The DPP advised them to extend their probe when a preliminary file was handed in to the office last Saturday.

Investigators were told to return to the crime scene, as well as to record more statements.

An updated file was due to be completed and presented to the DPP’s office last evening. Police are seeking instructions on whether to charge a 20-year-old man for Mills’ murder.

Mills, fondly referred to as “Nennie”, died after being stabbed last Thursday night at her home in Longdenville.

Her daughter- in-law Sunita, 25, who was also stabbed, remains in stable condition at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex (EW MSC) in Mt Hope.

The suspect was a man who Mills took care of as a child and referred to as her son.

Police said he appeared to be after gold jewellery which Sunita had in the house. The suspect and a 34-year-old driver were held in Carlsen Field after the attack.

The teams have never faced each other before but Nazarite, champions of the South East Zone of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, are brimming with confidence at the prospect of reaching their first Courts T20 final.

And they are relying heavily on their young, promising players to take them into the previously unknown territory of a national championship final where they will meet either Tobago side C&B Sports, or HYO.

Nazarite allrounder Macaine Smith said on Monday, after two postponements because of bad weather, his team is chomping at the bit to do the business against Progressive and prove that they can compete at the highest level of the Championship Division.

He said that Under-19 national player Cephas Cooper and his elder brother Silas, both opening batsmen are expected to provide the firepower at the top of the order.

He also highlighted the contribution so far of Negus Smith, the Nazarite captain, who bats and also bowls off-breaks to make his presence felt if they are to turn back Progressive. Smith also is optimistic that he can continue his extremely low economy rate with his medium pacers to make an impact.

Progressive on the other hand will also be looking to add Nazarite to their list of victims after winning the South West Zone T20 competition.

Their players come from the Cedros, Fullerton and Bonasse districts at the extreme tip of the island. They too are treading unknown territory but are a confident bunch having gained useful experience playing for Cedros Composite in the Secondary Schools Cricket League, with some players from Palo Seco adding depth to their line-up.

Among the highlights of their progress so far has been left-arm spinner Eldon Brown who is being looked upon as key to what is shaping up to be a keen tussle for supremacy among two teams from the outer reaches of the local cricket landscape.

Last week the battle to qualify for the other semi-final of the Courts T20 Inter-Club tournament was won by C&B Sports Club at Roxborough.

They beat Woodland by five wickets with just eight balls remaining.

C&B will now play HYO in the second semi-final on a date which will be finalised soon after flight confirmation by the TTCB (Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board) is secured for the Tobago team to travel to Trinidad.

He was speaking during the debate on the bill at Parliament. He said he would like to see the day when no fines are collected for traffic violations.

“That is what this bill aims to do not to raise fines but it aims to raise our consciousness as a society as to how to treat ourselves and how to treat fellow road users and how to behave as a civilised society. That is the purpose of the legislation and to make our highways safer,” he said. Sharing statistics from the TT Police Service for deaths by road users, Deyalsingh said pedestrians account for 21 per cent of the deaths due to road accidents and cyclists three percent. Passengers in four-wheel vehicles and light vehicles account for 34 per cent of the deaths while drivers of four-wheel cars and light vehicles account for 34 per cent. “So cars and pick up trucks and light vehicles combined account for 71 per cent of the road fatalities. That is a frightening figure and that is what this bill is about. This bill as the Opposition will have you believe is not about revenue generation it’s about life.

It’s about inculcating a culture of safety on our roads because our roads are a place of lawlessness,” he said.

Responding to points raised by Opposition members that the bill interfered with freedom of movement, Deyalsingh said it does not.

“A licence to operate a vehicle is a contract between the individual and the state. You take away that licence because they have broken the law several times it does not therefore interfere with freedom of movement. Even if you own the car and you lose your licence your freedom of movement is not impeded, simply get a driver. Hire a taxi, go by bus but let us not fool the public into thinking that your constitutional rights are being taken away, they are not.”

Education Minister Anthony Garcia said this was made possible with the assistance of regional corporations, employees of the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP), the Community Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP), the Trinidad and Tobago Fire Services, the Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Works and Transport .

Bret left behind severe flooding in some areas, and damage to homes and other buildings .

In a release yesterday, Garcia said these entities assisted in the restoration, cleaning and sanitisation works to facilitate the resumption of classes .

The Ministry also expressed his gratitude to parents, teachers, principals and members of the community for their contribution in making clean up efforts possible .

Classes will resume at the Warrenville T.I.A. Primary School, North Oropouche RC Primary School and North Oropouche Government Primary Schools .

However, the inclement weather conditions recently experienced have delayed the completion of the necessary work at Mayo RC Primary School, but it is expected to be resumed and completed today, and classes should resume tomorrow .

Garcia noted that emergency measures have been implemented to ensure classes were resumed at the Rousillac Hindu Primary School, which suffered damage to its roof and ceiling

Brown along with Angeline Medera- Lazarus held the undivided attention of over 30 of their standard one and two pupils when they concluded the final segment of the Zippy’s Friends Programme last Thursday.

The final module addressed Coping with Change and Dealing with Loss.

