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OXFAM international, the non governmental group, which works to end poverty worldwide, will be assisting the disaster relief effort in Clarendon, with immediate focus on the provision of water and sanitation. The team is in the island at the request of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team. Rohan Blake, Director of Planning for the Clarendon Parish Council,...

The National Works Agency (NWA) has begun work on the Yallahs Fording, in an effort to restore clear access to and from St. Thomas via this route, later this week. Vando Palmer, Communications and Customer Relations Manager at the NWA said that the agency, in collaboration with Bouygues Travaux Publics and Pre-Mix Company, began reconstructing the Yallahs Fording on Sunday,...

The National Works Agency (NWA) is assuring the public that every effort had been made to make the thoroughfare through the Bog Walk Gorge safe for driving, and there is no need for alarm. This is to quell safety concerns expressed by motorists, while traversing the gorge. Acknowledging that the Bog Walk Gorge endured a "battering" during the passage of...

Much progress has been made to clear roads in Westmoreland, which were affected by Hurricane Ivan, almost two weeks ago. More than 80 per cent of the 90 affected roadways have been cleared to accommodate vehicular traffic. Superintendent of Roads and Works at the Westmoreland Parish Council, Albert Stewart, told JIS News that the St. Paul's Road from Negril Spot...

The Hanover Parish Council has distributed over 1,500 packages of foodstuff to persons in shelters and others in need since the passage of Hurricane Ivan. Secretary/Manager of the Council, Alfred Graham, told JIS News that care was taken to ensure that the items were distributed equitably and only to those most in need. Of the 3,000 persons that sought refuge...

The Clarendon Parish Disaster Relief Fund was launched on Monday (Sept.20) with an initial contribution of $70,000. The fund has been created to respond to major disasters affecting the parish but will be used immediately, to provide assistance to persons who have been seriously affected by Hurricane Ivan. At the launch held at the Clarendon Parish Council, Mayor of May...

Students at the Brown's Town High School in St. Ann have embarked on a chair production project to assist that institution, and others, in remedying any shortage of furniture, which may be experienced during the new school year. The programme, which started some four months ago, saw some of the students from the metal work and welding department, working tirelessly...

One of Jamaica's ace entertainers, deejay Rodney Pryce, more popularly known as 'Bounty Killer', will be the chief participant in the St. James Junior Council's Youth Forum, to be held at the Montego Bay Civic Centre on Tuesday (September 28). The artiste will head a five-member panel of speakers at the forum, entitled, 'Reasoning: Issues affecting St. James Youths'. The...

About 3,000 farmers who sell coffee to the Blue Mountain Coffee Co-operative (BMCC) in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas have suffered losses as a result of flooding and strong winds associated with Hurricane Ivan. "All the farmers in all the districts have suffered some level of damage, which is going to have a short, medium and long term impact on the...

The Ministry of Health is reporting that there has been a slight increase in the cases of gastroenteritis in the parishes of Manchester and Clarendon, which were badly hit during the onslaught by Hurricane Ivan. Speaking to JIS News, Dr. Deanna Ashley, Director of Health Promotion and Protection in the Ministry of Health disclosed that although the number of cases...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has emphasized that while government fully supported a liberalized market-place, price gouging would not be tolerated and if necessary, powers under existing laws would be enforced to prevent consumers from being taken advantage of. Addressing yesterday's (September 21) sitting of the House of Representatives, Mr. Patterson noted that a September 16 survey conducted by the Consumers...

The National Works Agency (NWA) has now opened almost all the island's major arterial roads, with the assistance of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), the Parish Councils, and the Jamaica Fire Brigade. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson made the announcement at yesterday's (September 21) sitting of the House of Representatives. He said there had been 928 complaints of road...