contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The Tourism industry provides various employment opportunities within its sector and impacts other business entities relating to tourism services. Development of a curricula for implementation in the high school would give the students the benefit from exposure to the concepts and principles of tourism, and their practical application to the real environment. The global tourism map today is much richer and wider with more destination options than it was three decades ago, so we here in the Turks and Caicos Islands have to protect our destination and prepare our students entering the hospitality environment for competition and service."
The delegation will depart the country on May 3rd 2017.
Turks and Caicos Islands signs on to CARICOM Advance Passenger Information System
The Deputy Premier and Minister with responsibilities for the Ministry of Border Control and Employment Hon. Sean Astwood, led a delegation to Bridgetown, Barbados for the signing of the CARICOM Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) with the United States.
On the 24th May 2017 at the Border Security Professional Exchange Conference the signing took place between the U.S Ambassador to Barbados, Her Excellency Linda Taglialetela and the Deputy Premier where the Turks and Caicos Islands became the first associated member country amongst the six Overseas Territories to sign on to APIS programme.
The Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) is an automated system established for aviation and maritime operators that have the capability of enhancing border security over the Region by supplying Law Enforcement Officers with data on passengers and crew members prior to arrival and departure from CARICOM Member States, United Kingdom, United States and Canada. This system was established by the U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) in May 2009.
The Ambassador during her speech explained that by "adopting APIS, will further allow countries to secure their airports and ports which leads them to enhancing their regional security". She also went on further to state that "persons must work within the sovereign states to identify issues and discuss implementable solution."
The Deputy Premier Hon. Sean Astwood expressed that; "The signing marked a historic occasion as the Turks and Caicos Islands embarked on a path of modernizing our border security regime through the cooperation agreement between the United States of America and the Caribbean counterparts". He explained that; "Signing of the memorandum was a significant and important step in achieving full implementation in the APIS in the Turks and Caicos Islands and by extension improves security for our region."
During the conference Senior Immigration Officer Latoya Mitchell gave a brief presentation of the Immigration Department and its role in securing the borders of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The delegation consisted of Deputy Premier Hon. Sean Astwood, Head of Secretariat Ms. Cynara John and Senior Immigration Officer Ms. Latoya Mitchell.
The APIS should be fully operational by September 2017.
TCHTA Hosts Management Training with Top Regional Trainer
Forty (40) managers and supervisors from various organisations within our hotel industry recently attended a two-day Customer Service Training session, aimed at encouraging participants to explore the responsibilities within their roles as leaders in the customer service environment.
The training entitled “The Customer Journey” was hosted by the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association and facilitated by Kyran “Darron” Turnquest, a Bahamian native celebrated for his distinct ability to inspire, motivate, cultivate and drive the change process. During the sessions, Turnquest, an accomplished counselling psychology, public speaker, youth development specialist and corporate trainer, encouraged the leaders to be the change they want to see as an unmotivated team can cause a business to lose revenue and customers.
While thanking Turnquest for facilitating the training as well as congratulating him on his recent certification as an International Project Manager, TCHTA’s Executive Director Stacy Cox noted, “A service team is only as good as its leader so leadership development is essential as it helps sustain great service, establish standards, communicate these standards and lead teams to success.”
Cox added, “This two-day session was a refresher for our managers and supervisors on the need to lead, model and promote the organisational values within a customer service environment as well as provide opportunities for them to explore the responsibilities, within their roles as leaders.”
Attending the training were representatives from The Alexandra Resort, Beach House, Blue Haven, CIBC FirstCaribbean, Blue Haven Marina, FedEx, Gansevoort, Grace Bay Car Rentals, Grace Bay Club, Graceway Gourmet, IGA and Smart, Invest Turks & Caicos, Ocean Club Resort, Point Grace Resort, Ports of Call Resort, Iriedawta Private Chef, The Meridian Club, Pine Cay Resort and Windsong Resort.
Training opportunities are available to all TCHTA members, with the Association seeking opportunities for members to grow and improve their organisations as well as their teams.
MESSAGE FROM HE THE GOVERNOR Dr. John Freeman
“There is no substitute for preparation. This is true for disaster management as for many other aspects of life. As we approach this year’s hurricane season, we should not assume that what didn’t happen last year won’t happen this year. We should remind ourselves that TCI had a very close call last year when Hurricane Matthew diverted at the last minute and reaped such havoc and destruction resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives in Haiti.
