Jabloteh were held to a 2-2 draw by North East Stars to push them to 40 points, seven more than W Connection with one game left.

At the George Boyce Recreation Ground in Arouca, Jabloteh got items from Jodel Brown, in the fifth minute, and Sownade Prieto, in the 23rd, while Jonathan Glodon (12th) and Kishawn Hackshaw (82nd) replied for North East Stars.

The nearest challengers, W Connection, strolled to a 2-0 win over Defence Force at the Trinity East School Ground, Trincity.

Getting their names on the scoresheet were Deneilson Benjamin (fourth) and Zion Allen (55th).

Point Fortin Civic and Police played to a 2-2 draw at the Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin. Omari Cobham (35th and 53rd) netted twice for the hosts, while Ian Cowie (15th) and Jelani Moore (87th) struck for Police.

Two teams earned 3-0 victories, via default, on the day – Club Sando over Central FC at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium’s Training Field in Marabella and St Ann’s Rangers over Morvant Caledonia United at the Maracas Recreation Ground in St Joseph.

Other Results – Under-13 Division – At Manny Ramjohn Stadium Training Field, Marabella: CENTRAL FC (4) – Kyle Phillip 31st; Giovani Warner 45th; Caleb Boyce 59th, 69th vs CLUB SANDO (0).

At Trinity East School Ground, Trincity: DEFENCE FOR CE (2) – Joshua Mason 30th, 52nd vs W CONNECTION (2) – Dantaye Gilbert 26th, 38th.

At George Boyce Recreation Ground, Arouca: SAN JUAN JABLOT EH (5) – Nathaniel James 1st, 40th, 50th; Jaheim Faustin 9th, 64th vs NORT H EAST ST ARS (0).

At Maracas Recreation Ground, St Joseph: ST ANN’S RANGERS (3) vs MOR VANT CALEDONIA (0) by default.

At Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin: POLICE (7) – Jaheim Marshall 7th, 55th, 67th; Jarron Pascall 15th; Josiah Wilson 20th, 56th; Nathaniel Arrim 45th vs POINT FORT IN CIVIC (0).

Under-15 Division – At Manny Ramjohn Stadium Training Field, Marabella: CLUB SANDO (3) vs CENTRAL FC (0) by default.

At Trinity East School Ground, Trincity: W CONNECTION (4) – Jerel Sandiford 30th; Adica Ash 50th; Kern Cedeno 57th, 59th vs DEFENCE FOR CE (2) – Aiden Marcano 7th; Marc Wharfe 46th.

At George Boyce Recreation Ground, Arouca: SAN JUAN JABLOT EH (3) – Nickell Alexander 38th; Nathaniel James 77th; Dillon King 79th vs NORT H EAST ST ARS (1) – Nathaniel de Silva 12th.

At Maracas Recreation Ground, St Joseph: ST ANN’S RANGERS (4) – Keron Manswell 43rd; Darius Douglas 50th, 52nd; Ronaldinho Clarke 73rd vs MOR VANT CALEDONIA UNITED (1) – Justin Dos Santos 68th.

At Mahaica Oval, Point Fortin: POINT FORT IN CIVIC (3) – Thaj Neptune 5th; Amaale Julien 50th, 64th vs POLICE (3) – Malachai King 13th; Dantay Cooper 44th; J’dhun Martin 80th

“What we need is better protection for our children and that can only come through better supervision of them, especially over the vacation period as so many of them are home from school,” she told Newsday yesterday.

Paul implored parents to perform the necessary checks on their children for signs of abuse and be vigilant of any changes in physical or behavioural characteristics.

She said subtle changes such as a child’s eating habits could be a hint of some distress.

Newsday also spoke to communications manager of the Children’s Authority, Cheryl Moses-William, who said the authority remains committed to ensuring the safety of children and was prepared to carry out the necessary investigations in collaboration with the Child Protection Unit in cases of child abuse or neglect. She explained that the findings from such investigations are what determine the removal of a child from the care of parents.

“Once a report of child abuse or mistreatment is brought to the authority’s attention, the investigation process is initiated to substantiate or not substantiate the allegations with a view to determining whether the child is in need of care and protection and what interventions would be appropriate in the child’s best interest,” she said.

