The occasional splurge purchase is a reality of life. However, if done too often, splurging on items will destroy our financial resources.

From time to time the need to indulge in some unplanned or extravagant desire arises. We may buy special gifts, treat ourselves to a lavish dinner, or spoil ourselves in some particular way. As human as these temptations are, we can’t live that way all the time or we will find ourselves running out of money to pay bills and take care of the essentials of life. Here are a few tips on how we can turn our spending around and resist that urge to splurge.

Understand your feelings

Many of us overspend when we feel down, or in an attempt to feel liberated in some way. Sometimes we even overspend trying to impress others. Before we give in to the desire to splurge we should always stop and focus on what’s the real emotion driving us. Putting serious energy into understanding our feelings allows us to be better prepared to resist temptation the next time it rears its head.

Consider the context

Before we splurge or make a spontaneous purchase it’s important to think about the overall financial circumstances of your life. In fact, to know whether you can spoil yourself or not, one should do a financial checkup before splurging. So for example, thinking about our ability to pay our bills, achieve our financial goals, or whether splurging in that moment could saddle us with unproductive debt are all reasonable element to consider. Often times considering the cumulative effect that splurging can have helps stave off that spending spree.

Wait before you buy

When the need to splurge comes on it’s wise to create some distance and time before making such a purchase.

Whether it’s 24 hours, two days, or a week, giving yourself time to determine how valuable such spending really is to you can help keep you out of financial misery. Often times, delaying gratification is the best way to avoid splurging altogether.

Managing desires

Being creatures of emotion means from time to time the desire to splurge on ourselves will arise. Ultimately, it’s important that we manage those emotions and stick to our financial goals to resist temptation and live well beyond payday.

Residential Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) customers still have time to get their accounts in order before action is taken to seize their properties, as the authority is currently focused on commercial clients.

However, the drive is already bearing fruit as two commercial property owners who were advertised the press have agreed to enter into payment plans to clear off their debt.

The action comes as WASA moves to recover $500 million owed by errant customers, following chairman Romney Thomas’ announcement last month that they would begin seizing and selling properties to recover outstanding debts. WASA has the authority under the Water and Sewerage Act and the Rates and Charges Recovery Act. The majority of the WASA debt is owned by commercial customers.

A week ago, WASA published the first two addresses of commercial customers at St Yves Street, Chaguanas and the O’Meara Industrial Estate, Arima.

Contacted over the weekend for an update on the drive, Thomas said the first two customers have since visited the authority and set up payment plans.

“In terms of those two customers we have advertised, they would have met the criteria of being commercial properties who have a significant amount in terms of outstanding water rates. They are customers we would have written to before or tried to engage them in liquidating their outstanding arrears.

“All efforts had failed so we took this action. Since the publication of that advertisement last week, both customers have come in and made arrangements to liquidate their outstanding amounts,” Thomas said.

Yesterday, WASA published the addresses of two more customers at Saddle Road, Maraval and the corner of Frederick and Sellier Streets in Curepe.

On residential customers, Thomas said WASA will try to engage those who have significant arrears and encourage them to pay off the outstanding amounts. While there have been rumblings in various quarters over WASA’s tough action, he said customers have been coming in to settle their accounts.

“We are being very thorough in going through the list because we want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to settle. This is not something we take delight in doing,” he said.

“This is a last resort because we don’t really want to take anybody’s property. We’re not in the business of selling properties, our objective is to collect outstanding rates and that is it.”

Next on WASA’s agenda will be going after illegal connections. However, Thomas said those people with such connections will be encouraged to regularise their accounts first. But he noted that illegal connections are one of the main reasons for water wastage.

Prophetess Rev Natasha Leon has called on the Government to implement the youth-oriented Military-led Academic Training (MiLat) Academy programme in the nation’s prisons as a rehabilitative measure.

“This programme should be integrated into the prisons. We ought to look at getting into the schools from as early as pre-school and take preventative measures, rather than find solutions to problems, we would change so many lives, save so many lives,” she said on Saturday during the funeral of her 16-year-old nephew Jabari Phillip.

Phillip, who was shot dead on Piccadilly Street, Port-of-Spain, last Saturday, would have celebrated his 17th birthday on December 12 and had been in the MiLat programme for three months.

Leon recalled her nephew’s difficulty fitting into the regular school system and him being expelled from a secondary school in the west. She smiled, however, when she proudly pointed out that where others could only see Phillip’s troubled past, MiLat personnel saw his goodness. “I am sure that if he were here, he would appeal to you all, ‘the mistakes I made don’t make it,’” she put to the youths, fellow MiLat enrollees and military dignitaries on hand.

To the adults in the audience, she demanded, “Examine yourselves to see as to what more you can do to better someone else’s life. Where are the fathers and mothers of the nation, who would stand and say I will be there for you?”

Leon blasted “parents who deceive themselves that their children are their friends and would practice, wine, woman and weed” with them and made the call for society to get back to being “each others brothers’ and sisters’ keepers.”

