Doug Wheatley...pondered whether any local subsidy has being considered for the financially ailing LIAT.

Talk show host Douglas Wheatley does not believe that jail was the best place for negligent fathers.

Wheatley, who was speaking on the issue of prison overcrowdedness on his Speak Out BVI talk show on Tuesday, opined that he believes there must be suitable alternative sentencing solution for fathers who are not taking care of their responsibilities.

“Of course we know that from time to time people are sent to prison for child support and that sort of thing, and perhaps you know another way should be found to deal with that. And I know the Law Reform Commission have dealt with and reformed the law on alternative sentencing and mediation, which means that not everything needs to go through the court system as such,” he said.

Similar views were expressed by Third District Representative Julian Fraser in the House of Assembly last year. The legislator had announced that he was aware of the current trend of jailing fathers who are not paying child support, but explained that he does not fully support that approach as a jailed person cannot work and therefore will still not be able to afford the child support payments.

Instead, Fraser suggested that a policy be put in place that allows for salaries to be garnished and thus ensuring that fees are paid. The minister explained that he believes that would be the way to get to guilty persons by “targeting their pocketbooks”.

In explaining his suggested policy, the minister opined that if an employer refuses to garnish the salary of their employee then that employer’s salary will be garnished.

In the 2011 Standing Finance Committee Report, it was noted that Magistrate Court Manager Eunice Crawford had informed legislators that the court sought Cabinet’s approval to garnish the wages for persons who are delinquent in child maintenance.

It was also mentioned that there was a proposed legislation to deal with child support cases.

Her Majesty's Prison

Education Minister with responsibility for the prisons Myron Walwyn is not satisfied with the physical condition at the prison.

Walwyn visited the prison recently to get a first hand look of its condition.

Apart from the need to have rehabilitation programmes in place for inmates, the minister said “there is an overcrowding issue that’s no secret that we have to address, the physical plant at the prison is deteriorating, the roof has problems. There are problems up there that we have to address, some of them can be quickly addressed, and we will be looking to see how quickly we can get it sorted out”.

Regarding the environment where the inmates live, the minister said: “I won’t want to say it’s not clean. I will say there is overcrowding at the prison that creates an uncomfortable situation, both for the inmates and for the officers, and as you would know, they are severely understaffed at the prison and we are trying to get that situation sorted out as well. But we also have to look at the root causes and try to arrest those and see what we could do to try and stem the tide, because if we don’t do something about it, the future of this country will be at stake very seriously,” Walwyn said.

Minister of Education Myron Walwyn

Minister with responsibility for prisons, Myron Walwyn, has commended the work of a female prisoner and using this scenario as an example of the advantages of rehabilitation programmes.

Walwyn, commenting on his visit to Her Majesty’s Prison at Balsam Ghut recently, said while he saw a lot of problems existing at the male prison, he was satisfied with what he saw when he visited the female prison, which is situated on the same compound.

“I visited the female prison and I’m impressed at what is being done. There is a particular prisoner there, but she is doing an excellent job. And this goes back to the whole rehabilitation thing. She has decided to put an accounting programme together for the other inmates in there and they are enjoying it.

“As a matter of fact, when I was there she was marking test papers that she had given to them, so again, it shows that yes, they are prisoners and they are where they are but they want to make their lives better, and we have to try our best as a government, when you see that willingness, to try our best to also help them to get along because I do not believe that most of them are there because they want to be there; so I was particularly impressed on what that female prisoner was doing. It is highly commendable,” Walwyn said.

The minister disclosed areas of rehabilitation his ministry will be looking into.

“When we were campaigning, I spoke particularly on the issue of seeing what we can do in helping the prisoners get a high school diploma and also to put different programmes in the prisons, whether it’s air conditioning, whether it’s carpentry, automotive; get those programmes in place so that they can learn a skill during the time while they are there, so that when they come out there is a better transition and lessening the possibility of re-offending,” the education minister said.

The minister said that in speaking to the inmates they have expressed an interest in learning a skill while they are in prison.

“There were some concerns, and in relation to rehabilitation, a number of them have been saying that for quite a while, a number of them said to me that yes they realized that they have done something wrong to put them there but they themselves are asking for these programmes to be put in place, and that in itself is encouraging because it tells me that they want to do better and so we have to do our part to help them by getting these programmes in place. There were some other concerns that they have that we are going to address later on but the biggest issue for them for them and also this government is the rehabilitation process at the prison,” Walwyn said.

The hurricane season starts on June 1.