Moses-Williams said the authority’s investigations involve a rigorous, in-depth assessment of the caregiver and other relatives to determine the child’s placement.

She said, “Once the investigation is completed, if the authority is of the view that the child is in need of care and protection and must be removed from the household, in the best interest of the child, the authority firstly will seek to place the child with other relatives. The placement is done after an assessment of the person’s suitability to adequately care for the child is completed.”

When Newsday visited, some students were crying in the courtyard while screams from the bathroom area could be heard. Many parents did not want to speak with reporters, opting instead to console and offer encouragement to their emotional children. This was not the case however, with Dalia Lutchman, 12, who passed for her first choice school, St George’s College.

Her parents Kumar and Martha Lutchman stood in shock as she revealed the results to them. “We are shocked, but she is deserving of her results because she worked very hard.

We are very proud of her achievement as it is proof that hard work really pays off,” Mrs Lutchman said.

At the Rosary Boys, the atmosphere was different with joy being the predominant emotion expressed by students. Principal Richard Gomez said his school did fairly well and he was surprised one of his students placed at Presentation College in San Fernando.

Contacted for comment, Clinical Therapist and Clinical Traumatologist Hanif Benjamin said that the SE A should not be an exam for children at such a young age due to the pressure this exam places on them.

He said children in their early teens should not be put through the wringer of such a rigorous exam, mentally and psychologically, because they are not prepared for the level of the exam.

“What we need to find is a way of transitioning children into the secondary school. They need to find a different way of assessments. The pressure that is put on children by the schools and parents…by parents because of the status quo, they want their child to go to a prestigious or a good school, and by the schools they want their statistics and their numbers to look good and because we are a credentialed society.” He continued, “Where of course the first thing that came out of the news this morning is the schools that had the top performing students.

They took 200 students out of 18,000 and they reward them…they get to meet the Prime Minister and the President because they did well. I have no problem with students being rewarded for doing well but, what are we saying to the other students who have also done their best and are faced with challenges?” He said there are many students in TT who could not afford extra lessons or have assessed different resources.

“The playing field is not equal. When you say to children that we are putting you all to line up in one race and you have to run this race and we are going to pick the top 200 or 100, but yet only ten per cent of all who set the exam have the advantage. How does one reconcile that? ” Benjamin said there is no doubt why some children were crying out in disbelief and was left heartbroken yesterday, because the pressure and the burden that would have been placed on them, they are now realising that they did not get their first or second choice.

“We have to look out for students who did not do as well as they would have liked to because this is a time where we see a lot of ‘suicidality’, a lot of anxiety, a lot of stress, and a lot of worry from both parents and children because of the shame and embarrassment that goes along with it and that goes along with it because of the pressure we put on our children.”

In an interview yesterday, Sylvester said lifeguards have been working under poor conditions and the service has been understaffed for the past six to seven years.

“We are calling on Dillon to sit down with us to discuss the terms and conditions of the lifeguards before talking about extending hours,” Sylvester said.

He explained if the lifeguards who are off for the weekend do not agree to do overtime work, there will be a skeleton staff which will be insufficient to monitor sea bathers. He said they are also at a disadvantage because the lifeguard towers at Maracas Beach are in a dilapidated condition.

“During the school vacation, around the months of July and August, there is an increase of visitors to the beach and their lives may not be safe. It might be safer for them to stay at home and bath in their bathrooms.” On Tuesday, Leader of Government Business in the Senate Franklin Khan said Government has no intention of increasing the complement of lifeguards at beaches but will consider extending the hours of work beyond 5 pm. He was speaking in response to a question on what measures Government intended given three recent drownings. Sylvester, however, is resolute that there will be no such move until they are able to meet with Dillon.

He said, “Discussion is a thing that is foreign to them (Government).” “We had a protest and a meeting with Minister Dillon on April 3 and he promised us another meeting on April 26. To date that meeting has not happened.

This year’s competition realized an increased number of schools with 16 primary schools (served by the Tunapuna Public library) participating in the preliminary round; up from last year’s five schools.

Parents, teachers, sponsors and specially invited guests all came out to show support to the students at this event which was filled with excitement, emotion and suspense.

