“Tishana, please come home, mommy loves you!
Mommy will not hurt you!”, the impassioned plea from a distraught mother,
Tishia Thorpe, who has not been eating and has been ‘crying a river’ of tears,
hoping that her 13-year-old daughter, Tishana Baker, returns home to her at
their Love Lane residence in Montego Bay.
“I can’t sleep, I
can’t eat, every time I try to put food at my mouth, I can’t eat. I’m thinking
about her. My heart is full, I just want to see my daughter,” said Thorpe.
The 13-year-old
went missing on Friday, June 7, when she fled from a moving vehicle in which
her mother and herself were passengers, and has not been seen or heard from
since.
A tearful Miss
Thorpe related that two Wednesdays ago, Tishana had complained that her shoes
needed to be replaced, so she left her daughter at home and went to purchase a
new pair of shoes for her, only to realize when she returned home that Tishana
was not there.
“It was not until
Friday that she came home and they locked her in the house until I got home. I
decided to take her to the police station. So, we were in the bus, I was in the
front seat and she was in the back. I was so frightened when she opened the
door and jumped from the moving vehicle. I went to the gully (North Gully/
William Street) area where she ran to, but I did not see her. I took a picture
back to the police station but have not seen her since.”
DISOBEDIENT
CHILD
Thorpe said her
daughter is a disobedient child, doing things that she as a mother does not
support or uphold, and this has caused the relationship between them to be
strained.
“She cannot manage
the discipline that I stand for, so I believe that is why she is out there
because she wants to do her own things and I will not allow her to have her own
way,” she explained.
This is not the
first time that Tishana has gone missing, as Thorpe further explained.
“She and her sister
were not behaving the way they were supposed to. They were having serious
attitude problems. She went away before
and she, along with her elder sister, were eventually put in a place of safety
for a month.”
Thorpe laments that
while the sister has changed and is now behaving well, it is Tishana who is
posing a serious challenge for her.
She explained that
a probation officer has spoken with Tishana but she has seemingly dismissed all
that was said to her and is doing her own thing.
Thorpe, who says she is a mother of nine (one
has predeceased her), with Tishana being the last girl, works and operates a
shop to take care of her children. She said the Child Protection and Family
Services agency assists her with the maintenance of the children as the father,
who is self-employed, does not take care of his children.
In her final
appeal, she is urging whomsoever has Tishana in their care or to whom she has
gone to:
“Please, I can’t
take this anymore. My head is hurting, my eyes are hurting, I can’t manage this
anymore. Take her to the police or take here to me, her mother. I love my
daughter I only want the best for her. I
won’t be comfortable until l I see Tishana. Come home to me please, I love
you.”
It didn’t prove to be a piece of cake for 56-year-old Norval Bulgin, a Montego Bay Community College bus driver who allegedly solicited the help of a student, in an attempt to poison the institution’s vice principal, whom he learnt wanted to have him fired.
On Monday, as the 56-year-old awaited a determination on
whether his case would be transferred from the parish court to the Circuit
Court, details of the alleged charges against him were read out in the
courtroom.
On April 16, it is alleged, after learning that the
institution’s vice principal wanted to have him fired, Bulgin took matters into
his own hands, and secured a poisoned cake which he intended to have the school
administrator partake of. It is further alleged that Bulgin then identified a
student whom he offered to pay, on the grounds that the student delivered the
cake to Carol Walters, the vice principal in question.
The student ultimately refused Bulgin’s offer, and
subsequently contacted and reported the matter to the school’s administration,
which then contacted the police. Following investigations, Bulgin was arrested
and charged.
Presiding judge, Sandria Wong-Small, in having Bulgin answer
to a charge of soliciting to murder, shared “As it relates to this matter, the
prosecution is ready to have a committal hearing.” The prosecution was also
ready to serve said documents on Bulgin’s defence attorney, Oswest
Senior-Smith, the judge confirmed.
Wong-Small also indicated that “… the bundle is to be served
on defense counsel on or before June 24,” before extending Bulgin’s bail offer,
which he had taken up during a previous court appearance.
