This view captures the inside of the burnt-out room, coupled with furniture, which were all destroyed in the raging fire which started sometime after 7 on Sunday morning. In this picture also is the window from which the three-year-old boy fell. -Shamir Brown photos
On Sunday, January
19, as family members of a Rosemount Gardens home watched all their belongings
go up in flames, their most prized possession, a three-year-old boy, was still
stuck on the second floor of the rapidly burning building.
After being prompted to jump, the infant unfortunately
collapsed due to inhaling too much smoke, and instead fell through a window. He
was miraculously caught by waiting family members, who are now counting their
blessings, despite incurring some 12 million dollars in losses as a result of
the blaze.
Information reaching the Western Mirror is that the fire started as a result of the infant
getting a hold of a lighter. He was reportedly under a bed playing with the
fire-producing device, when things went awry, causing a fire that rapidly
spread throughout the dwelling. The flames quickly separated the other
occupants in the house from the young child, which later resulted in the
nail-biting ordeal of catching the unconscious infant’s body from a window.
Despite the infant being administered CPR and rushed to the
hospital, the signs are promising that he has not sustained any major injury,
much to the relief of family members.
FIRE QUELLED
For the incident which started some minutes after seven that
Sunday, the Fire Brigade was quick on the scene, after reporting that they
received a call that a building was on fire in that area. They responded with
two units and an ambulance and upon their arrival, they observed a section of
the upper floor of the building ablaze.
An operation was quickly started and two jets were used to
contain the blaze, preventing it from spreading to the other over 30 rooms of
the family-shared concrete dwelling.
It is uncertain if the house was insured.
The Fire Brigade continues its investigation into the
matter.
The bloody start to the New Year in Western Jamaica continues to challenge crime-fighters, who have been kept busy as again, gunmen struck, snuffing out the lives of four men in separate incidents across the region, beginning on Friday, pushing the murder tally past twenty.
The victims have been identified as 62-year-old courier,
Lloyd Johnson of a Montego Bay, St. James address, Recardo Hewitt of Poincianna
Drive, Pitfour, Granville, also in Montego Bay, 24-year-old Richard Hamilton,
otherwise called ‘Romain’ or ‘Bad Indian’, unemployed of Crabwood Lane,
Hopewell, Hanover, and 40-year- old chef, Kirk Campbell, otherwise called
‘Dudu’ of Wakefield Trelawny.
The parish of St. James, which was labelled, the island’s
murder capital prior to the imposition of the State of Public Emergency,
recorded two of the four murders, with the latest occurring on Monday.
Reports indicate that about 9:20 a.m., Johnson was
travelling in a white Nissan motorcar, owned by Randani Security Limited, along
Barnett Street, when on reaching a section of the road, a motorcar drove up and
men aboard the vehicle opened gunfire, hitting him several times in the upper
body.
Commuters traversing the usually busy street were sent
scampering for cover as the shots rang out.
In what is suspected to be a failed robbery attempt, the
wounded Johnson reportedly drove the car a few metres, before colliding into
another vehicle, as the car came to rest at the intersection of Barnett Street
and Lightbody Avenue.
He was subsequently taken to the Cornwall Regional Hospital,
where he was pronounced dead.
RECARDO HEWITT
In the meantime, mystery still shrouds the death of popular
businessman, Recardo Hewitt, who operated ShopinJa, an online shopping platform
based at River Bay Road in Montego Bay, and who met his demise on Friday.
Reports are that at about 4p.m., several motorists and
fishermen noticed Hewitt, who was sitting motionless in his silver Nissan
Wingroad motorcar, which was parked in the vicinity of the Fishermen’s beach at
Spring Gardens in St. James, and alerted the police.
The lawmen, on their arrival, discovered that Hewitt, who
was still buckled in by his seatbelt, had multiple gunshot wounds to his upper
body, and was slumped around the steering wheel.
Hewitt was a known licensed firearm holder and the police
surmise that his attacker (s) stole the firearm.
“One female friend commenting on a social media platform
said: “He was one of the only good human beings left and the evil ones took him
away from us.”
‘BAD INDIAN’
Meanwhile, later Friday evening, about 8:45p.m. in Hopewell,
Hanover, Hamilton was sitting on the verandah of his nextdoor neighbour and
talking with another man, when a white motorcar drove down the hill and
occupants from the vehicle opened gunfire at him.