Many of the students were taken aback as they learnt that their dear friend Zippy – the “stick insect” had died, said a media release.

Zippy is a vital component of the emotional literacy programme that targets young children, as it teaches them to cope with everyday situations and changes which may occur unexpectedly.

The boys were taught what takes place when a loved one passes on, and the coping mechanisms.

In partnership with the Digicel Foundation, the School Leadership Center of TT has implemented the programme in schools across Trinidad and in Tobago.

Zippy’s programme started in 2014 and is endorsed by the Ministry of Education.

The first such sailing will take place in July when the boat heads to St Vincent Carnival scheduled for July 10 and 11.

Wesley Hall, IT and general manager of Lovely One Shipping Services Ltd is excited about the service his company is embarking on in the Caribbean.

“At present, Lovely One is providing a fast ferry service between the islands of Trinidad and Grenada but our early feature sailing will be to St Vincent for their Carnival. We would be looking at the economics and how long it would take after that initial sailing, before we decide to provide a full-time service to St Vincent as well.” Lovely One is operating from the Cruise Ship Complex in Port of Spain and has security, customs and immigration services in place.

The boat is based in Grenada and leaves there on a Wednesday morning at 5am and arrives in TT at 9am. It leaves Trinidad on Friday at 5am, arriving in Grenada at 9am.

Hall explained why that schedule is in place. “Traders use to leave on a Tuesday night and travel as crew on the same boat with their goods and take some 15 hours to get here and vice versa, but it was deemed risky.

Hence the reason traders were no longer being allowed to travel on those Caricom boats. But since May, since operating on a trial basis, they have been welcoming the passenger service now being provide by Lovely One.” Asked why he felt compelled to offer the service Hall said: “Given the high cost of flying, we decided to do something for these regular people. So we contacted Capt Neville Wade from Dominica, and he decided to purchase the Lovely One boat and after talks with him we agreed to be the agency for it, do the marketing, handle the whole business aspect and push the service, working as a team.

“Now it is much more affordable, much safer, comfortable, less sailing time and so far the traders are on board albeit mostly from Grenada, but we are going to offer Lovely Long Weekends sailing with packages and specials to promote vacation travel twice a month, or any special event happening between both islands.” Hall said they are working closely together with the Grenada Tourism Authority (GTA ), as well as the hoteliers in Grenada, in an effort to put together vacation packages, that will also include ground transfers to and from the boat, and they are also in the process of putting a similar operation in place for Grenadians to come visit Trinidad. The regular sailing costs US$224 return, inclusive of taxes, four hours max sailing time, with passenger service allowing for two regular pieces of baggage, plus one carry on piece.

The four-year-old boat is fully remodelled and certified in St Kitts and Nevis by International Register of Shipping, Maritime overseas consultant (LLC 721 US1 Suite 202, North Palm Beach, Florida, 33408, USA), that meets all international standards, and has been checked by the local port and given certification to operate here.

The boat can carry 250 passengers but if necessary could accommodate 350. But that is not their plan says Hall who insists it’s all about comfort first.

Lovely One, a double-decker boat, is fully air-conditioned with television, a cafeteria, and soon, full Internet access. There is also a sick bay medic on board.

If there is need for packaging, the company would provide that service as it offers a shipping service also. Hall said they work with other boats that would get those packages shipped.

His is excited about the St Vincent Carnival, for which Lovely One will leave Port of Spain on July 6 and return July 12. The price is still being worked out.

For the Grenada Carnival the boat will sail every morning at 5am to Grenada from August 9 to August 12. Those travellers will have the option to return to TT from Grenada from August 16 to 19.

Hall said: “We are still in talks with local guest houses and hotels and also looking to get an audience with the Tourism Ministry to get on board with the programme, because we want to offer special events packages in between the regular sailing schedule.” For more info: www.travellovely1.

com or Facebook: Travel Lovely One Shipping Services Ltd.

There is crying need for those who served the nation well to be treated with dignity and respect in their twilight years.

Over the years I have seen the elderly treated like gobar at government offices, health institutions and other public places.

Lately, I have been hearing that the elderly, who enjoy the facility of travelling free on Public Transport Service Corporation (PTS C) buses, are being told to go to the back of the bus. Is this the policy of the PTS C? This has to be overreach by some lamebrain operatives of the PTS C who like to show off on old people.

Is this the way they are getting their kicks? I will always praise the wonderful women at the Pension Division in Port of Spain, National Insurance Scheme offices and telephone operators of TSTT who always make a habit of good customer service. They deserve hugs and kisses.

KEITH ANDERSON via email

As the saying goes, no one raindrop ever takes responsibility for the flood, and in the truest sense of that analogy, every single beverage and water company selling into this market that does not come with a redemption built in to encourage recycling and the picking of the environment clean by scavengers are themselves responsible for every instance of damage where it is clearly proven that plastic bottles blocked up the waterways and watercourses that led to or exacerbated the flooding taking place.

This is not to excuse the citizenry from the disgusting habit of wantonly littering their environment.

