The Dutch rider arrived in Tobago on Tuesday, September, 19, one week ahead of today’s start, but is yet to receive his luggage which included his racing bicycles.

He arrived early with the intention of getting some training in an attempt to familiarise himself with the terrain and the climate.

However, his plans fell flat as the Condor flight he travelled to the island on from his home country Holland, failed to deliver his luggage.

Van Der Zwet was one of several passengers on the flight who were similarly affected.

The PSL team rider said he has been unable to train for most of the time he has been on the island and got his first ride on Monday, as he borrowed a bicycle from a fellow rider.

Van Der Zwet said he is disappointed with the situation. He said he has been in contact with the Condor officials and was still hoping the luggage arrived by late yesterday evening in time for today’s opening.

The 30 year old is not happy with the lack of concern shown by local tourism officials.

An irate Van Der Zwet, on the eve of today’s racing, took some time off to relax and calm his nerves with a trip to the Buccoo Reef.

Several other local and foreign cyclists arrived in Tobago via ferry on Monday on a delayed sailing out of Port of Spain.

The T&T Express vessel was scheduled to leave at noon but did not depart until 2.30pm.

Several vehicles transporting race equipment were left in Trinidad as the vessel was overbooked. The vehicles were expected to arrive on the island later.

The 31st edition of the TICC will get underway today with the opening ceremony at 9am. Stage One of the four-stage race pedals off at 1.30pm. The Cycling Classic concludes on Sunday with the UCI 1.2 Tour of Tobago.

Over 200 competitors will battle for honours over five days of exciting competition.

Ten teams have registered so far for the Division One category (PSL, Pharmaco, Raiders, Heatwave, Embrace The World, RC Schwalben, Econo, PSL-Jet Blue, Veloclub Ratisbona, St Vincent and the Grenadines).

Riders from the 21 registered local clubs (Arima Wheelers, Breakaway, Central Spokes, Heatwave, Hummingbird, Knight, Madonna Wheelers, Mountain Bikes Kings, Petrotrin, Pheonix, Rigtech Sonics, Southampton Wheelers, Southclaine, DPS, PSL, Raiders (formerly Foundation), SR , Wood and The Braves) will also be in action. Registration closes today at 8am.

Race One of the Four Stage race is scheduled to begin in front of the Shirvan Mall, Shirvan Road at 1.30pm.

Division One riders will do battle over 10 laps (120km) while the Division Two competitors will vie for honours over five laps (60km).

After the Shirvan Road start, the riders will turn left unto Claude Noel Highway, left at roundabout at Auchenskeoch, left at Buccoo Junction unto Shirvan Road and finish at the Shirvan Mall.

The only team among the 16 competitors with a 100-per cent record, Shiva Boys will make the drive from Penal to Bourg Mulatresse to oppose fifth-placed San Juan North.

Shiva Boys, the 2016 Premier Division winners, and Presentation San Fernando have yet to taste defeat this season. But, if Shiva Boys are beaten today, then Presentation can claim first place if they get past arch-rivals Naparima at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella.

Fatima have climbed up to fourth spot, on the basis of three straight wins.

They can continue their fine form of late when they host the struggling Trinity Moka at the Fatima Ground in Mucurapo.

Third-placed Fyzabad will also aim to keep pace with the top two when they visit St Augustine.

Also on today’s schedule, St Benedict’s will host Signal Hill at Debe, QRC will travel to Trincity to face Trinity East, St Anthony’s will entertain Speyside at Westmoorings and St Mary’s will meet Carapichaima East at the CIC Ground in St Clair.

Today’s matches will all begin at 3.40 pm.

In related news, the League has announced that a pair of matches will be staged on Monday – St Mary’s versus St Augustine at the CIC Ground and St Anthony’s versus Fyzabad at Westmoorings.

The St Mary’s-St Augustine game (originally carded for September 9) and the St Anthony’s- Fyzabad meeting (originally set for Saturday last) were postponed due to waterlogged outfields.

Additionally, the Round 12 fixtures have been pushed back by 24 hours to October 19, due to the observance of the Divali holiday.

Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh made this revelation yesterday during a tour of the site for the new hospital which will be on 16 acres of land at the corner of Techier and the Point Fortin Main Road. He said the hospital’s steel infrastructure was 100 percent complete and the building is 40 percent complete overall.

He said the new 100-bed hospital will be a dedicated secondary health care facility and will offer services in general medicine, general surgery, burns, psychiatry, paediatric/adolescence, high dependency and accident and emergency.

There are three types of health care facilities: primary, secondary and tertiary, with primary health care dealing with accident and emergency cases and outpatient clinics. Secondary care includes warding a patient at hospital. Tertiary care institutions offer more advanced procedures such as heart surgery.

Deyalsingh said the old Point Fortin District hospital, which has 39 beds, would be rehabilitated to accommodate long-termcare patients as well as social cases from the San Fernando General Hospital.

Deyalsingh said staffing would pose some challenges including doctors, consultants and registrars but he has already begun to address the problem and has recommended refurbishment of two bungalows at the old hospital to accommodate the doctors. On the Couva Children’s Hospital, Deyalsingh said its integration into the network of health institutions had not yet been decided.

