The Bridgetown Port was a hive of activity today, as Barbadians rushed to collect barrels and packages in time for Christmas.

This morning, when a team from Barbados TODAY visited the Port, Shed Manager Vincent Jones said workers were kept busy as scores of people came to collect their barrels.

This Port worker preparing a barrel to be taken away by a customer.

He explained that in an effort to meet the demand, the Port had extended its opening hours until 7 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.

However, he disclosed that tomorrow work at the collection shed was scheduled to end at approximately 1 p.m.

Jones also explained that there were some individuals who preferred not to get caught up in the Christmas rush and who would have opted to collect their packages at the beginning of next year.

“And statistics have shown this year that while people would probably bring in one package, we are seeing two and three now per person.

“I believe that is a reflection of the hard economic times and families overseas decide that instead of sending one package let us send more,” he said.

Today, a few tears were shed, praises shared, and words of gratitude expressed as the Ministry of Health said goodbye to four long-standing officers.

Chief Environmental Health Officer Tyrone Applewhaite, personnel officer Lorna Skeete, advisory and inspection team coordinator for private hospitals and nursing homes Angela Crawford and executive secretary Sonia Sealy were all toasted for their overall 150 years’ contribution to the Civil Service and especially for their service to health care in Barbados.

At a retirement function held at the auditorium of the ministry in the Frank Walcott Building in Culloden Road, St Michael, these four outstanding individuals, who have demonstrated exemplary service and brought about change in their respective fields, were thanked by top officials, including Minister of Health John Boyce, Permanent Secretary Tennyson Springer and Chief Medical Officer Dr Joy St John.

Boyce, who described such leaving as a challenging experience, wished the four a happy retirement, nonetheless adding that he believed they would all be successful in whatever new paths they determined to take.

He also thanked the retirees for going beyond the call of duty and holding strain when changes occurred and whenever resources and tools to work with appeared to be limited.

“Resources may not allow us at all times  to reach the pinnacles which we set, but as long as the standard which we maintain is sufficient to ensure the health and care of our people, then we have a wonderful starting point,” Boyce said.

Commending Applewhaite for his work in leading his department to ensure Barbados maintained a healthy environment, Permanent Secretary Springer indicated that it was unfortunate the Chief Environmental Health Officer was not staying around to see the completion of the establishment of the Environmental Health section as a department in the Ministry of Health.

Minister of Health John Boyce (right) presenting Chief Environmental Health Officer Tyrone Applewhaite with his gift.

“I think he has very good ideas, strong leadership; and I think he would have been very successful if he sought to move the department a little bit further faster. But, I think he has set the pace. The road has been paved and somebody has to take up the pace and move from there. I think the nature of life is people move on,” Springer said.

The permanet secretary added: “My presence here and my willingness to speak is a testimony to your effectiveness as four officers, and my love for you as co-workers in the ministry.”

All of the retirees, in their responses, expressed their sadness to be leaving the ministry; however they were grateful to have received the opportunity to serve their country well. They also hoped for the best in the ministry’s development.

Applewhaite, who has worked in the Public Service for 35 years, has played “a significant role” in strategic and programme planning in the ministry, being selected in 2001 on a committee of planners responsible for the development of the Ministry of Health Strategic Plan 2002-2012, the first of its kind in the public sector.

Applewhaite was presented as always embracing change to ensure optimum utilization of financial and human resources in the ministry, as had been demonstrated “by the high level of commitment, passion and motivation he has shown throughout his career”.

Sealy who joined the service in 1979 having worked in Civil Aviation and Ministry of Tourism as a stenographer/typist was assigned to the Barbados Drug Service in 2003.

Permanent Secretary Tennyson Springer presenting (right) Sonia Sealy with her present.

However, the then permanent secretary who knew of  Sealy’s competencies, having worked with her when she first joined the service, chose Sonia to work with him. In 2007, she was promoted to her current position and has been known to be “as confidential as the word confidential itself”.

Skeete, who entered the service in 1971, was promoted to personnel officer in 2000, acted as senior personnel officer on many occasions and performed “exceptionally in all capacities”.

Personnel officer Lorna Skeete (left) being presented with her gift by Ministry of Health official Manasseh King.

It was said that Skeete’s long service in that department had given her a wealth of knowledge and she could be relied on to give advice and guidance at the senior and junior levels because of her institutional memory.

Crawford, a registered nurse, worked in Canada, returning in 1986 to Barbados, where she continued in the area of health care, eventually becoming the Port health nurse. In 1996 she joined the Boston University Team on the Health Sector Reform Project as a psychogeriatric nurse and also worked at PAHO for a little while where she held responsibility for ten countries in quality management immunization.

Dr Kenneth George (right) presenting his colleague and friend Angela Crawford with her gift.

The retirees not only received commendations, but also tangible gifts from their colleagues. 

A stern warning to Barbados that it will need to justify its future requests for support under the tenth European Development Fund.

The warning came today from the Head of the EU Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Ambassador Mikael Barfod, even as he delivered on a payment of $20.9 million, which constituted the second draw down under the $130 million programme.

Barfod said while the EU remained committed to supporting the country’s Human Resource Development (HRD) programme, the third tranche payment would not be automatic.

In fact, he told reporters during a Press conference at the EU’s Hastings, Christ Church headquarters that there would first have to be a review of the island’s economic performance, including its efforts to reduce its fiscal deficit and achieve macro-economic stability.

