Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

An alert Police Constable, travelling in a minibus, this morning helped to nab another passenger who had 6,764 grams of marijuana in his possession.

Reports are that the officer was en route to work at the Mahaicony Police Station and while in the minibus, he got “a high scent of marijuana”.

As a result, the cop communicate with another rank who was on duty at Mahaicony Police Station. At stop and search exercise was staged at about 08:41h as the minibus was passing the station on the Mahaicony Public Road.

The passengers were instructed to take possession of their personal belongings and exit the vehicle.

However, two travelling bags (one black and one multi-coloured) were left under the second to last seat in the minibus.

The narcotics found

The rank asked who the bags belonged to and the driver pointed out a 26-year-old passenger, Earl Vanlewin, who is a miner and lives at Moruca in Region One (Barima-Waini).

The rank carried out searches on the bag during which four wrapped parcels were found containing leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis.

The suspect was told of the offence, arrested and cautioned. He said he collected the two bags from a man in Rosignol, and he was taking the bags to a man in Georgetown.

Both the suspect and narcotics were escorted into Mahaicony Police Station, where the latter was weighed and it amounted to 6.764 kilograms or 14.912 pounds.

The cannabis was sealed and lodged, while Vanlewin was placed in custody and is slated to be charged.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

With the current high temperatures expected to last into October this year, the island’s top doctor has given some advice on how persons can beat the heat and protect themselves and their families from heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr Kenneth George, explained that while the physiology of the body was such that it could accommodate high temperatures by releasing sweat as a cooling mechanism, if temperatures rose severely, the body’s core temperature would also rise.

Once that core temperature reached above 40 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or more, people usually start to experience heat exhaustion, which can then lead to heat stroke.

He added that the symptoms were usually minor, at first, but could “scale up” over a short period of time.

“Basically, what happens is that it is a slow and progressive failure of the body to compensate when in a prolonged situation…. Persons may experience headache, fast heart rate, feeling generally unwell, a feeling of thirst, dizziness and that may progress to fainting, if in a prolonged heat situation. And then later, the unfortunate outcome is that you start to get organ failure, wherein the body is not able to compensate anymore,” Dr George outlined.

Fortunately, he said there were many methods people could use to prevent this from happening. They include:

Staying hydrated. An individual requires three to three-and-a-half-litres of water per day but with the current temperatures, the Chief Medical Officer advises that persons may consume up to four to five litres of fluid daily.Remaining indoors when possible and avoiding outdoor activities such as exercise when the sun is at its hottest between 11 am and 3 pm. It is recommended that persons exercise early in the morning or late in the afternoon.Wearing light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing.Drinking cool water instead of ice-cold water to quench thirst.Avoiding sugary beverages and limiting the consumption of alcohol which worsens the symptoms of heat exhaustion by causing dehydration. Alcohol is also a diuretic and makes the kidneys pass more fluids.

He acknowledged that there were some categories of workers who could not avoid being outdoors. In this case, he recommended that they take short breaks in cool areas when exposed to the sun. Additionally, Dr. George advised persons not to over-exert themselves, which could add to the symptoms of heat exhaustion.

He also noted that special attention should be paid to certain groups such as the elderly and children, during this time.

“For children under six months, breastfeeding alone is still only recommended. You have to breastfeed much more frequently. And for the elderly, it is important that some younger folks check in on them regularly, making sure that they have access to cool water during the day,” he emphasised.

The Chief Medical Officer also offered some advice on what to do if someone is exhibiting signs of heat stress. “The treatment, in severe cases, is to bring down the core temperature of the body to an acceptable range and that needs to be done quickly. If a person has fainted outdoors, while you wait for the ambulance, all attempts should be made to cool that individual. This can be done by placing cold packs on their chest and forehead or placing a wet towel to try to bring down the temperature,” Dr George stated.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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Black Immigrant Daily News

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PDP political leader Watson Duke at the party’s Trinidad office in Barataria on April 1. Duke has since resigned as THA deputy chief secretary. File photo/Angelo Marcelle

ANY elected member of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) may safely leave his/her political party without having to vacate their seat, under the crossing of the floor provision added to the TT Constitution which curbs elected members of the House of Representatives, a glance at the laws of TT revealed.

This is poignant now, given the tit-for-tat between the Progressive Democratic Patriots (PDP) leader Watson Duke and Tobago House of Assembly (THA) leader Farley Augustine, in which Duke axed Augustine as PDP deputy head while in turn himself stepping down as THA deputy chief secretary.

Duke has vowed not to leave the PDP saying he had founded it, even as he alleged Augustine was planning to form his own party.

A reading of the laws suggest neither man’s THA seat is threatened by whatever becomes of their respective party alignment.

In a provision inserted in 1978, the TT Constitution says in section 49(2) that an MP in the House of Representatives shall vacate his seat in any one of five circumstances, the last of which refers to circumstances of crossing the floor.

Section 49(2)(e) says an MP shall vacate his seat where, “having been a candidate of a party and elected to the House, he resigns from or is expelled by that party.”

The Tobago House of Assembly Act lists the circumstances under which the seat of a THA assemblyman becomes vacant, but this does not include changing his party. The THA Act in section 19 says his seat becomes vacant where he dies, resigns, is continuously absent without leave for 90 days or three sittings, ceases to qualify as an assemblyman or becomes disqualified under section 15. He is only qualified if he is a citizen of TT, qualified as an elector and resides in Tobago. He is disqualified if bankrupt, mentally ill, under sentence of death, disqualified under the Representation of the People Act (sections 31 and 32), holds an office in the THA, or is a member of the House of Representatives, Senate or a municipal/regional corporation.

THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine at the launch of the PDP Trinidad arm, Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain on May 1. PDP political leader has since removed Farley and two others as deputy leaders. File photo/Jeff K Mayers

The Representation of the People Act in section 31 debars the Chief Election Officer, Deputy or Assistant Chief Election Officers, and any returning officer.

This Act in section 32 bans membership of the THA (and House of Representatives and municipal corporations) for individuals who head certain named public bodies, plus other named public officials, and members of the Defence Force (listed in the second schedule.)

Those disqualified are chairmen of the Cocoa Rehabilitation Board (sic), Cocoa and Coffee Industry Board, Board of Film Censors, WASA, TTEC, Industrial Development Corporation (sic), National Housing Authority (sic), Port Authority, Public Transport Service Corporation, and Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund Committee. The RPA Act also blocked any member of the Agricultural Rent Board, Statutory Authorities’ Service Commission, Public Utilities Commission (sic), Rent Assessment Board, and a liquor licensing committee.

Newsday understands that several of these bodies no longer exist or have been replaced by other bodies.

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