Both Hamilton and the man he was talking with ran, however
he fell at the side of the house, while his friend escaped unharmed.
The police were summoned and upon their arrival Hamilton’s
body was found at the side of the house lying in a pool of blood.
The Lucea police who are investigating reveal that Hamilton
was out on bail for his alleged involvement in a shooting incident, which
reportedly took place in Westmoreland in 2018.
‘DUDU’ THE CHEF
The Trelawny Police were also kept busy on Saturday night as
Campbell, a chef, was tending to a pot of soup outside his business place about
10p.m., when a lone man armed with a gun approached him and opened fire,
hitting him in the head.
A traumatized relative of Campbell said the pain of losing
him so tragically is too difficult to bear, and the family is struggling to
come to grips with his death.
Councillor for the Wakefield Division, Jonathan Bartley, has
called for a speedy resolution to the case, while appealing to the authorities
to provide the police with the necessary resources, especially motor cars, to
aid them in the fight against crime.
The brilliant Kae-Shanae Virgo poses with her award, presented to her at an awards ceremony held in the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, for winning Best Short Story in the 2017/18 iteration of the CXC exams.
Eighteen-year-old Montego Bay High School Sixth Form
student, Kae-Shanae Virgo, wants to be a millionaire by age 24. For most
24-year-olds, this is but a pipedream, but for the unusually driven Virgo, it’s
just another milestone to check off on her collision course with success.
Already, Kae-Shanae is a potent entrepreneur, having already
pursued a number of successful business ventures; a scholar of the highest
order – already securing a full scholarship to the University of the West
Indies, and a classic, yet humble, overachiever, as she was among three
Jamaicans to be awarded by the Caribbean Examination Council for the best short
story in the May/June 2018 iteration of the regional exam. Safe to say, Virgo
is a Superwoman.
NEVER SETTLE
“I want the best for myself always, so even if I’m not
consciously aware of it, I’m sort of always bullying myself into doing my
best,” explained the aspiring journalist and entrepreneur. Of the prestigious
regional award she received for her piece, ‘Betrayal’, Virgo revealed that the
constant pressure she places on herself to succeed, made it almost impossible
to believe that her writing was good enough to be recognized in such a huge way.
“I’ve always been told that I was good at it [writing], but I guess sometimes,
my expectations for myself cause me to doubt my abilities. I felt whatever I
wrote wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be, so even though I did it, I didn’t
think it was as great as everyone else thought it was.” Not what you’d expect
from someone constantly toppling the odds, but we later learnt that for Virgo,
this was all part of an unexplainable desire to steer clear of anything
mediocre, and of anything that remotely resembled complacency.
This was further made evident when Virgo was asked whether
the award served as validation for her abilities. “Yes and no. Yes, because to
be selected as the best out of thousands who sat the exam means I’m obviously
good at what I do. But no, because even though I won, that didn’t ease the
pressure that I put on myself when it comes to my writing.” Virgo continued:
“I’m not satisfied with what others would consider ‘good’, and I guess that’s a
personal thing. I don’t want to be good, I want to be great, so I’m never
satisfied.” While grateful for the confidence others show in her skills, Virgo
made sure to point out that if she’s ultimately not satisfied with her work,
even if it is well-intentioned, what others say won’t matter much to her.
VICTORY TRAVELS
As with most things, however, there was an exception to
Virgo’s refusal to buy into anyone else’s opinion about her skills, good or
bad. That exception came in the form of her teacher, Ms. Simms, who, even
before she sat the exam, hammered it into her subconscious that she was going
to win the award. “I didn’t know about the award, and I didn’t care that much
to be honest, but once I got in the exam room, it was hard not to hear my
teacher’s voice in the back of my head telling me I could do it, that I could
win the award. So, I just wrote,” she explained.
Following the exam, however, Kae-Shanae felt she blew
whatever chance she had at being considered for the award. “I hated the story I
wrote,” she revealed. After her friends left the exam room all talking about
their stories, Kae-Shanae refused to talk about hers. She was not proud of her
work, and as quickly as she could, she wanted to put the exam behind her.
That was not to be, as not long after, what she regarded as
a less-than-deal type of work on her part, proved to be the one thing that
would catapult her onto the regional stage, and under the national spotlight.
