Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer
A pile-up of garbage on a street in Lucea, Hanover. - photo by Claudia Gardner
Lucea, Hanover :
Hanover parish councillors have called on the Hanover Health Department to take steps to prosecute supermarket operators, who they say are breaching the Public Health and Solid Waste Management Acts.
The councillors made their comments during the regular monthly meeting of the council on Thursday, following complaints from Chief Public Health Inspector Derrick Storer that rodents were again threatening to overrun the town.
"I went into a supermarket and it was like a rat race in there, sir; literally a rat race!" said councillor of the Lucea division, Easton Edwards. "I saw rats running across the floor and I had to wonder, what is happening? If we are buying from these places, how can rats be running as freely as they do in these supermarkets? So, I am asking sir, take a closer look at the town, so we can have some improvements to that."
He added: "What we are looking at is indescribable. It is the capital town. We are thinking of making it a tourist town. Have mercy man! We need to let our supermarket owners (and) entrepreneurs know that, in terms of garbage disposal, they are responsible for how they keep their garbage."
Mr. Edwards said it was sad and that something had to be put in place to charge these offenders for littering the town.
Derrick Foster, councillor for the Hopewell division, said residents had complained that the owners of at least one supermarket were dumping garbage in a gully in the town of Hopewell. He urged the health department to serve notices on the perpetrators.
Rodent-baiting exercise
Almost 2,000 rats were killed in the Hanover Health Department's last major rodent-baiting exercise, held over a two-week period in Lucea in 2003. Notices were also served on owners of supermarkets, food establishments and derelict buildings which were viewed as the main breeding-grounds for rats at the time.
First meeting marked by unity
Manchester
The Manchester Parish Council's first meeting of the year, under the leadership of new Mayor Brenda Ramsay, was characterised by camaraderie and seriousness about the task of getting the people's business accomplished.
The first order of business was the swearing-in of the Jamaica Labour Party councillor for the Porus division, Vincent Copeland, which was delayed because of several challenges by his opponent, the People's National Party's Beverly Swaby. However, like in previous meetings, a significant portion of the time was taken up with councillor after councillor lodging complaints about the inability of the National Water Commission to supply some residents with water.
- Angelo Laurence
Full council ready in St ThomasSt. Thomas
As the St. Thomas Parish Council got its full slate of councillors in place, with the swearing-in of Councillor Maud Turgott - the Yallahs second timer who was not available to take the oath of office in December, Council Chairman and Mayor of Morant Bay, Harold Brown, has signalled that it will not be business as usual.
In sounding the alarm, Councillor Brown said all the agencies of government providing services to the people of the parish must get ready and be prepared to give value for money.
The mayor said elected representatives would no longer carry the responsibility for everything that goes wrong or for duties not performed to expectations. He also noted that the public should be educated about the role of the parish council.
The mayor also advised the council that the public health committee had been increased from four to eight members and the planning committee would now include all 10 councillors.
- Arthur Green
Portland seeks answers from road contractors
Portland
Complaints from motorists and other residents, about the condition of roads in Portland, dominated the monthly parish council meeting on Thursday.
The motorists' concerns, echoed by councillors at the meeting, suggested that the problems surfaced as early as July last year, when segment three of the North Coast Highway began.
According to the council, work on the segment, which runs from Ocho Rios to Port Antonio, has led to hazardous muddy conditions for motorists when it rains and dust when it is dry.
One issues in the council was whether the work being done is supervised properly.
Mayor Floyd Patterson has pledged to find solutions to the problems being encountered by residents in Windsor, Hart Hill, Buff Bay, Orange Bay, Hope Bay, and St. Margaret's Bay, as well as the motoring public.
- Gareth Davis Sr.
Councillors to work for interest of the peopleSt. Catherine
Horace Brown, the last of the 40 councillors for the St. Catherine Parish Council, was sworn in at the first general sitting of the council for 2008.
At the monthly sitting, all the councillors promised to work in the best interest of the persons who elected them.
Among the immediate plans is the starting of a computerised ticketing system in and around Spanish Town for persons who park in designated areas.
- Rasbert Turner
Palmer says no to building-fee hikeSt. Elizabeth
At his first meeting as Mayor of Black River and chairman of the St. Elizabeth Parish Council, attorney-at-law Jeremy Palmer raised strong objection to any immediate increase in the parish's building fees.
The mayor, speaking at the monthly council meeting on Thursday, said increases could not be justified until a proper structure was put in place.
"This means that there would be better inspection from the building officers, inspection of all building sites as well as ensuring that the council have a clear idea of the amount of buildings going up across the parish," Mayor Palmer said.
- Rayon Dyer
Fresh views from Falmouth mayorTrelawny
The new Mayor of Falmouth, Councillor Colin Junior Gager, marked the start of his administration by attempting to bring fresh views to many of the regular activities of the Trelawny Parish Council at his first monthly meeting at the Falmouth Town Hall.
He said on Thursday that he wanted all the councillors to attend meetings with their notebook or laptop computers because tech-nology is the way to go. He even went as far as to request that a councillor investigate the informa-tion technology classes being offered at HEART Trust/NTA with a view to educating those councillors who are not yet computer literate. He said the computer should be seen as a tool and not just an additional expense.
- Richard Morais
