Musician and cultural icon Andre Tanker who passed away earlier this year has been awarded The Chaconia Medal (Gold), the country’s second highest award which, according to his relatives, is long overdue.

“It’s a shame that it has to be posthumous,” his wife Christine Tanker told Sunday Newsday, “I’m really sorry he is not alive to receive it himself, but I think he would’ve been very honoured for his life’s work.” Tanker was awarded for his long and meritorious service to Trinidad and Tobago in The Arts and Music in celebration of the country’s 41st Independence anniversary. Tanker’s daughter Zo-Marie Tanker-Isava said her father’s award was “well deserved.” “We’re extremely honoured. This means that people have and are beginning to realise his contributions to culture and the many lives he has touched,” said Isava. The Tankers celebrated the occasion last evening with dinner at TGI Fridays and next month on his 63rd birthday, will host the tribute concert “Making of a Lion” at Mobs II, Chaguaramas.

Mrs Tanker will receive the award on her husband’s behalf. Double gold and silver medallist at the recent Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo swimmer George Bovell III, has been awarded The Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for Sport. Speaking on behalf of his son, who is away at Auburn University in Alabama, USA, George Bovell said that the award came as a “surprise.” He added: “We are honoured to receive an award of that stature.” His mother, Barbara, will receive the award on his behalf. Calypsonian Winston Bailey, The Shadow will not be in attendance at the Independence Awards ceremony tonight to receive his Humming Bird Medal (Silver). The one-time Soca Monarch has been honoured for his contributions to music. Currently, he’s away at the Labour Day celebrations in New York.

Also receiving Humming Bird Medals (Silver) tonight are airline pilots Jean Talma and Wayne Crooks for Community Service. The two sailed around Trinidad in a kayak to raise funds for cancer victims on their own initiative. They were successful in raising over $150,000. “They were really, really surprised… They’re quite staggered because they didn’t realise how much they’ve affected people because they always saw themselves as reluctant heroes, they’ve been really modest about their feat,” said wife, Phillippa Talma. When Sunday Newsday contacted Shireen Dewan-Mc Ken she was choosing out her dress for tonight’s event. Mc Ken, a housewife, dental nurse and social worker has been awarded The Public Service Medal of Merit (Silver). “I’m a little nervous. I am absolutely thrilled,” she said. “Today is a day of reflection for me. I feel a sense of sentiment for cancer patients who I once knew and are no longer alive. I am flooded with emotions.” For 20 years, Mc Ken has been working with cancer patients in the area of anger management, grief and bereavement “and helping them to cope with psycho/social needs.” She was also the orientation teacher at the St Judes Home for Girls where she introduced coping skills for inmates in penal institutions. See full list of award recipients on page 5

TWO people, believed to be husband and wife, became the country’s latest road fatalities yesterday. Police gave the man’s name as Acknath Basdeo, 22, of Tabeland, while the woman’s name was unavailable up to late evening. 

Reports are that around 2 pm Basdeo was driving his vehicle along the 53 kilometre mile mark on the Manzanilla Road, when he attempted to overtake. He smashed head on into a vehicle which was coming in the opposite direction. It is reported that another vehicle was involved in the accident. Basdeo was rushed to the Mayaro Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival, while the woman was taken to the Sangre Grande Hospital, where she also died on arrival. Cpl Nisha of the Mayaro Police Station is continuing investigations.

AFTER languishing in a coma for ten days with massive skull fractures, a 21-year-old Vessigny man lost the battle for life and succumbed to his injures at the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) on Friday afternoon.

Alvin Celestine, of La Brea, remained in a coma at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the SFGH, after being brought to the institution with massive head injuries on the night of August 19. This after he was beaten into a coma by a man who used a broken piece of iron pipe. The incident occurred during a football game. A 20-year-old man was detained by police hours after the beating, but was subsequently released by police on instructions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Geoffrey Henderson, who ruled that the man had beaten Celestine in self-defence. However, with Celestine’s death, police sources say they intend to send the case file back to the DPP for further directions. They also intend to forward to the DPP, the results of the autopsy which is scheduled to be carried out next Tuesday at the Forensic Sciences Centre, Federation Park, St James.

