COMMUNITY POLICING ON SALT CAY...BE PREPARED IS ALWAYS A GOOD MOTTO!

BE PREPARED: HELP THE ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS   POLICE FORCE PROTECT  OUR  COMMUNITY.

EVEN THOUGH SALT CAY HAS VERY LITTLE CRIME IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO BE PREPARED AND KNOW WHAT TO DO WHEN AN INCIDENCE DOES OCCUR...WATCHING OUT FOR EACH OTHER AND OUR NEIGHBOURS IS  REWARDING AND ALLOWS US TO PARTICIPATE IN COMMUNITY POLICING IN A POSITIVE WAY THAT BUILDS RELATIONSHIPS AND ENSURES SALT CAY REMAINS QUITE, FRIENDLY AND CRIME FREE..

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING PRESS RELEASE FROM THE ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS POLICE FORCE AND FOLLOW THE SAFETY TIPS.

   A home invasion is every homeowner’s worst nightmare. For many people their home represents safety, security, and sanctuary.  The Turks and Caicos Islands is still a safe country to live, work, and visit; however, people should not be complacent.  Many crimes are crimes of opportunity.  You can help to mitigate your risk by following some of these safety tips.

Entries points are often through an open door or window.

Ø The areas outside of your main entrance should be lit properly so that there are no dark shadows, where someone can hide.

Ø Keep your curtains drawn, shades and blinds down as far as possible so that people cannot look into your home, especially after nightfall.

Ø Keep all entrances where you live well illuminated.

Ø Install effective deadbolt locks.

Ø Never leave your doors or windows unlocked.  Keep them locked at all times even if you live in an extremely safe neighborhood and even if you are at home.

Ø Have secure locks on all windows and be sure to use them.

Ø Use high quality locks and strike plates on doors to prevent kick-ins and pry bars.

Ø If your house or bedroom is equipped with a sliding glass door make sure there are secondary locking devices such as a piece of doweling, pin-locking device, or some kind of mechanism to prevent the door from being lifted out of its tracks.Ø  Keep porch light and lights that surrounds your house on all night or on a timer.

Ø  Leave a light on in one or two rooms inside of your home.

Ø  Routinely check all access points to your home: windows, doors, basements access and garage door. Test and examine each latch, lock, window and door.

Ø  If you come home and find a door or window open or signs of forced entry.  DO NOT GO INSIDE! Go to a safe place and call the police.

Ø  Always have your door key ready so you can enter your home without delay.

Ø If you live alone, when friends and relatives drop you off have them enter the house with you to ensure that everything is safe before they leave you alone.

Ø  Be a concerned neighbor and call 911 about suspicious people in the neighborhood.

Ø If you see someone outside your home or your neighbor’s home who looks suspicious, alert your neighbors and contact the police.

Ø Get to know your neighbors and work with them to keep your neighborhood safe.

If you are a victim of a home invasion, remember the following:

Ø Even though you are nervous try to stay calm.

Ø Concentrate on getting information so you can be an effective witness.

o   Look carefully at the intruders, even if they are masked.  Is there something unique about them such as scars, tattoos, large nose?

o   What are they wearing?  Listen to everything they say and how they say it.

o   Catch any distinguishing odors such as tobacco, also alcohol or aftershave.

After an event:

Ø Go to a safe place.

Ø Call the Police

Preserve evidence - do not change your clothes or disturb the scene of the crime.  If you need medical attention, call 911.

The RTCIPF has put measures in place to help ensure people’s safety and security but the RTCI Police needs the public’s assistance.  The RTCIPF is committed to making our country a safer place to live.  But we cannot do it alone, we must all work together.   Neighborhood Watch can be implemented and the RTCI police Community Policing team can help.  Visit communitypolice@tcipolice.tc

Salt Cay: Last Salt Raker Standing....Stories from 'Pirates Hideaway' By the Sea

Salt Cay: Last Salt Raker Standing!
When Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermudez first set foot on the shore of Bermuda so named after him, little did he know the repercussions of his discovery and how it would influence and set in motion the future economy and lifestyle of the Turks and Caicos Islands some 740 miles away..

The early pioneers of Bermuda were excited to cultivate the land as tobacco plantations to meet the demand of British merchants that sold the highly prized tobacco as a medicinal cure for almost every ailment. Books were written on the magical properties of tobacco and throughout the 1600s it was so popular in Europe that tobacco was synonymous with money as a trading mechanism.

Unable to compete with the North American that could cultivate tobacco more cheaply, the settlers and adventurers turned their attention to the Turks islands where they saw a great opportunity to harvest salt which formed naturally in the many shallow Salinas on the island of Grand Turk and the adjacent island of Salt Cay.


