A man beat his ex girlfriend after he got angry over a text she allegedly sent to him. According to the court, the woman told him in the text he has a dog face. (Photo is a dramatization)

The attorney of Glenroy Industrious, the Purcell Estate Estate man who allegedly beat both his child mother and a female police officer at a police station over a text describing his ‘dog face’, has requested that his client attends the Partnership for Peace Program.

Patrick Thompson told the court on Wednesday that his client had sought counselling from the Mental Health Department of his own choosing and inquired whether Industrious would have been permitted to enter the Partnership for Peace program.

“From the allegation it was clear that it was a loss of   temper,” Thompson said before noting that  the program will do some good for his client.

The case was set for trial on April 27.

Industrious pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police, indecent language, two counts of common assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

The allegations are that on July 31 at about 3 pm, Denise Callwood was at Kettle Gas Station with her three children when she saw her ex-boyfriend [Industrious]. She asked him if he wanted to see his daughter and Industrious said no and drove off.

Wondering why he was acting that way, the woman then text him that he has a dog face and the child doesn’t need him anymore.

The woman then went in the area of Simply Delicious where she parked. During this time, Industrious came to the area and approached the driver’s side of the vehicle and told Callwood to repeat what she said in the text. “Tell me that [expletive] in my face.”

The woman told him to move from the car, but he began to hit her in the face, fist her and attempted to choke her. This was done in the presence of the children who began screaming.

A passerby made attempts to pull Industrious away from the woman and after several attempts, this was done. The defendant then allegedly went in front of the vehicle and out of fear, the woman drove the car forward and pinned him against a sign board.

The man got away and began to give her more blows, however this time she was able to escape.

She drove to the police station and immediately after Industrious arrived. The court heard that while there, he attacked her by hitting her in the face, head and about her body.

He allegedly said, “You [expletive] think I afraid of the police”.

As he was punching her in the head, a female police officer came to her rescue, but Industrious punched that officer.

Another police officer got involved and after a struggle, he was subdued. He was then arrested.

The report, which was tendered for the year 2010, said the agency received several complaints from a number of investors concerning an Austrian citizen.

According to the report, the Austrian, along with several unknown accomplices, established a website promoting a fraudulent entity purporting to be licensed and regulated by the BVI Financial Services Commission.

It was further reported that the alleged fraud copy listed a physical address in the BVI and was marketing itself as an investment vehicle used to invest in currency, among other things.

The venture was advertised as one with minimal risk, offering investors varying rates of return on their investment depending on the terms of their investments. The investment scheme appeared to have targeted mainly Europeans as potential investors.

Inquiries from the FIA revealed that the entity was not a BVI-regulated entity as was purported to be on the website. Information in the form of a disclosure was sent to the FIU in the home country of the subject who was listed on the website as the main contact. It was cited that the agency had no reason to suspect the individual was using a fictitious name.

The Financial Investigation Agency Act, 2003 came into force on April 1, 2004 and established the British Virgin Islands Financial Investigation Agency as an autonomous law enforcement agency generally responsible for the investigation of white collar and other serious financial crimes taking place within or from within the Territory, including money laundering offenses.

The Agency’s role also encompasses processing requests for legal assistance from authorities in foreign jurisdictions as well as acting as receiver of all disclosures of information required to be made pursuant to the relevant financial services legislation.

The establishment of the Agency is in accordance with current international trends aimed at combating money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial and financial-related crimes as well as ensuring international co-operation in the investigation and prosecution of such crimes.

In the 2012 Revenue and Expenditure budget tabled in the February 14 House of Assembly sitting, it was reported that fund business continues to be challenged by the global economic downturn, while new business continues to be offset by the number of entities winding up their business.

The FSC report further stated that the number of licensed funds is projected to be lower in 2012 compared to 2011 as investors seek to redeem their investments.

However, it was noted that the offshore mutual and hedge fund industry remains competitive. Nonetheless, the FSC said there is growing uncertainty amidst the global legislative changes affecting the industry, in particular those coming out of the Euro Zone, as the Caribbean continues to be targeted for the shortfall of onshore revenue.