Communications and Works Minister Mark Vanterpool said the Public Works Department has already started a full drainage programme.

“Mr. (Jeffery) Skelton, the director, has been pushing his team,” Vanterpool said. “We are also going to outsource some of that work over the next several weeks and they are hoping that by the end of June they would have covered a lot of the cleaning up and the cleaning of the drains preparing for the hurricane season.”

The minister said the rains that the territory sustained a few days ago gave the department an idea where they need to pay more attention.

“Last week in Virgin Gorda we saw a major drainage problem in the Valley by ScotiaBank and we are going to tackle that very quickly. The Public Works Department is getting on it and we have some issues in all of the districts so we will be paying attention to them in the next six to eight weeks,” the minister said.

He said a major problem was experienced at Pockwood Pond during the 2010 hurricane.

“The director of Public Works has tackled that problem. There was a $600,000 solution we were looking at, but he has decided to look at it from a different angle; he went along with one of the landlords in the area, Ashley Ritter, who along with the Public Works direction, have gone and cleaned a drain that has not been clean for a very long time. And so with the rains we have tested it, the general manager of the Electricity Corporation, which was flooded the last time as a result of the hurricane, was very complementary of the Public Works department because the rains recently did not affect them; and we are hoping that that can be at least a temporary solution to the long-term solution we may look at; so far it has worked well,” Vanterpool said.

Alcedo Tyson

July 10 was selected for the preliminary inquiry (PI) in the case against Alcedo Tyson, who is accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Kwanna Todd-Rhymer.

In the Magistrate’s Court on May 16, Senior Crown Counsel Christlyn Benjamin said disclosure has been made to Tyson’s lawyer Herbert Mckenzie. She forensic evidence in the matter is still outstanding, but nonetheless the Crown is in a position to begin the PI.

Tyson first appeared in the Magistrate’s Court on March 19 and was arraigned for the indictable offence of murder.

In outlining the allegations, Benjamin told the court that the 20-year-old deceased and the 23-year-old defendant were involved in an intimate relationship that ended last year.

Benjamin told the court that on March 15, 2012, Rhymer worked at Delta Gas Station from 3 pm to 11 pm and at about 1 am on March 16, she went with her cousin to Paula’s Bar in Baughers Bay. It was stated that at about 3 am, they left with two other persons and went to Dueces Night Club.

The defendant was allegedly seen at the club wearing a brown, tall t-shirt and a dark coloured jeans; it was noted that information received claim that the defendant and the deceased did not have any encounter that night except for a brief conversation. However it was stated that Tyson was seen staring at Rhymer while she was dancing with her friends.

It is alleged that at about 4:15 am, while Rhymer, her cousin and a friend were leaving the night club and walking in the parking lot towards the friend’s vehicle, the defendant, who was wearing the same clothes, walked passed the ladies and went to a vehicle, which was parked in the parking lot.

Kwanna Todd Rhymer

Benjamin said that Tyson was seen running back to the ladies. He allegedly passed the friend who was in front and went up to the deceased, said something to her, then shot her in the neck. She dropped to the ground, and he stood over her and shot her in the abdomen and then ran to the same dark coloured vehicle which drove off.

The Crown counsel noted that information received has suggested that the area where the shooting took place was well lit and Tyson was not wearing any mask or head gear.

The matter was reported to the police who arrived on the scene with emergency personnel.  Rhymer was pronounced dead at 5:30 am on the scene, and it was further reported that a lead slug and two 2.45 calibre shells were recovered at the scene. It is alleged that later that morning around 10:35 am, Tyson went to the Road Town Police Station and was interviewed but made no response. He was officially charged at 10:10 a.m on Saturday.

However it was stated that the firearm used in the shooting has not been recovered and investigations are still on going.

Tyson was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison.

Javon Flax

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 Javon Anthony Flax graduated with a Bachelors of Music (B.M.) in Electronic Production and Design in Electronic Production and Design from the Berkelee College of Music in Boston, MA.

During his time at Berkelee, Javon was a recipient of the 2011 BT Production Award from The EPD Department and a 2 time Sound Collage contest winner (2008 and 2011). He was also a pianist, percussionist, and multi-faceted composer at Berklee.

Javon is the son of Geoff Flax and Janiece Vanterpool-Flax. He is also the grandson of Frances Lennard of The Valley, Virgin Gorda, the great nephew of former Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands, Mr. Elton Georges and the grandson of Ottley Flax and Myrtle Flax.

