130 Labour Day Projects Registered in St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland

Approximately 130 Labour Day projects have been registered with the Labour Day secretariats in the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland.
Checks made on Friday, (May 20) revealed that Westmoreland leads the way with 55 registered projects, St. James follows with 52 while Hanover has 30 projects planned.
With the fever of volunteerism running high within these western parishes, however, expectations are that an even larger number of projects will be carried out by various community groups. Registered projects include tree planting, painting of pedestrian crossings, painting of schools, cleaning of drains, cleaning up of beach areas, and bushing of roadways, among others.
Labour Day 2005 is being observed under the theme ‘Prepare for Disaster, Recover Faster’, with emphasis being placed on drain cleaning and renovation of emergency shelters. This with a view to minimizing the effects which natural disasters such as hurricanes can have on the population and infrastructure of the country.
In Hanover, the Labour Day planning committee has earmarked the renovation of sanitary facilities at four Basic Schools as its parish project. The schools chosen are Mount Hannah, Clifton, Pondside and Bamboo Missionary Basic schools.
Some $300,000 has been allocated for work on the schools, and according to Mayor of Lucea, Lester Crooks, who has been holding meetings with the community members, all four communities have been mobilized, and are highly motivated to embark on the projects.
He said a number of tree planting projects would also be carried out, to counter the effects of the several bush-fires that took place throughout the parish during the drought period earlier in the year.
Westmoreland will be renovating the Bogg Community Centre, located in the eastern end of the parish as its parish Labour Day project. This is expected to cost some $120,000, and should see repairs being carried out on the windows, doors, bathrooms, and roofing. The facility will also be painted and landscaped. The Bogg Community Centre was used as an emergency shelter following the passing of Hurricane Ivan.
Service clubs and other community groups throughout the parish have stated their intentions to carry out a number of other projects as Labour Day activities.
In St. James, the Amity Hall Community Centre, also an emergency shelter, will be renovated. A budget of $160,000 has been tabled to carry out the repairs to the centre, which will involve work on the roof, doors, windows, electrical and plumbing fixtures. A number of environmental and other community projects are also to be carried out within that parish.