Bermudan style salt merchant homes were built in the early 1800s. The salt was stored in vast basements for protection from the rains and the white merchants lived on the second floor with many windows that would catch the breeze from the constant trade winds, providing respite from the midday sun.


The 'Brown House" salt Merchants home built in 1820 by captain jones from Bemuda.

And so it was that the pioneers along with their established boat building skills, excess slaves, will and determination settled the Turks Islands in their quest to capture the salt market and become rich by supplying the world with ‘white’ gold.

Despite the many ferocious hurricanes, invasions, wars and plagues the settlers persevered in this quest for over three hundred years building a rich and colorful culture.

A culture that bonded the mixed races through elaborate storytelling, days salt raking in the ponds, building sloops, drinking bush tea and practicing bush medicine all inspired by the old negro slaves captured from the shores of Africa and beyond.


Accompanied by shakers and whistles and anything else that would produce sound, the men would often serenade the ladies providing entertainment and a much needed distraction from the sometimes hostile and harsh environment, overseers and salt merchants that kept rigid time.

Music and dance was an integral part of daily life. The players would use every day objects to strike up a cacophony of sounds that later became known as the Turks and Caicos ‘ribsaw’ music.

In fact the main instrument of the ‘rib saw’ band was and still is a common hand held carpenter’s saw, stroked across the serrated teeth with a metal object creating an unusual melody in harmony with the syncopated beat of the “rim,” a simple drum made from stretched cowhide.

From the wide East verandas the merchants would look out over the vast Salinas and watch the raker’s gather salt, shovel it on the mule and cart and move the heavy load along the ‘pickle’ packed roads to the salt houses and wharfs.


From the West veranda the ladies would sit with their crochet, reading Longfellow and sipping their afternoon teas from delicate willow pattern teacups brought in by the sailing ships and steamers from England.

They watched the fishing boats and lighter boats struggling out to the larger vessels to offload their salt and often times turtles which were also in great demand for their pretty shells that were used to make combs, hairbrushes and jewelry in the European markets.
Meanwhile the salt raker wives were gathering wood to light their fire wearing simple white dresses and handmade straw hats often brought to Salt Cay on sloops from the Caicos Islands where an abundance of Silver Top and White Top palm trees provided the raffia for the local women to weave shade hats.

This cycle of life continued until the mid 1900s when heavy competition from other countries closed the salt raking industry down and forced the men to find work on the large cargo ships carrying iron ore and other commodities round the world.


However sitting on a stone wall outside his salt raker cottage most every day we find 84 yr old ‘Prince Albert’ reflecting on days gone by when he would wake at the crack of dawn and walk out into the Salinas to rake one of the most precious commodities in the world.


Prince Albert is now one of the last salt raker’s standing!

Salt Cay Fire Fighters Always at the Ready

Salt Cay's "hot' team of fire fighters!
We must thank our fire fighting team on Salt Cay who take their work seriously. It was very reassuring to watch them engage in a mock fire drill to put out a raging bush fire. The fire engines zoomed into action and quickly the men had positioned the hoses, surrounded the fire and doused the heavy flames.


Salt Cay may be lacking in manpower and funds to repair the internal infrastructure but we do have a self disciplined group of young men Newton, Ranfurly,Eddy, Shaun and Toussaint our current Officer in Charge, who all take their job seriously.

 Recently I was clearing 'Periwinkle Park' of the rubbish and overgrown acacia bush and some of the  piles  stood fifteen feet high. Finally after a little rain it seemed like a good time to set the bush alight.
Here is the protocol......
1) Inform the District Commissioner and the Fire Brigade that you are going to light a fire and you woud like them on standby.
2) Make sure that there are no overhead powerlines and that the wind is in the right direction and not too breezy.
3) That there a clearing and easy access for the fire brigade to mobilize their fire trucks should the need arise.
4)Make sure pets and children are in a safe place.
5)Be sure to have a cell number for the Fire Department in case of emergency.TELEPHONE: 244 5199
as Officer Tousaint says..."Whenever there is a fire call the friendly services at our fire station who's always ready to assist you,"
And there you have it!

Ms ONA GLINTON...CIVIC LEADER AND EDUCATOR of the TCI

I will always remember Ona Glinton as a warm, bubbly well spoken fascinating lady. The day I sat down with her in Grand Turk she made me a cup of tea and shared a sponge cake as she recounted tales of growing up in Grand Turk and Salt Cay.



Charming Home in Grand Turk

Her mother was a short bright skinned lady by the name of Angelina Lightbourne who according to Ms Ona was a wonderful seamstress, taught crochet from her house overback and was a good vocalist in the Methodist church. Her mother was a strict disciplinarian and married the son of Mary Lightbourne, Nathaniel who was a seafaring man and a pilot navigating the boats in and out of the docks in Grand Turk….