Head of the European Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Mikael Barfod during this morning’s Press conference.

“It is my hope that we will be able to provide sufficient evidence that we are on the right track before the end of the budget year at the end of March. I will be working together with the Government of Barbados who will provide the evidence that we need to certify the micro-economic stability is in order . . .It is not a bag of money that would simply be given to Government, the Government of Barbados would have to work hard,” he said.

The overall objective of the HRD is to support the Government of Barbados in its efforts to increase competitiveness, promote sustainable growth and poverty alleviation. It also focuses on strengthening the country’s human resource capacity, reducing unemployment and increasing productivity of the work force.

Following the payment of the first tranche of BDS$28.9 million, a number of actions were undertaken that paved the way for the EU to commit to further financial resources to the programme.

These actions or indicators included further institutional assessments of Government departments, the training of 600 public officers in human resource development, an increase in the number of Government departments utilizing the full human resource module of the Smart Stream application, a reduction in the time it takes educational providers to re-register, an increased number of persons assessing registered entrepreneurial training and an increase in the number of qualification programmes approved and operational.

The HRD Programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Human Resource Development in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.

The programme consists of five pillars which are providing an enabling environment for human capacity development, the establishment of a national qualifications framework, the development of a demand driven education system, the creation of a knowledge management system and the enhancement of research, innovation and entrepreneurship capacity within Barbados.

For over 50 years, evangelist Reverend Dr Holmes Williams won thousands of souls for the Lord in Barbados, the Caribbean and internationally.

And today, thousands packed the Wildey Gymnasium at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex to reflect on his passion and dedication to the work he lived and loved, as well as to celebrate his life during a three-hour service that featured song and multiple tributes from family, colleagues and friends.

Williams, who died on December 19 after suffering from chikungunya and dengue, was remembered as a man who was meticulous in all his efforts – in the church and in business.

As his silver casket stood at the front of the stage, glistening in the well-lit gymnasium, the tributes shared had one common thread – that he was a powerful man of God.

The casket bearing the body of the late Reverend Dr Holmes Williams was carried up the aisle of the Wildey Gymnasium by son Paul (left), his grandson Micah (second from left), Sir Kyffin Simpson (third from left), Williams’ son David (fourth from left) and his older brother Briggs (second from right) and grandson Russell (right).

The second of his three sons, Paul, told the congregation that his father was never satisfied with mediocrity and believed that his purpose was fueled by the Lord’s vision to win souls.

“His meticulous nature was evident in maintaining punctuality. In over 14, 000 church services and other special events including crusades, he never once started any of them late. The high standard of structure and order that he implemented at the church is still evident today and it is often spoken about by many visitors and speakers alike,” he told the congregation that included denominational leaders from Barbados and abroad, Minister of Social Care Steve Blackett, Minister of Labour Dr Esther Byer-Suckoo and Opposition Leader Mia Mottley.

Williams’ secretary of 37 years, elder Phyllis Edghill, recalled the long nights he stayed at the church office preparing sermons, radio presentations or just looking after church matters.

She said he religiously showed up for church at least an hour early to ensure that every chair and microphone on stage was properly positioned and that the sound system was in order.

Senator Dr David Durant said the deceased was his “father” and a mentor who played a pivotal role in his evangelical career. He said Williams would be remembered and memorialized for the extraordinary contribution he made to the Kingdom of God.

He called the late evangelist a giant on the religious landscape of this nation, who led a ministry that exemplified tenacity, discipline, and faithful adherence to his calling.

“When his ministry started here in Barbados during the 1960s, he had indeed chosen the road less taken. Due to the specific socio-historic climate at the time, the onus was on him to bridge the gap between the Euro-centric religious norms, and the more expressive worship of Pentecostalism,” Durant said.

Williams’ granddaughter Whitney, who spoke on behalf of the late church leader’s eight grandchildren, said he not only sought to instill strong Christian values, but he always found time to spend with them.

“While we are each thankful and humbled that we carry the bloodline of a great man of God, we also recognize that this in itself does not make any of us great,” she said of a man they affectionately called Bestie.

“Instead, it is in yielding ourselves to Jesus Christ, the same way Bestie did for guidance and true purpose, that we could then hold any measure of greatness to our grandfather.”

In delivering the sermon, Williams’ longstanding friend Reverend Dr Dennis White urged those in the congregation not   to fear death.

“In this service today, though dead, Holmes speaks. You have heard all that was said here and by his death he is saying to us ‘hey there, it’s not only living what I preach, I am dying what I preach. I am saying to you in death that to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord’. We ought not to let his words fall to the ground, we should allow what has been said to touch us . . . ,” he said.

Seventy-five-year-old Williams came from very humble beginnings and had a hard life growing up without a father whom he lost at a young age.

Following in the footsteps of his older brothers, he went into a career in banking and quickly moved up the ladder to become the youngest manager of any bank in Barbados. However, he subsequently answered a calling that required him, his young bride and first child to experience a life of sacrifice and dedicated service.

“In the small living room of his rental home in Belleville, my father started his church in 1962. Within two years, Evangel Temple was built to accommodate a growing congregation and over the next few years, the name was changed to the People’s Cathedral which now houses 4,500 baptized members,” Paul said.

He also established the People’s Cathedral Primary School in 1987, offered his church’s support to orphanages and schools in Haiti and, to aid people who would not usually qualify for a loan, started the Family Co-op Credit Union at People’s Cathedral.