Bulgin is to return to court for his July 5 committal
hearing. If he is found to be guilty of the charge laid against him, he could
face a sentence of up to five years to life.
Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital
- The Sav-la-Mar Hospital Care Group photo
Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter
Bertel Moore, Mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, has raised the red flag over what he says is the deplorable condition of the emergency room and a serious problem of overcrowding at the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland.
Speaking in an interview with the Western Mirror, Mayor
Moore says on a recent visit to the parish’s chief medical facility, he was
appalled at the poor condition which continues to prevail there and is calling
on the authorities to move with urgency to address the worsening condition at
the health facility.
“It is deplorable. The nurses cannot function well at the
emergency room, which is grossly overcrowded, with patients waiting in
wheelchairs and ordinary chairs for up to three days for beds, while their
conditions worsen,” Mayor Moore explained.
He said another problem is the number of patients who have
been discharged with no relatives coming to claim them, forcing them to remain
housed at the hospital.
“This is a really bad situation that we have been trying to
deal with. They need to be housed in the infirmary, but the infirmary has no
space to accommodate them. We (Municipal Corporation) are trying to see if we
can have another building erected there. The drawings have been done but we are
not hearing anything about it, despite numerous enquiries,” he said.
Meanwhile, Camile Lewin, Chief Executive Officer at the
hospital, when contacted, confirmed that the hospital was in fact reeling from
an overcrowding problem which dates back two years.
“There is severe overcrowding at the hospital. A
refurbishment exercise was undertaken in 2012 where the bed capacity was
increased to 164. So, since the past two years, we have not gone below the 200
mark. And over the past two months, we
have been accommodating 230 persons or a little more. And yes, we do have people sitting in wheelchairs
for days,” she admitted.
Miss Lewin further explained that while the hospital does
not have a shortage of beds, they have serious shortage of bed space as they
have used up all available spaces, so it is a major challenge to identify space
to place beds for patients.
“What we are proposing is to create a transitional ward and
we are consulting with the National Health Fund on this to take some patients
from Accident and Emergency to this area, which would be limited in its scope
as only about 15 persons could be held there.”
She explained further that the space problem has been
compounded by social patients, who have already been discharged from the
hospital, but no one has come to collect them and they are housed at the
hospital.
“The social cases now stand at 25 patients that really
belong to the infirmary who are occupying well-needed bed space. Our numbers
are increasing in the emergency room and there is not much we can do on the
ward based on the number of social cases we now have,” she said.
She said that some persons would drive up to the hospital
and leave patients at the hospital and never return to see them or to take them
home when they are ready to leave.
This four-storey building is an artist’s impression of the soon-to-be constructed Montego Bay Fire Station to be located at its original spot on Barnett Street, of which ground was officially broken yesterday
Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter
With residents and
city officials clamouring for more than a decade for a new fire station,
government finally heeded to their call,
as ground was broken yesterday at Barnett Street, Montego Bay, for the
construction of a $534 million new state-of-the-art facility.
Local Government Minister, Desmond McKenzie, in the
meantime, has warned construction company, Pave-Con Limited of Mandeville, to
be swift and efficient in constructing the long-awaited facility.
The construction company has been awarded the contract to
build the new facility which will replace the former fire brigade building that
was demolished in 2006 on the instruction of the St. James Health Department,
after it was deemed unfit for human habitation.
Rawle Dias, Project Manager of Pave–Con, in explaining the
scope of work, said the building would be four storey and would require the use
of piles (A pile is basically a long cylinder of a strong material such as
concrete that is pushed into the ground to act as a steady support for
structures built on top of it), based on its proximity to the sea.
“The building will have a truck bay on the ground floor in the centre; it will have accommodations, offices, water storage facility for the fire trucks, as all other structures. It is a 12-month project and once we keep on schedule, we should be on time, but we aim to beat the schedule and to remain within budget,” he said.
