ACROSS JAMAICA
35 recruited to Port Security Corps
MONTEGO BAY, St James — Thirty-five people have been recruited to the Port Security Corps (PSC) after successfully completing a four-week training course, which started on April 22.
At the graduation ceremony held recently at the Calvary Baptist Church, in Montego Bay, Commander John McFarlane, managing director of the PSC, urged the new recruits to exhibit unwavering commitment and integrity in carrying out their tasks. “Perhaps the single most important ingredient of your job is integrity, and integrity starts inside of you,” he said.
He noted that by helping to secure the nation’s air and seaports, the recruits had chosen a profession that had significant implications for the development of Jamaica.
He told them that due to the nature of the jobs, there would be attempts to corrupt them, but it would be a matter of personal choice if they allowed themselves to be influenced into corruption. “Integrity cannot be forced upon you, you cannot be coerced into having personal integrity, it’s a matter of your own personal choice what your value system is,” Commander McFarlane said.
The PSC was incorporated in 1991, but its services have since been expanded to include the provision of security for the major tourist resorts in the island, Government residences and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company.
Cops, check the voters’ list
KINGSTON — Members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force have been asked to check the police voters’ list at their local stations. “Instructions as to what to check for on the list and any corrections to be made are to be included on the forms, which accompany the list,” the Electoral Office of Jamaica said in a release.
Returns, it said, are to be made by Friday, May 24.
Conference on library service for the blind May 25-26
OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Jamaica will host the first Caribbean Conference on ‘Library Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired’ at the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios, St Ann from May 25 to 26.
This conference will precede the 32nd annual meeting of the Association for the Caribbean University Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) and the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA), which is scheduled to be held at the same venue from May 27 to June 1.
Under the theme — ‘Accommodating All: Libraries and Education in the Digital Age’ — the two-day conference will include presentations and demonstrations of technological innovations, which will sharpen the awareness of participants about issues that impact on the provision of information services for the blind.
Coastline to be cleaned in Hanover today
HOPEWELL, Hanover — The Labour Day project for Hanover will be the cleaning of the coastline between Hopewell in the east and Lucea in the west.
Chairman of the Labour Day planning committee, Mayor of Lucea, Councillor Lloyd Hill, told JIS News that the project was a very challenging one. “The extent to which we are successful will not manifest itself until after Labour Day, but I am sure it is worth the effort,” he said.
He pointed out that there were communities along the coast in Hanover, and that the committee would be working with several community organisations to clean the coastline. He also noted that these groups have pledged to maintain the areas once they have been cleaned.
41 Labour Day projects for Portland/St Mary
PORT ANTONIO, Portland — A total of 41 projects have been registered with the St Mary and Portland parish councils for Labour Day, today.
Of the total, 30 have been registered in St Mary, with 11 in Portland. The projects involve the erection of community notice boards, construction of water tanks, laying of pipelines, refurbishing of playingfields and the cleaning-up and refurbishing of public buildings.
Focus on Fern Gully in St Ann
OCHO RIOS, St Ann — The cleaning-up of Fern Gully, an eco-tourism area in St Ann, is the parish project for Labour Day.
Chloe Hosang, community development officer for the Social Development Commission (SDC), told JIS News that the area would be cleaned-up and additional ferns would be planted by Fern Gully Restoration Limited, a body set up to help preserve the protected area.
Friends of the Sea (FOS), a non-government organisation located at Pineapple Place Ocho Rios will also participate in this project.
FOS executive director, Cathy Byles, said the organisation’s general focus would be to “volunteer our service by identifying trees at Fern Gully that we see as a danger to the area, especially since the recent heavy rains”.
Other projects identified in the parish for Labour Day include the cleaning-up of roads in Bamboo, by the Optimist Club of Bamboo in collaboration with the Bamboo Primary and Junior High School Environmental Club, and the establishing of a postal agency in the community of Colegate.
Courts’ Ocho Rios branch will also renovate the canteen at the Sturge Town All-Age School, and the community centres in Hines Town and Green Hill will be completed by citizens.
Labour Day is being observed under the theme “Jamaica Nice and Clean… and Keep it Clean”.