Boats that would often be laden down with salt. Her grandfather who she never knew, was like her daddy a skilled pilot but one day met his demise and was drowned in a terrible storm that swept the coast of of Grand Turk.

Front Street Grand Turk

Times were hard and so for much of her youth she was raised by her grandmother Mary and her godfather Richard Been, a Government officer from Salt Cay. who sent her to a private school the ‘Cecil Earl Crawford School’.Her teacher was the founder of the school, Mr Cecil Earl Crawford, a well educated man from Barbados and her godfather she remembers paid 10 shillings for the fees required for attending the school and paying for the uniforms.
He had an old upstairs house on a alley near Glens shop..he was a tall black, black man who always wore glasses.

Ms, Ona loved her godpa and remembered him as a kind man who lived in a big house on Salt Cay coming from South.” He had at least three wives” Ms Onna said “ and was the best taylor on all the island”.

CHAIN STITCH

Ms Ona loved to crotchet and her mother taught her how to “chain’, “treble” and’ half treble” and how to make patterns.She was also taught further in her sewing skills by a good natured white lady by the name of Ms BC Frith who lived in Palm Grove in a rock stone house. . BC, she recalls would take crochet orders from the States and with the help of her servants Ms Minerva Williams and Ms Jesse Wyns they would crochet all sorts of things especially large bedspreads and tablecloths.”These fingers I can tell you, they are good” ,Ms. Ona chuckled.


It was in 1946 ,that she married the Wilfred Glinton, from Salt Cay and had two children – Frederick and raised two adopted children Earl Glinton and Estelle Pinder.

Story to be continued......If you have any information at all please forward to piratequeen3@hotmail.com so that we can continue the cultural heritage of these Turks and Caicos Islands...THX

Environment Club : Some Stones are Worth Turning Over!

On 11th may 1854 William Robert Inglis, a former stipendiary magistrate
of the Bahamas arrived to replace President Forth. Inglis proceeded to
impose a series of new lawsto remodel the Salt Colony's statutes
deemed necessary by the recent separation from the Bahamas.       

What a fascinating informative talk to the members of the 'Environment Club' by Dr.Donald Keith on 'The best ways to preserve the remarkable 'Sapodilla Stones' located on the Southen most point of Providenciales.These stones without a doubt represent an era in time and contribute to the Islands cultural and Historic Heritage...

 Each stone has been etched with some famous and no doubt infamous names, dates and drawings. I remember seeing  'old man Harriot's' name inscribed on one of the stones.

 
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Daniel Harriott was born circa 1807, some say he
 was a common man who married into wealth when he married
 Mary Olivia Hyatt the daughter of Captain James Hyatt.
 Bemudan by birth he sailed for Salt Cay to make his fortune.
 By 1829 the White House had been built and he was exporting
 Salt around the world.



 Daniel Harriott was one of the leading Salt Merchants on Salt Cay who run his operations from the "White House". I can imagine him standing on the top of Sapodilla Hill with his spyglass and no doubt on look-out for one of the trading vessels.
 Fed up with the tedious waiting Daniel decided to doodle his name creatively into the rock. He probably sat their with his pals, swigging rum and discussing the salt trade and latest world events as relayed by visiting sailors and other leading merchants.

Or does this inscription represent something more sinister. Take a look at the date 1844, ten years after the Emancipation Act when "wracking" boats was common place. Earl Talbot an old time resident on Salt Cay remembers stories from his great grand father that spoke of Harriott being an old pirate that engaged in wracking and and rum running...A far more intriguing tale.(see Spotlight on the TCI Cultural Heritage Show with Earl Talbot) 

One thing is certain though and that is each stone tells a story and helps piece together another part of the puzzle of the rich history of these Islands.

Dr Keith is no stranger to these Islands and is a Trustee of the Turks and Caicos Museum and President of 'Ships of Discovery' and has tackled many fascinating and difficult 'rescue' missions of underwater artifacts,and various shipwrecks including the slaveship 'Trouvadore.

Engraving of a slave ship

On 'terra firma' too, Dr.Keith pursues his passion for researching and preserving artifacts. Previously his team  used multi part casting techniques to create accurate molds of the 'Sapadilla' stone inscriptions without causing any damage to the originals.The idea was to preserve the stones for future generations to enjoy. 

Some of these intriguing molds are displayed in the Providenciales Airport and certainly are fascinating to both the residents and tourists alike.This achievement can only be described as a work of art and a labour of love.

