RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann:

Minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for Local Government, Robert Montague, has charged parish council heads to establish new methods and employ new ways of thinking, particularly in this time of global economic crisis.

"I give you this charge because we are in serious times, times that require you to conduct business unusual, but honourably," he said.

Mr Montague was speaking recently at the opening of a two-day revenue workshop at the Runaway Bay Heart Hotel in St Ann. The workshop, which was attended by key parish council decision-makers, examined the performance of local authorities over the last three years and identified measures needed to improve earnings.

MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

The town of Mandeville will see improvement in traffic management, based on agreements reached by Parish Council officials and stakeholders who attended a two-day workshop hosted by the Manchester Parish Development Committee.

"In a few days, we are going to have relocation of many of the taxi parks, which for some time have been a major problem for com-muters, businesses and the shape and order of the town. The discus-sions at the workshops were wide-ranging and we shared information on how other towns look and how we can rearrange ours. The Parish Council will now implement the decisions, along with the National Works Agency," said manager of the Manchester Parish Develop-ment Committee, Sam Miller, in an interview with JIS News.

- Contributed

SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine:

Representation is to be made at the next sitting of the St Catherine Parish Council, to have several roadways in the hilly interior of the parish, which experienced significant breakaways following the passage of storms and heavy rainfall, repaired.

Chairman of the Disaster Committee of the St Catherine Parish Council, Camille Buchanan, told JIS News, following a tour of major roadways linking communities in the Glengoffe, Harkers Hall, Mount Industry, Long Hill and Omeally areas, that some key roads that provide a vital economic link between the various communities needed urgent attention.

- Contributed

PORT MARIA, St Mary:

Several businesses in Port Maria were inspected last Saturday during a 'hazard hunt' by the St Mary Disaster Committee.

The exercise, which was conducted as part of activities celebrating January as Earthquake Awareness Month, served to increase the awareness of the operators and staff of the enterprises about the danger of earthquakes, and ensure compliance with accepted procedures and practices that would mitigate the effects of earthquakes.

A total of 24 entities were inspected during the exercise, including supermarkets, bakeries, wholesales and stores.

The inspection followed other earthquake-awareness activities held earlier with different groups and communities in the parish, including talks and presentations in schools, and at businesses.

- JIS News

SPANISH TOWN, St Catherine:

Three members of the police force who appeared in the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court on murder charges will return on February 18, when their cases will be mentioned.

Receiving bail in the sum of $100,000 each are Constable Dwayne Harris, woman Corporal Rosalee Thompson and District Constable Gregory Harrison. They are all from the St Catherine North Police Division.

When their case came up for mention recently, defence lawyer Carolyn Reid, in applying for bail, told the court that prior to her clients being charged, they had impeccable records. Bail was granted.

They were charged following an April 17, 2008 incident, which led to the killing of Trevorton Phillips and Everton Dawes in Crawle, near Riversdale in St Catherine.

- Rasbert Turner