Phillip’s mother, Vanessa Phillip, was presented with a ribboned framed photo of her son in full uniform by member of the Defence Force.

According to reports, Phillip and another individual was walking along Piccadilly Street when several shots rang out near the Mango Rose plannings. The two young men were said to have run for cover but Phillip fell to the ground a short distance away. Police and emergency health services were notified and Phillip was rushed to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Investigations are continuing.

Former head of the Public Service Reginald Dumas and Martin Daly SC say judges do not have the authority use the Judiciary’s Court and Protocol Information Unit to place newspaper advertisements in the latest issue involving Chief Justice Ivor Archie.

Their response comes in the wake of a newspaper article which suggests a group of judges had come out in defence of Archie in the incident involving private citizen Dillian Johnson, and planned to ask the CPIU to place the ad in the newspapers detailing their stance to the public.

The article said the judges preferred to remain anonymous but had issued a text and given the mandate to the CPIU to make the necessary arrangements for the publication of the ad, which they will pay for.

But in response yesterday, Daly and Dumas said the proposed ad would contain an account of the alleged role played by the CJ in discussions concerning a possible change in security arrangements for judicial officers and would refute allegations already in the public domain regarding the role of the Chief Justice.

They said the judges could not use the CPIU to place such an advertisement, adding the judges had no official status for such activity in relation to the CPIU.

“Further, it was a private expression of opinion of an unknown number of anonymous judges. If the mandate is accepted by the CPIU unit it would be an improper use of that unit, made more serious by the unit being used to cloak a private opinion in anonymity,” both men said in a release.

Dumas and Daly also inquired whether the unit could accept the alleged mandate without the approval of the Chief Justice as head of the Judiciary.

“We remain of the firm view that the person best placed to deal with the allegations in the public domain, particularly the alleged relationship with Dillian Johnson, is the Chief Justice himself,” they said.

They added that the report in question also revealed deep divisions within the Judiciary, which were not conducive to public trust in the institution and which will further undermine the institutional reputation of the Judiciary.

On November 17, High Court judge Carol Gobin had called for a meeting with Archie to discuss the “very serious and scandalous allegations” regarding Archie’s conduct in the matter.

Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has ordered a probe after a reported surfaced in the United Kingdom yesterday that a UK pollster received US$10 million from the former Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration for work conducted in T&T between 2013 and 2015.

A report in the UK’s Sunday Observer, titled “The opinion poll guru, the Caribbean islands and the $10m consultancy deal,” claimed the then government entered into an agreement with the founder of Mori, Sir Robert Worcester, for a consultancy agreement over a two-year period.

The article reported that in a letter to Worcester in June 2013, Reynold Cooper, permanent secretary to the then prime minister, said T&T’s Cabinet had approved the fees and expenses for the core consultancy, 13 sets of surveys and seven sets of focus groups totalling US$9,793,475, plus estimated expenses of US$160,000, giving a total sum of US$9,953,475.

The article said a copy of the contract between the Government Information Services Limited (GISL) and Mori Caribbean, said the two-year project, a continuation of earlier work, was to improve the delivery of public services. The firm was also offered a separate contract to help the then government develop its strategic communications plan.

“Worcester, a former president of the Institute of Business Ethics, said that in 2010 he had been approached on behalf of the newly-elected prime minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar. She wanted Mori Caribbean to continue the work it had been doing for her predecessor, Patrick Manning,” the newspaper reported.

GISL, the paper said, was charged with overseeing Mori Caribbean’s projects and ensuring it was paid within 60 days of the company submitting its invoices. A considerable portion of the money went directly to Worcester. On February 5, 2014, GISL instructed First Citizens to transfer $1,326,475.55 to Worcester’s private account in Kingstown, St Vincent, where he has citizenship. However, Worcester insisted in the article the company was only paid US$3.2m because it did not complete the full range of services agreed.

Contacted yesterday, Al-Rawi said said he read the article “with interest,” adding, “This comes as a great surprise to me in terms of an international entity’s observation.

“Further this does not reside well with the posture and position taken by the UNC... in particular Rodney Charles and Mrs Persad-Bissessar have been insistent that expenditure to consultancy services outside T&T providers, including lobbyists etcetera, that these are inappropriate expenditure items.

“One therefore wonders how they could have been sitting on a US$10 million sum such as this to a pollster, so this is obviously something that is going to require some further investigation and we will produce the information for public consumption in due course,” Al-Rawi said.

Al-Rawi added that while there were hints of corruption in the article, the facts must first be established.

“We must first find out whether services were actually provided or not. Whether sums were expended or not. It been a very difficult task to unmask a lot of the transaction that the UNC left. Much of it was hidden, some of the paperwork was shredded,” the AG said.

“But with this one, obviously the first thing is to establish the facts and once that is established then you can have an informed view ,but this is something that obviously will be looked at.”

But also contacted yesterday, former PP minister Devant Maharaj accused Al-Rawi of trying to create a political distraction, saying the firm’s services were simply continued under Persad-Bissessar.

