December 29, 2014 – January 3, 2015
Monday 29
Rosignol man takes teenaged daughter’s death hard
–takes own life in recompense

THE body of a Rosignol man who blamed himself for causing his teenaged daughter’s death in a road accident was found floating in a canal aback neighbouring Cotton Tree Village, in West Coast Berbice. The remains of Alfred Branche, 62, was found by a search party, five-and-a-half days after he had slipped out unnoticed from his home at McKenzie Street Rosignol, apparently in a state of mental anguish following the death of his daughter by accident in the car he was driving on December 23 last. Branche was reportedly driving a wagon when it collided with a parked vehicle on the Number 29 Village Public Road, West Coast Berbice resulting in the death of his daughter, Yonette, 16.

Father and son remanded for Tuschen triple-murder
BOTH Jerome and Timmy Franklin were remanded to prison until March 11, 2015 when they appeared before Vreed-en-Hoop Magistrate, Rochelle Liverpool to answer to the capital offence of murder. The charges state that together they hacked Bibi Zalima Khan, Floyd Drakes and nine-year-old Ashley Boodhoo to death on December 18, 2014 at Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo. That attack also left Geeta Boodhoo, reputed wife of Jerome Franklin, minus her left hand and sustaining several other chop wounds about the body after the senior Franklin, Jerome, forced his way into the home that he once shared with the injured woman even though he had been restrained by the court from visiting the home.

Seven left homeless in Alberttown fire –
THE quiet afternoon atmosphere of Sixth Street, Alberttown, Georgetown was suddenly transformed into chaos in the onslaught of a fire that completely gutted a house at Lot 76, Sixth Street Alberttown, leaving homeless 91-year-old Enid Duesbury and one of her sons, 54-year-old Edwin Oudkerk, his spouse and her four children, who are all between the ages of three and 10 years. Oudkerk said he was at the dentist at about minutes to four when he received a call informing that his house was on fire. Upon arriving home, he said he saw his house well alit and subsequently learnt that one of his sons had been playing with matches.
Tuesday 30

Bandits nabbed in robbery, high-speed chase
19-year-old, Jeremy Jessemy, of 51 West La Penitence, 22-year-old Devon Brown, of T3 12 North Ruimveldt; and 19-year-old Simon Primo of 42 Pike Street, Sophia have all been nabbed by police following a robbery. Police on patrol along Sheriff Street were alerted that there was a robbery in progress, and given the description of the men and the car in which they were travelling. Immediately the police began going after the bandits, and using the information they were given, were soon able to catch up with the getaway vehicle.

Mother of four found floating in canal
THE body of thirty-four-year-old Natasha Jacobs of Lamaha Park, Georgetown was found floating in the South Sophia canal that is known as the “Blacka”. Residents and relatives suspect that the mother of four had been murdered by her lover, with whom she had shared an abusive relationship. Relatives at the scene of the discovery were vociferous about Natasha’s easygoing attitude.

Bandits shoot, disarm security guard while on duty
AN armed guard employed with Caliber Security Service was shot in the shoulder and relieved of his weapon. He is now warded at the Male Surgical Ward of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) where his condition is listed as stable. Walter Williams, who turned 63 a week ago, was on duty at a private residence in Roxanne Burnham Gardens when the incident occurred. Williams said he was standing on the bridge of the premises he was guarding when he noticed two men on a CG motorcycle approaching. They initially rode past him, but suddenly turned back and pulled up in front of him. The moment he laid eyes on them, Williams said, he knew they were military-trained and quite experienced.

Wednesday 31
West Bank contractor commits suicide 
CONTRACTOR Viddiadat Jaisari, 59, of Lot 54 Old Road, Nismes, West Bank Demerara, ended his life by shooting himself in the head with his licensed .32 pistol while seated in his parked vehicle on the Pouderoyen Public Road, West Bank Demerara. According to police investigations, financial/domestic problems contributed to the suicide. The man lived alone. Neighbours said he was hardly ever at home and he had never spoken much, except the exchange of normal pleasantries such as “Good Morning.” Jaisari’s wife resides at Diamond, East Bank Demerara, and it was reported that the couple had a ‘row’ prior to him taking his life. Additionally, the man was reportedly seen drinking at two bars before the incident.

Body of missing teen found floating in creek
THE search for Apex Academy student, 14-year-old Dhaniram Ramgopaul ended when caretakers of a creek along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway found his apparently fresh body floating in the same creek where he was swimming with family members before he exited the water to use the bathroom. This publication was informed that the 14-year-old was lured into a minibus with two friends he knew from the East Coast of Demerara who are in the business of selling music discs on push carts. She said that a 15-year-old boy who is among the persons in custody for the disappearance of her son, reportedly told investigators that they took the boy to a house where he was drugged and they all slept on a bed together. Asked if the young man had reported that any sexual activity went on among them, the woman responded in the negative stating that nothing of the sort was reported to her.

