Bell at Special Olympics Head of Delegation Conference

As part of the preparation for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games there is a Head of Delegation Conference being held in Los Angeles, United States, from January 21 to January 26.

The games will be also staged in Los Angeles, running from July 25 to August 2.

Items on the conference agenda range from athletes’ registration to sport and competition, venues, transportation, meals, medical care, and media and communication.

Lorna Bell, the executive director of Special Olympics Jamaica, is representing the country at the conference.

“These meetings are very important, especially when your delegation is huge and of course, remember we are travelling with special athletes, so it is important to look at housing, transportation and meals,” Bell said.

“I will also use the opportunity to meet the Jamaican community and share with them exactly the importance of these games.”

Over 170 countries and approximately 7,000 Special Olympics athletes are expected to attend the Summer Games.

Jamaica’s delegation should comprise 88 individuals. That includes 69 athletes, 17 coaches and two officials. They will compete in aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, football, female futsal and volleyball.

Bocce is a sport in which players use an underarm action to bowl a ball at a target. Points are gained by the ball’s proximity to the target.

Jamaica won international acclaim due to historic achievements at the Special Olympics 2013 World Winter Games in the Republic of Korea.

The tropical island won silver medals in two ice figure skating categories to go with their second-place finish in floor hockey.

Special Olympics aims to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The programme offers these individuals the opportunity to develop physical fitness, participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families and other Special Olympics athletes.

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Bell at Special Olympics Head of Delegation Conference

Jailed Virginia lawmaker regains seat in special election

Jan. 11, 2015: Candidates Joe Morrissey and Matt Walton appear during the Richmond Crusade for Voters, Inc. 74th District forum at Hobson Lodge in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Richmond Times-Dispatch, Mark Gormus)

RICHMOND, Va. –  A state lawmaker who resigned his seat following a sex scandal involving a teenage employee won it back during a special election Tuesday.

Apparently the majority of voters in Joseph D. Morrissey’s Richmond-area House of Delegates conviction were OK with his conviction in the scandal involving his 17-year-old secretary, whose nude photo was found on his cellphone and allegedly shared with a friend. Morrissey has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying his phone was hacked. The young woman, who denies they had sex, is now pregnant.

In unofficial returns, Morrissey defeated Democrat Kevin J. Sullivan and Republican Matt D. Walton by a comfortable margin. Morrissey won 42 percent of the vote, compared to 33 percent for Sullivan and 24 percent for Walton.

Morrissey’s victory was not unprecedented: Through four previous elections, most voters overlooked or even embraced the lawmaker’s flamboyant history of fistfights, contempt-of-court citations and disbarment. The 57-year-old bachelor, who fathered three children out of wedlock with three different women, repeatedly won at least 70 percent of the vote as a Democrat.

Morrissey said in a telephone interview that the results show people aren’t interested in the drama that landed him in jail.

“They’re interested in my body of work in the General Assembly,” Morrissey said. “Nobody works harder for their constituents than I do.”

He also said Sullivan’s ads focusing on his latest scrape with the law backfired.

“People hate negative campaigns,” Morrissey said.

The lawmaker has made a career of never backing down. He hung boxing gloves in his office and promised “Joe will fight for you” in campaign ads on city buses. At one point, he waved an assault rifle inside the House chamber while arguing for gun control.

He resigned his seat — effective Tuesday, the day of this special election — after he was convicted last month of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His agreement to serve six months in jail for the misdemeanor avoided a felony trial that could have barred him from office and put him in prison for years.

But Morrissey wouldn’t give up — he promptly quit his party to run as an independent for his seat, sleeping in jail and wearing an electronic monitoring device as he campaigned during the day.

Legislators from both parties denounced him as unfit to serve and began studying how to expel him if he won.

“Mr. Morrissey’s election tonight does not change the fact that his actions fall grievously short of the standards of a public servant in the House of Delegates,” House Speaker William J. Howell, a Republican, said in a statement.

