EXCELSIOR HIGH Alum, DALE VIRGO: The Dale Virgo story Musician, producer talks about his work...has worked with a number of high-profile acts such as Rihanna (on Crazy Little Thing Called Love); GYPTIAN, British band Florence and The Machine, Canadian rapper Drake, Sean Kingston, Cee Lo Green and Amy Winehouse.

By Kevin Jackson Observer Writer  Friday, July 11, 2014  
TEN years ago, Dale Virgo was a student at the University of Technology, a teenaged 'techie' with big dreams of making it in the music business.
Today, the 29-year-old musician/producer is studio manager and resident engineer at Gee Jam studio in Port Antonio.
Dale "Dizzle" Virgo
There, he has worked with a number of high-profile acts such as Rihanna (on Crazy Little Thing Called Love); British band Florence and The Machine, Canadian rapper Drake, Sean Kingston, Cee Lo Green and Amy Winehouse.
A project close to Virgo's heart is resurgent mento band, the Jolly Boys whose Great Expectation album he produced and played percussion.
"I bring experience, versatility, diversity (to producing) and I am not afraid to try new things. I have produced traditional church hymns to the most hardcore dancehall songs," he told Splash.
A self-taught engineer, Virgo's entry into production came with gospel. He co-produced the Gospel Fe Share 'riddim' in 2004, followed by the Spiritual War compilation in 2005 and Spirit Scription (2006).
His big breakthrough, however, was secular. Virgo created the beat for Gyptian's 2004 song Serious Times which opened the door for him to work with other dancehall artistes like Queen Ifrica, D'Angel and Ce'Cile.
Working with international acts, he pointed out, has helped improve his production skills.
"I have learned to accept the dedication to their craft and detail to bringing music to its perfection. I have seen artistes spend days working on one song, and the outcome is an international hit. These experiences over and over have changed my outlook and the way I approach working on music," he said.
Dale Antou Tonye Ian Virgo was born in Kingston but grew up in Portmore, St Catherine and attended Excelsior High School. more

John Boehner's Lawsuit Hits Obama On Health Care Law Changes....This after 20 million new sign ups for Obamacare (Affordable Care Act)

WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner's (R-Ohio) lawsuit against President Barack Obama will focus on the administration's unilateral changes to the health care law's employer mandate, according to a draft resolution released on Thursday.
JOHN BOEHNER
Boehner
The resolution, which Boehner is likely to bring to the House floor this month, would authorize the House General Counsel to initiate litigation against Obama and "compel" the president to enforce the law. In a statement, the speaker said Obama had violated the Constitution last year by delaying the employer mandate under the Affordable Care Act.
"In 2013, the president changed the health care law without a vote of Congress, effectively creating his own law by literally waiving the employer mandate and the penalties for failing to comply with it," Boehner said.
The Obama administration announced last year that the government would not penalize businesses that failed to provide health insurance in 2014, thus delaying the law's so-called employer mandate until 2015. The White House also postponed the start date for some mid-sized businesses.
Administration officials said the decision to delay the provision was made after considering a flood of complaints from business owners, who asked for additional time to meet the health care law's requirements. The officials were unable to pinpointwhen the decision was made, or whether it was ultimately decided by the White House or the Treasury Department.
Treasury spokesman previously said the delay was based on the department's "longstanding authority to grant transition relief when implementing new legislation," according to the trade publication Government Executive. more

2014-15 PALAS TOP PERFORMERS STORY (1 of 5)….MARIA ATTARWALA, Medical Student at the University of the West Indies (UWI)....Attained 3.96/4.00 GPA, 18 CXC/CAPE Passes with 16 distinctions (Grade ones) & PALAS Gold Star Recipient (Finished first of 140 applicants)...She relates the witnessing, moment of her dad who died only two (2) minutes away from the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Mobay.

Maria Attarwala, Medical student at UWI &
PALAS Gold Star Winner (Top Performer)
Maria Attarwala is a resident of Hanover, Jamaica, she recently graduated from Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) with a 3.96/4.00 GPA. She has passes in 18 CXC/CAPE subjects with 16 distinctions (grade ones). Below is the essay that she submitted to the Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc (PALAS) committee for evaluation to be considered for one of the sponsored scholarships. Maria won a PALAS Gold Star Scholarship by earning 29 out of a possible 30 points......

She writes....

