FALMOUTH, Trelawny:

The Trelawny Parish Council focused on two major topics at their monthly meeting last Thursday.

First, the council deplored the unsanitary conditions of the Falmouth Market. According to Dr Marci Campbell, senior medical health officer for the parish, the problem needed to be addressed. The area surrounding the market is engulfed by solid waste, including human and animal excrement.

Mayor Collin Gager said he was aware of the market's state, but urged constituents to hold strain as the solid waste department moved to clear away the garbage.

Second, the council, through Mayor Gager, expressed deep concern about the incidence of squatting in the vicinity of the proposed site for the Falmouth pier development. He added that squatting usually caused an escalation in crime.

- Marc King

BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth:

Newly elected councillor for the Junction division, the Jamaica Labour Party's Cetany Holness, has called on the St Elizabeth Parish Council and the parish's fire department to lobby for a fire truck.

This, he says, has become necessary because the fire station in the densely populated Junction area has been without a fire unit for the last three weeks.

According to the councillor, droughts cause frequent bush fires.

With fire high on the agenda, water was not far behind, as the superintendent of roads and works for the council, Kenroy Stewart, said 80 per cent of the catchment tanks in the parish were in need of repair.

Stewart said the catchment tanks across the parish serve some 82 communities.

- Rayon Dyer

PORT ANTONIO, Portland:

The Portland Parish Council is to implement a zero-tolerance policy on sellers in the Musgrave Market with outstanding vending fees.

Mayor of Port Antonio, Floyd Patterson, disclosed at the monthly sitting of the council last Thursday, that the council would be adopting hard-line measures on vendors' arrears in the wake of repairs to the market.

He explained that the council has now taken the decision not to allow persons who are in arrears to re-enter the market unless all accounts are settled.

The Tourism Product Development Company has contributed $23 million towards rehabilitation work. Based on an estimate done last year, approximately $42 million is needed to carry out extensive repairs to the entire market. The parish council is to provide the remaining portion.

While the other eight councillors have agreed to the new measure, a decision was made that vendors be informed of the policy ahead of the proposed implementation.

- Gareth Davis Sr

May Pen, Clarendon:

The Clarendon Parish Council meeting was last Thursday marred by bickering along political lines. Among the topics most vociferously discussed was the early childhood reform.

According to People's National Party Councillor, Sean Barnswell, the $100,000 allocation to each councillor to carry out the reforms was not enough to stop some schools from closing because they would not be able to meet the Ministry of Education's standards.

According to Mayor Milton Brown, the call for more money was not warranted. He suggested that councillors refer schools in dire need of further funding to the Minister of Education.

The issue of Hurricane Dean relief was also a major concern. Jamaica Labour Party Councillor Winston Maragh complained that funds were not allocated fairly and that persons in the Rocky Point division had not been helped.

Developments on the council's website, which seeks to give information about the parish with a view to attracting international tourism investment, were one of the bright points of the meeting.

The council also had good news about the rehabilitation of filter roads in the parish, which are weeks away from completion.

- Angella Chin

St Ann's Bay, St Ann:

Last Thursday's monthly meeting of the St Ann Parish Council erupted into a stormy affair, with councillors from opposing sides hurling abusive language at each other, forcing the mayor to temporarily adjourn the meeting.

So noisy was the closed-door meeting that it disrupted proceedings in the St Ann Circuit Court, which were taking place in the adjoining courtroom of the St Ann's Bay Courthouse.

High court judge, Justice Paulette Williams, was forced to leave her bench and walk over to the council chamber to temper their discussions.

The quarrel was triggered by a statement from former mayor Delroy Giscombe, who charged that the new People's National Party-led administration was victimising some employees of the council.

Giscombe said the latest victims were a part-time driver and a cleaner.

Mayor Ivan Anderson hit back by telling Giscombe that he should not talk about victimisation because he has evidence of several cases of victimisation which took place under Giscombe's leadership of the council.

The meeting resumed 35 minutes later.