Led by the hard-working DDME team, TCI is already actively engaged in preparation for the forthcoming hurricane season – and not only for hurricanes, but for other possible disasters such as flooding.
I am determined to play my part in the collective task of mitigating the risks so as to make ourselves - as an Islands-wide community - as ready for all contingencies as possible. I know too that this is the shared objective of the Premier and of other Ministers and of other relevant agencies both public and private.
But this isn’t only a question of preparation by DDME or Government more widely, it is also a task for us all as individuals and as family members. We all have a part to play.”
Hurricane Preparedness Month, May 2017
With the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season being only four (4) weeks away, the Department of Disaster Management and Emergencies (DDME) will be observing its Annual Hurricane Preparedness Month (HMP) Campaign beginning Monday 1st May, 2017 under the Theme, “Are You Prepared for the Unexpected?” HPM 2017 seeks to encourage early Hurricane Preparedness by community members, businesses, schools, government and non-government organizations throughout the Turks and Caicos.
Preliminary predictions by the Tropical Meteorology Project at the Colorado University for the 2017 Hurricane Season is forecasting a less average season; with (11) named storms, (4) of which will develop into hurricanes with two (2) developing into a major hurricane (Category 3 or 5).
Despite the predictions for the upcoming hurricane season, the DDME would like to encourage residents to begin preparations early. Additionally, let us be reminded that the formation of storms before the commencement of the Hurricane Season is not unlikely. On April 19th, 2017 a Sub-Tropical Depression was formed in the Central Atlantic, 890 miles West-Southwest of Azore, which later develop into Tropical Storm Arlene; the first named storm for 2017. In 2016, Alex was first hurricane since Alice in 1955 to form in the month of January. Prior to Alice, there was an unnamed storm in 1938.
To this end, the DDME cannot over emphasize the importance of early preparation as Hurricane Awareness and Readiness can help to reduce the impact of hurricane on our lives, communities and businesses. In fact, research has shown that families, individuals, and businesses, who know their vulnerability and who have taken concrete steps to prepare for an event are more likely to increase their chances of surviving than those who are not prepared.
In Dr. Virginia Clerveaux’s (Director of DDME) hurricane preparedness message for 2017, she reminds us that “it takes a single hurricane to wreak havoc on our social, economic and environmental landscape, so irrespective of these predictions, let us do our utmost as a nation and as individuals, to be prepared. Let us strive not to be complacent and let our reflections on past events such as Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike in 2008 and other events in neighboring nations such as the Bahamas and Haiti, inform our call to action for this Hurricane Season.”
Several activities have been planned to mark the month, and are as follows:
• State of Preparedness Meeting – May 2, 2017
• Training in Website and Social Media Management for Disaster Management –May 3, 2017
• Ceremony to Launch Hurricane Preparedness Month, North Caicos - May 5, 2017
• National Church Service at the Harvest Bible Chapel, Providenciales - May 7, 2017
• Staff Capacity Building – Governor’s Hurricane Conference – May 13 – 19, 2017
• Art Competition for Primary Schools, May 30, 2017
• Poetry Competition for Primary Schools, May 30, 2017
• Inter High School Debate – May 31, 2017
• Family Plan (with Gender Affairs) -TBD
• Business Continuity Plans for Government and Private Sector - TBD
• Publication of DDME Quarterly Newsletter – May 2017
Relocating Prisioners to Green Door is a mistake says Hon. Lighbourne
Hon George Lightbourne
Member of Parliament
Grand Turk North
April 29, 2017
Dear Editor,
Cabinet agrees to relocate some prisoners to the Green Door Facility, North Ridge.
It has come to my attention that cabinet has agreed to relocate prisoners to the Green Door Facility at North Ridge. I believe that relocating prisoners to the green door is a grave mistake and an indication that His Excellency, Governor Freeman was ill advised. As Member of Parliament for Grand Turk North I am calling on you Governor to please reconsider this decision for several reasons. These are:
* The Ridge is the most upscale area in Grand Turk and the introduction of a prison facility will devalue the properties there.
* An attempt was previously made to put a juvenile center on the Ridge and the residents of the ridge protested by presenting me (when I was minister) with a petition containing over one 100 signatures; therefore I abandoned the idea because I respected the views and wishes of the people.
* There was no consultation carried out by this new government in order to hear the views of the residents on the relocation of inmates to a facility on the ridge; therefore this new government is going against the wishes of the people.