Just two years ago, his desire to see a Christian radio station run by ministers of the gospel resulted in the birth of Christ is the Answer (CITA) Radio 90.1 FM.

Paul said that up to a few weeks before being hospitalized, his father was making further preparations to continue spreading the gospel.

Williams’ body was laid to rest in a private interment after the service of thanksgiving.

He leaves to mourn sons Paul, Peter and David, wife Rosie and eight grandchildren.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

If many hadn’t seen it, they might not have believed it!

When a sharply dressed Winston Woodie Richardson stepped out of his son’s vehicle when it pulled up at Government House, and walked fully upright, and with a pep in his step, to the entrance of Governor General Sir Elliott Belgrave’s official residence, signed the visitors’ book and climbed the winding stairs, no one would have guessed he turned 100 years old today.

Seeing Sir Elliott celebrate with yet another Barbadian who has reached the milestone is a common sight. But it’s unusual to see one who is as perky, mentally alert and agile as Richardson.

Sir Elliott Belgrave having a toast with centenarian Winston Richardson.

It’s also not all the time that the Governor General is kept locked in conversation by a centenarian throughout his entire visit.

Such was the case when the former athlete, father of three, and grandfather of nine was hosted at Government House today.

“I feel like I am just about 50 years old, not any older than that. I am very pleased to know that so many people are interested that I could be 100 years and look as I am. When I woke up this morning I just wanted to find a jacket and a pants to match,” he declared.

The centenarian hugs his great-granddaughter Krista Gilmore (left) and relative Christina Pinnock.

Richardson, who sat on the first executive board of the Amateur Athletic Association and represented Barbados in football and basketball, told members of the media that his active lifestyle and balanced diet was responsible for the shape he was in on reaching the milestone.

“I used to do running on evenings. And my athletic career was wonderful. I played football for Barbados at Kensington [Oval] and I started the game of basketball in Barbados and started the Basketball Association. I am very proud of my athletic accomplishments,” he said.

Richardson had some advice for those who wanted to reach his age in good spirits and health.

“I like to eat vegetables. We should always make vegetables a priority – vegetables like green bananas, plantain, potatoes. Eat fish but don’t fry it. They’ve got to exercise and not eat too much; eat enough to keep going,” he said.

He recalled his job as chief superintendent at Water Works. He retired in the 1970s and immediately opened his own plumbing business.

“I used to look after the water mains all through the island. I could lie in bed at night and a fella would say ‘look, I have a burst main and we don’t know how to shut off the water’.

“I would say ‘well, look, there is a black shop right down by the corner at this road and you would see a left hand valve’.”

The former Combermerian recalled coming to Barbados from St Lucia by boat with his then pregnant mother, seven siblings and flock.

“The old lady brought ducks, fowls and all kind of things that she had on the boat. The first house we lived in was where the Boat Yard is now,” said the centenarian who is celebrating with a big party tonight.

Sir Elliott congratulated Richardson on reaching the milestone.

He said the centenarian, who resides in Christ Church, was invited to Government House under special circumstances and noted this would not be the case for centenarians in the future.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

Reflecting on a year of several incidents of domestic violence, the National Organization of Women (NOW) today called for the establishment of a National Sexual Offenders Register as a means of protecting women and girls.

In NOW’s end of year message, president Marilyn Rice-Bowen said the register should list all sex offenders, mainly rapists, so that they would be known by the public for the overall protection to society.

Marilyn Rice-Bowen

“We are not calling for this for malicious purposes and for people to go and see who is on the list, but for people to use the list as a means of protecting females. It is being done in the United States and it should be done here,” she said.

“There are occasions where men have been charged for rape and those men should not find themselves in certain jobs and locations. They should be kept away from females. Think about a rapist working as a security guard at a school and he is supposed to be watching children,” Rice-Bowen told Barbados TODAY in a follow-up interview.

In her message, she said NOW, which represents all women organizations in Barbados, bid 2014 farewell against a backdrop of disruption of peace and mutilation of women.

She declared that this would not be tolerated in 2015 and reminded women to treat every threat seriously.

“We, through our affiliates, will continue to offer programmes to support prevention of violence. We will continue to protect victims of violence and assist in their transformation to survivors of violence. All perpetrators of violence against women will be brought to justice,” she said.

“The National Organization of Women will not retreat. We hold firm to the view that violence against women is a human rights violation. 2015 will witness a strengthening of relationships with our existing partners as we seek to reinforce our base.”

The president also called on all women in the home, community and workplace to join NOW’s journey.

“Women, raise your voices and denounce violence against women. You might not be a member of a formal organization but because you are woman that is your licence to join forces with us. Every woman must take a stand.”

In her New Year’s message, founder and chairman of the SAVE Foundation Liesel Daisley said the coming year had to be one in which the authorities do more to protect and save women who are victims of abuse.

“There are women being violently abused in this country at an alarming rate, while those that make the decisions sit back,” she charged.

“We need to turn up the pressure in 2015 so that we can see change come about in Barbados and so that we don’t lose any more mothers and daughters in this manner.”

Daisley added that she wanted members and friends of SAVE to approach 2015 with a renewed passion “to help those that are not in a position to help themselves and have the issue of eradicating domestic violence as their focus”.