“For the BVI this can indeed have a direct impact as a preferred domicile for fund business,” the report stated.

Bonelli is 84-years-old.

The wallet contained $800 in cash, a money order, credit cards and other personal items.  Bonelli was arrested at about 2:30 p.m. on Monday, February 20.

His bail was set at $35,000 and he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections pending further court action.

Final number of participants was 51– slightly more than last year – mostly due to word of mouth after the success of last years event and everyone who helped spread word of the event and through the Tortola Surf Classic Facebook page.

Here is the breakdown of the winners for each division:

GIRLS GROMS – (Under 14)
1st Place – Marina Parlato
2nd PLace – Lily Pierce
3rd PLace – Hannah Clements

GIRLS OPEN (under 19)
1st Place – Savannah Geiger
2nd Place – Mollee Donovan
3rd Place – Cassandra Bitterwolf

BOYS GROMS (under 14)
1st Place – Eduardo Alphonso
2nd Place – Shaw Clements
3rd Place – Steven Hill

BOYS OPEN (under 19)
1st Place – Cameron Walton
2nd Place – Eduardo Alphonso
3rd Place  – Jack Wollner

Every winner received a:
1) BIllabong Prize pack including Backpack, Hat, Belt, Wallet and Stickers
2) A Tortola Surf Classic Trophy

1st Place winners also received
1) A Custom Made Cane Garden Bay Surfboard
2) A Latitude 18 Clothing Voucher
3) A pair of Von Zipper Sun glasses

Finally, Savannah Geiger was chosen as the recipient of an incredible 2 week sailing and diving Marine Biology program, courtesy of SEA TREK BVI.

We would really like to thank all of our sponsors who helped make this event so wonderful, especially BILLABONG, SEA TREK BVI, CGB SURFBOARDS, ARAWAK, LATITUDE 18, ISLAND SURF AND SAIL.

As for overall thoughts etc – The contest was awesome – everybody had a good time, we had good enough waves the first day and great waves the second day. And the 2 beach bars said they did so much business, they had their best days ever! It was great to be able to support the local community that way too.

Principal, staff and students of the Willard Wheatley Primary School received a performance printer from the BVI Ports Authority which will help increase efficiency at the school. (Photo Credit/GIS Natasha Lettsome).

Wednesday, February 22 – The BVI Ports Authority donated a high performance printer to the Willard Wheatley Primary School during a brief handover ceremony yesterday at the school.

The donation came as a result of a surplus of printers at the Authority and their effort to be more community minded.

Human Resources Manager, Mrs. Jurine Scatliffe-George told the Department of Information and Public Relations during a GIS radio report that she suggested that the printer be given to a school and contacted Willard Wheatley Principal, Mrs. Enid Penn-Charles who said that she could use the printer.

During her response to the donation, Mrs. Penn-Charles expressed her gratitude. “We feel great and honoured that the Ports Authority remembered the Willard Wheatley Primary School and we assured them that we appreciate it and we will take care of their donation,” she said.

As a result of the donation the Principal said that she expects an increase in productivity. “With the additional printer we will be able to get larger quantities of work done and it will also be very helpful with Class 5 projects and the production of the graduation booklet for Class 5,” Mrs. Penn-Charles explained.

The printer is a high performance printer with network capabilities that prints 30 pages of high quality colour and 35 pages in black and white per minute.

The British Virgin Islands Ports Authority is responsible for the provision of required sea transportation infrastructure that is critical in the efficient handling of passenger and cargo transportation, which helps to bolster the Territory’s economy.

JA seeks to demonstrate the relevance of education to the workplace. JA is based on three pillars: work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. The JA Company Programme encompasses a business, economics and entrepreneurship curriculum for students in high school.

Through a variety of hands-on activities and technological supplements designed to support learning styles, students develop a better understanding of the relationship between what they learn at school and their successful participation in a worldwide economy. The students formed two companies as part of the JA Company Programme: Insane JA Keychains which produced and sold personalized key chains and Island Sparkle which produced and sold charm bracelets.

