Simons outlines his PNP leadership candidacy 10 defendants ...

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04 LocaL
April 26, 2012 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ www.fptci.com
Gov. takes leave, attends FCO
leadership conference on OTs
His Excellency the Gov. Ric Todd left the
Turks and Caicos Islands on April 23 on leave
until April 30, when he will attend the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office’s annual leadership
conference in London.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for me to
promote the people and business of the TCI to
our peers both in the U.K. and across the other
Overseas Territories,” the governor said in an
April 23 statement. “We share a unique heritage,
and meeting together in this way helps
us to find new ways of improving the lives of
our citizens and their economies by looking
at what we can learn from, and do for, each
other.”
Government Chief Executive Officer Patrick
Boyle was sworn in as acting governor until
Todd’s return May 7.
Todd is expected to meet with governors
and administrators from the U.K.’s 13 other
Overseas Territories to discuss the progress of
the approaching FCO’s Overseas Territories
White Paper, FCO strategy implementation
as well as improving financial management
and human rights. Minister Henry Bellingham
will join the conference, and Department
for International Development Minister Alan
Duncan is expected to attend.
Caribbean governors will meet separately
to discuss matters of mutual interest such as
building prosperity, economic reform and regional
integration.
Two days will be dedicated to FCO-wide plenary
sessions on diplomatic excellence, security,
prosperity, the U.K. economy and an update
on the London Olympics. On May 2 Todd is
scheduled to attend a workshop being held by
Lord Howell and Sir John Major on the subject
of U.K. engagement with the Commonwealth
and priorities for the Diamond Jubilee Fund.
There will be a series of outreach sessions
covering passport repatriation, procurement
procedures and governance structures, developing
tertiary education for overseas territory
citizens, and financial services.
Baby meets his 911 lifesaver
When Antonio Santus
called Provo’s 911 Centre back
in February, he was a devastated
man.
He was convinced he had
just watched his one-monthold
baby son die in front
of him and was requesting
the body be removed to the
morgue.
Little Hareph had suddenly
stopped breathing and was
showing no signs of life whatsoever.
In Antonio’s mind, only a
miracle could now save his
child’s life, and it came in the
shape of Nerissa Fortune, who
answered the call.
The 911 supervisor immediately
calmed the distraught
father and set about giving
clear and precise instructions
as to how to administer cardiopulmonary
resuscitation
(CPR) in an attempt to revive
the child.
After a few agonising minutes,
the youngster started
breathing again, by which
time paramedics had arrived
on the scene.
“It was very hard to hear to
begin with because, understandably,
both dad and mum
were very emotional,” Nerissa
explained. “But once I was
able to calm Antonio down, I
was able to pass on the basic
instructions.
“This involved telling him
how to do CPR which is a very
specialist procedure on such a
young child. At the same time
we made an emergency call
for an ambulance and I just
kept talking to Antonio and
telling him as to what to do.
“Thankfully, Hareph began
to breathe again, which
was obviously a wonderful
moment for us all. I just kept
talking and reassuring Antonio
until the ambulance arrived
and then the paramedics
took over.”
Two months later, Hareph is
now a happy, fit and healthy
baby boy who shows no ill
effects from his dramatic ordeal.
And there were tears of joy
when dad, mother Angeline
Petigny, Hareph and his twin
brother Harephson, went to
meet and thank Nerissa at the
911 Centre in William’s Plaza.
“We are so happy to meet
Nerrisa and thank her for
what she did,” Antonio said.
“Because of her and the grace
of God, our little boy is alive
today.
“When I made that call it
was to ask for Hareph to be
taken to the morgue. In my
mind he had passed away. But
Narissa used all her amazing
skills and training to help
save his life, and she will always
have a very special place
in our hearts and in Hareph’s
life.
“Thank you so much to
Narissa and all the 911 staff.
They do an incredible job, and
I just don’t have the words to
express how grateful we are.”
Narissa, who presented a
cuddly toy on behalf of the 911
staff, insists she was “just doing
my job.”
“Of course it feels good to
know that I helped save a little
baby’s life, and Hareph will
always be special to me,” she
said.
Narissa Fortune and baby Hareph.
“But it’s what I and my colleagues
are trained to do, and
I was simply doing my job.
Antonio also did an incredible
job too and he deserves
much of the credit.
“The 911 centre provides
a wonderful service, and I’m
sure the outcome would have
been the same whoever happened
to answer the call that
day.