* The Green Door is located on the same property as the Turks and Caicos Islands Community College and from this decision it is apparent that no serious consideration was given to the impact and effect of the college sharing the same property as a jail. In light of recent events of inmates escaping, causing fire and inmates sexually molesting prison officers, I am even more convinced that this idea should be abandoned. If inmates are molesting prison officers what do you think they will do to college students and lecturers if given the opportunity? The safety of those persons who attend and work at the institution must be taken seriously. Our students and lecturers at the college should not be inconvenienced, distracted, or fearful while attending classes.
* The excuse that this facility will be used to accommodate low risk inmates is inexcusable; particularly, considering the fact that these inmates are already serving time in general population alongside hardened criminals and may have already become radicalized.
* The Green Door is also located next the Lighthouse, which is one of our historical sites and home to tourist attractions often frequented by cruise ship passengers. Has any consideration been given to the impact of such a move on our tourism product at the Lighthouse?
Mr. President of cabinet I am calling on you to do the right thing by recalling this cabinet paper and for God's sake allow wisdom to prevail by abandoning this decision and defer this paper until a suitable location is found.
FortisTCI Purchases Three New Generation Units & Addresses Recent Outages Grand Turk
Turks and Caicos Islands (Friday, April 28, 2017) – FortisTCI (the Company) has three new Caterpillar 3516 B generating units for the Grand Turk power plant, following the loss four generation units during February and March of this year. The new units, rated at 1.4MW each, were last week.
The Company has confirmed that one unit will ship today, Friday, April 28, 2017, with an expected arrival Grand Turk of Tuesday, May 2, 2017. The installation will begin immediately upon arrival and
commissioning of the first unit is expected within ten days of commencing installation work. The additional two units will be shipped on Monday, May 1, 2017.
Turks and Caicos Utilities, a FortisTCI subsidiary, has experienced an extraordinary sequence of incidents involving equipment failure both on the Transmission and Distribution (T&D) system and at the South Base
Plant. The generation failures have all been catastrophic, which is unprecedented in FortisTCI’s history.
This has left the plant with degraded generating capacity. The frequency of recent outages is not consistent the Company’s high expectations for reliability nor the level of service that the Company strives for and
has historically delivered to customers.
President and CEO Eddinton Powell said, “We recognize the impact that this series of outages is having our customers on Grand Turk. Electrical systems, even small systems like Grand Turk's, are not “plugand-
play,” but are complex hardened infrastructure facilities. We are doing everything possible to address situation and return the service to the level of reliability that our customers deserve and have come to
expect.”
In the meantime, the Company has redeployed several trailer-mounted generation units from to Grand Turk to help stabilize the situation. Mr. Powell added, “We are working as hard as can to return the system to normalcy, but it will take time for the new permanent generation resources be put in place.”
The recent incidences impacting service to customers on Grand Turk are a major focus for the Company the situation there remains unstable. As a result, a team of Electrical and Mechanical Technicians have
been deployed to provide support and to conduct a review to strengthen the overall system. A T&D team is currently performing thermal scanning of the T&D system to locate potential hotspots as a preventative
measure and means of avoiding as many future outages as possible.
FortisTCI assures customers that the Company is committed to, and working continuously on delivering a and reliable service to Grand Turk. The Company will continue to issue regular updates and notices
to keep customers informed.
POST 11th CABINET MEETING
His Excellency the Governor, Dr John Freeman, chaired the 11th meeting of the Cabinet on Wednesday, 26 April 2017, at the N J S Francis Building on Grand Turk.
All Ministers were present except the Hon. Deputy Premier.
