Mark Titus, Freelance Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

It was a low-key Labour Day in the parishes of Trelawny, Hanover and St. James, as few projects were seen under way on Wednesday.

The parish projects, the refurbishing of the Duncans clock in Trelawny and the historic Dome in Montego Bay did not start in earnest until around mid-afternoon.

The Digicel Foundation spent $2 million to totally refurbish the Sherwood Content Basic School. It included plumbing, electrical work, painting and tiling the floor.

Youths from the Duanvale Sports Club and the Sunshine Youth Club repainted the Duanvale Community Centre and did plumbing work there. The funding came from fund-raising efforts done by the youths, along with some corporate sponsorship.

Low-keyed

Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Jonathan Bartley, concurred the day was low-keyed and added that there is a gradual decline in resources to promote the day. He said he got only $100,000 to run the programme.

Citizens in Westmoreland came out in their numbers to support the numerous projects, which saw some 45 projects being registered.

"The cemetery was badly in need of cleaning due to the lack of funds to do the kind of cleaning that is needed in a low-lying area such as Sav-la-Mar," said Mayor Delford Morgan.

Looking at the wider picture, the mayor said he was satisfied that the people of Westmoreland were out in large numbers and were cleaning up their communities.

"It is important for us to recognise that Labour Day is not just a public holiday but a day for us to enhance our communities by giving a facelift where necessary."

Over in Eastern Westmoreland, Member of Parliament for Eastern Westmoreland, Luther Buchanan, said his constituency was buzzing with activities.

Major projects

The major projects were the cleaning of the Darliston Cemetery and the construction of a one-room house for a street person.

"We are building a house for Albert Robinson, who is homeless and resides in a building that we intend to use as a Plantain Chips factory, so instead of putting him out we are putting him in a house," said Buchanan

He said the initial funding of $50,000 came from the offering collected at the funeral of his brother, Norman Buchanan, who was in active campaign for representational rights when he passed on. He said he was providing the additional funds for the house.

In other areas of Eastern Westmoreland, work was being done on the fountain at Beeston Spring; on the road leading to the market in White House; on the road from Cave to Kentucky; Bethel Town Park; Mount Herman All-Age School; the road in Amity as well as the cleaning up of the old Bluefields Police Station, which is to be preserved as a monumental library.

There were some 30 projects registered in Hanover, with the cleaning and beautification of the the Watson Taylor Park as the parish project.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com