This was all because of a simple telephone call made to the office manager of that business regarding a noise which appeared to be emanating from a motor or some such on the compound, and also of said handyman’s use of a piece of gardening machinery on some mornings from as early as 5.45.

The office manager took me to the handyman and there the verbal abuse started.

When noise pollution rules and basic laws and guidelines exist but are not observed, nor are simple good manners, one wonders at the psyche of employers and employees alike.

“A drowning man clutching at straws” appears to be the plight of residents who have been subjected to the “monsters” created by Town and Country — businesses that thrive in once residential areas.

Granted that space is needed for entrepreneurs, but it appears no thought has been given to the wanton abuse by, especially, Town and Country. Building codes have been totally violated by some while others are refused permission to do renovations.

Again why? Have Woodbrook and environs been zoned as commercial and not residential anymore? One’s space continue to be “plundered” by audacious, scaremongerers.

Are there no proper human resource procedures in existence, especially now that customer service is at an all-time low, or are folks just hired to oversee superficially? Communication about noise was sent to the EMA, via email.

Hmmmm.

Our city is losing its charm.

Or is it paradise lost? Doomsday in paradise? With due respect to all concerned, it’s time to join the 21st century: managers must train and treat their employees as their business partners — not menials.

CL KONG via email

In a telephone interview yesterday, Roopnarine said a “full assessment” of the damage had not yet been undertaken as several businesses were still submerged under several feet of water.

“Some businesses were wiped out completely,” Roopnarine said, adding, “Some tint shops and printing companies- completely gone.” “One of my neighbours, who owns a graphic shop- everything was destroyed- he secured his things on top of his counters and his counters floated away,” he said, adding, “I got a call from a mechanic, everything in his garage went through water- at a window supply shop- everything was covered with water.” “It was the biggest flood, businesses in Penal has ever seen,” he said. Roopnarine continued, “It was the worst that we have ever experienced and I have been saying since day one that it is a local and national disaster but it should have been declared a disaster a long time now so that the relevant authorities can come in and help.” He said business owners were unsure how they would be able to restart their businesses as several had bank loans or were using other people’s equipment which were damaged in the flood waters.

“I just spoke to a guy and he doesn’t have insurance, he doesn’t know what could be done, he doesn’t know where to go for assistance, he has to start over from scratch. If there is any grant for businesses, he would like to find out that,” Roopnarine said.

“Some of them have other people’s equipment at their place to be repaired, they have things that were taken on loan and they lost those things as well and this is a time when Penal Debe not seeing the best of business and activity such as construction not going on so businesses are depressed prior to this and this just heightens the situation,” he said.

He said the Chamber was assisting with cleaning supplies, hampers and hot meals.

Meanwhile, San Fernando Business Association (SBA) president Daphne Bartlett observed that the storm may be the catalyst that was needed to convince the population to grow their own small crops as local produce would experience a temporary increase due to the severe flooding of agricultural lands.

“It will be temporary but this is a good occasion for many people to get out their pots and pans and dig a hole and plant their little plants,” Bartlett said, adding, “we shouldn’t be buying chive, peppers and ochroes, we can plant that in a pot, a flower pot.” “We have been advocating agriculture to diversify, the government must get into more agriculture but just saying that and giving it lip service is not enough, we have always said that we are a developing country, but when you look at the farming industry abroad, how well structured they are and what grants are in place for the farmers, they protect their prices, we could follow suit and put a plan, a whole system in place that will encourage young people to go into agriculture,” she said.

Meanwhile, Rio Claro Chamber of Commerce president Avid Moonan said while the business community had escaped the flooding which had engulfed low-lying areas, he said their major issue was the disruption of the electricity supply as gas stations and fast food outlets were unable to open their businesses.

“Within the business community, there was no damage, there was no flooding in the heart of the town, the only major problem that we had was loss of electricity from 10pm on Monday night and it was restored at 9pm on Tuesday,” Moonan said.

“Up to last night, (Thursday), electricity had now returned to some surrounding districts,” he said.

