THE people of Sherwood Content in Trelawny, home of sprint king Usain Bolt, are anything but satisfied these days.

The residents say they believe their political representatives missed a golden opportunity to develop the unchecked countryside that spawned the lanky runner, in the wake of the glory he brought to the community.

At the heart of their discontent is an unreliable water system which they say catapults their little village centuries backward.

“Our main problem is water. Everybody building inside bathrooms, but there is no water to supply the toilets and shower. Even when Bolt comes here he has to take a dip in the river,” resident Eric Barrett said.

“The road not too bad because they fix it since he won in Beijing, but they not maintaining it and that’s rubbish. If Bolt nevah win di Olympics, is five miles per hour you would travel to get up here,” Eric Barrett said.

“They got $25 million from Red Stripe for a water supply project, and if river dirty fi five weeks (there is) no water for five weeks ’cause they don’t set up the system right. That was five years ago and wi still don’t have drinking water,” he continued.

“Wi have bathroom, but how yuh going to flush it? That’s the kinda predicament we’re in. Dem charging us for water and we’re not getting any,” Barrett added.

The lack of economic opportunities and assistance to farmers, Barrett said, was also a sore point in the area which depends largely on farming.

“Mi and my brother put $150,000 into our farm to plant pumpkins. RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) said they would take it, but they didn’t take a pound and it all stayed in the field and rotted. Eight acres we planted. Everybody out of this community came from farming – whether they are teachers, accountants, fastest runner in the world, them mumma an puppa was a farmer,” he said.

“We are confused, restless and angry,” resident Claudette Leslie interjected.

“Where I’m living is pure bush. It’s very dark – no streetlights – and the road is in a horrible condition and these are roads that used to be maintained,” she said vehemently.

“We have a lovely situated community but nothing. We are upset,” she added.

According to the residents,yah the Windsor Great Cave, one of the largest in Jamaica which is located just outside the community, could be further developed as a tourist attraction and twinned with Bolt’s fame.

“The cave can develop and help. We spoke to them (authorities) about it and them talk ’bout the rat bat them,” Leslie said impatiently.

The cave, which is home to a colony of at least 50,000 bats, has an underground river which feeds the Martha Brae river but is prone to histoplasmosis. This is a potentially fatal disease resulting from infections contracted within tropical caves.

Residents of Prospect in Duncans, who currently have no Olympic stars in their midst, are worried that they may be saddled with their water woes and rugged roads indefinitely.

“Observer, we want road,” one taxi driver yelled as the news team drove past.

“Di roads bad, trust mi. I have to be buying too many parts for the car for the month – all $15,000 to $20,000 per month to replace parts,” said 25-year-old Larchiel Allister, a former employee of the Iberostar Hotel which recently closed its doors.

He does not have much hope that this will change since it has been that way “forever”.

According to Dabby Ray, the community was being ignored “on more than one fronts” because of its political leaning.

“Road and water a fi wi problem. Fi nearly nine months wi nuh have water inna wi pipe, a recently water come back inna di main, and a true wi go block road an demonstrate. A di same ‘politics’ cause it. We green (JLP) up yah suh. No work dung a wharf nah come fi wi way cause wi green,” he said further.

The 31-year-old taxi operator said his pocket was also smarting because of the road network.

“Mi an every auto parts man a fren, dem know mi by name, fi show yuh how regular mi go. Di member of parliament (Patrick Harris) fi yahsuh juss pass through inna him big pretty van, him nah feel dem yah hole inna dat deh big van, him juss guane through neat… an dis a di main road dis fi transport cane,” he said.

Residents of Spicy Hill in the constituency share almost the same reality with their colleagues on the plains.

“Where I am living, when the rain falls water comes right to my doorway. If rain falls heavy mi cyaan come outta mi house. During the election I spoke to Dennis Meadows (JLP) and Dr Patrick Harris (PNP) and they said when they win, and all now I don’t see them. There is no proper drainage, so the water coming over,” one resident, who asked not to be named, told the Sunday Observer.

“Di young people here need more employment. When yuh go look job dem ask if yuh a JLP or PNP. A lot of persons in this area and around used to work at Iberostar and on the hotel programme overseas but are not doing so now because of the recession, and they are unable to pick up jobs here because the employers say you are not going to stay because you were working overseas,” she said.

And the Martha Brae is not carrying its full weight these days if persons in the area are to be believed.

“We need some more development in the area, more shops and a proper craft market.

Rafting on the Martha Brae is the major feature of this area, but the roads are very bad for tourism. They (authorities) said they would fix all the roads for Usain, but they only patch it, and where Usain is from it fix proper; only Sherwood to Clarkestown have proper road and it’s because of Usain,” resident Richard Davis said.

“This is rafting on the Martha Brae and we would like some more tourists ’cause when they eat dinner, we will have dinner. We want more business. I think somebody is not doing the outside work, the marketing of the attraction is weak,” a vendor at the Martha Brae, Sonia Gibson, told the Sunday Observer.

Dodrigde Longman, a taxi operator over in Wakefield, tried to make light of the financial drain brought on by the road network by pretending to be an overworked tyre shop operator.

“The roads are bad and poor, mi get too much tyre to fix a day time, mi overworked, mi cyaan get no rest. Yuh have some bus man every drive dem drive dem tyre chop,” he joked, before coming clean with the Sunday Observer.

“Di road a mi main concern, it cost a whole heap a front-end parts an tyre. Yuh might haffi change a ball joint every two weeks, so fi di month ah all $10,000 and odder little things add up that yuh have to buy regular, plus di tyre dem dear,” he confessed.

Bad roads seemed to make for good business in the community which is spotted with garages.

But Patricia Campbell is getting tired of standing in her shower and waiting for water to return.

“I’m living on a street named Wilson Avenue and we connected to the same main as persons over Logwood Valley and when they are getting water we can’t get any water; up to dis morning mi in my bathroom and is so mi stand up so (arms crossed ) till it come back. “Because of that, mi have to have a drum inside the bathroom for when the water gone mi haffi use a pan an wash off,” she said in frustration.

“The water system poor; it happening from long, long time,” Campbell added.