Stakeholders discuss aspects of the design with Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney (left), explaining to Minister Henry how the different stages of construction will commence. In the background are Stewart Beckford, Commissioner, Jamaica Fire Brigade; Rupert Pryce, Senior Director, Parochial Revenue Fund, and Mayor Homer Davis (right)
TRANSFORMATION OF MONTEGO BAY
Rupert Pryce, Senior Director of Parochial Revenue Fund
Branch in the Local Government Ministry, who delivered Minister McKenzie’s
message, indicated that ground-breaking for the construction of the new
facility represents another step in the transformation of Montego Bay as a
contemporary city with amenities that befit its city status.
“The elected representatives are watching keenly and the
electors themselves are observing the execution of this project,” he said.
Citing that 65 percent of all fire stations across the
island were in need of rehabilitation, Mr. Pryce said that while the Montego
Bay fire station would be under construction, the Falmouth fire station would
be rehabilitated at a cost of 10 million dollars, while 8 million dollars would
be used to rehabilitate the Negril fire station.
For his part, Mike Henry, Minister without Portfolio in the
office of Prime Minister, while charging Pave-Con to deliver the project on
time and within budget, said the new fire station was important as it would
house 145 fire fighters and grant them the ability to effectively fulfill their
mandate to protect and save citizens within the 78 communities they serve.
The fire fighters are being housed at a temporary facility
at Freeport and premises at Fort Street.
SATELLITE STATIONS
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis, in expressing
his happiness that at long last the city was getting its new Fire Brigade
building, reiterated his call for three satellite stations to be constructed in
rural Jamaica to facility rapid response from the fire service.
He called for the multi-agency stations to be established at
Maroon Town, Cambridge and Adelphi, arguing that 40 percent of the population
of St. James resides in rural communities, who are too far away for effective
response from the Barnett Street and Ironshore locations.
The Barnett Street Fire Station project is being implemented
by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund’s Disaster Vulnerability Reduction
Project, DVRP, which is being funded by a $30 million US loan from the World
Bank.
“You
need a new picture,” asserts the soft-spoken Chinese Ambassador Tian Qi, in the
presence of a photograph of Ruel Reid, the embattled former education minister,
hanging in the boardroom of the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC). That was
not the remark of a careless diplomatic.
It was a command made by a self-confident, powerful and secure diplomat
who came to Montego Bay with a diplomatic pouch containing a demand of the
Jamaican state to ‘protect the interest of our Chinese nationals’. This message
marks the beginning of a new diplomatic relationship between Jamaica and the
new imperialist on the block. The Chinese have arrived!
The
assertiveness of the Chinese interest in Jamaica is bolstered by the powerful
Association of Chinese Enterprises in Jamaica (ACEJ), a non-profit organization
that was officially launched recently. This mega conglomerate is akin to the
Dutch East India Company with all its implication.
ACEJ
conglomerate includes China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), Huawei
Technologies Jamaica Company Limited and JISCO Alpart Jamaica, all among the group of companies and enterprises
engaged in manufacturing, agriculture, mining, telecommunication, construction,
healthcare, commerce, import and export trade, among other business activities
across the island.
Ever since
the contraction of the lotto scam, there has been an increase in the number of
barefaced robberies in Western Jamaica, with Chinese nationals as the prime target,
the pitfall of unintended consequences.
Not long
before the meeting of the Fujian Association of Jamaica held in Montego Bay
with Ambassador Tian Qi, on the first of April, the Chinese business community
threatened to lock down business activities in Jamaica to protest the increased
level of robberies upon the Chinese business community. I was reliably informed
that the local Chinese network recorded no less than five robberies of Chinese businesses
per week since August of 2018. However,
it was the brazen daylight robbery by M-16 toting gunmen who shot and killed
the 61-year-old security guard, Canute Earle of Norwood, and 41-year-old driver
Floyd Wilson of Rosemount Gardens in the 20 million-dollar heist, that was the
tipping point.