According to police reports, Celestine and the 20-year-old man were playing football at Vessigny beach when Celestine became enraged following a tackle during the game. Celestine reportedly started arguing with the 20-year-old man and later left the scene, only to return several minutes later with a cutlass. It is reported that Celestine attacked the man and dealt him a chop across the chest. The man, who also lives in La Brea, retaliated by grabbing a length of discarded iron pipe which was lying on the beach, and striking Celestine three times on the head. Celestine collapsed on the sand, and was rushed to hospital by other players.

SENIOR police officers were yesterday speculating that bodies may have been dumped in separate locations at sea to deter them from making a link to the multi-million dollar cocaine haul in Manzanilla/Mayaro.

Their theory is based on the early-morning discovery of yet another partially decomposed male body in Chaguaramas, this time at Point Gourde. It is now the fourth body to be found in the seas and more are expected. The man, said to be about 40, remained unidentified up to last night. He is believed to be connected to the other body that floated up on the shoreline behind the Military Museum in Chaguaramas on Wednesday. That man is still to be physically identified, but fingerprints have identified him as Christopher Francis Benjamin, of Picton Road, Laventille, and Arima. Carenage police are appealing to relatives to come forward and physically identify him. Benjamin is said to have had a conviction and police said his body and the one yesterday were found in close proximity.

Police sources said yesterday’s body find occurred around 7 am when two fishermen spotted it floating in the seas off Point Gourde, near Carrera.  The bloated body, clad only in brown soft pants, was later towed out by the fishermen to Staubles Bay, Chaguaramas. The man had no hair, and police speculated that he could have been in the water for about five days. Officers from the Carenage Police Station under Sgt Stephen Joefield, acting Cpl Francis, PC John and others visited the scene, while District Medical Officer Dr Clarke ordered it removed to the Forensic Science Centre.

The number of bodies surfacing has caused great concern among law enforcers, who now believe that all the bodies are connected to the large cocaine haul. “It’s just too coincidental. Maybe this was done to throw us off,” a senior officer said. Two near-faceless bodies popped up in the Manzanilla/Mayaro seas between Monday morning and Tuesday evening. They, too, remained unidentified up to late yesterday evening and Mayaro Police are appealing for help from members of the public to identify the bodies.

THE NATION’S real enemy is the destruction of the home and the family, which given the chance would lead the country to moral erosion in every sector of the society. This, according to the President of the Inter-Religious Organisation of Trinidad and Tobago, Rev Cyril Paul.

In his message to the nation on the country’s 41st anniversary as an Independent nation, Rev Paul called on citizens to move their minds beyond their own family, and consider the special needs of the national family of Trinidad and Tobago. He explained that what the country needed was the spirit of love, respect and understanding throughout the society, and then “God, with whom nothing is impossible, can help to solve some of the frightening problems the nation faces on a daily basis.”

Rev Paul also pointed out that parents had a major role to play in the nation’s development. He indicated that the parents of “our” society needed to give more character and distinction to the lives of their children, since too many of the nation’s children and young people are psychologically and spiritually abandoned by their parents. He noted that such abandonment leaves a child to face change, decay and challenges without parental support, guidance and examples. Rev Paul also pointed out that the nation could not find ease when it is “faced with family violence, spousal abuse, incest, and the continued exploitation and degradation of womanhood and girlhood.” He issued an urgent call to citizens to turn from “selfishness,” and “deceit,” from “self pity” and “self-seeking” and discover the true spirit of God.

Education Minister Hazel Manning said parents who missed out on the $1,000 book grant promised to them last year, will get both this year’s and last year’s money. Manning was speaking to Sunday Newsday during a tour of Paramin Primary RC School which will soon be rebuilt.

