Even with the rains coming more frequently and the wells filling up again, Barbadians continue to be concerned about leaking pipes and wastage in this water-scarce land.An irate caller told the DAILY NATION on Tuesday that residents in Hillaby, St Andrew, had been calling the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) “for two weeks now” to report a burst main that had been spewing gallons upon gallons of water along the road that leads to Mount Hillaby.The woman said they had even taken to putting some duct tape around the broken pipe to stem the flow, but water was still going down the drain.“All that is real water wasting day by day,” she said, adding that the response from a BWA officer when she called in about the leak was less than desirable.Efforts to get a response from the BWA on the number of leaks reported and those fixed at least for the first quarter of the year have so far been unsuccessful.The other reports this week were:• We have a burst pipe in 16th Avenue, West Terrace Gardens, St James, for months. You cannot miss it as long as you enter the avenue. – A. Simpson • There is a dripping standpipe located at Bryden’s Road, Brittons Hill, St Michael. (This is the road that the Seventh-Day Adventist Clinic is located on that would lead onto Layne’s Road.)– S. HolderMeantime, a Nation team on another assignment spotted an underground leak at the junction of Bannatyne Gardens, Christ Church, last week. Next week we will be giving an update on some of those leaks we have highlighted, reporting on whether they have been fixed.Over the past few months Barbados has been experiencing a drought. As a result, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) has appealed to Barbadians not to waste water. The BWA itself, however, must also pay attention, since there are a number of burst pipes throughout the island.We want to get those pipes fixed as quickly as possible, so we propose to help the BWA by highlighting the wastage. If you see a burst pipe or can tell us where water is being wasted, email bryanwalker@ nationnews.com
Hard loss
by HAYDN GILL in AntiguaIT WAS a comedy of errors and another unacceptable embarrassment.West Indies lost the first Digicel Twenty20 International by 13 runs to South Africa yesterday but the margin of defeat was bigger than it was and the manner of it was bordering on laughable.In chase of a hardly daunting target of 137, they made heavy weather of it, gifting wickets at the start with careless strokes and creating some unprecedented scenes at the end that looked more in keeping with amateurs.They fell short at 123 and it spoiled the outstanding earlier work of the bowlers and wicket-keeper Andre Fletcher’s high standards behind the stumps and left a bitter taste of many fans at the Vivian Richards Stadium.An asking rate of less than seven runs an over hardly requires throwing caution to the wind but both captain Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo fell to catches in the deep inside the first ten overs.Rookie fast bowler Ryan McLaren became only the fourth player to claim a five-wicket haul in the shortest form of the game, but his efforts were probably overshadowed by the inadequacies of the West Indies players.South Africa managed to keep the hosts in check during the middle overs but Kieron Pollard’s big-hitting that produced 27 off 17 balls kept them in the match when 56 were still needed from the last five overs.It was from there the game dropped to level that left a lot to be desired.After Pollard clouted a customary six that cleared the players’ dug out at long-off, he fell to the very next ball with a cross-batted stroke.The worst was yet to come.Darren Sammy made 17 off 28 balls but probably missed as many balls as he hit. South Africa and more precisely, Dale Steyn, opted to bowl at him outside stump and he struggled to make contact on most occasions.The comedy reached a high point when Jerome Taylor was run out from a wide when attempting to run a single to the keeper from what was a free-hit bowled to Sammy.More unbelievable stuff followed when Sammy was stumped from a wide when he moved out of the crease with the ball in the keeper’s hands.It was the third time in the innings that a wicket fell to a wide, the first coming when Narsingh Deonarine went to a leg-side stumping from the very first ball he faced.That came in the middle of a slump in which Bravo gave a catch to long-on after making 20 off 22 balls in an unaccustomed position at No. 3 and Ramnaresh Sarwan, shaping to hit to leg, gave a low catch to extra-cover.By then, Gayle, on whom so much depends, hit a ball down the throat of long-on after South Africa were able to restrict him following two fours in the first over.Even before what transpired at the end, there was some comedy at the beginning.Jerome Taylor claimed the wicket of Loots Bosman with the help of a fine diving catch by Fletcher to a ball that umpire Clyde Duncan had signalled wide before the batsman started to head off the square.It was one of four dismissals Fletcher was involved in.After a second wicket partnership of 73 between Jacques Kallis (53 off 45 balls) and captain Graeme Smith (37 off 31 balls), West Indies appeared to be the beneficiary of good fortune.Smith walked off believing he had been stumped by Fletcher, but television replays showed that when the bails were removed, Smith’s foot appeared to be still behind the crease.It was the opening West Indies needed and Kemar Roach responded with a double strike through some aggressive fast bowling in which he forced Johan Botha to glove a lifter from the second ball he faced.Those were welcomed wickets that stalled South Africa’s advance and the tourists could only manage 29 runs from the last five overs.West Indies would have been satisfied in restricting them to their lowest total in five Twenty20 Internationals between the teams.Gayle and his men, however, reciprocated the favour to gift the opposition victory.
