Major Facelift for Black River on Labour Day

The town of Black River in St. Elizabeth is to be given a major facelift on Labour Day, May 23.

Selected as the parish project for the day, members of the St. Elizabeth Parish Council and the general citizenry are expected to turn out in their numbers to bush the roadways leading into the town, clear debris, and carry out painting activities.

“We will be doing preparatory work before Labour Day and we are expecting the citizens to come out and partner with us to clean up the town,” said Mayor of Black River, Everton Fisher, at Thursday’s (May 10) monthly meeting of the council.

He said the local authority has allocated some $200,000 for drain cleaning, while a number of business have been approached to assist with the Labour Day activity.

Mayor Fisher, who is also Chairman of the council, said the aim is to improve the general aesthetic of the town for the 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations.

“We are expecting all the major roadways leading into the town to be beautified. We are paying special attention to Independence Park, which will be our centre of attraction for the Independence celebrations,” he informed.           

“We are set to do some good beautification at the park, to bring home a sense of nationhood into our parish. We expect the citizens of the parish to be on board as there will be various activities across the parish, but our centerpiece will be Black River,” he added.

The Council has appointed a committee chaired by former Parish Manager for the Social Development Commission (SDC), Sandra Emanuel, to plan and coordinate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary events in the parish.

Mayor Fisher is also urging residents to clean up their own surroundings for Labour Day. He informed that on May 19, all councillors and administrative staff will be cleaning up the grounds of the council, “and we will also move out to our respective divisions on Labour Day.”

Labour Day 2012 will be celebrated under the theme: ‘Step Forward…Make Jamaica Beautiful’, with emphasis on beautifying the country for Jamaica 50.

By Garfield L. Angus, JIS Reporter