Political harassment, intimidation narrative (Part 1)
Dear Editor,This is Guyana today: sugar workers and their families continue their descent into poverty; rice farmers and cash crop farmers are at risk of losing their land because of unaffordable new lease and D&I rates; overtaxed working class Guyanese are faced with dispossession as various Government agencies move against them; bauxite workers employed by RUSAL face an uncertain and precarious future; business is under severe strain; the sustained decline of the economy continues unabated; corruption is rampant, and fear stalks the land; a milieu of despair and hopelessness spreads across the country.This is the Guyana in which APNU/AFC are drowning in the misery they have created.APNU/AFC are desperate to change this desperate narrative. But instead of trying to bring solutions and effect a transformation of the narrative, APNU/AFC are trying to substitute the narrative with unfortunate drama. The truth, however, is that they can huff and puff all they want, the people of Guyana know their tricks, and are angry.Their latest drama is to charge two former high-ranking professionals in the previous Government with misconduct in office, a charge that is not in the law books.While the State media and others screamed out the headline of charges being laid against Ashni Singh and Winston Brassington, implying they stole billions of dollars, the truth is that the charges are a travesty, truly whimsical, vulgar, and epitomizes the vindictiveness of this Government. The Leader of the Opposition is right that the charges are frivolous.The charges, in fact, expose the absolute absence of any regard for ethics, morality, and the law. This is pure and simple political harassment and intimidation. These men are two of Guyana’s public servants who have served with competency, commitment and dedication; qualities that many in APNU/AFC are totally lacking.It is noteworthy that approval to sell these parcels of land was obtained from Cabinet, the highest decision-making body in the land. It is further noteworthy that these two men were part of a Board that included stakeholders from civil society, including the private sector.When the Board finalised the sale, they obtained the permission of Cabinet. Why, then, did SOCU not charge everyone? Why just these two men?By now, however, everyone realizes these are merely trumped up charges.Sincerely,Dr Leslie Ramsammy
Three bodies were on Friday morning discovered lying next to each other on a dam at Cookrite Savannah, Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) with gunshot wounds.Police in a release said each body bore a single gunshot wound.Pawan Chandradeo, also called “Surish”Dead: Narish RooplallJaikarran Chandradeo, also called “Kevin”The men have since been identified as Pawan Chandradeo, also called “Surish”, 37, of Black Bush Polder; his son Jaikarran Chandradeo, also called “Kevin”, 15; and his brother-in-law, Narish Rooplall, also called “Mice”, 33, of Number 73 Village, Corentyne.The discovery of the bodies was made shortly after daybreak by a rice farmer. The bodies were lying on a dam about three miles into the savannah, a short distance away from a camp called “King’s Camp”.The men had gone on a fishing expedition which began at 15:00h on Thursday. They were expected back at about 03:00h on Friday morning. Also on the trip was another of Chandradeo’s sons.The young lad told investigators that while on the journey with his family, he was instructed to wait at “King’s Camp” with a guard who was stationed there. Those instructions were given to him at about 19:00h on Thursday.According to the teen, at about 20:00h on Thursday evening, he heard what appeared to be two gunshots, and later the rapid sound of what appeared to be four more.At daybreak, the lad said he left “King’s Camp” in search of his father, brother, and uncle. “I call for dem but I ent get no reply.”On his way, he met a man who told him that he did not see his relatives and advised him to return to his home, which he did.According to Chandradeo’s wife, Chandrawattie Rooplall, also called “Pam”, she received information that her husband had been injured in the backdam from a security guard attached to the Mibicuri Hospital, even before her son arrived.She explained that as she launched an investigation to verify the reliability of the report, she was told that the persons injured were not her husband, son, and brother.It was another brother of Chandradeo who went to the scene with the Police and confirmed Rooplall’s worst fears shortly before midday, when the bodies arrived at the Mibicuri Hospital.One eyewitness said the bodies were about a foot apart from each other when they were discovered on the dam. The source noted that the adults had wounds to their heads while the teenager had a wound to the upper neck. It was also reported to Guyana Times that there were impressions of horse hooves a short distance from where the bodies were discovered.Pawan Chandradeo leaves to mourn a daughter, two sons and a wife to whom he got married on July 5.His brother-in-law, Narish Rooplall, leaves to mourn a wife, two brothers and a mother.As Police continue to investigate, one person has been arrested and remains in custody. (Andrew Carmichael)
Early numbers suggest $60,000 was raised during the Saturday night launch of the 12th annual “Be An Angel, Light a Light” Campaign of the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation.That’s 20 percent of this month’s goal of $300,000 as the Foundation seeks to complete the $1.3 million funding drive for a CT Scanner.It also means the Foundation has raised over $1 million to go towards the purchase of the Scanner, meaning more than three quarters of that objective of $1.3 million has been reached.- Advertisement -The “Be An Angel” campaign ends on December first, with the light-up of the Christmas Tree at the Fort St. John hospital.Again you are reminded donations are being taken at the North Peace Savings and Credit Union in both Fort St. John and Hudson’s Hope as well as at CIBC, RBC, BMO and TD-Canada Trust.Donations can also be made at the Foundation office in the hospital. Those who donate twenty dollars or more will receive a tax deductable receipt.Advertisement For more information you can call 250-262-5299.