“The services were first employed under the Manning administration and on the principal of continuity of government, their services continued with no change of terms of reference,” Maharaj said.

Asked if the US$10 million could be justified, he said he could not comment on this as he was unaware of the figures, but added it would have been “US $10 over five years.”

“It is very mischievous that we only hear about the fees for the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration, but the story is silent that the Patrick Manning administration had paid the fees in the first place.

“This is just a political distraction because a lot of pressure is being put and rightly so on this Government,” Maharaj said.

After three failed attempts by Kallco to build a proper retaining wall in Matelot, villagers are now calling on Works and Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan to ensure the project is awarded to someone capable of doing the job.

Standing firm on this decision was St Helena Village Council president John Lewis, who said for years the people have been suffering at the hands of Kallco, who got three opportunities to build a retaining wall at the edge of a precipice in the community.

On Kallco’s last attempt, Lewis said the wall collapsed, which led to approximately 50 metres of the Paria Main Road, built on a steep cliff, to cave in last year.

“The road has become impassable for motorists and is cordoned off with caution tape. For a year now the road like this and we just biting we tongue,” Lewis said.

Matelot has a population of 500.

During a visit by the T&T Guardian, Lewis also showed another area on the Paria Main Road which had a huge depression and cracks four feet deep.

“The taxis don’t want to drive on the road, so they dropping you off at this point and villagers have to walk the rest to get to their homes. Motorists who drive over the cracks have been doing so at their own risk. Maybe we have to get on lawless like Beetham people to get some action and attention.”

To get in and out of the village, motorists now use Andrew Road, which they claim is a steep hill and causes great inconvenience.

Residents Renwick Roberts and Albert Cummings said they had warned Kallco about a water source above the road which has been attributing to land erosion.

“This is about the third time the land slip away. They used plastic netting and sand,” said Roberts, pointing to the road and culvert Kallco built as well.

“We told them what they were doing would not work but they did not listen. It looks like they can’t handle the work again because they leave everything so and gone, now is we to catch,” Roberts said.

But on Friday Sinanan defended Kallco, saying they did what they were supposed to do.

“From what I understand, the bottom of the wall got slippage way outside of their scope and that is what will be rectified now. Those areas are prone to land slippages,” Sinanan said.

He said even the ministry’s engineers said it was not the contractor’s fault.

Sinanan said the contract was awarded before he became a minister.

“One thing I could assure you is that any time we get defective work by a contractor the ministry does not pay. All work requires a retention and a guarantee.”

Sinanan makes it priority

Two Mondays ago, Sinanan said he visited Matelot with a technical team and saw the conditions of the road, which he listed as priority cases. To address the issue, Sinanan said huge rocks have to be placed at the edge of the sea to prevent the water from getting onto land. However, he said the original contract did not include this scope of work.

So far, Sinanan said tenders for these two critical areas have closed and contracts will be handed out in the coming days. Both projects are expected to cost about $800,000, he said.

Sangre Grande Regional Corporation chairman and Toco/Fishing Pond councillor Terry Rondon confirmed this was Kallco’s third attempt to build the wall. However, he said this problem has been ongoing since under the People’s Partnership tenure.

“The people are correct when they tell you they do it three times. I would not shield anybody,” Rondon said.

“They have to inject money into Matelot to get back those roads to service the people. Sooner or later they would have to condemn that road. The villagers are saying a lot of money was spent on that road and they still can’t pass. I raised the concern about it with the promise that Kallco continue it. But the cost is plenty.”

He said if shoddy workmanship was done somebody should account, but admitted coastal erosion led to this ongoing problem.

Tenants at the Housing Development Corporation’s Clifton Towers in Port-of-Spain are calling for permanent security in and around the compound, saying they are now living in constant fear of bullying and reprisal attacks by gang members after the HDC evicted illegal tenants from the site.

The issue was addressed on Friday in the Parliament by Housing Minister Randall Mitchell, who told the House police and Defence Force members had evicted illegal tenants twice from the four-tower development, following complaints of unlawful activity and illegal apartment occupation.

Police and soldiers arrested and evicted 15 people and the compound is now being closely monitored, Mitchell said. (See page A8)

But speaking under strict anonymity yesterday, tenants told the T&T Guardian they fear for their lives as some of them are being labelled as “informants” and now their lives are being threatened by the criminal element.

One tenant, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they are the highest paying tenants in all of PoS, at $800 a month. He said initially there was security for the project but that was stopped years ago.

“With that money we ought to be getting security personnel here, but they moved out the security years ago and it’s years now we are trying to get HDC to put back security here for our safety,” the tenant said.

“It is really the HDC fault now that the situation reach where it reach with gang people moving in and bullying us, threatening us, beating us and influencing our children. They selling drugs…all kinds of racket going on here and like the people in Government afraid to stand up against them.”

The residents had also complained to former housing minister Dr Roodal Moonilal and former HDC managing director Jearlean John about their issues during the People’s Partnership rule and noted it would only get worse. The tenants back then also called for the establishment of several programmes, including homework supervision, a daycare, gym, an adult training facility and meeting rooms.