Finally to mark the end of 2010, Dr. Keith in joint collaboration with theTurks and Caicos  Museum, DECR( Department of Environmentand Coastal Resources),friends and all that make up the team were successful in removing  all the  transportable stones from Sapodilla Hill and put them straight into storage.

This will preserve and protect them from the modern day enthusiastic 'doodlers' that were unfortunately  doodling over 300 year old inscriptions.what a great way to start the New Year...

For anyone interested in these worthwhile projects please contact the Environment Club on Facebook
 or email Dr. Donald Keith
          at dhkeith@shipsofdiscovery.org 

TEXT SALT CAY to 5050....and win $30,000 for the Community Road Project from Digicel.

Salt Cay is shaping up for the new year and the coming tourist season. Wouldn't it be a great boost if we won the $30,000 grand prize from Digicel to continue grading our roads.There are 12 contestants all round the Turks and Caicos hoping to win this generous gift for their own community project.


However I really believe that Salt Cay is the smallest island with the biggest mouth and all we need to do is text SALT CAY to 5050 and win the jackpot.


 Provo was quite surprized when we kidnapped all the key traffic areas over the weekend and put up our Salt Cay signs to remind and encourage Salt Cay friends and family to keep on texting.....

SAINT NICHOLAS

Even Santa got into the act...check out the video on you tube

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fuser%2Fturksxcaicos%3Femail%3Dshare_video_user&h=82a49

NATIVE FLOWERS, SHRUBS & TREES ON SALT CAY



JAMES AND TY



It is always exciting to have a visit from scientists and experts that have an in depth knowledge of their paricular field of study and so it was this month with a visit from James and Ty with their astounding ability to pinpoint and name a large variety of interesting and intriguing bush names and uses hidden within a sea of green.

SESUVIUM

Trekking accross the winding trails beginning at East creek we saw one of my favorite ground cover so to speak 'sesuvium' commonly known as sea purslane.The colours are brilliant hues of brown and red in the morning light.



Following in the wake of the wild donkey's and cows it was enlightening to discover the broad spectrum of species that can live in what often appears to be a harsh environment.

Over time, of course like most things there are sometimes subtle or drastic changes in the landscape. For example, historically the cutting down of trees during the Bemudan era to accomodate the Salt industry had a radical impact on the natural landscape.

Trees were felled because it was believed they attracted more rain which of course was detrimental to the salt industry.  Hyper saline ponds were altered by the salt workers and changed into productive salt ponds or salinas by building stone walls and the import of donkeys, cows and other livestock like pigs and chickens contributed to a gradual change in the ecological landscape. 

And so it was that James, Ty and myself found ourselves on a mission to discover the plant and tree life as it exists on Salt Cay  in the 21st century.

As we bounced over the sand dunes with the persistant trade winds and ocean spray we took photo's and logged the names of the herbacious creepers and grasses like the Borreria bahamensis and Suriana maritima commonly called bay cedar which are a robust salt tolerant specie.



SURIANA MARITIMA



Moving round  the rocky areas of the coastline where there are many more birds foraging in the tidal pools we see an abundance of Strumpfia maritima and conocarpus erectus that over many years have settled in to their life in harmony with the ragged rock formations. 

As we ploughed along the back dunes in our bone jarring golfcart we saw a variety of woody shrubs primarily the Ambrosia hispida and the Lantana involucrata...All very fascinating  especially another of my favorite bush teas 'Jamaica Trash.

Jamaica Trash

Continuing our journey we drove upland and away  from the harsh effects of wind and seaspray we found or should I say James and Ty found a  greater abundance of the Coccoloba uvifera.......what we locals refer to as 'seagrape'.

It was by now close to noon and we were driving in the high coppice area when James leapt out of the golfcart to study the  Plumeria obtusa.....evergreen frangipani. So little time and so many plants.

We passed a  beauty, peacefully reclining by itself, often called the 'railroad vine or goats foot vine or if you want to attempt the latin name ipomoea pes-caprae.




RAILROAD VINE

 

And as we soldiered on accross the island we spied yet another of my favorites the flowers of which are so colourful with a rich  breathtaking fusia...yet  another medicinal plant the 'morning glory'




MORNING GLORY

 



 One of the highlights of the trip was passing Ann's garden when I heard the cry "a .........  I do declare!" There in the front garden was a small tree bearing a small sweet perfumed flower - the roots of which are used to produce henna for colouring hair.....Was this native or an exotic?

It must  be remembered that settlers also introduced foreign plants for cultivation.  It is probably a fact, that the past commissioner's brought in exotic trees and vegetables to plant in the Government house gardens to explore the possibility of growing "new" species. 

 As a last thought we should be thinking and asking the question when looking at natural landscaping designs...When is an indiginous plant considered an indiginous plant?