Modern schools should have individual classrooms both at primary and secondary levels. Tables and desks should have ample space for each child to move around.

There should be room for attractive visual displays on the walls and cupboards at waist level with counter tops to store students’ and teachers’ educational supplies.

The teacher’s table and chair should be on a height where he or she can see all pupils at any time. There should be a large whiteboard in front of the classroom for demonstration, explanation and showing of multimedia.

The exterior school environment should be aesthetically pleasing.

There should be an abundance of flowers to instill a sense of beauty and pride in students’ minds.

There should be large red and pink hibiscus plants. Red and white roses should adorn the school’s floral garden.

There should also be power puff and cattail plants, not to mention several crotons and palm trees.

At the back of the school building where there may be extra spaces and a savannah in which to play, students should be able to sit under the shade of almond and pink poui trees. Almond trees can be obtained on the banks of the Salybia River in Toco and pink poui trees at the Ministry of Agriculture in Cumuto. Fruit trees such as poir doux, pomerac, fat pork, plums and sour cherry can be planted.

Schools of the 1800s and 1900s in colonial times should be buildings of the past. Our students should not be seated in broken-down two and three-seater benches. The ceiling should not be harbouring bats and pigeons.

Termites should not be eating away at the floors and walls. Rats and snakes should not be living in the school, contributing to the food chain.

Schools should not be 90 percent completed while parents and students are kneeling down on the roadway, pleading for a proper place to learn. Schools such as the Santa Flora Government and Montrose Vedic that once boasted of excellence in education should not be left to whither.

Modern day schools of the 21st century will produce worthwhile citizens, comparable to First World countries.

Schools of the past, in deplorable condition, that are still in use today will create citizens who we will regret in the future. Let’s make the changes in education now for a better future, where our children will learn in an environment free of crime.

VINCENT BOOKER via emai

While relatives still struggle to come to terms with the death of Travis Teague, Timothy Fraser, Avonelle Thomas, Che Peters, Kareem Romain, Roxanne Johnson and Ramesh Narine, family members and friends of Teague, admitted that the 33-year-old father of one had a habit of driving recklessly and at high speed. Teague’s father Terrence yesterday said that he had frequently warned his son, who was a PH driver about his reckless driving habits.

“You could carry the cow to the water, but you cannot make him drink,” said Terrence, a father of six, when asked about his son.

“The way young people are driving these days, I do not like to drive with them…that is why I have my own car,” the grieving man said at his Valencia home. Had Teague heeded the warnings of the persons around him, his life, along with six others, may have been spared.

It was reported that at about 11.30 pm on Monday, a silver-coloured Mitsubishi Lancer car driven by Teague was heading in an easterly direction, with Peters, Romain and Romain’s brother Kwame, as passengers. At the same time an Izuzu pick-up transporting Narine, Thomas, Fraser, Johnson and Ramphal Hanoo was heading in a southerly direction along the O’Meara Road. Both vehicles collided at the intersection. Three of the victim died at the scene while the remaining four died at hospital.

Hanoo and Kwame Romain remain warded in critical condition at hospital.

Investigators are working on reports that the car driven by Teague drove through the traffic light which was red and collided with the pick-up, which had the right of way and was crossing the intersection. Police said this was the deadliest accident for the year and it sparked renewed calls from organisations and interest groups across the country for safer driving practices. The police service in a release yesterday called for drivers to obey the speed limit and stop at red lights. Arrive Alive also issued a release calling for more speed guns and all intersections to be converted into roundabouts to lessen incidences of road fatalities.

While warnings about speeding are renewed, relatives of Kareem Romain told reporters yesterday that they hold no malice against Teague, or his family. Newsday was told that all the occupants in Teague’s vehicle were close friends who lived a short distance away from each other, in the Valencia area.

According to the University of the West Indies’ Seismic Research Centre (SRC) in St Augustine, the earthquake occurred at about 5.42 pm yesterday and was located 11.04 North and 60.70 West with a depth of 29 kilometres (km).

The quake was recorded 16 km south-southeast of Scarborough, 78 km north east of Arima and 99 km north east of Port-of-Spain.

SRC Director, Dr Joan Latchman, said they had not received any reports of damage. Asked if citizens should be concerned, she said, “we expect earthquakes as part of our reality and even stronger than this one.” The last time this country experienced an earthquake of this magnitude was in 1997 with that one measuring 6.1, south of Tobago.

Latchman said the country has already begun to have aftershocks and using the 1997 example, she said there were hundreds of aftershocks following that one. Contacted yesterday, Works and Transport Minister, Rohan Sinanan texted Newsday, “no damage reported at this time.” Meanwhile, asked about any damage at energy facilities, Energy Minister Franklin Khan said there was none. “Most modern energy installation both onshore and off shore are built to acceptable seismic codes.” Following the earthquake, many people took to social media to share their experiences.