“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it.”
-Buddha

Growing up most children aspire to be doctors or lawyers, because society deems them as the ‘professions to be’. However, for me, throughout primary school I had no idea what I wanted to become. My parents Zujer Attarwala and Nadine Attarwala worked feverishly to provide for two sisters, Kimberly, Imani, and myself. They worked to ensure that we had no excuse not to be the best in whatever we chose to do. On August 20, 2007, Jamaica was facing a major hurricane and throughout this ordeal, my father received a major heart attack leaving him with only 33% heart functionality.

On the 17th of March of this year, he passed away as he began having severe breathing problems as of lately. On that bright Monday morning as he was taking my sister and I to school when he started experiencing severe shortness of breath, it later got too much to bear and he had to pull over on the highway. It was then my responsibility to get him to the hospital, however my efforts were futile as his pulse and breathing came to a stop only two (2) minutes away from the Cornwall Regional Hospital. Experiencing this calamity taught me valuable life lessons and led me to the realization that medicine is definitely the career in which I want to pursue. It has also made me realize that I have to work extremely hard to make my father proud and fulfill his dream for me of being the best at anything I pursue in this life. more

PRESS RELEASE: PALAS to award 66 new scholarships in 2014-2015. Hon. Lisa Hanna & Attorney Patrick Campbell to deliver keynote addresses at awards presentation at University of the West Indies (UWI)-Mona Campus, Sat Aug 23, in JAMAICA. One-hundred eighty-one (181) total scholarships awarded in 4 years. Winsome Benjamin will provide the entertainment.....PALAS seeks urgent help to add at least 5 more scholarships from the 37 others who met our criteria, and regrettably will be bypassed due to lack of funds. Stats; 15 male & 51 female students, 29 high school & 37 university students, 16 Medical students & all the parishes in JAMAICA were represented, there were 140 applicants. We are still seeking donations at www.PALAS1.org.


ATLANTA, GA – July 9, 2014: Peace and Love Academic Scholarship, Inc. (PALAS) will award sixty-six (66) new scholarships for the academic year 2014-2015 to worthy, but economically challenged high school and University/College students  in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region. Honourable Lisa Hanna, Minister of Youth & Culture and Attorney Patrick Campbell of Washington D.C will deliver the Keynote addresses at the 4th annual award ceremony - UWI in Kingston,Jamaica onSaturday, August 23, 2014. Reggae songbird, Winsome Benjamin will provide the entertainment. The Master of Ceremonies will be Mr. Winston Cowans.

PALAS, the Atlanta-headquartered charity organization, has received the support of various corporate bodies and individuals to support the students. The stated mission of the group is to recognize and honor outstanding academic performances of under privileged students residing in the Caribbean region.

The PALAS program was established in December 2010, to honor the memory of young Vanessa Campbell, an aspiring Jamaican artiste who was a casualty of the burgeoning crime and violence problem in Portmore, Jamaica. After Vanessa’s untimely death, an initial scholarship program was created as the SSSJamz/Vanessa Campbell Academic Scholarship to assist high school students from her alma mater, Bridgeport High School. To sustain this effort PALAS has been soliciting funds from all quarters. more

TRELAWNY, JAMAICA: $500-million for Falmouth Tourism ministry to provide vending space, entertainment facilitites...Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill made the announcement ..

 BY HORACE HINES Observer West reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, July 10, 2014    
FALMOUTH, Trelawny — In response to grumbles about the perceived lack of spin-offs for Trelawny locals from the US$ multi-million cruise ship pier, the Ministry of Tourism will be spending more than $500 million to establish a complex at the Hampden Wharf which adjoins the pier.
The planned wharf project is expected to provide vending space for craft vendors and a range of entertainment facilities.
Two cruise ships called at the pier in the historic town of
Falmouth, yesterday. (PHOTO:PHILLIP LEMONTE) Tourism mi
Ministry of Tourism and Entertainment Dr Wykeham McNeill made the announcement Sunday evening during the PNP's North Trelawny Constituency meeting at Falmouth All Age School.
"We want to create an artisan village, a performing arts theatre, we might see if we can get a cinema there, shops, different things. Now, the difference is it will be open to everybody because the truth of the matter is (that) Falmouth needs a place where, as Jamaicans, everybody can go and enjoy yourselves. We can sit down and we can have a good time," Dr McNeill said.
He aded: "But it is open to the pier too, so people (tourists) will just walk off (cruise ships)."
After the meeting, the minister told the Jamaica Observer West that the project is now being designed and it is expected that the work will be put to tender by the fourth quarter of this year.
Meanwhile, Dr McNeill, who cited the need for the historic seaside town to become more attractive, also announced a $162-million beautification project to complement the Hampden Wharf project. more

Parents urged to boycott school-leaving excercise....Graduation rip-off - Parents complain about graduation costs...One mother, Myzanne Wallace, said she paid $9,000 to see her five-year-old daughter graduate from an inner-city early childhood institution last week.

BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter wilsonn@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, July 07, 2014    
THE National Parent-Teachers' Association (NPTA) has charged that schools are using graduation ceremonies to raise money, and is urging parents to boycott the school-leaving event.
Everton Hannam, the NPTA president, made the call last week amidst growing complaints from parents about the high costs associated with the events.
Graphic: Rorie Atkinson
"A graduation exercise has, in many cases, become a fund-raising exercise for most of the schools. When I look at what the students get, based on the money they pay, I am inclined to believe that some of them have become fund-raising exercises for those who organise them," Hannam told the Jamaica Observer.
"We have received complaints starting at the primary school and even at the basic school [level] and it's like $6,000 or $7,000 for graduation, and they are getting just a corsage and a certificate. It should not be," Hannam said.
The exorbitant fees being requested for these ceremonies have been a long-standing concern for parents and have even been addressed by Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, who has urged parents to try and minimise spending for such events.
However, scores of parents attended graduation exercises at early childhood, primary and secondary schools last week, and more are in preparation mode to attend this week.
Hannam believes nothing will be done to reduce these costs until parents start to protest the payments. The best way he believes parents can do so is to not attend.
"We need to be more proactive and start acting in a more organised and more serious way," he said.
He said the PTAs also have a part to play in ensuring that parents are not being fleeced of their hard-earned money, and as such, the matter of school graduations will be up for discussion at the NPTA annual general meeting this month. more

IN JAMAICA: GSAT success - Retirement Primary School shines Retirement Primary reaps GSAT success....The school achieved a 75 per cent average which saw all the students being placed at one of their choices for high school.

BY RENAE DIXON Observer staff reporter dixonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, July 07, 2014    
Retirement Primary in deep rural St Ann continues to beat the odds to reap success in the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) although the institution operates on a multi-grade system. The school achieved a 75 per cent average which saw all the students being placed at one of their choices for high school.
Teacher Camille Campbell and her grade six students
pose for a group photo following the school's graduation.
The students' success has once again highlighted the hard work of the three teachers and principal at the school, and is a particularly high moment for the headmistress Beverley Bailey who goes on pre-retirement leave in September.
Bailey, who has served the school for 25 years, said she was elated by the students' performance.
"I am really proud of them. They did well," she told the Jamaica Observer North East.
According to Bailey, some of the students came from other institutions and were behind, but she was happy that through hard work they were successful at getting a placement at one of the schools of their choice.
Top overall student Ronaldo Dixon will be heading to York Castle High School, while top girl Sasha Kay Campbell has been placed at St Hilda's High School.
Principal Beverley Bailey (left)
 stands with her teachers.
Teacher of grades five and six Camille Campbell said she was overwhelmed by the results.
"I don't even have words to express. I am overwhelmed," she said, adding that she was surprised by the results of some of the students as she was worried about a few of them.
Meanwhile, Bailey said the students have continued a trend of great performance, as last year the school was one of the top GSAT performers in the parish. more

IN JAMAICA: 12 y-o Adrian Rhoden is the 2014 Butterkist Math Champion....he was awarded a cash prize of $50,000