APOLOGETIC
POLICE
It was at
the Fujian Association meeting that a compliant and apologetic Superintendent
Vernon Ellis, head of the St James Police Division, assured the local Chinese
business community: “I want to give to you, as businesspeople, the reassurance
to carry out your business. Remain calm and continue to support the police as
we make the environment safer for you to do business.”
So, the government
with a Commissioner of Police, who is a soldier, the only instrument he knows,
instructed the Prime Minster to call a State of Emergency. This SOE is not
about the increased level of murders. It was called to placate the Chinese in
response to their demand to secure the interest of their nationals.
It was not
surprising to hear the strange duet of “Sykie and Trim”, the Montego Bay
Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) and the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA)
in their joint statement in support of the recently declared State of
Emergency when up to April 7, Mr. Robin
Russell said that despite the new spike in serious crimes, he is not in favour
of the re-imposition of a State of
Emergency.
Mr.
Russell, chairman of the Montego Bay chapter of the JHTA, in his April 7
statement, went on to say that the industry would not want to repeat “the
shock in the market” that the announcement of the State of Emergency
created last year.
GREEKS
BEARING GIFTS
So, let us
not fool ourselves about this State of Emergency and the Mayor’s hastily
hatched Operation Restore Paradise, laudable as they may sound. I don’t trust the Greeks bearing gifts.
On the
surface, there were no cataclysmic events, nothing extraordinary that would have caused the government to call
a SOE, this time round, unlike that
which obtained on January 16, 2018 when the firewall that was built to protect
the fragile tourist industry was breached, when a man was brutally shot and killed in a brazen daylight shooting
in the heart of the tourist mecca during high season. Three other persons were
shot and injured, including an infant boy, near the Donald Sangster International Airport.
That was
the tipping point, the catalysis for the 2018 State of Emergency. On top of
that there was also the fear and the hysteria among the citizenry caused by the
rising murder rate over the Christmas period which continued into the New Year.
And the embarrassment to the hapless Holness regime after the leader promised
the electorate that they would be able to “sleep with their doors and windows
open”.
This time,
while the murder rate has inched up, we are not at that place that we were last
year.
The police
promised the Chinese business community that they would have obtained
quick-response technologies through cellular-phone systems. But there are some
obstacles in the way of the police implementing this technological application
in the sea of informality that obtains along the chaotic thoroughfare of St.
James Street.
OPERATION
RESTORE PARADISE
Let us be
clear, the Mayor’s much-lauded initiative, Operation Restore Paradise is
commendable on the face of it. But let us not be fooled ourselves, it is part
and parcel of the security strategy, designed to meet the demands of the
Chinese ambassador to create an atmosphere
for the safety and security of his
Chinese nationals.
The
municipal corporation has a clear mandate to create an atmosphere that is
conducive for business, but it cannot be at the exclusion of the micro sector.
If we continue this path, Montego Bay will be the first China Town in
Jamaica. Please be reminded, your
worship, there will be “no peace without justice”, according to Peter
Tosh.
The St.
James Municipal Corporation also has the obligation to integrate the
marginalized sectors into the mainstream of Montego Bay’s formal economy. We
could start with restoring the People’s Arcade to accommodate the 400 displaced
vendors who are pushed aside to facilitate surveillance of the formal business
operations on St. James Street. Let us
sit down and reason together on how we can build a Montego Bay for all.
The Mayor
should insist that the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) allow the shop owners
to make connection to the JPSCo grid – shop owners and tenants whose buildings
have been inspected and passed by a licensed electrical contractor. These people are being frustrated by the
Jamaica Railway Corporation, which has refused to provide the vendors with a
letter showing tenancy so that they can enter in a contractual agreement with
the JPSCO to access electricity. The JRC continued to pinprick the occupants at
the Arcade with the hope that they will abandon their holdings without
compensation. The Mayor could reconnect
the water supply that has been disconnected since December of last year and for
which there is an NWC-registered metre in the name of the Corporation. The
Mayor could insist that the JRC provides the promised sanitary conveniences to
avert a public health crisis. If these
arrangements were made, then the displaced vendors from the streets could
comfortably operate their businesses in the designated arcade.
