Dear Editor,

I take whatever happens in St Thomas personally, maybe much too personally because that is where I am from; the parish in which I was born and bred. Sometimes I feel as though it is my responsibility to protect its image and secure its legacy. This sense of protection can be likened to the affection given to that child in the family who is different from the others. The one who does not learn as fast as the others, or goes left while the entire family is going right.

I must admit it is not the most comfortable feeling to sit around a table, in a university classroom or generally having an idle chat with peers from other parishes, and hear them speak about St Thomas. The parish is well known to them, but sadly not for anything good. St Thomas is infamous for its bad roads, underdevelopment, and the obeah stigma (which only outsiders seem to be aware of).

One cannot imagine how overjoyed it makes me to see announcements being made to finally give something back to St Thomas. This beautiful place which has been raped and plundered of its resources to develop other parishes is finally getting consideration.

With the announcement of the town centre development, and the lovely town hall meeting which occurred as a result, we the people of St Thomas believe that progress is imminent. The State could not possibly be so bare-faced to waste our taxi fares and three hours of our valuable time to sit and listen to what isn’t the truth.

Mind you, many grand announcements have been made about the property of the former Goodyear factory so there is some level of scepticism for this grand plan. As well, while I endorse the move, I can’t say I am very convinced that the indicated timeline exactly adds up. In the town hall meeting it was said that the road repairs will be done before the town centre, but also that the town centre will begin by year end or early next year. The repairs on the road are yet to begin. Let’s say there is cautious optimism.

I sincerely hope this town centre development will manifest for the people of St Thomas and that it is not just another white elephant.

I hope that, very soon, parishioners will be proud to stand and say, “I am from St Thomas,” in light of the influx of development that will come as a result of the new infrastructure.

Kimberley Thompson

Second Runner-up, 2017 Miss St Thomas Festival Queen

kimberleythompson81@yahoo.com