Speeding and drunk driving a deadly mixture
TRAFFIC Chief Hugh Denhert said he is very concerned with the spate of road accidents and not only fatal accidents. He told this publication that speeding, coupled with drunk driving, is a deadly combination and he wants those found culpable of such to come to the realisation that the police are out there and they have stepped up their enforcement exercise. Denhert added that some drivers are speeding, failing to stop when they should, and with rainy days it is advisable to drive more carefully as vehicles take a longer time to come to a halt on wet, slippery roads. The Traffic Chief also urged all categories of road users to be on the lookout for each other, including pedestrians.

Thursday 1
Agro-processing factory to come on stream in Pomeroon 
A NEW multimillion-dollar coffee, citrus and cocoa factory will be put into operation at Jacklow, Upper Pomeroon River this month as local entrepreneurship shows confidence in Government’s financial policies. Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Alli Baksh, commended the group of local entrepreneurs for investing in the project which will create markets for farmers’ coffee, citrus and cocoa grown in the area and at the same time add value to the produce through manufacturing.

Woman dies five days after giving birth at the GPHC
THE Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) in a recent report has revealed that a patient who delivered a baby on Christmas Day passed away on Tuesday last. After being discharged from the GPHC on Boxing Day, the patient whose identity is undisclosed at the moment, became ill and was taken to the Diamond Hospital from where she was referred to the GPHC’s Emergency Room.
The report added that the patient succumbed hours after admission to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the GPHC.

Speeding driver kills sexagenarian, seriously injures another

A DRIVER whom eyewitnesses said was either drunk or fell asleep at the wheel on New Year’s morning struck down and killed an elderly man and injured another, who is in a critical condition. The driver was subsequently arrested after fleeing the scene of the accident. Dead is George Barker, 61, of Lot 41 Freeman Street, East La Penitence, Georgetown. At the time he had gone to purchase the daily newspapers when he was killed by the speeding, out-of-control car. The car subsequently ended up in a trench nose first, after hitting two persons including Barker, and shifted a fruit stall by the roadside just outside the St. Pius Church.

Saturday 3
President says…
Clear demonstration of confidence in Amaila Hydro Power Project from partners
THE Amaila Falls Hydro Power Project (AFHP) is moving forward and development partners’ continued support is a clear demonstration of confidence in the project’s merits, according to President Donald Ramotar.
“Within months, we (the current administration) expect to achieve financial closure and commence construction, and this project will come into operation during our new term in office,” he disclosed in his New Year’s address to the nation.
The announcement follows last October’s promised transfer of an accumulated US$80M in payments from Norway, US$45M released in 2013 and US$35M released last October, to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which would be used as Guyana’s equity contribution to the Government’s AFHP.
These monies, the Head of State announced on Wednesday night, have been transferred and represent a significant accomplishment for Guyana and by extension the Guyanese people.
“The project is once again moving forward… it demonstrates that all partners have strong confidence in Amaila,” he said.
The transfer of the monies to the IDB follows a clear indication of support for the project from the Bank last August, where the organisation made it clear that it was “still on board” for the Amaila Falls Hydropower Project.

Machine-readable Guyana Passports upgraded
FOLLOWING the 2014 inking of a contract with the Canadian Bank Note Company Limited, Government has been able to upgrade the security features of the Guyana Machine-readable Passports in an effort to safeguard the integrity of the document. Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee said: “This upgrade was facilitated during 2014 by the Canadian Bank Note Company with the decommissioning of the old system and installation of new hardware and software components. This process is almost complete, and the new, re-designed passports will come into being in 2015, while the old passports will be gradually phased out.”

Police adopt no nonsense campaign against tinted vehicles 
MEMBERS of the joint services will not be spared in the renewed approach to the zero tolerance campaign by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) against those vehicles bearing tinted windows particularly in “A” Division. This was assured by the Traffic Officer Ramesh Ashram and Commander Clifton Hicken of “A” Division. The police are of the view that tint on vehicles does impair the vision of drivers especially when they encounter junctions and cross streets at nights and fail to roll their windows down to afford clearer vision of oncoming traffic and pedestrians.

Local Government Ministry, IDB urge shoppers to switch from using plastic bags
Guyanese shoppers can now make a significant positive impact on improving their environment when they shop. Under the Clean Green Guyana Campaign, being administered by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development and funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, shoppers at major supermarkets may receive an attractive and sturdy re-usable bag in which to place their groceries and other purchases instead of putting these in plastic bags that harm our environment. Research shows that a significant proportion of waste generated in Region 4 and in Guyana, on the whole, is comprised of non-reusable, single-use products, including plastic bags, plastic bottles, and Styrofoam containers.