Asked of the planned use for the restored edifice, Young said that as soon as Cabinet decides, the population will be notified.

“However, it should be noted that as soon as this administration came into place, one of the first Cabinet sub-committees (established) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister (Dr Keith Rowley) was the Restoration of Historical Buildings of which Stollmeyers Castle is but one.

“The population would have noted that under the former administration, they left a series of buildings to decay and did nothing about them, including Stollmeyers Castle, White House (White Hall), President’s House, Mille Fleurs and others.” He said this Government thinks it is important to preserve such historical houses.

Bethelmy was part of the elite few who saw the beginning of Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT), along with the likes of Englishman Ron Goodsman, general manager; Canadian programme director, Barry Gordon, Scotsman Bill Corkhill, Neville Welch, Lloyd Rohlehr, Mervyn Telfer, Raffie Knowles, Holly Betaudier, Bruce Reed, Miley Duke, Clyde Alleyne, Melina Scott, Errol Harrylal, Charlie Moore, Compton Welch, Ethel Bethelmy, Doreen Gilbert, George Tang, Louis Sorzano, Shaffick Mohammed, Joan Cipriani, Bernard Bonsor, Wendell Case, Charles Deighton Paris, Claude Daniel, Ann Winston and George Carghill.

Bethelmy began her stint as secretary to PD Barry Gordon and for the next 25 years served in her capacity as programme controller, then programme director until her sudden departure from the station in 1987.

Wendell Case, one of the station’s first engineers told Newsday yesterday that it was a sad time for him.

“My memory of her is that she was a very upright, dainty and ladylike person. I always felt she would have made a very good general manager.

I felt when they were changing managers they didn’t have to go anywhere to find one because she was right there.” Ann Winston, another of Bethelmy’s colleagues in the programming department and friend said, “She became the backbone of TTT as a local person involved in television, and she was a magnificent PD who gave it her all.

As a person, I found Ethel had a big heart.

And though she was a taskmaster, she had great integrity and reasoning, and did her job to be best of her ability.” Former operations manager Lancelot Sarjeant described Bethelmy as a lovely, small lady, very efficient and a very principled person. However though she fully supported shows produced by her dearest and closest friends, the deceased Holly Betaudier, Hazel Ward, Horace James and the Mohammed brothers, Sham and Moen, Sarjeant said she was not an ardent supporter of local content simply because it never used to attract advertising and because of the opposition she got.

“As programme controller she had a relationship with big foreign programming and it was her job to select the best foreign programmes and airtime positions on the programming schedule to attract advertisisng. Her relationship with the sales department and foreign market was very good. But that aside she agreed, in principle, we should have had dedicated sales representatives to handle local programming only.” But in contrast to Sarjeant, former head of news Jones P Madeira said, “She was a dedicated programme director who wanted to see more efforts at local programming in all spheres of television in the country, from entertainment to news. And she conceptualised morning television which did not fly back then. As good as it was, TTT couldn’t sustain it.” Bethelmy’s funeral service will take place on Thursday next week at the Church of the Nativity, Crystal Stream, Diego Martin from 10 am.

She leaves to mourn her children Marissa and David, and syblings Patricia, Yvonne, Margot and Patrick.

Kambon made the remarks at the launch of the project at the National Library and Information Service in Port of Spain on Thursday.

He urged citizens and academics to engage in a more thorough revision of historically significant figures and landmarks such as the Lopinot estate.

“We are calling on all of our partners to join with us as we seek to correct this collective lie that has been repeated throughout history and throughout the entirety of the Americas that Christopher Columbus discovered anything.

The statue as it is, is absurd and perverse as it continues to represent the oppression and genocide that the first peoples faced from the Spanish colonisers.” In addition to the removal of the statue, Kambon said that the project also seeks to address the renaming of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus’ main hall from Milner Hall.

Kambon said the hall which is named after eighteenth century British statesman Alfred Milner, was contradictory to the UWI’s mandate to promote regional integration, as Milner was one of the major proponents of the apartheid system in South Africa. Kambon is instead in talks with the UWI’s administration to rename the hall after Trinidadian lawyer and Pan-Africanist, Henry Sylvester Williams.

