The now-closed Old Harbour Bay Post Office. - Photo by Elgin Taylor

OLD HARBOUR BAY, St Catherine:

Residents of Old Harbour Bay in southwest St Catherine are calling on the authorities to reopen the post office in their community.

The Gleaner understands that the facility has been closed since Hurricane Dean's assault on the island last year.

Several residents outlined the hardships, which they had been experiencing since the closure of the office.

"The situation is really difficult," remarked Joy Baker, 55, who has lived in the community all her life.

"It is very tough to find the fare to travel into the town to collect our letters. It is even harder for the old people who have to go and collect their pensions," she declared.

Another resident pointed out that sometimes citizens travelled the five-kilometre distance to the Old Harbour Post Office only to find out that there were no letters for them to collect.

The Old Harbour Bay community, which is the largest fishing village in the island, is said to have a population in excess of 7,000 people.

- Elgin Taylor

More Jamaicans becoming landowners

SPANISH TOWN, ST CATHERINE:

The Government, in its bid to regularise land ownership in Jamaica, handed over 250 titles to people in St Catherine, last Wednesday.

The recipients, who were drawn from Linstead, Sligoville, Point Hill, Lluidas Vale and other areas in St Catherine, were very thankful for the gesture, which fell under the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP).

According to Gloria Brown, project director of LAMP, the programme started in 2000. To date, approximately 600 persons in St Catherine have benefited from new titles, while about 1,000 have upgraded them to include loved ones or other adjustments made on titles they already have in their possession.

In the meantime, Everald Warmington, minister of state in the Ministry of Water and Housing, congratulated the recipients.

The function was held at the Linstead Baptist Church under the theme 'My Land in My Hand'.

- Rasbert Turner

Farming opportunities available - Palmer

MALVERN, St Elizabeth:

Kingsley Palmer, technical sales representative of Agro Grace, said that while a large number of persons think agriculture is on the decline in Jamaica, the current global financial crisis has left the country with tremendous oppor-tunities to revive the sector.

Palmer was addressing students and teachers at Bethlehem Mo-ravian College in Malvern, St Elizabeth, on Monday, under the theme, 'Reviving, Maintaining and Spreading the Farming Culture in Jamaica'.

According to Palmer, for this to happen, there needs to be an integrated approach involving the Government and the private sector. He pointed out that Jamaica is faced with a crisis as it relates to food security and unemployment and no one sector of the economy could adequately address the situation in a meaningful way.

- G.H.