Dredging of St. John`s Harbour begins
Transcription
Dredging of St. John`s Harbour begins
PROMISE MADE, Wednesday 18th February 2015 A n t i g u a a n d B a r b u d a Vol.4 No.6 $2.00 PROMISE KEPT Dredging of St. John’s Harbour begins Story on Page 8 Prime Minister Hon. Gaston Browne, right, and Chinese Ambassador, Ren Gongping, cut the ribbon on the gangway of the specialized vessel that is carrying out the dredging of the St. John’s Harbour, yesterday. 2 Wednesday 18th February 2015 caribtimes.com PM requests hold on LIAT decision Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has written to his colleague Dr Ralph Gonsalves in his capacity as Chairman of LIAT Shareholders, requesting that “no further action be taken with regard to any decisions made at the meeting of Shareholders’ of LIAT in Barbados on February 13th 2015” until his Cabinet has had the opportunity to discuss the matter. At the meeting of the LIAT shareholder-governments decisions were announced about disposition of the airline’s fleet of planes and the laying-off of some 160 workers. Antigua and Barbuda is the second largest shareholder in LIAT at the present time and recently injected several million dollars in to the airline. Prime Minister Browne was unable to attend the meeting at which the Heads of Government of the two other largest shareholder governments were present. Those leaders were Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Freundel Stuart of Barbados. Antigua and Barbuda’s Aviation Minister, Robin Yearwood, attended the Barbados meeting whose decisions would have to be referred to shareholder governments for agreement and ratification. In his letter to the Chairman of the LIAT Shareholders group, Prime Min- ister Browne stated: “ You will appreciate that the government of Antigua and Barbuda has made – and continues to make - a heavy investment in LIAT, and there are consequence for the economy and the well-being of the people of Antigua and Barbuda arising from decisions pertaining to the airline”. It is in this connection that Prime Minister Browne has written to his colleague, Prime Minister Gonsalves, to ensure that no action is taken on the decision arising out of the Shareholders’ meeting of February 13th until the Antigua and Barbuda Cabinet “has garnered all the relevant information and discussed the matter”. Housing project gets financial boost The government of Mexico is committed to helping the Antigua and Barbuda implement its urban renewal housing project. According to Prime Minister, Hon. Gaston Browne, Mexico has agreed to loan of US$40-million as well as a grant of US$5 for the project. PM Browne says Antigua and Barbuda is the first Eastern Caribbean country to get this level of assistance from the Mexican Government. The loan is an interest-free facility from the Mexican government to be repaid over a 40-year period. There is also an arrangement that repayment will start after the first ten years has expired. PM Browne made the announcement at a formal press announcement of the agreement on Tuesday. In attendance was a delegation from the Mexican embassy to the Eastern Caribbean, headed by Ambassador Manuel Lopez Moreno. He says the money will assist the government undertake its housing project from the original 500-homes to 2-thousand houses. The Prime Minister says the project has both and social and economic benefits as among other things it will provide jobs. The press briefing was addressed by other representatives of the Antigua and Barbuda government following which both parties journey to the construction site at Dredge Bay where the model houses are under construction. There the Mexican officials were shown the architectural drawing and the site plan for the Dredge Bay construction. The delegation also met briefly with members of the National Housing Development and Urban Renewal Company Board. PM Browne then es- corted Ambassador Moreno on a tour of the building site to see actual work being done on the first three-bedroom model house. The PM also took the Mexican delegation on an unplanned visit to the Point where they walked through the infamous Boobie Alley to see the level of houses in the country. He says he wants to see an end to this type of houses. caribtimes.com Wednesday 18th February 2015 3 AUA rallies behind student in time of bereavement after tragic shooting American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine is rallying behind its student, Yousef Abu-Salha, who lost three family members in a tragic shooting in North Carolina on Tuesday, February 10th, 2015. Deceased are Yousef’s brother in-law Deah Barakat, 23; his sisters, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha (Barakat’s wife), 21; Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, in what is believed to be a killing linked to their Muslim beliefs. Barakat was a second-year dental student at the University