House Democratic Minority Leader David J. Toscano and party caucus chairman Scott Surovell said in a joint statement that Morrissey’s “conviction and actions over the past two months were reprehensible, and we will be exploring every avenue in regard to his status as a member of the House of Delegates.”

According to House Clerk G. Paul Nardo said it takes two-thirds of the 100-member House to expel a member, which hasn’t happened since 1876. The Virginia Constitution says a legislator can be kicked out for disorderly behavior, but does not define it.

But Morrissey says the people, not politicians, should decide who represents them — and vowed a voting rights battle if they try to remove him.

His latest troubles began when Coleman Pride told authorities that the lawmaker was preying on his daughter when she worked at his law office in 2013 — allegations he repeated in campaign ads last week for Morrissey’s Democratic opponent.

But Morrissey’s staunchest defender is Myrna Pride, now 18, who went public this month with her side of the story.

The Associated Press does not usually identify victims of sex crimes, but Myrna Pride’s name has become well known in the district since she was named in Morrissey’s criminal case. She denies they had sex — while declining to identify the father of her unborn baby — and she publicly defended Morrissey on Monday in a radio interview.

Richmond radio host Jack Gravely was interviewing Coleman Pride on WLEE about his daughter’s relationship with Morrissey when the lawmaker called in to defend himself. Myrna Pride then showed up in person, accusing her father and others of manufacturing the entire scandal to get back at Morrissey for his help in a dispute over her father’s child support.

It was Morrissey’s role in the family’s dispute that reportedly prompted police to serve a search warrant of his office Monday afternoon, with only hours to go before the voting started. Morrissey called that a political dirty trick.

“The only person that has shown any respect or kindness, or been there for me, is Mr. Morrissey,” Myrna Pride told a WTVR reporter on Monday. “Right now it’s a friendship. I don’t speak with him often. I call here and there to check on him. I want to see how his spirits are going.”

Morrissey supported her in turn.

“She is a very smart young lady,” he told the radio host. “She is kind, she is considerate. She will go on to do very well.”

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Jailed Virginia lawmaker regains seat in special election

Argentina special prosecutor in Jewish community center bombing found dead of gunshot wound

At left, firefighters and rescue workers search through the rubble of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association community center, after a car bomb rocked the building in downtown Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994. At right, Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor investigating the bombing, talks to journalists in Buenos Aires in 2013. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)

BUENOS AIRES –  A special prosecutor who had accused Argentine President Cristina Fernandez of ordering impunity for Iranian suspects in the South American country’s worst terrorist attack was found shot dead, authorities said Monday.

Alberto Nisman, who was set to testify Monday in a closed-door hearing, was found in the bathroom of his Buenos Aires apartment late Sunday, federal prosecutor Viviana Fein told Telam, Argentina’s official news agency.

“We can confirm that it was a gunshot wound, .22 caliber,” she said, adding that it was too early in the investigation to know what had happened.

Nisman had been appointed 10 years ago by Fernandez’s late husband, then President Nestor Kirchner, to investigate the 1994 bombing of the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and injured more than 200. In 2013, Argentina and Iran reached an agreement to investigate the attack, which remains unsolved.

That year, Nisman released an indictment accusing Iran and Hezbollah of organizing the blast. Iran denies any involvement.

Last week, Nisman accused Fernandez and other senior Argentine officials of agreeing not to punish at least two former Iranian officials in the case. He asked a judge to call Fernandez and others, including Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, for questioning.

“The president and her foreign minister took the criminal decision to fabricate Iran’s innocence to sate Argentina’s commercial, political and geopolitical interests,” Nisman said last week.

Government officials called the prosecutor’s allegations ludicrous.

A federal judge had begun the process of deciding whether to hear the complaint and whether anyone should be summoned for questioning.

Late Sunday, federal police agents in charge of Nisman’s protection alerted their superiors that he wasn’t answering phone calls, according to a statement from the Health Ministry. When he also didn’t answer the door, they decided to alert family members, according to the statement.