Elections can be daunting and considering Canadians will be voting in the fourth federal election in seven years on May 2, voters might be growing tired of them altogether.The Prince George-Peace River riding had a less than 50 per cent voter turnout rate in the 2008 election.- Advertisement -However, the local Elections Canada office is making it easier for residents in the riding to get out and vote and is also helping those who might actually live elsewhere.Come election day, there will be voting stations in Baldonnel, Charlie lake, Montney, Taylor, Rose Prairie and Hudson’s Hope, but the exact locations have yet to be determined, says Deanna Hill, special ballot co-ordinator for the Elections Canada Fort St. John office.In Fort St. John, general voting will take place on May 2 from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at the Pomeroy Hotel.However, anyone who cannot make it out to vote on May 2 is able to vote at an advanced polling station in Fort St. John on April 22, 23 or 25. The station will be located at the Curling Rink.Advertisement Anyone who wants to vote need only show up with an official piece of identification and a piece of mail showing their permanent address in the riding.Furthermore, anyone who permanently resides in a different riding can vote for a candidate in their riding by going into the local Elections Canada office.For more information, residents can contact the local Elections Canada office at 250-785-1054 or visit the office at 9607 112 street in Fort St. John.The local office is currently open Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m., on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 12 until 4 p.m.Advertisement
Duvan Zapata in action for Napoli 1 Tottenham target Duvan Zapata is still happy at Napoli despite not being a first-team regular.The Colombian striker got a rare start in his side’s La Liga match with Sassuolo on Monday night and grabbed the opportunity with a goal on 61 minutes.It was the 23-year-old’s fourth league start of the season and he faces a tough fight to convince manager Rafael Benitez to pick him every week.But agent Fernando Schena told Tuttomercatoweb that his client is ready for the challenge.“Duvan is very happy with what he’s doing at Napoli,” Schena said. “He’s trying to make the most of the opportunities Benitez gives him. That said, he’s not satisfied, he wants to score again.“Targets? That’s simple, to score more and give Benitez a headache in selecting the starting striker.“He still has three years on his contract, it’s down to the club to make a decision.”
1 Aston Villa have agreed a deal to sign left-back Jordan Amavi from Nice, the Ligue 1 club have announced.The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a £10million switch to Villa Park in recent weeks.Now the Midlands club appear to have got their man, with Nice confirming they have accepted an offer for the France Under-21 international.Nice said in a statement on their official website: “An agreement was reached on Saturday for the transfer of Jordan Amavi to Aston Villa (Premier League).“Jordan Amavi has not participated in the trip in Belgium on Friday to compete in the second friendly match of Aiglons. While his team-mates were on the road to Waregem, the young left-back (21) took the direction of England.“And an agreement was made on Saturday afternoon with Aston Villa for the transfer.”The signing will come as a welcome boost to Tim Sherwood and Villa fans.The club lost captain Fabian Delph to Manchester City on Friday after he exercised the £8million release clause in his contract just days after he had committed his future to Villa.They also look certain to lose Christian Benteke, with Liverpool close to completing a £32.5m deal for the Belgian striker. Jordan Amavi [left] 
SANTA CLARITA – Mike Donnelly might not see himself as a model for future commuters, but if the city of Santa Clarita has its way, he may very well be. Donnelly, a project development coordinator for the city, has been riding his bike to work for the past nine years. The trek from his Newhall home to City Hall is five miles. “The only thing that stops me is more than a drizzle in the morning,” the 62-year-old said. “If in the afternoon it’s raining, I don’t care about getting wet going home.” The ride helps rid him of stress and revs him up for work. Donnelly and his wife share scenic rides on the weekends. Guided by a vision of less traffic and more people walking, riding buses and bikes to work and for play, the city will soon consider dramatically expanding the trail system and access to bus and Metrolink stops. “We’re trying to reduce the number of single-occupancy trips,” city traffic engineer Andrew Yi. “We’re trying to create an environment conducive for walking, trying to reduce our dependency on motor-vehicle use.” AD Quality Auto 360p 720p 1080p Top articles1/5READ MORESanta Anita opens winter meet Saturday with loaded card The plan could be tinkered with over the next six to 10 months. At this stage, it is a study, not a design project. City officials will vote on hiring a consultant to develop the full-scale plan. Yi said less traffic would be one of the benefits. “If you reduce existing trips by