of North Carolina, where his wife was planning to begin her dental studies in the fall. Her sister was a student at North Carolina State University. On Friday, the university hosted a memorial service on its compound in support of their colleague’s family. Dean of AUA, Dr Robert Mallin, said the student body and faculty are stricken with sadness. “We think of ourselves as an extended family here and when tragedy befalls one of us it befalls all of us,” Dr Mallin said. He said given the unique nature of the school, where students come from across the world come to be educated, consequently resulting in a diverse student population, the school must operate as “a close unit”. Dr Mallin said, “We often read in the papers about whether Muslim lives matter, or whether police officers lives matter, or whether black lives matter and my reaction and the reaction of those around me is all lives matter… we are one unit in- terested in helping people in their lives and health.” He said medical practitioners are taught to take care of others, in spite of their race, religion creed or any other factor. The Dean added, “We don’t have the luxury of striking back or being hateful or being particularly angry.” Yousef Abu-Salha, who is described as an intellectually gifted and kind student, has since left Antigua to be with his family. North Carolina Police said, on Wednesday, they believed the crime stemmed from an ongoing dispute over parking. Craig Stephen Hicks, who turned himself in for the crime was charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths which took place on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill. Hicks and the victims were neighbors. “Our investigators are exploring what could have motivated Mr Hicks to commit such a senseless and tragic act,” said Chief Chris Blue of the Chapel Hill police department. Drug bust at airport A 32-year-old Guyanese national was due to appear before the court Tuesday charged with Possession of Cocaine, Possession with intent to supply and Importation of Cocaine. Humbert Mortimer Pilgrim of Guyana was nabbed at the V.C Bird International Airport over the weekend with 1 kilo 706 Grams of cocaine. Narcotics Officers, who were on duty at the airport conducted a search on Pilgrim’s suitcase and discovered the Cocaine hidden inside a false compartment. He was taken into custody and charged. A 46 yrs old Guyanese national residing in Antigua was also arrested by the police and is assisting them further in their investigations. Pilgrim arrived in Antigua on Caribbean Airlines Flight #458 around 10:30 am on Sunday from Georgetown Guyana via Trinidad. The Drugs carries an estimated street value of $59,881. 4 caribtimes.com Wednesday 18th February 2015 PM impressed with progress at new V.C. Bird International Airport Terminal ST. JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda – Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda the Hon. Gaston Browne has expressed satisfaction with the progress being made in construction of the new terminal at the V.C. Bird International Airport. During a tour of the facility on Monday, which included Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister the Hon. Charles Fernandez, China’s Ambassador to Antigua and Barbuda His Excellency Mr. Ren Gongping, members of the Board of Directors and Manage- ment of the Antigua and Barbuda Airport Authority and consultants; Prime Minister Browne said that upon completion of construction, the V.C. Bird International Airport will undoubtedly be the most advanced airport in the region. “With the most sophisticated security and baggage control systems in the Americas, our airport once opened within the next three months, will be on par with any international airports in North America and Europe. We have increased the baggage carousels to five and will introduce four jet bridges; the first in the sub-region,” said PM Browne. He commended the team from the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation CCECC and local workers for the excellent work done so far and outlined that all of Antigua and Barbuda will be extremely proud of the finished product. The facility will concont’d on pg 5 Wednesday 18th February 2015 cont’d from pg 4 sist of fourteen departure gates, modern security screening facilities, up-todate passenger processing and monitoring facilities and a CCTV Security System. The new terminal will also contain forty-six check-in counters, fifteen self-check in kiosks, a mini food court, multiple VIP lounges, Bank, retail stores, restaurants and other facilities. The Ground floor area will consist of over 104 seats, while the first floor airside will consist of seven hundred and fifty seats and twelve immigration desks. caribtimes.com 5 6 caribtimes.com Wednesday 18th February 2015 LIAT key to lifting travel in region The performance of tourism in the Caribbean in 2014 was in