When Nisman’s mother wasn’t able to open the door because a key was in the lock on the other side, a locksmith was called to open it, the ministry said. A .22 caliber handgun and a shell casing were found next to Nisman’s body.

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Argentina special prosecutor in Jewish community center bombing found dead of gunshot wound

Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run donates equipment to UHWI Special Care Unit

SAGICOR Group Jamaica yesterday presented the Special Care Unit of the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) with medical equipment valued at $6.2m as part proceeds from the Sigma Corporate Run.

The annual 5K walk, run and wheelchair road race which took place in February, garnered over $21m, the most in the 16-year history of the event.

With a theme of “Save Our Children, Save Our Future 2014″ tagline, the Special Care Nursery was the recipient of two ventilators and accessories.

It is a part of the department of Child Health at the hospital that specialises in infectious diseases, development and behavioural paediatrics, cardiology, endocrinology, neonatology, nephrology, neurology, pulmonology and other subspecialties managed in conjunction with other specialties.

Dr Cecil White, CEO of the University Hospital of the West Indies, thanked Sagicor.

“We are extremely grateful as these machines you can see here are extremely expensive and are valuable to us. We can’t measure how valuable they are to us,” said Dr White.

Earlier this year, Sagicor presented three other beneficiaries with well-needed equipment and contracted services from the over $21m raised. They included the Sickle Cell Unit at the University Hospital; Sickle Cell Trust in Mandeville and Jamaica Kidney Kids Foundation.

Professor Minerva Thame, head of the department of Child Health at the University Hospital of the West Indies, pointed out that the donation has purchased vital equipment.

“When we got the two ventilators and were setting them up, we had two babies that were born the day before and both of them would have needed a ventilator because they have something that is called a respiratory distress syndrome, and they would have got progressively worse. Fortunately for them, both ventilators were set up and both have been beneficiaries of these ventilators,” said Thame.

“We are very grateful to be one of the beneficiaries of the Sigma Run. These pieces of equipment are important in the care of the newborn and will help to improve the level and quality of health care that we deliver as we work to save their lives,” said Thame.

Meanwhile, Ingrid Card, Sagicor’s group marketing assistant vice-president, said the support from Jamaicans was overwhelming.

“We want to thank every single person that registered, donated and volunteered to make a difference. Sigma Corporate Runs shows that when Jamaicans unite we can do anything,” said Card.

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Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run donates equipment to UHWI Special Care Unit

JNBS to esbablish special forex window for manufacturers

Manufacturers say Jamaica National Building Society, JNBS, has decided to help alleviate the foreign exchange shortage they are facing, by creating a special window. It allows producers to access foreign currency. The word came from President of  the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association, JMA, Brian Pengelley, who said it was achieved after lengthy negotiations with the Bank of  Jamaica and other financial institutions. JNBS is so far the only entity to accede to the manufacturers’ request. Mr Pengelley says the mechanics of  the agreement are yet to be worked out. Manufacturers have been complaining that a shortage of  foreign currency has been affecting their ability to pay for raw materials.

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JNBS to esbablish special forex window for manufacturers

JNBS to esbablish special forex window for manufacturers

Manufacturers say Jamaica National Building Society, JNBS, has decided to help alleviate the foreign exchange shortage they are facing, by creating a special window. It allows producers to access foreign currency. The word came from President of  the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association, JMA, Brian Pengelley, who said it was achieved after lengthy negotiations with the Bank of  Jamaica and other financial institutions. JNBS is so far the only entity to accede to the manufacturers’ request. Mr Pengelley says the mechanics of  the agreement are yet to be worked out. Manufacturers have been complaining that a shortage of  foreign currency has been affecting their ability to pay for raw materials.

