ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Head of the St Elizabeth police, Superintendent Coleridge Minto, says he is anticipating a huge turnout at Thursday’s staging of a gospel concert in Black River organised by his team five months after Hurricane Melissa battered the south-central town.

“This is expected to be the largest event we [the police] will have in the parish. We are anticipating thousands of persons coming out this evening to be a part of this gathering as we celebrate the goodness of the Lord and also to give thanks that we are here today and rebuilding stronger than before,” he said ahead of the event.

The concert is being staged under the theme Resilience, Rebuild, Rejoice at Cawley’s plaza across from the Black River police station on North Street in the parish capital.

Superintendent Minto reiterated the devastation faced by residents in the heritage-rich town during and after the category five storm.

“Black River and its environs were significantly impacted. Over the months, a number of our residents have been somewhat in their homes, locked away, and so this event is to bring persons from various communities across the parish and even outside the parish to this location as part of the efforts to engage our citizens,” he said.

He added the gospel concert is focused on using music to bring joy to residents.

“We have a number of artistes lined up, the JCF Band and Choir, locals as well as church choirs who will be ministering. Kevin Downswell will close our show this evening and so we invite persons who are around and near to come to this event and be part of this community event,” he said.

“Music as you know plays a very important role in our culture. We have approved hundreds of applications since Hurricane Melissa and this event is no different just that we are using gospel to bring people together and to showcase some of the local talent right at this location in Black River,” he added.

He attributed the community spirit among citizens as a driving force in rebuilding.

“The people in St Elizabeth have a very strong spirit, and that is why we have titled the event Resilience, Rebuild, and we are also Rejoicing. Thousands of persons lost their homes and livelihood, their businesses were destroyed, and we are rebuilding even stronger,” said Minto.

He said over 25 organisations have sponsored the gospel concert.

“I want to say thanks to all our sponsors. Cooperations from Kingston have partnered with us to ensure that this event will be a success this evening, and so we invite persons to come out,” he said while pointing to the ongoing social intervention of the police.

“We have been having a number of community events led by our Community, Safety and Security Branch from the JCF CARE initiative. We have our domestic violence pop-up concerts,” added Minto.

Motorists are being advised of a temporary road closure to facilitate the gospel concert. The road closure commenced at 12:00 pm and will remain in effect until the conclusion of the event.

The closures are Market Street, North Street, School Street and High Street.

The traffic will be diverted to Station Alley. Motorists are urged to use the designated alternate route and obey the directives of police personnel on duty.

— Kasey Williams

(Video: Kasey Williams)