But John advised the tenants then to form a residents’ association to oversee the maintenance, security, operations and community relations of the entire development. The tenants were also advised to set up neighbourhood watch systems and to develop a good working relationship with the police station within the district.

Speaking about the response back then, a tenant yesterday said: “It is like they throw us to the wolves out there years ago when we are paying a rent here and HDC is the one who are supposed to be maintaining here and providing security for us. How could they ask us to do that for ourselves when we paying them for a service and to live here?”

Tenants also claimed that there are adverse plumbing issues, leaks and infrastructural damage and called on the current HDC management to deal with their issues.

“We want HDC to move in and see about upgrades and repairs and put back security for us because it is their fault that we are in this ugly situation,” on tenant added.

Questions sent to the current HDC managing director Brent Lyons on the ongoing issue have gone unanswered.

President Anthony Carmona has left for Nairobi, Kenya, where he is scheduled to deliver a keynote statement at the UN Environment Assembly between December 4-6.

Carmona left Saturday on the trip, which is being funded by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The Environment Assembly, the highest-level UN body to address global concerns on the environment, invited Carmona to speak through executive director Erik Solheim.

Solheim had lobbied for Carmona’s appearance, noting that the President had demonstrated his motivation and ability for climate advocacy and has placed high importance on the need to protect the environment, a release from the Office of the President said yesterday.

The theme for the event will be “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet.”

In his invitation letter to Carmona, Solheim stated, “Your participation in a leadership dialogue with several of your peers would also allow you to showcase the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago’s environmental leadership... I look forward to welcoming you alongside other global leaders to the 2017 Environment Assembly…”

Doctors at the San Fernando General Hospital have opted to leave the metal pellets in the neck and leg of two-year-old Candy Loubon, who was among three people shot during a family dispute in Moruga on Saturday.

As Candy lay peacefully on a bed at the Paediatric Ward of the San Fernando Teaching Hospital yesterday, her mother Cassie Fonrose explained that because the pellet was so close to her spine, doctors decided they would wait to see if her body would push it towards the surface.

“The way this bullet is located close to her spinal cord, they did not want to interfere with it. Because it is so close, if they only touch it (spinal cord) it can do more damage. It can cripple or kill her. They said they want it to move away from the spinal cord and then they will see if they can operate or wait for it to eventually come out for itself,” Fonrose said, saying she was praying everything would go well.

Fonrose said she was told if Candy was standing any closer to the gunman she might have died. She said one doctor told her it could take up to three months before the pellet can be removed. The pellet in her left leg also remained. It was the same leg that broke in September when a regiment vehicle crashed into their family car. It was only two weeks ago that Candy completed her rehabilitation at a clinic. Her father, Jamie Loubon, lost his arm in that accident.

According to reports, Candy’s cousin, Wendell Mike, 31, who had a long-standing dispute with the suspect, went to the family’s property to tend to a garden. It was then the suspect picked up his 12-gauge rifle and fired a shot at Mike. Mike was hit in the head and shoulder while Shane Lemo, 26, another cousin, was shot in the leg. Paramedics removed a pellet from Lemo’s leg while Mike had to be taken to the hospital. Yesterday, Fonrose recalled that Paul with sitting in their yard holding her one-year-old son Jamieson at the time of the incident.

“When I heard the explosion, I saw her (Candy) drop on the ground but I did not think she got shot. I thought it was just the fright that had her like that,” she recalled.

“I picked her up and started to quarrel when I saw my cousin in blood. I told him (suspect) that I was going to call the police. When my husband came downstairs, he said ‘Aye! Look Candy has a hole in her neck.’ I went crazy.”

Meanwhile, the 63-year-old relative responsible for shooting Candy and her cousins has not been found. Following the shooting on Saturday morning, the suspect ran into the forest at the back of his house and has not been seen since. Southern Division Task Force, Moruga Police and the Canine Unit had gone in search of the suspect but only recovered the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting.

Fonrose said villagers had joined the search for the suspect yesterday.

A community lime among neighbours in Couva turned tragic yesterday when gunmen opened fire on the group, killing Dwayne Callender.

Reports are that neighbours had gathered at the apartment buildings along June Street, Lisas Gardens, on Saturday night and were liming into yesterday morning when the attack occurred. Police were told by a relative that around 7. 10 am yesterday she was awakened by the gunshots. She checked outside and saw Callender, her cousin, lying in the carpark with gunshot wounds to the back and thigh.

Callender, 29, a pipe-fitter, was taken to the Couva District Health Facility where he died while being treated.

His father, Wayne, said he was liming a short distance away from their home. He said the lime had just finished when three gunmen came and began shooting.

When you’re diabetic and it comes to your skincare, it just can’t be business as usual. Because you are now prone to developing skin complications, it is paramount your skin is handled with intentional care so that serious infections don’t develop.
 

Health providers and those specialising in skincare for diabetics say as many as a third of people with diabetes will have a skin disorder caused or affected by diabetes at some time in their lives. With this as an unfortunate fact, what can one really do to maintain healthy skin as a diabetic?

