St Ann cemeteries to be cleaned
OCHO RIOS, St Ann — With funding secured, cleaning of this parish’s 17 public cemeteries will begin next week, chief executive officer of the St Ann Municipal Corporation, Jennifer Brown-Cunningham announced during Thursday’s monthly meeting of the local government authority.
“We will be starting with St Ann’s Bay, Moneague, and Walkerswood because those are mostly used, and the decision was taken based on the use. St Ann’s Bay, especially, is in a deplorable condition and it is in the capital town, so we have to fix that,” she said.
While councillors expressed appreciation for the initiative, some argued that cemeteries in their division should have been included on the list of locations that will receive attention first.
“I’ve been asking for months about cemeteries in my division and they have gotten no attention. I have mixed feelings about this because I know that my cemeteries are being used,” said Councillor Kaydian Harty (People’s National Party, Claremont Division).
For his part, Councillor Ian Bell (PNP, Beecher Town Division) said he has been getting countless complaints about the state of the cemetery in his division.
“Every time I go Beecher Town, people coming to say, ‘Councillor, look at the cemetery!’ And it was never like that [before],” he argued.
Bell also made the point that two outstanding public figures will be buried in Beecher Town soon, but the cemetery is not welcoming.
“Saturday coming, Mr Lenworth Sterling, senior JP and former principal at Ferncourt [High School] for many years, will be buried in Beecher Town cemetery; and the Sunday that follows, a sergeant of police will be buried in Beecher Town. The state of the place is an embarrassment,” he said.
In response, the CEO appealed for patience.
“We chose three of the cemeteries that need the attention, then we move forward. When we do these three then the following month others will get cleaned. The programme was done for the 17 but we are doing it one at a time as our finances allow,” she said.
Councillor Lloyd Garrick (PNP, Moneague Division) took the floor in an effort to justify Moneague cemetery’s inclusion in the first three to be cleaned.
“After [Hurricane] Melissa, most of the space left in the Moneague Cemetery cannot be used because of some huge trees. The cemetery not only needs to be cleaned but space needs to be made for burial. We have funerals there regularly so Moneague is well-used,” he told his peers.
“We have to learn to balance, and give and take,” Garrick urged.
