FiWi Choice Top Ten

The second of Ross' two-fisted delivery isn't going to be so celebratory. He has to vent!

"I can't lie: I'm dropping the B-side. It's titled 'Mafia Music' and it's gonna cause a lot of problems," he explained. "It's a scathing four-and-half-minute nonstop flow, me being autobiographical about my life and my come-up and my triumph. Of course, I had to address a few things, I had to address a few people. I love it. The thing is, some people are gonna be um they're gonna be f---ed up. That's the best way I can put it."

Ross said the album is about 85 percent finished.

"I'm still doing huge records every day," the Miami king said. "Just putting it together. I ain't in no rush."

"As you continue to live, you can never predict how far it's gonna go," he added about his evolution on the LP. "We got a black president now. Most definitely that should affect everyone's thought process. It's time to really boss up."

Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

With the Government reporting up to a 75 per cent fall-off in the export of scrap metals, the local export industry, with the potential to earn some US$100 million in foreign exchange (more than J$8 billion), has all but collapsed.

"There is nothing happening because there has been a dramatic reduction in demand for scrap metal," Industry and Commerce Minister Karl Samuda said of the dramatic downturn.

"The two main sources for scrap metal are China and India, and they are both practically dried up."

But as middlemen count their mounting losses and some traders contemplate fleeing the business, one group is basking in the negative market conditions.

Local foundry operators - the people who manufacture Dutch pots, manhole covers and cast-iron building columns - are viewing the drying up of the scrap metal export markets as a blessing, reopening their supply sources, which dried up following the rise of exports a few years ago.

Legitimate players

China, the largest buyer of the product needed as raw materials for its mega steel mills, is experiencing a slowdown in its economy and a depression in demand.

In the United States, industry sources say steel mills and foundries are paying around US$100 per gross ton for No. 1 heavy-melting steel scrap delivered to their facilities, a far cry from the US$520 per gross ton paid last summer.

"It is very slow in that industry now, so you find that the legitimate players in the business are stuck with materials piled up in their yards and there is no movement," Samuda told the Financial Gleaner.

The problem, he said, cannot be solved through local action.

"We are very concerned about it because that industry had a potential to earn over US$100 million in foreign exchange and now that has fallen off. We continue to monitor it, but the prospects under the present world conditions are not particularly good."

No one knows the extent of the crisis better than small scrap metal traders.

"It is really bad," said Kingston-based trader, Delroy Heslop.

"I spend a lot of money on the metals and I can't get anybody to buy it."

Heslop, who has been in the business for two years, said the price for metal has plummeted from a high six months ago of $7,000-$8,000 per ton, to between $1,600 and $3,000 per ton.

Having acquired materials in the hope of continued robust sales, Heslop says he has lost over J$100,000 in the last few months with the downturn in the market.

But Heslop's misfortune and that of his colleagues' misfortune has thrown a lifeline to local foundries that use white metals, notably aluminum.

"We have been in the business for some 50 years and the growth in export markets pushed local raw-material prices out of our reach to the extent that we were about to close down the operation," said Blacent Green, owner of Mould Foundry in Woodside, Clarendon.

When the scrap metal trade took off some three years ago, aluminum scrap soared from US$5 per pound to stratospheric levels of up to $US90 per pound, Green told the Financial Gleaner.

The mainly small-scale collectors deserted the local foundries and lined up to sell to exporters, who were shelling out the higher prices.

Since last September, however, sellers were forced back to their initial markets here at home, selling again to foundries at the old price of US$5 per pound in some instances.

According to Trade Board data, 31 scrap metal licences, reflecting business value of US$225,088, were granted in November last year - tumbling from 65 licences with business value of US$7.4 million in November 2007 - when a new, stricter regime for the regulation of the industry was introduced by the State.

Overseas sale

Trade Board data indicate that the slide in the local scrap metal export industry started in June 2008, when the number of licences granted for overseas sale of the commodity moved from 235 in May to 81 in June.

While there was a brief upturn in August and September, the decline was sustained thereafter. Now, scrap metal sales are picking up, though prices remain low.

Heslop says there is renewed activity in the market, but he is still selling scrap metal at "far less than what I bought it for".

Kenneth Barclay, another middleman, has often thought of cutting his losses and getting out of what is now for him, an unprofitable business.

"You are afraid to touch any metal right now because it don't make sense. The price on the market right now is a joke," he scoffed.

Despite that recognition, Barclay, like others, keeps hoping for a turnaround sometime soon. "I have said a couple of times I would get out, but then, if you can make a dollar (you remain). I don't know how long this will go on for but I am not giving up yet," he said.

( L - R ) Simpson Miller, Golding

The heavens shed tears yesterday as bereaved family members, well-wishers, government officials and representatives of the Opposition gathered in Portland to bid farewell to the final seven accident victims of the December tragedy that left 14 people dead.

The others were buried earlier this month.

The bodies of the seven were laid to rest in Mill Bank in the Rio Grande Valley after a mass funeral.

"We mourn the passing of hard-working breadwinners of this community," said Prime Minister Bruce Golding in paying tribute.

"The entire country is in sympathy with those affected, especially the children who have lost their parent or guardian. These were innocent and hard-working people, who were making the journey to Coronation Market, so as to provide for their families."

More money

Golding said a trust fund, which was launched to assist bereaved family members, has so far raised approximately $5 million, but added that every attempt will be made raise more money.

The prime minister said the executive director of the Child Development Agency, Alison Anderson, has been mandated to spearhead the management of the fund to ensure that the children of those who died in the accident will be able to complete their school years without difficulty.