“It’s just heart-warming
that this incident had such a
happy ending and it was a real
honour and a pleasure to meet
the family and I thank them
for taking the trouble to come
and say hello. It means a great
deal to me and all of us at the
centre.”
Meanwhile Hareph’s sudden
lose of breathing remains
a mystery with doctors unable
to determine exactly what
happened.
“No one is really sure what
it was and why it happened,”
said mother Angeline. “All we
know is that our precious son
is fine now, and we thank Narissa
for that.”
New Crown land fees
to take effect May 1
New fees for administrative
transactions involving Crown
land will take effect May 1.
The fees for application for
lease, license and easement over
Crown land, surrender of lease
and other charges are aimed at
recovering administrative costs.
“In order to ensure we are operating
effectively and are able
to sustain and improve our current
levels of service, we have
had to explore different funding
options,” said Commissioner of
Lands Tatum Clerveaux in an
April 23 press release. “By introducing
application fees and
other charges we ensure that the
costs of the services provided,
which include administration
and officer time, are recovered
crown land Fees
p
f
directly from those utilizing the
service, and are not borne by the
entire general public, including
those who are not engaged in
these transactions.”
“The new charging regime
will also give us the opportunity
to set targets by which we
can monitor the level and quality
of the service given. We will
be able to enhance our customer
service and provide our customers
with faster document
turn around time.”
Some of the charges are already
introduced under the
Conditional Purchase Lease
Limited Time Scheme, but the
remaining charges will be introduced
in May and reviewed
within six months.
ParT a – GraNT oF LEasE or LiCENCE
Tourism development - hotel, golf course, etc. ...................$1,000
Marina ..................................................................................................$1,000
Mining .....................................................................................................$500
General industrial ...............................................................................$500
Communication site ..........................................................................$500
Commercial recreation ....................................................................$250
General commercial excludes hotel, marina, golf course ..$250
Public utilities ....................................................................................... $250
Residential ............................................................................................. $100
Agricultural ........................................................................................... $100
Institutional/Community ................................................................ $100
PART B – OTHER ITEMS
Extension/conversion/surrender of a conditional purchase
lease ......................................................................................................... $100
Surrender of a lease (other than a conditional purchase
lease) ..........................................................................................................$50
Grant of an easement ....................................................................... $100
Extinguishment of an easement .....................................................$50
Copy of record held by the Crown Land Unit (per page) ......$10
Development giving boost
to South Caicos economy
saIlrOck continued from page 1
workers are being employed.
With a large scale project like
Sailrock, Malcolm said hiring
skilled and unskilled workers is
an indication it will have a large
impact on the local economy,
particularly in the future as it
continues to grow.
The firm is not only hiring
local workers, but also training
them, hoping to make an
impact for the future. Gardiner
said he only hires outside workers
when they need special skills
not available on island, but he is
ensuring local workers are be
trained in those skills.
“Even though I may not be
here doing the work, you will
have a lot of local people on
South Caicos who will then
know how to do a little bit of
masonry, carpentry and steel
work,” Gardiner said, something
he believes will go a long
way to helping the future economy
of the island.
Although D&D Construction
is a North Caicos firm, Gardiner
said most of his past work
experience had been on Provo.
Since the construction boom
went bust in recent years, business
has been slow.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity for me,” Gardiner
said of doing a project of the
magnitude of Sailrock. “I have a
chance to employee a lot of locals
on an island where we need employment.”
The Sailrock project is a large
scale development on the island
of South Caicos that will ultimately
consists of vacation villas,
a hotel and includes restoration
of historic buildings around
the island. “This project will
keep me busy for 2012 and most
likely beyond,” Gardiner said.
Ted Weldon, Sailrock Developer
Ltd., said D&D Construction
was selected through a competitive
bidding process. “We
were most impressed by Delano
and his organization, and their
ability to perform on the job.”
To date Weldon said they have
exceeded expectations.
Although nicknamed “the Big
South,” the island of South Caicos
is relatively small in relation
to the largely developed island of
Providenciales. Weldon says he
and partner Colin Kihnke place
the sustainability of the island as
a large priority in their overall
development plan.
“We are developing our project
in a way that is respectful of
the wonderful surroundings and
beauty of the islands,” he said.
“We are also respectful of creating
opportunities for the local
community to share in the success
of it all.”