Preparation for Labour Day in High Gear in the West

As preparation for Labour Day 2006 gets into high gear in the west, the Labour Day planning committees in the parishes of St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland are reporting a combined total of 82 registered projects up to Friday, May 19. Expectations are that by Labour Day (May 23), that figure should be much higher.
In keeping with the national theme, ‘Jamaica’s Beauty-Our Duty’, with a special focus on town squares and public spaces, all three planning committees have chosen the town square in their respective parish capital as the main Labour Day project for this year.
There are 27 registered projects in St. James, with the historic Sam Sharpe Square as the parish project. The scope of the work to be carried out includes the refurbishing and re-activation of the fountain, planting of flowers, pruning of trees, painting and general beautification of the area, cleaning of drains and nearby gullies, and repainting road markings in the area.
Public and Community Relations Officer in the St. James Parish Council, Suzette Brown, told JIS News that the Labour Day committee, chaired by the Secretary/Manager of that council, has been very active in its organization of activities for the day. She pointed out that several local businesses and organizations are collaborating in plans for the day.
“Come Tuesday, we are expecting a lot to be done, and we are expecting the support of the people of Montego Bay and the rest of St. James,” she said.
In Hanover, Mayor of Lucea, Lester Crooks, said that the aim was to carry out a project which would have a lasting effect, even beyond Labour Day. As such, the parish project, which is the beautification of Bustamante Square in the town of Lucea, would also involve the planting of over 200 trees along the North Coast highway corridor from Hopewell to Green Island.
Mayor Crooks pointed out that most of the 28 registered projects in the parish were in keeping with the national theme, while the others were improvement to schools, cleaning of roadways, assisting the indigent, and painting of pedestrian crossings.
The Labour Day planning committee in Westmoreland, with its 27 registered projects, will be working in Norman Square in the town of Savanna-la-Mar, as the parish project. Work will also be carried out jointly on the Guy Ottey Park, also in Savanna-la-Mar, as part of the parish project.
Co-Chair of the Westmoreland Labour Day planning committee and Secretary/Manager of the Westmoreland Parish Council, Patricia Sinclair-Stair, said that a number of organizations in the parish would be embarking on projects within communities, not necessarily in keeping with the national theme.