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Cambridge hunt first win

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DOUBLE TRAPPED: Delightful to watch and possessing good passing skills, Kamali Powell, representing Heights, is double-tackled by opponents from Bogue, including Ramoy Harry (right), in the team’s showdown on Monday in the St. James FA/Sandals Resorts International Major Football League. - Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photo

Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts – Staff Reporter

Six battling teams including last year’s beaten finalists, Cambridge, will be in action over the next two days, Wednesday and Thursday, as the action and push for points intensifY in the St. James FA/Sandals Resorts International Major Football League.

A heavyweight affair highlights the two matches set for Thursday, February 13, in which Cambridge, still searching for their first win and really struggling to get going, are scheduled to be involved in a showdown with Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club (MBBGC) at the UDC field starting at 3 p.m.

Cambridge, semi-finalists for the past three seasons and overwhelming favourites last year before choking in the grand finale, have already suffered defeat and with two drawn results, hold just two points going into the expected epic fixture.

However, the red-and-white-clad Cambridge, admired for their brand of passing football at lightning pace, know they will have to be at their best when they take to the field against a rejuvenated Boys’ Club team, which has marked off two wins from their last outings after opening the season with defeat.

Boys’ Club sit second in the zone with 6 points, three adrift of the pacesetters.

Elsewhere, Somerton, who won last time out, engage battling and aging Melbourne in Somerton, both searching and in need of three precious points.

Both are in mid-pack of the standings each with four points a receipt for attacking and exciting football.

The action swings into gear later today, Wednesday, February 12, with former champions, Violet Kickers, meeting Fire House.

Promoted Fire House have just one win so far, but have been showing good form and holding their own, one of only two teams yet to taste defeat. Melbourne, meanwhile, have been defeated.

HEIGHTS DAZZLE

Meanwhile, Heights’ impeccable form continued on Monday afternoon following their 3-1 triumph over tottering Bogue at the UDC field in a thrilling encounter, collecting a fourth straight victory. 

Slow but tricky and full of skills, striker Anthony Gooden, getting his second successive start, banged in a double while Ricardo Wilson added the other, opening the scoring.

Wilson, formerly of Cornwall College, opened the scoring with a strike from just outside the 18-yard box, striking an unstoppable shot into the back of the net, this after just seven minutes.

After several attacks, Bogue got a break through in the 29th minute when they converted a penalty, lashing in to the right of the goalkeeper, through the wily Sanjay Patterson.

However, Gooden restored Heights’ one-goal lead when he capitalized on a defensive error to tap in from close range midway the opening 45 minutes.

The win was then sealed  in the 76th minute when Gooden again found himself unmarked inside the penalty area. This time he swept home, getting on the end of a wonderful delivery from the roving Kamali Powell.

Residents welcome health care expansion

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Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. Christopher Tufton (left), addresses persons attending the Ministry’s St. James Town Hall Meeting at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre in Sam Sharpe Square on Thursday (February 6) at which it was disclosed that several health centres in St. James would be upgraded under an EU-funded programme.

Tricelle Powell – Intern

“We glad bag buss! Thank you, Thank you, thank you!” Elation could be felt across the room as the Chief Medical Officer for St. James, Dr. Marcia Johnson Campbell, proclaimed a vote of thanks to the Minister of Health and Wellness, the European Union’s Poverty Reduction Programme and the Jamaica Social Investment Fund last Thursday at the launch of the Health Care Expansion Programme, valued at US $154 million, set to significantly reshape the offerings of four health centres in St. James. The beauty of this project stems from the Ministry’s mission to impact the lives of over 1000 Jamaicans by providing holistic improvements to the community health centers in Adelphi, Barrett Town, Flanker and Granville. 

