It is now certain that the William Knibb High School in Martha Brae, Trelawny, will keep its sixth form even as more tertiary institutions are being sought for the parish.

At the recent monthly meeting of the Trelawny Principals' Association, at the Duncans All-Age School, Member of Parlia-ment for the area, Dr. Patrick Harris, said the sixth-form programme at William Knibb would stay.

- Richard Morais

The reintroduction of the 'Best Produce Competition' will be one of the new features of the Hague Agricultural Show in Trelawny on Ash Wednesday, February 21.

According to Bevolyn Harvey, secretary for the committee which stages the massive agriculture show annually: "Farmers can enter produce which they think are of a high standard. They are therefore encouraged to take these to the show."

- Richard Morais

The Manchester Chamber of Commerce has started a new method of fighting crime in the parish, launched in collaboration with the entrepreneurial skills in development unit of the HEART Trust/NTA at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville on Thursday.

President of the chamber, Winston Lawson, revealed that training of approximately 500 persons in entrepreneurial skills is the tool being used as a long-term solution, while recommendations are being made for immediate implementation by Government.

- Byron McDaniel

Another call has come from the Church for the country to shun political violence.

Reverend Benton McFarlene, convenor of the Easter District Church of the Nazarene Assembly, in addressing the 43rd annual convention in Morant Bay last Sunday, cautioned those tempted to commit crimes to get rid of the thought and join the nation in building a wholesome lifestyle.

- Arthur Green

The Central Village police say the recent shooting of five people, one fatally, by gunmen, was related to acts of reprisal in the China Town area and that the police will be continuing their offensive against the gunmen.

In the latest incident, about 7:40 on Wednesday evening, a group of persons standing near the bus stop was pounced upon by a group of men travelling in a dark-coloured Toyota Tercel motor car.

The men were said to have fired several shots, hitting the five men who were standing there. Thirty-one-year-old Fitzgerald Stone, a construction worker, was later pronounced dead at the Spanish Town Hospital.

- Rasbert Turner

Plans are in high gear for the staging of a major earthquake simulation exercise in St. Ann next Wednesday as part of islandwide activities by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management to encourage greater preparedness for earthquakes.

St. Ann Parish Disaster Coordinator, Alvin Clarke, said earthquake drills would be carried out all across the parish, but the major simulation exercise would be held on the Brown's Town Community College's Wesley campus in St. Ann's Bay.

- JIS

The police in St. Ann are facing a grave shortage of service vehicles to carry out their duties in the parish and some members of the business sector are appealing to the Government to urgently take steps to address this problem.

"We are very disturbed and deeply concerned about the state of mobility of the police in St. Ann and the extent to which they will be able to respond to calls for assistance, from not only the business people, but also from the ordinary residents in the parish as well," says prominent businessman Michael Belnavis. He said there was only one vehicle to serve the Criminal Investigation Division and one old vehicle, which is subject to frequent breakdowns, to patrol the resort area.