Rose Thomas Laid to Rest
Mrs. Rose Thomas, late of Porus Manchester, was laid to rest on the ground of the Trinity Baptist Church where she worshiped.
Mrs. Thomas was a power house in education circles and the driving force in the region and the Porus community in particular, in ensuring that all students who aspired for higher education received some form of assistance.
She was responsible for initiating most of the major up-grades at the Porus High School, where she was a board member.
Known for her colourful hats and emphasis on discipline, she was a community stalwart whose dedication to serving for the better good of all became a way of life for her.
Hundreds came from far and near to pay tribute to one of Jamaica’s finest patriot whose legacy will endure for generations to emulate.
Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, Opposition Leader Mrs. Portia Simpson-Miller , Members of Parliament Michael and Dean Peart, former Minister of Government John Junor were among the many who attended.
Discord at FuneralThere was a chilling disquiet at a recent funeral in Porus Manchester, when a close relative of the deceased “LADY” took the microphone and with clarity, let it be known that there were some persons who were not of a good mind towards her deceased mother.
Her tongue lashing was sharp like a butcher knife, sparing no one, as the hushed gathering looked on in disbelief. Many were heard asking, what could have triggered such an outburst? The powered up relative, changed gears on several occasions during the ten minute ordeal, which left several very uneasy. She even took aim at the church where the service was being conducted. The eyebrow raising speech came to an end only after another relative yanked her dress from behind and advise her she had overstayed her time at the microphone. Even with the multitude of fans, the temperature in the church went up sky high.JTA Church Service
JTA CHURCH SERVICE
Under the theme “A Transformed Education System: Path to National Development”, the Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) kicked off its 45th. Annual Conference with a church service at the St. Marks Anglican Church in Mandeville on Sunday August 16th.
The conference, which will be conducted over a three day period, at Hotel Grande in Ocho Rios, during which Mr. Michael Stewart , the principal of Porus High school in Manchester, will be installed as the organization’s new president. He will take over the reigns from outgoing president Mr. Doran Dixon for the next twelve months. A president elect for the 2010-2011 period will also be selected at the conference.
Officiating Minister, the Right Reverend Dr. Alfred Reid, Lord Bishop of Jamaica, in an ear riveting sermon, reminded the congregation that “Jesus was a teacher” and “only apostles and prophets’ come before teachers, which is “quite a compliment”. Teachers, he said, “have traditionally been the primary nation builders, building the nation block by block, student by student, community by community”. He said it has been pointed out that communities where teachers reside oppose to commuting from the outside, are much better off. He however questioned, “is it unfair to say that if our politicians, technocrats and power brokers are failing us”, it is also a failure of our teachers since they too were educated by teachers. Bishop Reid said he wonders if it is too far fetch to say that if we have lost our young people who have gotten involved in criminal activities and even terrorists acts, if our education system should not be held responsible. He said, we need to pay tribute to the teachers of old, who had very little resources and thought students in little class rooms portioned only by a blackboard and produced students who went on to make meaningful contributions to nation building.
Bishop Reid warned the teachers that “education is not child’s play” but something that all of us need throughout our lives. Education, he said, “as in any worth while endeavour, requires strength of character, clarity of vision and fixity of purpose”.
Incoming President Michael Stewart told PACE TV, one of his first task will be to get on board all the stake holders, private sector, parents, leaders and teachers who understand that education is crucial to moving Jamaica forward.
He said, there will be a special emphasis on getting the media and promoters of dance hall music involved in promoting more wholesome lyrics and messages in their productions.
Parents, he said will also be targeted to take more responsibility for their children’s education and discipline.
In attendance were former Minister of Education, Mrs. Maxine Henry-Wilson, Mayor of Mandeville, Mrs. Brenda Ramsay, Special Advisor to the Minister of Education, Mr. Alphanso Davis, Former JTA President Ruel Reid who represented the Minister of Education the Honourable Andrew Holness, among others including Mr. Cecil Hodge President of the British Virgin Island’s Teachers Union.