Kae-Shanae’s story wowed the examination council. As for her, the news
completely knocked the wind out of her. “I just started crying when I heard. I
didn’t think it would happen. I didn’t get time to look over my story, so I was
surprised. When I told my teacher, she ran out of the classroom she was
teaching and started crying too. I then called my father. I don’t know how he reached
up my school that quickly, but he did, and I’m pretty sure he told everyone in
the world that I won the award.” So much for her unusual process of turning
self-doubt into motivational energy.
Virgo now has her sights set on the future, and having reaped
success last Christmas with her cake-baking business, a partnership between
herself and her father, Doyle Virgo, and with her mother, Andrea Hayles,
supporting her all the way, the sky is but the floor of Kae-Shanae’s seemingly
limitless potential. Kae-Shanae will complete her studies in Liberal Studies at
the University of the West Indies, and no doubt, that will only signal the
beginning of her rise to prominence as one of the brilliant business minds from
the West. Winning the Best Short Story in the region was only the beginning of
that.
It always
amazes me that Jamaicans are seen as such warm people yet that is far from the
experience when trying to conduct business here. Is it that we only provide
quality service in the tourism sector? Do we think that the money spent by
locals does not qualify them for good service? Are locals not paying the set
price? Is customer service even a factor seriously considered and monitored?
Banking,
telecommunications, medicine, utilities, insurance and all government services
are rabid with poor service. Customers often leave the experience feeling
persecuted for spending their money. Sectors that have monopolies or very few
options are the main culprits. It also seems like when there are options all
the businesses have conspired to see who can offer the worst service.
What
businesses are failing to realize is that respect and kindness are basic
requirements for interaction with potential and repeat customers. Hard working
people are choosing to spend with your establishment; good service is the bare
minimum. Increasingly, in this global economy, we have access to better
options. Though this reality may affect some businesses sooner than others, it
is advisable not to wait until the critical moment to make the change.
Statistics show that people are willing to spend more money if they receive
quality service. Therefore, even if you were only interested in a hefty bottom
line, it would serve you better to treat people well.
I have had
to encounter the customer service department of numerous businesses and suffice
to say, the departments are actually customer frustration traps. How can it be
that the horror customers endure is standard across the board, even though
there is Jamaica Customer Service Association (JaCSA)? The typical experience
with these customer service agents involved:
Absolutely
no response
A minimum
of 1 week passing before receiving a response that does not even answer the
questions asked
The call is
mysteriously disconnected
Agent
either does not know the supervisor/manager or is unwilling to provide a name
Agents
cannot find your information in their system
Agents do
not know when your problem will be rectified and can only say “I am sorry”
You are
promised a call back but never get one
You are
asked to send a ‘DM’ (Direct Message) if you are using social media, but you
get no response •
Leave a comment, still no response
Businesses
need to understand that customers are not hostages. The sooner they wake up to
this fact and make the necessary changes the less vulnerable their businesses
will be. No business or agency is exempt. Customers can cause serious problems
if/when they decide to apply the pressure.
The aim of
business should never be to make things increasingly difficult for the customer
but to make it as easy as possible to engage and exchange with you and produce
loyal client ambassadors. The base of your revenue lies with retained customers
and it takes more money to get a new client than to retain them.
It is a new
year. Let us turn the page in this area. Invest in staff training, hire
customer service specialists, analyze your business processes, listen to
customer feedback and treat our local clients with respect and kindness.
ROADBLOCK: Disgruntled residents of Rose Heights in Montego Bay, vented their anger at the police on Monday, blocking the roadway with burning tyres, a metal gate and garbage, as they protested Saturday’s arrest of a male member of the community by the lawmen. The police reportedly went to the area on Saturday to carry out an opera-tion in search of guns and criminals, when the man was held and arrested by them. However, residents were not pleased with the police’s action and mounted their protest. The Fire Brigade was called and a single unit from the Freeport Fire Station responded and put out the fire, while a law enforcement team cleared the roadway to allow for free passage of motor vehicles. – Shamir Brown Photo
The St. James Division of the Jamaica Fire
Brigade has seen an increase in emergency calls for the year 2018, compared
with the previous year.
The report follows a total of 1,244 documented fire calls
for the year 2018, a 5% increase from 2017, which recorded 1180.
In an interview with the Divisional Head of St. James,
Superintendent Kevin Haughton, he stated that the total number of calls were
not the greatest cause for concern. The increase in what are deemed as
malicious false alarms, however, and genuine fire, warranted the Brigade’s
attention.