The programme is being implemented jointly with the European Union, which is providing the funding through a grant under its Poverty Reduction Programme that has, for the last 20 years, reconstructed the socioeconomic landscape of the country. Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, head of the delegation of the European Union to Jamaica, highlighted that these upgrades will have significant impact as it will become easier for the less fortunate to grasp in hand notable health care. Emphasis was placed on a new holistic approach as these centers will extend to facilitate dental care and pharmaceutical services.

SCOPE OF WORK

Under the programme, each health centre will receive just over 38 million dollars to undertake rehabilitation work, which is expected to last for four months in each instant. The scope of work at the Adelphi Heath Centre will see the demolition of the existing structure and construction of four consultation rooms, two public health offices, registration and records office, dental office, four restrooms, pharmacy and construction of chain link among other developments.

Work on the Barrett Town Health Centre will include the rehabilitation of the main building, construction of a consultation room, office, records room, installation of ceiling, as well as retrofitting the facility for disability access.

Rehabilitation work at the Flanker Health Centre will see the construction of a mental health office, treatment room, demolition and re- construction of the existing roof, rehabilitation and expansion of three restrooms, among other things.

Under the multi-million-dollar project, the Granville Health Centre will benefit from the construction of three public health offices, two consultation rooms, treatment room, sterilization room, dental office, medical record office, rehabilitation of four restrooms as well as other work.

Minister Tufton, in his keynote address called attention to the changing health profile of the Jamaican population and the need to transform strategically the preventative and curative public health care system. He stated: “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset a country can have…the statistics show that one in three Jamaicans are hypertensive, one in eight diabetic and one in three obese, all of that data suggest a health profile that has changed over time but at the same time, a public health infrastructure that has not moved at the same rate to cope with the change and all the other associated challenges.” With this move, the Ministry intends to actively combat a changing landscape by uplifting these centres through infrastructure, equipment, furnishing, human resource and aesthetics.

Murder in the square

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Damian Buchanan

Crime-fighters in Hanover are probing the shooting death of 25-year-old Damian Buchanan, otherwise called ‘Cheetos’ of Camp, Hopewell, in the parish, who was shot and killed by a gunman on Sunday, February 9.

Reports from the Lucea police are that about 10:25 p.m., Buchanan was among a group of people in Hopewell Square when a gunman approached and shot him in the back.

The shooting sent people scampering for cover, as the gunman escaped on foot.

Buchanan was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

MURDER SUSPECT KILLED

Meanwhile, murder is now on the uptick in the parish of Trelawny with the tally now at five since the start of the year, as a man who was fingered by the police as a suspect in the shooting death of 68-year-old taxi operator, Kirk Senior of Kettering district last Wednesday, was himself shot and killed by armed men on Saturday.

The victim is 20-year-old Demario Griffiths, otherwise called ‘Biggie’, of Red Ground, Duncan’s in the parish.

The Duncan’s police report that about 6:20 p.m., Griffiths and his twin brother were at home when armed men entered the house and fired several shots at Griffiths, who was in the kitchen at the time. He was hit multiple times and ran to a room where he collapsed. His brother managed to escape unhurt.

 The Police were summoned and on arrival, Griffiths was found lying in a pool of blood with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Double tragedy

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The residence shared by Phillip and Shalema Reid before last weekend's tragedy. KT photo
  • Aston in shock as husband kills wife then self

Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter

Another domestic-dispute-turned-deadly, has left the usually quiet community of Aston in Westmoreland still reeling in shock, days after Friday’s double tragedy which saw 45-year-old farmer, Phillip Reid, bludgeoning his 29-year-old wife, Shalema Reid, to death, then taking his own life.

Initial reports from the Darliston police are that about midday on Friday, Reid, who is also called ‘Wolf’, and his wife, had a dispute, at which time he reportedly used a mortar stick to hit her in the head.

  • Shalema Reid
  • Phillip Reid

The wounded woman reportedly ran from the house and collapsed along the roadway, bleeding from her head. She was rushed to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Reid is said to have ran from the house into nearby bushes, where he allegedly ingested what appeared to be gramoxone. He was later found and rushed to hospital where efforts to resuscitate him failed. 

