Neeradh Ragoonanan and Shakti Ragoonanan appeared before Magistrate Alicia Chankar. They pleaded not guilty. It is alleged that they were in violation of Section Six (c) Chapter 30:52 of the Litter Prevention Act. A summons was issued by litter warden Kimberly Jones.

The magistrate adjourned the matter to October 23.

This year’s competition took place from Friday until Sunday at the National Aquatic Centre, Guyana, and featured the usual participants – TT , Suriname, Barbados, St Lucia and Guyana, as well as Grenada and the Bahamas.

In the points standings, TT finished with 1,322, followed by Suriname (1,289), Guyana (868.5), Bahamas (805), Barbados (445), St Lucia (314.5) and Grenada (20).

Coach of the 40-member team was ex-national swimmer Sharntelle McLean, who highlighted the depth and the quality of the 2017 squad.

“The other countries are getting stronger,” said McLean yesterday, upon the team’s return home at the Piarco International Airport.

“So every time we go, and every time we win, (we) become the target and they’re coming after us, and each time we get more competition.

“But the swimmers that we have, the quality and the depth that we have, I think we’ll come out on top.

Everyone got a medal.” Continuing on her point about the depth in the TT team, McLean noted, “It continues the streak that we’ve had from since CARIFTA, coming down to CCCAN and the Commonwealth Youth Games, and now Goodwill. We are definitely a force.” The Goodwill Swim Meet features competitors all under the age of 18, and is used as a developmental event for some of the region’s aspiring swimmers.

“The Goodwill Swim Meet is a great experience for the younger ones,” said McLean. “And that shows that we have the pool of talent, the pool of swimmers, to come up (and excel).” Reflecting on the experience in Guyana, the former Olympian (2004 and 2008 Games in Athens, Greece and Beijing, China respectively) stated, “It’s definitely a great achievement.” McLean pointed out that the humid conditions in Guyana was a factor, but, “The management team we had, we were really supportive.

We checked for the swimmers and made sure that they were well hydrated so they can perform.

“It was our target, to make sure that they were well taken care of, in order to perform the duties at hand.” On her new role as a coach, the 33-year-old said, “It’s definitely a difference, and I give all my previous coaches kudos for what they have done.

In fact I know I wasn’t a difficult athlete but, at the same time, it’s a pool of swimmers and a pool of personalities you’re dealing with.” One of Trinidad and Tobago’s top participants at the three-day event was Joy Blackett, who returned home with 11 medals – two gold, six silver and three bronze.

According to the 11-year-old, who trains with Tidal Wave Aquatics Swim Club, “It feels good. It was very difficult. I said ‘if we really want to win, just push harder so that Trinidad (and Tobago) will win’. And we did.” Asked about the experience in Guyana, Blackett, who will be entering Form One at Miracle Ministries in Couva, replied, “It was good. It was my second time so I knew I was going to do well.”

Dead is Carlos Samuel, 50, a straightener and painter employed with the Public Transport Services Corporation (PTSC) at Lady Hailes Avenue, San Fernando.

The father of three adult children lived at Hobson Trace off Khanai Road North, Barrackpore.

Police said, shortly after 4 pm, having completed his work shift, Samuel walked towards his car parked near main exit gate of the PTSC’s south garage.

Gunshots rang out and moments later, a co-worker discovered Samuel near a wire fence gasping for breath with gunshot wounds to the stomach.

The gunman, while running away, also fired shots in the direction of the co-worker who escaped unhurt.

Samuel was taken to the nearby San Fernando General Hospital where he subsequently died.

Police from the San Fernando station and Homicide Bureau (Region III) visited the scene and searched the area for the killer but he was not found.

Vidawatee Ramballacksingh, 49, of Malgretoute Village, Princes Town, appeared with 48-yearold Brent Bruce, of Princes Town, who was charged with maliciously wounding her at Library Corner, San Fernando on Saturday.

Prosecutor PC Cleyon Seedan told Magistrate Alicia Chankar that the incident occurred at about 1 am.

Seedan told Chankar, Ramballacksingh and Bruce were arguing and things got heated. Bruce picked up a beer bottle and struck Ramballacksingh on the head.

Bruce’s attorney, Chantal Paul told the magistrate, however, that Bruce was dancing with another woman at the Las Vegas Recreation Club when Ramballacksingh approached him and began hitting him. “Your worship, my instructions are that everything started there. The argument continued onto the road by La Pique Plaza and the defendant (Bruce) was struck. In those circumstances he picked up a bottle.

Clearly, this relationship going nowhere.” “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” quipped Chankar.