If there is one Barbadian who is feeling blessed to be alive to see the start of the New Year, it is 28-year-old Cyprian Payne who almost lost his life after being shot multiple times back in September.

And as he looks to a hopefully bright future, he has hinted that he has started the process of forgiving his shooter, who is still at large.

Payne said he knew God was working in his favour and it would only be right for him to forgive the individual who pulled the trigger. Revenge is definitely not on his mind.

Cyprian Payne

“If I want to believe in the Most High, revenge is for him not for me. I am just giving thanks and don’t really study that part. I am just giving thanks for life and trying hard not to study that part,” he said as he sat on a bench outside a church next to his St Joseph residence.

Payne had been worried, while hospitalized, about how his mobility would have been affected by the wounds that initially left him in a coma, and then caused him to undergo a series of surgeries.

However, he was walking erect and moved nimbly as he cleaned his car outside his home this afternoon.

The father was also busy keeping an eye on his four-year-old son who rode a bicycle nearby.

He told a team from Barbados TODAY that his “miracle” was due to the many prayers he, family and well-wishers poured out to God to overcome his traumatic ordeal.

“I am thankful. I am very thankful,” he declared during an interview late this evening.

It was in the early hours of September 19 when the Courtesy Garage employee awoke after a fire started in the patio of his girlfriend’s family’s house.

The cricketer and national hockey player rushed outside to help extinguish the blaze, but whoever was outside waiting shot him at least six times.

Today, he is grateful that he has passed the worst and awaiting one more surgery on his broken shoulder early next year. He is also going through rehabilitation and his body is feeling “almost 100 per cent, although I have to take things slowly”.

“And my son is happy that I am home although I don’t think he knows the full story, and that is a good thing,” said Payne who was happy to have spent a quiet Christmas with his pride and joy.

His mother Donna Small was not home at the time. However, Payne said he was appreciative that she not only showed him a mother’s love but sacrificed and went the extra mile to ensure that everything was well with him. He said she played a major role in his recovery, and stood by his side.

“I want to give thanks to all those who kept me in their prayers. I want to thank the doctors and nurses and everybody who was there for me in my recovery. I want to thank the therapist, my friends, team mates and everybody who was there for me,” he said.

If the Ministry of Education does not have solutions to deal with problems at the Parkinson Memorial and Alma Parris Memorial secondary schools by Monday, teachers across the island will “take action”.

“The time for long talking has come to an end,” frustrated president of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) Pedro Shepherd declared today as he hinted that when school resumes next week, some teachers may not be in the classroom.

The BUT has given the ministry a 72-hour deadline to clearly outline solutions to problems including poor or ineffective communication by the principals of Parkinson Memorial and Alma Parris Secondary – Jeff Broomes and Valdez Francis respectively; lack of involvement of senior staff; unilateral decision making; and, in the case of Alma Parris, unsatisfactory action to maintain discipline.

Speaking to members of the media after a brief meeting at the Ministry of Education this morning left the BUT with no hope of either resolution or improvement, the union boss said: “In the short-term, the union will meet its membership, after which we will decide on a medium-term course of action that demonstrates the seriousness which we attach to these matters, and emphasizes our view that issues affecting teachers affect all of Barbados and therefore should not be marginalized or dismissed or delayed.”

ACT NOW!
Uncertainty hangs over the upcoming school term as the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT) hints at taking action over unresolved problems at two schools. After a brief meeting at the Ministry of Education, BUT president Pedro Shepherd declared the union wanted action at the Parkinson Memorial and Alma Parris Memorial schools.
Here, Shepherd (centre), BUT’s vice president Richmark Cave (second from right), Public Relations Officer Dwane Goddard (right), General Secretary Herbert Gittens (left) and executive member Dwayne Greenidge (second from left) make their way into the meeting.

Shepherd reported that at this morning’s meeting, which was a follow-up to talks held at the end of 2014, the BUT was informed that the ministry had “commenced action with respect to Parkinson Memorial School and that is ongoing” and that a “pending decision” was still to be made with respect to the Alma Parris school.

“While we appreciate the efforts of the ministry to update us about these issues, we must say that the union is no more updated at the beginning of 2015 than it was in 2014. Actually, we are more clueless and confused than we were before. We are in no better position to inform or satisfy our members that the professional discomfort they have endured will be alleviated,” he said.

“We have not been given any tangible information that would satisfy our members at these schools that they will be treated to improved conditions at the start of this school year . . . In actual fact, we are not hopeful at all that improved conditions will be the case since the catalysts for the issues remain in place, with no apparent change in attitude or mode of operation.

“The ministry has declined to give us a timeline for when their promised action will bear fruit. This tells us that we can expect action within another day or maybe within another decade. This is just not good enough. Our members cannot wait forever while they suffer in silence,” Shepherd added.

He said the Ministry of Education, at today’s meeting, asked the union for its “support” and “understanding” while efforts were being made to improve conditions for teachers, but the union did not feel enough progress was being made.

The BUT head said as far as the situation at the Alma Parris Secondary School was concerned, promised decisions on the St Peter institution have been “pending” for three to four years while the union has been meeting with Parkinson staff since May last year.

He noted that while the ministry said the process it was using to deal with both schools was in keeping with thePublic Service Actand the union applauded that, the same legislation also provided timelines for the appointment of teachers, timelines for dealing with grievances, a code of conduct and discipline, timelines for investigation of matters of conduct and discipline, guidelines for how public officers should operate and overarching principles for how the Public Service and heads of Departments should operate.

