Morant Bay Gets New Clock

Nestled overhead on the busy Queen Street in the town of Morant Bay, St. Thomas, is a new digital clock which has been giving the Eastern parish a new look and offering much usability for residents.

The project to instal the clock was led by Mayor of Morant Bay, Councillor Hubert Williams.

Overseeing the installation recently, Mr. Williams said: “It’s a good look; it’s a long time coming… our residents have been asking for a clock for a very long time, and fortunately, we have finished the installation.”

According to the Mayor, the mounting of the piece of infrastructure is more than just for beautification purposes, as it is essentially an act of restoring hope to the residents of the historic parish.

“People might ask the question, ‘why a town clock; everybody has a phone’, but we are restoring hope to our people. You go to so many other towns and you see a town clock but yet, since 1951 when we lost our town clock in the storm, we haven’t been able to put back a clock in place, so I am very proud and happy as the Mayor to be able to install a new town clock and I know the people of St. Thomas will love it,” Mr. Williams explained.

Indeed, residents with whom JIS News spoke were welcoming of the latest addition to the parish.

Farmer, Erald Bailey, who resides in Leith Hall, said: “It’s a very good move to put a clock in the town square because it shows the upliftment of St. Thomas on a whole. If you’re passing and you don’t know the time, you don’t have to ask anybody; you can just look up. Not everyone has a phone, and instead of going in your pocket you can just cast your eyes up.”

Mr. Bailey hailed the fact that the clock also tells the temperature, making it even more useful.

JIS News also spoke to a nurse at the Princess Margaret Hospital, who is a frequent user of the town.

The healthcare professional, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “It (the digital clock) is a big plus for Morant Bay… . We need to get the time when we are in the Bay. Other towns have clocks; why didn’t Morant Bay have one?”

When asked about the usability of the device considering that the time is readily available on all phones and most handheld electronic devices, she said that there are times when citizens may not have a personal device on hand and would have to rely on the town clock.

“I forgot my phone the other day, and if it was there at the time, I could have known the time,” the nurse said.