By AINSWORTH MORRIS Career & Education writer  Sunday, July 06, 2014    
FOR a moment Adrian Rhoden thought he was dreaming when it was announced that he was the 2014 winner of the Butterkist National Primary Schools' Mathematics Competition, but he was soon brought back to reality by the joyous screams of his teacher and coach Sandra Needham-Ellis.
Adrian Rhoden is the overall champion in the 2014 Butterkist
National Primary Schools’ Mathematics Competition.
The 12-year-old from Chetwood Memorial Primary could barely contain his excitement as he jumped for joy and declared, "I knew that I could have done it because I have been good at maths along with others subjects at school."
Needham-Ellis told Career & Education that she was confident that Rhoden would bring home the trophy for Chetwood Memorial Primary for the very first time.
"I am elated. My expectations of him were very high and I am happy that he won," she said.
Rhoden scored the highest average of 87.5 per cent of all the students who entered in the competition from 350 schools islandwide.
The youngster, who heads to Cornwall College in September, was awarded a cash prize of $50,000 at a ceremony at Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston on June 20.
Meanwhile, Rahiem Lampart from St Aloysius Primary School; Samoy Gordon from Spaulding Primary; Arrielle Bell from St Richards Primary; and Aleigha Reynolds from Black River Primary were the second, third, fourth and fifth-place winners respectively, with averages of 86.5 per cent, 85.5 per cent, 81.5 per cent and 80.5 per cent. more

Jamaican Vannessia Stewart was awarded the prize for best overall performance at the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) located in Malta from a class of 33 lawyers from 25 countries

FROM a class of 33 lawyers from 25 countries, Jamaican Vannessia Stewart was awarded the prize for best overall performance at the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) located in Malta.
Earlier this month, Stewart, legal officer at the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), who was a participant in IMLI's 25th master of laws programme, also graduated with distinction.
Chancellor of IMLI Koji Sekimizu presents an award
 to Vannessia Stewart on her graduation.
IMLI commenced its 25th master of laws programme in October 2013. The programme is a specialised post-graduate course in international maritime law and consists of post-graduate education in all areas of international maritime law.
"Pursuing the course at IMLI was a wonderful, although challenging experience. Challenging on account of being in the presence of such imminent international maritime law experts and arduous due to the diverse curriculum to which we were exposed. It was exciting, however, because I was part of a unique opportunity and at a special moment. Fortuitously, IMLI was celebrating its 25th anniversary and I was one of the many applicants to have been given the opportunity to be part of the institute's silver year", said Stewart.
The institution was established in 1988 by the International Maritime Organisation, the specialised agency of the United Nations with responsibility for regulating the safety and security of international shipping and prevention of pollution by ships, to help ensure that sufficient maritime law experts, with appropriate knowledge and skills, would be available particularly for developing countries and small island developing states.
The MAJ as Jamaica's maritime administration has, among its roles, obligations to provide for maritime safety and protection of the marine environment from potential damage caused by shipping activities in Jamaica's waters. "The Maritime Authority of Jamaica congratulates Stewart on her achievement. Her training will be of tremendous benefit to the organisation and to Jamaica, especially in the area of bills of lading and the liabilities surrounding the carriage of goods by sea which are a critical element of the global logistics hub framework ", said Bertrand Smith, director of legal affairs.

"Burn Fi Bun" in JAMAICA: Old man burns woman for giving him ‘bun’.....The accused, 62-year-old Dennis Miller burns his 42 y-o mate.

with Tanesha Mundle Sunday, July 06, 2014    

AN elderly old man who reportedly threw a cup of hot water on his female companion after accusing her of giving him “bun” found himself answering to a charge of assault occasioning bodily harm last week in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court.
Bun Fi Bun
The accused, 62-year-old Dennis Miller, a mechanic of Washington Gardens in Kingston, was involved in a six-year relationship with the 42-year-old higgler and dressmaker and both shared a home in Nine Miles, Bull Bay, St Thomas at the time of the alleged incident.
It is alleged that on April 22, about 4:30 pm Miller boiled a cup of water and threw it on the complainant who was sitting at the doorway of her home, then ran from the house. The complainant reportedly received burns to her face, stomach, breast, left hand and shoulder and was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital for treatment.
According to the complainant, Miller attacked her after earlier accusing her of being unfaithful to him.
However, on Friday when Miller appeared in court before Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey, he pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and his bail was extended for him to return to court on August 18.
Man reportedly mobbed while dressed as woman
A woman and her two daughters accused of beating their alleged gay relative and biting him on his ear told the court that they never touched him and that he was beaten by a mob after he showed up at nine-night dressed like a woman.
Patricia Bignall, 51-year-old construction worker of Cockburn Pen in Kingston, is accused of using a stone to hit her nephew on his hand while one of her 19-year-old daughters, Carlene Thompson, is accused of holding the complainant's hand for her sister, Pollyanna Osbourne, to bite the complainant on his ears.
Bignall is also accused of threatening to kill the complainant.
The trio however denied beating the complainant, claiming that he was attacked by a mob of men who saw him in his female attire.
“A him come a de people dem nine night dress up like him a woman," Bignall said. “A de nine-night me deh when me daughter dem run come tell me say him dress up like woman and dem a beat him.
“My daughters then go up to him and say, ‘yeah man, you seet we tell you fi stop gwaan like girl’, and him say that im ago f... them up,” she added.
Bignall said the complainant then wrongly told the police that they were the ones who had beaten him. more