Chad Maduro Director, Deloitte and JA Coordinator in the BVI gave the opening remarks and shared with the gathering how he became involved in the JA programme along with Dany Katra, Ronsha King and Romeo Frett. Chad expressed his gratification with the performance of the students and satisfaction of the JA pilot programs.

“We are very pleased with the success of the pilots and are now looking to recruit additional, schools, coordinators and volunteers to expose more students of the Territory to JA in the coming school year.”

Assisted by PowerPoint presentations and props, the students presented before a panel of judges highlighting the process of setting up their company, the challenges faced during its operation and the lessons learned throughout the process. The panel of judges, which consisted of Carlene Romney of Deloitte, Ken Guiste of Lime and Cromwell Smith of Spotlight, followed up the presentation by asking the groups questions specific to their companies and how they were able to resolve them. Although nervous, the students responded with confidence and eloquence, impressing all in attendance.

School Principal Dr. Myrna Belgrave expressed her satisfaction in the execution of the programme. She applauded the facilitators and coordinators who were from Harneys, Deloitte and Patton, Moreno & Asvat (BVI) Limited whose commitment to the 12 weeks of guidance and coaching echoed their belief in the programme’s ability to enrich the lives of students.  She also expressed thanks in Principles of Accounts and Business teacher Mrs. Sharifa Smith  for embracing the programme and providing support through to its completion.

Dr. Birney Harrigan, Chairman of the BVI Chamber of Commerce and Hotel Association, delivered a concise and motivational key note address. In her message she applauded the facilitators and coordinators of JA for ‘paying it forward’ by volunteering their time and resources to the empowerment of the youth. To the students she reiterated the importance of hard work through the life of 14 year old California genius Moshe Kai Cavalin, who at 8, enrolled in college. Quoting from his book, ‘We Can Do’, she bellowed “People need to know that you don’t really need to be a genius. You just have to work hard and you can accomplish anything. I was able to reach the stars, but others can reach the Milky Way.”

President of the winning company Insane JA Key Chains, fourth form student Keyonna Farrington, maintained her confidence when asked about her company’s win. “I feel like we accomplished our goal of being a profitable company. We are really excited and I am happy that I was able to make my school and fellow members proud. The hard work paid off!”

In addition to their presentations, the students received certificates and mementos from Deloitte, Harneys and Patton, Moreno & Asvat (BVI) Limited. . Twenty additional students of form three were also recognized and awarded for completing the JA Our Nations Pragramme.

Dany Katra gave the vote of thanks and shared his vision of introducing more JA BVI programmes to the BVI, including “Job Shadow Day.”

Junior Achievement is a non-profit organization that reaches close to 10 million students in 404,000 classrooms. JA provides relevant and innovative programmes to inspire and prepare young people to succeed and empowers them to own their economic success.

For more information on the BVI Junior Achievement programs please contact Chad Maduro at cmaduro@deloitte.com or 494 2868.

Flax Mars

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 – In a continued effort to reach out to the youth in the community Sharon Flax Mars, Director of Human Resources at Rosewood Little Dix Bay visited the Bregado Flax Educational Centre (BFEC) last week to assist the graduating Office Administration class in their exploration of human resource management.

She was able to provide the students with information on what her department does at Rosewood Little Dix Bay in terms of attracting, selecting, training, assessing and rewarding employees. She highlighted the use of an employee handbook as a tool for employees to understand their compensation and benefits package as well as the rules by which the company operates and its conformance to Virgin Islands Labour Code.

Ms. Flax Mars further highlighted that the human resources function now takes into account developing the employee as a complete individual through personal development plans (PDPs) designed for employees who want to develop careers in hospitality.

In a short statement, Ms. Flax Mars said she was impressed with how focused the students were on their future careers and how eager they were to interact with her. She explained that she visits the schools on Virgin Gorda as often as she can and encourages her colleagues to do the same. Mr. Frances Hamlet, Assistant Grounds Manager at Rosewood Little Dix Bay also visited the BFEC recently to talk with the students about careers in horticulture.

Business Education teacher at the BFEC, Ms. Catherine Walter, said that she was very grateful to Ms. Flax Mars for taking the time to come and speak to the students. She said that the presentation was very comprehensive and that she herself learned a great deal about Rosewood Little Dix Bay and their policies from the discussion. She added that the students were very keen to learn about recruitment and appraisals as well as the non-wage based compensation package offered by the resort.

