Walters, who was instrumental in Sunday’s win for the Red Force Divas against Barbados in the Regional Super50 final in St Vincent, again produced a match-winning performance.

She registered an unbeaten 84 and later captured three wickets for 12 runs as the South/Central team restricted North-East to 96 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs.

Walters and national junior captain Reniece Boyce had earlier shared a solid 51-run first wicket partnership before Boyce was run out for 18 via the combination of Aliyah Joseph and Karishma Ramharack who dislodged the bails. Playing before an appreciative crowd, Walters batted right through the innings as South/ Central amassed 127 for five in 20 overs.

She stroked eight fours in her entertaining innings. Ramharack emerged as North/ East’s leading bowler with two wickets for 14 runs off four overs while skipper Anisa Mohammed took one for 29 from four overs.

North/East were 52 for two in 9.2 overs in their reply but spintwins Kamara Ragoobar and Walters combined to wrest the initiative for their team and prised out three wickets each.

Ragoobar, bowling the leg-spin variety, claimed three for 18 from four overs while Walters, bowling offspin, enhanced her reputation as a dependable all-rounder by taking three wickets for 12 runs over her four overs.

Persad-Bissessar told residents of Barrackpore, WASA bills and other utility bills would go up as a result of the property tax now being imposed by the PNM-led government.

She demonstrated what people should do when they receive the property tax form at UNC’s Monday Night Forum held at Rochard Douglas Presbyterian Primary School, by tearing it to pieces.

Persad-Bissessar said the youth of this country are suffering.

She said, “We built a south campus of UWI, so that the people from South will not have to go up to St Augustine for higher education.

But the PNM government refused to open this. Instead, you have to go up to St Augustine and pay big rent money for accommodation in order for you to get your degrees,” she said adding that the property tax will affect the amount paid for rental units as now this type of accommodation will cost more.

Two of the three survivors were present yesterday, when Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan announced commencement of the long awaited Sealots Pedestrian Overpass at the corner of Production Avenue and the Beetham Highway, a few metres away from where the accident occurred.

Haydee Paul and her two daughters Shakira, seven, and Akasha, eight, were killed when they were struck by a car driver by a policeman as they tried to cross the Beetham Highway. Ryan Rampersad, Amanda Lall and Abigail Assing were also knocked down by the policeman’s car but survived, although they were badly injured. Rampersad is now wheelchair- bound.

Lall wept yesterday as she recalled how her children are now her primary caregivers since she has been unable to work ever since the accident. “My head hurts constantly because my skull was fractured and there was bleeding in the brain. I can’t walk for long distances.

In the small house where I live I can only move around to go to the toilet and the bath.

“My children have done enough for me. I can’t thank the Lord enough for them. They treat me as they would a baby. I want to walk again and be normal but I am in pain. I have steel pins in my arm and my leg,” she cried. Rampersad, who was 20 at the time of the accident and a father of two, said he wants motorists to drive with more care. Speaking with a constant slur, Rampersad said it is important for drivers to understand that speed kills.

He suffered frontal cranial injury which left him with a speech impediment and in a wheelchair.

The overpass is expected to be completed within five months and should cost about $10 million, according to Minister Sinanan.

Delivering the feature address, Sinanan said when he was first made minister, plans for the overpass were already there but there were some challenges with the land.

“I told them if they can’t sort out the land, go and start to dig and the owners of the land will come forward. No one came forward and this project should have been done a long time ago. I have to admit there is a lot of bureaucracy especially when you have to deal with different agencies. So when you get to the point where you get the break down like this, you feel like you have achieved something,” Sinanan said.

Dr e a d n o u g ht s compiled 121 for six in their allotted 20 overs and later restricted Munroe Road to 119 for nine to book their spot in last night’s final against Barrackpore United.

“Ma n – o f – t h e – Match” Junior Gibbs (24 not out) and Akiel Timothy (22 not out) featured in an unbroken 45-run seventh wicket partnership for Dreadnoughts that carried their team across the line. Devon Nelson (22) and David Pattia (23) had previously shared a 32-run second wicket stand and were the other main scorers for Dreadnoughts.

Nashwon Lutchman (four for 19), Teshawn Castro (one for 32) and Emilo Gopaul (one for 14) shared the wickets for Munroe Road whose batsmen later struggled to overhaul the total.

Akeem Alvarez (20), E. Veledium (16) and Derwin Christian (14) contributed to Munroe Road’s total which fell just short.

M. Richards (three for 24), Timothy (two for 18), Junior Gibbs (one for 20), Ashmeer Mohammed (one for 29) and B. Delarosa (one for 25) did the job for Dreadnoughts with the ball.