Marcia Green, Shalema’s mother, said despite the fact that he had threatened to kill her before, and her daughter having gone to report it at the police station, she was still in shock because she did not believe he would do it.

“I can’t believe he did something like that. I know he had it in his intention, but he would return and say me not doing har any ting man mi love mi wife.”

Green said they had their squabbles and it was in his intention to kill her.

WANTED TO WORK

 “He wanted to kill her just because she wanted to work.  She did her course and was just about ready to go to the Montego Bay Freezone and work. This was six months ago. He made a sharp thing longer than an ice pick to kill her. She was living at the house with him but was in fear so I went and took her to my house here to stay.”

She related that while she was getting ready for work Shalema was washing clothes and decided to go to the marital home at Aston to collect some things she had left there.

Green said it was while she was at work; her son came to tell her that there was a murder at Ashton.

“I went to Aston then to the hospital and when I went there, I was told by the doctors that they did all they could but she could not make it because she was bleeding profusely from the head and it would not stop, so she died,” she said.  

She said the family is totally traumatized and has been able to cope so far with the help of family and friends and the support of the church.

Green said Shalema’s three sons, ages 14, 8 and 5 (the elder two not for her husband) are crying all the time.

 Meanwhile, a good friend of Reid for more than 25 years, Oswin Gray, said:

“We were very close – we have been friends for more than 25 years. If I am leaving my home, I would invite him to stay with my smaller children until I return. He was very friendly and loving in the community –everyone young and old. To be honest, we never knew he was having problems in the marriage.”

Celebrating Alia Atkinson

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Alia Atkinson

Rashaun Stewart – Contributor

At age 16, Alia Atkinson competed in her first Olympics in Athens, Greece in the year 2004. She has competed in every Olympics since. In Doha, at the 2014 Short Course World Championships, Atkinson tied the world record for the 100-meter breaststroke and secured the gold. In the process, she became the first black woman in history to win a world title in swimming and earned Jamaica’s first gold swimming medal in the World Championships. These accomplishments are merely a summary of the prolific accolades that Atkinson has accumulated.

Atkinson’s track record is highly distinguished. In August 2015, she competed at the Long Course World Championships. Her performance shattered Jamaica’s national record in the semi-final of the 100-metre breaststroke and she went on to place third in the final. She secured silver in the 50-metre breaststroke, finishing 0.06 seconds behind the winner. In the 2018 World Cup, she broke the 50-metre breaststroke world record. That same year, she went on to win both the 50-metre breaststroke and the 100-metre breaststroke at the Short Course World Championships.

Of the twenty-one events recognized by the Amateur Swimming Association of Jamaica, Atkinson holds the record for twelve events. She has also secured 26 medals during her tenure as a professional swimmer, with 12 gold, 10 silver and 4 bronze medals. Four of the gold medals are from Short Course World Championships, with the remainder from the Central American and Caribbean Games. Four of her silver medals are similarly from the Short Course World Championships, one is from the Long Course World Championships, two from the Commonwealth Games, two from the Pan American Games and the final silver from the Central American and Caribbean Games. Atkinson won two bronze medals in the Short Course World Championships, one from the Long Course World Championships and another from the Commonwealth Games.

SWIMMING HALL OF FAME

With this prodigious track record, the Olympics represent the only competition where Atkinson has competed and failed to secure a medal. To that end, her goal is to become the first Jamaican swimmer to secure a medal at the Olympics. As an athlete with her level of skill, she has the talent in spades and the drive to accomplish this goal. Thus far, she has been named the Jamaican Sportswoman of the Year thrice, in 2014, 2017 and 2018, respectively, as well as receiving the Order of Distinction in the Rank of Commander for outstanding representation of Jamaica in the field of swimming in 2018. She served as Jamaica’s flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was named the 2014 and 2016 Female Central American and Caribbean Swimmer of the Year in Swimswam.com’s Swammy Awards. Finally, she has been inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

As a nation, it is of utmost importance that we take the requisite time to celebrate Atkinson’s feats. She has stamped her class conclusively in a demanding sport and she continues to represent Jamaica proudly on the world stage. Athletes of her caliber are a rarity and she correspondingly must be celebrated.