Earlier, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller expressed condolences to the families affected by the horrific accident, and lauded the community spirit displayed by members of the clergy and other residents.

Simpson Miller also lauded the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the Government, especially the favourable response given to bereaved family members during their time of grief and loss.

"This is the time for us to work together collectively, so as to ensure that the lives of the children who lost their loved ones are by no means hampered, but to provide for them in their time of need," she said.

"We salute the community spirit, as unity is strength, and if we cling together, we can achieve much."

The final seven of the Portland Tragedy

Winston Taylor

Carmen Leslie

Beverly McDonald

Althea Anderson

Leroy Deans

Lasandra Dyce

Are Ruthann-Belle (left) and Annabelle about to give a 'high five?' Propably not, it's only their first birthday and they are caught up in the excitement of the celebration at their Portmore, St Catherine, home on Saturday.

Below: Gabrielle (left) and Isabelle - photos by Kimesha Walters

The Hird quadruplets celebrated their fabulous first birthday last Saturday and it was a blast. Ruthann-Belle, Isabelle, Gabrielle and Annabelle, adorned in pink and white outfits, gave a new meaning to the phrase 'pretty in pink'. The girls were showered with hugs, kisses and wishes from family and friends at their Portmore, St Catherine, home.

All attention was focused on the quadruplets who were mostly quiet and well behaved. Well, all except Gabrielle, the troublemaker. She wanted Daddy to take her up and tried to get her own way. She gave in though, so that Deacon Goswill Williams and the Reverend Novel Wilson could kick off the celebration by blessing them.

The babies sat in pairs on both sides of the table. In front of them was their multicoloured birthday cake with three candles in the shape of stars, the biggest in the middle had the number '1'.

The decorations complemented the occasion but it was the laughter, smiles and the moment the girls dipped their little hands in the cake (no knife cutting), after Mom (Keshia) and Dad (Reginald) blew out the candles, that made the party most exciting.

Dalkeith, Reginald's brother, expressed gratitude and admiration for the first-time parents, but was "very, very thankful for Keshia's role". "I am really happy," he said, but before he could continue, Keshia finished the sentence for him, "... because I didn't run away". This elicited a fit of laughter from everyone.

When it was Daddy's time to talk, he reminisced on the look on his wife's face as she observed one of her tiny babies. "When she looked at Isabelle and saw how small Isabelle was, I saw the tears started to come down her face and then she said, 'Reggie, she look like rat eeh?'" Another round of laughter from the guests.

POSITIVE Parenting

On January 27, Lorna, as she prefers to be called, will have spent one year at the Marie Atkins Shelter on Hanover Street, downtown Kingston. As anniversaries go, this will be one of the unhappiest moments for the woman who once held the post of district constable in the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

One year after taking up residence, Lorna still cannot believe that she has ended up in the poor house - this after working in the police force for over 20 years, having joined up in 1982.

The petite woman, with tears in her eyes, says she now shares space with individuals who once occupied the jailhouse in Half-Way Tree that she was appointed to guard.

"Many still remember me. They can't believe it's me who used to counsel them."

Lorna's own life was changed, she said in December 2004, when she experienced personal conflict with a supervisor. She continued to do her duties until one day she returned from guarding a prisoner at the Jubillee Hospital to Half-Way Tree to find that there were no duties listed for her.

"There was no duty set. I called again and again and there was no duty." In July 2004, she went to speak personally with her supervisor about the issue and she was told "there is no job here for you".

Since that day, Lorna said she wrote letters to the Ministry of National Security and to anyone who she thought might listen and support re re-instatement. In 2005, she was finally told by then Commissioner of Police Francis Forbes to return to work, but by then she was blind and sick. Inexplicably Lorna had lost her sight.

No other relatives

Lorna states that she grew up with her grandmother in Kingston who is long deceased. She knows of no other relatives, she says, although she knows she was born in Trelawny.

At the Marie Atkins Shelter, she shares space with approximately 100 homeless people, a few of whom have appointed themselves her guardians.

But she states, "I wake up in the mornings crying. I never had a mother and father. I just need someone to say what I should do and where I should go. I need to start my life again."

The Gleaner confirmed that the district constable is still registered as a serving member of the force and stationed at St Andrew Central, Half-Way Tree. According to officers in the administrative section of the Commissioner's Office, she started service on the March 16, 1982, and her employment has not been terminated.

Lena Latibeaudiere, inspector of the poor at the Kingston Poor Relief Department, says efforts have been made to place Lorna in a home, including a Salvation Army hostel, but she is apparently fearful of being exploited.

Currently, Ms Latibeaudiere says, the department is in dialogue with the District Constable Association with regards to her care.

A member of the association has taken the officer for tests at the ophthalmologist's and is said to be making further arrangements for her care.

The Green Island police in Hanover are probing a case of grievous bodily harm following an attack at the Green Island High School on Friday that left the school's bursar suffering from extensive injuries.

The alleged attacker is said to be a junior staff member.

The police say the assault was carried out shortly before midday.

One person, who claimed to have been a witness, said the attack was played out in the full view of students and teachers.

The alleged witness said the bursar was talking with the principal while standing in a corridor when the junior staff member assaulted her.

"She grabbed her in her head and start fist har and kick and fling her down on the ground in front of the principal's office," the alleged eyewitness said.

She further said a group of teachers intervened and pulled the attacker off the bursar.

According to the witness, the attacker was then taken away by a vice-principal.

The principal, Ada Mitchell, confirmed that an incident took place at the school on Friday, but declined to reveal details.

