St Elizabeth, Jamaica: Junction says farewell to ‘Daddy D’....There were tears and countless sad faces as residents of Junction and its environs turned up in large numbers on Friday for the official viewing of late legendary People’s National Party (PNP) parliamentarian Derrick Rochester.

Sunday, May 01, 2016    

JUNCTION, St Elizabeth —There were tears and countless sad faces as residents of Junction and its environs turned up in large numbers on Friday for the official viewing of late legendary People’s National Party (PNP) parliamentarian Derrick Rochester.

A portrait of Derrick Rochester

An official funeral service is scheduled for 11:00am today at the Munro College Auditorium in Potsdam, St Elizabeth.

Rochester , who also served as president of the National Workers Union (NWU), represented St Elizabeth South Eastern between 1972 and 1980, and from 1989 to 2002, when he retired from active politics.

Between 10:00am to 2:00pm on Friday, a steady stream of mourners visited the HEART-run skills-training institute at the centre of Junction to view the body of their fallen hero. The skills-training facility, listed among Rochester’s gifts to Junction, is named in his honour. Many mourners stayed back after filing past his body to reminisce on Rochester ’s contribution.

As a political representative, the late Member of Parliament, fondly referred to as ‘Daddy D’, is credited with a pivotal role in infrastructual development in St Elizabeth South Eastern and more especially in Junction and its environs.

There were also anecdotes on Rochester ’s personal interactions with people.

The ceremonial closing of the viewing exerciseGregory Bennett

In the bar next door to the skills-training centre, Kingsley Ronald Whiteley recalled that as Rochester launched a succession of community projects in the 1970s, he and others were motivated to volunteer their services to ensure success.

By his representation, leadership and ability to motivate, Rochester had “built” St Elizabeth South Eastern, said Whiteley.

At a personal level, Whiteley told how Rochester helped him to gain his very first job during the construction of the bauxite/alumina Alpart plant at Nain in 1968. more

VOODOO GUNMAN: Jamaica’s Most Wanted Marlon Perry, otherwise called ‘Duppy Flim’ (also referred to as Duppy Film) said steeped in obeah, also wanted in Haiti....Perry has been implicated in the murders of 16 individuals

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, May 01, 2016    

Jamaica’s most wanted man is deeply involved in the practice of voodoo, witchcraft and obeah and has made many trips by speedboat to the French-speaking Caribbean island of Haiti, a retired police officer has told the Jamaica Observer.

Marlon Perry, otherwise called ‘Duppy Flim’ (also referred to as Duppy Film), is one of the key players in the drugs for guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti, local police have confirmed. But the native of Western St Thomas is also wanted by police in Haiti for murder, the

Sunday Observer has learnt. However, the Jamaica Constabulary Force High Command said that it was unable to verify this. “Yes, we have information that he is heavily involved in voodoo,” stated Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of crime Glenmore Hinds.

Perry has eluded Jamaica’s security forces since the December 22 killing of two policemen in the community of Poor Man’s Corner, just outside the Western St Thomas town of Yallahs. Corporal Kenneth Davis of the constabulary’s Protective Services Division, and Constable Craig Palmer, who was assigned to Kingston Western, were cut down, allegedly by Perry, as they played dominoes outside a wholesale.

Overall, Perry has been implicated in the murders of 16 individuals, the latest being former National Works Agency Parish Manager for St Ann Theos Blake, aged 30, who was shot in St Thomas on March 27. Blake is the nephew of Deputy Commissioner of Police Clifford Blake. He was buried in St Elizabeth, where DCP Blake is also from.

One source told the

Sunday Observer that so deep is Perry’s belief in the occult that he does not trust “even his own shadow”, and always makes sure that he is “properly oiled” before he goes about his business.

Haiti is known for occult practices, and St Thomas, too, where Perry originates, is regarded as one of the parishes in which obeah has figured in the diet of cultural folklore.

One resident of Albion, also in the western region of the parish, told the

Sunday Observer that it is even a growing view that Perry’s belief in the supernatural has been paying off for him, as every time the police close in on him he manages to escape, while others around him are either killed or captured.

“Dat deh man deh strong inna de obeah, man. A just because mi no believe inna dem something deh why mi think a just lucky him lucky, rather than a get protection from obeah. God is greater than obeah every time, and dah bad bway deh soon go dung inna the hole,” the elder said.

The police have since stepped up their operations to apprehend Perry, with massive searches in St Thomas, St Andrew, and Manchester in particular, without success.

However, some of Perry’s gang members, said to be more than 30, have either been captured or killed during clashes with national security personnel.

Jason Forbes was killed in an operation in East Rural St Andrew last month, while another gang member was captured while hiding in a church. more

CONGRATULATIONS : Kelly Hyles, High School Senior From Immigrant Family (Migrated from Guyana to USA at the age of 11 y-o) Got Into Every Ivy League School and 21 Colleges.Kelly has has an impressive 99.63 GPA and is valedictorian of her class.... She credited her single mom who works two jobs for her success

 04/26/2016 09:20 am ET
All those years of hitting the books paid off for one accomplished high school senior. Kelly Hyles, a senior at the selective High School for Math, Science and Engineering at the City College of New York, was recently accepted to all eight Ivy League schools. The student, who came to the US from Guyana when she was 11 years old, told People.com she’s been in shock since receiving the good news. 

Kelly Hyles

“I was really happy. I’m still in disbelief. I am so grateful,” she said.

In addition to all the Ivies, Hyles also received acceptance letters to Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Johns Hopkins University, Today.com reported. In total, she was accepted to a staggering 21 schools. What’s more, she told Pix11 that, for the most part, she’ll get a free ride to any college she chooses to attend.