Further research shows that this increment could be attributed
to an escalation in actual fire calls, malicious false alarms, and special
services offered/requested from the organization.
“Malicious false calls are calls made to the Brigade and
upon reaching the location, there are no signs of a fire, while false alarm
with good intent is basically a call made to the Brigade and on reaching the
location, it is of a lesser severity than what was reported, or our services
are no longer required,” Haughton stated.
The Superintendent went on to explain that special services
are non-emergencies that the Brigade responds to, e.g. washing roads after a
motor vehicle accident or a citizen who has been locked out of their premises
and require assistance.
A total of 748 genuine calls were reported, a movement of 48
actual calls, up from 700, an increase of approximately 6.4%.
There were an additional 28 malicious false alarms for the
year, up from 80, and the parish’s firefighters were called for a total of 331
special services, an additional 15 from 2017’s 316.
“We will be ramping up our public education programmes,
especially in schools. The schools or students represent a wider cross-section
of the communities, and by giving them the information, we are guaranteed it
will reach within the homes and the communities at large,” stated the
Divisional Head.
Superintendent Haughton is appealing for a greater fire
consciousness from the parish, especially the perpetrators of these malicious
false alarms. “Persons need to desist from this act as it adversely affects
staff morale, especially from communities where there is a repeated offense.
We would definitely not want to have an instance of the boy
who cried wolf,” the Superintendent said in closing.
MP St. James Central, Heroy Clarke, presents Sherriann Irving and Courtney Irving (right) with a brand new washing machine after visiting them at home on Friday January, 11, 2019.
Cripples brother and sister
Sashane Shakes – Staff Reporter
Sherriann and Courtney Irving wanted to pursue
careers in hospitality and engineering respectively, but their aspirations were
decimated by a sudden and cruel, yet unknown, illness, rendering them both
cripples.
Sitting on a bench beside her house, crouched over her
walker, her brother sitting on the chair nearby, the two (2) residents of the
small community of Repasture, located in Salt Spring, St. James spoke to the Western
Mirror on Friday (January 11).
Of the 2, Courtney, 24, was first to be struck by the
illness when 5 years ago, he woke up and was unable to move his limbs freely.
But for Sherriann, 25, the first instance she experienced difficulties moving
about was after giving birth in 2016. She admitted that at the time of
Courtney’s illness, she was living in Mt. Salem, but moved to Salt Spring to
see through to the end of her pregnancy. It was shortly after moving here and
after giving birth that she began suffering from the condition. “I don’t know what
caused it. I just woke up one day and couldn’t move as I used to. It’s the same
thing that happened to Courtney,” she said.
Subsequent to this, Sherriann admits that it has been a
largely downhill battle with mixed reactions from family and relatives. “Me
remember one morning me aunty wake me up and say ‘Sherriann, me go take you out
a di house cause you a cause problem, yuh go get pregnant,’” she lamented.
Sherriann gave birth to a baby boy who now lives with his grandfather because
she is unable to care for him in her current condition.
ABANDONED BY FATHER
To add insult to injury, she was left homeless, living on
the streets for a while, until community members became aware of her situation
and offered assistance. To rub salt into the wound, her father, who the
siblings harbour severe distaste for, wept when they recalled that he,
presumably overwhelmed, disassociated himself from his children and like a
thief in the night, took everything and left. According to the siblings and
their neighbours, the elder Irving lifted the house from its foundation and
relocated, abandoning his children, leaving them literally homeless. “That man,
him just tek up the house and leave we. Him take the house and everything in
it.”
With no roof over their heads, they called Food For the Poor
unendingly, who were quick in response, providing them with a lovely flat which
they both share.
Courtney, a God-fearing individual, has vowed to remain
positive about their situation. A Sabbath keeper, he attends the Salt Spring
Seventh Day Adventist Church where he has been baptised for 5 years now. With
unwavering faith, he prays often and believes that the Lord answered their
prayers when they were gifted the house and there will be many more blessings
to follow. “I just keep praying and hold the faith. We try to do as much as we
can but the Lord will provide,” said the humbled Courtney.
MP PROVIDES WALKERS
In addition to the house, Member of Parliament for St. James
Central, Heroy Clarke, recently provided them with walkers to assist with ease
of moving around the house and a donor who wishes to remain unknown, on Friday
provided them with a washer and dryer to help with chores.