“What we want is a change in name from the oldest hall of residence at the UWI St Augustine from Milner Hall to the Henry Sylvester Williams Hall.

Milner was one of the architects of the apartheid system in South Africa he participated in some of history’s most horrendous crimes.” Citing the work of West Indian historian and intellectual Frantz Fanon, Kambon said that greater introspection is needed on the part of academics and the general public in order to dispel neo-colonial myths and is calling on all stakeholders from different cultural backgrounds to lend their voices to the ongoing discussion on historical revision.

The project’s launch ended with a visit to Columbus square where activists staged a spirited demonstration calling for the statue’s removal.

Referring to the USDA decision, the Agriculture Ministry yesterday said it is “reassuring the public that Trinidad and Tobago does not import fresh beef or any other fresh meat from Brazil and, as such, there is no cause for concern.” The ministry added that it “is actively monitoring all developments out of Brazil related to food safety and will take immediate precautions, should it determine there are credible or potential health risks to TT consumers.” Regarding this “latest suspension in the US of fresh beef imports from Brazil,” the ministry said Agriculture Minister, Clarence Rambharat, is collaborating with TT’s Ambassador to Brazil, Dr Amery Browne, “on any developments which may impact TT.” On March 21, the ministry temporarily stopped issuing import permits for meat products from Brazil and advised the Chemistry, Food and Drug Division of the Ministry of Health to immediately recall from supermarkets and other retail outlets corned beef, chicken patties and chicken nuggets originating from Brazil.

That decision followed an investigation by Brazilian authorities that uncovered major meat-processing plants in the country which sold rotten beef and poultry for years, while bribing health officials to issue fraudulent inspection reports.

In a statement issued on April 25, the ministry said it would immediately resume issuing import permits for Brazilian meat products.

The ministry said at the time that the ban had been lifted following, “clear and unambiguous assurances” on April 24 from Brazil’s Agriculture Minister, Blairo Maggi, that meat products exported to TT did not come from any of the processing plants under investigation.

According to Everald “Gally” Cummings, who is a former Trinidad and Tobago men’s team midfielder and coach, this is a skill that is generally lacking in the game at all levels in the twin-island republic.

“Players get inside the box and they seem hesitant to shoot and pass on the responsibility to another player, who might be in a more difficult striking position and miss a golden opportunity to score,” said Cummings. “And this is noticeable even at the senior level.” He has dedicated some time to impart to the young boys and girls (between ages 7-17) this skill which he mastered during his playing career (as early as age 15) as a national and professional footballer.

This year he hopes to do some screening so that players with the most potential can benefit. Players who were exposed to the programme last year will also benefit.

The GFFS has sought sponsorship to facilitate participation and has requested that players be fully sponsored so that there will be no registration fee.

First Citizens has again come on board and Amalgamated Security is a new sponsor who will support the programme this year.

The programme will be launched in the Central region in early July. Players will be drawn from Enterprise, New Settlement, Felicity, Edinburgh 500 and the environs.

Details of other clinics will be released as arrangements are finalised.

The GFFS expresses its appreciation to individuals, members of the private and public sector as well as the media who supported the programme last year and looks forward to their collaboration this year

Help the authority install pumps so it can best discharge flood water. Help it run mains that won’t burst. Help WASA integrate pumps into public waterways.

TSTT can also help WASA with wireless technology for remote turning on and off of pumps. It can help WASA with remote sensors for monitoring water levels. Regional authorities can be help to mitigate flooding with available technologies.

A few borrowed pumps from the oil industry can bring this flooding to an abrupt end. Where there’s no will to solve problems, problems linger.

Why aren’t flood prevention pumps built into public drainage networks? Prevention of property damage would pay for the pumps.

Is it only oil and gas in the ocean TT is faithful to pump? Where are the high-powered water pumps to transfer this water to WASA’s auxiliary water catchment tanks for use in the dry season? We can pump oil and gas across the ocean. We can store thousands of cubic feet of oil and gas for future use. But we can’t harvest surface storm water out of flood zones for dry-season use? TT is technology blind.