In the end, Charlize Balkaran and Arun Ramnarine copped 1st place for Specialist Learning Centre; Justine Hosein and Shaedon Teelucksingh took home second place representing Curepe Presbyterian Primary School while third place went to Hannah James and Anna-Marie Mosan from Tunapuna Girls’ RC Primary School and placing fourth were Lana Narine and Ameer Ali representing St Joseph TML Primary School.

The Tunapuna Public Library, in a press release, extended a special thanks to its sponsors the Rotary Club of St Augustine West; Tunapuna MP Esmond Forde, Brian Manswell of Reliable Appliances, Blue Waters, Super Quality and Caribbean Bottlers.

“The staff of Tunapuna Public Library look forward to hosting the fifth annual Tunapuna Public Library Spelling Bee next year as we remain firm on our commitment to the development of young minds and towards encouraging the love of reading and lifelong learning,” the release ended.

This statement is far from the truth and it proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the current administration is incapable of reducing the rising crime rate.

It is extremely weak and reckless because it emboldens criminals.

It would have been better for Baptiste-Primus to say the Government is doing everything in its power to ensure that crimes of passion are reduced by imposing stricter punishment on those who commit such brutal acts.

Crimes of passion in TT are on the rise and there is no justification whatsoever for these despicable crimes. It does not matter how hard the culprits try to defend their actions and justify their behaviour.

The rate of moral decadence in our society is frightening and if we do not come together as a nation to stop this, then we are headed for destruction.

One of the main reasons why the acts are on the rise is because the law is very lenient on crimes of passion and unless we make the laws stricter these crimes will continue escalating.

Most are engaging in these acts because no serious action is being taken against them. The media highlight the cases and no one bothers to follow up to ensure the criminal is brought to justice, hence some tend to think there are no consequences.

Urgent measures should be put in place to curb the worrying trend of partners injuring and killing each other over petty issues that would have otherwise been solved peacefully.

Intense public education should be carried out on how to handle relationship pressures so as to prevent people taking extreme measures over minor issues and knowing when to walk away instead of holding on.

Religious leaders also need to take up the challenge and intensify teachings on moral values as we cannot continue along this path of moral decay.

SIMON WRIGHT Chaguanas

He made the revelation in the Senate Tuesday evening as he laid the Bail (Access to Bail) (Amendment) Bill, 2017 which makes provision for alternative methods of securing bail for accused persons other than provision of property; permitting the use of cash bail or bonds issued by licensed financial institutions.

However, the Attorney General said he could not disclose the case involved as the trial is still pending and the lives of witnesses may be at risk if information is disclosed, which could be used to trace them. Debate on the bill, which was in progress late Tuesday night, has been adjourned to today.

Al-Rawi said there was a preference by the courts to use land or immovable property in granting bail and whereas security should only be required in the case of an accused person who was considered a flight risk, the practice has developed where the courts routinely ask for security.

He said the legislation was offering the opportunity for someone, instead of paying a professional bailor $10,000 – $20,000 to secure bail, to get cash or provisional security from a licensed financial institution to use as a form of security for the provision of bail.

The bill proposes that persons providing bail could make payments at prisons during specified hours if they are unable to do so at the courts.

Al-Rawi said the Government was adopting a suggestion by the previous administration that accessing bail was a problem when the Court Registry or the cashier was closed and once bail had been granted there should be the ability for another authorised entity to accept the security and clear the person.

He said there was the provision for the Commissioner of Prisons to accept the forms of security, keep a proper record and prescribe the days and times when the designated prisons officer may accept security.

However, during debate on the measure, Independent Senator David Small questioned what would happen over a long weekend with a large amount of cash in the hands of the prison system and there are shift changes.

Stressing that he was not casting aspersions on any officer, Small said that a person might pay $100,000 on one day and by the end of the period might only have $20,000.

He asked why the State could not use credit cards, noting that in another jurisdiction in which he had committed a traffic offence, he received an e-mail with a photograph of his car and the amount of the fine. He said he simply used his credit card and paid the fine.

Opposition Senator Khadijah Ameen took up the point made by Senator Small about paying money into the Prisons for persons to secure bail.

She asked whether the Attorney General had consulted with the Prisons Officers Association or the Prisons Commissioner before bringing the legislation to the Senate and whether the bill was the outcome of that consultation.