A woman on Facebook said, “I was sitting, just saw the TV shaking and shaking, my God it was so scary, I think that was the strongest I ever felt.” Another woman, Aarti Maharaj, who lives in England said she was on the phone with her mother when the earthquake occurred.

Her mother said it was strong and started saying her prayers. “She called out to dad asking him if he felt the tremors. Dad: What are you talking about? The man was rocking in the hammock oblivious to the earthquake! Just thought it was the hammock moving as per usual.

Mum thought she was hallucinating and obviously dad’s response did not help. I confirmed (from London) that there was an earthquake felt very strongly in South by checking Facebook,” she shared.

In Tobago, the quake was felt west of Crown Point, Shirvan, Buccoo, Plymouth, Scarborough, John Dial, Roxborough Speyside, Charlotteville and Castara to name a few. Contacted for comment, Director of TEMA (Tobago Emergency Management Authority) Allan Stewart reported that minor damage was reported.

“We have preliminary reports of minor damage to property, there is no report of injuries or deaths at this stage and we advise the public, those impacted to call 211 to pass any information of structural or any damage in their area. We ask persons to remain calm as there is a strong possibility that there may be minor tremors following so persons can expect aftershocks coming out of this event,” Stewart said. The minor structural damages which include hairline cracks according to Stewart were reported in the Signal Hill area. He noted that a number of groceries in the Scarborough area were also affected, as some of their items came crashing down.

Shannon Banfield, 20, of 28 Mc Carthy Street, Cantaro Village in Santa Cruz was last seen leaving her work place – the bank’s Independence Square, Port-of- Spain branch on Monday at 4 pm, to purchase items on Charlotte Street in the nation’s capital.

Banfield’s mother Sherry-Ann Lopez told Newsday that her daughter was not accustomed sleeping out and always stays in contact with family members throughout the day.

“Shannon called me yesterday (Monday) before she left work to let me know what she was about to do. She was going to get some stuff at Iam and then Pennywise.

At around ten minutes to five, she called and asked what we (father and mother) were doing and I told her we were still at work and said she was tired so was going to travel and come straight home.” Lopez said this was the last conversation she had with her daughter on Monday afternoon.

“She is not a person to stay out and she was always at home. She is also active in the Seven Day Adventist Church. Anywhere she has to go we will drop her or her friends might sometimes give her a lift because she do not like to be out in the road especially in the night.

She always gives accountability for her whereabouts,” the worried mother explained. Lopez said the entire family searched and made checks by family and friends in an effort to locate Banfield.

She said yesterday she continued calling her child’s phone but all calls went straight to voice mail.

Lopez said her daughter was clad in her blue bank uniform with a white inner vest. She is five feet, ten inches in height, has dark brown hair, is fair in complexion and wears spectacles.

“I am not doing well at all. It is terrifying to know I can’t find her, I can’t even sleep…this is my first child and only daughter. I am in a mess and I cannot function. When you hear children go missing we know what sometimes happens. I got a strange phone call and heard what sounded like Jamaican voices and music in the background. I immediately contacted my son and we started trying to call her again.

We eventually made a report to the Santa Cruz Police Station,” Lopez said. She is pleading with anyone who may have seen or know anything about her daughter whereabouts can contact the nearest police station or call 765-5165 or 745-0967.

Rondell Ali who was seated in the passenger’s seat, was shot three times while bullets grazed Akini Parris, the driver, and Ralph Ali the latter seated in the back seat of the car. Police and emergency services were alerted and the three wounded men were taken to the Portof- Spain General Hospital where Ralph and Akini were treated and discharged.

Ali who was shot in the torso remains warded under police guard at hospital. No arrest has been made and investigations are continuing.

Upon arriving outside the school, the KFC delivery man was ambushed by seven students who proceeded to rob him of boxes of KFC. Teacher Roberts, who saw the incident then proceded to confront the students and attempted to take the chicken back, when he was beaten by several male students before other teachers intervened.

Officers of the Belmont Police Station were called in and two of the students involved in the incident were arrested and up to press time were being questioned up to late yesterday afternoon. Sources within the school revealed that the two students, aged 16 and 17, have had numerous disciplinary problems in the past. Investigations are ongoing.

Jhardat had gone to Ameerali’s home at Bramble Alex Trace, Cumuto to drop off money for his daughter but was refused entry by his father-in-law, who chased him away with a cutlass and while cursing, threatened to chop Jhardat.