Asked what led to the animosity between them, Ramballacksingh told Chankar she had been going through untold pains at the hands of Bruce, though she spent nights with him. “I’m trying very hard for this relationship, but he doing all kinds of things,” Ramballacksingh said.

Chankar ordered Bruce to pay a fine of $2,000 or serve two months in prison with hard labour. He was also ordered to pay Ramballacksingh $500 in compensation or serve six weeks simple imprisonment. Bruce was ordered to pay the fine immediately and he was granted one week to pay the compensation.

Next to appear was Seema Seenath, 28, of Diamond Village, San Fernando and Marcus Ramdhan, 27 who was also charged with malicious wounding. He first pleaded guilty and Seedan told the magistrate how Ramdhan struck the woman just above the right eye.

However, after Ramdhan explained how the incident happened on Sunday, the magistrate recorded a not guilty plea on his behalf.

He was granted bail in the sum of $10,000 and ordered to reappear on September 18.

WPC Praveen Rajkumar laid the charge.

This is the view expressed by newly installed Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TT FA) technical director Anton Corneal.

Corneal said the Jamaicans will be a fitting test for the TT team.

He said, “I think ideally, this (against Jamaica) is the right type of game that we need now.” He noted that Jamaica are coming off exceptional performances at the recent Gold Cup in the United States where they reached the final only to be beaten 2-1 by the USA.

He believes the game will be very competitive because of the rivalry between the two countries.

While the Caribbean derby will be the focus this week, Corneal stressed that the real matches of importance would be Honduras on September 1 and Panama four days later.

“Of course it is important to get a result against Honduras as they will be pushing for a result here also which possibly means it will give us a chance to exploit them in areas that may be opened up. It is the first game of the two qualifiers and a result here will give us that chance to keep fighting heading into Panama,” Corneal added.

TT coach Dennis Lawrence is stepping up his preparations for the World Cup qualifiers and welcomed Cordell Cato into his squad at the weekend and he went straight into training yesterday.

Lawrence is expected to name his final squad today, following a training session at the Larry Gomes Stadium in Arima.

Corneal said it is of course important to get a result against the Hondurans.

Meanwhile the unsuccessful under-15 team under coach Russell Latapy returned home from the CONCACAF Championship in Florida, USA.

It is critical to note that there are sectors of our society that will find nothing good about anything proposed or done by this PNM administration. These sectors will only be happy if the Prime Minister resigns and calls a new election.

For them, it does not matter what the Christian Mouttet investigation discovers. Nothing short of the firing of the Port Authority Board and the Minister of Works would satisfy the thirst of those seeking to replace the PNM administration.

In this land of wonderful people of many races, different faces and a callaloo of cultures, we have no choice but to work together if we wish to overcome the global economic, social and political challenges that confront us.

We must overcome the management inefficiencies that led to the embarrassing effort to acquire a boat to service our sea bridge.

We must find a way to rise above the agenda of those who seek to divide us into percentages of class, race, wealth, religion, and political affiliation for self-interest.

Moreover, we must start working on moving forward.

For too long we have stood by as politicians wasted our national wealth on investments with minimal returns. The insatiable appetite of those who thrived on government programmes like GATE, CEPEP, URP, food cards and contract labour can never be filled.

While we still have the ability to access international credit and our foreign exchange reserves are still healthy, we need to make a concerted effort to prepare for the future.

We need to stimulate the economy by partnering with our business community. We need to inject investment into a carefully planned approach to agriculture and tourism.

WASA must no longer be allowed to be an economic black hole where water wastage and management inefficiencies are common. A new network of roads need to be accelerated rather than placed on hold. Government must change from being a burden on taxpayers to a source of hope. Efforts must be made to make government services easily assessable and less punitive.

These decisions will entail making choices like that of asking Mouttet, a member of our business community, to investigate our management practices.

The Prime Minister must reach out beyond his political base, outside of his traditional pool of political support and embrace all our citizens from Blanchisseuse in the North to Moruga in the South, from Claxton Bay in the West to Mayaro in the East, from Scarborough to Charlottesville in Tobago.

All of us must be red, white, black and ready to rebuild our nation.

At this time, only one man, PM Dr Keith Rowley, can do that.

He needs to go where no one has gone before. If he fails to take the initiative, we will do it under new leadership after the next general election.

The historical unhealthy divisiveness of our politics must end.

STEVE ALVAREZ via email

Carmona made the call at the opening of the first local parent skills training programme for children with disabilities, aimed at empowering parents and children, which got underway yesterday at the Mount Hope Women’s Hospital, Mount Hope.