Speaking about the new credit card system, she said it will come on stream as promised during the first week of September. She said parents will have to go to the schools to sign the relevant documents and then go to the bank with the cards or to the 400 visa electronic swipe machines. Manning said the keep-back during the school vacation occurred as a result of lengthy negotiations. She disclosed however, there will be a security issue in which parents will have to wait about three days before they can actually withdraw the money. “This is because the banks need to put security measures in place,”she said. She said only about 70 parents did not receive the $1000 grant cheques last year. “But those who did not get it last year will get this year’s and last year’s money,” said Manning. She said the reason why they may not have received it last year was because of administrative problems.

A large contingent of officers of the Port-of-Spain CID who have been detailed for duties today at the Queen’s Park Savannah, for the 41st Independence parade, will pay particular attention to persons engaging in theft, firearm and narcotic offences, and other criminal acts.

Officers of the Stolen Vehicles Squad based at the Port-of-Spain CID will also monitor all vehicles parked in and around the Queen’s Park Savannah. The move is part of the anti-crime initiatives aimed at ensuring the safety of all citizens who attend the Independence parade. During previous years, persons attending the parade at the Queen’s Park Savannah complained of being mugged, robbed of cash, jewelry and their vehicles. Senior officers said yesterday that the police will be posted at strategic locations to ensure that persons involved in illicit activities will be arrested. Sunday Newsday learned that on Sunday, no live ammunition will be carried to the parade ground by personnel on parade. Crash barriers will be erected at strategic points along the route March where large crowds are expected.

The youth of the Laventille area and environs very soon stand to benefit from the construction of a $21 million Technology and Continuing Education Centre at the site of the old Rum Bond Building on the Eastern Main Road, Laventille.

The Centre, a project of the National Energy Skills Centre (NESC), seeks to provide students with skills training in a number of areas to allow for meaningful employment in the energy and industry sector.
Speaking at the Construction Commencement Ceremony held at the site yesterday, NESC Chairman of the Board of Governors, Professor Ken Julien, revealed that the Centre, which occupies 60,000 square feet of space, was a major part of NESC’s move to offer support to areas of the country outside of  Point Lisas. He revealed that although Government, through the Ministry of Energy, provided the “seed money” to get the project off the ground, NESC sought to acquire its own funding for the construction of the building as well as the supply of equipment.

The existing building, the remains of the old Rum Bond building which was gutted by fire in 1994, he explained, will not be destroyed and a new building constructed in its place. Instead, Professor Julien stated, testing of the walls revealed that they were structurally sound to build on. Work on the site is expected to begin on Tuesday and be completed within the year. Prime Minister Patrick Manning, described the construction of the Centre as “an important and critical development in the area.”

Six local students made the top marks in the Cambridge General Certificate of Education, placing first in the world rank in various subject areas. 

The Cambridge International Examination has identified 36 students of TT as having performed exceptionally well, having placed first to tenth in a number of subjects on the World Rank Order. Fatima College student, Alexander Paddington, tied for first place in Physics, while Crystal Lee Lum of St Joseph’s Convent, PoS, attained first place in Geography. She also tied for fifth place in Biology. Seven students of St Joseph’s Convent, PoS were listed on the world rank order achieving top places in Biology, French, Geography,  Economics, History, English Literature and Sociology.

St Augustine Girls’ High School also fared well with four of its students achieving high grades. One student, Kabita Sookool tied for first place in the world in Chemistry and 10th in Biology. When Sunday Newsday contacted Kabita Sookool at her home she had not yet learned of her success. Stating that she had expected to attain all A’s in General Paper, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics, she noted however, that  she had never expected to do this well. “It was a lot of hard work,” she said. “I went to lessons and after lessons put in at least five hours of work every afternoon.” “Chemistry is my passion. So I did not have to put as much work into that as the other subjects.” Sookool credits her teachers at St Augustine Girls’ High School, namely her Chemistry teachers, Joanne Mahadeo and Mrs Beckles and her Biology teacher, Sharma Mahadeo, for her success, as well as her family whom she described as her “support base.” “I couldn’t have done it without them,” she stated. She also placed much emphasis on her spirituality, noting that she was extremely religious. Sookool intends to leave Trinidad soon for Sheffield Univer-sity in the United Kingdom, to pursue a medical degree.

