“As a responsible chamber, understanding the economic constraints facing the Central Bank and their US demands, we would like to know if all sectors would have seen a cut in allocation of US dollars or just some sectors.

We are just asking for our membership to be treated in an equitable manner, with the same rights and privileges as other business sectors,” Roopnarine stated. “The silence is deafening and the Governor of the Central Bank, the Minister of Finance and the Bankers Association need to tell us what is really happening.

Who is getting the US dollars?” Roopnarione cited the Foreign Used Car Dealers, many of when were based in the Penal/ Debe area as having expressed their plight and desperation in obtaining foreign exchange. “They are on the verge of closing and some have ceased to operate. They are sourcing cars from their suppliers and cannot get US to purchase within suppliers deadline and are losing the sales. They are claiming new car dealers are getting preferential treatment,” he stated.

Roopnarine was also in full agreement with a call by the Chaguanas Chamber of Industry and Commerce regarding the “high interest rate spreads, exploitative and vexatious service charges and other discriminatory practices” at commercial banks.

“In fact, the time has come for the Parliament to bring a Consumer Credit Protection Act, as been part of Consumer Protection Laws which is in place in many countries.

This is but one step to be taken in order to alleviate the unnecessary financial pressures that Small and medium enterprises currently experience within these difficult and challenging economic times,” he stated.

Roopnarine also touched on the murder rate which has surpassed 420 murders saying “it is quite disconcerting and disturbing how small and medium sized businesses are being negatively affected by this occurrence.”

“We are of the belief that it does not matter where a child attends school, particularly at the secondary level, they should be assured of a quality education. (More than) 3,500 students who did the SE A cannot score over 30 percent in Maths and Language. If you understand the deleterious effects of that on them, their families and the society, it would be criminal of the ministry not to be concerned.” Speaking during a press conference at the ministry’s St Vincent Street, Port-of-Spain head office last Thursday, Francis said the ministry had decided, via the office of Chief Education Officer, Harrilal Seecharan, “to launch the Form One project where we will not only intervene in terms of providing students with the numeracy and literacy skills that they need but also track their development to make sure that the schools are adding some value to them.” Newsday asked if this project was based on a recommendation from the February 2016 National Consultation on Education, to which Francis replied, “Not it’s not directly part of the consultation but it comes from the same pool of ideas; that we really need to ensure all students get a quality education.” Expanding on Francis’ response, Seecharan said the ministry examined the SE A results and “identified those under-performing students”.

It then went further to look at the secondary schools in which those students were placed.

Deonarine, who left the club in 2011 due to work commitments, has enjoyed a renaissance since his return in 2015. That year he took 70 wickets and has maintained that high standard with 66 scalps this year including five five-wicket hauls in the Premier II League. The Parkites placed third in the League while winning the 50 overs competition.

The 33-year-old was honoured at the club’s annual awards ceremony held recently for his tremendous bowling performance.

Speaking to Newsday after receiving his awards, Deonarine discussed what motivates him to keep giving his all. “I just want to continue doing great for my team. Hopefully we win the league and get promoted to the Premier One (division), that would top it off for me. I’m getting older so I have no really big challenge to make Trinidad (team) but really to help the youngsters in the club. That is my goal and to continue being successful,” he said.

Deonarine, after stops at T&TEC and Bamboo, said he is happy to be back among the Parkites. The leftarm orthodox spinner cited the camaraderie and jovial atmosphere at the club as crucial to their success.

“No pressure and just happiness in the club really. This club is a real family oriented team.

We do everything together and enjoy being around each other.

There is no animosity among the players. We like helping the youngsters most importantly,” he explained.

How would he describe his style of leadership? “It’s real easy and charismatic. The youngsters love to play under me and I like to help them reach their potential,” he concluded.

Deonarine’s achievements – 8 for 39 vs Moosai, 5 for 48 vs Central Sports, 6 for 50 vs Preysal, 5 for 86 vs Calcutta, 6 for 6 vs Caldrac.

Sylvester dismissed Nathen Martin without dropping a game to secure the victory 4-0, 4-0. Also notching their second wins of the round robin stage were Tyler Hart who got past Zachery Byng with minimal fuss 4-1, 4-0 and Shae Millington with a hard fought 4-2, 5-4 result over Nicholas Ready.

