Miss Teen Dominica 2019, Kyanna Dyer left Dominica on Friday 27th December for St. Kitts.Dyer is expected to participate in the Hayes Smith Miss Caribbean Talented Teen Pageantwhich is scheduled to take place tomorrow Tuesday 31stDecember, at the Marriott Hotel Ball Room at 8:00 PM.Dominica extends best of luck to the Miss Teen Dominica.

Dominica native, Celia Simon, from the community of San Sauveur has been promoted to the position of Director of Operations at Clear Harbor.
 
According to the company’s news release, the 26-year-old Simon is the youngest person “ever, to run the operations in the largest private company in Dominica” and the second local Dominican to achieve this milestone.
 
The release said, “She’s been with Clear Harbor for about 8 years now and transitioned in many operational roles which have prepared her for this grand role,” the release adds. “Celia’s ultimate goal is to continue to assist in overall development and overseeing continuous growth within Clear Harbor in years to come.”
 
Simon’s favorite quote, as stated by the release, comes from Winston Churchill: “Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”

Some6000 young persons from four Islands namely, Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & Grenada will receive certified training under the Skills for Youth Employment (SkYE) programme as stated by SkYe’s Dominica Coordinator, Jules Pascal.
 
SkYe is a UK government-funded program which is collaborating with the Dominica Technical Vocational Educational and Training (DTVET) council and is expected to train over 1800 young Dominicans in various working skill areas by March 2022. 
 
Pascal said the programme has been designed and developed to respond to employer needs and enhance workforce development through the expansion of skills sets through the provision of TVET certified training in many areas such as Hospitality, Entrepreneurship, Auto Mechanics, Building Trades and Wood Craft.
 
The program caters for three components in the training package which includes the higher-level training, entry-level skills and management and capacity building. 
 
Pascal said SkYE will assist trainees in becoming more productive and inclusive in the workforce. “SkYE will deliver certified training in technical and vocational education in the region. As a result of that, the young people, who will be between the ages of 15-30, will be engaged in various training programmes,” he stated.
 
Already contracted are the Youth Development Division, Dominica Youth Business Trust (DYBT) and the Achievement Learning Center. It is expected that very shortly other institutions including the Dominica State College (DSC), Business Training Center (BTC) and the Adult Education Division (AED) are expected to be engaged.
 
Pascal added that trainees will have to meet training requirements and standards as defined by the certifying authority or the National Training Authority (NTA) – the DTVET council, to qualify for the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ’s). 

​President of the Rotary Club of Dominica Lima Jervier says in January the Annual Eye Care (VOSH) program returns. The club is inviting persons with eye problems to get pre-screened. The VOSH eye care program is a collaboration with the Rotary Club of Dominica and a group of Doctors under VOSH Michigan who come annually to provide eye care treatment services to Dominica.

President of the Rotary Club of Dominica Lima Jervier.

Business and Professional Women Dominica Chapter will be pushing for a Sex Offenders Registry in the new year. President of the Group Rhoda St John says a number of other interesting events and topics will be surfacing.

President of the Business & Professional Women Dominica Chapter, Rhoda St John.

General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union Thomas Letang says the DPSU has never been opposed to a reclassification exercise for the public service.The Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit recently said reclassification is the measure that is needed in order to address the wages of public officers in Dominica.

​General Secretary of the Dominica Public Service Union Thomas Letang.

​Sales & Marketing Manager of The Dominica National Lottery says it has been a tremendous year for the institution with over $8M being paid out to winners in 2019.The DNL held an ‘Agents Appreciation Day’ on the weekend. George says apart from revenues made, the DNL did well in terms of sponsorships of sports, culture and other good causes.

​George says in 2020, the DNL intends to make a major change to its Super 6 game.

Sales & marketing Manager of the DNL Ken George.

​President of the Grotto Home for the Homeless Ainsworth Irish says the home currently houses thirty-seven residents, and is looking at having about twice that number.
 
However, he says the wish is not to have residents cramped, therefore in the new year 2020, the vision is to have an additional wing.

Irish also says the Home has also started on its own backyard garden.

President of the Grotto Home for the Homeless Ainsworth Irish.

Agronomist Atherton Martin has expressed the view that the longer the region waits to call Dominica’s current DLP led government what it is, the more the Caribbean suffers. Martin reiterated his belief that the regime is fraudulent and criminal.
 
He questioned the use of the CBI funds by the government.

​Martin says ​individuals such as Productivity Consultant and Businessman Parry Bellot are as guilty as those he describes as practicing politicians. 

​Agronomist Atherton Martin.

Sixty-six families were presented with keys to new homes on the weekend in Cotton Hill in the Cottage Constituency through the Government's Expansion Program.
 
However; PM Roosevelt Skerrit instead highlighted what he calls a culture of ingratitude being displayed in Dominica.

​Meanwhile Parliamentary Representative for the Cottage Constituency Reginald Austrie has told the recipients that government believes every man is equal, hence the efforts to bestow houses to the less fortunate in Dominica.

​Cottage Constituency Parliamentary Representative, Reginald Austrie.