Last Dance

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Kadeine 'Momo' Ormsby
  • ‘Momo’ regrets ‘Bumpa’s death

Michael Nattoo – Staff Reporter

At the height of the party, as the crowd clamoured for more, 22-year-old Kadeine ‘Momo’ Ormsby glanced at her coworker across the room, and was instantly struck with an idea she was sure would have sent the dance floor into a frenzy. “Stand on your head, and I’ll jump right through your legs,” she whispered to her coworker, the equally excited Roxanne Evans, who also went by the name ‘Bumpa’. As the two got set to execute the tricky maneuver – known locally as the ‘Chuck Tru’, years of dancing together as members of the same dance group – ‘Gladiator Girls’, made them confident that all would go well.

Tragically, however, that was not to be. Ormsby has yet to figure out where the maneuver went wrong, but, as she recalls of that disastrous night – Thursday, January 23, she failed to complete the jump. Instead, she landed on ‘Bumpa’, who was positioned on her head with arms folded for support, and they both came crashing to the ground. “When we hit the ground, I was on her back, so I tried lifting her up,” Ormsby told the Western Mirror. The former Spanish Town resident further explained that it wasn’t instantly clear to her just how serious Evans’ injury was, or if she had sustained any injury at all. But that was all cleared up when she realized that Evans was unresponsive.

“When I tried pulling her up at first, she moved her head once, so I didn’t think anything much, but then she stopped moving after that. Then people on the dance floor started telling me to let go of her and to put her back down. That’s when I realized something was wrong,” Ormsby explained. The festive dance atmosphere soon turned to panic, with a number of attendees fanning the downed Evans.

Roxanne ‘Bumpa’ Evans

“Her body wasn’t moving, and we weren’t sure what exactly happened or what to do, so we called the ambulance. When it came, the people from the ambulance took her up and rushed her to the hospital,” Ormsby shared, adding that she followed closely behind to the hospital, and was accompanied by a friend of hers.

AT THE HOSPITAL

“When we got to the hospital, we realized that they had put her in a neck brace and brought her to the X-ray room, so we did a wait fi hear exactly what happened,” shared Ormsby. While waiting, the young dancer relayed, she was asked to give a statement by police officers that had come to the hospital.

Shortly after, Ormsby learnt from her friend that Evans’ injury necessitated her being transferred to the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Following the transfer, Ormsby went home.

“The next day, I got a call from my friend that they were transferring Roxanne back to Falmouth, so I got ready and went there, from like after 12, to late into the evening. Dem seh only family members coulda see her, so I was there, until I went home. I didn’t get to see her though,” she related.

With her voice breaking, Ormsby explained that she went home that night and prayed for Evans, hoping that she would be okay.

“I would never hurt anyone. Mi nah go dance and hurt none a my coworkers, I would never do that. So I was just praying and praying,” she shared.

BAD NEWS

Ormsby’s wishes unfortunately went unanswered. The following day, she received a phone call informing her that Roxanne had passed away, leaving her two children and a saddened family behind. “I just cried and cried when I got the news. I really didn’t mean for anything to happen to her.”

Things got worse. Rumours began to flood social media that Roxanne’s death was no accident, but an intentional hit on her life by Ormsby. Ormsby’s face was also added to a ‘Jamaica’s Most Wanted’ list online. “How can people say it was intentional and why would they do that? It really was an accident!” a grieving Ormsby related. “Even police officers who saw a video of it said the same thing – that it was an accident. I would never hurt someone like that. I would never hurt my coworker like that. We never had anything, so I don’t know why people would even say that.”