Efforts byBarbados TODAYto reach Minister of Education Ronald Jones, Chief Education Officer Laurie King or his deputy Karen Best have been unsuccessful.

Reflecting on 2014, Shepherd said the union spent many hours meeting with and trying to appease teachers at Alma Parris and Parkinson, while dealing with other challenges at primary schools.

“While many of these situations have been out of the public eye . . . the frustration which has beset this union and its members is very real,” he said.

Shepherd said BUT members will soon be updated on the problems at the two schools in the spotlight, as well as other matters within education that require attention and correspondence would be sent to the ministry and the Personnel Administration Division outlining their concerns very soon.

The areas of concern include: the appointment of temporary teachers, uncertainty regarding the code of employment and recruitment’s priority listings, lack of regular communication or meetings with the Ministry of Education and inadequate or delayed responses to concerns raised by unions on behalf of their members.

Police swooped down on the Deacons Road, St Michael area this evening and carried out an operation that ended with them taking one resident into custody.

A group of Police gathered at Deacons Road.

When contacted, police public relations officer Acting Assistant Superintendent David Welch could shed no light on the operation.

However, sources have informed Barbados TODAY that the operation was in connection with the ongoing investigation into two police officers and a drug probe.

Police are hunting for a man who robbed Scotiabank in Black Rock, St Michael this morning, leaving customers shaken and forcing the early closure of the financial institution.

Lawmen have appealed for public assistance in tracking down the culprit.

The aggravated burglary occurred around 10:10 a.m. when a masked man, armed with a firearm, entered the bank.

One eyewitness, Wayne Jackman, told Barbados TODAY he saw the incident unfold and it was over in about two minutes.

He said the man was wearing a green mask and mauve pants and described him as “bony and frail”.

“He tell everybody ‘get back, get back’ with this lil gun which I think was mock. Then he went to the tellers with the lil gun and two little plastic bags . . . He give each a plastic bag and say ‘full that up with the . . . money now’,” Jackman said.

“To tell the truth, it didn’t scare me. I think the tellers were scared but the people didn’t seem scared.”

The man got out of the bank with an undisclosed sum of money and ran towards nearby Deacons Road.

The bank closed its doors for the rest of the day and customers who turned up to do business were met with a sign on the door that the branch was temporarily closed “due to unforseen circumstances”.

Police in the Black Rock, St Michael Scotia Bank branch carrying out investigations following this morning’s robbery at that location.

Customers attempting to do business where turned away.

Police public relations officer Acting Assistant Superintendent David Welch said no one was injured in the burglary.

Police are appealing to anyone with information that could help them capture the culprit to call police emergency number 211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-TIPS (8477).

A local pastor has accused some mothers of feeding their children a diet of violence by taking them to witness illegal, vicious and at times deadly dog and cock fights.

Reverend David Durant voiced that concern yesterday as he contributed to debate in the Senate on the Livestock (Control of Strays) Amendment Bill, 2015.

Senator Reverend David Durant

“What is discouraging and concerning me is the fact that some mothers are carrying their children to these fights. Mothers are carrying children to such a vicious, bloody sport!” Senator Durant lamented.

“If dad and mom are enjoying this, then the children think it is something normal. No wonder a child would carry an ice pick, scissors or a knife to school and would not think twice about using it if they have to use it to defend themselves, or to prove a point, or get money from someone.”

He urged police to continue their crackdown on these illegal activities, cautioning that whenever the fights took place, guns and other weapons could also be found.

“People will go to any extent to protect their investment and they will walk with their guns, walk with their knives and their collins and whatever they have to do. People are being beat up, people are being wounded.”

Among Durant’s other concerns about the fights were that they constituted cruelty to animals and were also usually accompanied by by another vice – gambling.

Homeless Barbadians will soon have a warm place to rest their heads when the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society (BVHS) opens its 24-hour shelter during the first quarter.

BVHS chairman Kemar Saffrey told Barbados TODAY that the site for the Tudor Street, The City facility is currently being prepared and should be available by the end of next month.

The chairman confirmed that the shelter, which would accommodate both males and females, had already been evaluated by the Barbados Fire Service and health officials.

He urged corporate Barbados to come on board to assist with the project, which he described as a costly venture.

“If we get everything that we want donated it is going to save us a lot, but, if not, it is going to actually take us probably about $30,000 to start up and that is going to include getting beds and having the right security systems in place,” he said.

Saffrey said it would take at least $6,000 per month to maintain the shelter.

“This is a big undertaking for us and it is also going to be a task for us at BVHS. We are going to have to deal with more and more people coming in everyday to sleep.

“We are going to be getting random calls where people are telling us that they have been evicted and they need some way to stay,” the BVHS’ founder predicted.

He was speaking at the society’s Tudor Street office after accepting a donation of food items collected by organizers of the recently staged Barbados Music Awards.

Producer Ronnie Morris thanked the patrons who contributed to the effort.

BVHS chairman Kemar Saffrey (left) and producer Ronnie Morris (right) after today’s presentation.

He said a similar drive would be held during the upcoming Queens of Gospel Concert, which he is also producing.

The group representing gays has thrown its support behind Government’s move to stop the death penalty from being compulsory for murder.

But it has insisted that the same way Barbados is moving to comply with that aspect of the Inter-American Convention of Human Rights (IACHR), it should also fall in line with other sections that would protect members of their community.