The Boys Under-16 category is also in full swing with Ethan Jeary getting past Zarek Joefiel 6-2, 6-2 while Kyle Lee Young cruised to victory vs Vashist Kelly 6-1, 6-2.

In the younger age brackets (Girls U-10), the Chin Lees have started the competition well.

Abigail Chin Lee romped past Nya Ashby 6-0 while Inara Chin Lee restricted her opponent Joy Augustine to just one game in a 6-1 victory.

The Chin Lees are currently unbeaten in the tournament.

Other scores: Boys U-10 – Ezekiel Goerge def Messiah Permell 6-4; Kale Dalla Costa def Yeshowah Smith 6-1; James Hadden def Leeum Chan Pak 6-1, Jace Quashie def Alexander Merry 6-3; Jordell Chapman def Jason Brathwaite 6-5; Logan Hamel-Smith def Aariz Celestine 6-3.

GIRLS U-10 – Zara Ghuran def Jaede-Lee Daniel-Joseph 6-2; Eva Pasea def Ailene Mohess 6-0.

Boys U-12 – Sebasten Byng def Lorcan Chan Pak 4-1, 4-1; Jamal Alexis def Alias Ali 4-1, 4-0; Christopher Roberts def Ethan-Jude 3-5, 5-4, 10-8; Emmanuel Porther def Ryan Conyers 4-1, 4-1.

Girls U-12 – Jade Ali def Ella Carrington 5-4, 4-2; Cameron Wong def Sanjili Seenath 4-1, 4-1; Charlotte Ready def Gabriella Mac Kenzie 5-3, 4-0.

The artists hail from the Professional Development for Visual Arts group which is under the Mentoring by the Masters programme being facilitated by the Culture Division of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts.

The works create a universe filled with everything from paintings to jewelry, paper sculptures, book designs, photography, textile designs and even the spoken word.

The pieces come from the creative minds of Keomi Serrette, Sah Fyhr, Malene Joseph, Derek Auguste, Micah Telesford Phillip, Delia Brathwaite, Cherisse Gibson, Xaria Rae Roxbugh, Nicole Joseph, Margaret Jack-Van-Hanegin, Sangeeta Boodoo, Janine De Four, Leslie- Ann Beckles, Rita Rajkumar and Navin Deonarine. During a walk-through of the exhibition last Monday, Kenwyn Crichlow, the programme’s 2016 mentor explained to students that the Perspectives Exhibition is much more than art, rather it is a display of various artistic expressions utilising several artistic disciplines, said a media release.

Exhibits include “Florecer” by Janine De-Four Lezama, “Chant to Elegua”, “Voices Within”, Angles are like Diamonds”, “For Olufemi” and “A Smile to Remember” by Keomi Serrette.

From Malene Joseph’s imagination come “Of Possibilities and Eventualities”, Pathways of Light”, “Formulation” and a “Burst of Blue”.

Xaria Rae Roxburgh lends her interpretation to various emotions with “Love – Just as you are”, “Forgiveness – Too Heavy” and “Pain – Grow Past You”.

“Bijoux (Jewels)”, “Padparadscha” (a rare lotus-coloured sapphire gemstone) and “Paper Hibiscus” are the creations from Sah Fyhr, while “Embracing Death from Birth”, “Formation of Thinking” and “Mother and Child” highlight the diverse range of Micah Telesford Phillip.

As a matter of fact, this is one of the best times of the year to reinforce all that learning that has taken place from September until now.

Children can work on their reading skills and have fun on the sites featured below.

They won’t even realise all the skills they’re learning.

See how Christmas is celebrated all over the world by checking out http://www.whychristmas.

com/cultures/.

Just click on the flag next to the name of the country to find fun facts about the country.

Student get cool geography lessons when they pull up information by clicking green countries on a map.

The History Channel offers a site with essays and videos about Christmas carols, Christmas celebrations, Christmas gift giving, Santa Claus and the origins of the candy cane at http://www.history.

com/topics/christmas/ history-of-christmas.

Did you know that Santa used to wear many different coloured clothes until a Coca Cola advertisement in the 1930s dressed him in red? On this site, students learn a lot about Christmas history.

Following directions can mean the difference between success and failure in life and school. Christmas offers a fun way to teach this skill to children through holiday baking.