“Once we decide how we are going to integrate Couva, then we will start…we have already started: how we will integrate staffing there and what type of staffing we will need depending on the model of usage of that facility,” he said.

Asked whether patients may have to pay for their health care, given the economic situation, Deyalsingh said: “It is never the policy to have patients pay for services.” The contractor for the new Hospital is the Austrian firm VAMED GmbH & Co KG.

Given the level of crime, criminality, youth disillusionment and cynicism about the future among large segments of the society, a discerning mind may be prompted to acknowledge this reality as an outcome of an outdated education/human development model.

Notwithstanding the amount of money we have been allocating to education over the last four decades, the percentage of young minds that fail the system remains relatively unchanged. The numbers of young people who reject the school system still remain alarmingly high.

Inadvertently, these are people who come from the lower socio- economic strata, who accept that the cards are stacked against them. They see no hope of success in a high-stakes arrangement designed to exclude. Disillusionment sets into their minds from an early age. This soon turns to total rejection, for they recognise that while they are in school, education is out of their reach.

While the provision of such opportunity comes at significant cost to the State, one wonders at the wisdom of continuing to provide such opportunity without addressing the disadvantaged status of large segments of the student population.

Large segments of the society have lost faith in education as a vehicle for upward social mobility and enhanced well-being. The massive expansion of access to educational opportunity has not yielded the results we expected from this investment.

Many young people question the wisdom of investing in high-stakes educational pursuits and map out alternative pathways to economic and social success.

The prospect of a career in criminality is enhanced by an inefficient, dysfunctional judicial and legal system which has essentially been telling them “crime pays;” it’s quick, easy, and yields high returns.

Why then bother with an education system that would ultimately label them as failures rather than successes? We also know that despite the economic advances made by our country, there is also a widening gap between the rich and poor owing to the unequal distribution of wealth.

This inequity is reflected in our school system and manifests itself in the large number of people who fail the system annually, inadvertently perpetuating inequality. Criminals are also getting younger.

So as the minister and the country ponder on educational investment, the following questions must be addressed. How can the link between education and employment be strengthened? How can the economic and social value of education and training be enhanced in the current context? How can the relevance of education, particularly at the secondary level, be enhanced to make it more responsive to the lives of all young people and to their prospects for employment? Are existing measures sufficient? Can we continue to put people through 12 years of schooling and then certify the majority of them as failures? The quickening pace of scientific and technological development globally has made it extremely difficult to forecast the emergence of new professions and associated skill needs. In some countries this has prompted efforts to establish more responsive education and professional skills development that include greater diversification and flexibility.

This facilitates the adaptation of competencies to rapidly changing needs. It also ensures that individuals are more resilient and can develop and apply career adaptive competencies more effectively. Economic austerity is a terrible thing to waste. Economic prudence in education must be guided by the new global order and our vision for sustainable prosperity.

Though each segment of the creative sector faces unique challenges, one conclusion can be drawn from the Inter American Development Bank (IDB) discussion that took place at the Hyatt Regency in Port-of-Spain.

It is time to stop paying lip service.

Let us build our creative industry.

In a time when diversification is the key principle that should be shaping the future economy, this is an area that must be harnessed.

It is potentially a source of great revenue and employment.

For this to happen, however, the state and private sector – especially banks – must be willing to invest. No doubt agencies like the IDB can help redefine our economic approach to the creative industry.

But bolstering the arts economy is not just a matter of capital.

It is also about the efficient use of resources. One key criticism levied by filmmaker Yao Ramesar relates to our untapped talent pool.

Ramesar argued too much of the local creative sector exists in cliques of friends – largely based on geography and class – to the exclusion of others.

Saying film-making is not the exclusive preserve of the young, he said one of Trinidad and Tobago’s current emerging film-makers is a retired public servant.

“If you want to get the best film and stories that are out there, you’ve got to spread your net wide,” he said. Yet, it is one thing to confront the exclusivity of an industry, it is another to identify and nurture talent. Gains in the sector are rendered transient if both issues are not addressed.

Though the arts clearly have a role to play in offering employment and providing GDP, art itself cannot be limited to mercenary functions. Art is inherently a social thing. It can help open doors for people with special needs, giving them opportunities to learn and assert their place in society. And it is an agent of renewal, relief and change.

Animation pioneer Camille Selvon Abraham noted animation is not only potentially a new industry but also a social tool, helping children with special needs, like those who are autistic.

No matter our views as to its function, we must stop seeing arts and culture as secondary to development. It is pivotal.

This is why it is also essential that as a society we not only hail talent but also require artists to think about the business aspect of things that is required to sustain creative industries.

Costa Rica Ambassador LillyEdgerton Picado also said TT’s abundance of talent is mind-blowing but creative personalities must also face up to the realities of business, such as crafting a business plan and properly pitching the price of their works.

Phase II pannist Yohan Chuckaree spoke of the irony that few know where to buy a steel pan, a sign that we have more to do when it comes to distribution of the national instrument. At the same time, technology is making it possible to market steel pan music to the recording industry all over the world.