Executive director of the Barbados –– Gays, Lesbians, and All-Sexuals against Discrimination (B-GLAD) Donnya Piggott has urged Government to remove legislation such as the contentious Buggery Law and the Serious Indecency Law from the statute books.

Donnya Piggott

“As Barbados makes the effort to reconcile this one law with the IACHR that has many different treaties and articles, we would hope that the other existing laws that violate the convention will too be amended or abolished. Certainly, anything besides that would be a monstrous avoidance of common sense,” she said.

“We welcome [Attorney General] Adriel Brathwaite as he makes moves to bring Barbados’ law in tandem with the ratified Inter-American Convention of Human Rights. However, B-GLAD wishes to remind him that the existing and contentious Buggery Law and the Serious Indecency Law which both lie within the Sexual Offences Act of Barbados’ constitution is in violation to Article 11 of the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, which is the right to privacy. This article states that ‘no one may be the object of arbitrary or abusive interference with his private life, his family, his home, or his correspondence, or of unlawful attacks on his honor or reputation’.”

Piggott added that the lack of legislation, which protects members of Barbados’ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community from being attacked, discriminated against, persecuted or violated because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, could also be seen as Barbados being in violation of Article 24 of the American Convention on Human Rights which addresses the right to equal protection.

Her comments came three days after the House of Assembly began debate on amendments to the Offences Against the Persons Act which would remove the mandatory nature of the death penalty.

Piggott said B-GLAD agreed that the death penalty was a denial of the most basic human rights and violates one of the most fundamental principles under widely accepted human rights law –– the right to life.

“As Barbados begins to progress and become a more developed country, we must do away with laws which are not sensible and laws that reflect badly on the stance of Barbados,” she said.

“Though the complete removal of the law is still a human rights issue, one must commend the Attorney General for removing this piece of legislation that clearly does not reflect the actions of how justice is carried out in Barbados.”

Relatives fainted and screams echoed through the quiet neighbourhood of Seclusion Road, Black Rock, St Michael as the body of 52-year-old Victor Knight was carried away just after midday.

His body was discovered around 8:15 this morning by an acquaintance, hours after residents reported hearing someone screaming “murder”.

Residents, who thought the cries were coming from a television, would later learn that Knight had his throat slashed and was stabbed multiple times about his body.

Family members and residents look on as the body of Victor Knight is removed from the murder scene.

“I only hear when somebody call out ‘murder, murder’,” one elderly woman told Barbados TODAY, while recalling she was watching television when she heard the sound.

Another neighbour, who was overcome with grief, said he heard a commotion and what appeared to be sounds of a struggle and someone choking.

“I heard the noise but I just thought he was jumping in and out of his sleep,” he said.

“This is a sad thing happen to he. He was a very peaceful, quiet guy.”

Knight’s brothers, Carl and Jerry, were distraught.

Victor Knight’s brother Jerry Knight (right) interacting with police at the scene.

Heather Knight (right), sister of Victor Knight and the deceased’s niece Rose-Ann Williams comforting each other.

They cried out that their family had been robbed of a loved one who had never been in trouble with the law.

“He don’t interfere with no person,” said 70-year-old Carl, who was at a loss as to why someone would attack his brother, the last of at least 12 children.

“He ain’t working nowhere, he ain’t got no money, he don’t get no welfare anymore. What them kill he for? But I know my brother; my brother would put up a fight,” Carl said.

Jerry lives a stone’s throw away from the residence of his slain brother. He did not check in with his younger sibling as he normally would, because he saw his vehicle parked in its usual spot.

It was while he was at work that he learned of the tragedy.

“When I get to work my friend call me and tell me that Victor dead. I say, ‘how you mean dead?’ I thought he . . .  [died] from something natural. I didn’t know he was murdered,” Jerry said.

Speaking of the type of person his brother was, he told Barbados TODAY that while Knight “liked his drinks”, he was an easy-going individual who was known in the community.

He said he would miss the times they spent together.

“Sometimes when I come home from work we would just relax and listen to music,” Jerry said.

No one had been detained in connection with the homicide up to tonight.

There is no such thing as good hair and bad hair. And, an individual with a lighter complexion being better than another whose skin is darker is false.

So, just be proud of who and what you are, and be the best you can be.

This was the advice of outspoken educator and activist MacDonald Fingall to Christ Church Foundation students this morning as he delivered the keynote address at the launch of the school’s African History Month activities.

“Let me tell you something, the hair that grows out from your head has to be good hair, because it is growing from you; and you are good. So, when you get there putting on somebody else’s hair, imitating white people, you are telling me that you are not satisfied with yourself; you don’t like yourself,” Fingall said to loud cheers from the students and spirited drumming from members of the Sons of God Apostolic Spiritual Baptist Church, who participated in the service.

Members of the Sons of God Apostolic Church drumming away.

“The clear-skinned people are mixed up. Their great-grandmother got raped and that is how come that they got that clear skin. The blacker you are, the purer you are,” he added.

Fingall noted that while slavery had been abolished many years ago, some Barbadians still appeared to be suffering from it. On that point, he urged the students that as they leaned towards and grasped the concept of the culture of other ethic groups and countries, they must first love and appreciate their own heritage.

He encouraged them to acknowledge, most importantly, the achievements of black men across the world and not to be mentally enslaved.