The site below offers baking projects for children. Children learn the gift of giving when creating an apple pie cookie kit in a jar. Making Rudolph shortbread cookies teaches mathematics skills. Mini elf doughnuts teach the concept of scale, melted snowmen teach creativity.

Each recipe is rated for difficulty and each recipe provides the amount of time it takes to make the treat.

http://www.bbcgoodfood.

com/recipes/collection/ christmas-kids Children can practise their reading skills with a fun, interactive site called Northpole.

com. Click on one of the houses in the village and discover Christmas information to read about.

There are activities like Christmas ornaments to make. Small children can visit the reindeer barn where elves work and reindeer eat.

This is a good site for children four to six to learn how to navigate a website. Follow the directions and discover fun activities. This animated site with its vivid colours, sound and activities will appeal to small children. Santa’s mail room is a busy place where elves sort the mail.

Bells, gongs and other Christmas sounds abound in each place.

http://www.northpole.com/. Children find hidden stories in the kitchen where gingerbread is baking. There’s so much to discover on this site. A site called Internet for Classrooms provides hyperlinks to a variety of kid-friendly sites. At http://www.internet4classrooms.
com/christmas.htm children can find Santa’s instant report on whether they have been naughty or nice. They can send email messages to Santa, adopt an elf buddy, discover Christmas puzzles, craft ideas, Christmas music, daily updates on Santa news and much more.

Tech Digest provides a list of the Top 50 Christmas websites at http://www.techdigest.tv/2006/12/ top_50_christma.html.

Here, children can find very imaginative sites that help them to develop their analytical skills during Christmas vacation. What would children do if they met an alien on December 20? Educational games abound on this site.

Blackdog Christmas provides Christmas jokes, riddles, word searches, games and stories. Christmas with Virtual Finland shows children how Christmas is celebrated in Scandinavia and a Victorian Christmas helps them to explore Christmas celebrations in the past. The Christmas Truce is another good history lesson that explores the famous Christmas Truce of World War I.

There are so many great, fun-filled Christmas learning sites to explore so that no child is left behind at Christmas.

The children, many of whom are afflicted with illnesses that have caused them to be warded at the hospital where they are likely to spend the Christmas holidays, were given dolls, makeup sets, bow and arrows, gun sets, and board games such as – pictionary sets, monopoly and puzzles.

Books were also handed out as well. Gosine said, “This is a time when schools are out for the Christmas holidays and the children look forward to being at home for the season. However, many of these kids spend the season in hospital.” The children were seen smiling when they were handed the toys. “It eases their suffering,” Gosine gushed. Ratiram said that this year was the third ocasion the Rapid Kidz Foundation has engaged in a gift-giving exercise at the hospital.

He said, “The paediatric wards at San Fernando hospital see kids suffering from fever, cuts, bruises and burns. There are those who have severe illnesses. Many of them spend months in the hospital simply because they do not have a home to go to.” The children on the ward were greeted by Mrs Santa Claus sponsored by Rapid Kidz Foundation.

Mayor Regrello chatted with the chilldren and handed out toys. “I do not mind coming out on Sundays and spending time with the sick children here,” he said.

They did so at a twoday Colleges Invitational All-star tournament which kicked off at the Hasely Crawford Stadium on Saturday.

And Sports Minister Darryl Smith paid the activities a surprise visit on Saturday morning.

Prior to the action at the stadium, there was a symposium held at the Kapok Hotel on Friday.

Minister Smith commended the activities which he described as “very impressive, particularly the quality of the overall initiative.” And Marc-Anthony William, director of Sport for Colleges Invitational was very impressed with the turnout of both players and their support teams.

He said, “it was just a testament to the need for these kinds of programmes and opportunities to develop the talent, and have open and honest dialogue with stakeholders.” William said the programme provide an avenue for international success at colleges, universities and professional league levels outside of TT .

Coach Brynjar Thor Gestoon of Iceland Club Trottor Vogum wqas impressed by the visit of Sports Minister Smith, and said it was “ a clear reminder that, like the rest of the world the desire for Trinidad and Tobago football to succeed has to be an investment at every level, community, administration and government.” Scouts from Arsenal Soccer School, USA and Champs Academy were at the stadium to observe the local talent for potential scholarship opportunites at the tertiary level as well as professional league signings.