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JNBS to esbablish special forex window for manufacturers

A camp with a special purpose

ONCE a year, two groups of children — one from the inner-city and another from the deaf community — get to experience another side to Jamaica. Spending five glorious days in the cool hills of Irish Town, St Andrew, they engage in horseback riding, swimming in the river, and learning about the environment and teamwork.

The children, whose ages range from 11 to 16 years, are participants at a special camp that integrates deaf children with their peers with normal hearing.Jeanne Croskery, one of the organisers of the residential summer camp, volunteered her time to ensuring that the children have an experience they don’t easily forget.Through donations from Corporate Jamaica and friends, Croskery has been able to sponsor some 22 children to attend this year’s camp.An unassuming Croskery said the idea to have such a camp was borne out of the interaction she had over the years with her foster son, who is hearing impaired, while taking him horseback riding on the weekend at friend Meg Phillips’ Ena’s Haven camp site in Irish Town.“I wrote to every company I could think of and a couple of them responded,” she said.Among those that responded were Burger King, Arosa Limited, Discount Pharmacy, National Continental Corporation, McGann Farms, Lillan Limited, and Palace Amusement.Friends also stepped in to donate the US$100 required to feed each child for the week.“We even had to go and borrow linen, blankets and even plates and cups, because some of the children couldn’t afford to bring their own,” Croskery told the Jamaica Observer.She also sought the assistance of the Jamaica Association for the Deaf and was pleased at how enthused they were at the idea of a combined camp.“They said they would send a counsellor and an interpreter,” Croskery said, adding that they ended up sending three full-time staff members.“One person came all the way from the St Ann school and he took the bus and came in to be a part of the camp for a week,” she recalled.“We ended up having a total of 17 children, eight of whom were from the deaf community,” she said.That first camp, she said, was successful beyond measure.As part of the process, Croskery said the ‘hearing’ children were required to role-play, having some sort of a disability so they could live in the shoe of another person — if only for a week.“So, we would blindfold one or we would tie up a child’s foot or hand and they had to learn to operate as a team and to help each other,” she explained.Working with the horses was, in itself, a very therapeutic experience as Croskery said many had never been that close to a horse.The kids also learnt a sense of responsibility having to do chores that included bathroom, camp site or kitchen duties.The second staging of the camp, which was held last month, attracted better sponsorship as persons have come to see the impact the previous one ad on the children.“We made some DVDs of the camp and everybody who we gave one to, if they sponsored one child last year they sponsored two this year,” she said, explaining that there were 22 children at the camp this year.She also said there was a lot in terms of food donation.“National Continental donated a lot of stuff, so much so that the kids were able to get two snacks a day plus bun and cheese,” she said.Croskery explained that this year, two American families were so impressed with the camp that they sent their two teenaged sons to be a part of the experience.“Four of the deaf children cancelled on the morning of the camp as nerves got the better of them on realising that they were being taken out of their comfort zones. And, so what we want is for the deaf children to go back and make presentation to others,” Croskery explained.She said, like their parents, many of the inner-city participants had never been outside of their communities.“We gave one child a picture to take home and the mother asked ‘is what that she have on har head’ because she never knew it was a riding helmet,” Croskery saidMeanwhile, she said taking the deaf participants out of their comfort zones brought to the fore how underserved the group is.“Just seeing these kids interact with each other, it is a shame that more people don’t realise that they are just deaf but not different,” she said.Already, Croskery said she is strategising for next year’s camp and looking at ways to improve on the experience for the children.“I am hoping to increase the number of participants for next year if we get the kind of support that we had for this year, and also if we can get more counsellors to be a part of it,” she said.Participants at this year’s camp pose for a group photograph at the end of the programme.Children go horseback riding, one of the main features of the camp.This group enjoys a splash in the river at the special camp to integrate hearing impaired children with their normal hearing peers.

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A camp with a special purpose

Region Six to get centre for special needs students

EDUCATION Minister Ronald Thwaites has pledged to identify funds in the next budget for the establishment of a special diagnostic and care centre for students with special education needs in Region Six.