The
disgraceful state of the Charles Gordon Market makes mockery of the grandiose
desire of the Mayor to “Restore Paradise”.
A family is reeling in grief after one of their loved ones was brutally hacked to death on Saturday in Hendon, Glendevon, Montego Bay.
A mother and son are in police custody after turning
themselves in to the police following the incident.
The victim is 35-year-old Jermaine Streete, who is said to
have been suffering with mental health issues and at the time of death, was on
medication.
Reports from the Montego Hills Police are that about 10:30
a.m., Streete is reported to have broken the window of his neighbour’s house
(husband and wife).
The neighbours and another man allegedly armed themselves
with machetes and proceeded to Streete’s house where they inflicted several
machete wounds to his upper body and then fled the scene.
Relatives later stumbled upon Streete lying on the ground
and called the police. He was taken to hospital where he succumbed to his
injuries.
However, Jermaine’s uncle, Oneil, said his nephew has been a
mental patient for years undergoing treatment from the out-patient clinic of
the Cornwall Regional Hospital.
He said they are constantly calling the hospital to send
ambulance for Jermaine to take him there but was always told they do not have
an ambulance. He also visited the Montego Hills police but was told that it was
not their responsibility, but that of the hospital.
“Jermaine was on a 24-hour watch because when the illness is
triggered, he attacks a particular person, not verbally but does damage to the
house or premises. We have recompensed the person twice for the damage and we
try to keep him away from that house and family,” he said.
According to the uncle, he received a call from his brother
that the neigbours said Jermaine had broken two window panes, and he advised
his brother that he would deal with it when he got home.
He said he took his
parents home and left them with Jermaine and went to the Montego Hills Police
to summon them to come with him to the scene.
“It was upon my arrival home with the police that I got the
shock of my life. There was a chop to the neck. You could see straight into his
chest and other chop wounds and blood everywhere. So, we took him to hospital
and he died there” he explained. “We tried our best to keep him away from
trouble and to protect him. We wanted him committed, but it didn’t work out.
So, now we are traumatized.”
“Oh God no, dem kill
him like animal. He was a good man he does
not deserve this at all,” the painful words of a weeping close friend of
Raymond ‘Moonie’ Kerr, whose body was found with stab wounds and his throat cut
at his Appleton Hall apartment, Montego Bay on Monday.
Kerr, a businessman who formerly managed the Aquasol Theme
Park, and was the Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) Western
Representative and Football Manager at his alma mater, Cornwall College, was
reported missing after several attempts to contact him by phone since Sunday
went unanswered.
Relatives reportedly went to his apartment Monday afternoon
and made a search when they made the gruesome discovery.
The Montego Bay police report that Kerr’s licensed firearm,
as well as his motor car, are missing.
Michael Ellis, Principal of Cornwall College, in response to
Kerr’s death said the Cornwall College fraternity is again rocked with shock
and grief as the life of a “Man of Might” was brutally snuffed out.
“It continues to be sad days at the school. There is a
sombre mood among staff and students, especially the footballers, those who had
interacted with him over the years. He has served as member of the school board
and has been a stalwart in sports. He has made his mark in the institution in a
very tangible and physical way. I can guarantee you it is a great loss to
Cornwall College.” Mr. Ellis said, adding that Kerr also gave yeoman service to
ISSA, which, like Cornwall, is in deep mourning.
ISSA
George Forbes, Competitions Director at ISSA, says the news
of Kerr’s death has shaken ISSA as he was a stalwart for 23 years with the
association.
“He will be sadly missed as he has been a tower of strength
for us in Western Jamaica. As a matter of fact, he was supposed to have done
something for us today for basketball presentation. His contribution to ISSA is
invaluable I don’t think we are going to find anybody to replace him. He was
efficient, we just need to say the word and everything would be in place; it’s
a major loss for ISSA and the country,” Forbes said.
President of the Montego Bay Chapter of the Cornwall College
Old Boys Association Stephen Jennings said it was with great sorrow that they
received the news of Kerr’s death.
