Junior Sammy ‘walks the talk’

UPDATE:

With his hands folded and eyes cast upward, well-known contractor Junior Sammy yesterday looked on as several of his employees gingerly removed the damaged cross and orb, free of charge, from the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port of Spain.

The cross and orb, which were removed with the assistance of a large crane, marked a major development in the church’s rehabilitation, some three weeks after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake rattled the country.

The crane was also used to help workers removed large chunks of displaced brick, which are to used when the actual rehabilitation exercise begins.

During the massive tremor, the historic church, located on Hart Street, received significant damage to its infrastructure, which resulted in services having to be relocated to the nearby Garden of Peace. Church officials projected the rehabilitation exercise could run into millions of dollars.

Yesterday, Sammy, who offered his assistance after a personal appeal from his close friend Dean Knolly Clarke, told reporters: “On Wednesday, at 8 am, Father Knolly Clarke called and asked me to do this gesture for him and I told him we will do it. We just had to plan it out and I told him we will do it. And we are here today (yesterday) to do it.”

The Rev Shelly-Ann Tenia, dean of the cathedral, thanked Sammy and his team for their assistance.
“It is one of the things we have needed since the earthquake to ensure that the boulders that fell off because of the shed finials as well as the orb and cross on the bell tower could be taken down safely.
And that is that no one or nothing is damaged in case things fall off.”

Tenia regarded the removal of the cross, orb and displaced brick as one of the major pieces of work to be done.
She said, though, a man-lift was still needed to inspect some of the exterior walls of the church.

“Once that has happened, we still need to brace up the east wall and brace up the spire that has loose bricks falling off and then we will go inside and do all of the checks inside.
“So, hopefully, we will get a lift so the engineers could go in and inspect all of the woodwork in the ceiling at this point.”

Tenia added: “The rest of the detailed dilapidation survey will unfold as we do the emergency works to get back in.”

Of Sammy’s involvement in the project, given his role as a prominent member of corporate TT, Tenia said: “It is a reminder and an indication that this cathedral is not just about the Anglican Church.”

“I mean, the cathedral is a national landmark and it belongs to the people of TT as much as it belongs to Anglicans.”

She appealed to other corporate citizens to support the church in its rehabilitation exercise.
“We hope that corporate citizens and others would partner with us to ensure that we can, in the first instance, get back in so we can worship in the building.

“We have been worshipping and that’s been good. But it is a joy to be able to worship in the building.
“So, to be able to get back into the building is the thing that we are very grateful for and we are glad that corporate citizens and others recognise the value and historicity of the cathedral and what it stands for in the context of our national landscape and we are really grateful for that.”

Clarke, a prominent Anglican cleric, who served as dean at the cathedral for ten years, said he immediately thought about Sammy when he heard about the extensive renovations to be undertaken by the church.

“Naturally, I felt aggrieved and I said, one person I know and I called upon him.
We go back a long time and he (Sammy) said, ‘I will be there.’ And he is here. So, I am very grateful to this man. And I want to thank him.... He walks the talk.”

ORIGINAL STORY:

With his hands folded and eyes cast upward, well-known contractor Junior Sammy this afternoon looked on as several of his employees gingerly removed the damaged cross and orb, free of charge, from the Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port of Spain.

The cross and orb, which were removed with the assistance of a large crane, marked a major development in the church’s rehabilitation, some three weeks after a 6.9 magnitude earthquake rattled the country.

The crane was also used to help workers removed large chunks of displaced brick, which are to be used when the actual rehabilitation begins.

During the massive tremor, the historic church, located on Hart Street, received significant damage to its infrastructure, which resulted in services having to be relocated to the nearby Garden of Peace.

Church officials projected the rehabilitation exercise could run into millions of dollars.

Sammy, who offered his assistance after a personal appeal from his close friend Dean Knolly Clarke, told reporters: “On Wednesday, at 8 am, Father Knolly Clarke called and asked me to do this gesture for him and I told him we will do it. We just to plan it out and I told him we will do it. And we are here today to do it.”

The Rev Shelly-Ann Tenia, Dean of the Cathedral, thanked Sammy and his team for their assistance.

“It is one of the things we have needed since the earthquake to ensure that the boulders that fell off because of the shed finials, as well as the orb and cross on the bell tower, could be taken down safely. And that is that no one or nothing is damaged in case things fall off.”

Tenia regarded the removal of the cross, orb and displaced brick as one of the major pieces of work to be done.