Thwaites made the announcement on Friday while addressing teachers, principals and school board chairpersons at the Region Six Back-to-School Conference held at the Portmore Holiness Christian Church in St Catherine.Region Six encompasses the parishes of Clarendon and St Catherine.Thwaites, earlier this year, announced that three special care centres will be established in regions two, four and five by the end of this year.The facilities will be located at the Church Teachers’ College in Manchester; Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College in St James; and the College of Agriculture Science and Education in Portland and are estimated to cost the Government about $40 million.“I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to include a proper diagnostic centre in Region Six in this year’s budget, but I want to promise you, here and now, that in the next budget, whatever else we have to do, we’re going to set up a proper Mico-type care centre, whether it is in Old Harbour, Spanish Town or May Pen, to serve your parishes,” he said.Thwaites said that the centre, in addition to the other three diagnostic facilities to be established in rural Jamaica, will alleviate the need for parents to take their children to Kingston for assessment.He said that this will also lessen the demand on the services of the Mico Child Assessment and Research in Education (CARE) Centre, which is currently the only such facility in Jamaica.Thwaites stated that the move is in keeping with Government’s plans to revitalise and transform the education system with special emphasis on early childhood and special education.“We need to face the facts. We know that probably some 20 per cent of our children fall somewhere on this spectrum of mild to serious education deficiency for one reason or another.“Instead of putting them at the back of the class and instead of saying, ‘I can’t reach this person’, we need to increase the number of people in our schools, who have the capacity and the training to deal with those students, who are in difficult circumstances and who need to be diagnosed and have the appropriate therapy at the earliest stage possible,” he stated.Thwaites said that the centres will be properly staffed with professionals in the area of special education and will also serve as a training ground for teachers, who want to acquire skills in the field.He therefore urged school principals in the region to “start identifying those teachers in your school who have the heart and mind to be a special education teacher”.He said that there is a growing demand for special educators in Jamaica and he hopes to satisfy this need by 2016.THWAITES … we are going to set up a Mico-type centre

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Region Six to get centre for special needs students

Jamaica to present at regional Special Olympics conference

Sport

BY SANJAY MYERS Observer staff reporter Sunday, July 21, 2013

SPECIAL Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) Executive Director Lorna Bell is excited at the prospect of sharing the country’s feats at the 2013 World Winter Games when she addresses the regional body at a July 22-25 conference in Charlotte.In a statement ahead of her trip to the Special Olympics North America (SONA) Conference for the presentation titled ‘Leveraging National and World Games Marketing and Communications’, Bell did not disguise her enthusiasm.“It is an honour to be invited to share Jamaica’s tremendous success at this year’s World Winter Games in Korea and the visibility this great movement received as a result of the extensive media coverage our athletes garnered for other Special Olympics programmes to learn from,” said Bell, who will be travelling to the United States alongside outstanding SOJ athlete Tamra Mitchell.Earlier this year, the local body basked in the global spotlight thanks to Jamaica’s outstanding display at the Games in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea.The country won two silver medals in ice figure skating to go with their second-place finish in floor hockey at the eight-day Championships.The SONA meeting is part of a wider acknowledgement of the Special Olympics International movement, which celebrated its 45th year this month.At the conference, members are also expected to discuss plans for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held in Los Angeles.The SONA region has over half-million athletes participating in all 30 sports offered by Special Olympics. It is the home to athletes from the Caribbean, Canada and the United States.Special Olympics is a global movement for people with intellectual disabilities that fosters inclusion and helps to spotlight their struggles and accomplishments.The disabilities can either be acquired or genetic and can include cases of Down’s Syndrome, traumatic brain injury and cerebral palsy.There are approximately 4.2 million athletes across 170 countries training and competing in the Special Olympics organisation.BELL… it is an honour to be invited to share Jamaica’s tremendous success at this year’s World Winter Games in Korea

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Jamaica to present at regional Special Olympics conference