Barrackpore United had defeated Blended Sports Club in the other semi-final earlier on Monday.

In March, former Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar set May 2, as the date when the trials against two would begin.

Ayers-Caesar was appointed a High Court judge on April 12, but last week resigned after it was revealed she left behind a number of part-heard cases on her magisterial docket.

Since her resignation, Ayers-Caesar has not returned to the magistracy and there are mixed views as to whether she can now legally do so. In Alexander and Mires’ matters yesterday, Earle-Caddle informed attorneys representing both that she could not preside over their cases. She explained that Alexander was involved in a school mentoring project of which she is also involved.

“I believe it would be in the best interest of everyone that I recuse myself,” she said but informed attorneys she was ready to manage the case in keeping with the new Criminal Proceeding Rules recently adopted for cases in the magistrates’ and high courts.

After being informed that the prosecution led by senior State Prosecutors Angelica Teelucksingh- Ramoutar and Mauricia Joseph – that seven photographs, a police sketch and interview notes of the two police officers were disclosed to the defence. It was also disclosed that there were no medical reports for the alleged victim and the prosecution will be calling nine witnesses.

Teelucksingh-Ramoutar also indicated that the prosecution was recommending that the cases against the two are tried summarily and as a result, the charges were again read out to them. Both Alexander and Mires pleaded not guilty and opted to have their cases heard in the magistrates’ court.

Alexander is charged with assaulting Santa Cruz resident Christopher Charles in July of last year, causing him actual bodily harm. PC Sheldon Mires, is charged alongside Alexander with two similar offences arising out of the same incident. He is charged with assaulting Charles by way of beating him and also committing a common assault upon the alleged victim. The offences were alleged to have taken place in Santa Cruz.

The two were told to return to court on June 22 and their cases were transferred to the 4A Magistrates’ Court.

Grenada’s Minister of Culture and Cooperatives, Brenda Hood told Newsday that Spice Mas has seen a yearly increase of visitors to the annual festival by 30 to 25 percent.

The delegation was composed of Hood and the Grenada Tourism Authority’s (GTA), marketing manager, Francine Stewart, Delran Andrews, Marketing Executive for the Caribbean and Roger Augustine, Destination Experience Officer, Spice mas Corporation’s CEO Kirk Seetahal, chairman Jocelyn Sylvester Gairy and board member Cedric Mitchell.

During the three day visit, which ends today, a release said, “(the delegation) engaged travel agents, media and travellers about exciting developments in Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean. Trinidad is Pure Grenada’s largest source market in the Caribbean, therefore, the GTA is making a significant investment to promote the destination there.” The delegation also hosted two travel agent expos, one held yesterday and the other to be held today at Cara Suites Hotel and Conference Centre, Claxton Bay, to, “provide an opportunity for travel agents in the area to engage with the GTA and learn more about what the Spice Island of the Caribbean has to offer visitors from the twin-island nation.” Hood, in speaking with Newsday, said the, “We launched our Spice Mas in Grenada two weeks ago. Once you launch everything just goes on, week after week.” She added that events leading up to August 15 start as early as July 26.

Spice Mas was launched in TT on Monday at the Raddisson Hotel, Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

Hood said the Grenadian Government and its tourist board wanted to invite people from TT to visit its Carnival which she described as being very unique. “I know over the years we have had large numbers of Trinidadians and people from Tobago coming to the destination. Spice Mas is very unique. We have the traditional mas, the Shortknee, Wild Indian…

sometimes we bring in the traditional mas from Carriacou and it is called the Shakespeare Mas…” She said the Government’s overall vision for the festival was for it to be unique. “The vision is that we don’t want it to be the same like that that which goes on on the other islands.”

The bill in intended to introduce a system of traffic violations for certain breaches of the Act, to provide for the implementation of a red-light camera system, to introduce a demerit points system and a reform of the fixed penalty system and related matters. Together, Al Rawi said, these measures aim to reduce the backlog of cases in the magistracy and free it up to deal with case management and trials of more serious cases than ticketing offences.

The decriminalisation is not proposed for the serious offences such as causing death by dangerous driving, he said. The bill proposes 49 clauses and one schedule. Al Rawi said, it seeks to repeal the enforcement aspect of the Act. In the speeches of successive chief justices of the local judiciary, Al Rawi said, they have called for ridding the court of the multitude of ticket cases that clogs the courts but nothing has been done.

Chief Justice Ivor Archie in 2008, he said, has spoken consistently about it. The judiciary in its annual reports between 2011 and 2015, he said, showed that an average of 120,000 traffic matters alone were dealt with between 2011 and to 2015 for traffic matters.