“They were really in dire need of assistance. We came with 2
walkers, one for the male and one for the female. When we came with the walker,
our hearts broke,” said Clarke.
The siblings couldn’t help but mention their neighbour
Ann-Marie ‘Chin’ Douglas, who has taken on a maternal role in their lives. “Dem
don’t get no care. Dem puppa run lef dem. Dem no care dem. A the community care
them. Neighbour; this neighbour here who can give them a plate of food, a pound
of rice, a pound a sugar,” said Chin.
Their aunt Sharon Hilton, who also lives in the community,
assists by washing for them, providing them with food and caring in any other
way.
Whilst grateful for the help, Sherriann is insistent on
finding out the problem with hopes of recovering from same. The Maldon High
alum revealed that she did a scan just shy of 2 years now, the results of which
she did not collect due to not being able to move about or having anyone to
pick them up for her at the time. She soon forgot about same as survival became
top priority given that some family members had abandoned her and her brother.
But she’s ready to pick up where she left off by finding out the problem that
has been plaguing them for years.
After listening to their cry for help, Clarke spoke with Dr.
Delroy Fray, from Living Waters Medical Centre, who has made arrangements to
visit the siblings today to investigate further into this medical mystery.
Chin is pleading for assistance for her neighbours, she now
sees as her own children. “They can’t help themself. Anyone a dem drop you
haffi pass fi tek them up. Dem cannot tek up demself.”
The siblings, who were recently in a video, now viral on
social media, have landed an international reach with persons as far as England
reaching out to assist. “We’re appealing to the public to make a donation
because they too have to live and they’re unable to work. No amount of appeal
can be enough,” implored Clarke.
Just hours before the words “He’s dead” completely
shattered her world, Joan Stennett was introduced to two of her son’s closest
friends, one of whom would later be suspected of killing him.
An emotional Joan Stennett is overcome with grief during an interview with the Western Mirror
Deceased 20-year-old University of Technology student, Demar Stennett, was to have one last hurrah with his friends before returning to Kingston on Sunday for school. When, however, he did not return home after a night of partying, Joan did not consider that one of the friends, who had, the night before, called her “Mommy”, would literally cut her beloved son’s life short.
Information reaching the Western Mirror is that Demar
Stennett’s body was discovered along Miriam Way main road, Barnett Oval, St.
James, around 6:15 Sunday morning, suffering from what appeared to be multiple
stab wounds.
THE DAY BEFORE
In an emotional interview with the Western Mirror,
Joan Stennett revealed the moments leading up to her son’s untimely demise,
from when she first met his friends, to the moment she learnt he had been
murdered.
After running a few errands in town on Saturday, Stennett
instructed her son to meet her at a bank. “When he came there, he came there
with two friends. He introduced me to them and I said ‘Hi, how are you?’” Of
that brief introduction, Stennett explained, she remembered being familiar with
the names of the friends, one in particular.
“The one who later killed him,” a tear-choked Stennett said,
“I remembered his name because my son spoke about him to me before – that he
had been going through some challenges at home or something like that.”
Stennett further shared that following the introductions,
Demar revealed that his friends would be taking him out later that night, as a
sort of unwinding before he would need to dive back into his studies as a
budding Computer Programmer. “So, following all of that, as well as some other
things we had to take care of in town, we all – including the one that killed
my son – came back to my house,” the grieving mother explained.
At the Aruba Terrace residence in Cornwall Court, Montego
Bay, observing the happenings, Stennett had no reason to suspect that anything
tragic would later befall her son. They were watching movies while she, as a
belated birthday gift from her son, was getting her hair done. “When I checked
the time, it was 1:10 in the morning, so I asked him, ‘Demar, you sure you want
to go out this late?’”, Stennett asked, remembering that her son and his
friends had plans to go party at Pier 1. “’Mom, this is the time when Pier 1 is
hot,’” he responded, before walking over to her and giving her a hug. “He
hugged me and said ‘Happy birthday, mom! I love you!’ and the guy got up too
and said ‘Happy birthday, mom, happy birthday!’”
Demar then headed out with his friends, and Stennett began
making preparations for bed.
‘IT SOUNDS LIKE HE WAS HAVING A GOOD TIME’
“Before falling asleep, I called him,” Stennett shared.