She issued a plea: “Please, stop bashing me. It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I just want to say to the family that I’m really sorry for costing Roxanne’s life. I’m sorry.”

‘I WILL NEVER DANCE AGAIN’

In light of what happened, Ormsby was quizzed as to whether or not she will ever go back to dancing. After a long pause, she finally answered: “No. I won’t.” She was again asked, but her answer remained the same. “I’m sure. I’ve made up my mind. I won’t dance again… not after everything that happened.” Despite wanting to go the funeral, a teary-eyed Ormsby is unsure of what to do, particularly given that, according to reports, she has gotten death threats. Even so, she hopes she will be allowed to pay her respects. For now, she’s trying to make her way through this.

Granville take pole

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PIN-POINT: Though not having one of his better days in the middle of the park, Kamali Powell makes one of his trademark accurate long range passes during Heights’ St. James FA/Sandals Resorts International Major League match played at UDC. Heights won 1-0. - Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photo

Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts

Back amongst the parish contenders for the first time in over three decades, Granville recorded their first win of the 2020 St. James FA/Sandals Resorts International Major League, while Heights made it two wins from as many starts in the latest round of games contested.

Granville blanked promoted Club Ville 2-0 while Heights consolidated their position atop Zone Two with a narrow 1-0 victory over Violet Kickers.

The vital goal of the contest involving Heights and Kickers came in the 61st minute as Kimali Powell fired home his first for his new team.

Powell, in the Heights camp after moving from MoBay City, stabbed in from close range after a put-back from substitute Anthony Gooden mere minutes after arriving on the field.

Heights had been at their usual best, creating and wasting several chances and looked like sharing the points with Kickers, before the all-important goal came in classic fashion.

At the Granville field, Davion Thelwell and Corey Matthews struck in either half to give the home team a comfortable 2-0 win over Ville in front of a vocal crowd.

The three points lifted the Granville team to the top of Zone 1 with four points, just one clear of the joint second-positioned Reggae Youths and Irwin, who each had wins in their first round matches.

Thelwell sent the Granville team ahead midway the first half (36 minute) before Matthews made the points safe with a second 11 minutes into the re-start.

In an entertaining match-up at the UDC field, Heights dominated from start to finish and restricted the Kickers team to just two shots on goal as they snatched another three points, the best start to a season in three years.

Heights tormented their opponents’ backline regularly, but were frustrated as the first half ended goalless.

The deadlock was broken seconds after the hour mark when young Powell found his way unattended in the box to get on the end of a timely drop off pass from Gooden, which he turned into the net.

Defeat left Kickers still searching for a victory and with just a solitary point.

In the meantime, Irwin can re-take the lead in Zone 1, with a win over wobbly Montego Bay Boys’ and Girls’ Club   in a contest set for the UDC field.

Irwin have already ticked off a win and go in search of a second, but the MBBGC was clobbered in their first outing and will be hoping to get on the winning trail.

Match time is 3 p.m.

The Good Son

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Simon Guthrie, in happier times, shares a light moment with his mother, Kerene Scott
  • Mother remembers son killed in bike accident

Michael Nattoo – Staff Reporter

“I’d rub his head or his back every night before he went to sleep. He used to really like that, and most nights, he couldn’t sleep without it. He was a brilliant child too, always at the top of his class and always studying. He was also very kind and caring too… and he loved to cook. That’s why it’s hard to go into the kitchen again… because he would always be there with me.” For Kerene Scott, those memories have been the only breaks in her pain these days, as she knows her son, the once promising Simon Guthrie, will never again be home. He was mowed down by a reckless motorcyclist – an act which has left a deep sadness in its wake.

“He told me he would soon be back… you know?” Scott shared in between sobs during an interview with the Western Mirror. “He told me he would just be gone for a little while, that it was one of his friends’ birthday, and he was just going to look for them and return home because it was a school night.” Coincidentally, Simon’s birthday was just three days away – January 18. He would have been 17.

