Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor, caretaker for the Black River division, Damion Baker, is making an appeal to the relevant authorities to urgently take steps to repair the Cataboo Bridge, which he says is rapidly deteriorating.

Mr. Baker told The Gleaner on Wednesday that the bridge, which is a single lane thoroughfare, is in poor condition and, if something is not done about it, several lives could be lost in the community of more than 5,000 residents.

- Rayon Dyer

The Shawano Lakes Lions Club of Wisconsin, United States, donated optical equipment valued at just over J$1.6 million to the Ulster Spring Health Centre in Trelawny on Tuesday.

The visiting team included Drs. Bill Becker and Dan Stoehr, along with lions club members, Clayton McHugh, Tim Macueg, and Ron Zuehl who were in the parish conducting their 10th annual eye care mission.

- Richard Morais

Work along the Bog Walk gorge has been extended to February 5, according to Stephen Shaw, communications manager at the National Works Agency (NWA), the body under whose purview the work falls.

The type of work scheduled to be completed by this date includes repaving of the roadway, and the construction of retaining walls. The working hours are between 10 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and, during this time, the gorge will be closed to vehicular traffic.

- Elgin Taylor

Illicit burning of sugar cane continues to be a problem for the Sugar Company of Jamaica's (SCJ) Frome division in Westmoreland, with more than 50,000 tonnes of sugar cane lost since the start of the 2006/2007 crop, at a cost of about $75 million.

Vice-president of Operations in the Frome Division, Aston Smith, said some 200 fires had occurred from the burning of cane fields and the problem was wreaking havoc on the industry in general and Westmoreland in particular.

- JIS

Trelawny is expected to bring back 500 of its citizens, primarily those residing in the United States, for its massive homecoming in March to coincide with ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 and with the flagship event, a cultural concert, to be staged in the Falmouth Water Square following the CWC opening ceremony.

Local organiser Florence Logan said this figure is conservative as many more may just come at the last minute to partake of the varied activities. She stressed that this is not just about people coming home as, while this may be the focus, it is a celebration of the parish. She expects at least 15,000 people, including the international media, to descend on the town after the opening ceremony.

- Richard Morais

Investigators in Westmoreland were on Thursday sifting through what evidence they could salvage to find the men who gunned down 30-year-old labourer Dwayne Davis of Seaton Crescent in the capital town of Savanna-la-Mar.

Reports are that residents of Seaton Crescent heard explosions shortly before 8 Wednesday evening and raised an alarm. Police personnel raced to the scene only to find Davis' body lying face down with two gunshot wounds to the head. The scene was processed by forensic investigators before the body was taken to the morgue for post-mortem.

- Dalton Laing

The delivery of education at Iona High School in Tower Isle, St. Mary, has been enhanced with the construction of a new block of classrooms at the institution.

The building, which was officially handed over to the school by Minister of Education and Youth, Maxine Henry-Wilson, on January 26, was constructed at a cost of J$21.37 million.

Included in the new block are five classrooms, a science laboratory, an art room, a staff room, inclusive of a kitchenette and bathroom facilities, and bathrooms for the students.