Official comment

"The incident has been reported to the Ministry (of Education) but I have not spoken to my chairman yet, so I prefer not to comment officially until have spoken to him," Mitchell said.

This incident follows another at Kingston College last Tuesday when classes had to be suspended at the school's North Street campus after several ninth-grade students attacked and beat a teacher.

The teacher sustained injuries to his eyes.

Supreme Court judge, Carol Beswick, made the order in the Home Circuit Court on Friday when she passed a life-imprisonment sentence on 33-year-old steelworker Christopher Edgehill, of Annotto Bay, St Mary.

The Chins, who operated the Penny Supermarket in Annotto Bay, were fatally shot at their gate at Bellefield, near Highgate, St Mary, on the night of July 3, 2004.

They were robbed of a large sum of money and Mr Chin's licensed firearm was stolen.

Gun recovered

Mr Chin's gun was recovered at Edgehill's house after he confessed to the police that he participated in the robbery.

Prosecutors Diahann Gordon Harrison and Sanchia Burrell had asked for the death penalty because of the brutal and savage manner in which the Chins were murdered. They pointed out that Edgehill shot Mrs Chin twice while she was running.

Defence lawyer Dr Randolph Williams opposed the application for the death penalty.

Godfrey Williams and Cecil Wright, both of Annotto Bay, went on trial with Edgehill for the double murder, but the jury failed to arrive at a verdict and a retrial was ordered for them.

Minimum wage earners should not expect an increase in their earnings this month as the Government has postponed the announcement of a scheduled increase until it concludes talks with employers.

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, says the Government is concerned that an increase at this time could result in businesses sending home more employees, especially security guards as the effects of the global economic crunch deepens.

"The 17 and a half per cent increase for 2008 saw a number of workers losing their jobs," Charles said yesterday.

"The Cabinet is therefore examining these complaints in order to avoid any real problem at the workplace," he added.

State of affairs

The labour minister could not give figures to support his claim, but said the state of affairs in many businesses could force them to send home more employees should another increase be put into effect.

He said already the jobs of security guards are being threatened because more people are investing in electronic security systems.

However, Charles has advised that in the meantime, employers hold discussions with their workers and make salary adjustments where possible until the Government agrees on a new minimum wage.

But president and island super-visor of the National Workers Union, Vincent Morrison, is against the postponement of announcing a new minimum wage.

He is also accusing the Govern-ment of using the economic crisis as an excuse to depart from a previous agreement to increase the minimum wage annually.

"What the Government wants to do is set the minimum wage every two years as opposed to an annual adjustment," Morrison told The Gleaner.

"You can't have inflation moving in one direction and wages moving in another direction," Morrison chided, noting that an increase in the minimum wage is needed to maintain people's purchasing power.

"I am surprised and concerned that the minister is taking this approach," he said.

He is demanding that Charles meets with trade unions to discuss the issue.

However, the president of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, Wayne Chen, is adamant that many companies cannot afford to increase wages at this time.

"Many employers, at this time, are under pressure and you would notice that many companies have already taken the pre-emptive step of cutting back on staff costs because the general feeling is that 2009 is going to be a tough year," he said.

A total of 2,259 jobs were cut locally between October and December last year following the Wall Street crash in the United States in September. In addition to those cuts, bauxite producer Alpart announced a further 250 job cuts, a week and a half ago, as aluminium prices continue to plunge on the world market.

Chen says if employers are forced to pay any further increase in wages, it could prompt more rounds of job cuts in many companies.

Holness

Students with behavioural problems will not be allowed in the normal classroom setting come September, as the Ministry of Education finalises plans to place them in time-out facilities.

The Alternate Student Intervention Programme (ASIP), also called the time-out facility, will seek to improve students' attitude, through a behaviour-modification programme, while they continue their education.

Alphansus Davis, senior adviser to Minister of Education Andrew Holness, told The Gleaner that the plan is to have a least one facility ready by September. He said the ministry has conducted four site visits - two in Westmoreland and two in St Elizabeth. A site will also be visited in St Ann this week.

Davis said students with behavioural problems could reside at the site for up to one year.

Partial pull-out

He said those with mild conduct problems would require a "partial pull-out", noting that they would attend the facility each day, then return home in the evenings.

Davis told The Gleaner that the education ministry was looking to use church halls and community centres for the partial pull-outs.

Students who have been expelled might have to be accommodated in the time-out facility because the Government did not want under-18 (year-old) students "walking the streets".

Davis said the Programme for Alternative Student Support (PASS) would be the precursor to ASIP. This is a responsive programme designed to address the needs of secondary-level students with chronic maladaptive behaviours that often lead to interruption of their secondary education.

The programme provides an alternative to suspensions or expulsions and provides opportunities for students in psycholo-gical assessment and/or therapy and ensures that minimal disruptions occur from these behaviours.

Students, he said, would be assessed under PASS. If it is found that they should be removed from the school system, PASS would make the recommendation.

Davis said parents would be integral in this process and would have to agree for their children to be placed on the ASIP.

However, he noted that the Ministry of Education's policy states that children aged three to 18 are to be attached to an institution. To this end, Davis said the education ministry would use the power of transfer to ensure that they participate in the programme.

Integrated back

Meanwhile, Davis said when students are rehabilitated, they would be reintegrated in the normal classroom setting. He explained that they would not necessarily return to the same school.

"But if they are happy with going back to the same school, we will have no problem," he told The Gleaner.

He said trained teachers, social workers, psychologists and guidance counsellors would deliver the programme.

Members of the security forces would be on hand to prevent truancy and provide security for the students at the time-out facility.