Internationally trained cosmetologist, skincare professional, specialising in skincare for diabetics and owner at Divine Training Institute and Beauty Clinic Racquel Andrews-Mensah, told the T&T Guardian without a doubt this can be achieved.

Said Andrews- Mensah: “Bearing in mind you follow your diet, use the right skin care products and be skeptical of who you receive treatment from, because that person has to be trained in caring for the skin of a diabetic.” She explained people living with diabetes are very vulnerable due to the fact that their skin is thinner and more sensitive, which means they will experience sensations such as heat or cold much faster.
“In addition, because of their vulnerabilities it’s very easy for a diabetic to get burn, cut or bruise especially during beauty services, which can lead to the development of ulcers,” Andrews-Mensah pointed out.
She said when it comes to getting services done such as pedicures, manicures and waxing, any invasive service or services that require heat, abrasion, cutting and nipping, diabetes is a contraindication. Elderly or insulin-dependent diabetics are more at risk; therefore more care should be taken, she advised.

She outlined some important do’s and dont’s for diabetics when visiting the spa. “When it comes to a diabetic receiving these services care should be taken; a diabetic shouldn’t soak during a pedicure as the water can burn the skin.

“However, exceptions can be made, as people will still like to enjoy the full spa relaxing and pampering experience, especially if they are young, type II and relatively healthy.”

In a case where a diabetic is allowed to soak, she said the temperature shouldn’t be above body temperature (37 degrees) and they shouldn’t soak for more than five minutes. Sharp tools such as nippers, steel cuticle pushers, abrasive files, foot paddlers are an absolute no and foot shavers should at no time be used on a diabetic. “Even foot scrubs have abrasive granules that can create minor cuts or scrapes and bruises therefore, should not be used on diabetics,” added Andrews- Mensah .

Waxing

Andrews-Mensah advised, paraffin treatments should not be used because the heat of the wax can burn the skin. She said: “Waxing is the use of a heated wax that can burn anyone if done incorrectly and a diabetic is at higher risk because their skin is thinner. What makes waxing even more dangerous is the fact that waxing is a form of skin exfoliation this means that superficial layers of the epidermis are being removed during the process, which can also contribute to bruising.”

She said a wonderful alternative to waxing is body sugaring, this is a form of hair removal using a sugar paste. It is very natural and the benefit is it is not heated beyond body temperature or no heat is used at all, making it very safe to use on a diabetic.

“A diabetic reading this might feel a bit discouraged and wonder just what they can do when it comes to beauty and grooming services. But as much as these services are risky, they are very important to the diabetic. And there are helpful alternatives.”

Foot care

For foot care, Andrews-Mensah said, there are alternative services such as a diabetic pedicure and manicure in which the specialist or podiatrist uses an electric file with different diamond bits specially designed for cuticle and callus removal and shaping. Diamond bits according to Andrews-Mensah are used as they don’t really get hot, and it’s not sharp making it very safe to use on a diabetic.

Other tools she revealed can be used are the toenail clipper specially designed for diabetics. And to get that nice healthy looking cuticle, the plastic with rubber ended cuticle pushers or orange/birch wood sticks are ideal.

This process requires she informed no soaking and can be a bit dusty but very safe and effective.

For dry scaly feet, Andrews-Mensah recommends the use of foot masks, a mask that has ten per cent urea (organic compound with the chemical formula CO(NH) in it. She said the technician can rub the recommended amount on to the affected area, place each foot in a plastic bag to allow the product to do its work and penetrate. This has shown to have fantastic results,
Skin

You might be diabetic, but your skin does not have to reflect that. Andrew- Mensah explained diabetics tend to have very dry/dehydrated sometimes scaly, flaky skin as a result of the skin being thinner making it more susceptible to environmental free radicals.

“Their body tends to produce very little urea which is a major moistening factor for the skin. Therefore, making skin exfoliation very important, on the other hand the conventional granular scrub is not the best option; in a case like this a light sloughing lotion will be recommended. Sloughing lotions allows the skin to be exfoliated without the harsh granules. Just by the technician applying a suitable amount to the intended area and via the use of friction, this will allow the residue of the sloughing lotion to fall off together with the dead skin cells.

Andrews- Mensah said this approach is perfect for use on elderly people or people in general that have dry scaly skin. She added, it is not recommended for people living with diabetes or even elderly people to use any lotions that are occlusive as it traps moisture and a diabetic lacks moisture which defeats that purpose and causes the skin to become dryer.

Some examples of occlusive products Andrews-Mensah pointed out are petrolatum, waxes, oils and silicones. She recommended products that include humectants like urea and glycerin were fitting because they help to create and prevent water and moisture loss.

“Another recommendation is finding a product that has a chemical exfoliant in a low percentage like alpha hydroxy acid AHA (glycolic, lactic); this will allow the skin to speed up the exfoliating process, thus maintaining nice smooth skin.

