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Centenarian celebrates with worship

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One of Onesta “Viola” Albertina Devonish’s greatest loves has been attending church.

Not only did Barbados’ latest centenarian attend service every Sunday at the Whitepark Wesleyan Holiness Church, but she also ventured to nearby churches that held services during the week, to satisfy her thirst for God.

Such was the testimony from her granddaughter Yonnette Murray as she spoke lovingly of her Onesta, who celebrated her birthday on Friday with family and friends.

Murray, who was speaking  at a celebratory church service in Onesta’s honour at the Whitepark Road church, told of how her grandmother loved to eat, but often showed concern, making sure that all others around her were well fed, even before she herself started  to feast.

Murray also spoke of her grandmother’s love for basketball and how she often visited the YMCA to watch games, to the extent that she was even got  the Most Ardent Fan Award  in the 1980s.

She loved cricket too and often found herself at Kensington Oval, sometimes unknown to her family.

Family member Leslie Murray told how Onesta covered him with prayer from the time he was a child, while Jeffrey Blackman paid respects to her for having been “a chirpy, special old lady” who had played an important part in his life.

The centenarian was also treated to songs from the Sunday School department and a saxophone selection by Dr Joy Pollard,  and was presented with a plaque and monetary gift from the church by Reverend Joel Cumberbatch.

“Thank God, thank God, thank God,” Onesta responded when Cumberbatch asked her what had contributed to her longevity.

Onesta, who was born on May, 14, 1910, in Baxter’s St Andrew, has two daughters, five grands  and eight great-grands.

Insurer: It’s a strategic move

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British American Insurance Co. (Barbados) Ltd is urging its policyholders not to panic as it seeks a buyer for its operations.Moreover, the company said, it desired judicial management in order to preserve investors’ interests, and such a move should not be viewed in a negative light.According to a letter sent to policyholders in March, British American’s chief executive officer and general manager Keith King said: “Negotiations have started with a number of strategic investors, with the view of transferring the ownership to a new entity.”The insurance boss told policyholders that since parent company CL Financial in Trinidad and Tobago was “no longer actively involved” in the strategic management of the Barbados operation, the appointment of a judicial manager was in keeping with the company’s desire to continue to preserve the interests of its policyholders, and should not be seen as negative.Policyholders were assured that claims would continue to be serviced, but were told that, with the permission of the Supervisor of Insurance, the company had “temporarily suspended payments on withdrawals and surrenders” until a judicial manager was appointed.One year ago, British American Insurance assured its policyholders that it was able to continue “as a going concern”.    The insurance company promised to be “fully operational”, and told its clients that it was working “assiduously” to ensure their interests as policyholders were preserved. (MM)
From this week’s Business Authority now on sale islandwide.