five percent – especially during peak hours – that will help enhance traffic flow and reduce congestion,” he said. “When school is out, traffic on our streets flows a lot better. School trips are not more than 10 percent of total traffic.” In its 47 square miles, the city has about 50 miles of bike lanes and trails, and 30 miles of paseos. The Non-Motorized Plan would contain many components, including a bicycle master plan, a trail plan and easier access to the transit stops. Builders who propose commercial developments will be asked to provide eating areas, so employees can stay put for lunch. Meeting state guidelines for bicycle master plans would make the city eligible to receive state grants. Bike trails or paths would need to provide access from home to school, work, recreational and shopping spots. One local nonprofit group that advocates for more bicycle riders is hopeful. “Cities like Portland, Oregon, have a tremendous amount of people who ride bikes despite having worse weather than we do here, largely because of the planning and accessibility,” said Maria Gutzeit, coordinator for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. “It’s not just about cyclists, it’s about better air quality, less traffic, having healthier people in terms of fitness and less stress, and the overall protection of the quality of life that many people moved here for.” Other cities are considering non-motorized plans, though Yi says Santa Clarita’s would be one-of-a-kind. Ann Arbor, Mich., planner Eli Cooper, who takes the bus to work four days a week and rides his bike the 4 3/4 miles on Fridays, said a final draft of a comprehensive citywide plan has been in the works for some time and could be voted on by the City Council in the spring. The new plan, which builds on an existing bike plan, calls for more bike lanes, off-road bike paths and narrowing some roads to include a bike lane. Santa Clarita officials would hold community meetings to hear from stakeholders and to gauge support for the plan. At its Feb. 14 meeting, the City Council will consider hiring a consultant for the project. Judy O’Rourke, (661) 257-5255 judy.orourke@dailynews.com 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
A delegation from a lobby group formed to oppose bed closures at Dungloe Community Hospital has met with the HSE.The meeting follows on from a very well attended public meeting last week to discuss the recent temporary closure of ten beds at the West Donegal hospital.The lobby group delegation of local concerned members of the public included local County councillors Marie Therese Gallagher, who had called the Public meeting, Councillor Daithi Alcorn and Pat the Cope Gallagher MEP. Charlie Boyle (Yank), having chaired last week’s meeting, attended to confirm the action plan and public issues raised.Ciaran Doherty on behalf of the HSE met the group along with Hospital management.Following on from last week’s meeting- today’s meeting with the HSE was one of three measures.The second is to meet with Junior Minister Deputy Dinny McGinley with a view to securing a meeting with the Minister for Health James Reilly. The meeting with the Junior Minister has now been confirmed to take place over the weekend. The third and unanimously supported action is a protest march in Dungloe which will now most likely take place on Saturday June 15th.Here the public of West Donegal will be able to show their concern at the recent bed closures and a large turnout is anticipated at this mid-June March.“The mood and spirit at last weeks meeting was really good – however it is important to continue the momentum on what was agreed as a group”- a spokesman said after today’s meeting which was described as ” informative ,helpful and hopefully worthwhile” LOBBY GROUP STEPS UP PLAN OF ACTION ON DUNGLOE HOSPITAL BED CLOSURES was last modified: May 24th, 2013 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window) Tags:bed closuresdungloe hospitalmeeting
Adrian Sweeney was impressive for Dungloe again this afternoon, but he couldn’t halt his side being defeated by Gaoth Dobhair in the Donegal SFC.Cian Mulligan’s goal on the stroke of half-time was the crucial score between Gaoth Dobhair and Dungloe at Magheragallon this afternoon.Gaoth Dobhair came out on top in a physical bruising championship affair which enthralled the large crowd in attendance.In truth it was game of two-halves as Gaoth Dobhair lead by six points at the break. Kevin Cassidy’s men had the advantage of a strong breeze at their backs in the opeing period.They had the lions share of possession but until Mulligan’s goal failed to hurt Dungloe on the scoreboard, as they’d only pointed four times at that stage.Dungloe had their moments in the first-half with Adrian Hanlon forcing a wonderful stop from Christopher Sweeney.But at half-time it looked ominous for Dungloe as they Gaoth Dobhair by six,but Tony Boyle knew his men had the advantage of thw wind in the second period. Half time score Gaoth Dobhair 1-04 Dungloe 0-01. Dungloe started well and scored three points from Adrian Sweeney, Shaun Sharkey and Adrian Hanlon to reduce the deficit to three points.But Gaoth Dobhair hit back through scores from Kevin Cassidy, Noel Kelly