Choiseul Fishermen Celebrate Fishermen's Feast

Early on Tuesday morning June 29, 2010 the street of Choiseul village was buzzing with activity. All along the street one could notice group of well dressed men in some form of discussion or another. The street started to get congested as more fishermen from Vieux Fort and Laborie started arriving  to join in the celebrations with their Choiseul counterparts.

  The Fishermen's Feast started with a procession from the Fisheries Complex to the Catholic Church where a service was  held. Approximately 150 - 200 fishermen, a few accompanied by their wife were in attendance.Veteran fishermen like Wax and Bogs and the District Community Officer were also there.

After the service, the priest  conducted a short ceremony on the Fisheries Complex where prayers were offered  and the fishermen's boats were blessed.

 Afterwards it was celebrations galore where champagne, drinks and eats was offered to all invited guests.

A popular hi-fi provided the entertainment throughout the day's activities.

       While all the fanfare was happening an excavator was busily removing accumulated sand in the fish pond. Accumulaion of sand in the pond is a perrenial problem that the authorities cannot find a solution for. The sand is removed and sold out. God help our beaches.

Bon Fete Paysher (Happy Fishermen's Feast)

Today fishermen in the district celebrate Fishermen's Feast. The celebrations will commence with a church service at the Catholic Church . Afterwards, there will be blessing of the boats and speeches will be delivered by various persons of the Fishermen's Co-operatve. Then the revelling starts.

 This blog will show the highlights of the celebrations tomorrow.

2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: Top 10 worst refereee's calls so far

Sunday proved to be a day of controversy at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.


Both Round of 16 games featured game-changing bad calls by referees that devastated fans of England and Mexico.

As the clamor grows to allow the use of video technology to help referees get their calls correct, we look at the top 10 worst decisions made by the officials at the tournament so far.
Click on the site below to see the referee's blunders.
 http://bleacherreport.com/articles/412542-2010-fifa-world-cup-top-10-worst-referees-calls-so-far

Reproduced from bleacher report

Check Out World Cup 2010 Links

Every four years the football fraternity is teated to the best of soccer. This 19th World Cup finals is being played in South Africa.

 The group stage is nearing its end and soon we will have the group of 16 matches.
 You can keep abreast with the tournament by logging on to the link on the left of this blog entitled South Africa 2010.
 Happy viewing.
You can also open the West Indies link and follow the World Cup.

Choiseul Village Council making great strides

Over the past years the Choiseul Village Council has gotten involved in many community projects,thus complementing the efforts of the District Rep. Although the councilors are yet to be sworn-in for this year's tenure, work is already in progress.
 A drain was recently constructed in the River Doree area and a small bridge in the Daretin community. The Dacretin pr0ject  actually removed  some residents from having to wade through a ravine to get to their home. Could you imagine what these people had to go through when it rains?

 Last year the Council completed many projects: One of them, a one hundred and fifty metres footpath in Le Riche. The pics show the Chairperson and Clerk visiting the completed projects for this year so far.

The Council is chaired by Elmira Joseph (Mrs) and the clerk is the hard working Williana St. Rose (Mrs).
 Look out for a documentry on the Council soon.

The Story of Fathers' Day

     It would be interesting to know how Father's Day came into practice and celebrated worldwide with an equal sincerity and respect as any other significant holidays. Here's a short history on the holiday, and meaning of the different colors of roses to be worn that Day.


About 4,000 years ago a young boy named Elmusu wished his Babylonian father good health and a long life by carving a Father's Day message on a card made out of clay. No one knows what happened to Elmesu or his father, but the tradition of having a special day honoring fathers has continued through the years in countries across the world.

The Countries, where the Catholic Church were of significant influence on the culture of the society, Father's Day is celebrated on St. Joseph's Day (March 19). However, a more secular celebration which is not associated with any religion is followed in recent times to highlight the increased diversity among people from all over the globe coexisting together in one place.

Father's Day is celebrated popularly on 3rd Sunday in June in many parts of the world. The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Washington. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father's Day while listening to a Mother's Day sermon in 1909. Having been raised by her father, Henry Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father that made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless, and loving man. Sonora's father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father's Day celebration in Spokane, Washington on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge proclaimed the third Sunday in June as Father's Day. President Nixon, in 1972, established a permanent national observance of Father's Day to be held on the third Sunday of June. So Father's Day was born as a token of love and gratitude that a daughter cherishes for her beloved father. Roses are the Father's Day flowers: red to be worn for a living father and white if the father has died.