“I thank God that your many gifts are being recognised in this way. Grenadians will benefit enormously from having you as their shepherd and bishop, and the work of the AEC bishops will be enhanced also as you share your gifts with your brother bishops.

“God bless you, monsignor, for working so faithfully in His vineyard.

I know that you will serve with dedication, love and commitment.

“The four words you used to describe your approach as you start your new ministry are inspiring and reflect the kind of leadership that is sorely lacking in our region and in our world today. Inter alia, you said that you will: look, listen, learn, and love — listening not only to what people will be saying to you, but to what God says to you. We could all benefit from your wisdom/discernment.

“We in our Archdiocese of PoS will forever be grateful to you for your contribution to building a better TT .

We have some way to go to achieve our goals, but we will get there as we learn from icons like you. Be assured of our continued prayers as you embark on this important phase of your ministry. May the Lord continue to journey with you as you take up your new episcopal duties.” What is the role of a bishop? It is worth reflecting on Pope Francis’ message to bishops appointed during the year prior to his meeting with them in September 2014. The Vatican website reports that the Holy Father said he saw bishops “as sentinels, able to awaken their churches… men able to cultivate and ripen God’s fields and pastors able to restore unity, sow nets and overcome division.

“Engage in respectful dialogue with the great traditions in which you are immersed, without fear of getting lost and without feeling the need to defend your borders, because the church’s identity is defined by the love of Christ which knows no boundaries.

Do not waste energy in conflict and disagreement, but rather use it to build and to love.” He said the church does not need “dull and pessimistic bishops who live independently having surrendered to the darkness of the world or the apparent defeat of good crying out in vain that the fort is under attack.

“Your vocation is not to watch over a failed mass of people, but to be guardians of the ‘Evangelii Gaudium’, as such, you cannot lack the only piece of wealth we really have to give and which the world cannot give to itself, and that is the joy and love of God.” In September 2015, he reminded bishops of the US that they need to recognise that their greatest joy as shepherds comes from being “pastors with undivided hearts and selfless devotion … The heart of our identity is to be sought in constant prayer, in preaching and in shepherding the flock entrusted to our care.” “Prayer,” he said, “nourishes the life of a pastor.” It helps him recognise his flock as “the ones whom you entrusted to me … Be pastors close to people, pastors who are neighbours and servants. Let this closeness be expressed in a special way towards your priests.

“Support them, so that they can continue to serve Christ with an undivided heart, for this alone can bring fulfilment to ministers of Christ … confront the challenges of our time … “The innocent victim of abortion, children who die of hunger or from bombings, immigrants who drown in the search for a better tomorrow, the elderly or the sick who are considered a burden, the victims of terrorism, wars, violence and drug trafficking, the environment devastated by man’s predatory relationship with nature.

It is wrong to look the other way or to remain silent” on these issues.

But to be successful, “it is important that the church … also be a humble home, a family fire which attracts men and women through the attractive light and warmth of love.” (www.

ncronline.org ) May the Lord guide our dear Monsignor Harvey as he seeks to teach, govern and sanctify the faithful in the Diocese of St George’s.

LEELA RAMDEEN chair, CCSJ

Guyana is an emerging economy, rich in natural resources, and strategically located between the Caribbean and South America, with access to key export markets, affordable labour and English as the official language. All things considered, the TT Chamber has found favourable conditions for doing business in Guyana, given the stable macroeconomic policies, attractive investment incentives, and a regulatory environment that does not discriminate against foreign investors.

Thirty-eight TT delegates from 25 companies took part in the Mission, representing the following sectors: ICT, Real Estate Development, Manufacturing, Business Support Services, Financial Services and Educational Services.

The two-day mission was structured in such a way to allow participants to not only engage in Business to Business (B2B) meetings with prospective business alliances, but also, to give them a better understanding of the wider trading and commerce opportunities available in Guyana.

On Day 1 of the visit Guyana’s Minister of Business, the Honourable Dominic Gaskin delivered the Feature Address at the opening ceremony, pledging his government’s and the private sector’s support of trade between the two countries.

The B2B meetings which were arranged by the Chamber, in collaboration with Action COACH Guyana, matched respective TT business representatives with Guyanese companies, based on their specific interest and needs in that market.