"But we want a programme in which they don't feel threatened," said Davis.

He said the team, which has been charged with the responsibility to set up the facility has been working feverishly to have it up and running. A two-day retreat is to be held in February to finalise plans for the facility.

this nah go work

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth - Relatives, friends and the employer of six fishermen who disappeared while on a trip to the western Caribbean last weekend are expecting the worst following news that articles believed to have come from the missing boat have been found floating in Honduran waters.

Victor Vassell, the owner of the missing fishing boat, Cross Tide, told the Sunday Observer late yesterday that he had earlier received news that a "white igloo" packed with meat, seasoning and Red Stripe Beer was found by a Honduran fishing boat five days ago.

Vassell said there were also reports that another Honduran vessel reported finding life vests and rubbery "life rings" (worn around the waist) floating in the water.

The boat owner said the description of the cooler and its contents as well as the life-saving devices fitted that of articles which were on the boat when it left Black River.
"Everybody was hoping that maybe they (fishermen) had gotten into trouble and were drifting, but when we hear this news about the things floating in the water, we have to think that most likely the boat sink," Vassell said.

He said he had reported the latest information to the authorities.

A JDF Coastguard spokesman told the Sunday Observer that a search had so far borne no fruit. "The case is still open and the search is continuing but we have found no trace," he said.

He said checks with neighbouring authorities including the Honduran government had also proved fruitless.
The search was launched after the six - including five Jamaicans and a Honduran - who had left Black River on Thursday, January 15 on a two-week fishing trip, - failed to make contact with the boat owner last weekend as had been arranged.

The six missing fishermen have been named as Wayne Dowdie, 39, Kirk Lindo, 37, Tommy Gordon, 26, Desmond Gordon, 39, Colin Lynch, 35 all of St Elizabeth; and Gilbert Mujim, a Honduran national who was the designated captain of the Cross Tide.

A centipede photographed at a home in Portmore, St Catherine, earlier this week. - Contributed

Mosquitoes. Rodents. Centipedes. Just about every creepy-crawly imaginable has been causing untold annoyance to residents of Portmore, St Catherine.

Norma Clarke, secretary of the Caymanas Gardens Citizens' Association, said centipedes have been invading homes, especially during cold weather.

"They are mostly in the bathrooms and when it rains you see them crawling under the door," said Clarke. "It is of major concern because we don't know the danger of these insects and there are children in most homes here."

appeal to municipal authorities

Ricardo Higgins, an Edgewater resident, is beseeching municipal authorities to intervene.

"I would like for the authority to assist with this situation. We can't be living with centipedes as part of our families; and the mosquitoes are equally hazardous," Higgins declared.

One resident, who only gave her name as Carlene, said she was tired of living living in fear of rats and centipedes.

"I can take this no more. This is not a healthy lifestyle and something must be done about it. I am paying tax, so I must can get some justification out of it," Carlene told The Gleaner.

However, Portmore Mayor Keith Hinds sought to play down the claims, saying that centipedes and rats were pest-control problems endemic to Caribbean environments.

"While there is no overrun of these pests, persons need to engage pest-control operators to deal with the situation," stated Hinds.

The Gleaner's newsroom has, in recent weeks, received a barrage of complaints about mosquito infestation in the mainly dormitory community.

fogging operations

Hinds said the Portmore Municipal Council has spent millions of dollars to get equipment for the public-health department to carry out fogging operations but has failed to destroy the breeding grounds.

"We have started cleaning the drains, which are the main breeding area for the insects, but there are some major drains that we have not started because of a lack of funds," he told The Gleaner.

Hinds said that drain cleaning would cost approximately $40 million.

A health inspector at the St Catherine Health Department, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the press, said pest infestation in Portmore could lead to serious health problems.

The official said that precautions should be taken because isolated incidents of malaria have been reported in Jamaica. The inspector also warned that centipedes could cause tetanus infections.

He further stated that a team from the health department fogged a number of communities in Portmore weekly, but those operations could not be increased because of potential health risks to residents.

"Although we want to rid the area of the insects, we can't b****ard the air with chemicals as this will affect some persons' breathing," the health inspector said.

A SIGNIFICANT increase in scams kept the police Fraud Squad busy last year as the unit probed reports of fraudulent transfers of land, employee theft, credit-card fraud, identity theft, and other allegations.

The Fraud Squad said it received 796 reports last year, compared with 498 in 2007. It is estimated that persons were defrauded of just under J$306 million, US$2.9 million and £8,050 in 2008.

These figures do not include money defrauded from persons overseas in the 'Montego Bay Lottery Scam' and the numerous questionable investment schemes which collapsed during the year and which are now being probed by the Police Organised Crime Unit.

In 2007, loss due to fraud was reported at just under J$218 million, US$781,000 and £8,500.

According to the Fraud Squad, last year, Jamaicans suffered at the hands of unethical motor-vehicle dealers, who ripped off $67 million from unsuspecting buyers and sellers.

Motor-vehicle fraud

Sixty-three cases were reported to the police, in which scammers took money from individuals to import vehicles and failed to deliver, while other car dealers took vehicles from individuals, promising to sell them, but did not hand over the money to the owners.

Sixteen cases of fraudulent land transfer involving properties with a total value of J$85 million were reported to the police.

Other fraud cases which made it on the police radar last year included employee theft, which resulted in entities losing just over J$63 million.

ABM fraud

There were 22 cases of automated banking machine fraud where persons, by trickery or other means, obtained information which allowed them to remove J$4.9 million from accounts.

Credit-card fraud also remained a major problem, with at least J$1.2 million stolen.