the spotlight last week. First there was the news conference which the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) held to review the industry across CTO member states. Then last Friday there was a board meeting of LIAT, which in itself is very integral to tourism in the majority of CTO member states. Most of the the regional destinations enjoyed increased visitor arrivals from the traditional source markets, therefore confirming that the overall industry continues to rebound from the crisis which started in 2008 and which has lingered on for many years since then. Tourism remains the lifeblood of many of these Eastern Caribbean islands and having been hit hard by a falloff in the numbers in the immediate post2008 period, these destinations will want to ensure that the upturn continues. However, a nagging issue which requires urgent attention is that of intra-regional air travel. The CTO’s Secretary General, Hugh Riley said that intra-regional travel remains an issue to be addressed. According to him, while the intra-regional market performed reasonably well in 2014, it was still a long way from where the region would like. Barbados is one of those destinations which reported falling Caribbean arrivals while Mr. Riley said that intra-regional travel to the OECS remained depressed in 2014. It is in this context that the LIAT board meeting has to be seen. Some destinations in the Caribbean have continued to witness a slowdown in arrivals from the region. Some commentators have put this down to a case of the increasing cost of air travel, which has deterred many a traveller from taking a trip to another island. How to tackle this issue cont’d on pg 7 Wednesday 18th February 2015 caribtimes.com 7 cont’d from pg 6 remains the key consideration for all and sundry. Reports from that Board meeting indicated that LIAT is spending more than it earns and that while the airline has reduced the number of aircraft in service, staff complement remained unchanged while accounting for 27 per cent of the company’s earned revenues. In view of the airline’s financial situation, what seems to be required is a way to get greater efficiencies within LIAT. Since it is widely accepted that lower operating costs has to be one of the aims of those managing LIAT, then this has to be tackled with greater urgency. This has always been a concern for those managing the island-hopping airline, which seems to service every destination within the island chain. One report coming out of the meeting is that there are plans to have staff rationalisation within the airline. They have also started to replace some of the ageing aircraft and this again offers hope that a more modern fleet of planes will assist in lower costs. The question of getting more Caribbean countries to come on board the airline, a subject raised repeatedly by LIAT officials, can no longer be ignored. It has been said quite often that some countries which benefit from services rendered by Notice from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) All Residential Property Owners (to include land and or house) who pay off their 2015 property tax citation by June 30th, 2015 will get all their arrears waived or wiped off.All ABST Registrants who are in arrears are asked to pay the amount or make arrangements to pay the amount by March 31st 2015 and get all penalty and interest waived. LIAT have ignored calls for them to be involved as shareholders in the airline. At one point there were threats to withhold services to those destinations. Tourism as was stated earlier is the lifeblood of many Caribbean islands. If LIAT’s costs are to be reduced then the measures spoken of above must be considered to help sort out the problems of declining intra-regional travel. (Reprinted from the Barbados Advocate) 8 caribtimes.com Wednesday 18th February 2015 Promise Made, Promise Kept: Dred The long-awaited sweeping of the St John’s Harbour is now in progress. Work on what is generally called ‘maintenance dredging’ started Tuesday afternoon…shortly after Prime Minister Hon. Gaston Browne and Chinese Ambassador, Ren Gongping, cut the ribbon on the gangway of the specialized vessel that is carrying out the work. Prime Minister Browne said the dredging of the St John’s harbor was a top priority for his government almost from the day it was elected to office last year June. He said on taking over the reins of government, his administration was presented with a situation where the leading cruise liners were threatening to reduce calls at Antigua if the sweeping did not take place. According to Browne, the former administration was appraised of the situation, but after several years of attempts, it was not able to get the work done. In contrast, he said his administration has been able to have the work commenced just little more than eight months after assuming office. “If we had not acted quickly, we were