Great is the lack of vision in TT , for now.

B JOSEPH via email

In a telephone interview on Thursday, Daly said, “When you look at the media release there are three sentences that cannot be interpreted than anything other than the language of a decision having been made.” He was referring to a letter an attorney representing the CJ wrote to former attorney general Anand Ramlogan,SC, in which he said “no such decision was made” at a meeting of stakeholders on May 24.

Ramlogan on June 12 wrote to attorney Ian Roach, who represents Archie, seeking answers on the consensus arrived at a meeting of stakeholders on May 24, when it was reported these stakeholders agreed to have all 53 cases restarted de novo (new trial). However, in his letter to Ramlogan dated June 20, Roach said, “Your letter proceeds on a wholly erroneous premise. My instructions are that no such decision was made in your letter.” On May 25, a release by the Judiciary’s Court Protocol and Information Manager Alicia Carter- Fisher, announced that a decision was made at the stakeholders meeting of May 24. In the release, Carter-Fisher said, “consensus was reached and the meeting agreed to have all 53 matters restarted de novo.” It was also announced that Ag Chief Magistrate Maria Busby-Earle Caddle would preside over all indictable cases, while all summary matters would be taken over by an assigned magistrate at the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court. All other Eighth Court matters which were not started will be managed by the acting deputy chief magistrate, the statement further noted.

Speaking with Newsday on Thursday, Daly pointed to the key sentences of the release sent by the Judiciary on May 25, which he (Daly) said it were obvious consequences of a decision having been arrived at when the parties met with the CJ.

“It is not conceivable that it is a question of interpretation or misinterpretation as the Chief Justice’s attorney is now saying,” Daly said.

“It (the wording of the Judiciary’s media release) is entirely consistent with an administrative decision having been taken,” he said.

In his letter to Ramlogan, Roach also indicated that “no further directives were issued to any judicial officer as to how they should deal with the matters which may come before them.” He also told Ramlogan that “no person or persons arrogated unto themselves the power to determine the future conduct” of his client’s case.

“Your client’s legal representative is free to make any representations or submissions he considers appropriate before the presiding magistrate and have same dealt with at that time. That is the protection of the law and the right to a fair hearing that the Constitution guarantees to your client,” Roach further advised Ramlogan. Several of the affected part-heard cases are expected to be called next Tuesday.

Samuel was speaking on Thursday during the debate on the Criminal Procedure (Plea Discussion and Plea Agreement) Bill 2017.

He said in plea bargaining the prosecutors are the ones who have the “big guns”.

“From a defendant’s perspective plea bargains are geared to extort a guilty plea.

Plea bargains are not there to help the accused but they are there to possibly tell the world that there is a deficiency in the justice system.

To tell the world that in a time where there is a lack of confidence in the systems in Trinidad and Tobago. Plea bargaining will suggest we are attempting to cover up inefficiencies. The inefficiencies of the police service to effectively investigate and detect and because there are inefficiencies there are prosecutorial inefficiencies.

In other words, things cannot happen in the normal process of court and history proves there are more cases that are being lost, so we have found a shortcut to commit people to prison,” he said.

Samuel said no where in the Bill does it refer to the victims understanding when a plea bargain is being arranged.

He said in Canada, the victims have a say, they have a right to submit a victim impact statement at the sentencing stage.

He said the victims must have access to the information about any pre trial arrangement that relates to a plea that may be entered by the accused on trial.

“So there must be information given to the victims if the State decides we are going to enter into a plea. The victim has a right to know.

This bill does not suggest that until it reaches the court,” he said.

He said there is an imbalance with plea bargaining and with that imbalance justice cannot be served.

“At the end of the day it is the person with the upper hand that wins.

At the end of the day it’s the people with the support mechanisms that wins and we call that plea bargaining we call that justice.

We say to our citizens that we are offering you something but really what we are doing is finding a shortcut for a clogged system. Unfortunately I see no bargain, unfortunately I see no justice, unfortunately I see people being taken advantage of,” Samuel said.