Bousquet sponsors 20/20 cricket

On Wednesday May 11, 2010, the Parliamentary Representative, Mr. Rufus Bousquet presented a cheque of ten thousand dollars ($10,000,00) to the president of the Choiseul Youth and Sports Council,Davidson Lionel, towards the 20/20 cricket tournament dubbed Bousquet 20/20 Tournament.
 The presentation ceremony was attened by the clubs and teams taking part in this competition which officially commenced last Sunday at both the La-Fargue and Piaye playing fields.

During his remarks Bousquet urged the teams to demonstrate a high level of sportsmanship and also asked the Council to give a prize to the most discipline player. He officially made it known that a mini stadium will soon be constructed at the La Fargue playing and said this will be the Mecca of cricket in the district.

Bousquet have made a number of gear donations to teams across the constituency. At Wednesday's ceremony four more teams received a complete set of gear. The teams, Piaye,Industry,Morne Jacques and Gia Bois were the recipients.

 It is the Rep's dream to see that the youths are engaged in sports and to uplift the standard of the game. At a recent presentation ceremony at Morne Sion, it was mentioned by Mac Arthur Phillip,that in 1993 Bousquet said that when Choiseul's cricket is strong St. Lucia's cricket will also be stong. His donation of gear to almost every team has surely brought the game to another level. On the St. Lucia U-19 team this year Choiseul had seven (7) players on the team, and the St. Lucia team won the Windward Island Tournament. Bousquet's prediction came true.

Bousquet has vowed to get playing fields in many of the communities, but explained that the topography of the district  makes it difficult. The Jetrine and Delcer playing fields will be given priority in the coming months.
Surely, Choiseul cricket has come a long way.

Politicians got us into this mess in the first place: Part 4

c

In any event, a recent study conducted in the UK underscores the perils of day-care centers when it comes to the development of the young people placed there. In his latest book, the British psychologist and broadcaster Oliver James says: “Mothers of toddlers should avoid working outside the home or leave young children in the care of others for long periods.” He also attacks the strict disciplining of young children at care centers by comparing it to “training them like a dog in a laboratory.”


So if, as has been pointed out by others far more qualified than I on the subject, crime is now beyond the control of the governments of islands as small as ours, what to do? It is a horrifying fact that much of the drug trading that went on in Mexico with deadly consequences is being diverted to the far less patrolled Caribbean region. Add to the circumstances the fallout from the mother of all recessions, with so many young people ready to die for the almighty dollar, what are our chances against drug-fueled crime?

I repeat, it is obvious that we need a lot of help in our fight against criminals who care not whether they live or die; who don’t give a damn for our politicians or police—who, too often, are working with the criminals.

Do we give up the fight? Of course not. The obvious solution, alas, presents a monumental problem for politicians: it requires them to combine their efforts and forget partisan, counterproductive politics in the best interests of our near defenseless plagued community. Our politicians must find it in their hearts, if indeed they have hearts, to bury their political hatchets. They must campaign as one party calling on the people to join the fight against the criminality that threatens us all. When the vast majority of Saint Lucians determine crime in Saint Lucia will not be tolerated, bet on it, crime as we have come to know it will disappear.

Pointless wishing for perfect police officers and well-equipped forensic labs. Pointless listing what the devious UFOs say we must have to fight crime. There won’t be affordable housing any time soon. Or jobs funded by donor countries, all of which are themselves crying out for one government bailout or another. As necessary as are the wish-listed items, they cost money. Big money. Money that we don’t have, whether or not as a consequence of waste and maladministration past and present.

There will be even less money if we continue to bite the hand that feeds our fragile economy, if we continue to make war against each other, if we continue to be hell-bent on national suicide. Compton, Louisy, Cenac, King, they paved the road, one way another, to where we now cower in fear.

As for the God Squad, let them understand God is too busy putting out fires in Israel to bother with us over here. At any rate, so it seems after years of praying to Him for a miracle that still has not arrived. We prayed in the square for John Compton but he died anyway. We declared a national day of prayer for Stephenson King and while he has survived his perfect storms many will tell you God had nothing to do with that. So there.

