The Ministry of Agriculture will be spending some $22 million for the printing of 100,000 receipt books to verify the legitimacy of produce under the project to stamp out praedial larceny.

Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) president, Senator Norman Grant, who made the disclosure as he addressed the Goat Breeders' Society of Jamaica exposition on October 1 at the Bodles Agricultural Research Station in Old Harbour, said that the ministry had released $5 million for the printing of the first 30,000 books. The National Contracts Commission is now reviewing the proposal for the award of the $22 million contract.

­ JIS News

Later this month, the Clarendon Parish Council will be seeking to remove vendors who continue to sell their goods on the outside of the May Pen municipal market.

Mayor of May Pen, Milton Brown, disclosed that in order to accommodate additional persons in the market, the council has carried out repair work such as the installation of additional lighting and the building of additional stalls and storage areas for vendors to house their goods. According to Mayor Brown, the council is adamant that no vending will be allowed on the street leading into the market.

Investigators are probing the circumstances surrounding the death of a 52-year-old former nurse who died in a fire at her house in Westgreen Meadows in Montego Bay on Monday. The woman, Delta Mwaisela, had reportedly been battling mental illness for several years.

"It's very sad and shocking that she should die like that," said a sobbing woman, who lived nearby. "She lived alone for the most part, having numerous caretakers over time."

Police reports are that between 5:00 and 5:20 p.m., while Mrs. Mwaisela was alone at home, smoke was seen coming from the house. The Fire Brigade was alerted but the house was completely razed before she could be saved. Her charred remains were later removed from the rubble.

­ Nagra Plunkett

A spectacular release of some 200 butterflies into the air highlighted the official opening of the 'Best of Jamaica 2005' festival at the SuperClubs Grand Lido Braco Resort on Tuesday night, October 4.

Dubbed 'The Best of Jamaica 2005 ­ a melting pot of tradition', the festival was launched four years ago by SuperClubs to celebrate the best in Jamaican food and drinks, music, entertainment, hospitality and the cultural lifestyles over a five-day period. The event takes place this year at Grand Lido Braco from October 4-9 and will feature cooking contest, rum blending contest, story telling, history lessons on Jamaica, fashion shows and a wide range of entertainment, including performances by cultural groups.

­ Devon Evans

Manchester will be hosting its second homecoming event during the week of October 16 to 22. The week-long celebration is geared towards bringing persons who either originated from or contributed to the development of the parish.

Head of the Manchester Homecoming Committee, Custos Gilbert Allen, said the Homecoming celebrations will be used to highlight these accomplishments. Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, the business community and Mr. George Watson, head of the St. Elizabeth Homecoming Foundation, have all thrown their support behind the effort.

One of the highlights of the celebration will be an exposition at the historical Manchester Golf Club. Various products and artefacts of the parish will be on display. Reverend Alfred Reid, Lord Bishop of Jamaica, will be the keynote speaker at its kick-off on Thursday, October 20. On October 16, there will be a church service at the Ridgemount United Church starting at 9 a.m. followed by a Heroes' Day gathering in the Mandeville Park.

­ Angelo Laurence

Rural students outshone their Corporate Area peers and walked away with all nine of the prizes up for grabs in the recent Eagles Breakaway website Essay Competition. The competition catered to three age groupings: 9-13, 14-18 and 19-23. Of the nine winners five hail from St. Catherine, including 11-year- old Marshell McKnight who took first prize in the 9-13 category, and 18-year-old Nadia Willie who grabbed the top spot in the 14-18 category. Other winners from the parish were Vhas Vasell, 17, and Horatio Gordon, 21, who placed second and third respectively in the 19-23 category, while Vhas' younger brother Vhaugn, 12, placed third in the 9-13 age group.

The winners in each category took home a new bmobile phone and $8,000 in prize money. Second-place finishers earned $4,000 for their efforts and third prize was valued at $3,000. The topic was 'The Role of Education in the Third World.'

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and officials of the Pinero Group out of Spain took part in yesterday's historic ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of the 1,918-room Bahia Principe Resort at Pear Tree Bottom in Runaway Bay, St. Ann.

The Piñero Group said it will be investing $US200 million in the project which, when completed in October 2008, will become the largest resort property on the island.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held against the background of strong opposition to the project from two environmental groups, the Jamaica Environmental Trust and the Northern Jamaica Conservation Association, which want the property to be reserved as a protective wetland and a habitat for birds. Both groups have applied to the Supreme Court to have a judicial review done on the building plan for the project that was approved by the National Environment and Planning Agency.