That night, Wednesday, January 15, while walking to go see his friend, Guthrie was hit by one of two bikers racing along the Orange Bay main road leading to Negril. His leg was partially severed in the process.

DANGEROUS RACING

“How can they be racing on such a busy roadway? It’s something they do almost every night, but it’s very dangerous. It makes no sense. That road is one of the busiest – pedestrians are always walking on it, cars are always reversing or turning… I don’t get it. I really don’t,” Scott lamented.

Simon Guthrie

According to information she received from observers, the bike that hit Guthrie had its lights turned off – a practice, Scott explained, which stems from bikers wanting to show their dominance or mastery of the street. “When they are winning the race, they usually turn off their lights to sort of show off. I heard that my son was crossing the road at that point, so he couldn’t see what was coming. That’s when he was hit.”

Scott had just come from work and was preparing for bed, so when her phone rang, she didn’t think it would have been an emergency. “It was one of his cousins. He told me that something was wrong, and asked if I was sitting down. I started to get worried. I asked him what was wrong, but he didn’t tell me initially.” After pressing, Scott was told that Simon had just been involved in a bike accident, and that things “didn’t look good”.

“I didn’t know what to do. I was panicking. I quickly put on a dress and ran down to the road,” Guthrie said, adding that she could hear the commotion as she approached. When she got to the scene, instead of getting him immediate help, bystanders had their phones out videoing the badly injured teenager, who was bleeding profusely.

‘THEY WERE VIDEOING HIM’

“His friends rushed in to get him help, but most of the people there took their phones out and were videoing him. They were taking pictures of my son bleeding. He was bleeding so much,” Scott recalled through her tears. “I wish people would stop that. I wish they would help someone in need instead of videoing them.”

Guthrie was rushed to a nearby hospital, and Scott followed closely behind. “When I got to the hospital, as soon as I reached, I could hear my baby crying. I could hear him. He was yelling, ‘What are you doing with my foot?!” I yelled out to him and he heard me. I told him I loved him, and he said, ‘I hear you mommy’. The next day, he was transported to Cornwall Regional [Hospital]. His leg had to be cut off because it was basically all torn off in the accident.”

A GOOD SON

“The doctors told me he needed blood, otherwise, he wouldn’t make it. So, I called everyone I could. But it didn’t work. When I went in to see my son, he was on a life support machine. I rested my hand on his heart, and held it there, and prayed for him. I felt his heartbeat, until I didn’t feel it anymore. That’s when I knew he was gone. The doctors said he lost too much blood.”

Guthrie wanted to be an accountant, and was always the kind of person to look out for those around him. “He would always tell me that he’s going to take care of me. That’s why he would always try to cook for me whenever he saw me in the kitchen. He really cared about his family and his friends. He loved his three siblings too. It’s just been hard on everyone. I don’t know what I’m feeling, and I don’t know how to get through it. I don’t know if I ever will. Everything I did was for my children, and now, with Simon gone, I don’t know what to do.”

Scott wants the world to remember her son for who he was: a loving person, a family man, and a good friend. Scott was a student of the Rhodes Hall High School.

The police are investigating.

Library under siege

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The St James Parish Library, where X-rated scenes are enacted by students.

Clinton Pickering – Freelance Writer

Security threats against employees at the St James Parish Library in downtown Montego Bay reached a high level last week, compelling management to summon a meeting with staff, the police and the Ministry of Education on Monday.

Students and unattached youth have the library under siege with management being prime targets.

Monday morning’s meeting was held inside a library that had to be closed to the public because of an act of arson in which a garbage heap was deliberately set ablaze on Friday, damaging a water tank and electrical wires, resulting in the library having no light or air conditioning. Prior to that, a car tyre of a senior member of staff was punctured as a warning, accompanied by the threat of all four being slashed.