Over 100 B2B meetings were hosted over the two days – linking our 25 participating firms with over 60 Guyanese counterparts – fostering potential and actual linkages between the two CARICOM countries.

Trade Mission delegates gained a deeper understanding of the regulatory framework of the Guyanese market through several company site visits.

They met with the heads of the Guyana National Bureau of Standards, GoInvest and the Guyana Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The TT Chamber extends its gratitude to the President of the Georgetown Chamber, for his resourcefulness and responsiveness.

A valuable mix of insights about the general landscape for operating a business in Guyana, advice from key regulatory organizations and personal anecdotal references were at the delegates disposal. For many the mission represented their first interface with Guyana in a bid to explore untapped potential in one of the Caribbean’s fastest-growing economies. Minister of Business Dominic Gaskin gave all assurances that his government, working along with the World Bank, would continue to improve on Guyana’s ranking in the Global Index with respect to conducti ng business. The future looks quite promising for business in Guyana! The TT Chamber would like to thank our corporate sponsors for making it all possible: Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, exporTT, Caribbean Airlines Limited and the Pegasus Hotel (Guyana); and of course, TT business people who made the trip with us

“We were on the boat from Tobago and we started thinking about what Trinis like and we came up with the idea of making alcoholic candy like hard candy, cocktail jells, truffles and fudge because many people like alcohol and sweets,” said James in an interview with Newsday.

The company came into existence in January 2017 and offers a variety of alcoholic signature products which includes boozemellows — which has the consistency of marshmallows in flavored vodkas and any juicy liqueurs like mango liqueur, berry vodka and apple vodka. They also offer tequila sunrise cocktail jells, strawberry swirl vodka cocktail jells and white rum cocktail jells. Their fudge and truffles comes in: Bailey’s flavored, coconut rum, cappuccino liqueur, coffee, Hennessy and caramel flavored.

“Any cocktail you can order at a bar, we can make it in a cocktail jell. We make all our candy by hand in Cascade. It takes us approximately two hours to create any selection of candy. In the kitchen, it was similar to doing labs, having to keep record of what worked and what didn’t work and continuously trying again till we got the desired taste and consistency,” said Clarke.

Their first event was Oneness The Party which was held in Queen’s Hall carpark on February 19 by St Ann’s RC Church.

“We did the welcome treats for all the patrons. We had Bailey’s chocolate truffles and Kahlua coffee liqueur filled chocolate truffles, tequila sunrise cocktail jells and strawberry swirl vodka cocktail jells which the patrons loved,” said James. They have also been to UpMarket, as they continue to build their clientele.

What is the meaning behind the name Dulcis? “Dulcis is Latin for ‘sweet’ we wanted the name in another language because it has an elegant sound to it. It’s all about branding and we want our candy to leave an impression of high quality on customers, as we infuse the best liqueur and rum into our candies,” said James.

Clarke attended Bishop’s High School Tobago she then went to Trinidad to pursue her bachelors of applied science in process engineering and went on to do her masters in the same field. However, she would be moving back to Tobago soon. While James attended St Joseph Convent Port of Spain and then went on to study communication studies with a minor in international relations at the University of the West Indies. James is a Communications Officer and is also focused on building the brand DCC.

Asked how they plan to move forward with DCC as Clarke would be moving back home to Tobago Clarke said, “We both know how to create the candy, so in the instance of receiving large orders we would decide if I would come Trinidad or Kadija would come to Tobago where we can work together to create the products.”

Financially, these two young women solely support their entrepreneurial venture by allocating portions of their salary into DCC. “We would like to primarily continue making welcome treats for events but we would like alcoholic brands to join with us, so that people would taste their alcohol in a new form like a cocktail jell or boozemellow because Trinis like free things and new things,” said James.

“We also plan on introducing sugarless candy for our health conscious customers and alcohol infused berry chocolates. Any type of candy can also be made non-alcoholic once requested by a client,” added Clarke.

Asked by what advice they would give to young entrepreneurs, Clarke responded, “If you think you have a good idea stick with it. You are going to have setbacks and challenges but push yourself through, learn from it and move forward.”

Dulcis Candy Company can be contacted via:

Instagram: @dcandycompany

Facebook: Dulcis Candy Company

Email: dulcistt@gmail.com