On Tuesday January 22, 2013, Jamaica lost another courageous warrior, Dr. Heather Little-White. She was ailing for sometime and died in the hospital. For those of us who remembered Jamaican television in the 1980s and 1990s, there were local shows such as Titus in Town, Oliver at Large, Lime Tree Lane and Hill & Gully Ride. And there was Grace Kitchen’s Creative Cooking with Dr. Heather Little-White. The younger ons who still appreciate local TV willl be familiar with Maizie, but before her there was Heather. Then, Creative Cooking was a must watch for those who experimented in the kitchen and who wanted to score those extra points in our Food and Nutrition classes. Dr. Little-White made the whole process of food preparation adventurous and dared us to push the limit with the traditional Jamaican diet. Her mixing, baking, swirling, and presentation were a must see for many. She provided yet another reason why we loved local programming, as cooking was something we could relate to, it being one door away. She taught us that there was no shame in men and women mastering the home kitchen. I didnt know her personally, but she was like family, in a time when TV was wholesomely entertaining and inclined towards highlighting our culture and tradition. This was a Christian woman, with her stove and kitchen utensils, who dominated a prime time spot on TV. Unfortunately, there were some low moments. We cringed when in 1999 heartless gunmen, during an attempted robbery, shot and paralysed our beloved celebrity. Several years later, her house was broken into robbed. To make matters worst, the crime monster robbed her in 2010 when she was on her way from the bank. This was the touching quote from the newspaper then, “Today, I feel like a truck ran over me. I now contemplate my next move as I think I have had more than enough,” she says, the words inadequate to mask the pain and the tears that so severely test the resolve of this steely rural daughter of Somerton, St James.” I cried when I read that article. Her pain was my pain, she was the nation’s aunt, mother, the kind neighbour we all came to love and adore because of TV. But, with the strength of God, her faith remained strong.

Dr Little-White, though restricted to a wheelchair, was not its prisoner. This acclaimed nutritionist and businesswoman went on to become a steady contributor to the Gleaner newspaper. At the same time, she easily slipped into the role of championing the cause of the disabled. Proper access to businesses and offices were her rallying cry and she kicked it to the front burner, along with other issues as to how we treat the vulnerable amongst us. During her lifetime, she achieved alot. Among other things, she was a Lecturer at UTECH, an active member of several National Boards and a Consultant. In 2001 was awarded a National Honour, the Order of Distinction (Officer Class). In an article written on her, it ends as follows :- “I don’t see myself as any less than other human beings,” she says. She grows even more hopeful when she notes that she is gaining strength in her legs, feeling movement in her feet and is able to tap her toes.Then she says with unmistakable conviction: “I still have my faith and I will walk again!” Dr. Heather Little-White has now marched on to a greater glory.

Manchester Man With Malaria Dies

Published: Tuesday January 22, 2013 | 1:38 pm4 Comments

The Mandeville Regional Hospital – File
Dave Lindo, Gleaner Writer

A man who was being treated for malaria in Manchester has died.

Alfons Klem, a German who resided in Mandeville, Manchester had been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at the Mandeville Regional Hospital for some time before he was transferred to the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Klem who was in his 50s reportedly went on a trip to a country in Africa and had received the necessary vaccine before leaving but had stayed longer than expected.

On his return to Jamaica, he fell ill and went to the Mandeville Regional Hospital where he was diagnosed for malaria and was treated.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael Combs had reported that the matter was one of two cases imported last December.

He had also reported that the patient was successfully treated but was still in hospital for other complications.

The death has sparked concern among Mandeville residents.

A close family member of deceased who asked to remain anonymous told The Gleaner that the cause of death was believed to be complications from malaria.

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Another Case Of Malaria?

Published: Sunday January 13, 2013 | 6:37 pm0 Comments

File – Dr Marion Bullock Ducasse, Director of Emergency Disaster Management and Special Services in the Ministry of Health.
Dave Lindo, Gleaner Writer

Health officials are this evening tight-lipped on reports that a second imported case of malaria has been detected.