3 000 children seek day care placement
OVER 3 000 CHILDREN are awaiting placement in day care centres across Barbados.This assertion came from Minister of Youth, Family and Sports, Stephen Lashley, as he addressed a gathering of the Barbados Children’s Trust at Simpson Motors Auditorium yesterday.Speaking after a cheque for $100 000 was handed over to the trust to start refurbishment of the Ellerton Day-Care Centre and the Nightengale Home in Black Rock, Lashley said: “This comes at a time when we have a backlog of children waiting to be placed.“We have over 3 000 children at the last count needing placement in our centres, and any expansion to facilitate those children, particularly the ones who are in need of special care, would really go a long way in relation to the overall needs of Barbados,” he said.The minister promised that once the facilities were refurbished, Government would develop a full maintenance programme in light of the fact that some structures were not properly maintained.“One of the problems we have with our buildings is that we may construct buildings and refurbish buildings, but we do not maintain the buildings in the manner they should be. This is an assurance . . . that these buildings will be maintained,” he said.President of the trust, Cecil Decaires, said they had been working to enhance the lives of children across Barbados for the past 13 years and expressed pride in partnering with the Child Care Board in this major project.Work on the total refurbishment of Ellerton Day Care Centre is expected to start next week, while a complete upgrade of the residential care facilities at Nightengale will start later this year. The work will be done in phases and is expected to cost more than $1 million.Phase 1 will be a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility for special needs children in care; Phase 2 will be the total refurbishment of three existing cottages on site, and in the longer term it is hoped that there will be improvement on the outside that will see a playground being added with benches and a kitchen garden.
Incident goes to Committee of Privileges
The incident involving St Joseph Opposition MP Dale Marshall and Cabinet Minister Dr David Estwick has been referred to the Committee of Privileges.This was announced on Tuesday in the House of Assembly by Speaker Michael Carrington at the start of the day’s sitting. He said a prima facie case had been established. However, he indicated that St Michael South East MP Hamilton Lashley’s crossing of the floor from the Opposition to the Government affected the composition of the committee. He therefore added that the Opposition would be given time to address this matter. (WG)
UWI overhaul
The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus will be undergoing a “complete” restructuring in the next two years.Principal of the campus, Sir Hilary Beckles announced the plan today at a CEO forum hosted by UWI and LIME, saying it was to make the institution more relevant to 21st century educational needs.The changes will see the UWI developing programmes in medical technology and creating institutes for digital application and could include the closure of some departments.“We are now planning, as we speak, to restructure the university completely in the next two years,” the UWI Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal told business leaders gathered in the UWI’s CARICOM Research Building.“We’ve gone through all of our departments and faculties one by one. We’ve stripped them down, looked at them – the deans, the heads.” The departments of Computer Science, Physics and Electronics, which fall under the Faculty of Science, will be affected by the coming changes.“This is the digital age, and therefore computer science and physics and electronics must get together and form an institute for digital design and digital application and transform those disciplines, spin out industries out of the application of those disciplines,” Sir Hilary said.“So we are going to put them together, close down some of the old systems, departments, and create institutes for digital application, so that that knowledge we have in computer science and physics can now serve the private sector in terms of the application of that knowledge to industrial development”.Sir Hilary reported that the campus was now looking for a professor of digital application “who will be a part of the transformation process”. (TY)For more details on this story, please read tomorrow’s DAILY NATION.