“Mooney stood tall among us, his physical stature paled in
comparison with his contribution to the sports programme and everything that
was Cornwall College. His support most times went beyond the call of duty and
understanding. We have lost a great Man of Might to the crime monster,” said
Jennings.
He said further that the association anticipates a speedy
investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice as it denounces all acts of
crime and violence.
For his part, Dr. Dean Weatherly, who has worked with Kerr
since 1991, said he has not only lost a strong support in football, but also a
good friend.
DEDICATED TO CC
“He dedicated most of if not all his life to Cornwall
College. He was passionate about
Cornwall College, especially the da’Costa Cup team, but he gave not only to
football. He was supportive of the whole school environment and of the
students. For footballers who knew him over the years it is dark-days. So, for
the current footballers we are looking at dedicating the da’Costa season to
Raymond ‘Moonie’ Kerr.
Weatherly said Kerr was a passionate advocate for the
downtrodden and was also calling for a second chance for students.
“He paid school fees, he gave lunch money, bought uniform,
pay exam fees, he did all that but he did not want to publish it, and it was
for many students over the years.”
Dr. Weatherly’s sentiments were echoed by Sue Ann Chang, a
member of the football management team.
“He was always looking out for the boys. He would pay school
fees for them, buy books and provide meals.
On many occasions with the footballers I would call him and tell him
they have no food and he would pack box dinners from Aquasol and brought it in
his car for them. ‘Moonie’ was very committed to Cornwall College,” she
concluded.
• ‘Operation Restore Paradise’ extended for another 90 days
Barrington Flemming – Staff Reporter
The perennial ‘cat
and mouse’ game between street vendors and the police in Montego Bay is set to
continue for a while yet, with a 90-day extension of ‘Operation Restore
Paradise’.
The week-long initiative, which was jointly crafted by the
St. James Municipal Corporation and the Police to restore law and order to the
city of Montego Bay, was extended after reaping relative success in its first
seven days.
In recapping the success of the multi-agency initiative,
Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis, said during the week, there were
60 arrests with 27 persons charged for various offences and one stolen motor
vehicle recovered.
Additionally, the Island Traffic Authority removed 26
registration plates from PPV, commercial and private vehicles and from 1,500
motor vehicles searched, 1,000 persons prosecuted and tints removed from 49 PPV
vehicles.
Chief Public Health Inspector for the parish of St. James,
Lennox Wallace, said 16 of 75 food establishments which were inspected were
closed for breaching public health standards.
FOOD THROWN OUT
Mr. Wallace said to
further safeguard consumers’ health, over $400,000 worth of food that was being
offered to the public under unsatisfactory conditions was seized and disposed
off.
He also indicated that 29 notices were served on itinerant
street vendors for various public health breaches and 26 vendors’ stalls were
demolished and removed.
“We know that Montego Bay is a city that does not sleep
(and) throughout the rest of the operation we intend to not only have visits
during the day as there are establishments and vendors who operate only at
nights, covering all of Barnett Street from ‘Clock’ down to the entrance of the
Transport Centre, Strand Street, the intersection of St James and Union streets
and Jimmy Cliff Boulevard.
ELECTRICITY THEFT
Meanwhile, JPS Director for Distribution South West, Leroy
Reid, disclosed that “during the period we participated, there were
approximately 400 ‘throw-ups’ or line taps that were removed; we conducted
approximately 50 audits and we disconnected 70 shops within the Shoe Market for
the illegal abstraction of electricity.”
He said the JPS was encouraged by the extension and will be
using the next few days “to learn from our experiences over the last several
days and put in place a more robust plan and stronger intervention measures to
help us restore paradise in Montego Bay.”
The week-long joint operation also saw 45 pounds of ganja
valued at $500,000 being seized and 1.5 million banned plastic (lada) bags
seized.
