​A group of young persons have recently successfully completed Aggression Replacement Training (ART). 
 
According to a release, ART consists of 10 weeks of intervention training, and is divided into three components—social skills training, anger-control training, and training in moral reasoning.
 
The Aggression Replacement Training was facilitated by Mrs. Jemma Azille-Lewis, Coordinator - Child Abuse Prevention Unit; Ms Adella David, Counsellor with the Ministry of Education; & Ms Ann Taylor, Case Worker-Operation Youth Quake.
 
The training concluded with a closing ceremony, where each participant was given certificates of completion.  At the ceremony, Magistrate Gloria Septra Augustus congratulated the youth on their accomplishments, and encouraged them to make use of the knowledge they had gained. 
 
She informed them that the responsibility is on them, to make the right decisions, and not let their anger and pressures of the world direct their responses to situations.   
 
This Aggression Replacement Training (ART) is the first of its kind in Dominica, and is expected to continue with other young persons in various schools on the Island.

​NSG Management and Technical Services Ltd, the company at the helm of the Roseau West Bridge project, says it is pleased to confirm that there has been strong progress made with the construction of the new West Bridge, and the retaining wall.
 
In an official release, the company said, despite some recent setbacks due to periods of heavy rain, work has been able to move forward at a consistent pace, and they remain on track for an on-time completion of the work.
 
According to the release, all the new main support structures have been built for the new bridge, including the two abutments and the piers located in the river. It stated further that the river retaining wall along Jonson Avenue has also progressed well, and they also expect to close the wall in early January 2017.
 
NSG says once all the wall sections are in place, it will commence building up the level of the road, and then apply the surfacing shortly thereafter. Additional small wall structures are also being built beside the south abutment, to connect the new bridge to the existing river walls.

​Dominica’s Manufacturers lament that their working facilities are unsuitable for achieving effective production.President of the Dominica Manufacturers Association (DMA) Savarin McKenzie has expressed concern over existing working conditions in the manufacturing sector.
 
He spoke at a handing over ceremony at the National Development Foundation of Dominica Conference Room on Wednesday, where 15 Agro-processors were presented with new equipment.
 
McKenzie expressed gratitude to Invest Dominica Authority (IDA) and the National Authorizing Officer (NAO) for the European Development Fund, for presenting new equipment to the Manufacturers Association; but he said the current production facility is “one of the areas about whichwe are very concerned”.
 
He added “Yes we have equipment, yes we are producing but we are also interested in having the right facility for production, with all of the requirements in place, so that we can move towards getting the products that are manufactured in Dominica up to standard”.
 
McKenzie also said that demands in the French countries, particularly Guadeloupe and Martinique, are high for Dominican products and that Cuba has an “emerging market for our products.”
 
He challenged the manufacturers to take a stand, and put in the necessary work to produce quality productsthat are necessary for the market.
 
The presentation of the equipment was made under the European Union’s Banana Accompanying Measure (BAM).

Speaker of the House of Assembly Alix Boyd-Knights, has cautioned fathers who do not provide financial support to their children, especially during the Holidays.
 
In her end of year message, Boyd-Knights described Christmas as a season of merriment, and listed the various events which make up the festivities. She stated however, that many children will be deprived of this cheer, due to lack of economic & social support from their fathers.
 
Boyd Knights expressed contempt for the slow and “ineffective” legal framework on child maintenance, which she says, works to the advantage of absentee fathers.
 
In July, a one-day consultation was held to discuss an OECS Draft Family Model Bill, related to the Maintenance of children, and procedures which the Court could adopt when making Maintenance Orders.
 
Consultation on the OECS Draft Family Model Bills is part of the process leading to the enactment of the Family Bills.
 
The present Maintenance Act provides for the Maintenance of certain classes of persons including children and adults. The present Bill is specific to children, and proposes that each parent has an obligation to provide reasonably for the maintenance of children.​

​In an effort to satisfy customers' needs, the West Coast Cooperative Credit Union will open a new location in St Joseph.
 
General Manager of the Dominica Cooperative Societies League Aaron Dalrymple says the credit union movement continues to seek ways to make access to services easy.
 
The ribbon cutting for the new location takes place today Thursday 29th December at 4:30pm.

Attorney Anthony Astaphan is attempting to defend Prime Minister Skerrit’s clearing the site of the Silver Lake fire, before investigation arecompleted.
 
Clearance of the site started just hours after the massive ‘Boxing Day’ fire, which left some 60 people homeless. Many Dominicans at home and abroad, took to the airwaves and the internet to voice their concerns, that the clearance of the site would compromise ongoing investigation by the police and fire officials, into the cause of the fire.
 
Astaphan however claims that the Prime Minister got the green light to clear the site within hours of the incident, from those who are in charge of the investigation.
 
According to Astaphan, this whole issue has to do with members of the opposition United Workers Party, who did not expect a prompt response from government on the fire.
 