The student’s accomplishments certainly back up her acceptance letters.  

Hyles participates in a competitive biomedical research program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, takes college-level courses, has an impressive 99.63 GPA and is valedictorian of her class, People.com reported. 

But the student’s road to success was no walk in the park for her or her family. 

Hyles and her single mother, Anette, came to the United States so the student could have a better education, Today.com reported. The mother works two jobs to support her family — one as a home health aide and another as a nurse’s aide during the overnight shift.

The student puts in a great amount of effort for her education too. On school days, she travels 1.5 hours from her home in Queens waking up at 5:30 a.m. to do so. She takes a combination of trains and buses to arrive at her school in Harlem, according to Today.com. She told CNN that she only gets about 5 hours of sleep a night. 

“Sometimes, I wanted to sleep late or go to the movies or a party with my friends, but I had to prioritize,” she said. Hyles told Today.com that her success wasn’t just rewarding for her. 

“When I got into the colleges, I told my mom, I was like, ‘Oh, these acceptance letters are as much mine as they are yours,’” she said.

Hyles hasn’t decided which college she’ll ultimately attend, but is leaning toward Harvard, according to People.com. No matter what, she definitely has no shortage of options. 

JAMAICAN-born billionaire investor Michael Lee Chin aims for 5% annual GDP growth....Lee Chin has an estimated net worth of over US$2.6 billion (JA$315 Billion).

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, April 28, 2016  

JAMAICAN-born billionaire investor Michael Lee Chin assumed the chairmanship of the Economic Growth Council (EGC) yesterday, with a clarion call for Jamaicans to work with the newly created body to target a five per cent annual growth rate for the next four years.

“As chairman of the EGC, I pledge that the EGC will work tirelessly and passionately to achieve a GDP growth rate of five per cent over the next four years,” Lee Chin told the press launch of the council at Jamaica House.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness (second right) greets the chairman
of his new Economic Growth Council (EGC), Michael Lee Chin (left), during
 yesterday’s press launch of the EGC at Jamaica House. Also pictured
 are Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw (right), and
 newly appointed investment ambassador Nigel Clarke.Photo:
Joseph Wellington

He pointed out that a five per cent annual growth rate over the four-year period would be 10 times more than the country has realised over the last 20 years, and 25 times more that it has seen over the past 25 years.

He recalled that a 5.4 per cent growth in the Jamaican economy in 1969 enabled him to obtain a job at Alpart, which was further nurtured by an 11.9 per cent growth in 1970, which set him off on his journey to financial fulfillment. “So having growth in Jamaica enabled this high school grad to have got a job and become an independent fulfilled citizen. So it is essential for us to focus on growth to make sure that this situation is not unique, but that it is replicated, wholesale, right across the country for every single Jamaican,” Lee Chin said.

He stated that his decision to accept the invitation from Prime Minister Andrew Holness to chair the new body, which he admitted is a major challenge, was because he felt a duty to ensure that “every Jamaican child have the same opportunity for fulfillment” as he has had in Jamaica.

“That’s my reason for doing this,” said the 65-year-old Jamaican business magnate, investor, and philanthropist who is rated among the top 26 richest citizen of Canada, his adopted home, with a networth of over US$2.6 billion.

A native of Portland, Lee Chin is the founder and chairman of Portland Holdings Inc, a privately held investment company which owns a collection of diversified operating companies in sectors that include media, tourism, health care, telecommunications (including CVM Television) and financial services (including Advantage General Insurance) as well as tourist attractions. more

PHILADELPHIA, USA : High expectations as 122nd Penn Relays Carnival begins today...Over 50 Jamaican high schools and college teams will be competing....Huge interest expected from newly crowned national junior record holder SHANICE LOVE of XLCR High who is a PALAS recipient

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, April 28, 2016   

Action from last year’s Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field
 in Philadelphia. (Photo: Jose Lara Aragon)

PHILADELPHIA, USA — Expectations will be high among the over 50 Jamaican high schools and college teams as the 122nd staging of the Penn Relays Carnival gets under way at Franklin Field in Philadelphia in what is expected to be wet and cold conditions today.

The bar has been set high as last year Jamaican high schools swept all six Championships of Americas relays they contested, with Edwin Allen girls and Calabar boys winning two each, the respective 4x100m and 4x400m; Holmwood Technical won the girls’ 4x800m, while St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) won the boys’ title.

Added to that Jamaican high schools won an additional six individual titles and hopes are that they will at least match the total number of wins this year.

Today the girls will open the competition with the heats of all three relays, as well as competition in the 400m hurdles; long, triple and high jumps; shot put, discus throw and javelin. College women will also be in action in the heats of the 4x400m relays, shot put, discus throw and shot put events.

It will be the high schoolgirls who will be in the spotlight on today’s first full day of competition, where the teams will compete for places in the finals of the relays set for tomorrow afternoon.

Shanice Love, PALAS recipient of XLCR

Holmwood Technical will have a brand new team from the one that won the 4x800m relay last year, and this year’s group will seek to extend their school’s dominance in the event they have made their own here.

Vere Technical, Spalding High, Hydel and Edwin Allen are also down for the event.

Edwin Allen will start favourites in the 4x100m, while STETHS and Holmwood will challenge them in the 4x400m.

There will also be serious interest in the throwing events to be held at the newly refurbished throwing complex with newly crowned national junior record holder Shanice Love hoping to go one better than last year when she was second to Paulann Gayle of Edwin Allen High. more