St John Sonnets returning to BFA’s Premier League
ST JOHN SONNETS will be returning to the Barbados Football Association’s Digicel Premier League next year.Sonnets edged Haggatt Hall 1-0 in their final match on Monday night to secure one of the two promotion spots from the Remy Martin Division One competition.The victory, at the Hilda Skeene playing field in St Philip, carried the St John boys, who lost just one game during the season, to the top of the standings on 51 points.While Sonnets were celebrating, KDJ Auto Parts Dayrells Road were ruing the fact that they dropped two vital points in a 1-1 draw with the lowly Eden Stars at Ellerton to end the season on 49 points.Dayrells Road are currently in second position, but can be overtaken by Lord Willoughby Tavern Bagatelle United, who are on 48 points.Bagatelle can move to 51 points should they defeat fourth-placed University of the West Indies (UWI) in their rescheduled final match at the National Stadium on Sunday at 6 p.m.A victory would make Bagatelle overall champions on a superior goal difference, but a loss would open the door for Dayrell’s Road to play in the Premiership next season. Bagatelle would nip Dayrells Road for the second promotion spot should the game end in a draw.In other results, Maxwell beat Indar Weir Travel Clarke’s Hill 2-0 and St Peter’s Cosmos defeated Haynesville 3-1. (EZS)
Double wins for Bajan hurdlers
HURDLERS Kierre Beckles and Shane Brathwaite had double victories over the weekend at the National Junior College Athletic Association’s Region 1 Championships at Mesa Community College in Arizona.Beckles won the 100 metres hurdles in 13.57 seconds and the 400m hurdles in 62.88 seconds to qualify for the national finals, and was also part of the Central Arizona College champion 4×100 metres relay team.Brathwaite won the men’s 110m hurdles in 14.06 seconds and the 400m hurdles in 51.79, also qualifying for the Nationals. He was also part of their winning 4x100m relay team.At the Conference USA Championships in Florida, Barbadian sprinter Shakera Reece placed third in both sprint events. Competing for Rice University, she clocked a season’s best 11.53 seconds in the 100m and 23.87 seconds in the 200m. (SAT)
Mayers duo rallying again
by TREVOR THORPERALLY BARBADOS 2005 winner Roger “His Hotness” Mayers will team up with his brother Barry to present a formidable team in Sol Rally Barbados later this month.Entered in SuperModified 11, in the ex-Jonathan Still Terra Caribbean/Delaware Dispensary/Illusion Graphics/Redlinefuels.com/Quality Tyre BMW M3, the Mayers brothers are returning to rallying after a five-year layoff.Roger, currently the lap-record holder for Guyana and Barbados, said they were at a party when Still mentioned how he had always dreamed of them driving his car.“I said, ‘Do you want to rent it for Rally Barbados?’ and it went from there. Barry approached a lot of sponsors, and I’d lost all hope when we heard nothing. “Then, at Barry’s wedding, Kathy-Dawn Burke got wind of it and jumped straight on it with Terra Caribbean. With some help from Delaware Dispensary, who support us at Bushy Park, and three additional sponsors, here we are!” he added.The Mayers brothers are in the largest group in the rally, SuperModified 11, which has attracted 16 crews.Among them are Mark Hamilton and Clive “Ears” Howell in the PowerMaster Batteries/ConsolidatedFinance/Valvoline Oil/Kumho Tyres Ford Escort MkII, the English pair of Martin Stockdale and Mark Swallow in the Divi Southwinds Beach Resort/Drive-a-Matic Car Rentals BMW M3 Compact, Nick Gill and Sue Rogers in the SDRR Hydraulics & Industrial Spares Inc/Hilti Tools Mazda 3, Brian “The Iceman” Gill and Avinash Chatrani in the Aqua Pur/Electric Avenue BMW M3, and the Cumberbatch family of St Elmo Cumberbatch and two of his sons.Ireland’s Martin and Janet Taylor, in the Dublin Crystal/Janet