WEST THE DAILY OBSERVER Thursday, March 24, 2022 twitter/jamaicaobserver www.jamaicaobserver.comBY ROCHELLE CLAYTONObserver West reporterclaytonr@jamaicaobserver.comMONTEGO BAY, St JamesWITH several schoolsin St James not onlybordering majorthoroughfares, but alsomaking unhealthy lifestylechoices, Councillor MarkMcGann (Jamaica LabourParty, Somerton Division) iscalling for the establishmentof safe school zones acrossthe parish.“About 80 per cent of theschools in the parish arealong major roadways, so Ibelieve there should be someform of prevention measureswhether it be signs, lumberstrips, or speed limits duringschool hours,” McGann toldthe Jamaica Observer Westin a recent interview.He pointed out that primaryschool students are more susceptibleto becoming victimsof traffic incidents while attemptingto safely cross theseroadways to and from school.“We have had accidents withthese older kids also being hurtmortally and otherwise,” thecouncillor stressed.Additionally, McGann statedthat the regulation of schoolvending zones should be at thetop of the list for the interest ofall stakeholders.“Not only in terms of thetraffic situation, but even whenit comes to vending becausewe have had incidents of thevendors storing weapons forstudents and all sorts of thingslike change of clothes. So, Iwant to make schools and thevicinity of schools a sort ofsterile zone,” he argued.“The police have done raidswhere they found weapons,uniforms and change of clothesthat some kids were askingvendors on the outside of theirschool to hold onto.”An incident of similarnature took place at theparish’s Maldon High Schoolin 2015 where then 15-yearoldstudent Romario Salmonwas stabbed to death bya group of knife-wieldingboys.It was reported that a vendorhad kept the weapon that wasused to kill the young boy.The councillor stressed thathe is not against school vendingbut is instead pushing for amore controlled environment.“I am not here to stop vendorsfrom plying their wares, I justwant the vendors that arethere to either be licensed orvetted in some form of wayso that our more vulnerablestudents aren’t susceptible tobeing pushed into the cultureof contraband,” said McGann.Additionally, he said, the establishmentof the school safetyzones would also take into considerationthe items being soldby these vendors.Once up and running,McGann told the ObserverWest, vendors would simplynot be allowed to sell imitationfirearms with candy inside orany other toys that promoteviolence.“These are very attractivethings to some of our youngerkids. It may not be the thingsthat their homes are openingthem up to, but they may seeit on the roads, and it drawsthem to it,” the councillormaintained.He said the strategy couldcome to fruition through thepartnership of the differentstakeholders across St James.“This would require partnershipsfrom the Ministry ofEducation and Youth, NationalWorks Agency (NWA), and itwould also have a componentfor the Jamaica ConstabularyForce (JCF) in terms of sensitisingcitizens,” said thecouncillor.“The vendors who areallowed in the vicinity ofschools should be vetted, notnecessarily through a stringentmethod like a police record, butyou know who they are, theyare registered, and you knowhow many are out there. Youcan even add a little code ofconduct or a memorandum ofunderstanding (MOU) regardingthe acceptable items to sellto the students.”He added: “The Ministry ofHealth (MOH) could also comeon board because there is nowa push to remove sugary drinksfrom the diets of our youngerkids. MOH could get involvedby looking at the alternativesthat the vendors could haveinstead.”And sharing that he hasexperienced major anxietywhile witnessing high schoolstudents in his division attemptto get across the roads ontotheir school compound,Councillor Dwight Crawford(Jamaica Labour Party SpringGarden Division) is in “fullsupport” of the establishmentof safe school zones in theparish.“I personally have an issuewith the areas that the childrenhave to cross. I know thatthere are some areas that havewardens, but I have observedin my division where wehave schools such as HerbertMorrison Technical HighSchool…,” the councillor said.“I was invited by the principal,Paul Adams, to have a lookat the stoplight across from theschool. I almost felt like I waswatching a video game justwatching the children try tocross the roadway.“The crossing signals are outof use, so they are relying onjudgement and assumption forwhen it is a good time to runacross the roads,” Crawfordtold the Observer West, as hemade an impassioned plea tothe NWA for assistance.“I am calling on NWA tocome and do somethingabout the stoplights that arenot working at this intersectionand pedestrian crossing,”Crawford appealed.McGann calls for safe schoolzones across St JamesMCGANN…we have hadaccidentswherekids havebeen hurtmortally andotherwiseCRAWFORD… I personally have an issue with the areas that thechildren have to crossmotorcycles, some law put inplace that we can handle thesituation much better,” sheargued.The issue of people operatingmotorcycles contrary tothe Road Traffic Act is alsosaid to be having a negativeimpact on the Hanoverdivision of the Jamaica FireBrigade.According to DeputySuperintendent in charge ofthe Hanover Fire Department,Raymond Desouza, “bikersare topping into our resourcesconsiderably.”He noted that since mid-Februarythe department, whichalso operates an EmergencyMedical Services (EMS), hasresponded to 10 motorcyclecrashes in the parish.