“Remember your skin can look great, even as a diabetic!”

HOME CARE TIPS

Racquel Andrews-Mensah’s tips for home care:

Not everyone might be able to visit a spa as often as they need to. For diabetics, here are some home care guidelines until that next appointment.

A person living with diabetes is at risk for diabetic neuropathy, peripheral vascular disease, athlete’s foot, fungal infection of nails, calluses, corns, blister, bunions, dry skin, foot ulcers, hammertoes, ingrown toenails, and planter warts. Therefore, home maintenance and professional help is very important.

Basic recommendations for home maintenance is doing your daily checks under feet and between toes, use caution when shaving, bathe with moisturising soaps, dry between toes, keep skin moisturised, avoid creaming between toes as this can create moisture and create a breathing ground for fungus, monitor all cuts, if it’s taking too long to heal seek medical help, avoid smoking as it affects blood circulation, avoid walking bare feet and wearing discomforting shoes.

After notching his maiden Test match half-century for the West Indies yesterday, Shimron Hetmyer said West Indies would not be thinking too far ahead, despite their great start to their second innings, in their quest to rescue the opening Test against New Zealand.

Trailing by 386 on first innings after the Black Caps piled 520 for nine declared, the Windies ended day three at the Basin Reserve on 214 for two – still requiring 172 runs to avoid an innings defeat.

Hetmyer said the key was to bat in partnerships and focus on each session at a time.

“When we came in [at the innings break] … the coaches said to us that we had done in the first innings was already past and we have to look ahead to the score that we have to get and to try as much as possible to get that score,” the 20-year-old told reporters.

“We were looking at two partnerships in excess of 150 and right now we have two good batsmen at the crease in Shai (Hope) and Kraigg (Brathwaite) and we’re just hoping they can set it up and get a 100 or even 200-run partnership.”

He added: “We play cricket as we see it and we play it [day-by-day]. Today is already gone so we’re just looking forward to the next day.”

Today’s penultimate day will be pivotal, with the Windies’ two best batsmen at the crease.

Brathwaite is unbeaten on 79 while Hope has 24 not out, and the pair have already put on 48 for the third wicket.

According to Hetmeyer, Brathwaite remained the key to the Windies fortunes in the match.

“He’s like an anchor for us and it gives us a drive to know when you go out there [to bat], there’s Kraigg there as well. You can be free at your end [to play normally].

Hetmyer caught the attention of many with his audacious innings, smashing eight fours and two sixes off just 89 deliveries, in his fourth Test and first in seven months, gathering boundaries on both sides of the square.

San Juan North Secondary, the defending National Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Boys’ InterCol champion will go after a second straight national title when it faces Shiva Boys’ Hindu College at the Ato Boldon Stadium, Couva, from 5pm today.

Prior to the Boys’ final, the National Girls’ InterCol decider between Bishop Anstey High School (Port-of-Spain) and Pleasantville Secondary will take place from 3pm.

However, all eyes will be on the clash between the Jerry Moe-coached San Juan North, which edged another South team, Presentation College of San Fernando 1-0 in last year’s decider, and Shiva Boys.

Last week at the same venue in the semi-finals, San Juan North got a strike from Renaldo Boyce, his sixth of the competition to edge Signal Hill Secondary 1-0 while coach Hayden Ryan had national Under-20 goalkeeper Denzil James to thank after he made three saves in the penalty-kicks shoot-out to earn Shiva Boys a 3-2 win over Carapichaima East Secondary after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.

Should San Juan North, which ended a ten-year drought by lifting the crown last year, take home the title today for a third time in the school’s history, it will become the first team since St Anthony’s College in 2011 and 2012 to win back-to-back national InterCol crowns, and also the first school to achieve the same feat since the Premier Division was introduced in 2014. It is that history which captain Renaldo Boyce hopes will get them over the line but he indicated that winning must start from within. “The main concern for our team is really controlling our thoughts and emotions. It will be a very emotional game because we could make history by winning the InterCol back to back. “The hard work our team puts out is with motivation and the aim of winning it back to back.”

Shiva Boys meanwhile, are hoping to end a season which promised so much, but ended in chaos and demotion due to administrative mix-ups on their part by lifting a first national InterCol crown to add to their maiden Premier Division title triumph from last year.

Their captain, Judah Garcia said his team had to dig deep in that semi final but should continue to find motivation to win it all on Monday to redeem his team’s season. “I want to say thanks to the guys for putting this behind us. This InterCol means a lot to us because losing the league in the protest room and not on the field the guys are sure to tell you that we are going out to come out with nothing less than a victory,” he said.

Spectators at today’s match will also have a chance to win door prizes inclusive of two Play Station 4 consoles, and an iPhone 8 while reigning two-time Soca Monarch champion Voice will perform live.

Half-centuries from vice-captain Kraigg Brathwaite and rookie Shimron Hetmyer underlined a strong West Indies effort but they faced a massive task in saving second Test, after wicket-keeper Tom Blundell’s hundred on debut left the Black Caps in a near impregnable position at the Basin Reserve.