Swift by name and nature

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Sprint hurdler Greggmar Swift stunned the field to win the men’s 100 metres last Saturday night at the National Stadium during the staging of the 10th Austin Sealy Invitational Trac Classic.Showing no signs of the injury which almost prevented him from attending the CARIFTA Games, Swift made a late surge, overtaking both Elroy Agard of Rising Stars and The Lodge Schools’ Shekeim Greaves – who had a bad start –  to stop the clock in 10.66 seconds, a new  personal best.Agard was a hair’s breadth behind in 10.68 seconds and Greaves  third in 10.69.The Under-17 girls’ race was also a major talking point with 12-year-old Tristan Alleyne of Rising Stars stepping up two divisions. Parkinson’s Shavonte Bradshaw had the best start, but faded to fourth as Alleyne surged through the middle. However, Akela Taylor of Quantum Leap had too much pride to be beaten by an Under-13 athlete. She nosed ahead to win in 12.32 seconds, Alleyne was second in 12.34 and Ariel Jackson of Freedom Striders third in 12.42 as the crowd screamed in appreciation.Deon Hope won the boys’ race in a record 10.96 seconds, Pacers’ Joshua Walcott (11.22) and Rising Stars’ Shaquille Hollingsworth (11.25) finished some distance behind  for the other places.Sprint Tech’s Sanya Penn of British Virgin Islands won the women’s event in a record 11.97 seconds, erasing Mara Weekes’ 12 seconds record. Weekes of Quantum Leap was second in 12.07 seconds and Shavonne Husbands of Freedom Striders moved up to the senior division and was third in 12.23.In the junior section, Jamahl Burke of Williams Industries West Terrace Tigers won the Under-11 boys’ race in 13. 42 seconds, erasing the 13.69 set four years ago by Mario Burke. Fabian Leon of Rising Stars was second in 13.53 and Kevon Hall of the Caribbean Union of Teachers (CUT) squad was third in 13.62.CUT’s Shontae Cole (14.33) and Janiah Drakes (14.48); and Rosette Hoyte (14.56) of Rising Stars took the top places among the girls.Renike Daniel of Gladiators won the Under-15 girls’ race in 12.86 seconds and Ramarco Thompson of Freedom Striders (11.80) held form and sustained his speed to edge teammate Oyimpreye Ekiyor (11.86) in the boys’ race.In the two new events, West Terrace twins Leilani Haddock (12.28) and Ajani Haddock (11.60) won the Under-9 80 metres dash, both miles ahead of their competition in the timed finals.The 400 metres turned out to be canters for the winners. Parkinson’s Sonia Gaskin (57.40) and Jerrad Mason (48.83) and Jamal Marshall (48.17) of Rising Stars all came home unchallenged. In the women’s race, Samantha John of Sprint Tech set a new record of 55.57.The CUT’s Tianna Bowen and Kedane Pollard also set new records in the Under-13 400m – Bowen clocked 62.21 seconds and Pollard 58.80.In the field events,  John Jones of Elite Distance won the men’s javelin with 59.90 metres. Kevon Charles of Gladiators was second with 58.62m and former CARIFTA medallist Terry Nurse on return after a five-year break placed third with 54.81 metres.Nicoliai Bovelle (57.32m) won the Under-17 boys’ event from his Elite Distance teammate Janeil Craigg (53.09) and Antonio Waldron (45.06m) of Princess Margaret.Charles Walcott won the men’s shot put with 14.16m; BC Trac’s Tristan Whitehall won the Under-17 event with 14.18m and CUT’s Ricardo Bovell was the Under-15 champion with 10.04m. BC Trac’s Shannon Green won the under-17 girls’ discus with 25.62m and Leah Bannister the women’s throw with 37.78m.Charles Greaves of Paces won the triple  jump with a personal  best 14.35m.

Simmons ends Pine slump

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SO MUCH FOR Ramon Simmons’ slump and any hopes Pinelands might fall into one.The national swingman had a Premier League basketball season high 28 points and added a game-saving block for good measure, as the Pine rebounded from Thursday’s loss to the Cavs by downing plummeting Nicholls Baking Cougars 77-71 on Saturday at the YMCA.It was his second straight game shooting at least 50 per cent from the field after starting the season missing 48 of his first 64 shot attempts while going a woeful 31 of 113 in six previous contests.However, the skills that made Simmons a national player three years ago were definitely on show in three separate outbursts which kept Pinelands from slumping to their first two-game losing streak on the season.The first came as a nine-point second quarter effort in a high-scoring duel against Godfrey Leacock, reducing Cougars’ early 29-19 advantage to a mere one-point lead (32-31) by the half-time break.But if Simmons was matched shot-for-shot in that period, he certainly had no equal in the ensuing third while erupting for 12 points, as Pinelands led by as many as ten points (53-43) late in the quarter.At one point the athletic swingman accounted for eight straight Pine points, singlehandedly thwarting the efforts of Leacock, Ricardo Jemmott and Antonio Yearwood by hitting a pair of three-pointers that sandwiched two lay-us.However, Yearwood threatened early in the fourth, scoring on an “and-one” play on drive to the hoop before spinning in the lane and handing-off for a dunking Jemmott to pull Cougars within five (60-55).Steve Sealy ended that rally with a timely triple though, before Simmons added five quick points and a crucial chase-down block of a certain Leacock transition lay-up to secure the final decision.Charles Vanderpool assisted Simmons with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Jemmott top-scored for Cougars with 17 points and 13 boards.Earlier, Alwyn Lovell scored ten of his season high 20 points in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth, as lowly Colombian Emeralds International Senators got their second win of the season in an 82-65 thrashing of the short-handed Sagicor Tridents.