Sunday’s panel discussion coincided with the TT Film Festival which, though still in infancy, points us in the right direction.

We cannot afford to approach the arts sector with short-sighted plans. Through sustained development initiatives, we must build it. And make it stronger.

The deceased has been identified as Jason Thomas, from Kingston Avenue, off La Canoe Road, Santa Cruz. Police have not yet released the names of the other three injured men.

Police say minutes after 3 pm yesterday, Thomas was standing outside his house, liming with a group of men.

That was when unknown gunmen, armed with rapid fire weapons approached the group and opened fire.

The four men were shot multiple times, and the gunmen escaped on Alfred Street, which is nearby.

They were taken to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital, where Thomas died from his wounds.

The other three men are said to be in a critical condition at hospital.

Police are now searching for four suspects in relation to the shooting.

Police sources said yesterday that several bullet casings from multiple firearms were collected by crime scene investigators.

In addition, three vans, eight trucks, four cars and containers were also destroyed in the blaze.

The loss of the goods is sure to have an effect on the nation’s supermarkets, but in an interview with managing director of JMH, Christopher James, Newsday was told that the fire could have been avoided if fire services were better equipped.

Newsday interviewed James yesterday as he watched buildings which had been in operation since 1978, burn to the ground.

“Had there been 20 minutes of steady water for the fire-fighters, this fire would have been contained; but the fire trucks had to go back and forth for water. When we closed up last Friday, we left everything as normal. Nothing was put in a different place, everything was normal.” James told Newsday that he received a call from a fellow tenant at the Industrial Estate at about 8.30 pm, telling him that his warehouse was on fire. The tenant said he noticed smoke coming out of the building at about 8 pm and alerted fire services.

By the time he got to the warehouses, one of the four was already gutted and fire was spreading to the second. Fire services tried to gain access to the warehouse but experienced difficulty. By 11 pm, all the buildings were consumed by fire.

James said supermarket shelves are expected to be scarce of the vital food items because JMH is a major supplier to groceries.

“Close to 50 percent of the rice that is supplied to supermarkets comes from our company,” said James “We still have goods coming from off the port, but that may only last a short time.” James added that most distributors collected goods on Friday last, in anticipation of the long weekend, and the company has goods at the port and more coming in the next couple of weeks. However, the residual goods may not be enough to supply the nation in the manner it is accustomed to. James and the rest of the executive of JMH now have to find the means to rebuild as fast as possible. Newsday was told the displaced staff was asked to meet at the warehouse to discuss what could be done for them.

James also noted that some of the goods, and vehicles were insured, but the returns would not be nearly enough to cover the cost of rebuilding and restocking the warehouses. Newsday attempted to reach the Supermarkets Association of Trinidad and Tobago, but calls to several members went unanswered. Fire prevention services are now trying to ascertain the cause of the fire.

Maughn, who have captured the national title a whopping 13 times, is hoping to accumulate at least $25,000, which will cover the cost of his airfare and accommodation.

He is hopeful that he can get support from the Ministry of Sport, the corporate sector as well as members of the public, in his quest to put Trinidad and Tobago on the global stage.

For more information, call 352- 8054, 684-9299 or 297-7407.

In what villagers described as a freak storm at about 1 pm on Sunday, a large tree at Granville Beach, Cedros, crashed into him and a parked Nissan AD wagon.

On impact, Grannum fell to ground and lost consciousness.

A woman from Gasparillo, was trapped in the driver’s seat and villagers had to rescue her. The wagon almost split in two, with its windscreen smashed onto the bonnet and both front doors damaged.

Cedros police rushed Grannum, who was then unidentified, to the Point Fortin Area Hospital.

Several hours later, doctors pronounced him dead. An ambulance subsequently transported the injured woman to the hospital however, she was treated and discharged

Second place went to True Gains Ultimate from El Dorado with Penal’s Metronomes Elite taking the third place spot. The keenly contested event saw participation from some of the country’s top boot camps and gyms throughout Trinidad and Tobago.

The 5km run was also opened to public and called “Hot Sun Run Charity 5km Walk/Run” and was done in partnership with the Diabetes Association of Trinidad and Tobago, Rotaract Club of Point Fortin and Progressive Youths. The aim was to raise awareness and create a sense of urgency about the increased prevalence of type two diabetes in the county. The race was won by Shurlan Williams (Trinidad and Tobago Road Runners Club) while Ifuela Gooding (Unattached) took the top female spot.

SEVEN Fitness Challenge was organised by Rogue Adventures and sponsored by Unipet, Coors Light, Atlantic GNC, Boost, Hull Support Services, B’s Soup Den and Guapo D and D Enterprises.

Top SEVEN Teams
1. Spartans, Point Fortin
2. True Gainz Ultimate, El Dorado
3. Metronomes Elite, Penal
4. All In Fitness, Deigo Martin
5. Dos Fit 3, Tobago
6. Dos Fit 2, Tobago
7. Hndrx Fitness, San Fernando