At stumps on day three, the Caribbean side were 214 for two in their second innings but still some 172 runs adrift of avoiding an innings defeat and going one down in the two-match series.

Brathwaite was unbeaten on 79 and partnered by Shai Hope on 24, with the pair having so far posted 48 in an unbroken third wicket stand.

The 20-year-old Hetmyer, in his fourth Test, struck a bold 66 to pick up his maiden Test half-century while opener Kieran Powell once again got a start but failed to carry on when he perished for 40.

Seamer Matt Henry has claimed both wickets to fall to end with two for 33.

Blundell had earlier converted his overnight unbeaten 57 into 107 not out, becoming the first New Zealand wicket-keeper to score a hundred on debut.

The right-hander faced 180 balls and struck 13 fours and a six all told as the Black Caps, resuming on 447 for nine, added a further 73 before declaring on 520 for nine, 20 minutes before lunch.

The Wellington-born 27-year-old cruised to 96 at the first drinks break but then spent another half-hour battling tight Windies bowling, before he could reach three figures.

Seamer Kemar Roach finished with three for 85 while fellow pacer Miguel Cummins (2-92) and off-spinner Roston Chase (2-95) ended with two wickets apiece.

Behind by 386 runs Brathwaite and Powell steered the visitors to nine without loss at lunch before pushing on afterwards to add 72.

The left-handed Powell stroked five fours and two sixes in a breezy 55-ball innings, looking completely at ease as he appeared headed for a half-century but lost concentration in the first over following a drinks break, and tapped a return catch back to Henry.

Hetmyer, then grabbed the spotlight in an attractive innings but more importantly, he put on 94 for the second wicket with Brathwaite.

Brathwaite raised his 15th Test half-century 45 minutes after tea and Hetmyer followed soon afterwards, before he got a leading edge, and was easily taken at short mid-off by Jeet Raval.

Hope joined Brathwaite to see the Windies safely through the session, facing 66 deliveries and counting four fours.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES 1st Innings 134
NEW ZEALAND 1st Innings
(overnight 447 for nine)
T Latham c Roach b Holder 37
J Raval c wkp Dowrich b Roach 42
*K Williamson c Hope b Roach 1
R Taylor lbw b Roach 93
H Nicholls c Gabriel b Cummins 67
M Santner b Cummins 17
C de Grandhomme c
Powell b Chase 105
+T Blundell not out 107
N Wagner b Chase 3
M Henry c wkp
Dowrich b Gabriel 4
T Boult not out 18
Extras (b4, lb6, w1, nb15) 26
TOTAL (9 wkts decl, 148.4 overs) 520
Fall of wickets: 1-65, 2-68, 3-109, 4-236, 5-272, 6-281, 7-429, 8-437, 9-442.
Bowling: Gabriel 29-4-90-1, Roach 22-6-85-3, Cummins 27-7-92-2, Holder 34-8-102-1, Chase 28-4-95-2, Brathwaite 8-0-46-0.
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings
K Brathwaite not out 79
K Powell c and b Henry 40
S Hetmyer c Raval b Henry 66
S Hope not out 21
Extras (lb3, w5) 8
TOTAL (2 wkts, 66 overs) 214
Fall of wickets: 1-72, 2-166.
Bowling: Boult 15-3-47-0, Henry 15-4-33-2, de Grandhomme 10-2-24-0, Wagner 15-0-89-0, Santner 10-3-18-0, Williamson 1-1-0-0.
Position: WI trail by 172 runs with eight second innings wickets intact.

FC Santa Rosa crept into the lead in the inaugural edition of the T&T Super League yesterday with a 1-0 win over Police FC at the Arima Velodrome.

However the Big Cannons’ new status as league leaders was only made possible as inclement weather in Tobago forced the postponement of the scheduled clash between 1976 Phoenix FC and former league leaders Guaya United.

Guaya’s charge towards the title has been stalked at every juncture by the only other challengers for the title, FC Santa Rosa, and the Arima-based team would feel as though they have gotten a timely upper hand via their one point lead, moving to 50 points with just one match left to be played in the league campaign.

Santa Rosa got its goal yesterday in the 29th minute, ironically from the boot of former Guaya skipper Ryan ‘Fry’ Stewart.

Following the turn of events, Santa Rosa coach Keith Look Loy who had to watch his team’s match from the stands said, “It was important for us to win, we understood that. We knew that a loss or even a draw by Guaya would open the door for us. They didn’t play but our points are on the board. We are hoping that Phoenix would do a job and if we go into the last match on equal terms with them or ahead, then its all there for the taking.”

Look Loy and his assistant Jovan Rochford were serving a one-match touchline ban handed down by the TTSL Disciplinary Committee for verbal abuse of a match official when they lost to Guaya United 3-1 at the Velodrome almost a month ago.

Meanwhile, Guaya United manager Jameson Rigues was disappointed to have their match postponed considering that the Guaya team arrived in Tobago two days in advance of their assignment, demonstrating their intentions to do everything in their power to capture the title.

