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TRAGEDY IN JAMAICA: MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness appeals for serious focus on how houses are built

 BY KIMBERLEY HIBBERT Senior staff reporter hibbertk@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, October 25, 2020

MEMBER of Parliament (MP) for St Andrew East Rural Juliet Holness has made an impassioned plea to her constituents and Jamaicans at large to take serious responsibility for how they settle and where they choose to build houses.

Residents of Shooter's Hill gather to look at where
 Sanique Leachman's body was placed after it was retrieved
 from mud and debris yesterday.

Holness, who was on location in Shooter's Hill yesterday as efforts to recover the body of 15-year-old Sanique Leachman ended, said that over the years many people had settled on land which is not good to build on and because of economic circumstances, they are also unable to erect proper reinforcements to prevent landslides.

“We find that from time to time, we take a chance and many may not have anything happen for many years, but when tragedy hits we understand the difficulty with not having the proper infrastructure around our homes and communities to protect life and property,” she said. more

Grandma regrets child, 15-year-old Sanique Leachman, not staying with her, as she wanted ...while St Andrew community comes to terms with loss of father, daughter

BY KIMBERLEY HIBBERT Senior staff reporter hibbertk@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, October 25, 2020 

MONDAY October 19, 2020 — National Heroes' Day — will remain etched in the memory of Christine Bentley.

She is the maternal grandmother of 15-year-old Sanique Leachman, whose body was found yesterday morning, buried under mud and debris following a land slippage in Shooters Hill, St Andrew, on Friday.

Sanique's father, 42-year-old landscaper Romeo Leachman, also perished in the mudslide. His body was found buried in rubble on Friday.

15-year-old Sanique Leachman, whose
 body was found yesterday morning

Bentley told the Jamaica Observer that when young Leachman visited her last Monday she wanted to stay but her father insisted that she
should return home.

Community members of
 Shooters Hill, St. Andrew

“Mi just wish when she co
me home Monday mi hold on pon her. She never waa leave and say, 'Please mek mi stay'. But her father called and said, 'No, come home'. When she reach up she call and say, 'Grandma mi love yuh' and mi say, 'Mi love yuh too, Sanique'. Mi wish mi could turn back,” Bentley moaned yesterday. 

But, according to Shooters Hill residents, on Friday around 8:00 am, a land slippage claimed the lives of the father, who had resided at the location for over 20 years, and his daughter, his only child for whom he has been the primary caregiver since she was a toddler. more

W.H. SURRENDERS: ‘WE’RE NOT GOING TO CONTROL THE PANDEMIC’...White House Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows: ‘We’re Not Going To Control The Pandemic’ President Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. has the COVID-19 crisis “under control.”

 

Sunday, October 25, 2020
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Sunday said the United States is “not going to control” thecoronavirus pandemic, an apparent admission of defeat against a virus that has so far killed nearly 225,000 people nationwide.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Meadows was asked about Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to continue campaigning across the country despite several of his top aides testing positive for COVID-19.
“Your website is talking about, ‘Well, now we think the spread is coming from small social groups and family groups,’” Meadows told CNN’s Jake Tapper while defending Pence. “First it was large groups. Now it’s small groups.” more

Caribbean American public advocate wants more polling sites for early voting

 Sunday, October 25, 2020 

NEW YORK (CMC)— Caribbean American Democratic New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams has called on the city's Board of Elections to establish more polling sites to accommodate the flood of voters ahead of the November 3 election.

Jumaane Williams

“Across the city, thousands of people waited hours in line to cast their ballot on the first day of early voting. This demonstrates energy, enthusiasm and engagement from New York voters. The turnout today surprised and inspired me,” Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) late Saturday.

“While long lines are a sign of civic pride and determination, they are also a sign that we may need to open additional sites in the future to meet the demand of the electorate,” he added. “The administration (City of New York) and Board of Elections must monitor the next couple of days very closely.

“Thankfully, there are nine days remaining, including another weekend to vote early,” Williams continued. “I encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of this opportunity to cast your ballot at the best time for you, while also reducing the expected strain on the system November 3. But, even as some of them are running in uncontested races in the November 3 general elections, Caribbean American legislators in New York have been urging nationals to vote in what they describe as, perhaps, the most important US presidential elections in their lifetime.