But the police Fraud Squad says that figure might be understated, as the cases are reported to the police only when the banks refuse to settle.

"If individuals give their pin numbers to relatives or close friends, then the banks might not readily repay the money lost," head of the Fraud Squad, Superintendent Colbert Edwards, told The Sunday Gleaner.

According to Edwards, persons who used their credit cards at some hotels and business entities were particularly hard-hit by fraud as dishonest employees made several purchases using the cards.

Job-seekers were also taken for a ride by unscrupulous persons claiming to operate employment agencies.

Jamaicans were fleeced of more than J$80 million after paying to be placed in jobs, mainly overseas.

The police were also called in to probe numerous cases of remittance fraud, where individuals used forged documents to collect J$93,000 and US$3,000 from remittance companies.

With these and a number of other similar cases, the Fraud Squad, with a staff of 23, had its hands full during the year.

No supporting legislation

But that is not the major worry for the man who runs its day-to-day operations.

Superintendent Edwards charged that the Fraud Squad was being hampered by a lack of supporting legislation to address some crimes.

"Legislation has not kept up with the times," Superintendent Edwards stated, as he pointed to the 26 cases of identity theft reported to the police last year.

Edwards told The Sunday Gleaner that, faced with technicalities, the police have to be increasingly creative in making criminal charges stick. "Where the theft is electronic, the law does not directly speak to it."

But that has not stopped the Fraud Squad, which cleared up 579, or 73 per cent of the 796 cases reported in 2008.

To report suspected cases of fraud, call the Fraud Squad at 922-2374.

LOCAL CON ARTISTS have turned their attention to land titles, ripping off legitimate landowners of millions of dollars.

Last year, fraudulent land transfers reported to the police totalled just over $85 million.

These involved cases where tricksters used forged documents to transfer property titles and then used these titles as collateral for loans or sold the properties without the knowledge of the legal owner.

Sixteen of these cases were reported to the police in 2008 and so far, two persons have been arrested.

In one instance in Ocho Rios, St Ann, the title for a parcel of land valued at more than $100 million, was allegedly fraudulently transferred by the operator of a paralegal service.

A 'gift'

The land, situated in Mango Valley, was put in the name of another person who said he had been given it as a gift before selling it for $5 million.

The police say it was when the real owner of the land saw persons occupying the premises that the fraud was discovered. The new tenants told investigators that they had leased the land, an arrangement about which the legal owner knew nothing.

Head of the police Fraud Squad, Superintendent Colbert Edwards, told The Sunday Gleaner that there were several similar cases, but investigations into these incidents were not yet completed.

"If the owner of the land has no reason to check on the property or title, they would not know of the problem," Edwards remarked.

The issue of land fraud was moved to the front pages last year when The Gleaner reported the alleged illegal transfer of a property belonging to Noel Strachan, the chief executive officer of the troubled alternative investment scheme, World Wise Partners.

Property seized

It was alleged that the property was seized and illegally transferred by a businessman after several unsuccessful attempts to collect almost $150 million he had invested in World Wise.

While that case was still being investigated, the National Land Agency rejected blame for what appears to be a growing problem where properties were transferred without the knowledge of the owners.

"As far as we are concerned, a registrable instrument of transfer has to be executed by all the persons on the title and stamped by the Stamp Office before the transfer is registered," Joan Walker, senior deputy registrar of titles told The Gleaner then.

Mavado Involved in Bottle fling, Fight?

By Krazy Katty
OutAroad.com Writer

Mavado convincingly sings, Tell dem walk wid dem casket
anywhere we buck dem a guh bl**dclaat dead,
gunshot a buss in a dem bl**dclaat head,
War nah guh stop until mi enemies dem gone --- dead dem -- dead

According to a source, yeah man this song is direct hit at Vybz Kartel remember Vybz Kartel was the one who walked with a casket at Sting.

Not A Counteraction
However, OutAroad.com decided to get in touch with Steven Di Genius who explains that, Its not a counteraction, it has nothing to do with any clash because the song was actually voiced like a week and half before Sting.

A STUNNING Miss World finalist had her hands and feet amputated after contracting a killer bug, according to reports.

Doctors carried out the drastic surgery on Mariana Bridi da Costa after she was struck down with a urinary disease which can be fatal.

Her boyfriend Thiago Simoes said 20-year-old Mariana fell ill on December 30 but was initially misdiagnosed with kidney stones.

The infection quickly spread causing her to go back to hospital for tests that revealed her condition.

Septicaemia set in her limbs, cutting off circulation and forcing doctors to amputate her hands and feet.

Read

GOOD OLD father time seems to have forgotten Hillside. Sitting at the foot of the Blue Mountains in St Thomas, it looks like a typical countryside enveloped in shawls of greenery.

But the bare hillsides casting their shadow over the village tell this reporter that Hillside is a community awaiting the advent of another environmental disaster.

Sixteen years ago to date, flood rains sent hillsides packed with mud and trees crashing down on the village. The mud flow destroyed six houses. A10-year-old boy died as a heavy tide of mud, water and fallen trees crashed into his grandmother's house.

Today, the evidence of the tragedy is still visible. Once deep, seemingly bottomless ravines are still choked with debris. Skeletons of washed-up houses still lay half buried in layers of earth.

Dilapidated structures

Unable to relocate or repair their homes, several residents continue to live in the dilapidated structures.

"Them come and them take picture. About three set of people come right here and enquire about the flood and things like that, and nothing at all we don't get," said 70-year-old coffee farmer, Ezekiel Johnson.