Engaging staff at the meeting were Senior Education Officer for Secondary Schools in the Ministry of Education, Everett Riley; Head of Community and Citizens Security, St James Police Division, Inspector Yvonne  White Powell and her team and Officer in charge of the Barnett Street Police Station, Inspector Delroy Harriott.

A representative from the Office of the Mayor failed to show and a subsequent meeting with the private security company on contract arrived at a decision for stricter monitoring of the gates to restrict motorists using the library grounds for parking while tending to business elsewhere.

PROTEST ACTION

Concerns which they aired at the meeting were posted to the public on Facebook Monday evening advising, “When you wake up tomorrow morning, the Staff at the St James Parish Library may be on strike. Don’t be surprised.” Then yesterday, they staged a sit-in that lasted until mid-day when they were allowed to go home half-day to allow JPS to restore power to the premises.

Under the heading, “The St James Parish Library is under attack!!” nine reasons were given for their protest action:

“1. Daytime security was cut in 2016… Govt. couldn’t afford it

2. Ganja smoking and gang targeting on the compound daily

3. Staff are under constant threats 

4. Young school girls (some under the age of consent) are having sex and sexual contact with grown men and unattached youth on the compound.  Staff members have to see and blind.

5. Basic sanitation things like disinfectant and toilet paper is sometimes not available (since 2016)

6. The mobile library has been stalled for some time as they cannot afford the maintenance nor the subsistence for staff members to go out in the rural areas in which it serves.

7. Management’s tyres were slashed last week and threats were made

8. Between Friday night and Saturday morning, fire was set on the compound. 

9. No electricity and no water is currently on the property.” 

The Facebook post, however, omitted commitments given by the Police to take immediate steps to improve security by stepping up patrol of the premises and making numbers of senior officers available for direct contact if necessary. For the long term, it was suggested that management explore the possibility of having security cameras installed.

For its part, the Ministry of Education will be speaking directly with school principals about the need to rein in their students and the library will have the opportunity of speaking to the principals directly at their meeting with the ministry.

Among other decisions taken are that gates facing City Centre will be kept locked, the library will close at 5:00 p.m. until the current situation settles and a stop be put to the practice of persons leaving children on the library’s compound unattended.

Student dies in bike crash

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Johwayne Samuels

Just one day after celebrating his fifteenth birthday, Johwayne Samuels of Revival, Little London, Westmoreland, met an untimely end along the Brighton main road in a motor vehicle accident on Sunday. 

Samuels was an eighth-grade student of the Petersfield High School, where students and teachers alike wept openly upon hearing the news of his death on Monday.

According to police reports, about 11:54 p.m. on Sunday, Samuels was riding a Red Special Edition motorcycle along the Brighton main road southerly towards Little Bay in the parish, when upon reaching a section of the roadway, he lost control of the motorcycle which swerved into the path of a white and grey Toyota Corolla DX, and collided head on.

Samuels was thrown from the motorcycle on impact into bushes on the side of the roadway. He was subsequently taken to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, where he was admitted in serious condition.

He later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Meanwhile, Tracey Brown Coote, Acting Principal of Petersfield High, described Samuels as a pleasant, promising student, who was well-loved by both teachers and schoolmates.

“He always completed his work and would love to share information with his classmates. It has been a very sad situation for us here with Johwayne’s death.  It is particularly painful because he makes it three students whom we have lost since the September term due to accidents.”

Dr. Brown Coote said two students who were celebrating birthdays over the weekend into Monday were the ones most seriously impacted.

“Saturday was his birthday and one girl in his class had a birthday on Sunday and anther on Monday so they had all planned to celebrate when they got together on Monday, but fate intervened and spoiled their plans.”

A trauma team from the Ministry of Education, including counselors from other nearby schools, visited the institution and held grief counseling sessions with students and teachers, to assist them to cope.

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