“’Mom, we’re at KFC, we’re at KFC!’ he said. It sounds like he was having a
great time.” Stennett wanted Demar to get in touch with the person who had done
her hair, as she needed to make some adjustments. “’I’ll get in touch with her
mom, I will.’ After he told me that,” a crying Joan Stennett said, “I… I went
to sleep. I went to sleep.”
Stennett awoke later that morning, sometime after six, and
realizing that she hadn’t heard her son, she started to make certain checks. “I
looked through the window for the vehicle and it wasn’t there, so I thought,
‘Maybe he’s at his brother’s house’. So, I took some clothes that he had here
and put them in the [washing] machine and I said I would wash them because they
would dry by the time he’d be ready to go up.” After doing all that, however,
Stennett received a call from Demar’s brother, stating that he had met in an
accident. “I said ‘Lord Jesus Christ! I talked to Demar, I told him not to
drive fast, and Demar really inna accident?”
Conducting investigations of her own, Stennett made a few
calls, in which she asked one of the persons called to visit the hospital to
check if he was there. Stennett then called Demar’s father, who revealed that
he had just heard the news too. Demar’s father later shared that he got a call
from the police station, and that he was to come down there. “My neighbour
brought me down to the station, and told me that she saw Demar’s friend in
handcuffs, so I said ‘What is he doing in handcuffs?’ So, I told my ex-husband
that Demar cannot do jail, because the type of person he is, he wouldn’t last
in jail, so I started to cry. When I reached the Freeport Police Station, I was
told that Demar was not there, and when the person from the hospital called me,
I was told he wasn’t there either.’”
At that moment, Stennett witnessed the vehicle in which
Demar was travelling being brought into the station on a wrecker, and on it,
she observed large quantities of blood, particularly around the driver’s
section. “It was all bloodied, and his glasses was inside, and I said ‘No, this
nuh look right! Him nuh deh here, and him nuh deh at the hospital. Demar is
dead! Demar is dead!’ They tried to tell me to not rush to conclusions and to
calm down, but then I got a call from my ex-husband.”
“’Joan,” he said, “’Demar is dead. He is dead.’ I said, “I
know. I know,” she shared.
Breaking down crying, Stennett lamented: “Demar was my everything;
I could depend on him for anything, and now I… I can’t believe…” Stennett
managed to say, before becoming consumed by her grief.
ENCOUNTERING THE SUSPECT
According to the CCU, a police officer and a team of
soldiers, conducting patrols under the State of Public Emergency, reached a
section of Miriam Way, in the vicinity of the Holy Trinity Church, where they
observed a grey MPV Mazda motorcar stationary along the roadway.
When they stopped to make enquiries with the young man who
was standing outside the car, they were told that the vehicle had developed
mechanical problems and that he was OK. The lawmen were not satisfied with that
response, and grew suspicious. When they decided to make further enquiries, the
man ran off in bushes, where he was pursued and caught.
Further details are that the accosted suspect then began
attacking the police officer, hitting him several times to the face, before he
was finally restrained. Taking the suspect back to the vehicle and making
closer inspections, security personnel observed what appeared to be blood
stains around the vehicle. They were reportedly told by the suspect that he and
Demar Stennett had become embroiled in a dispute which became physical, and a
knife was brought into play by the deceased. The suspected further alleged that
he was acting in self-defense.
He then took the soldiers to a location about 50 metres from
the car, where the body of Stennet was pointed out in a clump of bushes along
the roadway, lying on its back. Stennett’s body was observed to have multiple
stab wounds to its neck, face, arms, chest and abdomen.
He was later removed and brought to the Cornwall Regional
Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
With the island now
experiencing a Dengue Fever outbreak, the St. James Health Department will step
up its multi-million-dollar heightened vector control programme in the parish
today, to stave off any possible case of Dengue Fever when it engages the
service of the National Works Agency to clean a number of problematic drains across
the parish.
The problem areas include sections of Railway Lane, sections
of the Charles Gordon Market, Catherine Hall and Rosemount Gardens.
The drain-cleaning programme will complement the
three-month-long campaign which started on Saturday and ends on March 22, 2019,
with visits to schools for the destruction of mosquito breeding sites and
fogging.
Lennox Wallace, Chief Public Health Inspector for the parish
of St. James, told the Western Mirror
in an interview that this morning’s meeting with the NWA is another aspect of
the multi-agency campaign to keep the parish safe from Dengue Fever, as St.