The latter armed himself with a piece of wood and he and Ameerali exchanged blows. Jhardat received a chop wound to the shoulder while Ameerali suffered fatal head injuries.

At his trial, Jhardat’s estranged common-law wife Joan testified as a hostile witness and at his appeal, Jhardat’s attorney Sophia Chote SC, argued that the trial judge failed to give the jury adequate directions on the issue of self-defence.

This, Chote submitted, led to a miscarriage of justice by depriving her client of a complete acquittal.

Chote’s submissions found favour with the Justices of Appeal Alice Yorke-Soo Hon, Rajendra Narine and Mark Mohammed, who held that while the judge’s legal directions on self-defence were technically correct, the jury was not adequately directed on the issue of retreat and did not marshal the evidence in the case and link it to the directions on self-defence.

In disposing of the appeal, the judges quashed Jhardat’s conviction and set side the prison sentence and ordered no retrial as they found that the omissions in the directions on self-defence deprived the prisoner of the benefit of an outright acquittal. Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Joan Honore-Paul and Assistant DPP Angelica Teelucksingh-Ramoutar represented the State at the appeal.

Sean Bishop, 36, a father of five, appeared before senior magistrate Nanette Forde-John in the San Fernando Magistrates’ court, charged with stealing a Samsung S6 iPhone and an Apple iPhone, both valued $6,000. Bishop pleaded guilty to the charge and the magistrate was told by court prosecutor PC Cleyon Seedan that at about midday on November 29, a woman secured her home on The Line at Southern Main Road, St Margaret’s Village near Claxton Bay. Magistrate Forde-John asked Bishop why he stole the phone and he answered, “I have good reason.” The accused related that there were approximately 20 children who live in the community where he lives, and certain nefarious things were going on which he disliked.

“In those phones I took, it have certain nefarious numbers which the police want to know. I just wanted to pass them to the police, because I also have five children and certain things that have been going on have to stop,” the accused said. Magistrate Forde-John fined Bishop $1,500 and granted him 40 days to pay, failing which he must serve four months in prison.

Constables Robert Modeste, Nicholas Henry and Anderson Richards appeared before Magistrate Marcia Ayres-Caesar on Monday to face charges of corruptly soliciting money from a man whom they wrongly accused of human trafficking.

Modeste was charged with attempting to corruptly obtain $45,000 in cash; Henry was charged with misbehaviour in public office for corruptly soliciting $2,000 and Richards was jointly charged with misbehaviour in public office, for corruptly soliciting $45,000 along with the two other officers.

Bail was set at $90,000, $80,000 and $60,000 for Modeste, Henry and Richards, respectively. Both Richards and Modeste are required to present themselves to the Morvant Police station twice weekly, while Henry must present himself to the Four Roads Police station.

Magistrate Ayres-Caesar also ordered the accused to refrain from making any contact with the complainant.

The trio was arrested on November 30. Charges were laid by Ag Cpl David Simon.

The pipeline is to be built.

These are huge expense, as you would understand; we are talking about hundreds of millions of US dollars to get this done.” He disclosed the general cost of piping gas from Venezuela’s Dragon gas field to the Hibiscus Platform, owned by Shell, on to land at the Point Lisas Industrial Estate, Trinidad; where the gas would be processed and sold, at a press conference at Piarco International Airport late Monday evening following his return from an Official Visit to the South American nation earlier that day. Asked how soon industry players in TT’s energy sector could expect gas to start ‘flowing’, the PM said the Government-to-Government agreement has a deadline of 2020. “In the agreement we look at, the latest, 2020 but today (Monday), what the President (Maduro) agreed to, and we in TT agreed to, is that if it could be (sooner), it should be. (So) we are working towards a much earlier date. Therefore, what we are looking at for TT is not an immediate gas supply to our shortfall situation but treating with a worsening situation in the near to medium term.” Rowley and Maduro also used their closed-door, roughly hourlong talks to discuss a wide range of issues, including Venezuela’s outstanding TT$315 million debt owed to Caribbean Airlines Limited (CAL). “(Maduro) has committed to liquidating some long-standing debt which exists for CAL, which accumulated at an earlier time when tickets were sold and paid for in Bolivars and the conversion to US was a difficult thing. A significant debt exists and grew up.

The (Venezuelan) Government, by way of the presidential commitment today (Monday), undertook to have that debt serviced.” Venezuela has also put a new arrangement in place, Rowley added, “where tickets out of Venezuela are paid for, not in Bolivars but in US dollars, so this accumulation of an unpaid or unpayable debt would not (recur), so I have some good news for CAL. We agreed that there’s a lot of benefit for both countries for us to remain in communication by way of air and sea.”