faced with a possible reduction in cruise passengers of twenty-five percent. Instead we will see an increase in the number of cruise passengers, estimated at over 30 percent,” Browne stated. The Prime Minister said he is thankful that the people of Antigua and Barbuda reposed their trust in both he and his administration, and that his government has reciprocated by performing and delivering on its campaign pledges. The Chinese stateowned company, CCECC, is funding the sweeping exercise at a cost of US$4 million. The contract to carry out the exercise was awarded to a Trinidad and Tobago company. Tourism Minister, Asot Michael, was on hand for the ribbon cutting, and he too joined Prime Minister Browne is welcoming the start of the dredging exercise. He said as Minister responsible for Tourism, he headed a special Cabinet committee established to ensure that the dredging work was done and that Antigua and Barbuda did not lose any cruise ship calls be- cause of problems relating to the depth of the harbor. The maintenance dredging is slated to take a month for completion. Wednesday 18th February 2015 caribtimes.com 9 dging of St. John’s Harbour begins 10 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m Wednesday 18th February 2015 Local finalist in US plus-size competition St. John’s, Antigua – Drag racer and plus-size model Renée Edwards-Ambrose will travel this weekend to Atlanta Georgia, from 20-22 February, to participate in the first ever Curvy Idol Competition Finale. Renée was voted in to the top ten from a field of 94 women from around the world during the online voting round back in November. She is the only one of the ten finalists that hails from the Caribbean and is a fan favourite to win the inaugural competition. Curvy Idol is an initiative of Project Curve Appeal (PCA), an international membership based organisation. This phenomenal movement was launched in Atlanta back in 2008 and celebrates, empowers and unites sophisticated, classy, fabulous, curvy, and confident females. The main mission of PCA is to correct the distorted perception of curvy females around the world while uniting, empowering and educating them to celebrate, embrace and enhance their personal image, fashion and inner beauty. Renée is the founder, and also the driver, of the Caribbean’s only all-female drag racing team Lady Horsepower Farm (LHPF), and presently holds the title of Miss Carnival Plus Model International. The confident 28 year old is a busy entrepreneur who continues to make a name for herself regionally and internationally as a drag racer and plus size model. Renée will be chaperoned by 2008 Queen of Carnival winner Derri-Ann Browne, who came on board in early 2014 to sponsor the drag racer’s plus-size modeling career through her boutique The District. The Curvy Idol finalists’ weekend of activities will include a welcome luncheon and photo-shoot, while the final leg of the competition will be held on Saturday at 3:00 pm EST at the Hilton Garden Inn where the ladies will be judged by plus-size industry insiders on their image, professionalism, walk, character and community work. The winner of the competi- tion will be announced on Sunday and will receive prizes worth over USD$5,000 that include cover model for an issue of Curve Appeal Culture Mag. Curvy Idol is also a fundraiser for the Curvy Girls and Future Leaders Summer Camp program that empowers middle school and high school curvy girls to live healthy, be fashionable and to not give in to peer pressure. On her return from Atlanta, Renée will begin preparing for regional drag racing events and will also take up her role as one of the Women of Esteem Foundation 2015 Go Girl Ambassadors. Wednesday 18th February 2015 caribtimes.com 11 History and culture in focus during Antigua Barbuda History Month The entities, one governmental and the other non-government, are collaborating to host the first ever Antigua Barbuda History Month. The activities started this week and run to the end of the month. The Culture Development Division and the Precision Centre are combining efforts to undertake the events. Five villagers have been identified for special attention during this inaugural staging of the event. The activities kicked off in Old Road during the week. Among the activities was an exhibition at the Old Road Primary School which featured the history, culture and norms of the village from the 1600s. The School population was treated to the showing of the Documentary on the Village as compiled by Precision Centre as part of its Antiguanization Project through the eyes of members of the Community. In the evening, there was a special presentation which was attended by over 80 villagers, the highlight of which was a ‘flim’ show which included the village documentary and a dramatic presentation by villagers. Queen Iveena also contributed the evening’s event with a musical presentation ‘Reparations’. The audience heard brief remarks from Minister Chet Greene who addressed the value of the event to rekindling the Cultural Spirit of the Nation and building a culture of excellence and from Pastor Wingrove Spencer of Precision Center who spoke on the importance of knowing the country’s history in particular the values that guided the nation’s forefathers. Tuesday night, the Antigua Barbuda History Month project rolled into Swetes at the Irene B Williams School. Similarly, there was an exhibit at the School from 10am - 5pm, followed by the ‘flim’show on Swetes at 7:00pm. 12 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m Wednesday 18th February 2015 Tuesday’s Sudoku Solution SUDOKU C R O S S WO R D Across 1. Misplaces 6. Hand over 10. Queries 14. Similar 15. Eve’s guy 16. IX 17. Monotonous 19. Birch or spruce 20. Roberto’s “two” 21. Discourage 22. Pile 23. Prophets 25. Changes for the better 27. Swipes 30. ____ chowder 31. Midwest airport 32. Insulting 34. River barrier 37. Fundamental 38. Little one 39. Not fresh 41. Pose 42. Visibly upset 44. Singing voice 45. Male cats 46. Invent 47. Soak up 50. Ohio city 52. Raise 53. ____ acid (nutrient) 55. Bottle top 58. Evils 59. Change a room’s design 62. As well 63. Mirth 64. Pigment 65. Oceans 66. Chances 67. Entice Down 1. Shortening 2. Butter alternative 3. Drinks daintily 4. Get by 5. Put down 6. Provide food 7. Revises copy 8. Writer ____ Barry 9. Green gem 10. Song of praise 11. Warning horn 12. Work with dough 13. Oozes 18. March date 23. Mumbai dress 24. Voter 26. Conductor’s title 27. Weeps convulsively 28. Bangkok native 29. Toward the sunrise 30. Boston, e.g. 32. RR stops 33. Neither’s companion 34. ____ Carvey of “Wayne’s World” 35. Very much (2 wds.) 36. Nothing more than 40. Young adult 43. Trade restriction 45. Upper bodies 46. Gator’s cousin 47. Diva’s offerings 48. Southern beauty 49. Chip dip 50. Assisted 51. Leg joints 54. Join together 55. Quiet 56. Upon 57. Cheeky 60. Halloween mo. 61. Caviar Wednesday 18th February 2015 caribtimes.com 13 DEAR LADY X HOROSCOPE I have been married to my husband for 10 years. Prior to that, we dated for seven. (We met when we were teenagers.) My problem is, my mother-in-law still misspells my name, which is Sara. After all these years, she still adds an “h” to the end of my name, regardless of how many times my husband has pointed out the correct spelling. I don’t know why this is an issue, because we send her cards on all the holidays, her birthday, etc., with my name spelled correctly. How should I ap- proach this with her? -SIMPLY SARA DEAR SIMPLY SARA: If the two of you get along well, just smile and ask her why she can’t get the spelling of your name right. Then listen. However, if there is tension in your relationship, recognize that this may be a form of passive aggression, that confronting her will make her defensive, and she will find some other way to needle you. P.S. Another thought. Tell her you’ve changed the spelling of your name to “Sarah” and she may drop the “h”! Tuesday’s Crossword Solution ARIES (March 21-April 19). You recognize people who are just trying to get through a situation. You’ve felt like those people before, so let them know that they are not alone. You are, at heart, a soldier, and you will soldier on. TAURUS (April 20-May 20). Express the love in your heart so others can really feel it. Then your relationships will be uplifting, surprising and fulfilling, and you will finally achieve what you’ve long been working toward. GEMINI (May 21-June 21). The eruption of ideas that come to you may not be socially or politically correct, but don’t let that stop you from writing down what goes through your head. What simmers under the surface needs release. LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Some say that the sleep that comes after you’ve hit the “snooze” on your alarm is the best sleep in the world. That’s because it’s borrowed. There’s something you’ll borrow to your great delight. SCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). There will be delightful influences around you, and you will be extraordinarily receptive to the best of them. With your outstanding imagination, you will twist ideas and make them your very own. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21). There’s not an insect spray out there strong enough to stave off your travel bug. There’s a big wide world out there for you to see, and you want to keep moving. CANCER (June 22-July 22). This day will be touched by unusual happenings and idiosyncratic people. Enjoy the shakeup like it’s a roller-coaster ride. Throw up your hands and scream. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Life is part what happens to you and mostly what you make happen. Today the odds are in your favor, and you’ll act swiftly to create a dreamy scenario. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22). Doing something right one or two times will bring you good results. But doing the same things a hundred or a thousand times will make you rich. Establish systems and be consistent. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Maybe you’re not asking for help because you are worried about making requests of people who later will feel that you owe them. If so, call on your angels. They are waiting, no strings attached. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). You’re usually so independent. This time, before you make a move, deliberate with friends — and not just any friends, but a few well-chosen people who have experience with or ideas on your recent life-topic. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Getting lost can be good. It connects you with what’s going on right now. When you’re trying to find your way back, you are very much in the moment. Finding your way is a living meditation. 14 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m Wednesday 18th February 2015 The Antigua and Barbuda Ex-Servicemen Association will be having a fundraising barbecue and fish fry on Friday 27 February 2015, from 12 until 4 pm, at the Association`s Headquarters at 1 Prime Minister`s Drive. Tickets for a fish meal are EC$ 15 and EC$ 10 for a chicken meal, available from members of the Association on 462-6903, 778- 8679, 721-1970 or 561-1062. The Emergency Medical Services [EMS] wishes to inform the general public that, registration for Basic Life Support BLS, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation CPR, and First Aid, will begin on Monday 16 February 2015. Interested persons are asked to visit the office on Factory Road west of the University of the West Indies open campus. Please bring along a valid ID. For further information please contact the office at telephone 562-2434. Service Barbuda Express is sailing everyday except Mondays & Wednesdays. Tours available 4 days a week, For more info and reservation, please call 764-2291. You may also visit our website http://www.barbudaexpress.com. Car Insurance…. House Insurance … Switch And Save Hundreds Of Dollars By Insuring Your Car And/Or House With ABI Insurance Company. Only A Few Minutes Via Phone For Free Quote Or Few Minutes Drive To Downtown Redcliffe St. Free Parking Available . Call Abi Insurance 484-6400/ 484 ; 484-6608;484-6428. There will be a relaunch of Hospital/Healthcare Christian fellowship in Antigua and Barbuda. We are inviting you to our Prayer Breakfast. Date: Saturday 21st February 2015, Time: 6:30 am - 8:00 am, Venue: Mount St.John’s Medical Center Chapel, Tickets $15.00. For tickets and more information, please contact Nurse Benjamin @ 722-1019 or Nurse Henry @ 788- 0734 The Optimist Club of St. John’s will be hosting the ‘Kids Speak Out’ Competition this Saturday 21st February 2015 at the ABI Conference Room on Redcliffe Street, 9:00 a.m. This contest is an annual event geared at primary school children, who are asked to give a 2-3 minute oral presentation on the topic “How My Optimism Helps Me To Press On to Greater Achievements of the Future” For additional information please contact 720-2949 The Order of St. Luke, Cathedral Chapter is hosting a healing prayer weekend under the theme “Forgive and be healed - body, mind and spirit”. Beginning Friday 20th at 6:pm and continuing Saturday 21st at the Dean William Lake Cultural Centre a healing prayer workshop. Sunday 22nd a healing service at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church on Fort Road at 5:00pm. Come and be blessed. To register and for more information contact the Deanery office at 4620820 or 462 5696. The Consumers Association is seeking members who are committed to promoting and defending the rights of consumers in Antigua and Barbuda. Interested persons are invited to attend a meeting on Monday 23rd February ’15 at the Prices and Consumer Affairs Division, on the corner of Redcliffe Street and Corn Alley, St. John’s Antigua, commencing at 5 pm. The Consumers Association of Antigua & Barbuda is an independent, non-governmental, non-political and voluntary organization. For more information contact 774 7818 or 726 9804. ATTENTION SOCIAL SECURITY PENSIONERS The Social Security Board wishes to advise all Social Security pensioners that pension payments for the month of February 2015 will be paid commencing March 9, 2015. Any inconvenience caused is deeply regretted. caribtimes.com Wednesday 18th February 2015 15 Inter-Schools Netball competition up and running at YMCA Complex By Vanroy Burnes The 2015 Inter-Schools Netball program is up and running with all matches playing at the YMCA Complex. Coordinator Joyce O’Donohue said things are going good so far except for a few defaults. Coordinator O’Donohue urges the teams give early notices if they run into problems so that games be re-scheduled instead of not showing up and waste