They generated $171 million in revenue for the State. The compliance rate was 36 percent, which meant, he said, that 64 percent of matters that came to court occupied judicial time for nothing.

Between August 2010 – to July 2016, he said that 67,926 cases are outstanding with some of the matters being 11 years. Revenue generated for the period was $250 million. In terms of the demerit points system, which will see drivers losing points for infringements and reform of the fixed penalty system, Al Rawi said the new proposals will see better use of technology in the issuance of tickets, increase in revenue, better use of manpower and the elimination of fraud.

Though Al Rawi was upbeat about the provisions of the bill which he did not elaborate on, Opposition UNC Senator Wade Mark and Independent Senator Dhanayshar Mahabir said there were too contradictions, inconsistencies and unreasonableness in it. They questioned some of the high fines with Mark describing the bill as an “income generating bill.” Mark called on Government to send the bill to a Joint Select Committee and to consult with stakeholders for their opinions and recommendations.

On the other hand Mahabir said Government needs to “thoroughly review” the bill and present a cleaner bill to the Parliament.

Among Mahabir’s many concerns were “too many inconsistencies” in the demerits and penalties proposed.

For instance, he said, the fine for not wearing a seat belt is $1,000 and four demerit points while a motor cyclist who is more likely to die without a helmet in an accident is fined $450 for not wearing a helmet with two demerit points.

“I can’t see the logic in that,” he said. Instead of giving demerits to private cars for “making a hustle” and fining them, he suggested that TT do as other jurisdictions are doing and look at Uber and regulate it. “It is more dangerous making a hustle,” he said.

Speaking in the Senate, Khan stated, “It is too early to say but there are clear protocols in incidents like this.” However he added, “The oil spill originated from TT, we cannot deny that fact.” He explained that once clean up operations are concluded, “joint negotiations will take place as to what cost we will stand and what cost they will stand.” After reminding senators that on April 30, Venezuelan authorities said some of the oil reached the eastern coast of Venezuela in the vicinity of Guiria, Khan said the TT-Venezuela Bilateral oil spill plan was initiated by a diplomatic note from the Foreign and Caricom Affairs Ministry.

He explained that both countries are responsible for clean up operations on their respective sides of the maritime border. Against this background, Khan said the Venezuelans are in “full control” of clean up operations in Guiria.

He said TT and Petrotrin stand ready to assist if necessary.

Khan said a team comprising officials from his ministry, Petrotrin, the Environmental Management Authority and Coast Guard will be visiting the affected areas in Guiria either today or tomorrow, “to get first hand knowledge of the level of contamination existing there.” Khan said Petrotrin and other agencies are continuing remedial action on TT’s side of the border. The minister noted that asset integrity continues to be a major challenge for Petrotrin. He said Tank 70 was one of seven tanks at the Pointea- Pierre refinery that were supposed to be cleaned and inspected under a contract which Petrotrin entered into last year.

He said the contract is for a three year period and currently two tanks (180 and 183) are being cleaned. Khan said the idea was for this exercise to lead to an annual cleaning and inspecting of tanks, with remedial works being done if necessary

Natalie Yorke and Jason “Fridge” Seecharan did vocals while Dennis Smith played on pans.

Smith showed his versatility as he played songs like Feel So Good, Ole Time Days, Rockaway, La Vida Carnival and Caribbean Man.

When it was Yorke’s turn in the spotlight she thrilled with Rapture, Make it Easy on Yourself, Sweet Love and My Spirit is Music.

In the second half of the show Fridge took the stage and had the audience singing along with him as he performed My Girl, Easy, Celebration, Meh Lover and Black Man Feeling to Party.

Dil-e-Nadan’s frontline singer, Derrick Seales was in the cafe celebrating his birthday and was invited on stage to help perform Celebration.

Manickram’s attorney Richard Clarke-Wills expressed concern that despite the new Criminal Proceedings Rules, he is yet to receive a summary of the evidence against his client. “I thought a prosecutor would have been assigned,” Clarke-Wills said. He said it was like, ‘extracting blood from stone’, to get answers from the prosecution, adding it appears the new rules have made no difference.

Prosecutor Insp Winston Dillon said while he did not want pre-empt the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, he could say that statements were obtained from witnesses but are yet to be sworn to and the police file into the murder investigations is expected to be sent to the DPP by May 23.

In keeping with the new Criminal Proceedings Rules which mandates the defence to state its case from the outset, Clarke- Wills indicated that the case for the defence will be one of alibi.

The matter was adjourned to May 31.