By Erica James-King, Senior Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
SOME 40 Labour Day projects which were planned for St. James with the support of the St. James Parish Council, failed to get off the ground yesterday, as torrential rains continued to lash the island for a second day. However, the $500,000 earmarked by the Parish Council for Labour Day projects in St. James will not go unspent.
The St. James Labour Day Committee has planned an emergency meeting for next Tuesday to determine a date to implement the Labour Day projects.
Christopher Powell, Secretary/Manager of the Parish Council, said Deputy Mayor, Gerald Mitchell, is to convene a meeting at the Council's offices next week, with Councillors and representatives of major public sector entities. At that meeting, a date will be set for the staging of the activities which were scheduled for yesterday. The police, the Social Development Commission and National Works Agency are to have representatives at that meeting.
Meanwhile, the heavy rains failed to dampen the Labour Day spirit of the people of Norwood and Glendevon in St. James.
Glendevon residents, with the support of Western Parks and Markets and the non-Governmental organisation, Community Organisation for Management and Sustainable Development (COMAND) braved the rains and picked up shovels, sticks and rakes and cleaned drains in their area. Also, they patched roads in the Blood Lane and Felicity Road community of Glendevon.
COMAND also spearheaded tree planting in Norwood. Giving an update of that activity, O. Dave Allen, chairman of COMAND said: "About 75 per cent of the 2,000 trees slated to be planted in this area have been planted. The tree-planting was done at intervals when the rain eased up."
"We will be trying to source funds from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica to make this an ongoing exercise."
Several Labour Day ventures planned by large corporate groups were abandoned, because of the inclement weather.
For example, the construction work that Sandals Montego Bay had in the pipeline for Labour Day at the Assembly of God Basic School in Lilliput did not take place. When The Gleaner's team arrived, there were piles of sand and gravel in the churchyard near the school, but the premises was deserted.
The hotel's public relations department said the building of a staff room at the basic school will be completed before the second week in June.