South Trinidad was not to be outdone. Naparima College student Kevin Singh placed first in the world in Accounting and tied for third place in Mathematics. Sharon Khan of Naparima Girls’ High School attained first place in Chemistry, while Videsh Seereeram of Presentation College, Chaguanas tied for first place in Physics and fifth in Further Math.

THE TRINITY CROSS
Name	Status	For Distinguished and Outstanding Service to Trinidad and Tobago in the Sphere of:
The Honourable Mr Justice Satnarine Sharma	Chief Justice	Contribution as a Judge in the High Court and Court of Appeal to the Development of the law.
Professor Kenneth Julien	Professor Emeritus	Leadership Role in National Economic Development.
THE CHACONIA MEDAL (GOLD)
Name	Status	For Long and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Exodus Steel Orchestra	Steel Band	Culture
Madam Justice Jean Angela Permanand	Retired Judge	Law/Public Service
Mr Andre Tanker (Posthumous)	Musician	The Arts/Music
Mr Nazir Ahamad	Bsuinessman	Business
Ms Joy Maria Ann Caesar	Musical Director	Community Service
Mr Robert Bernard Riley	Chairman/CEO	National Economic Development
Mr Gaylord Trevor Meade Kelshall	Curator	Public Service
THE CHACONIA  MEDAL (SILVER)
Name	Status	For Long and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Mr Joseph Cromwell Assee (Posthumous)	Artist	Art/Culture
Mr Norvan Lloyd Fullerton	Programme Manager	Community Service
THE CHACONIA MEDAL (BRONZE)
Name	Status	For Long and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Tobago Academy of Performing Arts	Organisation	Culture
THE HUMMING BIRD MEDAL (GOLD)
Name	Status	For Loyal and Devoted Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Mr Wilton Jackson	Retired PR Officer	Sport
Mr George Richard Lycott Bovell	Swimmer	Sport
THE HUMMING BIRD MEDAL (SILVER)
Name	Status	For Loyal and Devoted Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Mrs Tara Kamla Goberdhan	Housewife	Community Service
Mrs Nora Florence Franco	Housewife	Community Service
Mr Winston “Shadow” Bailey	Calypsonian	Music
Mr Harry Harlal Mahabal	Retired Materials Manager	Sport
Mr Robert Roland Mc Kenna	Retired Professional Golfer	Sport
Mrs Basmath Indra Gopie	Patient Care Assistant	Gallantry
Mr Heeralal Ramkissoon	Firefighter	Gallantry
Mr Kerston Brenton Manswell	Boxer	Sport
Mr Ramdeen Ramjattan (John Agitation)	Social Worker/Comedian	Entertainment
Mr Jean Bertie Talma	Airline Pilot	Community Service
Mr Wayne Desmond Crooks	Airline Pilot	Community Service
Mrs Bernice Verona Jeffers	Pharmacist	Community Service
Colonel Edison Norman Isaac	Commandant	Youth Development/
	of the Cadet Force	Public Service
THE PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL OF MERIT (GOLD)
Name	Status	For Outstanding and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Mr Winston Borrell	Manager	Tourism
Mr Hart Theodore Edwards	Retired Permanent Secretary	Public Service
Mr Frank Owen Abdulah	Retired Diplomat	Public Service
THE PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL OF MERIT (SILVER)
Name	Status	For Outstanding and Meritorious Service to Trinidad and Tobago In the Sphere of:
Mr Cecil Herman Valentine Rogers	Marketing Consultant	Public Service/Culture
Mr John Gladstone Cupid	Retired Community Relations Officer	Culture
Mr Cyril Lloyd “Baba” Blanchfield (Posthumous)	Permanent Secretary	Public Service
Mrs Ethelwyn Veronica Celestain	Retired Librarian	Public Service
Mr Edward Hernandez	Curator	Public Service
Mr Deoraj Seunarine	Retired Principal/Commissioner of Affidavits	Public Service
Mrs Shireen Dewan-Mc Ken	Housewife	Public Service