Grand Turk Cruise Center Announces Re-opening Date
A breath of life will return to the nation’s capital for many businesses and it couldn’t come any sooner.
Grand Turk’s economy has been suffering as a result of the recent Cruise ship cancellations due to an outbreak of gastroenteritis at the cruise port, which is owned by the Carnival Corporation.
Here’s Damen Boviewith details.
The cruise port has been hosting six to eight ship arrivals per week. The ships each carry between 2,500 and 3,500 passengers and it is believed that 90 percent of the passengers disembark the ship and visit the welcome centre. Approximately 20 percent of the passengers take taxis to visit other sites on the capital island.
But it has been three weeks since cruise ships have cancelled through fear of passengers disembarking on the island, contracting the virus, although the health department and tourist board have issued press releases describing their efforts in attempting to isolate and contain the outbreak which is now under control.
The TCI government relies on Carnival’s head tax to help meet its budgetary obligations with over $3 million in annual receipts coming from passengers arrivals. It is estimated that the economic impact for Grand Turk is some $250,000 per day in activity.
The cruise port has been hosting six to eight ship arrivals per week. The ships each carry between 2,500 and 3,500 passengers and it is believed that 90 percent of the passengers disembark the ship and visit the welcome centre. Approximately 20 percent of the passengers take taxis to visit other sites on the capital island.
But in a press release today, the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board is pleased to announce that cruise ship calls to the Grand Turk Cruise Center will commence on April 8th, 2013The Board which has been working in close collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders as well as the local public health department is confident that all measures have been taken to ensure the health and safety of our guests.
The cruise sector which accounts for a majority of visitors to the Turks & Caicos Islands is a vital cog in the tourism industry of Grand Turk and the Board is cognizant of the impact that the cancellation of cruise ship visits may have exerted on the businesses and residents of the Island.
Commenting, Mr. Ralph Higgs, Director of the Turks & Caicos Tourist Board, said “Throughout this situation, we continued an open dialogue with the most senior executives involved in the ports operation. We understand the severity of the impact of the cancellation of cruise ship visits not only to the local business community of Grand Turk but to those guests who have selected to visit our shores via cruise line. Moving forward, the Government feels confident that all the appropriate measures are in place and that Grand Turk will continue to provide the vacation opportunity of a lifetime to our visiting guests.”
Carnival Corporation has faced a number of unfortunate incidents over the past two years. In December 2011, the Costa Concordia capsized in the Mediterranean, while just a few months ago an engine failure resulted in one its cruise ships losing all power in the Gulf of Mexico. Carnival has a number of ports of call throughout the Caribbean and is developing attractions in the Dominican Republic; however, the Grand Turk cruise centre has enjoyed a steady increase over the years since its opening in 2004.
This is Damen Boviefor RTC News.
The 2013 season of the Providenciales Church CO-ED slow pitch Softball League gets underway this Saturday
The second season of the Providenciales Church CO-ED slow pitch Softball League gets underway this Saturday April 6th 2013, beginning at 3pm at the Downtown Ballpark in Providenciales.
Organizers say this league promises to be another exciting season of games, to which everyone is invited to come out and cheer for your respective church.
According to the new schedule, the Methodist Church will go up against St. Monica’s from 3pm to 4:30 pm; Jericho Baptist against Abundant Life from 4:45 – 6:15 pm and Bethany Baptist from6:30 – 8:00p.
RTC Sports will keep our softball fans abreast of the schedule as the games progress.
FORTISTCI SPRING FUN WALK & RUN ON APRIL 6TH
FORTIS TCI IS GETTING READY FOR ITS 5TH ANNUAL FORTIS TCI SPRING FUN WALK & RUN IN PROVIDENCIALES.
THE EXPECTED FAMILY AFFAIR WILL TAKE PLACE TOMORROW SATURDAY APRIL 6, WITH WARM UP SCHEDULED TO STARTS AT THE FORTISTCI CORPORATE OFFICE ON LEEWARD HIGHWAY AT 5:45 AM. THE WALK AND RUN BEGINS PROMPTLY AT 6 AM.
THERE WILL ALSO BE GAMES, PRIZES, HOT BREAKFAST AND A GRAND RAFFLE, AND THERE IS NO REGISTRATION FEE.
EVENT T-SHIRTS ARE AVAILABLE WHILE THEY LAST.
FORTIS TCI ENCOURAGES PARTICIPANTS TO GET FIT AT THE SPRING FUN WALK & RUN THIS APRIL 6TH
The TCI to observe the month of April as Child Abuse and Prevention month
The Department of Social Development and Gender Affairs, will be observing the month of April as Child Abuse and Prevention month in the TCI.
In observance of the month, a number of activities will be taking place throughout the islands.
Ms. Tiffany Thomas of the department in Grand Turk will shed some more light next week.
Four persons appeared in court charged for Aggravated Burglary
Four persons appeared in court on (Thursday April 4th) in relation to the Aggravated Burglary which occurred on Wednesday 27th, March 2013, which involved a vacationing family.
It has been reported that 4 individuals entered a residence, occupied by a family and assaulted a 47 old male before escaping with a quantity of items. The male victim required hospital attention for non-life threatening injuries.
Those persons charged with Aggravated Burglary are
Antonio Luciano 17,
Lorenzo Rigby 21
Wilkie Arthur 38
And a 15 year old whose name Police are unable to release because he is a minor.
All four persons appeared in court earlier today (Thursday) for a sufficiency hearing. The four accused were not required to enter a plea and each were remanded in custody until June 07th 2013 when they will be brought before a Judge in the Supreme Court.