Venting their frustration, residents are still blaming the Forest Industries Development Company (FIDCO), a government entity, which, in the mid- to late 1980s, cut a road through the mountains for the purpose of logging. Prior to 1993, residents claim they were flooded out three times following the construction of the road.

But January 1993 would bring the worst of the floods.

"Is the road and the basket (gabion built above a gully) that mash it up. If it wasn't for that, the water pass through," Johnson told The Sunday Gleaner.

Some experts agreed back then that FIDCO should share some of the blame. The topography of the land was changed, they said, when the road was built by FIDCO. The heavy equipment often used could also have caused brittle shale beneath the surface to become unstable and to easily wash down the slopes on to the houses below if enough rainfall occurred.

And there was enough on January 26 to do the job.

Vast deforestation

Geologists like Raffi Ahmad, who studied the landscape of Hillside, also acknowledged that FIDCO could have induced the deluge by its activities in the mountains above the community. But at the time, he said, vast deforestation was the major player in the disaster, following years of wo*o*dcutting and clearing of the mountainside.

Government's Mines and Geology Division also recognised the role of the road construction. In a report, it said: "Road construction created a large amount of cut-slope failures, which greatly enhanced the transportation of rock and soil during the heavy rains."

Johnson added: "Before them go up there and make it (the road), any time the rain fall, gully come down, it just pass through. It don't damage anything. But [because] of the basket that them make up there, that is what damage the system. Cause the only little thing happen them have a little landslide up there and all that come down with the basket of rock stone."

According to Rita McDuffus, grandmother of Gilbert Brown, the 10-year-old who was killed, the community wanted to sue the company, but was advised by their member of parliament at the time that Government would take care of the matter.

The flood uprooted the lives of many, if not everyone, in the village.

Johnson is still living in the shell of what was once his house. The flood took everything from him, including a shop and two other houses which were in the yard. In total, it took about half a million dollars from him, he said.

losses

Brown's grandmother, 70-year-old McDuffus, said apart from a little assistance with her grandson's funeral, she received nothing. She was not even assisted with getting some furniture, though she lost a significant portion of her house and all its contents. She was only allowed to rebuild on a piece of land on another side of the community, where she has managed to rebuild a two-room house.

"After 16 years, I don't feel good about the treatment I got. I think it is very unjust, because what I got for losing everything was nothing," McDuffus sighed.

"It is so sad because me lose me grandson and I am now 70 years old and not even one bed the government give me," she lamented.

Forty-eight-year-old Joan Harris, who also thinks the new road was responsible for the tragedy, lost her house and grocery shop. She got help to build a one-room house on a piece of land near the school to house their seven-member family, but, this she said, was not enough.

LEFT: Joan Harris, 48, and her family lost their entire nine-room house to the 1993 flood, which damaged several houses in Hillside, St Thomas. Behind her is a two-bedroom house the family managed to build.
RIGHT: This one-room dwelling is a replica of some houses Hillside residents received after their houses were destroyed by a flood in January 1993.

IT'S A case of survival of the fittest, in a painful wait to access free prescription drugs at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine.

From as early as 3 a.m., scores of persons converge on the hospital's pharmacy to secure a space in a line with the hope of receiving medication prescribed by doctors.

Cursing the chilly winds of the morning, an elderly man on Wednesday bemoans his predicament as he leans against a grille next to the pharmacy.

Animated discussion

Discontent spills over into animated discussion about the treatment handed down to "poor people" as many level sharp criticism at the institution and the Government.

"We stand up like a cow inna di line; dem people don't care bout wi," the obviously peeved man says.

By 7:30 a.m., the line has grown, numbering more than 100 persons. This appears to be the modus operandi at the pharmacy, as many persons inform this reporter that they have had to turn up early in order to be listed among the 150 to be served on any given day.

At 8 a.m., a female worker at the pharmacy distributes tickets numbered from one to 150. Persons with prescriptions are required to remain in the line as they collect numbers.

Just the beginning

Collecting a number for prescription drugs is just the beginning of the day's ordeal. At 8:30 a.m. the pharmacy is opened, signalling the beginning of another long wait for the dispensing of medication.

Drugs are dispensed to persons who have received numbers over 100, late in the afternoon. The pharmacy closes at 4 p.m.

But another serious problem experienced by many who turn up to collect the free prescription drugs, is the unavailability of the drugs.

Many persons, after waiting for hours to get a number to fill their prescriptions, discover that the pharmacy does not have certain drugs.

A member of the pharmacy staff examines the prescriptions and indicates whether they are in stock.

When contacted, Chief Executive Officer of the Spanish Town Hospital, Dr David Co****s, said he could not comment on the matter at that time. He told The Sunday Gleaner on Friday that he would respond to the concerns this week, following discussions with ministry officials.

On Friday, the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) raised concerns that the Government's policy of removing user fees at hospitals was placing the country's health-care system under immense pressure.

Resources unavailable

Meanwhile, Opposition Spokesman on Health, Dr Fenton Ferguson, argued that the problem might push the health sector to the brink of collapse.

Dr Ferguson said the additional resources required to improve the country's health-care system were unlikely to be available, given the current economic pressures facing the Government.

The PNP health spokesperson called on the Government to conduct an urgent review of the no-user-fee policy, with a view to determining an alternative plan.

The Government removed the user fees previously charged by hospitals in April 2008 and Health Minister Ruddy Spencer has already reported a sharp increase in the number of prescriptions being presented at public pharmacies.

Spencer had announced measures to address this problem and yesterday, parliamentary secretary in the health ministry, Aundre Franklyn, told The Sunday Gleaner that changes had been made in the operation of the Health Corporation to match the flow and quantity of drugs demanded.

