The residents wrote to the police chief some time in November, outlining their concerns and asking that something be done about the unsightly look of their neighbourhood caused by vehicles left on the side of the road and the hazard to motorists and pedestrians.

The matter was passed on to Assistant Superintendent of Police Joseph Hughes, the officer in charge of the Traffic Department.

Contacted, yesterday, Hughes said Craig White had been asked to remove the vehicles and to cease operating on the roadside. He said the police were concerned because the road is being obstructed as many vehicles are parked for extended periods.

The officer indicated that it was his understanding that the mechanic had been allocated a parcel of land to conduct his business, but he was uncertain why he had not relocated.

“We have to give notice for a person to move,” the traffic cop said. “The law is one thing and the social setting is another.”

The traffic head said it is the police’s intention to have the vehicles removed “soonest,” “but a number of factors come into play.”

The officer could not be pinned to a date to have the situation remedied and would only say it depends on the “assets” available. Pressed to reveal just what he meant, Hughes said the police tow truck.

Not for the first time, the people who live just below the Ministry of Social Transformation are complaining that the vehicles parked on the side of the road present both a nuisance and a hazard.

Long-time resident of 42 years, Selwyn Palmer, told The Daily OBSERVER, “He is endangering people’s lives. Do you know how many times people nearly got hit because they can’t use the sidewalk? Cars hit one another regularly because the road is blocked.”

Another homeowner in the area said the mechanic dumps old oil in the gutters and the smell permeates the houses. She noted, too, that sometimes pedestrians slip while trying to navigate the oil slick.

The officer has added a twist to the homeowner’s complaints, however; he told this newspaper that many of them are law-breakers as well, for they park their vehicles on Dickenson Bay Street, which is in fact a no parking zone.

“There are people living in the area who park on the road. They are committing an offence because this is a prohibited area for parking from 7 am to 7 pm,” Hughes said.

The officer indicated that in the matter of parking the police have had to exercise some leniency.

“We, too, are challenged. We have more vehicles than the station yard on Newgate Street can hold, so officers park their unmarked vehicles on the street, which is a no parking area.”

According to Hughes, a number of streets in St John’s were made one-way or no parking zones in anticipation of the Sunrise Hub Car Park, which is yet unfinished.

It therefore means, ”You can either exercise the law to the letter T or the spirit of the law.”

Bullets, having played a game more than Swetes, defeated Urlings 3-2 in a close contest played at the Urlings playing field as they kept their promotional hopes alive going into the final three rounds of matches in the competition.

The Piggotts men had strikes coming from Endegua Malone, Jordon Thomas and Jermaine “Mini” Jarvis as they rallied to their close victory that left Urlings on 21 points at mid-table.

In another fixture of interest, La Bussola Willikies defeated Liberta 2-0 as they climbed to 37 points in the number three position.

Mark Joseph and Bevis Romeo scored for Willikies as Liberta remain on 13 points and third from bottom in the competition.

Also, Fort Road defeated National Parks English Harbour by a 3-1 margin with all three victors’ strikes coming from Alren Lewis. Fort Road now have 25 points.

Marlon Hastings had the lone goal for Harbour who remain second from bottom with 13 points.

The competition will continue today when Bethesda host Swetes; Potters host Freeman’s Village, and Guydadli play Young Warriors at Antigua Recreation Grounds.

All matches will start at 4:20 pm.

Disaster Risk Management Consultant Paul Saunders was in the island yesterday to begin the process that will assess how the National Office of Disaster Services (NODS) has handled its responsibilities as a sub-regional focal point of CEDEMA.

“They have engaged us to undertake a review of the sub-regional focal points’ roles and functions but more specifically to develop an audit instrument that CEDEMA can use on an annual basis to assess the capacity of each sub-regional focal point to see how well they are able to undertake their role and function,” Saunders explained.

Antigua & Barbuda, through NODS, has oversight responsibilities for Anguilla, the Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and St Kitts and Nevis. It means the country is responsible for co-ordinating all efforts designed to limit loss of life and property in those territories.

NODS Director Philmore Mullin said he is eagerly awaiting the results of the assessment.

“We have been activated several times and we would want to know the expectation of CEDEMA … and if we are falling short in any shape or form we would want to know what our shortfalls are so we can put things in place to remedy those,” Mullin said.

