THA turns sod for lights at Patience Hill grounds

Lights are finally on the way for the Patience Hill Recreational Grounds, as the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) has turned the sod for the installation of an LED lighting system.

The CEO of the Eco-Industrial Development Co of Tobago (E-idcot), Abena Richards, said the project would be completed in very short order.

“I am excited to witness this long-awaited event finally coming to fruition and your presence here is a testament to the shared vision of achieving greatness and creating meaningful impacts in the community,” she said at the sod-turning ceremony on Friday.

E-idcot, she said, was ready to provide additional services.

“The levelling of the playing field, the plumbing, the electrical – we are here to assist, so please when you are ready to undertake those works, you can reach out to us.”

Wayne Clarke, Assistant Secretary of the Division of Community Development, Youth Development and Sport, said residents have clamoured for the lights for a long time.

“With the present administration and the direction we have set out, we want to continue to assure you that it is okay to dream because dreams do come through. To the people of Patience Hill, I hope you really use this facility for what it was intended.”

Electoral representative Nigel Taitt also encouraged the youths to utilise the grounds wisely.

“This belongs to we, so let us don’t destroy it, let us take care of it because it belongs to us.”

The village council president, Joy Boatswain, said the lights will help promote sports at the grounds.

“We wanted these lights for so long – we know what sports can do for all of us, we would have grown up in sports. Our parents, our grandparents, our children also have been using this facility without lights and we have been good at it. I am happy that we are going to have lights.”

Sports club member Garrick Thomas said, “It’s an honour to actually be around to really witness what is about to happen. It’s indeed a fantastic occasion. We are now in an era where a lot of the youths are being led astray as they have no role models, they have no place to put that energy. When we were younger, we used to put that energy on the football field, on the cricket pitch – the youths now, they don’t have that avenue to release that more than play video games. I am glad to see that they’re not only able to utilise the natural lights, that’s during the day but they can also come down and utilise the artificial lights.”