Baillieston, MANCHESTER
The ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of a $5 million computer laboratory and library was held at the Baillieston Primary School. Member of Parliament for north-west Clarendon, Richard Azan, who did ground-breaking honours, pledged to donate one tonne of steel and 1,000 blocks towards the project which is expected to be completed in one year. During an awards ceremony which followed, the school paid tribute to Mr. Azan, Rev. Gosnel Bacchas, Rev. Errol White, businesswoman Hazel Blake, and director of Region 5 in the Ministry of Education, Rev. Reuben Gray, for outstanding contributions to the school.
Junior Grandison
Black River, ST. ELIZABETH
With Tropical Depression Arlene barrelling along in northwest Caribbean Sea, Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for St. Elizabeth, Yvonne Morrison, admitted that not all emergency shelters were ready. Why? Several emergency shelters damaged by hurricanes Charlie and Ivan, are still being repaired by the agency. Ms. Morrison promised that by the end of this month, all 96 emergency shelters in St. Elizabeth should be in tip-top shape.
Rayon Dyer
Fairy Hill, PORTLAND
More than US$12,000 worth of clothing and recreational items were handed out to the 219 Haitians housed at the Winnifred Rest Home Shelter in Fairy Hill, Portland. The donation was made by Eye on Jamaica, a Florida-based non-profit organisation. The chairman of the organisation, Ronald Thomas, promised that there are plans to include the Haitian group at Montpelier in St. James during phase two of the contribution. Mr. Thomas said that a fellowship of Haitian pastors of Broward County, Florida, have expressed an interest in partnering with the Eye on Jamaica project to assist the Haitian refugees on an ongoing basis. The items include soccer balls, table tennis sets and board games along with a variety of clothing for adults and children.
Gareth Davis
Gordon Pen, ST. CATHERINE
Police have fingered a 'massive criminal migration' from troubled spots around Spanish Town such as Ellerslie Pen, Tawes Pen, Thompson Pen, Homestead and sections of March Pen Road to the community of Gordon Pen as the reason behind a wave of recent criminal acts, including seven murders. Detective Divisional Inspector Derrick Champagnie revealed that the police have recovered five illegal weapons in the area. Mr. Champagnie said that "Gordon Pen has become a safe haven for criminals," and promised to employ a zero-tolerance approach to combat criminals in the area.
Cannon Mountain, WESTMORELAND:
Sandra Gayle-Bilinski, a female farmer, has been charged with the murder of her common-law husband 72-year-old Samuel Haughton in the town. Ms. Bilinski is 33 years younger than the deceased.
The murder occurred on Tuesday, May 31, when Haughton was allegedly chopped to death by Gayle-Bilinski after a dispute in their two-apartment board house. Reports are that Gayle-Bilinski grabbed a machete and proceeded to chop Haughton all over his body. She then fled the scene and was later held by citizens who handed her over to the police.
Junior Grandison
Spaldings, CLARENDON:
Rev. Maurice Mundle's tenure as chairman of the board at the Lesterfield Primary and Junior High School is over. Rev. Mundle gained some amount of notoriety after the controversial suspension of an entire grade nine class at the school after a group of students called him a disparaging name. The chairman had ordered the suspension of 33 students. Member of Parliament for north-west Clarendon, Richard Azan, has made recommendations for another person to fill the post vacated by Rev. Mundle.
In his defence, Rev. Mundle maintains that he had never requested that the entire class be suspended, but instead that action be taken against only one boy who he had clearly identified as being the instigator of the event. The acting-chairman of the school board is Vernon Walters.
George Henry
Falmouth, TRELAWNY
A scholarship established in honour of the late Hugh Lawson Shearer will be awarded to a teacher from Trelawny to read for a degree at the University of the West Indies at Mona, St. Andrew. The scholarship was announced by the senior secretary of the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA), Patrick Smith, during the annual general meeting of the JTA Trelawny Parish Association at the Nutshell Conference Centre in Duncans. The scholarship is valued at $200,000, and is funded by Dr. Denise Eldemire-Shearer, the widow of the late statesman.
Richard Morais
Morant Bay, ST. THOMAS
The St. Thomas Probation office hosted a "Community Service Order (CSO) stakeholders workshop" at the Anglican Church Hall in the town under the theme "Understanding the sentencing option helping to change lives". Carol DaCosta, the Resident Magistrate for the parish, praised the work of probation officers and defended the community service order programme. The CSO is seen by many as a useful tool which allows the court to show to some measure of 'compassion' and at the same time repay the community for the wrong done.
Marlene McPherson
Montego Bay, ST. JAMES
Taxi operators who staged a peaceful demonstration in the Farm Heights area this week are blaming their colleagues, who knowingly transport 'shottas', for some of the atrocities they are facing at the hands of criminals. The militant taximen, who are members of the Rose Heights/Farm Heights Taxi Association, were protesting against the recent spate of attacks on members, including Wednesday's shooting of Ronnel 'Indian' Wedderburn, who is now battling for life in the Cornwall Regional Hospital. While conceding he has no firsthand knowledge of ties between taxi operators and criminals, Morrell Powell, the head of the association, nonetheless cautioned members about facilitating the movement of criminals, noting that, "for every action there is a reaction so we should be careful of the things we do."
Mr. Powell used the demonstration as a platform to issue an urgent appeal to the police hierarchy to step-up patrols and spot checks along the various taxi routes in the area as a deterrent to criminals, and urged fellow taximen not to tint their cars.
Adrian Frater