“You must always walk with confidence and talk with confidence, and believe that you are just as good as everybody else.”

“We accept that Americans are the best in the world; we accept that Canadians are the best in the world. Jamaicans understand that they are the best in the world. How comes we can’t understand that we are the best in the world?” the educator asked, suggesting that Barbadians were “just as good as anybody else in the world”.

Fingall also told the students that the future was merely an expectation and for them to benefit from it they must have a bright present through acquiring an education. He warned them to follow their own paths in life, especially as it related to choosing careers and to be the best at whatever they became.

“God knows what He is doing. He made all of us with different talents and different abilities. He made some of you that you would be engineers; some would be mechanics, teachers . . . . If we were all of the same intellect, the world would be confused,” Fingall argued.

Bishop Malcolm Babb of the Sons of God Apostolic Church lead a team from that organization that delivered the service.

Bishop Malcolm Babb of the Sons of God Apostolic Church in prayer.

Past student and guitarist Ian Alleyne was announced as ambassador for the month which has been themed Rising Above Our Ethnic Challenges: Our Skin, Our Hair And Our Future.

Christ Church Foundation School principal Edward Cumberbatch (right) presenting award to guitarist and past student Ian Alleyne for his contribution to music.

Alleyne was also rewarded by Christ Church Foundation for his contribution to the music industry.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

The runway at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) was shut down for a short period this afternoon when an Air Canada flight was forced to return shortly after take-off.

Barbados TODAY understands from reliable sources that Flight 967 en route to Toronto turned back after leaving the island around 4:30 p.m. when the pilot noticed a fire indicator light on.

The aircraft landed safely and the over 200 passengers were quickly escorted back to the departure terminal.

The source said that all necessary response teams including the Barbados Fire Service,  Police, ambulance officials and security personnel responded to the emergency.

There was no official response from Air Canada’s local office. However, it is understood that the flight was cancelled and arrangements have been made to accommodate passengers.

When GAIA’s Corporate Communications Specialist Keith Goddard was contacted he referred members of the media to the Director of Civil Aviation Kingsley Nelson whose department investigates such matters. Efforts to reach him were unsuccessful.

The wife of a 60-year-old man who died on an American Airlines plane at the Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) last Friday is thanking all those who supported her on the worst day of her life.

Jeffrey Ames was on the plane with wife Michelle Andrews, waiting to fly back to their Denver, Colorado home after a weeklong vacation in Barbados, when he collapsed around 3:30 p.m. He was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital but was pronounced dead just after 4 p.m.

Jeffrey Ames

“I still don’t know what the cause of death was. It was very sad. To me it looked like he had a stroke and I screamed for a doctor and the ambulance and they never got a pulse or got his heart beating again. He literally just closed his eyes and then he was gone,” 60-year-old Andrews said as she recounted the final moments she spent with the man she married ten years ago.

Speaking to Barbados TODAY by telephone from her Colorado home, Andrews recalled that three other passengers –– two doctors and a nurse –– had also offered their help trying to get Ames’ heart pumping again.

However, she said, their efforts proved futile.

Staff at the GAIA also gave their support.

Andrews thanked them for helping her make it through what she described as “the worst day of my life”.

“The people who were at the airport were wonderful and the paramedics were wonderful. I was lost. I didn’t know anybody there. They helped and were with me until I could get on the next airplane,” she said.

“The security guards and everybody at the airport [were] wonderful and I would like to thank them . . . I appreciate what everybody did. They were amazing and they even called me yesterday. They have been above and beyond amazing,” she said.

Andrews said an autopsy would be conducted on Ames and then his body would be cremated and the ashes sent to her in the United States.

“He loved to travel, so at least we got to spend one last vacation together. My heart is broken and yes, I will deeply miss him,” she told Barbados TODAY. “He was my soul mate.”

Ames built and serviced swimming pools for a living and had two sons, two stepchildren and six step-grandchildren.

Inez Wall has grown so accustomed to her son Jason Wall telling her how much he loves her, that she cannot imagine life without him doing it.

Jason Wall

But she is now forced to rely on the memory of hearing those words, as the 33-year-old was gunned down by an unknown assailant around 8:15 last night, as he sat with another person at Belleplaine Housing Area, Belleplaine, St Andrew.

Tears welling up in her eyes and fighting to get the words out, Inez told Barbados TODAY that she was struggling to come to grips with the fact that her fourth of five sons, who was looking forward to celebrating his birthday next Wednesday, was murdered.

Inez Wall remembering her son Jason.

“He gone from me forever,” the visibly distraught mother said as she sat in her Wildey, St Michael home this afternoon.

The nurse found out about the tragic loss shortly after she arrived home from work yesterday. Her son’s girlfriend went to the house and was hysterical as she informed that Jason was shot and was lying dead on the East Coast road.

“So I called his dad and I told him and he was so shocked. He said, ‘that can’t be true’, because he had not too long spoken with him. He was in St Thomas and was supposed to go to him to pick up something,” Wall recalled.

“So I told him to call Belleplaine Police Station and find out if there was a shooting down there and he called me back to tell me he didn’t get through. I told him call back again because I am getting ready to go down there, I got to go and see about my child.”

She expressed disappointment that it was only after a long wait at the scene that she was allowed to see “only the face” of the deceased.