DELIGHTED CHAMPIONS: Crissan Dalley (third right) member of the sponsorship team, Sandals Resorts International, is all smiles, sharing in the delight of the Clubville team following their victory in St. James FA Sandals Resorts International Division One League final played at Jarrett Park last Saturday. Ville cooled Fire House 1-0 to claim the crown Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts photos
Noelita Lawrenc-Ricketts
Clubville are the St. James FA Sandals Resorts
International Division One champions following their 1-0 win over Fire House in
the grand final on Saturday, May 26, at Jarrett Park.
The vital goal came late in the contest from an exquisite
free kick which nestled into the top right hand corner of the net.
The scrappy affair between the sides, unworthy of being a
final, had little to delight the crowd on hand early on, before Clubville,
following the resumption of the second half, began to be more attacking, asking
questions of their opponents’ tottering backline.
Most of the close call chances came from set pieces, but it
was Fire House who got the first sight at goal, but the effort from Brodrick
Stevens flashed inches wide of the target from close range.
Resorting to a three-man attack, Clubville, running at the
opposing defenders late on, got a free kick just outside 18-yard box after an
attacking player, darting goal-wards, was tripped up by two defenders.
Keino Campbell stepped up to take the 22 yards kick, which
he sensationally curled right-rooted into the corner of the net past the
outstretched arms of the diving goalkeeper, Marvin Campbell, between the sticks
for Fire House.
For their efforts, Clubviille gained promotion to next
season’s Major League and also walked away with $150,000, medals and a trophy.
The losing Fire House team received $120,000 for their
runner-up spot, while Discipline United and Norwood Strikers, beaten
semi-finalists, walked away with 70 and 50,000 dollars respectively.
Norwood, for the second time in three years, bagged the Most
Disciplined team award and Warren Rashford took home the prize for the leading
marksman, netting a season-high seven goals.
The Most Valuable Player award went to Keino Campbell of
Clubville.
OH YES WE DID IT! The Lilliput Rovers team accept their winners’ trophy and cheque from Chrissano Dalley (4th right ) of Sandals Resorts International and President of the FA, Gregory Daley (2nd left) following a narrow 1-0 victory over Cambridge in the Major League final played at Jarrett Park last Saturday. Also sharing in the moment are Member of Parliament for East Central St. James, Ed Bartlett (1st left).
Noelita Lawrence-Ricketts
A determined Lilliput Rovers defied the underdog tag to punch their ticket to next year’s Western CONFED, with a tantalizing and absorbing 1-0 win over fancied Cambridge, in Saturday’s (May 26) finale at Jarrett Park to claim the St. James FA Sandals Resorts International Major League title.
A goal of
nothing and totally against the run of play on a defensive mix-up between the
Cambridge goalkeeper and their central defender gifted Rovers the decisive
victory as they earned bragging rights and also walked away with the cash prize
of $200,000, medals and the winners’ trophy.
The
all-important goal from Terrick Dixon proved the difference between the sides
in the Cambridge-dominated match.
Cambridge,
disappointed again in a major match, pocketed $140,000 for their efforts as
well as medals, while third and fourth place teams Heights and Violet Kickers,
secured 90 and 60,000 dollars respectively.
Marlon
Brown of the champions Rovers also walked away with the top award, being named
the Most Valuable Player.
Obrian Bent
who ended as the League’s leading scorer with 11 goals to his name, was guilty
of missing at least three clear-cut chances as Cambridge sank to the stinging
defeat.
Dent’s
first bite at scoring came midway the opening half, but he slipped at the
crucial point after getting away from his defensive opponents with a darting
run into the area.
His
clearest chance came just after the hour mark, but he stunningly missed from
inside the six-yard box when his toe poke was charged down by a diving defender
at the near post after Dent had powered into the box from inside his half to
the opponent’s goal.
He later
rocketed a ferocious shot against the underside of the crossbar from some 18
yards out, again after racing past a couple of desperately lunging defenders
who failed to keep control of his speed throughout.
The killer
goal was to come later late in the half and from a lightning attack down the
left by the Rovers team who, through Dixon, seized the clear-cut chance,
lobbing the ball into the back of the net, past an advancing Cambridge
goalkeeper caught in an if-and-go play at the back with his central defender.