and Odhran MacNiallais to stretch their lead back to six.However, Dungloe rallied back, Cory Gallagher rattled the crossbar when he powered through the Gaoth Dobhair defence and really ought to have scored.Substitute Adam Neely, a member of the Donegal minor panel, scored two points and Adrian Sweeney added another to bring it back to a one score game again. Dungloe pushed hard for an equalizer, but Gaoth Dobhair held firm to earn a crucial win.Final score Gaoth Dobhair 1-08 Dungloe 0-08Next up for Kevin Cassidy’s side is Termon, who sit bottom of the group, while Dungloe host Killybegs with the winner of that guaranteed to advance to the last eight of the Donegal SFC.DONEGAL SFC: GAOTH DOBHAIR EDGE OUT OLD RIVALS DUNGLOE IN CHAMPIONSHIP THRILLER was last modified: October 5th, 2014 by Mark ForkerShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Tags:Donegal SFCdungloeGAAGaoth DobhairnewsSport
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Drake University men’s basketball team nearly rallied from a 16-point deficit in a 77-73 loss Saturday afternoon at Evansville to split the season series with the Purple Aces. Drake pulled within four points late in the second half, but 25 points from Evansville’s Ryan Taylor, the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer, kept the Bulldogs from completing the rally. SIU 1/30/2018 – 7 p.m. “I thought we got a lot more active and physical in the second half,” Medved said. “We were able to score and get into some pressure to get them on their heels.” The half was knotted early before UE rolled off a 13-1 run behind a pair of three-point plays from Frederking and five points from Taylor to take a 20-8 lead with 10:24 left in the contest. The Bulldogs’ offense attempted just four shots during that five-minute run while the Aces made six-straight shots at one point. Drake faced a 37-24 halftime deficit as Evansville held the Bulldogs to 36 percent shooting with eight turnovers in the opening half. Drake freshman Jalen Gibbs (Waldorf, Md.) scored all five of his points in the opening period while Evansville’s Noah Frederking scored 12 points with a pair of three-pointers en route to 16 points on the afternoon. “We competed well in the second half, but these teams are too good and you can’t come out like that and expect to win,” said Drake head coach Niko Medved. “Every time we dug close, they responded and Ryan Taylor made some huge plays for them. But if we brought it for two halves, maybe it’s a different outcome.” Preview Buy Tickets Live Stats 1350 ESPN Mediacom/The Valley on ESPN3 Listen Live Watch Live Full Schedule Roster An Ore Arogundade (Chicago, Ill.) three-pointer with 12:46 left drew Drake within four points, 49-45, but back-to-back three-pointers from Taylor in a 35-second span stretched the Aces’ lead back into double-digits. After a slow first half, the Bulldogs converted on 52.2 percent of their shots and 46.2 percent from the arc but could not overcome poorly timed miscues and clutch shooting from Evansville (14-9, 4-6 MVC) in the final four minutes of the contest. That run was not able to put the Bulldogs’ over the hump as Evansville pushed the lead back out to eight points with two minutes to play and was able to seal the game at the free-throw line where the team shot 22-of-25 on the day. The Bulldogs pulled within nine points twice in the final six minutes of the half, but Frederking answered twice with a three-pointer to extend the Aces’ lead to as many as 15 points before taking a 37-24 lead into the locker room. “Whatever our mindset was coming into this game wasn’t good enough,” Medved said. “I thought we’d come out spitting more fire and we didn’t. We haven’t been shooting the ball well and you can’t let that frustrate you.” Box Score (HTML) Box Score (PDF) The Aces extended their lead to 16 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but Drake rallied back with a 10-0 run fueled by a pair of three-pointers from Woodward and four points from C.J. Rivers (Cahokia, Ill.) to pull the Bulldogs within two possessions, 40-34, with 17:14 on the clock. Much of that spurt was keyed by defense as Drake forced five turnovers in the first five minutes of the period and scored 15 points off those miscues. The run also helped Rivers finish with his predictable line of eight points, a team-high seven rebounds and four assists. Next Game: Drake (12-11, 6-4 MVC) was led by 12 points from Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) with all 12 coming in the second half as he tried to will the Bulldogs to a road victory. Nick McGlynn (Stoughton, Wis.) added 11 points while De’Antae McMurray (Alton, Ill.) each had 13 points. However, Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) connected on his first three-pointer of the afternoon with 4:07 remaining to pull the Bulldogs within four points, 64-60, to cap a 7-0 run. Timmer finished with 11 points, but was kept quiet for most of the day with nine of those points coming in the final four minutes of the contest. Story Links The Bulldogs will try to rebound from consecutive losses Tuesday, Jan. 30, evening at the Knapp Center when they host SIU at 7 p.m. Drake is 8-1 on its home court this season.Print Friendly Version