The Gleaner/Power 106 News Centre understands that the infected person, a male, had also traveled to a country in Africa similar to the person in St Ann whose case was highlighted by The Gleaner last week. The Manchester patient is being treated at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, where he is said to be in intensive care.

Sources say although the patient received the necessary vaccines before traveling to Africa, he stayed in the region longer than scheduled. When contacted, health officials declined to comment on the case.

Chief medical officer, Dr Michael Coombs said he was not in a position to speak about the matter and suggested that we contact the health ministry’s public relations personnel on Monday.

Director of emergency, disaster management and special services in the health ministry, Dr Marion Bullock-Ducasse, also declined to comment saying she was not at work and was therefore not up-to-date with what was happening.

Last week, in a release from the ministry, Dr Coombs assured the public that there was no malaria outbreak and therefore no reason for Jamaicans to panic. He said the country had not had locally transmitted cases of malaria since 2009. There were five imported cases in 2012 and one since the start of the year.

Malaria, caused by the malaria parasite, is spread when the Anopheles mosquito bites an infected person and then bites others. It cannot be transmitted from person to person. Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches and fatigue. Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are also possible.

A 79-year-old woman, Mrs Esther Ogunsalu, whose residence shares a common fence with the church in Lagos, had dragged the church before the court for disturbing her peace, naij.com reported.

Ogunsalu filed a law suit before Justice Aishat Opesanwo claiming that the noise emanating from the church prevents her from sleeping, adding that it also “triggers her hypertensive heart disease.”

She asked the court to declare that the continuous occupation and use of the premises as a place of worship “contravenes the building and town planning regulations of Lagos State.”

However, Opesanwo referred both parties to the Multi-Door Courthouse, Igbosere, Lagos, for mediation.

At the Multi-Door Courthouse, the parties adopted a term of settlement dated November 7, 2012 which was signed by the church’s pastor, Dapo Morawo, and Ogunsalu alongside her lawyer, Mr. Dan Kizito, in the presence of a mediator, identified as Mr. Dosunmu.

The terms of settlement obtained by our correspondent on Monday stated, “That in the interest of peace and justice, parties have agreed to make peace and that the first respondent (owner and trustees of the RCCG) and the second respondent (Morawo) will maintain a zero noise pollution in accordance with Lagos State regulations and laws.”

At the resumed hearing of the case, Justice Opesanwo said since the parties had agreed to an amicable resolution of the dispute, the court would adopt the terms of settlement as its judgment.

“The said terms of settlement have been duly examined. I hereby adopt and pronounce it as the judgment of this court. Parties are urged to bear their respective obligations under the settlement terms,” Opesanwo said.

Is it true that a hurricane is an “act of God”?

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Only if you are a lawyer or an insurance agent. Why? Because it is specifically in those venues that one hears of such meteorological aberrations being attributed to God. No doubt someone is trying to figure out how to sue Him also. When that terminology was adopted, and who first decided to use it, I do not know, but it is terribly erroneous, because God is love, and love does no harm to people or to their possessions.

According to the Bible, wherein God speaks for Himself, hurricanes are acts of the Devil, God’s archenemy, and a fallen world. Ditto for tornadoes, cyclones, floods (For an explanation of the Flood in Noah’s time, click here.), famines (from not enough rain), and all other destructive “natural” events, including World Series earthquakes. This is in keeping with Jesus’ statement in John 10:10 that Satan’s goals relative to mankind are to “steal, kill, and destroy.” Is that what hurricanes do? Yes—just ask the residents of Florida about hurricanes Charlie, Frances, and Ivan who are still looking for their houses.

Are there any biblical records of destructive weather threatening good people or innocent bystanders? Good question, and it is answered by incidents in the Gospels such as Luke 8:22 and following, where Jesus and his disciples were on a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. He fell asleep en route, and a huge storm arose that threatened to sink them.