At this meeting Cabinet:
· Agreed that the Hon. Minister of Health should write to the National Health Insurance Board requesting that steps be taken to implement in full the recommendations of the Chief Internal Auditor which had been previously agreed by Cabinet and for the Board to report back to the Minister within seven days;
· Noted that a consultation for a national refurbishment policy was underway and that a paper reflecting the comments of all relevant departments would be returned to Cabinet for consideration following consultation;
· Noted that a stakeholder and public consultation exercise for a new national investment policy was underway the findings of which would be presented to Cabinet in due course;
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve national clinical guidelines for the management of hypertension and diabetes and for cancer screening;
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve an amendment to the Fisheries Protection Regulations to allow seized marine product caught by spear gun to be sold in accordance with the Public Finance Management Ordinance provided that the seized product is not otherwise illegal to possess for example because of its species, size or seizure during its closed season;
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve renovations to the Green Door building on Grand Turk to enable it to be used as temporary accommodation to re-house low-risk prisoners while essential works to accommodation blocks at HM Prison are carried out;
· Received an information paper from the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure on the recent spate of power outages on Grand Turk and measures being taken to address the problem and called for improved communication by Fortis TCI to keep the public informed in the event of future outages and problems;
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the TCI Community College Board of Governors as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Education:
Shernelle Capron, Chair
Renee Fulford, Member
Lucille Campbell, Member
Radica Been, Member
Rachel Harvey, Ex-Officio
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the Education Advisory/Scholarship Committee as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Education:
Keno Forbes, Chair
Dawn Higgs, Deputy Chair
Maria Clare, Member
Pansy Quant, Member
Leila Rodney, Member
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the Physical Planning Board for 2017/18 for a one-year term as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure:
Kendell Higgs, Chair
Max Garland, Vice Chair
Wendel Ewing, Member
Ferguson L. Williams, Member
Director of Planning, Ex-Officio
Director of DECR, Ex-Officio
Director of DDME, Ex-Officio
Toriano Williams, Secretary
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the Water and Sewerage Board for 2017/18 for a one-year term as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure:
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, Chair
Bertram Garland, Member
Clyde Ewing, Member
Chief Environmental Health Officer, Ex-Officio
Chief Engineer (Director PWD), Ex-Officio
Director of Planning, Ex-Officio
Director of DECR, Ex-Officio
Government Chief Economist, Ex-Officio
Energy and Utilities Commissioner, Ex-Officio
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the Physical Planning Appeals Tribunal for 2017/18 for a one-year term as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure:
Charles Garland, Chair
Carlton E. Ewing, Member
Derek Rolle, Member
Patrick Grant, Member
Ronald Gardiner, Member
Leonardo Glasgow, Secretary
· Advised His Excellency the Governor to approve the following appointments to the Electricity Board for Licensing Electrical Practitioners for 2017/18 for a one-year term as recommended by the Hon. Minister of Infrastructure:
Romney Missick, Chair
Emmanuel Gardiner, Member
Marvin Simmons, Member
Menelik Astwood, Member
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, Ex-Officio
Director of Planning, Ex-Officio
Energy and Utilities Commissioner, Ex-Officio
Debbie Williams-Hurdle, Secretary
· Received an up-date by His Excellency the Governor on plans to progress the review of the TCI Statutory Bodies;
· Received an up-date by the Hon. Premier on the following matters:
- The forthcoming meeting of the Board of the Caribbean Development Bank in TCI in May;
- Progress on the capital projects programme;
- The signing by the Hon. Deputy Premier on 25 April of a MOU between the USA and members of the Caribbean Community on Co-operation Regarding the Development of an Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS);
- As a result of the UK election in June the pre-Joint Ministerial Council scheduled for June would be postponed until July and that other planned activity involving the UK would also be affected;
· Received an up-date from the Hon. Attorney General on proposals for amendments to the Elections Ordinance.
Further information on these matters will be provided by Ministers in due course.
No-go zones' do not exist in the TCI, say police
THERE are not any 'no-go zones' in the Turks and Caicos Islands, said the Commissioner of Police James Smith after rumours surfaced that there were areas in Providenciales that police feared to enter.
These sentiments were expressed during a police press conference held at the police headquarters in Providenciales on Thursday (April 27).
He said: "I know that we have had many operations in Dock Yard, Five Cays and in Kew Town, along with other places. The outcome has been very positive."
Commissioner Smith added that he has even taken his wife to some of these areas identified as dangerous and they have walked around and still felt safe.
Superintendent of Police Kendall Grant elaborated on Smith's remarks, stating that he and his team have a good relationship with the people of the communities deemed as dangerous.
"We have done a number of raids in those areas and we have a good relationship with persons in those areas.
"As you said, it is only a perception. We have our officers going there on a daily basis.
"The police communicate with those persons in there and we not only go there when there are calls for assistance.
"We pass there regularly speaking with them one-on-one and so I would support that there are no 'no-go zones' in Providenciales."
Supt Grant said that the police have no fear of patrolling those areas and that the police team has an ongoing dialogue with residents of some of the mentioned communities.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Rodney Adams supported Smith's and Grant's comments.
He said: "There are no 'no-go zones' in Turks and Caicos as a whole and that is our position on that. There are no areas in this country that our staff will not be deployed to."