Taylor BMW 325, and Gary Thomas and Phil Ralphs of Wales, in the Tsalta Motorsport/Cam Sport Ford Escort G3, round out the group.Between them, the Mayers brothers have seven top ten finishes in the rally in a span from 2000 to 2005. Roger had an outright win five years ago in the company of Max Ferri. He also finished second overall in 2002 in a Ford Escort Cosworth and enjoyed class wins in 2000 at the wheel of an MG Metro 6R4 and 1999 in a Toyota Starlet.Barry, who returns from honeymoon this week, has finished in the top ten and won the Modified Open or SM11 class four times in the Starlet, finishing fourth overall in 2005 with the only two-wheel-drive car in the top ten.Roger said their goal in the 24-stage rally is to finish as top two-wheel-drive car, but he expects fierce competition from the likes of Ian Warren, Josh Read, and Mark Hamilton.With Still, who has a hat-trick of wins in the group, not entered, there will be a new winner this year. The Mayers brothers will have their first taste of competition in the Shell V-Power King-of-The-Hill event at Sailor Gully on Sunday.
Fit Lara weighing Twenty20 options
Former world batting star Brian Lara has begun his preparation for a possible return to cricket, as speculation continues over a stint with English County Surrey and a debut in the lucrative Indian Premier League next year.The 41-year-old Lara, one of the finest batsman to have played the game, told CMC Sports that while he had made no concrete plans, he was still keeping himself in shape and honing his skills.“It’s still early days. I’m playing cricket again, which is good; I’m practising, which is great,” he said.“I’m still playing my golf, I’m still doing my business. At my age, you just do everything at a good pace and see where you get to.”The high-scoring left-hander has not played international cricket since his retirement three years ago, but recent reports indicated Lara was willing to make a comeback in Twenty20s for Surrey later this summer.Former IPL boss Lalit Modi also recently hinted during the just concluded season in India that Lara could feature in the cash-rich tournament during the next edition.Lara pointed out, however, that he was content to keep his options open regarding his future in the game.“It’s nothing like where I’ve set goals or anything like that,” said the former West Indies captain.“I’m enjoying my life. I can still do a few things because I’m still feeling fit and capable of doing it.”Surrey chief executive Paul Sheldon said last month that they were in discussions with Lara over a possible stint in the Friends Provident T20 Tournament.“We are still closely in contact with Brian and in talks with him,” Sheldon was quoted as saying. “The idea is that he will be involved in areas of the club other than cricket. But we are only talking to him about playing Twenty20 cricket for us.” (CMC)
Shoes donated for vagrants
Sneakers worth more than $32 000 have been donated to the Barbados Vagrants and Homeless Society (BVHS). The 300 pairs of Jordans footwear were donated to the charity by the organisers of a sneakers blow sale, which is located in the BAMP complex on the Spring Garden Highway. Yesterday, chairman of the society, Kemar Saffrey, told the MIDWEEK NATION that Tashanna Parris, a contestant in the Miss World Barbados competition, will distribute the sneakers early next month to several vagrants.He explained Parris had adopted the society as her Beauty With A Purpose project for the competition. “Right now [it] is very hot, so these shoes will help to cool the vagrants’ feet. Along with the shoes, we will also be handing out clothing,” said Saffrey.Contributors of the shoes preferred to remain anonymous but said they were happy to be making the donation.Commending the BVHS for its contribution to the society, they urged corporate Barbados to follow in their footsteps. (AH)