And now, predictably, the Chamber of Commerce has entered the picture. “Enough is enough,” says the group in a press release issued on Thursday that couldn’t be more revealing: “The litany of excuses from those charged with responsibility for law enforcement is wearing thin. Successive governments have provided vehicles, equipment, training and additional recruits and the problem only worsened. It is apparent that there is need for stronger leadership in the police force to make use of the many outstanding and dedicated police officers who daily put their lives on the line for their country and its citizens. We need to see more effective community policing, including the use of bicycles to maneuver the narrow streets and short distances.”

Bicycles? Dear reader, do we need more proof that our ostensible leaders are caught in a time warp, without the slightest clue of the enormity of the problem before us? New leadership, my foot. And where will that cure-all new quality leadership spring from? The warring gangs? As for the policemen who put their lives on the line each day, well, where? By all accounts, they are never where they are most needed.

Considering how the criminals have managed to elude detection and avoid arrest, one might be forgiven for stating the obvious: that Saint Lucia’s best brains are to be found, not among our police, not among our educators and church leaders, and certainly not among the babbling politicians. Let us all vow to ignore the self-serving, senseless outpourings in and around the political sewer and instead heed the clear writing on the wall that says: None but ourselves can save us now!

Reproduced from  http://stluciastar.com/content/archives/13669

Politcians got us into this mess in the first place: Part 3

The lesson is obvious: arresting young suspects and warehousing them at an out-of-the-way facility, regardless of how cushy, is not the same as arresting crime. Already, we have touched on the plan as it related to Broughton, a plan that made an already bad police situation worse. The plan failed its Labour conceivers. It continues to fail the present administration.


Police resources were at the center of several public outbursts involving the Kenny Anthony government and the police. Remember the number of times Central Police Station made headlines after long-suffering officers were forced into the street by exploding mephitic toilets, disease-carrying vermin and other unspeakable unnatural disasters? This was the then prime minister’s reaction to expressed public concern, delivered during one of his Conversations with the Nation: “The tendency in our society is to reject personal responsibility for our actions and misfortunes and to find reason to blame someone else.”

As if to prove his self-serving assertion, Kenny Anthony said: “The biggest recipient of national blame is always the government, and in this regard the principal culprit is your humble servant, the prime minister. You should not wish to be prime minister if you do not understand that martyrdom awaits you.”

Stephenson King, take note!

As for the complaining constabulary, Anthony said: “The police blame the government for denying them proper equipment and for not providing vehicles and drivers. Police prosecutors lose court cases, then blame the government for their incompetence. They blame the government for not hanging convicted murderers, regardless that their appeals may be before the courts.”

Of course, the police also have their own gripes, among them that the attorney general’s office in the time of the SLP administration made it almost impossible to prosecute criminals successfully. They cite the revised Criminal Code that remains “defective for the most part” and should, they say, either be scrapped or amended. The police also point to the Traffic Act that makes it impossible to successfully prosecute drivers for speeding, since it does not state the legal speed limit and drunk drivers. And then there are the problems associated with the Evidence Act that the police say make the job of bringing murderous criminals to justice all the more difficult.

Clearly, the laudable construction of new police stations in Marchand, Dennery and Vieux Fort, while they provided comfort for some police officers, had little impact on crime. Ironically, the named three areas are, by some accounts, at the center of the local drug trade.

As I say, the crime-fighting plan that failed the SLP is failing the current government. Evidently, the original plan did not take into account the age-old recurring problems at the nation’s courts, the registry and other related government departments. And of course, the plan never went past punishment. Affordable housing for the poor remains the problem it was ten years ago. Children roam the streets when they should be in school, thanks to absentee parents who may or may not be at work during school hours.

Reproduced from  http://stluciastar.com/content/archives/13669

Politicians got us into this mess in the first place: Part 2

Ever wondered about the impact on police morale—to say nothing of the general populace? Not only had our commissioner been painted in the worst way, we were also being told that only imported British cops were good enough to impact crime in Saint Lucia, contrary evidence notwithstanding, and that only the British cops were worthy of our trust.