But as our experience has shown that it is far easier to enforce through greed than through discipline, one wonders why a beverage container bill placing the responsibility to clean-up after themselves on the manufacturers/importers via a redemption tax has never been done by either a UNC or PNM government. Every single flood demonstrates the need for such legislation, yet for reasons they alone could know or answer, both parties continue to ignore this dire need and their responsibility to the detriment of the environment and the nation as a whole.

Once more I suggest that a tax be levied on the manufacture and importation of plastic bottles into this market that could be used as an incentive for gathering and returning these bottles to central collection sites where they could be reduced, recycled or repurposed.

Properly and effectively done, it would encourage the indigent and otherwise unemployable to literally pick the environment clean in exchange for money at the lowest levels of the economy, creating a win/win/win scenario for the poor, the nation, and even the manufacturers themselves.

It is an abdication of governmental, if not parliamentary, responsibility that this issue is not occupying a front-burner position in the national conversation at the level where laws are passed, but again to make the political point that should be glaring to everyone reading this.

This is yet another example as to why neither of those parties should ever be given stewardship over this nation, simply because they lack the vision and leadership required to take the nation and the people where they need to be.

Once again the spotlight is turned on the cozy relationship between business and public office holders. Organisations such as the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Manufacturers’ Association and the Downtown Owners and Merchants Association see it fit to raise hell on matters in which they and their members and close associates see themselves as victims, but in cases such as these where commercial interests are clearly the proven culprits, there’s nothing but silence.

The nation cannot continue to be mismanaged in the name of tribal politics and greed. We as a people need to get our collective act together and decide if what we want is a nation that works.

If it is, one of the things we are going to need are sensible laws that solve problems, like in this case the desperate need for a plastic bottle bill that cleans up the environment and reduces the effects and instances of flooding.

PHILLIP EDWARD ALEXANDER via email

Traumatic shocks including incidents of domestic violence, relationship issues or the death of a love one are just of some of the many influencers of self-imprisonment.

Victims of these unfortunate circumstances often accept the imprisoned situation as normal, and in so doing deny themselves of a healthy and fulfilling life; they also revert to silence and secrecy thinking that no-one cares for them. Because they avoid rational analysis of the situation, they often blame themselves for all that went wrong, when in fact, they may have been used as collateral damage.

As women, we were all bestowed with wisdom and freedom by the Almighty and these gifts must be fully embraced.

Words such as shame, humiliation and rejection should at all times be excluded from our vocabulary as these are the words that encase us into our prison walls.

I have said repeatedly in this column that life does not always offer to us all that we expect, and therefore, we must always be prepared to effectively address untoward occurrences particularly those that negatively impact our emotions.

As women, we have a responsibility to develop personal social cushions strong enough to weather any emotional storms; many of our clients have expressed self-anger at their oversight in not dealing with these critical issues.

Committing yourself to reclusive confinement when your emotions are disturbed is usually accompanied by abandonment and extreme levels of guilt which, if left unattended, can even lead to suicidal thoughts. Another impediment which some women invite into their lives is secondary validation on how to navigate their lives, and from the reports that come in to the IWRN, this is indeed a killer.

Again, I repeat to all the women out there to cease and desist from seeking validation from others on how to live your life… that is the biggest deterrent ever known; continuously attempting to satisfy the demands of others is a recipe for stress which also leads to lifestyle diseases.

Releasing yourself from self-imprisonment starts with understanding who you are, setting some realistic goals and remaining focused and on course as you steer your life’s ship.

For more info on the upcoming sessions on Excellence in Intonation, contact the IWRN.

Sandrine Rattan is a communications/ branding consultant, author and president of the International Women’s Resource Network (IWRN) Contact: thecorporatesuitett@gmail.com or intlwomensresourcenetwork@ gmail.com or 283-0318.

They were arrested by Sgt Ramjit and and PC Phillip off the Arouca CID on Friday at Piarco Plaza, off the Churchill Roosevelt Highway at the Piarco intersection, tampering with a Republic Bank automatic banking machine (ABM). Devices used in the card skimming were also seized.

This investigation, led by Head of the Fraud Squad Snr Supt Totaram Dookhie, was carried out with the assistance of the and the Bankers Association and Sgt Joseph of the Cyber Crime Unit.

The men were charged with possession of card making equipment in breach of the Electronic Transfer of Funds Act and also for malicious damage to Republic Bank’s ABM at Piarco Plaza.

Also, an accountant is expected to appear in the San Fernando Magistrates Court today charged with stealing close to a quarter of a million dollars from a bank where he worked.

The suspect, 32, of Battoo Avenue, Marabella is no facing 21 charges for stealing more than $200,000.

The charges include money laundering, three counts of forgery, three counts of forgery, three counts of uttering forged valuable security and three counts of obtaining money by false pretences.

The suspect, who previously worked for a Central-based co-operative society, was arrested last week by Fraud Squad officers.

The investigators included Snr Supt Dookhie, ASP Ghisiyawan, legal officer Vinelle Bassarath, Cpls Badree, Bachoo and Hosein.

The Fraud Squad has recently laid several money laundering charges against police officers and foreigners involved in bank-card skimming.