Saunders said his visit yesterday was for preliminary work and he is expected to return to the island in March to conduct “a direct assessment of Antigua’s capacity as a sub-regional focal point.”

“We will be looking at what are the gaps which have been identified in particular when it comes to training and equipment needs and CEDEMA will look at how they can fill those gaps,” Saunders said.

Among the key considerations CEDEMA is looking at during the audit are whether Antigua & Barbuda has been keeping proper record of the emergency equipment and personnel in the area for which it’s responsible and whether that information is adequately distributed in all the countries.

CEDEMA also wants to see whether vital equipment has been obtained and being kept in proper working order and also, if adequate planning is in place to get that equipment to people with emergencies.

Assessments are also being carried out in the other three CEDEMA hubs — Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The competition, dubbed the Best Of Books Wadadli Pen Challenge 2011, is open to writers 35 years and younger, legally resident or native to Antigua & Barbuda. Writing can be fiction, poetry or non-fiction, and can be in any genre, fantasy to comedy, but it must be written to appeal to younger readers.

Organisers say submissions must be the kind of story a parent might read to a child or a young reader would pick up and read on his or her own. As has been the case since the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize was launched in 2004, the writing must reflect a Caribbean sensibility. Stories must have a Caribbean setting and/or in some way reflect the Caribbean experience. This can include the rough and tumble reality, the superstition and mythology, the history or the possibility.

“The world of children’s fiction should allow you to let your imagination fly as Thumbelina did on a lily pad, as Peter Pan and Wendy did simply by wishing it so, as Harry Potter did with a wave of his magic wand, as Dorothy did with three clicks of her ruby slippers,” a release said. “Dream, that’s what this year’s challenge is asking you to do and let’s create literature that can be read and enjoyed by the youngest among us and yet still appreciated by every young-at-heart adult.”

Persons entering in each category – 12 and under, 13 to 17, 18 to 35 – will have more than one opportunity to win. With input from the judges/editors, each short-listed writer will have the opportunity to edit and fine tune the work before final judging. Winning pieces will be published in the local press, posted to HYPERLINK “http://wadadlipen.wordpress.com/”http://wadadlipen.wordpress.com and possibly other sites promoting Caribbean literature, especially children’s literature. Also, Wadadli Pen reserves non-exclusive right to publish/record the winning works in other formats without restriction.

Wadadli Pen is once again partnering with the Best of Books, celebrating its 10^th anniversary in 2011, in this venture. Best of Books will sponsor the Challenge plaque displayed in their store with the name of the winning writer; as well as other prizes and certificates. They will also host the prize-giving as a part of their anniversary activities in June.

Prize contributions and commitments, meanwhile, have also come from Seven Seas via local distributor Frank B Armstrong, the International Women’s Club of Antigua & Barbuda, the Antigua & Barbuda International Literary Festival, African American author of Ninth Ward Jewell Parker Rhodes, and Through a Window by Antiguan author Floree Williams. Antigua Nice has agreed to provide a free web page as well to help promote the competition.

Each writer is allowed a maximum of three submissions, which should be sent to HYPERLINK “mailto:wadadlipen@yahoo.com”wadadlipen@yahoo.com no later than March 31, 2011.

More than 30 male and female teams will take part in the competition.

The teams confirmed their participation at the annual general meeting held at the Heritage Hotel conference room on Tuesday night.

The deadline for membership will be at the opening ceremony.

There will be six competitions during the season: The Caribbean Alliance Insurance (Males) 30 Overs (of which Asot’s Arcade Vernon Hall Construction Lion Hill are the defending champions); The St John’s Co-operative Credit Union (Females) 25 Overs (Quality Boat Works Enforcers); The Island Provision Pepsi 10 Overs-a-side (Quality Boat Works Enforcers); The Island Provision Village Ram (Males) 10 Overs (Old Road); The Anjo Wholesale Tropical Rhythm Twenty20 (Bryson Bullets) and The Hutchinson Antigua Ltd (Males) Twenty20 (Old Road).

OBSERVER Sports has been reliably informed that after news broke of the intended resignation of President Henderson Bass, issues have been resolved and wounds healed, at least for now.

Bass returned to head the association last year after a number of years, but has met much resistance to his style of leadership.