On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 pedestrians spotted smoke coming from the upstairs of the Calypso Bar Building that is located behind the Inthing Plaza in Savanna la mar. An Alarm was raised and the Savanna la mar Fire Depart was alerted. By the time the Fire Fighters reached on the scene fire has engulfed the entire upstairs section of the building, however the Fire Fighter were able to keep the fire under control and stopped it from spreading downstairs.

SHEFFIELD, Westmoreland — Pastor of the Sheffield Seventh Day Adventist Church Vencott Dyer has blasted citizens who protect area dons and gunmen, saying that they are an evil to God and the nation.
“Today we live in a society where we honour the men who sling the guns and wield the machetes and where honest men are branded as informers, but unless the communities stand up, then this nation will not be better,” said Pastor Dyer.

He was delivering the homily at the funeral service for Corporal Omar Duncan, a 15-year veteran who was killed by gunmen last month as he investigated a burglary in the Ramble community in Hanover.
The pastor argued that citizens have made policing difficult because they have refused to speak on criminal activities.
He said it is unfortunate that society tends to remember the names of the dons that are dead but the unsung heroes, such as Corporal Duncan who died in the line of duty are usually forgotten in a matter of weeks or months.

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SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The Westmoreland police have captured two Spanish Town men who were being sought by the St Catherine police in connection with last week’s murder of eight persons in Tredegar Park, Spanish Town.

According to a police source, the men were captured during the police early morning operation in West End, Negril on Monday in which two of their cronies were killed in alleged gunbattle with the cops.
According to the usually reliable police source, one of the two men in custody is a former resident of Tredegar Park but switched allegiance to the Klansman Gang and moved to live in Lauriston, Spanish Town.
The other suspect is believed to a driver who transported the marauding gunmen to Tredegar Park where they assassinated five men and three women.

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MYLERSFIELD, Westmoreland —LUCIUS Jackson is better known in Westmoreland for his exploits in sugar cane cultivation. But since the start of the year, Jackson, 69, has been turning his attention to his ‘old love’ — rice farming.

And while he is not contemplating coming out of sugar cane, Jackson, who successfully cultivated more than 100 acres of rice in the Mylersfield area more than two decades ago, believes that rice cultivation in sections of Westmoreland is still viable.

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NEW YORK, USA — Several passengers on the ill-fated American Airlines (AA) plane that crashed in Kingston last December have filed legal claims against the airline, AA officials confirmed yesterday.

A total of 92 of the 154 people on board AA flight 331 on December 22 were injured when the aircraft overshot the runway in driving night rain, busted through a perimeter fence, crossed the Port Royal road and ended up on the beach across from the Norman Manley International Airport.

The aircraft broke into three, but there were no reported fatalities. Tim Wagner, the airline’s senior public relations manager, told the Observer that several passengers on the ill-fated aircraft had filed legal action against the airline resulting from the crash.

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What is inside sealed document 265 which was placed in Judge P Patterson’s vault, the presiding judge at the first hearing of the case against alleged shower posse boss Christopher Dudus Coke . Legal experts are speculating that contents of those documents, when disclosed could have major implications for the members of the Bruce Golding led administration.

According to the legal experts, the seal document could contain a super-ceding indictment, implicating influential Jamaican officials. Since last week unconfirmed reports have been circulating that some high ranking public officials and prominent businessmen implicated in drug running are wanted by Uncle Sam

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Agents from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) yesterday seized a posh Mercedes-Benz motor car valued at millions of dollars from dancehall star Elephant Man in a bid to collect taxes owed by the entertainer.

The car was taken from an upscale home at Hillcrest Avenue, St Andrew, believed to be owned by Elephant Man, whose real name is Oneil Bryan.

While the car was being placed on a tow truck, Elephant Man, who has done several collaborations with R&B stars in the United States, remained inside the house with his advisers and did not speak to reporters gathered outside.

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Even though the Air Jamaica brand no longer belongs to the Jamaicans, Caribbean Airlines out of Trinidad may still use the name Air Jamaica.

The Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, has admitted that the use of Air Jamaica’s trademarks by Caribbean Airlines is part of the deal with the Trinidad-based carrier. This contradicts statements by Prime Minister Bruce Golding before the Air Jamaica divestment that the name of the national carrier would not be a part of the deal with Caribbean Airlines.

Golding had said the brand would be retained by Jamaica and would be made available to Jamaican investors who may want to start up an airline in Jamaica. The finance minister says under the agreement with Caribbean Airlines, the carrier has been given exclusive right to use the name Air Jamaica, along with other trademarks for an initial period of one year.

Shaw says at the end of that period, the right to continue using the trademarks will be automatically renewed every year. Shaw also says the government still has a right to use the name Air Jamaica, but not to undertake any activity which competes with that of Caribbean Airlines.

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries will be launching a campaign soon to encourage people to start eating the Lion Fish, which is largely responsible in part for the dwindling the fish stock available to fisherfolks.

According to Tufton, the Lion Fish –which is notorious for preying upon other fish species –originated in the Pacific Region but got to the Caribbean Sea and in around the Jamaican coastline by way of an accident which resulted in their release in the Florida waters.

Not only do the predatory fish reduce the fish stock, but they also prey upon the fisherfolks’ catches.

At the same time the Lion Fish population has been able to soar as they are not preyed upon because they are armed with venom which they carry in spawns on their backs.

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Two weeks ago, a 52 year-old, fisherman of Bluefields, Westmoreland was electrocuted at his home while attempting to pick a breadfruit in his yard. The heart moving incident happened on Sunday June 27th at approximately 3pm in the community of Belmont.

It is reported that Carlington Parkinson, the deceased, was at home with other family members before he went outside to pick the breadfruit. Further reports are that Parkinson got a large Bamboo Stick and climbed up into the tree.

As he tried to pick the fruit, he apparently pushed the bamboo stick too close to the high tension JPS electric wire; the current pulled the stick and immediately electrocuted the 52 year old man.

A family member rushed outside after hearing Parkinson making strange noises. The relative, it is said, at one point thought Parkinson was laughing. The family member then discovered that Parkinson was dead. An alarm was raised and after fighting relentlessly, they managed to pull him free and he was rushed to the Savanna la mar Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.