“From a distance, when the people from the funeral home was taking him off the ground to put him inside the body bag I saw all of his left side, his arm and everything blown to pieces. That person destroyed my son, and I do believe that those injuries that I saw on my son from a distance had to be very close range,” the heartbroken mother said.

“I am not a fool, I am not a doctor, but I know that all of my son’s internal organs have been destroyed. But them still left his beautiful face, thank God for that.”

Inez said she was not aware or informed about her son being involved in any confrontation that may have led to his death.

“He was so loving. My neighbour could tell you that from the time he was a child he would visit her every five minutes and whenever he go he would pick a flower from my beautiful flower garden.

“Whenever he bringing one to me that flower would die. When that flower died he used to be so upset and ask me to wake it up. I would tell he that the flower is not going to open back up.”

Standing not too far away from her grandmother was the victim’s 12-year-old daughter who was silently crying.

The deceased also has an 11-year-old daughter.

According to Inez, the two girls were both excelling at school and were loved by their father.

“He was really looking forward to spending a lot more time with them. He talked to me about it and to the girls about it,” she said.

“But now somebody shot him. You could imagine another young man could kill another young person just like that?”

Police are investigating the death of the young man who resided at Moore’s Land, St John.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

“He didn’t deserve to die this way”

That was the general cry of residents of Spring Farm, St Thomas today after receiving the horrific news of Lemar Carter’s passing.

Lemar Carter

The 22-year-old’s body was discovered close to the Mangrove landfill in Vauclause, St Thomas in the wee hours of this morning with several gunshot wounds and other bruises, after a police patrol intercepted a silver grey Mitsubishi Lancer                  around 1:20 a.m.

Reports are that lawmen were involved in a chase with the vehicle, which ended at Mangrove. That’s when the other occupants of the car reportedly fled the scene and escaped into the surrounding bushes, leaving Carter’s lifeless body behind in the backseat of vehicle.

His mysterious death has come as a sudden and unexpected blow that has hit the entire Carter household hard.

When a Barbados TODAY team visited the victim’s home earlier today, distraught family members, who sat around comforting each other, said they were too emotional to speak to members of the media.

Residents in the close-knit St Thomas community, most of whom stayed home from work and school today, were also at a loss over the apparent murder of the former Parkinson Memorial student, who was described as quiet, soft spoken and harmless.

With investigations continuing into his death, the residents insisted “he did not deserve to die this way”.

“He don’t go partying, he don’t smoke or nothing. From by he father workshop he would go back in that house. He don’t talk, he quiet. He was the coolest person ever.

“If he talking to you, you would have to tell he, ‘I can’t hear you, man try and talk up’. A good fella dead,” one man said.

Another, who was struggling to piece together the events, said Carter was too quiet a gentleman to have been involved in any situation that would have caused his life.

“What happen to he wrong and unfair,” the mature male resident declared.

“Not a boy can’t say nothing bad about he. He would go to the shop, call for what he want and come long back home,” he added, while revealing that Carter had borrowed the vehicle in which his body was found from another resident in the area last night.

“Up to now you don’t know what take place,” he lamented.

Dedria Nicholls, a childhood friend of the deceased man, was also struck by news of his passing.

“We grew up together but as we got older he didn’t want to be around the girls too much so he would more be with the boys. But he didn’t deserve to die like that. And his family are good people,” Nicholls said.

Another woman, who requested to remain anonymous because she was supposed to be at work, said “the community shaken up. Even the shop shut. .. He was a very good boy. He did good from birth,” she said.

anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb

She has completed 100; and she is still climbing the ladder.

Yesterday, Ione Aletha Beckles of Coach Hill, St John, celebrated her 102nd birthday with family and friends at a quiet function at her home.

Ione Beckles was blessed to celebrate her 102nd birthday yesterday.

Ione is not functioning at her fullest capacity mentally, but is yet able to move around the home freely –– on her own.
The mother of five –– the eldest being 75 and youngest, 64 –– still makes her way unassisted to the bathroom when she needs to.

Ione surrounded by children and grandchildren as they helped her to blow out the candles on her cake.

And when it comes to her diet, her daughter Cleotha Stapleton told Barbados TODAY the elderly woman still had
a hearty appetite.

“On mornings, my brother whom she lives with, would give her her breakfast, and then she would come out and sit in the front room and look through the window.

“She knows everybody who passes . . . and she would tell you who is going down the road. And that is pretty much what she does during the day,” the daughter explained.

Cleotha recalled that her mother was a very good seamstress who sewed some of the finest clothing and made outstanding hats for people from the community and beyond. Her deceased husband Ethelbert Beckles was a foreman at the Barbados Water Authority.

Cleotha Stapleton (left) was happy to celebrate yet another milestone with her mother.

Cleotha, Ione’s third child, remembers her mother as being quite strict, but one who humbly and loyally raised not only her children, but also some of her 13 grandchildren, cousins, nieces and nephews.

“She was a disciplinarian, and many would tell you that for sure,” Cleotha said of her mum who has nine great-grandchildren.

When Ione became 100, she did not receive a visit from the Governor General, as is the norm for centenarians, because, according to her children, they were unable to get the paperwork to show proof of age to authorities on time. The occasion, nevertheless, was well celebrated, preceding the 100th birthday which too was marked with a grand celebration.

This year, the family decided to have a quiet anniversary affair instead. The celebrations of the two years before,
it seemed, had created an excitement that was becoming too much for Ione to handle.