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A total of 112 health facilities across the island were damaged as a result of Hurricane Dean at an estimated cost of $168.4 million. This is contained in an Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) release on damage assessment of the island's critical facilities, which was issued on Wednesday (Aug. 29). According to the release, 29 hospitals and...

Region Four of the Ministry of Education and Youth has awarded three community groups, Tryall Trust Fund in Hanover; Negril Education Environment Trust in Westmoreland, and Kiwanis Club of Providence in St. James, for outstanding support and contribution to education throughout the region. Citations and plaques were presented to the groups at an awards ceremony, which was held at the...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Lands has been implementing an aggressive prevention programme in Portland, to control the spread of the Pink Mealy Bug. This bug, which was first discovered in the parish in June of this year, has proven to be extremely destructive to agricultural production.Crops particularly vulnerable to its effects include ornamentals, vegetation, sour sop, ackee, avocado and...

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller is to convene a meeting shortly with a number of agencies and organizations, to identify no-build areas for housing, alternative safer sites and develop a programme for relocation and zoning. "This will have the full force of the law," the Prime Minister emphasized, during a national broadcast on Wednesday (Aug. 29). "We cannot provide for...

Farmers in St. Thomas are being advised to clear their fields of weeds, fallen branches and other debris in preparation for the receipt of relief supplies, which will be provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands next week. Following the extensive damage to the agricultural sector as a result of Hurricane Dean, the Ministry has allocated $90 million for...

The Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has granted the National Water Commission (NWC) a 30-day suspension of the Quality of Service Standards, thus relieving the company of obligations to comply and compensate customers for breaches in service quality caused by damage and other uncontrollable factors related to Hurricane Dean. The standards were suspended due to 'Force Majeure' or exceptional conditions,...

The National Shelter Establishment and Management Plan, which is to be refined by head of the reconstruction effort, Kingsley Thomas, will identify strategically located safe buildings throughout the island to be used as shelters in the event of a national disaster. This was announced by Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, in her address to the nation on Wednesday(Aug. 29). "We...

On behalf of the officials and staff of the Ministry of Education and Youth and we would like to convey our sincerest sympathies to all those who suffered damage from the recent passage of Hurricane Dean. Even as we thank God for sparing us from the worst ravages of the storm, we know that many of you, our fellow Jamaicans...

The Development Bank of Jamaica Limited is pleased to announce a special emergency loan fund of J$100 million to assist farmers who were affected by the recent passage of Hurricane Dean. Milverton Reynolds, Managing Director of the Development Bank of Jamaica Limited (DBJ) in making the announcement states, "Jamaica's agricultural sector is of vital importance to the economy and being...

Twenty two high school students, who are children of employees of Sandals Hotels across Jamaica, have been awarded scholarships worth an estimated $550,000. The scholarships were made available through Sandals and Beaches Hotels, at the 12th Annual Community Scholarship Awards presentation, held at Sandals Montego Bay Hotel on (August 29). Each recipient of a scholarship received approximately $25,000 to assist...

The Governor-General, His Excellency, the Most Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall, is pleased to announce the appointment of Public Defender, Windsor Earl Witter and Deputy Solicitor General, Patrick Windsor Foster, as Queen's Counsels (QC) with effect from August 27, 2007. The appointments are on the recommendation of Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller.

Hundreds of residents from the community of Flankers in St. James are to benefit from a $500,000 donation from Sandals Resort International, which will be used to effect repairs to the basic school and the health centre. These community facilities received extensive damage to their roofs by heavy winds associated with Hurricane Dean, which devastated sections of the island on...