Collingwood praises his men

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by HAYDN GILLA SPRINT among England teammates from the dug out to the middle to embrace captain Paul Collingwood told  the story.The capture of the  ICC World Twenty20 that won them their  first ever global title meant the world to  them at Kensington Oval yesterday.“This is right up there. It’s very, very special,” Collingwood told reporters after they trounced Australia by seven wickets in the final.“I don’t know if it is because I’m captain, but it feels exceptionally special to be the first team to win a World Cup for England. “It has been a team performance. It hasn’t been one man. The boys have done a fantastic job. A lot of credit goes to the thought process and the execution of plans. It has been absolutely spot on.”This was England’s first success in 35 years since the ICC has been staging global tournaments and it came in impressive fashion against a team that had marched to the final with a 100 per cent winning record.In the words of some, it was like if a huge load had been taken off their shoulders.“We’re the first team – to win a World Cup is very special. We knew there was a monkey on our backs. We knew what it meant,” said Collingwood, who had the pleasure of hitting the winning run.“I’m so pleased with the last few performances.  In pressurised situations against Sri Lanka and Australia, we were absolutely spot on. “I am just delighted with the boys. I can go right the way throughout the team. Everybody has contributed along the way. We played well as a team. Everybody has gelled well and we fully deserve it.”The manner of their triumph in the final was awesome, restricting Australia to 147 for six and marching to victory in 17 overs after a second wicket century partnership between opener Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen.“We just wanted to win. It is as simple as that, whether it be off the last ball or [with]  ten overs to spare. We just wanted to win. That’s what counts – to win a World Cup,” Collingwood said.“It doesn’t matter how good you look. It might look easy from outside, but it was a lot  of hard work and lot  of heartache.”

Forde misses out on medal

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Barbados’ top international cyclist, Barry Forde, did not medal in Friday’s sprint event at the 2010 Pan American Cycling Championships in Aguascalientes, Mexico. But his coach Gary Neiwand, is not in the least concerned. In fact, he is “pleased as punch” with Forde’s performance as it is an indication of how well they are meeting the targets of the cyclist’s new restructured training programme.Forde began training with new coach Neiwand last November when he relocated to Melbourne, Australia. Prior to his silver medal finish in the Keirin at these championships on Wednesday, he had signalled his return to international cycling with keirin bronze medals in the third UCI World Cup Classics in Cali, Colombia and in the Latrobe Carnival in Tasmania, Australia. The new training programme introduced by coach Neiwand kicked into high gear following Forde’s recovery from injury last year, and his preparation is currently geared towards the Commonwealth Games due to be held this October in India.  “Coach Gary Neiwand came into these Pan Am Cycling Championships with several objectives; one was to have Barry Forde medal in the Keirin given that at this stage of the training programme their focus is on power and conditioning,” said Keith Yearwood, President of the Barbados Cycling Union, speaking from Mexico earlier yesterday. “Barry and his coach have not done any work in the sprint area as yet because of the concentration on power and conditioning, as opposed to speed. Their intention to use these championships to look at certain technical elements, like gears and so on, paid off as they now have a clearer picture of how they will incorporate the particular techniques required for the sprint into the overall training programme.Yearwood said another key objective for the coach was to have Shane Weekes break the Barbados national record in the Kilo (1 000m) event, as a first performance benchmark in the training regimen that has been designed for him. “The Barbados Cycling Union is very happy with the performances we’ve seen here, and we will be continuing to do all that we can to ensure that our cyclists can continue to progress in this direction,” Yearwood concluded. (BA/PR)

Gay breaks straight 200m record

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MANCHESTER  – American sprinter Tyson Gay broke a 44-year-old world mark for the 200 meters on a straight track yesterday.Gay ran 19.41 seconds into a slight headwind on a specially constructed track in Manchester, shaving 0.09 off Tommie Smith’s mark set in May 1966 at San Jose, California.Smith was at the Great City Games to watch the 27-year-old Gay beat his time, which isn’t an official world record because athletic’s governing body only recognizes 200s run around a curve.“Going into the race I knew it was going to be tough to beat the record,” Gay said. “It was pretty hard for the first 100 meters or so and I was extremely tired.“Kim Collins had an excellent start and  I think that motivated me to get down the street. It was truly amazing and it was a tough recordto break.”Gay, a former 100 and 200 world champion, is working toward challenging three-time Olympic champ Usain Bolt’s supremacy. (AP)

Full disclosure needed

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KINGSTON – As Prime Minister Bruce Golding ponders his next move  in the wake of the deepening Manatt, Phelps and Phillips scandal, two powerful private sector groups are now calling for him  to make full disclosure  to the nation and apologise for his handling of the matter.In separate releases over the weekend, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC) said Golding had lost its respect and should apologise to the public, while the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) said the prime minister must tell the full truth about the matter.Both organisations, however, stopped short  of joining the growing lists of organisations  and people calling for Golding’s resignation  as prime minister.“Mr Golding is expected to operate  at the highest level when dealing with the matters of state. The nation has been misled and,  as a result, the prime minister has lost our respect and confidence.  In order to commence the extremely difficult task  of restoring that respect, confidence and honour, the prime minister should start with an apology to the nation,” the JCC said.According to the JCC, governance is not only about doing what is morally and ethically correct, but also about ensuring that actions cannot be perceived  as being morally  or ethically incorrect.Said the JMA: “The actions of the Hon Bruce Golding of not disclosing the facts at an earlier opportunity have brought the country, government and position of the prime minister into disrepute.”According to the JMA, there is also a need  for more information  to be disclosed  on the matter,  as the information surrounding the issue remains baffling.Golding and his administration, the JMA said, should act speedily to restore credibility, dignity and honour  to his position as leader of the country and seek  to address the root cause of the issue, which has led to this predicament.“Transparent, responsible and accountable leadership from this point onward must be demonstrated  by all elected officials, and the JMA expects  that anything other than this will be met with immediate consequences and actions,” according  to the statement. (Observer)