We are extremely proud of Javon’s accomplishments and we wish him the best of success in the future.

Esau Vanterpool

We are proud to inform the communities of the British Virgin Islands of the academic accomplishments of one of its sons of the soil, Mr. Esau Radford Lennard Vanterpool.

On Saturday, May 12, 2012 Esau graduated from Berkelee School of Music, in Boston, MA with a Bachelors degree in Music Education and a minor in Music Therapy and Psychology. Esau also maintained a consistent yearly position on the Dean’s list for four years with a G.P.A. of 3.9 in his chosen program.

Esau is the son of Frances Lennard of The Valley, Virgin Gorda. He returns to the British Virgin Islands to continue his teaching career.

Congratulations to Esau on his accomplishments and we wish him the best of success in the future.

Minister for Communications and Works, Honourable Mark Vanterpool told the Department of Information and Public Relations that “A sewer pipeline that takes the sewerage from the roundabout to the main pump station may have collapsed requiring the Water and Sewerage Department to implement interim measures which will cause traffic delays.”

“The manhole in the vicinity of the Quatisky Building, which collects sewerage from the Northern part of Tortola including Baugher’s Bay, Lower Estate and Huntum’s Ghut is experiencing challenges as a result of the failed pipeline, Minister Vanterpool explained.

According to the Minister the Water and Sewerage Vactor Truck has already provided temporary relief by flushing the lines to allow sewerage to flow. The next step is to create a temporary lift station from the main manhole that leads from the Quatiski building to the pump station until a permanent solution can be taken.

“Once the temporary lifts station has been created then a final inspection will be carried out with CCTV to see the extent of the blockage,” Minister Vanterpool revealed.

Motorists can expect traffic delays over the next 24 to 36 hours and are asked to use an alternate route wherever possible to help expedite the construction works.

The Ministry of Communications and Works remains committed to continued development and maintenance of the Territory’s public infrastructure.

1. On 06-05-2012 at 1310hrs, Police arrested and charged 40-year-old Jeenesh Banthia a native of India residing at North Sound for Handling Stolen Goods.

2. On 06-05-2012 at 1525hrs, Police arrested and formally charged 33-year-old Kimo Creque of North Sound a native of St Thomas for Handling Stolen Goods.

3. On 06-05-2012 at 1600hrs, Police arrested and charged 33-year-old Darrell Stevens of North Sound a native of the BVI for Handling Stolen Goods.

WOUNDING

On 05-2012 at 1215hrs, Police arrested and charged 14-year-old male of Fat Hogs Bay for Wounding.

ASSAULT OCCASIONING ACTUAL BODILY HARM

On 11-05-2012 at 0930hrs, Police arrested and charged 34-year-old Dominican Republic national Edivelis Turbi Figueroa of Baugher’s Bay for the offences of Assault Occasioning Actual Bodily Harm and Damaging Property. Bail was granted in the sum of $10,000 signed with one surety to appear at the Magistrate’s Court at 0900hrs on the 18-05-2012.

INDECENT ASSAULT

1. On 12-05-2012 at 1700hrs, Police arrested and charged 23-year-old Terence Stapleton of Sea Cows Bay for the offence of Indecent Language.

2. On 12-05-2012 at 1700hrs, Police arrested and charged 18-year-old Tevorn Stapleton of Great Mountain for the offence of Indecent Language and Resisting Arrest.

3. On 12-05-2012 at 1700hrs Police arrested and charged 16-year-old female of Great Mountain for the offence of Indecent Language.  Bail was granted in the sum of $5000 signed with one surety to appear in the Magistrate’s Court on 31-05-2012 at 0900hrs.

UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF CRACK COCAINE

On 12-05-2012 at 2100hrs, Police arrested and charged 26-year-old Kendrick Wayne Chinnery of Great Harbour for the offences of Unlawful Possession of Crack Cocaine and Unlawful possession of cannabis.

You Are Invited To a General Class Meeting on Wednesday, 23rd May 2012, at the
Central Administration Complex, in Conference Room # 3, at 5:30PM.

Please also mark your calendars for our
Class of 2012 Training Session on Monday, 18th June 2012.
This event will require the support of as many “Class of 92 Members” as possible.

You may log on to our Facebook page (facebook.com/bvihs.class.of.92)

Or our Class Reunion website (classreport.org/bvi/road_town/bvihs/1992)
For more information

We are now only 42 days away from Graduation 2012 and our main Class Reunion Event! Looking forward to your participation!!