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Coffee Festival to Assist Cedar Valley School, St.Thomas

February 18, 2009

The Full Story

Proceeds of a coffee festival held recently in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas, are to be donated to the Cedar Valley Primary and Junior High School, to aid in the erection of a perimeter fence, as part of the school’s security management strategy.
Some $80,000, proceeds from two festivals, will be given to the school at a special handing over ceremony during the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) meeting on Monday (February 23).
President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Cedar Valley branch, Patricia Greenleaf-Taffe, told JIS News that it was observed that the school was being invaded at will, or used as a walking path by friendly and unfriendly characters, posing a serious risk to students and school property.
When the suggestion was made, at a meeting of members of the JAS Cedar Valley branch, it received unanimous approval.
“Passing every day and seeing the opening [up] of the school, and idlers come in, I went to the meeting and threw it out, and they said it was an idea and, since it was a Coffee area, we could have a coffee festival [to raise the funds],” she said.
Principal of the school, Carmen Donegan, said she was grateful for the community’s involvement. She added that the money would provide a good start to what could be considered the first phase of the fencing/security management project.
The fencing, estimated to cost a total of $3 million, will be the school’s Labour Day Project for May 23.
“This money is really a drop in the bucket, but it’s a start. We plan to have a community work day, where people come in and assist on Labour Day. So, if we can start, we can get other people on board,” she told JIS News.
Questioned on how the project would commence, considering that the area to be fenced was large and not all the money had been acquired, Mrs. Donegan said that a specific and strategic starting point had been earmarked.
“There is a corner that has a track, that actually comes on to the compound, that people actually come through. We want to start at that corner. Once we start, others will see that we are on the way and it will really send a message that we are about to fence the school,” she noted.
She added that they would start and go as far as they could, as it would enhance the security management at the school and benefit the communities the school serves.

Last Updated: August 30, 2013

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