Now, if that storm was an “act of God,” Jesus was not a very good Son, because instead of going along with the program and drowning, he rebuked the wind and the waves and stilled them, thus messing up what His Father was trying to do. But why would his own Father try to kill him on the lake, when his death on the Cross was the only hope for mankind?

And what about the record in Acts 27, when a terrible storm raged for days and days and threatened to kill the Apostle Paul, one of the key figures in the early Church and the man who at that time was still to pen those magnificent Church Epistles that he later wrote in a Roman prison? What happened in that situation? God sent an angel to tell Paul that he and all those on board would safely make it to land. If God sent the storm, why would He then save the people from it?

God is all good. He is light (1 John 1:5), He is love (1 John 4:8), and He wants only blessings for all people. Not only is He not the cause of hurricanes, etc., He is always doing His best to stop them from hurting people. For further study, please listen to our free online audio teaching, Is God in Control of Everything that Happens?

The Immigration Saga Continues

President Obama and lawmakers of both parties have begun laying the groundwork for something that is supposed to be unachievable in Washington today: a bipartisan deal to solve a bitterly contentious, complicated problem in a big way.

The talk is of immigration reform, a once-in-a-generation overhaul of an outdated system that turns away too many skilled and eager workers, separates too many families and keeps too many millions of undocumented people at the edges of society, unable to get right with the law.

The outlines of reform have long been clear: more visas, a more secure border, better-regulated workplaces, more protections for workers’ rights and — the key to everything — legalization and eventual citizenship for 11 million unauthorized immigrants living in limbo. The only thing missing is a deal.

Expecting Congress to overcome its paralysis is never a good bet these days. But optimists will note that on immigration, at least, leaders in both parties are taking great pains to say that they want to get something done. Mr. Obama has recently been repeating his broken promise to win reform. Senators are huddling and floating proposals; some Republicans, like Marco Rubio of Florida, are positioning themselves as reformers with vague but positive-sounding statements.

Senator Rubio has been out shopping his ideas: more visas for high-technology, professional and temporary agricultural workers, a national work-eligibility verification program and provisional legalization for the 11 million undocumented, who would not be granted permanent status until all other legal immigrants got their green cards.

Some of the 11 million could presumably become citizens one day, though Mr. Rubio has not said how that would work. If you force millions of people to wait at the end of a visa line that for some countries is already decades long, is that really a path to citizenship? Still, he rejects the mass-deportation, Arizona-style lunacy recently embraced by Republican leaders like Mitt Romney. For a party so prone to vilifying and criminalizing immigrants, that’s progress.

The hard-core immigration resisters, meanwhile, don’t seem to be as numerous or as loud, though there has been grumbling from some lawmakers who have said all along that legalizing 11 million can never happen until the border is secure.

Well, the border is secure. The nonpartisan Migration Policy Institute recently found that immigration enforcement, especially after 9/11, has had a significant effect in curbing the illegal border flow to essentially zero. This makes sense, since the institute’s report shows that the federal government now spends more to enforce immigration laws than on all its other criminal law-enforcement agencies combined.

Though the Republicans may have lost a talking point on border security, they have won the enforcement argument. Even Mr. Obama agrees with their approach, having greatly expanded his predecessors’ aggressive enforcement programs and pushed deportations to record levels.

So now it’s time for the other parts of the equation — a smoother, smarter immigration flow, and legalization with citizenship. Some Republicans are urging a piecemeal approach, adding layers of enforcement and some new visa programs, but that is merely a way of putting off solving the problem of the 11 million. We hope the G.O.P. leaders will move away from that dead-end.

Evangelical leaders, business groups, labor unions and the well-organized young advocates known as Dreamers are ready to urge on deal makers in Congress. Hope is running high. Our big fear is that Mr. Obama and the Republicans are merely getting ready to blame each other if a deal blows up, setting back reform several more years.

But some things argue against pessimism: the resounding election message, pressure from Americans who want the immigration system fixed, and the possibility that enough Congressional Republicans want to begin winning back the Latino vote that so many in their party have been working so hard to drive way.

A version of this editorial appeared in print on January 20, 2013, on page SR10