However the weather was out of their control. “It was really an unexpected situation. We came here in high spirit and tied up all the loose ends but you cannot predict the forces of nature.” he said.

Rigues added, “A lot of spend would have gone in to this trip to one, make the guys comfortable and two, to make sure that everybody acclimatised properly. The players were looking forward to the match up, not even thinking about Santa Rosa but now that it happened the way that it happened we will just got back to the drawing board and reinforce to the players the importance of the next two matches for us.”

Guaya United’s fixture against Phoenix has tentatively been rescheduled to Thursday December 7 meaning that the Green Army would now be required to play two matches in four days, closing off their campaign against the Defence Force at their home ground in Newlands, Guayaguayare on Sunday December 10, the same day that FC Santa Rosa hosts UTT at the Arima Velodrome.

TTSL SCORES

Club Sando Moruga 6-2
Cunupia FC 3-1 Bether FC
FC Santa Rosa 1-0 Police
1976 Phoenix vs Guaya United (postponed)

T&T’s Dylan Carter swam the second-leg to help the University of Southern California to a silver medal in the men’s 400 yards freestyle relay final when the Texas Hall of Fame Swimming Invitational Time Finals concluded in Austin, Texas, on Saturday night.

In addition to Carter, the other members of the USC Trojans relay quartet were lead-off man Santo Condorelli, Ralf Tribuntsov and Justin Nguyen as they combined for a time of two minutes, 50.64 seconds, an NCAA A cut to trail winners’ Texas University (2:49.80) while Stanford ‘A’ took bronze in 2:51.00 flat.

On Friday night, Carter just missed out on a medal when he placed fourth in the men’s 100 yards backstroke A-final in 46.05 seconds behind Matt Grevers (44.92), Zachary Poti (45.43) and Austin Katz (45.48).

In the morning heats, Grever was also the fastest qualifier in 45.44 ahead of Poti (45.97) and Carter (45.98).

Carter also placed fifth in the men’s 100 yard butterfly A-final in 45.99 seconds. Joseph Schooling won gold in 44.78 followed by Jack Conger (45.32), Andrew Porter (45.75) and Andrew Liang (45.87).

Earlier on Friday in the heats, Carter was the seventh fastest in 46.44 seconds.

On Thursday, Carter took second spot in the men’s 50 yards freestyle B-final when he touched the wall in 19.58 seconds behind Conger who won in 19.56 while Harvard’s Dean Farris took third in 19.68.

A member of the T&T swimming contingent at the last Olympic Games in Brazil, Carter missed out on qualification to the A-final when he ended tenth best from the field of 103 swimmers in 19.71 seconds, just outside of Stanford’s Sam Perry who touched the wall in 19.66 for the eight and final qualifying spot to the A-final.

Rangpur Riders, led by Mohammad Mithun’s punchy 50 not out, rallied to beat Khulna Titans by 19 runs and seal their place in the play-offs.

Despite the loss, Khulna were also through along with Dhaka Dynamites and Comilla Victorians with four league matches still to be played.

Having been inserted, Rangpur limped to 114 for 6 in 18 overs before Mithun’s late blows helped the side plunder 33 off the last two overs.

Chasing 148, Khulna sprinted to 60 for 0 by the eighth over but collapsed to be restricted to 128 for 8.

Rangpur’s powerful top order, boasting Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle, failed to deliver again. Ziaur Rahman was the first to go, for 8, when he skied Abu Jayed to third man in the third over.

McCullum flickered briefly—scoring 15 off 11 balls—before holing out to mid-on after being deceived by Shafiul Islam’s off-cutter. Chris Gayle, too, couldn’t covert his start: he hit four fours and two sixes, before falling in the 11th over for 38 off 27 balls.

Jofra Archer then removed Ravi Bopara in the 15th over and when Chamara Kapugedara gave Mahmudullah a simple catch off a Carlos Brathwaite long-hop in the next over, Rangpur were 98 for 5. Archer struck again, getting Nahidul Islam caught at third man, as Khulna reduced Rangpur to 105 for 6 in the 17th over.

Despite wickets falling at the other end, Mithun slowly got into his groove. He enjoyed some good fortune too: he was dropped on 8 and 30, but unleashed big hits in the last two overs of the innings.

Michael Klinger and Nazmul Hossain Shanto ensured Khulna started confidently, taking the side to 48 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay. From 60 for 0, Khulna tumbled to 97 for 6 with the Rangpur bowlers sharing the spoils.

The crucial blow was Brathwaite’s wicket; Isuru Udana had frustrated him with two wide balls in the 16th over before having the West Indies all-rounder chase another one wide and edge it to Mithun.

Bopara then gave away just one run in the penultimate over while picking up Ariful Haque’s wicket. He finished with 2 for 4 in his two overs.

Other Results

Chittagong Vikings 67 (Nasir 5-31, Nabil 3-7)
Sylhet Sixers 68 for 0 (Rizwan 36*, Fletcher 32*)
Chittagong won by 10 wickets