other people]s time. In the most recent matches played, On Friday February 13th in the U-14 Division, Princess Margaret Secondary won by default over Pares Secondary. In the Primary division also on Friday all the matches were postponed and will be played on February 27th. S.R. Oliva Davis versus Willikies, St. Anthony’s versus Liberta Primary and Pares B versus Pares A. In the U-14 division on Monday February 16th, All Saints Secondary beat Glanville’s Secondary 9 points to 8, Antigua Girls High School beat Irene B. Williams 11 points to 9 and Jennings Secondary beat Pares Secondary 15 points to 6. In the Zonal Division, South won by default over Central and South East beat South 24 points to 16. In matches for Wednesday 17th February, Irene. B. Williams versus Princess Margaret Secondary, Otto] Comprehensive versus Christ the King, All Saints Secondary versus Antigua Girls High School and Jennings Secondary versus Christ the King. Barbuda Basketball team still no show for Schools Basketball Competition By Vanroy Burnes The Barbuda School Basketball teams who had signal their intentions to compete in the 2015 Inter-Schools Basketball program is yet to appear. Coordinator of Schools Basketball Carl ‘Boli’ Knight said although he is disappointed he can under the stand the Situation. Originally the Barbudans has signal their intentions to play in the Boys Junior and Senior division said Knight, but later confirm that they will only contest the Seniors, but after two weeks still no sight of the Barbuda team which plays on Fridays. In the meantime matches continues in at the YMCA daily, On Monday, Antigua State College Defending Champions Antigua State College beat Princess Margaret Secondary 57 points to 22 in the senior division. Warren English shot 12 points and 6 rebounds and Tavares Spencer 9 points for College. In matches played on Tuesday in the female division, Princess Margaret Secondary beat Antigua State College 18 points to 16 in overtime. At the end of regular time both teams tied at 16 points each. Britney Gore shot 17 points for PMS, While Trisha Ghanie shot 11 points for ASC. In the Junior Boys Otto’s Comprehensive beat Princess Margaret Secondary 44 points to 25. Javorn Simon shot 26 points for OCS. There will be only one match for Wednesday 17th in the Junior Boys with Jennings Secondary versus Anthony’s. The Schools Basketball is organized by the Ministry of Sports and Coordinated by Carl Boli Knight and sponsored by Cool & Smooth. 16 c a r i b t i m e s . c o m Wednesday 18th February 2015 AAC Storm swimmers perform well at International meet in Guadeloupe Over the past weekend Antigua was well represented by AAC Storm at an international swim meet in Guadeloupe. The meet, called Caribéene H2O, hosted swimmers from as far away as Turkey, the UK, and France. There were over 550 swimmers. Storm’s attendance at the meet was an attempt to build on Coach Steve Leal’s training program which has Storm swimmers building their times through the year at a series of meets. Mr. Leal, a Level 5 swim coach from the US, has been evolving Storm’s training program to more closely mimic top notch swim programs in the US. This means a lot of swimming and meet competitions to build experienced swimmers. Only 2% of swim coaches have Level 5 certification. When Storm attended the meet last year, no one on the team won medals. This year was different. Although Storm sent only a small portion of its larger team, its 8 swimmers swam strong from day 1. Everyone scored points for the team. Most landed medals, some with more than one, totaling 17 medals (4 Gold; 6 Silver; and 7 Bronze). Storm’s 8 hardworking swimmers included Daryl Appleton, Zoe Dennis, Kyeshaun Christopher, Olivia Fuller, Sebastian Gobinet, Makaela Holowchak, and Diallo and Nathan Marshall. And, to top all of this off, 6 of the swimmers landed CARIFTA qualifying times helping to set the stage for the Spring’s CARIFTA competition. According to one swim parent, “Our children swam their hearts out. “All did extremely well showing that Coach Leal’s swim program is making our swimmers stronger, faster, and smarter!”. What’s next according to Coach Leal? “More hard work and training and a lot of learning to do... both in the pool and at school. Storm wants to create great swimmers who do well in the pool and at school. “Such success creates opportunities for our kids which is a major goal for our club. We’re looking toward the future for our kids, the team, and Antigua.” If you are interested in learning how to swim, or want to compete, call 7263531. Caribbean Times is printed and published at Woods Estate /Friars Hill Road By Kimon Drigo who is also the Editor and resides at Sugar Factory. Contact P.O Box W2099, Wood Estate /Friars Hill Road, St.John's Antigua/ Tel: (268) 562 - 8688 or Fax: (268) 562 8685.Email: [email protected]/Advertising: [email protected]/www.caribtimes.com