The Health Corporation is the state entity that provides pharmaceuticals and medical sundries to the public-health sector.

Rumours have been circulating that the Alliance members, including Mavado, were beaten at the event, which was held at La Roose, Portmore, last Thursday. It was being said that the group threw bottles at a selector for playing too many Vybz Kartel songs.

Boom Boom said these allegations were completely false.

"All yuh hear dem a seh Alliance get beat up, Mavado get beat up, Boom Boom get beat up and Foota (Hype). Nutten nuh gu su.

"Mi hear seh it deh pon website and all dem things deh, but nutten nuh go so. A just rumours man."

Boom Boom said he played at the event after Foota Hype and Stereo Passion.

He said the Portmore-based Young Guns sound system went on stage next and played a few Vybz Kartel clash-like songs. He said people started booing. It was reported that a fan from the crowd threw a Red Bull tin on to the stage while the sound system was playing.

Further reports are that the gates to the venue were closed and there was a stand-off between several men.

It is alleged that the man who threw the can was a member of Mavado's entourage. Boom Boom, however, denied this. "Wi nuh know him; him nuh come wid we. At that time, the selector put down the mic and seh 'Wah dat fa?'" The promoter get the yute and reason it out," said Boom Boom, who added that they were leaving at the time of the incident.

However, he said, they stayed a while longer to party.

A 20-year-old man who broke into a bakery in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth, on Sunday night, got the biggest shock of his life after he was set upon and beaten by irate residents.

Pete Davy, labourer, of Brighten district in the parish, had to be rescued by the Santa Cruz police, who were early on the scene.

Phone call

According to the police, about 10:15 a.m., the owner of Pastry Palace bakery, situated in the community of Doctor Rock, received a phone call from a concerned citizen that someone had broken into his business place. On his arrival there, the owner sought assistance from residents who had gathered near the building.

When he opened the door and went inside, he saw the man who had been allegedly beaten by the residents.

He was rushed to the Black River Hospital where he was treated and release in the cutsody of the Santa Cruz police. He was later arrested and charged with shop-breaking and larceny.

AT 103 years old, Leopold Simpson is enjoying life in Eden, where life's simple pleasures are not forbidden.
He still has a glass of his favourite wine or brandy, and he eats healthy foods.

Leopold Simpson reminisces on his life during an interview at his home in Mocho, Clarendon on his 103rd birthday two Wednesdays ago. (Photo: Lionel Rookwood)

"Mi care me body," he told the Sunday Observer two Wednesdays ago during an interview at his home in Eden, in Mocho, Clarendon on the occasion of his birthday.

"Me buy good drinks and drink - brandy or wine - and a it me drink and egg. A little drop of food me eat. This yah last time yah now me can't eat no meat. A fish and all a dem something deh me eat," he explained.

His neighbours say he is the oldest person in the rural district and he has his passport - the blue hardcover version - to prove it. But except for the fact that he walks with a cane, Simpson does not look a day his age.

And although his memory and hearing are not as sharp as they used be, Simpson said the fact that time has been kind to him is something to celebrate.

"Me glad me live fi see Christmas," he smilingly told the Sunday Observer as he sat in a chair in his yard.

Simpson has outlived his parents and his siblings. "Mi madda dead, mi fahda dead, all dem pickney dem dead a me one left," he said.

But Simpson's son Irving, who is in his 50s, is hoping he will "outlive" his father.

"Me proud fi see me father live so long. Me wish me could a live fi see so long," Irving said.

Simpson grew up in Smithsville, Clarendon, with his parents. It was not clear whether or not he attended high school, but he said once he reached adulthood he moved to England where he worked as a labourer. He spent 15 years at a car manufacturing company.

"Me work and pick up all the thing dem did a meck and spray," he said. "Yes man, me did love it deh."
After returning to the island, he decided to try his hand at farming.

"Me work ground and plant yam and sell them to the government fi ship it go over water," he said. "Me plant nigga yam and afu, but afterward me just take sick, and I feel bad. Every doctor inna May Pen mi go," he continued.

He was also particularly proud of the fact that he was able to build a second house - where he now lives - with the money he earned in England.

"Me call that seh a England money mek it," he explained.

All in all, Simpson has a clean bill of health and the only medication he takes is one that helps him sleep at nights.

His minor ailments aside, Simpson said he also rears pig and goats, but he gets help from a cousin who lives with him.

"Me can't do nuttin much now, me just have to sit down and look," he said.

The father of 11 children - from three women - is married. He said his wife is Jamaican and that they got married here.

"She come here pon missionary [work] and me see her and me love her and me married to her," he recalled.

"Me nuh memba the date weh me married, brah," he continued. "Me wife deh a England. Him (she) seh him nah come out yah, a deh him a live till him dead," Simpson said.

Sadly, he said he has no intention of going back to England to reunite with his wife.

"Me caan go back up deh for if me go, a dead me a go dead," he said.

I had a credit card, which had a limit of US$2,500, with a commercial bank. I stopped using it in early 2007 and was paying minimum amounts until September 2007, but stopped paying entirely later because I had to leave the island due to a family matter.

I returned about a year later. While away, I sent money to my friend to pay my card obligations but he did not. When I returned, I saw a letter about cancellation of my card due to non-payment, dated December 2007. When I called my friend, he said he would pay the money. I never checked and I never got a letter, so I thought that he had paid.

I had a car loan with the bank which I cleared in less than one-and-a-half years, even though it was a three-year loan.

When I went for my title, they said I had a credit-card debt pending and they would not release my title until I cleared it. Does the bank have the right to hold the title of car for the credit card debt?