Ever wondered about the impact on police morale when a certain prime minister, instead of threatening shock and awe, effectively went down on his knees and pleaded with criminals in his crime-infested constituency to “please give the people a break for Christmas!?” Now imagine the press releases to Newsspin if the current prime minister were to down on his knees before the Castries East gunslingers. I mean, consider the price he paid when he played a little leapfrog with Wyclef Jean!

If you’re wondering what happened to the institutional memory and knowledge acquired by Broughton and Company, wonder no more, dear concerned St Lucian. They took it with them when they returned to the UK, Broughton a hundred pounds fatter than when he first landed here—and much richer.

The blackened local commissioner and his officers returned to what was now effectively a new force, by which I mean a force of strangers, most of them recently graduated recruits, the older cops having retired almost en masse. So now the callously disgraced police chief was starting from scratch, with a force of beginners, their attitude to their boss close to contemptuous—with nothing on the files to update them.

If there is a silver lining in the current black cloud over Jamaica, it is that the fusion between politicians and crime has been exposed as never before. As I write, the news is that US authorities have in their possession tapes of intercepted phone calls to and from “the world’s most dangerous drug baron and gun runner” that could prove devastating to leading members of the Jamaica government. Yes, yes, imagine that!

Here at home the government appears hamstrung as it faces its own looming Armageddon. There have been meetings with the police, there has been talk and more talk, even as the gunfights at Coke-A Corral continue almost unabated. Will the government discover the courage to take action against the young criminals who seem to have no respect for life, including their own? Is the country ready to face the possible consequent bloodbath?

The local opposition, like their counterparts in Jamaica and the other Caribbean territories plagued by murderous gangs, are busily prospecting in the chaos, evidently oblivious of the expressed disgust of their respective populations, seemingly unaware that what they seek is fools’ gold.

More and more Saint Lucians are saying out loud that the worst enablers of crime and unrest are the politicians on both sides of the House who are demonstrably interested only in holding on to or assuming office.

What to do? This week, Philip J Pierre, conceivably the SLP’s shadow security minister, weighed in with ten recommendations to the prime minister. According to Pierre, the parliamentary representative for Castries East where most of the recent slaughters have taken place, he was moved to speak out, not to score political points but for the deafening cries to his party. Cries from citizens from all walks of life; cries from the business community; cries from the social and religious community, leaders of business, hotel owners and tourism industry workers. Yeah, right!

Presumably, Monsignor Anthony was not among the criers to the opposition. At the funeral of Tobias last Saturday, the church leader took the opportunity to excoriate from his pulpit the politicians on both sides of parliament whose contributions over several years have placed us where we are today.

“We have waited for a coordinated approach and a defined plan from the King administration to fight crime,” said Pierre. Plan? What is all this latest noise about a crime-fighting plan. For all I can see, the mistake of this current government is that it has placed its faith in the plan of which the opposition now boasts—a failed plan, considering the level of crime in Saint Lucia when the government left office in 2006.

The former government deserves high praise for building the Bordelais facility, despite every discouragement from the then opposition. But today, indeed, even before the Labour government left office, Bordelais was not only bursting at the seams but it had also developed a reputation hardly in keeping with a crime-free environment—or a successful anti-crime plan.

 Reproduced from  http://stluciastar.com/content/archives/13669

Politicians got us into this mess in the first place: Part 1

Rick Wayne has penned an article in his newspaper the Star which to my mind is superb. This blog will reproduce the complete article in four consecutive posts. I find it worth sharing with readers of this blog as it reminds me of how history repeats itself.

Politicians got us into this mess in the first place: Written By: Rick Wayne on May 31st, 2010
Why do we always use the problems of other territories as inspiration for chaos in our own neck of the woods? Remember when some people were on the radio calling for riots here, just because of the civil unrest in Martinique?


Now, to hear some of the Unidentified Foolish Objectors, they would welcome here something like what’s currently killing Jamaica if that is what it’ll take to get into office—or to hold on to power.

Have we all gone totally bananas? Remember John Broughton and Company? They were imported from the UK to do for crime-ridden Saint Lucia what we were told the local constabulary could not do. Only much later, when they became the current government’s responsibility, did we hear from the now opposition that Broughton and his team were brought to crime-stricken Saint Lucia, not as crime fighters but as “consultants” who would provide our cops with “administrative and technical advice.”

