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With the shortage of water and electricity affecting many persons islandwide, Education Minister, Maxine Henry-Wilson has given the go ahead for students to wear casual clothes to school, while these problems are properly sorted out. The Minister made the disclosure at a press briefing yesterday (September 15), at the Office of the Prime Minister. "I know that parents are very...

At least three bank accounts have been opened in Toronto and Ottawa, Canada, to accept monetary donations for the victims of Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica. The Jamaican High Commission has opened an account at the Royal Bank, situated at the corner of Bank and Queen Streets in Ottawa. The account number is 1014729. The Jamaican Consulate General in Toronto has...

The Jamaican Community in Atlanta held an emergency town hall meeting on Sept.11 to discuss their response to the island's recovery and reconstruction effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. The meeting, which was held at the Hillside Presbyterian Church in Decatur, Georgia was convened by Honorary Consul Vin Martin, and was attended by over 100 concerned nationals and friends...

The Jamaican community in the United Kingdom has been mobilized to support the relief and rebuilding efforts underway in Jamaica in the wake of Hurricane Ivan, which severely affected the island. The Jamaican High Commission in London has established a relief fund and Jamaicans and friends of Jamaica are being encouraged to support the effort. Donations to this fund are...

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Don McKinnon, has called on members of the Commonwealth family and international organisations to assist Caribbean states devastated by Hurricane Ivan. Mr. McKinnon, who expressed his sorrow over the lives that have been lost and the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ivan in parts of the Caribbean, particularly Grenada and Jamaica, said the Commonwealth was particularly concerned about...

The Hanover Parish Council has reported that most of the roads in the parish have been cleared of fallen trees and other debris from Hurricane Ivan and were now open to vehicular traffic. Alfred Graham, Secretary/Manager of the Council, told JIS News, that the Ginger Hill road in the Riverside/Kingsvale area, which was blocked by landslide, was still impassable. "This...

Most of the roadways in Portland, which were rendered impassable by the passage of Hurricane Ivan, have been cleared by National Works Agency (NWA) and the Portland Parish Council, to accommodate single lane traffic. Both entities have been working closely in the aftermath of the hurricane to clear the roads, which were blocked by fallen trees, landslides and various types...

A voucher system is being established to facilitate the distribution of relief supplies in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. Still in the development phase, the idea is to supply persons with a "food-stamp like voucher", to which is attached a monetary value that can be exchanged for food and other supplies at merchants across the island. Addressing the JIS weekly...

The National Works Agency (NWA) had been authorized to lead in the clearance and repair of all roads whether they were main roads or those under the control of local government bodies. Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, who made the announcement at the post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Monday (Sept.13), said that the decision had become necessary...

A Hurricane Ivan Relief Fund has been established at the Jamaica Consulate in New York to assist Jamaicans affected by Hurricane Ivan, which hit the island on the weekend. This establishment of the fund came after a meeting with Consul General, Basil Bryan and Governor of the State of New York, George Pataki on September 10. The meeting was also...

Several persons in Cave Valley, St. Ann have returned home, now that the floodwaters caused by Hurricane Ivan, has receded. Due to flooding of the area, some 70 persons took shelter at the Clarksonville All-age School in the parish. Shelter Manager, Marlene Reittie, told JIS News that persons from Cedar Valley, Cumberland and Clarksonville also came to the shelter. She...

Prime Minister P. J. Patterson began a tour of hurricane-affected areas of the island yesterday (Sept.14) starting with Clarendon, which was one of the worst hit parishes. Among the areas visited were Old Harbour Bay and Portland Cottage, where five persons died after a storm surge swept the community. Today, he is expected to journey to the parish of Westmoreland....