I have a problem. All the money I spent was when the exchange rate was 62:1. Now it is 81:1. Can you please tell me how to negotiate with the bank? I am willing to pay the credit-card debt and get back the title for my car.

-S.N

PFA: There are three lessons from your case:

Spice Still in the Ramping Shop?

Ninja Man will clash with Merciless while Kiprich will clash with the Monster Empire at Magnum's Follow Di Arrow.

This is the guarantee of Dexton Ennis, promoter of the stage show set for February 28 at the James Bond Beach in St Mary.

The show will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.

According to Ennis, there will be a show -stopping face-off between the lyrical rivals. "This is a guarantee. It's less of a confrontation. It's more about lyrics, but will follow the same rivalry to determine who can be more versatile, no animosity among the artistes. It didn't happen at Sting, but it will happen at Follow Di Arrow."

When patrons left Jamworld in Portmore last year for Sting 2008, not all arguments were settled as advertised. The promoted clash between Ninja Man and Merciless never materialised. Despite Kiprich calling the Monster Empire onstage to 'kill them', that clash did not happen either.

However, this won't be the first clash to happen at Follow Di Arrow as a few years ago Beenie Man and Bounty Killer exchanged words at the event.

No backing down

For this event, the artistes do not seem to be backing down from the confrontation. Kiprich, who stole the show at Sting, "anything is anything" and that he will defend himself in a lyrical confrontation. "Dem dun dead already. Duppy caan dead again," Kiprich said.

According to General B from the Monster Empire, Kiprich has been "looking a hype off the Monster Empire's name" since Sting and this time around, the Monster Empire is 'ready for anything'.

He said: "How him can deh onstage by himself and seh him kill wi? All him can seh is dat him mash up di show. One sound can't win a clash. Mi a war wid di whole fraternity, mi a clash wid everybody."

Merciless was more than prepared for Ninja Man at Sting but the battlefield was empty.had previously spoken with the artiste, he was ready to war with Ninja Man anytime and any place. Merciless had said: "Dis war nuh done. Anywhere mi buk him a war."

While Ninja Man was hesitant to 'kill' Merciless whom he believes is not in his league, this time, Ninja wants to finish the argument for good.

"Mi nah clash Merciless, mi a go peg him. Merciless dead a Jamworld long time. Why dis boy won't get himself in him t**** and stay there? Since he's a vampire, we a go use one golden spear and spear him, so is the last of him. If dat don't work, I gonna use a silver arrow so him don't come back."

im not hearing anything about these artist, wats the latest on them...let me know?

The Ministry of Education is to order 250 more metal detectors to be placed in schools across the island, as part of its thrust to stamp out violence in the nation's public education institutions.

This will bring to 350, the number of metal detectors to be placed in schools.

"Some schools will need up to two," Alphansus Davis, special adviser to Minister of Education Andrew Holness, told The Gleaner.

Davis said a few of the 100 metal detectors which were placed in secondary schools last year were not working and schools would get new ones.

He noted that metal detectors were initially placed in schools which are on the Safe Schools Programme. Under the programme, police personnel called school resource officers are placed in schools to address the level of violence and indiscipline.

Deterrent

Davis revealed that the metal detectors would be expanded to schools that are not on the Safe Schools Programme, adding that primary and junior high schools could also receive machines if the need arises.

He noted that school principals have welcomed the devices, adding that the detectors serve as a deterrent.

New York police have busted five people affiliated with a drug ring that named their product after U.S. President Barack Obama.

According to The New York Post, the drug ring stamped their marijuana and heroin packages with the presidents surname in red ink.

The drug ring was brought down after a three month investigation by Sullivan County police.

It's an absolute disgrace, said a Sullivan County sheriff referring to the drug packaging.

Bitter experience tells women they have to kiss a lot of green amphibians to find a prince, but two seven-year-old girls in India last week cut short the quest and married frogs.

Vigneswari and Masiakanni wore traditional Indian bridal saris and gold jewellery in a lavish double wedding in their remote village home in Tamil Nadu.

The marriages were conducted as part of a centuries-old "Pongal" harvest tradition to "prevent the outbreak of mysterious diseases in the village".

Hundreds of villages in Pallipudpet, 250 kms from Madras, walked to the temple, carrying the two brides aloft on their shoulders, while the frogs were tied to long sticks garlanded with flowers. During the ceremony, a Hindu priest chanted prayers, tied the bride's hands with his on behalf of the grooms and pronounced them frogs and wives before a holy fire.

The ceremony has its roots in the story of the Hindu God Shiva who turned himself into a frog following a quarrel with his wife Parvati. She cried for days causing disease to spread throughout local villages. When the villages asked for help she sent them to find Shiva and plead with him to marry a young girl. She herself posed as the girl, and when Shiva agreed to marry her they returned to their original god forms and the outbreak was cured.

"The criteria to choose the brides is they should be yet to attain puberty. The parents of girls voluntarily provide their children for the ritual. Sometimes the girls are forced by parents, who get a sense of fulfilment to save the village from diseases. The main cause is illiteracy and lack of exposure," said Tamil commentator Dominic Bosco.

The tradition is a source of embarra**ment and discomfort to the Indian government which has a real problem with illegal child marriages. It has ordered an inquiry into the practice and sent a team of psychologists, sociologists and religious leaders to persuade the villagers to abandon an "ignorant" tradition.

For the brides Vigneswari and Masiakanni, the marriages came to a swift and happy end: hours after tying the knot, their green grooms were thrown back into a muddy pond.