The effort at parent skills training, he said, should be a regional thrust and endorsed his wife, Mrs Reema Carmona’s suggestion in May this year that Caricom leaders declare a Caribbean Decade for Disabled Persons 2018- 2028 following the UN Decade for Disabled Persons 1983-1992 and the African Decade for Disabled Persons 1999- 2009. In a overview on how the programme came about, Carmona said, it was due to advocacy on the part of Mrs Carmona and Dr Natalie Dick, Specialist Developmental Behavioural Paediatrician at the North Central Regional Health Authority (NCRHA).

He commended them for their efforts along with Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister Dr Ayanna Webster-Roy, and Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister Jacqueline Johnson who is herself a person with a disability and who ensured the project’s implementation.

The programme involves the training of 16 master trainers, several children and their families, and a few observers and researchers. The master trainers will in turn train parents.

West Indies got off to a poor start on tour of England, losing by an innings and 209 runs in the first Test match which ended in three days on Saturday. Gayle last played an ODI for West Indies in March 2015, while Samuels last played in October 2016 as both players had conflicts with Cricket West Indies.

Ganga said experience is currently needed in the West Indies team, which is currently being led by 25 year old Jason Holder in the threematch Test series against England.

“Right now if you compare our West Indies team against the current England Test team, you would see that the team fails in comparison to the experience on that England side,” Ganga said.

“Any amount of leadership and experience would obviously be an added boost for our current West Indies team. It is refreshing news for both Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels. I am sure it will make our ODI team a little more competitive than it has been. Hopefully these guys can lead the West Indies team to some victories in the ODI series.” West Indies were poor in last month’s ODI series against India in the Caribbean, losing the five-match series 3-1 with rain washing out one of the matches.

Holder has come in for serious criticism for his captaincy but Ganga said he has a difficult task with such an inexperienced team.

“It is really unfortunate for him to be placed in a situation where he has got a bunch of inexperienced players. I saw a little bit of the first Test match against England…but everyone before the start of this series knew it would be an uphill battle for a young, inexperienced West Indies team. They had a very good start to the Test match with Kemar Roach leading with the ball, but losing 19 wickets in day three it was not expected. It would have been far-fetched to think that West Indies would have been competitive against England in English conditions.” Ganga, who praised Jermaine Blackwood for his unbeaten 79 in the first innings, thought West Indies should have included spinner Devendra Bishoo and said the bowlers must keep a consistent line and length. The former West Indies opener said for batsmen to be successful in England, they must apply themselves and be disciplines, rather than counting on talent.

Holder was lambasted in some quarters after bowling coach Roddy Estwick revealed he forgot to take the new ball when it was due during the England innings.

Ganga, now a cricket commentator, said taking the new ball might have helped, but said the outcome would have been the same.

Police identified the deceased as Ryan Crawford, 18, of Maracas Gardens in St Joseph.

His friend and survivor Nikhil Gopaul, 16, of Westmoorings, remained at the San Fernando General Hospital up to last evening.

Police said, shortly before 10 pm on Sunday, Crawford was driving a white Mercedes Benz on the south-bound lane of the highway.

Gopaul was a front-seat passenger and upon reaching Gandhi Village, Crawford attempted to switch lanes.

He lost control of the car and crashed into a utility pole.

Crawford died on the scene.

In the first incident, the victim Kimmel Robertson, 27, of Edinburgh 500 is said to have been staying at a guest house at La Fillette with a female relative when he asked her to take him to an area close to where they were staying.

It is alleged he alighted from the car at about 4 pm on Friday and ran into a forested area where he stripped himself naked.

The woman followed him inside the forest but when he continued to run further, she became afraid and returned to the car. She made a report to the Maracas Bay police and a search party carried out checks for Robertson but he was not found.

On Saturday, he was allegedly seen by Blanchisseuse villagers running nude in all directions inside the forest.

The following day, at about 6 pm, his body was found floating in a river at La Fillette by a villager.

The body was viewed by a district medical officer and ordered removed to the Forensic Science Centre, St James.

Robertson’s relatives said he began displaying psychotic behaviour and the weekend was arranged for him to have some rest and relaxation to help him with his problems.

They said they never expected he would die in such a bizarre manner.

In the second incident, a 20-year-old Cunupia man who went to the rescue of his 18-year-old brother drowned on Sunday afternoon.

Vedanti Lalla was bathing with his brother Dangelo and other friends in a river named “Three Pools” at Blanchisseuse when Dangelo experienced difficulties at about 3 pm. Vedanti rushed to his brother’s assistance and pulled him to safety but he drowned. The body was found floating shortly after and members of the Blanchisseuse Police Station went to the scene.