IN JAMAICA: Historic surgery on stage-four cancer patient who is in his 60s.....Jamaica becomes third Caribbean island to undertake procedure. “The prognosis for a patient with stage-four cancer is never good,” Dr Cherian said. “But with the Sugarbaker procedure, his chances have increased tremendously.”

BY ANIKA RICHARDS Sunday Observer staff reporter richardsai@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, July 06, 2014    
WHEN cancer spreads to the lining of the abdomen, the disease is considered to be in its fourth stage. In fact, if a group of patients with stage-four cancer is left alone, as is, allowing the disease to progress, most will perhaps not be around in another six months.
Dr Cherian Cherian (left), general surgeon; Dr Jason
 Copeland (centre), resident in general surgery;
 and general surgeon and surgical oncologist
Dr Wesley Francis during the first ever Sugarbaker
 procedure at the Kingston Public Hospital on Friday, June 20.
This is according to general surgeon Dr Cherian Cherian, a member of a team of Jamaican doctors at the Kingston Public Hospital, who, just over two weeks ago, with the assistance of general surgeon and surgical oncologist Dr Wesley Francis from The Bahamas, performed the first ever Sugarbaker procedure on the island. According to Dr Cherian, outside of The Bahamas and The Cayman Islands, no other Caribbean country has done the procedure.
It was performed on a stage-four cancer patient who is in his 60s.
In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, Dr Cherian, admitting that the patient is not yet out of the woods, said that he is doing well and that they are taking it one step at a time.
“The prognosis for a patient with stage-four cancer is never good,” Dr Cherian said. “But with the Sugarbaker procedure, his chances have increased tremendously.”
The general surgeon explained that the Sugarbaker procedure targets malignancy from the abdominal cavity that has spread to the lining of the abdomen.
“We remove the peritoneal surface, which is the lining of the abdominal cavity; we remove any deposits that may be on organs, including the spleen,” Dr Cherian asserted. “The aim is to actually shrink the tumour mass to a volume such that chemotherapy, which is instilled in the abdomen at the typical temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, will be able to sufficiently manage in terms of oblation.
“So physically we oblate or remove, and chemically, with the use of chemotherapy, we further oblate,” Dr Cherian continued.
General surgeons (from left) Dr Cherian Cherian and
Dr Turkessa Cherrie, anaesthesiologist Suzanne McDonald,
 and Dr Wesley Francis, general surgeon and surgical oncologist,
 pose for a photograph after the surgical procedure at the
 Kingston Public Hospital on Friday, June 20.
Formally called cytoreductive surgery, which is followed by hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy, the Sugarbaker procedure also removes “any obvious disease anywhere else”. For example, if the condition reaches the liver in a limited sense, then a piece of the liver is taken out and if it’s “a bowel, but it’s any significant bowel, we will take that segment of bowel.
“So literally it is a debulking procedure, but we debulk to its maximum in order to allow chemotherapy, with the aid of a pump, to sort of bathe the organs of the peritoneal cavity for at least an hour,” Dr Cherian disclosed.
The general surgeon said that the procedure is a technical one that carries a morbidity rate of up to 25 per cent and a mortality rate close to 20 per cent. Therefore, patient selection and cancer origin are factors that must be carefully considered before such a procedure.
Dr Cherian stressed that the patient must be otherwise well, to be considered for the procedure. more

HANOVER, JAMAICA: Romantic activities by Hopewell High School continue unabated......Students damage fence, clear brush enroute to quenching sex thirst....“The students have sex off the property daily. "Sometimes you will even hear them talking about going down in the bushes to do it, even with adults hearing them clearly."

 BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, July 06, 2014    
THE embattled Hopewell High School in Hanover has again been placed under the microscope, this time with reports of daily sexual acts by students on properties situated close to the institution.
Apart from indulging in sexual activities, smoking of ganja is also rampant off property, the Jamaica Observer has found out. The matter appears to have got out of control and the school's management has not been able to reduce or prevent the activities.
01Even as the school year ended last Friday, fear has deepened that the new academic year will begin in September without the matter being sufficiently addressed by authorities.
“Every day these students leave the compound to engage in sexual activity,” a veteran school official told the Sunday Observer last week.
“This situation is continuing and getting worse, and nobody seems to want to do anything about it,” the official added.
Hopewell High, which opened on September 4, 2006, has been saturated in an ocean of woe in recent times, what with the suspension of its first and only principal, Joyce Irving, amid claims of widespread corruption at the co-educational institution.
But with Irving's forced suspension last January to facilitate a probe into the administration of the school, there has been no improvement in the general conduct at the institution, nor has there been an upgrade in the administrative structures that will lead to greater efficiency, members of the school's fraternity have complained to the Sunday Observer.
Documents obtained by the Sunday Observer confirm acts of irregularities that the board of directors are yet to resolve, even with the introduction of Education Officer Leonie Dunwell, who has been acting in the 58-year-old Irving's absence.
The school's property was fenced when it opened its doors, but thieves have since broken down and stolen chunks of the chain-link fence, while students have cut openings in other sections as they go on their sexual journeys.
The sex spots are varied, ranging from dense, bushy locations close to the school, to as far away as perhaps one of the most popular spots called 'The Cave', literally an underground spot structured like a small cave, close to Phase Two of the upscale Orchard Housing Scheme owned by an expatriate capitalist.
There, a mattress was found last year, presumably used by students whose testosterone levels had shot up to remarkable proportions.
“The students have sex off the property daily. Sometimes you will even hear them talking about going down in the bushes to do it, even with adults hearing them clearly. more

IN JAMAICA (ANOTHER GREAT STORY) : Cross Keys High School Students Build House For Blind Woman, 46-year-old Betsy Bennett in Manchester..."I feel good ... I don't have words to explain how I feel. I just have to thank the children."....The students raised the funds for this project from a fundraising competition.

Tamara Bailey, Gleaner Writer Published: Saturday | July 5, 2014 
Smithfield, Manchester:
They say 'seeing is believing', but for 46-year-old Betsy Bennett, who became visually impaired (being blind in one eye and the other giving minimal vision) three years ago as a result of a battle with hypertension and diabetes for over 16 years, feeling is believing. 
Forty-six-year-old visually impaired Betsy Bennett (left) stands with project coordinator and staff adviser of the Cross Keys High Student Council Rosemarie Thompson Collins, who, along with her students, will be helping Bennett finish her house.
Forty-six-year-old visually impaired Betsy Bennett (left)
stands with project coordinator and staff adviser of the
Cross Keys High Student Council Rosemarie Thompson Collins,
 who, along with her students, will be helping Bennett finish her house.
Her hands pressed upon the concrete structure, and the sound of labourers moving about gave Bennett much joy as it brought her closer to the realisation that accessibility to a new comfortable home was near.
Bennett, who currently lives in a zinc dwelling, which she says is compartmentalised into two rooms with cardboard and curtains, has been living there for approximately 17 years, during which time she started a concrete dwelling but couldn't finish it.
"A lady who took care of me from I was three months bought this land for me before she died. So for 17 years, this is where I have been. Five years ago, I started the room over there, but since my vision get poor, I had to stop do my higglering, so there was no money to continue."
Cross keys High steps in
Fortunately for Bennett, the Cross Keys High School, which undertakes major outreach projects for the less fortunate, heard about her woes and decided to finish the room she started, and additionally, build a bathroom.
"I feel good ... . I don't have words to explain how I feel. I just have to thank the children, Mr Griffiths, and Mrs Collins, the teachers. I feel very good to know that they have decided to do this for me, and I have to thank my good sister Bobbeth Byrd, Sheila, as we all know her, because she do everything for me, and she was the one that make Cross Keys come here today."
With the majority of the students on site representing the construction programme of the school, principal of the institution, Ralph Nelson, said, "We want the students to be able to participate in these projects where they see that the only way we can improve the communities and Jamaica is by each of us doing our part to improving the country."
He further said, "When students leave school, they should be able to go on to a tertiary institution and do a programme in their competency, or have a skill that they can be employed, or have their parents be so confident in their ability that they can partner and start a small business on their own. So having the students here practising what they have been taught is a great opportunity," said Nelson.
The funds raised for this project were received through the staging of a king and queen competition.
A student of the Cross Keys High School carries blocks to a location where the room and bathroom will be constructed for a visually impaired community member.
A student of the Cross Keys High School carries blocks
 to a location where the room and bathroom will be
 constructed for a visually impaired community member.
"To get the funds towards this, we held a king and queen competition. Whoever collected the most money for the boys would get the title king, and for the girls, queen. We campaigned and went around asking persons for money and, of course, we got the support we needed. My classmate, Shantel Wright, was crowned queen and I, king," said fourth-form student and member of the construction programme, Jameel Gayle. more