Teams from North, South, East, West and Tobago registered for the tournament which carried total prize money of $65,000.

Colleges Invitational All-Star Tournament: Male Teams St. Anthony’s College; St. Mary’s College; Queen’s Royal College; Shiva Boys College; Diego Martin North Secondary St. Benedict’s College; Central FC; East Mucurapo Secondary; Waterloo Institute; Crown Trace FC; St.

James Secondary; St. Augustine Secondary; Tobago All- Star; Trinity College East.

Colleges Invitational All-Star Tournament: Female Teams: St. Augustine Secondary; Diego Martin Central Secondary; St. James Secondary; St. Joseph’s Convent POS.

Goalkeeper Jan Michael Williams who has spent the last two sessions also working with goalkeeper coach Lukas Wojciak, said Saintfiet has made a strong impression so far.

“It’s been really good so far. I think the coach obviously has the right ideas, he has all the qualifications for the job and he has come in and imposed himself really well on the group. He has made his intentions clear which is to firstly qualify for the Gold Cup and then the World Cup. I think he was well received by the players and it augurs well for the future of the football in Trinidad and Tobago.

He knows his stuff and he has really gotten off to a very good start,” Williams told TT FA Media yesterday at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium.

Williams noted the importance of the team achieving positive results and regaining confidence as it prepares to enter a busy 2017 calendar.

“Now is crunch time for us. We have to buckle down as a team and we have to get back to winning ways. I think the coach knows his stuff and with that extra drive and motivation we should do well. Although we may not have our full complement of players for Nicaragua I think a lot of the local based players are getting a chance to show that they deserve a spot,” the Central FC custodian added.

Mexican-based forward Shahdon Winchester said it was important that the squad members focus on playing their parts in helping the team achieve their objectives in the matches to come.

“So far things have been going good with the addition of the new players and technical staff. I am pleased with the sessions so far and I think we can only go up from here. I think he (Saintfiet) strongly believes in his philosophy which is a good thing. The four games are important. The two games against Nicaragua are warm-ups for us heading into the Suriname and Haiti (Gold Cup qualifying) games. As coach said, he came here to do a job, and we as players have to help him do that job,” Winchester said.

Police said the weeping woman later begged nurses at a medical institution – where she was being treated – to keep her as she was too terrified to return to her own home following the brutal assault.

According to a police report, the 67-yearold woman was awakened from sleep at two o’clock Friday morning by two men dressed in dark clothing who shook her shoulders and said, “get up old lady!’ The men then demanded the woman’s pension money before ransacking the house and taking possession of several items. It did not end there. The men then took the woman back to a bedroom where they ordered her to strip. The two then took turns raping the woman even as she wept and begged them to stop.

After the assault, the men left the house and escaped by running away. The weeping woman crawled on the ground towards an open window on the southern end of the house. Pushing her head through the window and nearly falling out, the woman screamed for help. Police Constables Quashie and Ramoutar of Central Division, who were on mobile patrol, immediately responded to the screams and found the sobbing, hysterical woman sitting on the ground.

The officers comforted her as they radioed an All Points Bulletin advising all police on patrol in the area to be on the lookout for two men dressed in dark clothing. Up to press time, the human predators remained at large.

The woman was taken to a medical institution where she medically examined and later treated. The distraught woman, Newsday was told, begged nurses at the institution to keep her as she was terrified of returning home.

Police officers later promised her that they would institute patrols in the area and check in on her. Following the assault on the grandmother, it is understood that residents have formed themselves into a neighbourhood watch group to not only keep an eye on the woman, who lives alone, but to keep an eye on each other’s property as the rapists are still on the loose.

The rape of the elderly woman is the latest in a series of criminal acts to be perpetrated in the area as residents complained of robberies, break-ins and burglaries.

Yesterday, Assistant Commissioner of Police Surujdeen Persad said that all resources will be used to apprehend the suspects and assured residents of the area in Couva that more patrols would be stepped up in the area. He congratulated the residents for forming themselves into a neighbourhood watch group and urged others to follow suit and, “be each others keeper.” The victim is now staying at the home of relatives as she has maintained she is too afraid to return to her own home. Investigations are continuing.