The students were further invited to take a tour of the resort and encouraged to keep in touch after graduation as a few had shown some interest in pursuing a career within the tourism and hospitality industry.

BVISHA Staff posing in red in support of Heart Health Month, earlier this month.

Wednesday, February 22 – On behalf of the BVI Health Services Authority, the Campaign Against Chronic Diseases (CARES) Committee is seeking to attract strong participation in the upcoming “Heart Health Walk” in recognition of Heart Health Month.  The walk is scheduled for this Saturday, 25th February, 2012.

Participants on Tortola are asked to gather at the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park at 5:45 a.m. for registration, to ensure a prompt start at 6:00 a.m. The route is from Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park to the roundabout at Qwomar Trading Ltd., to the Police Station, UP’s Cineplex and back to the Noel Lloyd Positive Action Movement Park.

Participants are encouraged to wear white or light coloured T-shirts and comfortable shoes.

Chairman of the CARES Committee, Dr. Nicole Wilson said, “There will be a raffle for free giveaways, and all participants will have an opportunity for free cholesterol screening at health centres on a later date.”

For further information, interested persons are asked to contact Ms. Aqeelah Frett at the Community Health Services on 852-7600.

His Excellency the Governor Mr. Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE and Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour are pictured here with the facilitators for the Greening the Economy Towards Sustainable Development for the BVI workshop, Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI). The two-day workshop is being held in the Territory to better understand the economic value of the natural environment of the Virgin Islands, and to help integrate that thinking into strategic decision making.

Wednesday, February 22 – A two-day workshop on Greening the Economy towards Sustainable Development in the BVI began yesterday at the Treasure Isle Hotel.

The workshop, which is sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), is being held to better understand the economic value of the natural environment of the Virgin Islands and to help integrate that thinking into strategic decision making. The workshop is facilitated by The Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI).

His Excellency the Governor Mr. Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO is pictured here delivering opening remarks at the opening ceremony of the Greening the Economy Towards Sustainable Development for the BVI Workshop, which is being held in the Territory to better understand the economic value of the natural environment of the Virgin Islands, and to help integrate that thinking into strategic decision making.

His Excellency the Governor Mr. Boyd McCleary, CMG, CVO, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Hon. D. Orlando Smith, OBE and Deputy Premier and Minister for Natural Resources and Labour Dr. the Hon. Kedrick Pickering delivered remarks at the opening ceremony.

In his remarks, His Excellency the Governor explained, “The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has been working together with regional environmental consultants, CANARI, and with a group of local stakeholders in preparation of this workshop, which has been funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s Overseas Territories Environment Programme (OTEP). The Governor added, “The involvement of JNCC also reflects the strengthened commitment of the United Kingdom Government departments to do what they can to assist the Governments of British Overseas Territories such as the BVI in developing their policies and building their capacity in areas such as the environment.”

“We are all dependent on our environment. This is true whether we live in large cities or on small islands. The environment provides us with food and water. It protects us from extremes of weather and even protects us from ourselves by dealing with our waste products,” the Governor said.

He added, “On Caribbean Islands such as the BVI, where the beauty of the surroundings are one of the greatest assets, our dependence on the natural environment should be obvious and yet we sometimes take it for granted. Reefs not only attract tourists, but protect the coastline. Sea-grass beds and mangroves act as fish nurseries. Forested slopes protect property from flooding and protect reefs from being covered in sediment.”

The Governor concluded, “Good planning decisions and how to ‘green’ our key industry, tourism, will be essential components of the BVI’s economy in the future. Equally essential will be communicating the value of the environment to everyone who lives in these islands.”

At the conclusion of the workshop the governor hopes that a clearer picture of what is needed to ensure the Territory understands the importance of its natural environment and of striking the right balance between the environment and development.

Participants at the workshop include a wide cross-section of persons from the public and private sectors. They will spend the next two days discussing: Integrating the environment into decision making in the BVI, Communicating the value of the environment, Greening the BVI Tourism Industry and Improving Developmental Planning.