THE Police community was plunged into shock after on Sunday after an officer collapsed and died during a rugby match. Police Constable Paul Marsden was playing for the Police team against Mariners at the National Sports Centre when he suddenly fell to the ground. Fellow players and medics tried to resuscitate the stricken 36-year-old fullback as stunned spectators looked on. Mr. Marsden was rushed from the field and taken to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after. An autopsy later indicated that Mr. Marsden died from natural causes. Friends of the officer revealed to The Royal Gazette that the popular policeman had an accute coronary attack that could not have been prevented or detected. Originally from Great Britain, Mr. Marsden is believed to have served in the Bermuda Police Force for just under two years.Bleak weekend for road safetyA SPATE of crashes left several people seriously injured at the weekend, with police recording 16 traffic accidents in a 24-hour period. Four young people were badly hurt after their vehicle ploughed into the porch of a Paget home. The accident is believed to have occurred after the 23-year-old driver lost control of the vehicle while overtaking. He was treated in the Intensive Care Unit of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital while his three passengers were also hospitalised. In another accident, a 52-year-old motorcyclist lost control of his bike, crashing into a roadside pillar on North Shore Road. A third crash on Trimingham Road saw a suspected drunk driver's car hit the round-about at Crow Lane before smashing through a wall and landing in Crow Lane Park. And in a fourth incident during the bleak weekend saw a rider in hospital with serious injuries after his motorbike catapulted over a car after it hit another vehicle on Frog Lane. New Road Safety Council chairman Christopher Johnson, pictured, later said he regarded the high level of traffic accidents as "a public health crisis". "I would like to see fewer people die, fewer people be maimed and suffer from longstanding disability because of what is largely a preventable disease," Dr. Johnson, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, said. Belco pay talks stallPOSSIBLE strike action by disgruntled power company workers moved a step closer after the dispute went to arbitration. Pay talks broke down last week and Labour Minister Randy Horton is now expected to appoint arbitrators in line with provisions in the Labour Relations Act. Members of the Electricity Supply Union have long-standing grievances over salary scales and job reclassification which it claims have not been addressed in more than 20 years.Educators' Council to finalise licensing plan for teachers<$z$b-2f$>TEACHERS will be subject to a strict licensing system from September to make sure there is a common standard across the island. The Bermuda Educators' Council is finalising details on how teachers could be regulated in the same way as other professionals such as doctors and lawyers. Council chairman Anthony Richardson said it will be mandatory for everyone working in pre-school, primary and secondary classrooms to have a licence. "Teachers come here from the rest of the world and this wil create a level playing field," Mr. Richardson said.

Army gets cash lifeline<$z$b-6f$>

THE Bank of Bermuda Foundation has stepped in with a substantial cash donation to help fund the Salvation Army's drug abuse programmes. The undisclosed sum was presented after the charity said it was facing a $300,000 shortfall in finances which was putting the programmes — Harbour Light and Life Skills — in jeopardy. On Tuesday Divisional Commander Major Lindsay Rowe thanked the foundation for the handout, but warned the programmes were still at risk. "This has reduced the original projected deficit but we are still in a $150,000 to $200,000 deficit position for this year — a deficit of that kind cannot be maintained on an ongoing basis."