Teachers end work to rule

Teachers resumed their normal duties after their pay dispute was referred to a labour dispute tribunal.

The Acting Minister of Labour, Wayne Perinchief, referred the matter to a tribunal for arbitration, which meant it is unlawful for teachers to continue their industrial action. On Tuesday teachers decided to “work to rule” because the Ministry of Education offered them a four percent increase in salary this year, when they believed they deserved and had been promised a 4.5 percent increase.

On Wednesday many teachers also decided to call in sick forcing two schools, Clearwater Middle School and Whitney Institute, to close and exams at Berkeley Institute to be cancelled.

The dispute was sent to a tribunal late Wednesday afternoon.

Yesterday, Minister of Education, Randy Horton, said: “I would like to thank all those involved in trying to bring a resolution to this dispute and those who have made every effort to ensure that many public schools continued to operate as normal during the past few days. Across the island, principals, officers, support staff, parents and the students have shown their dedication to education in Bermuda. I thank everyone for their commitment and professionalism.”

$3,000 fine for string of offences

A father who broke the law to drive his four-year-old son to school has been fined nearly $3,000.

Banned driver Yikunnu Goater was chased by Police — with the youngster in the car — after they spotted him on North Shore Road, Hamilton Parish last Friday at 9.30 a.m. He was eventually stopped and found to have committed a string of driving offences.

At Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Goater, a 25-year-old single parent, said there was no other way to transport the boy to enrol in his new school near Crystal Caves because no taxis were available.

“I may be off the road, but at least my child will be in school,” he told Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner. Mr. Warner questioned the defendant’s logic.

“You were so concerned about the welfare of getting your child to school that you disobey the courts. Fair enough, that’s noble. How can you put your child’s safety in jeopardy?” asked Mr. Warner.

Goater, of Sleepy Hollow Drive, Hamilton Parish, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, for which he was fined $800; failing to stop for Police ($400 fine); no vehicle licence ($750); no third party insurance ($1,000); and, having a tinted windscreen ($25). The total fine was $2,975.

Guest house hit by burglarA burglar broke into a Sandys Parish guest property on Wednesday night.

The complainants — visitors to the Island — told Police that sometime between 8.50 and 10.15 p.m., a culprit came into their room and stole a turquoise iPod, a Motorola cellular phone, jewellery and personal items. Police are currently investigating the matter.

A Sandys Parish home was also broken into late Wednesday night.

Complainants told Police officers that between 7.15 a.m. and 6.30 p.m., a burglar broke into their East Shore Road residence and took jewellery and cash. The matter is being investigated.

Man tries to snatch woman’s handbag

A struggle broke out when a man tried to snatch a woman’s handbag in front of a laundromat.

The complainant — an employee of the Somerset Laundromat — said she locked up the business for the day at 10.10 p.m. on Wednesday and was waiting outside for a taxi when two men on a motorcycle approached her.

The passenger claimed to have left his laundry inside. The woman told him there wasn’t anything left in the building. Moments later, when her taxi arrived, she went to get in when the suspect grabbed her purse. The pair struggled, but the victim held on to her purse and the two men rode away.

The suspect is described as a tall, dark-skinned male with a long, narrow face wearing a shirt, shorts and a black coloured helmet with a black visor. Police are asking for witnesses or anyone with information to call the Somerset Criminal Investigation Unit on 234-1010.

Man admits forging TCD licence

A man who used a forged Transport Control Department (TCD) car licence contradicted his original story before pleading guilty in Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Cromwell Manders, 53, of St. John’s Road, Pembroke, was charged with using a false TCD licence between March 9 and 12.

The court heard from Crown counsel Nicole Smith on March 9, Police saw the defendant driving a blue Suzuki wagon travelling east. He sped up and drove through an amber light. Police followed him out of Paget and into Pembroke where they pulled him over.

The vehicle was unlicensed and uninsured. Officers noticed a forged TCD licence in the window of the car. Manders was arrested and taken to the Hamilton Police Station. When asked where the licence came from, he said: “My computer, I made it on my computer.”

In his explanation to the court, the defendant contradicted that statement, however, by saying someone else put the licence in the car. “I have a young man who cleans my car. He got over-zealous and saw the licence was expired and replaced it for me, thought he was doing me a favour,” Manders said.

Manders was fined $500 — half the price to licence his vehicle at TCD.

Driver was over the limit

Drunk driver Darren Brangman was fined $1,000 yesterday by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner. Magistrates’ Court heard Brangman, 39, of Cedar Park Road, Devonshire, crashed into the back of a car in Parsons Lane, near to its junction with Orange Valley Road, Devonshire.

Crown counsel Robert Welling told the court Brangman admitted to Police he was to blame for the accident shortly after it happened, on Saturday, May 12, at 1.20 p.m. Tests later showed he was over the legal limit for alcohol. Asked by Mr. Warner if he had anything to say on the matter yesterday, Brangman, who had pleaded guilty, replied: “I was at fault.”

In addition to the fine, he was disqualified from driving all vehicles for 12 months.Man fined for impaired drivingA drunk driver narrowly missed ploughing into a crowd of people when he mounted the kerb in his car in the early hours of the morning. Carl Martin, 22, lost control as he drove along Par-la-Ville Road, in the City of Hamilton, and drove towards the group who were gathering outside the Esso garage, Magistrates’ Court heard yesterday.

According to Crown counsel Robert Welling, Martin then told watching Police officers: “I had two Heinekens but I ate. I’m ok.”

However, tests later showed he had 100 millilitres of alcohol in 100 milligrams of his blood, against the legal limit of 80. He pleaded guilty yesterday. The incident happened at 3.20 a.m. on Wednesday, May 9. Martin, of Middle Road, Smith’s, was fined $1,000 and disqualified from driving all vehicles for 12 months by Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner.

Sharks to hold a swimathon

The Sharks Swim Team will host a swimathon this afternoon at Warwick Academy to raise money for overseas meets.

Beginning tomorrow at 4.15 p.m., senior and junior swimmers will swim for sponsorship. Nicky DeSilva of the Social Committee said each swimmer has put down an amount of metres he or she will swim — anywhere from 800 to 5000 metres. They have all been given a sponsorship form to raise money.

This is not the first international competition for many of the swimmersand they have been training for hours on end to prepare for the meets. The swimmers will meet at the pool at 4 p.m. and the swimathon is set to begin at 4.15.