3 of the Cuban detainees among those granted political asylum in the TCI
The Minister responsible for Immigration, Border Control and Labor Hon. Ricardo Don-Hue Gardiner, has given the assurance that the granting of political asylum to three of the illegal Cuban detainees in Providenciales, is not as a result of the recent protest by some of those detainees.
Four of the men gained much media attention when their faces appeared on the front page of one of the local newspapers and on television, with their mouths sewn up as part of a hunger strike protest.
Speaking at a post cabinet press briefing last Thursday, Minister Gardiner three of the four have been granted asylum, along with a Colombian national.
Gardiner also said that he received a response from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on the asylum applications of five of the detainees.
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The Minister emphasized that the granting of asylum to the Cubans, was not as a result of the recent protest, as his Government will not be deflected in such a way.
New District Constables Sworn-in
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force has been strengthened yet again with another batch of District Constables.
The seven new District Constables who were sworn in today Tuesday at the Stanley Williams Training Centre in Providenciales by the Commissioner of Police Mr. Colin Farqhuar, will undergo two weeks of practical and academic studies. They will also undertake physical fitness exercises.
Inspector Dwight Gardiner, acting officer in charge of the Human Resources department, explained at the outset that the various Lecturers will make the training very worthwhile and informative for the trainees.
Commissioner Faquar said the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force is delighted to have the new District Constables aboard and stressed that a big part of their responsibility, is service towards the community.
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The Seven District Constables, who will be split between A Division in Grand Turk and B Division in Provo, are Damian Palmer, Sherika Dean, Latusher Gibson, Ann-Leslie Garland-Musgrove, Marvin Rolle, Brendalee Hanchell and Tamoy Lewis. The eight officer, Demitri Swann will be sworn in at a later date.
Men charged for Aggravated Burglary
A teenager is among three persons up on charges related to burglary.
Police at the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police in Providenciales on Monday 01st April charged three (3) men ages 17, 21 and 38 respectively for Aggravated Burglary and Conspiracy.
It was reported that on Wednesday 27th March 2013 at approximately 9:50pm that a family who were here on vacation, were alerted by a loud sound in the villa they were renting in the Grace Bay area.
The husband, while searching out the origin of the noise, was assaulted by four (4) males who had entered the house with a number of weapons. The four males later fled the scene with a quantity of items from the home.
The 47 year old male was taken to the Cheshire Hall Medial Centre where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries and later released.
An additional person is expected to be charged pending further investigations.
The young men will be taken to court number one at 9 o’clock this morning (Wednesday 3rd April).
PAHO/WHO launches its first photography and video contest on complementary child feeding
The best photographs and videos that illustrate complementary child feeding among children 6 months to 2 years in the Americas will be awarded by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in the first ProPAN Photography and Video Contest.
The main objective of the contest, is to draw attention to the importance of adding other foods to children, once they turn 6 months as it’s determined that breast milk alone is not enough to satisfy their nutritional needs.
Institutions and individuals - whether they are professional photographers or not - of any nationality, can participate in the contest. Participants can submit up to five photographs and one video each. The contest is opened until April 30.
Here’s Damen Boviewith more details on the child feeding contest.
A jury formed by experts in child feeding from PAHO and other institutions, will select one winning photograph and video per country, which will receive a certificate and move on to compete at the regional level. At this level, the jury will choose the top three photographs and videos.
The regional winners, which will be announced on May 12 of this year in honor of Mother’s Day, will win $2,000 for first place; $1,000 for second place; and $500 for third place. Additionally, the best images will be included in a book on best practices for breast-feeding and complementary child feeding.
The topic of the contest is exclusively complementary feeding, as there is already an extensive amount of breastfeeding pictures. Some situations that could be illustrated in the photos include:-
A parent, grandparent, sibling, family member or neighbor feeding a child.
- One or more children feeding themselves.
- Best practices in complementary feeding (for example, a child eating from his own plate, instead of that of the mother).
- Food and plates of complementary food and
- A child and her caretaker enjoying the feeding process.
The photos and videos should be the photographer’s or videographer’s own, and should not have been modified by any design programs. The images should be sent in “jpg”, “tif” or “raw” format and have a resolution of at least 7 megapixels (3072 x 2304 pixels). The images can be in color or in black and white. Videos should be no longer than two minutes.
The contest is organized by PAHO through the Process for the Promotion of Child Feeding (ProPAN), which was developed jointly with UNICEF to offer ministries of health, non-governmental organizations, and international organizations a tool to plan, implement and evaluate programs to prevent malnutrition in children under the age of 2.
The Public Health School at Emory University and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contributed to the initiative, which was partly financed by the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
To access the contest rules and format to submit a photograph or video, please visit http://bit.ly/14pD55b. For questions, please contact propan@paho.org.
This is Damen Boviefor RTC News.
Nose gear collapses when small plane lands
The Sun Sentinel of Miami Florida is reporting that the nose gear on a twin-engine plane collapsed when it landed at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport on Monday.
According to US Federal Aviation Administration officials, only the pilot was aboard the aircraft and he was reported to be unhurt.
FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in an e-mail that the plane took off from FXE and was returning to FXE, and on landing, the gear collapsed.
She said the incident happened just before 5 p.m. yesterday (Monday) and it temporarily shut down an airport runway until the damaged plane could be removed.
While the plane's tail number showed a Turks and Caicos Islands registration and the aircraft flew the Caicos Express Airways logo, RTC News understands that the plane was not on a scheduled flight to Miami, but rather had gone to the US for maintenance purposes as Caicos Express Airways does not have any scheduled flights between Providenciales and the US.
The airline is expected to release a statement, once the official information becomes available.