One member of the Broughton team was allegedly a specialist at solving cold cases. He took charge of a Cap Estate murder investigation when the trail was still red-hot, famously arrested two non-nationals, then released them shortly afterward. He led the investigation of another homicide near the Coal Pot restaurant, to no avail. Remember? Need I remind you, dear concerned fellow Saint Lucian, that both incidents remain unresolved and are now filed under, yes, yes, you guessed, Cold Cases?

Before he returned to the UK following a nasty fall-out with the rest of his team and their government enablers, the particular gentleman declared Broughton “the most idle man I ever met!” Evidently, much of his own time here was devoted to the hot pursuit of Looshan pussycat dolls, one of whom rewarded him with a beautiful child.

For the specialized services of Broughton and Company, the Kenny Anthony government forked out $7 million from the Petroleum Stabilization Fund. Now imagine what the government could’ve done for the local force with $7 million. Some of that could’ve gone toward forensic training, or protective vests, or fingerprinting paraphernalia, or a finger print bank.

Imagine what could be done for the police today with $7 million. Who advised Kenny Anthony in this matter? Is he now advising Stephenson King? As it turned out, Broughton and Company had no discernible salutary impact on crime or the police.

Meanwhile, the local leaders of the Royal St Lucia Police Force were sent home on leave. An investigation into the operations of at least one of them made headlines throughout the region. Remember when the newly installed security minister Keith Mondesir announced on the radio that the native police commissioner was a dud, and that Broughton was doing for the minister what his local counterpart would not or could not do? As if that were not already enough spit in the face of the police, Mondesir let the whole world in on an investigation initiated by the Kenny Anthony government that produced evidence that made it difficult to tell the drug barons from criminals in police uniforms.

Reproduced from http://stluciastar.com/content/archives/13669

Choiseul born is now St. Lucia's Top Cop

Commissioner of Police Ausbert Regis has been replaced as the nation’s top cop.

Prime Minister Stephenson King dropped the bomb on the tail end of an address to the nation on Sunday outlining a number of government initiatives to tackle the nation’s mounting crime.

The Commissioner has been transferred to the position of Director of Special Initiatives in the PM’s office, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Vernon Francois is now acting Commissioner of Police.

These are just two of what the prime Minister says will be sweeping changes to the force

“Mr. Ausbert Regis has been transferred from the position of Commissioner of Police to the position of Director of Special Initiatives, Office of the Prime Minister; Mr. Vernon Francois; Assistant Commissioner of Police, has been appointed to act in the position of Commissioner of Police, effective Thursday 27th May 2010; Mr. Moses Charles; Assistant Commissioner of Police, appointed to act as Deputy Commissioner of Police, with responsibilities for Administration, effective 27th May 2010; Mr. Pancras Albert; Acting Assistant Commissioner of Police, appointed to act in the second position of Deputy Commissioner of Police with responsibilities for operations, effective 27th May 2010. As a result of these changes, a number of changes will be made through the rank and file of the Police Force, all of which will be gazetted in the Saint Lucia Gazette,” he said.

Prime Minister King outlined ten initiatives that the government was undertaking or planning to launch in response to a spike in daring and violent crimes over the last few weeks that have left a trail of bodies and misery, along with demands for action from the government.
The initiatives announced by the Prime Minister in response, range from the establishment of a cabinet committee on crime, to pumping additional funds into the police force.
“The Cabinet Task Force shall engage all social and economic partners including political organizations as part of the national strategy to address the crime issue. Cabinet approved a Patrol Strategy prepared for immediate implementation by the leadership of the Royal Saint Lucia Police force. This plan will include 24 hour surveillance and patrol of troubled areas or hot spots and the police will be provided with the appropriate assets to facilitate this and associated preventative activities.

The immediate re-organisation of the Police Force in order to enhance effectiveness, efficiency and mobility, including the re-introduction of the Cadetship programme to facilitate succession planning. I will say more on this re-organisation later,” the Prime Minister said

The minister of finance has been advised to accelerate the disbursement the approved allocation of funds for the HOPE programme with a view to providing social and vocational skills and employment opportunities in the short medium and long term.

In addition the Prime Minister has also requested that a number of local private sector organizations as well a friendly foreign governments partner with the government to find solutions to the island’s crime problem.
In the photo the top cop is second from left.