‘Give us the truth’

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KINGSTON – OUTSPOKEN Adventist pastor Lorenzo King Saturday demanded that Prime Minister Bruce Golding tell the nation the “full, . . . truth” about the unfolding Manatt, Phelps & Phillips affair that has engulfed the governing party and triggered  a chorus of cries for  his resignation.But Jamaicans may never hear the unbridled truth if a pronouncement made minutes earlier by the PM’s wife is anything to go by.According to Lorna Golding, her husband was unable to “say everything”. She also begged congregants to “read between the lines”.King made the call for Golding to come clean during the weekly Saturday morning service at the Andrews Memorial Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Kingston.“We are saying to the nation, we are saying  to the people of God,  we want the truth; the stinking truth, because out of that will come the resurrection,” King boomed, to overwhelming shouts of approval from the congregation.“The truth is a weapon of evil when possessed by wicked people. We want the truth, we want all the truth that sets us free,” King said, while expressing his distrust  of official statements issued by governments  in general.Before delving into his sermon, King and the church choir held high placards that read,  “We want truth”, which was also the theme  of his sermon.“No nation can move ahead without truth,”  said King, who oversees  an affluent church which has among its worshippers Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen and the prime minister’s wife.During prayers for Golding and his family, King asked God to help the prime minister  to be truthful.“Help him to be honest and be truthful and  to be prepared to abide by the consequences  of truth,” King prayed.But the “full truth” that the nation has been clamouring for since the Manatt affair broke, may never come according to a statement by Mrs Golding, just moments before King’s stirring sermon.“I must tell you, Bruce is fine,” Mrs Golding  told the congregation, while outlining that  she had been drawing strength and inspiration from The Bible.“He is taking some responsibility that he has to take and whatever he says you must read between the lines because he can’t say everything,” added Mrs Golding who appeared frail, an apparent sign of the weight of the crisis that has engulfed her husband.The furore over the hiring of the United States law firm Manatt,  Phelps & Phillips  to lobby Washington for  a favourable outcome  in the contentious Christopher “Dudus” Coke extradition matter, and the apparent web of deceit spun by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), escalated last week Tuesday when the prime minister, after much denial and pressure from the Opposition and other groups, announced in Parliament that he  was the one who gave  the OK for the engagement of the firm.Golding, however, maintained that Manatt was hired on behalf of the JLP and not the Government. Manatt is, however, saying otherwise.The prime minister’s confession came weeks after he ordered JLP General Secretary Karl Samuda to undertake  an investigation into the controversial matter.Samuda, in his “findings”, issued a release on April 27 stating that persons within the JLP approached Jamaican attorney Harold Brady  “to see whether, through his wide network of international contacts,  he could assist in facilitating the opening  of discussions between the US authorities and the Government of Jamaica, and thereby seek to resolve what had become  a treaty dispute between the US and Jamaica”. (Observer)

Demand high for campaign T-shirts

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PORT-OF-SPAIN – The fashion statement for the month of May is T-shirts  in shades of “balisier red”, “rising sun yellow” or just plain white.The demand  for T-shirts in these  three colours are  so high that suppliers confess to having  a hard time  fulfilling orders.A representative of one company supplying and printing T-shirts for the election campaign said there was currently  a shortage of red and yellow T-shirts on the  local market.Since the announcement of the snap election by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on April 16, this company has already printed some  50 000 T-shirts, at an estimated cost of TT$40  to TT$75, for one,  said the representative.The cost of an individual T-shirt depends on its style; spaghetti strap tops, polos or regular T-shirts and the various colours that may  be used when printing each T-shirt.The company’s spokesperson said the People’s National Movement’s (PNM)  red T-shirts are the highest priced because  of the level of difficulty  in printing on a red background and using three colours – black, white and yellow.Some of the marginal constituencies have been the biggest buyers of  T-shirts this political month of May, with one order amounting to as much as 10 000, says the spokesperson.Safe seat areas have seen orders for much less T-shirts, about only 2 000 in one instance, the representative added. (Trinidad Express)

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