James is yet to register a case.
“Following Minister Tufton’s announcement on Thursday that
there was a Dengue Fever outbreak and a subsequent meeting with us, we made
contact with the Ministry of Education to have schools open their windows and
doors (starting Saturday and Sunday) so we can do fogging in the evening, as we
would have carried out inspection and destruction of mosquito breeding sites
earlier in the day”.
In addition, Wallace said the health department will employ
additional personnel to boost its efforts to take its programme to every
community.
“We are going to be employing an additional 40 temporary
workers, some of whom would have been trained to deal with the Zik V
last year, to join other workers
as our programme is going to be seven days a
week; there will be no letting up,” Wallace explained. “We have the
resources and will have the personnel to keep the programme going efficiently
for the stipulated period.”
Responding to concerns expressed by the public about the
ineffectiveness of temporary workers in the past, Wallace said:
“The workers will be properly identified and supervised by
the Public Health Inspector and physical inspections of premises will be done
of homes and other areas and treatment of water sources will also be carried
out. We will be looking at cans and feeding pans and bowls for animals or pets,
drums for storage of water. So, we are not going to rely on what people are
saying,” he disclosed.
In addition, he says the team will also visit Westgate
Hills, Granville and Lilliput and two other areas where tyre garages are
prevalent to carry out treatment, remove old tyres and transport them to the
dump site.
WESTMORELAND
Meanwhile, Steve Morris Chief Public Health Inspector for
Westmoreland, which has been highlighted as one of the parishes with highest
suspected cases of Dengue Fever, says the challenge is great in the parish.
“In 2017 we had 36 suspected cases of Dengue Fever, but in
2018, we have a sharp increase moving to 117 suspected cases with four
confirmed cases. So, our vector control programme, which should have ended on
December 28, will be extended to the next 12 weeks. So, we will be employing an
additional 25 persons to ramp up our programme.”
Mr. Morris says “most of the suspected cases have been in
the Savanna-la-Mar, Little London, Negril areas, but we also have to
concentrate on areas where we have limited water supplies where people store
water in drums and buckets and so on, so we will visit those communities as
well and carry out prevention and treatment activities as this is one of our
biggest challenges.”
Some of the problem areas include Belmont, Darliston, Bethel
Town, Grange Hill, Jerusalem Mountain and many areas in Eastern Westmoreland,
where many persons are forced to store water.
Mr. Morris says while they will be engaging the National
Solid Waste Management Authority and the NWA, residents will have to play their
part in cleaning up the areas affected.
“We will be working assiduously to reduce the number of
adult mosquitoes and to destroy the breeding sites, so we need the cooperation
of residents in this process.”
On Thursday, Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health,
announced that the island was on Dengue Fever outbreak with 830 reported cases,
123 reported in December, which surpasses the 96-case threshold for a Dengue
Fever epidemic to be declared. Minister Tufton also announced that 250 million
dollars was provided to boost vector control. He also announced that health
centres, including the Type Five Health Centre in St. James would be opened for
extended hours.
Guys, I’m sorry (not
really though), but we can’t quite stop talking about Buju yet. Even if we
tried, he’s effortlessly making it impossible for us to. And if you were under
the illusion that this will be the last we’ll say of him for a while, well,
I’ve got news for you – it’s not.
So, what’s the latest in this Buju News Rush? You’ll want to
take your seats for this one. While we admit that we may be a bit late on this
train, it’s still worth hopping on to. Did you know that Buju recently released
a brand-new song? Yes, you read that right. The song, titled ‘Pay The Price’,
for which there is currently only audio, is at number 18 on the YouTube
trending chart. Translation: This song is absolutely and unapologetically
scorching hot right now, particularly on the international scene. Locally, it
may be that the song, released on December 27, may have been a well-kept
secret. In fact, considering the many who are yearning for the [sound of] the
‘Gargamel’, that’s the only logical explanation we can offer as to why we’re
not hearing more buzz about it.
Well, just what is the soon-to-be chart-toppling tune about?