He remarked, “another lie” and “another smoke screen” is being hatched by the UWP without specific details. He said “I can tell you for a fact the Prime Minister spoke to the Deputy Fire Commissioner and the Inspector in charge of CID, who gave the green light to clear the scene”.

​All reports indicate that Roseau South MP Joshua Francis and Opposition Leader Lennox Linton, were the first MP’s to be on the scene of the fire, and who engaged with the affected residents of Silver Lake.

​A recent Flu outbreak here which had many concerned is officially over according to the island's Ministry of Health.
 
In a statement issued Thursday, the Health Ministry said "The Ministry of Health and Environment informs the Public that the outbreak of Acute Respiratory Infections (Flu) in Dominica, due to the Influenza A (H3N2) virus is officially over".
 
It continued, "According to the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, the end of a disease outbreak in a country can be declared over, once two maximum incubation periods have passed and no new case has been detected. The incubation period for influenza A (H3N2) or flu is 1-4 days (average 2 days).
 
The last laboratory confirmed case of influenza A (H3N2) in Dominica was on November 20, 2016. As a result, the Ministry of Health and Environment declares that the influenza/flu epidemic is officially over as of December 10, 2016".
 
The flu outbreak was announced on November 7, 2016.  According to a release, the distribution of the cases mainly concentrated within the Portsmouth, Roseau, Marigot and St. Joseph Heath Districts, with mainly persons 5 years and over being the most affected.
 
A total of ninety (90) cases had been hospitalized,but mostly children. The hospital admissions among the adult group had related conditions of diabetes, hypertension and asthma.
 
Meanwhile, the Ministry is reminding the public to be on alert for the usual seasonal flu, which begins from the end of December to the end of March. 

​Roseau South MP Joshua Francis is reiterating his call to the general public to assist in providing materials for immediate relief.
 
Francis added at the moment things are looking optimistic for the Silver Lake residents and the people are being cooperative with the authorities.

​Francis also expressed thanks to the UWP Leader for meeting with the displaced residents of Silverlake and pledging his party’s assistance to their recover.

​Recently a mysterious fire destroyed the homes of 60 individuals in Silverlake on Monday evening, authorities have not yet identified the cause of the Fire as investigations at this time are still ongoing.
 

Sales Marketing Manager at AC Shillingford & Co Ltd Kendra Stephen on Wednesday announced the winners of the AC Shillingford Christmas raffle, Stephen told q95, the criteria to have participated in this big promotion was to purchase goods amounting to EC$50.00 or more.
 
Stephen says the winners were Nadia Samuel of Pottersville, who won a Mountain bike; David Cathel of Goodwill won a six burner stove; Kimon Gregoire of Victoria street, Newtown, won a trip for two; a $200 voucher was won by Grandel Bruno of St. Joseph; and Kurwin Maximea of Bellevue also won a $200 voucher.

​From St Kitts and Nevis (WINN):Former Tourism Minister Dwyer Astaphan (also of Operation Rescue)wants St Kitts & Nevis Team Unitygovernment to clarify the number ofholders of the federation’sdiplomatic passports. Speaking on WINN FM’s Voices programme Wednesday,Astaphan also reiterated calls for proper accounting of the number of passports granted to economic citizens, under the Citizenship by Investment programme.His queries were preceded by the former government minister expressing the view that the management and operation of the programme has become more efficient under Team Unity.
 
“We don’t know about the people who got diplomatic passports, who still have, who have been issued, who had been issued before and for what reason, and who have been issued since and for what reason. Governments have prerogatives but they also have obligations, and I don’t believe it is strictly within the confines of a government’s prerogative to give out diplomatic passports just like that, at least tell us what the policy is for the giving out of diplomatic passports, because while the former administration was in office, I heard on these microphones, on the public platforms and elsewhere, and writing in my articles, listed a number of people who had been issued diplomatic and other passports and we haven’t been given any report by this government as to whether any of those have been revoked or withdrawn and what is the policy of issuing passports and who gets them now."
 
"If you hold a diplomatic passport for St Kitts & Nevis, it means you have some official/special function to perform on behalf of the people of St Kitts & Nevis. The country’s population is about 50,000. If you have 10,777 primary passports issued under the economic programme, and say another 25,000 issued to spouses and dependents;you are looking at nearly 40,000 passports issued under the economic citizenship programme. These people are citizens, the structure of the programme did not create a qualified citizenship. They are citizens, they can come and set up shop in Basseterre or in Charlestown or in Roseau or St Georges, Castries or St John’s, because of the OECS Union. They can create serious social, economic & political imbalancesin our country. While I’m not xenophobic by any stretch of the imagination, and while I embrace living in an international community with all of the countries because that is enriching, as a small country, we have to be very careful with the numbers.”Astaphan is urging the administration to make public up to date information on the number of the federation’s economic citizens.