Angelo Laurence
gun salute leaves one dead
Two policemen, who were said to have been involved in a gunsalute episode at a dance in south Manchester, were in court on Agust 12th. to explain what took place as they saw it.
One man was shot and killed in the incident and two others were in hospital being treated for gun shot wounds.
The gun happy policemen decided to give a gun salute at a dance in Woodlawn district near Cross Keys.
A bullet from one of the police cow boys' gun struck Errol Allen, who is in his forties, in the head killing him. After the incident the policemen, a corporal and a constable, took flight in their police vehicle, which crashed in a ditch. Mrs. Inez Allen, the mother of the deceased, said it is ironic that it was her son Errol who was killed, as he has been having a conflict with some members of the Cross Keys Police station.
The two policemen, Cpl. Wavel Hyman of the Cross Keys police station and Constable Jude Bryan of the Police Mobile Reseve Unit, have been charged with the death of Allen and are now out on $150,000 bail each.
Jps
The majority of Jamaicans are wondering when will they be treated like normal human beings instead of like their ancestors on the slave plantations.
In a rational and people first society, one would not expect the light company to be out in force disconnecting its customers electricity connection during a sustained power outage for unpaid bills. On Monday July 27th. there was a massive power outage in and around Mandeville in Manchester, as well as other parts of the parish. To the surprise of many, JPS personnel were showing up in the dark offices asking for meter boxes so they could disconnect it from the power company’s supply line. In some cases, the customers did not even receive the bill in question or owed nothing. While one must agree that the JPS should be paid for the usage of its power, the brutal and hoggish way it operates must be eliminated .
When the electricity power did return, some persons, who were disconnected during the outage, did not realize that they were disconnected as they thought there was still a power outage. Some residents contend , that sort of behavour could not take place in certain
areas, where the movers and shakers or descendants of former slave masters live.
The question on the lips of many remains—Who is looking out for native Jamaicans?Richard Chen
Former Vice President of the Private Sector Organization (PSOJ) and director of Super Plus Foods, Richard Chen, is contending that Jamaica should have “swallowed the bitter pill”, and gone to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) ;long before now.
Mr. Chen, who was addressing members of the Rotary Club of Mandeville on Tuesday July 21, said the United States is talking about economic recovery, while we (Jamaica) have yet to come to grips with “full effects” of the world economic crisis.
He said, the full impact of the crisis has not been felt by Jamaica yet, indicating that we still have little time to cushion the effects. Mr. Chen said from as early as November last year, the PSOJ has been calling on Government to return to the IMF as it was evident that the country would be facing a balance of payment problem. He said the budget presented by Finance Minister Audley Shaw, is a mere “survival budget” and while the country is in a “survival mode”, it cannot address the social and productive needs.
Wide spread growth is what is needed to lift us out of our economic depression, he said, but to date he has not seen any change in government policy that would change the present “growth direction of the country”. Mr. Chen stressed that life could be much comfortable for Jamaicans if we had fixed some of the “simple things” and became internationally competitive. At this juncture, he said, we need an economic policy that is geared towards development, labour productivity, security of property and person and a system of incentives. He took particular aim at the justice system, which he said needs to be independent, backed up by the rule of law, as “people must feel safe”. While Mr. Chen made no specific charge against the justice system, it was clear he was not satisfied with its present dispensation of justice, pointing out however, that this is crucial to economic stability. “I have not seen any government that have taken the difficult steps to solve our core problems”, said the Chen, who asked the Rotarians to interrupt him at anytime they had a concern with what he was saying (none did).
Chen, who added that, all Jamaicans love their country, lamented that we have, “too long delayed doing the things we need to do” and the pain that the IMF will bring to us is our own doings. Jamaica he said is the “most studied in the world”, be it our economy or crime problem. According to the Super Plus boss every time a study is done and a report made, the findings go unheeded or the report “ignored” by the authorities. This he said despite the fact they are done at great cost.
In response to a question, Mr. Chen said if he were the Finance Minister, his first order of business would be to “tackle tax reform”. This is an area once properly administered he said, would correct many of our ills in terms of a level playing field.