Its name says it all, really. Buju feels as though he has paid the price, and
for loyal fans of his, they wouldn’t hesitate to agree. The lyrics aside, which
we will get into a bit, there’s a wave of nostalgia, and just an overall
feeling of complete harmony, when one takes in the newly released track. About
a minute into the nearly 5-minute-long track (its real length being 4 minutes
and 42 seconds), you are reminded of just how much you had longed to be in the
soulful, musical, raspy embrace of Buju’s unique sound and vocals. Delivered
with a depth and emotional maturity of a man who has seen dark days, Buju takes
fans on an intimate journey of his life over the past years, and his words
perfectly captured the experience. To a relatively slow, rhythmic beat, Buju
began with his iconic ad lib, “Ooh Lawd”, and it was pure magic from there. His
words: “Here I go again, just me and myself, I’m without a friend, they have
all turned and gone and left me, now on my lonesome journey, a few things in
life concern me – ‘what is life?’, the other, ‘how we live it’.”
We would share more, but simply quoting the lyrics here does
not do enough justice to the pain that can be heard in Buju’s voice as he
delivered what is likely his first official song to grace the public since his
release from prison in the USA. It’s a timely and appropriate reintroduction to
the musical scene, and as more people grow to know of it, the song, which at
the time of this writing has 620,366 views, is bound to climb YouTube’s
Trending Chart.
If you are a true lover of music, you need no prompt to go
find that song. In the event that you do need a bit of motivation, remind
yourself that pretty soon, Buju will be reclaiming prominence on the musical
scene, and what will follow that is not a story you would want to miss out on
experiencing first-hand, and subsequently one that you can share with your
kids, grandkids or great grand kids. So yeah, do it for Buju, or at the very
least, do it for the kids.
While many celebrated happiness and
togetherness and brought cheer this past Christmas, two communities in the
parish of Hanover have been in unrest since Christmas Eve as two elderly men
went missing two days shy of each other during the recent Christmas holidays.
Missing are Osbourne Leslie of Haughton Grove, Hanover and
Lennox Stone of Esher in Lucea. Septuagenarians, Leslie, 74, and Stone, 70,
went missing on December 24 and 26 respectively.
Stone, who went missing on Boxing Day, is 5 ft 6 inches,
slim built and is of a dark brown complexion.
He was spotted by a taxi operator who glimpsed him walking
along the roadside en route to Lucea around 5 a.m. on December 26, wearing a
plaid shirt and brown shorts.
Upon hearing of his father’s absence, his son, Kirk Stone,
has flown to Jamaica from New York to assist in the search. “It’s been crazy.
I’m printing flyers and putting them all over the place asking everybody if
they’ve seen him. I’m running around looking for him like a chicken with its
head cut off,” said the younger Stone.
Kirk, however, is particularly concerned about his dad
because he’s senile. “It’s been seven (7) years since he’s been senile, and from
that day he’s never been left alone,” said Kirk.
Kirk remarked that stoves and other household appliances
were removed from Lennox’s house years ago after it was found that he would
leave the fire on and forget to turn the stove off.
Lennox is the lone occupant of his residence, where his son
left him in the capable hands of Faye, his neighbour and caretaker, and with a
memory that comes and goes in glitches, the able-bodied Lennox is usually
accompanied to the supermarket, barber salon and to the bank to collect his
pension.
Christmas Visit
Osbourne Leslie
According to Kirk, on the eve of Christmas Eve (Sunday
December 23), Lennox was paid a visit by his sister, Dawn Gordon, who was
visiting from Florida. After his sister left, Lennox told Faye that he wanted
to “visit her one of these days”. Kirk has surmised that his father went to the
old family house in Lucea (per the report of the taxi operator) but after
realizing that the building had been abandoned, he began his trek home and
forgot his way.
The entire community of Esher has rallied together in search
of Stone.
In another area of Hanover called Haughton Grove, the family
and friends of Osbourne Leslie have been searching endlessly for him since
Christmas Eve. Leslie, who is affectionately known as ‘Boy Boy’, had a stroke
in his head two (2) months ago, which rendered him dumb.
He was last seen leaving home in a white merino and white
shorts, presumably heading to a nearby shop in his community.
Leslie is 74 years old, about 175 centimetres tall and is of
dark brown complexion
“Me give up, me no know which part fi search again,” cried
Elaine, who is the sister of Leslie’s niece. “Him a quiet smaddy, him no mek
trouble and the young people them love him. We just want him come home.”
If anyone has seen or heard from Osbourne Leslie or Lennox
Stone, please contact the nearest police station.