IN JAMAICA: Saved From Suicide - Portmore Woman Rescued By Residents after threatening to leap to her death from the Edgewater Bridge in Portmore, St Catherine,

Sheldon Williams, Staff Reporter Published: Saturday | July 5, 2014 
A WOMAN who threatened to leap to her death from the Edgewater Bridge in Portmore, St Catherine, Thursday night, was persuaded by residents to choose life. She was later brought to safety.
The Edgewater Bridge in Portmore, St Catherine. - File
The Edgewater Bridge in Portmore, St Catherine. - File
An eyewitness told The Gleaner that at about 9 p.m. the woman was seen sitting on pipes below the bridge with her attention fixated on the crocodile-infested water beneath.
Passers-by realised that she appeared agitated and enquired why she was beneath the bridge. It was soon revealed that she wanted to end her own life.
As news spread about the woman's intention, more residents soon converged on the bridge and attempted to talk her down. "Don't jump, Don't jump. Every single person was telling her not to jump which is surprising because you know how Jamaican people are," Amandare counted to The Gleaner.
Eyewitnesses also said the woman's children were brought to the scene so she could see them as a means of dissuading her from jumping.
After much encouragement, the woman stood up and was grabbed by a male onlooker who had himself risked falling to bring her to safety.
The woman was then assisted to a waiting police vehicle and taken away.
To meet with councillor
Councillor for Edgewater Alrick Campbell told The Gleaner that he would meet with the woman's family tomorrow (Sunday) but refused to elaborate on the circumstances that could have led the woman to consider taking her own life.
"I am aware, but I won't state because I haven't gone to the family as yet. I am not in the position to state the reasons but I just want to implore anyone who is under stress to not contemplate taking their own life," he said. more

IN JAMAICA: Omar Ford, a student of Papine High School in St Andrew tops Marley essay contest

Saturday, July 05, 2014   
OMAR Ford, 16, was named the winner of the inaugural Rita Marley Foundation Essay Competition held at the Bob Marley Museum on Hope Road, St Andrew, on Wednesday.
A student of Papine High School in St Andrew, Ford's essay, entitled Bob Marley, His Music and Message, topped a field of nearly 1,000 entries. The competition was held among Papine High School, Haile Selassie High School in Kingston, Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann, and Bob Marley Primary and Junior High School in St Ann.
Rita Marley, widow of reggae icon Bob Marley, said she was pleased by the number of entrants in the competition's first year.
Rita Marley. At right: Omar Ford, winner of the inaugural
Rita Marley Foundation Essay Competition
"I am overjoyed by the positive response from the youth as well as the interest shown from persons in Jamaica and all over the world. This was the first essay competition organised by the Rita Marley Foundation and almost 1,000 essays were submitted. It is so wonderful," she told the Jamaica Observer.
Marley, who was also a member of her husband's harmony trio The I-Three, said the idea of an essay competition came about as a means to encourage students to read and write well.
"Education is the key to open all doors. We are preparing them to open doors 'cause there are more questions than answers," she said.
Marley said due to the success of the inaugural staging, next year the competition will be held on a national level.
The competition saw second place going to Tia Green (Haile Selassie High School); third to Damain Walker (Bob Marley Primary and Junior High School) and fourth place to Suwayne Josephs. The winners received trophies, medals and certificates.
The winning essay will be published in the upcoming issue of Harambe (the Rita Marley Foundation newsletter).
In addition to Marley, the judges were Dr Kadamawe Knife (lecturer at the University of the West Indies); Dr Donna Hope-Marquis (director of the Institute of Caribbean Studies, University of the West Indies); Dr Raymond Hitchins (ethnomusicologist, University of the West-Indies); and Dr Leahcim Semaj (change consultant, Job Bank).