THE PORTMORE WEBSITE NEWSLETTER =============================== Newsletter: Number 16 for 2003 Date: November 13, 2003 Editor: Kennedy Reid Subscribers: 659 Contact: webmaster@portmore.org Alternate Contact: kennedyreid@yahoo.com Web site: http://www.portmore.org Phone: 876-320-REID Note: Please read notices at end of newsletter CONTENTS ======== 1. Updates and Corrections - Kennedy Reid 2. Municipal Council meeting - November 12, 2003 3. Lodgings in Portmore - facilities and costs 4. Concerned citizen 5. Extremely concern woman in New York 6. Wha Yu a Du - Robert Roach 7. The Gays are coming! ############################################################ 1. Updates and Corrections - Kennedy Reid ############################################################ Sorry to be sending you so many newsletters in one week, but things have come up. I promise to be less frequent next week. Here are some updates! Do you recall the lady with the four kids, the government job, and was being kicked out of her home? Well, a kind person has offered to help. Isn't that great? However, the person may not be able fully fund the rent, so I am still looking for persons who may be willing to help. THANKS to all who responded... or who said a prayer! Also, do you remember that I announced the Greater Portmore Joint Council's meeting at Kensington Basic for Saturday? Well, the correct information is that the meeting will be in the 3 North Park starting at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. ALL the residents of Sanddown Park are invited. Also, all the other leaders in Greater Portmore are invited. ############################################################ 2. Notes from Municipal Council meeting - November 12 - K. Reid ############################################################ I went to the monthly meeting of the Portmore Municipal Council held at the Dermason Restaurant on November 12, 2003. The meetings are held every second Wednesday and are open to the decently dressed public. Of course, you are not allowed to participate in the meeting. Reports were received from agencies such as the NWC, JPS and the Police. The NWC informed the Municipality that there is a major rehabilitation program on the way, The Councillors highlighted the need for the NWC to repair roads, inspect the Greater Portmore sewage system, restrict the additional houses being placed on the local sewage system, and to provide running water in areas of Gregory Park deprived of it. The NWC said that the cost to repair the broken (and stink) sewage plans in Portmore were prohibitive. The Fire Service said that 50% of Hydrants in Portmore were working. Superintendent Hudson reported that Major crimes were down, 40 fire arms were recovered to date, 680 persons arrested, 115 persons ni custody. He asked that politicians restrain their supporters as 2 guns were recovered from JLP supporters going to and from the JLP conference, and that they refused to pay the toll on Hiway2000 and almost destroyed the toll gate. He warned that extortion at the new BNS building would be crushed and that gun men in the area will be killed. We was wary of the Christmas season crime upsurge and of stated that he would not allow dances in the community. next year, the police will be preparing their own budget and plans in consultation with the community. One councilor (brave soul) took on the Supt for his poor Human Rights attitude. Another asked that 2 know criminals be picked up. Another asked for more patrols where idle youth sit on corners. He called for the police to look into the "drug houses" in the communities that attract the school youth. Kennedy Reid was asked to make a presentation on the Greater Portmore Disaster Center. Here is a part of that presentation... "After years of searching and waiting, the GPJC has identified a small parcel of land on the Greater Portmore Sports Complex compound as an ideal location for the Center. Firstly, the land is located in the center of the Greater Portmore community, it is owned by the community, and the nearby fields can be used as a heliport and a ten city in case of national emergencies. Additionally, when the Center is not in use, it can be used by the sports complex as an office and as a ticket sales outlet. The identified plot of land in the Sports Complex was previously earmarked for a small car park but we have redrawn the plan to accommodate a bigger car park elsewhere on the compound, and we have replaced it with the new Disaster Management Center. Initially the Disaster Management Center will be a simple facility consisting of a fenced compound and a refurbished 40 foot container. Please see the attached plan. It will be managed by the Greater Portmore Joint Council and the Sports Complex Committee. Of course, it will be a base of operations for the ODPEM in case of a disaster. The plan has been approved by all the organizations and committees mentioned herein. The Greater Portmore Joint Council hereby request that the Portmore Municipal Council endorse and approve the concept and plans for the establishment of the Greater Portmore Disaster Management Center." Well, to my shock, some Councillors got off on the fact that the project is called "Greater Portmore".(starting with the PNP members!) They want the little money we have to build a facility to manage 170,000 person in Portmore during a disaster! The heart is willing but the resources VERY VERY weak. Plus, the rest of Portmore has responded poorly to our offer to join forces. Anyway, let's try again. On other matters... The Drains in Greater Portmore need a "special" allocation from government. There is a draft budget for the municipality but the final figures are needed before it can be public. The Councillors demanded to see the UDC and a Ferry service started. The matter of the Morgue to be established in the city center was considered. I A letter was read from a protest letter with seven pages of signatures. It was felt that the Council could do nothing since the investor had gotten approval from the St. Catherine Parish Council long ago. Any revision could cost Portmore a big payment. One Councillor was in favor of the morgue, others were not. ############################################################ 3. Lodgings in Portmore - facilities and costs ############################################################ If you want to stay in Portmore, there are two options. Firstly, you may live in the community with a resident. There are residents who are willing to putup persons in a good room for US$20 per day. I am willing to recommend some homes. Secondly, You may lodge at a Hotel on the Port Henderson strip or at the Hotel in Hellshire. Below I have listed SOME of the better known places. I have listed them in order of acceptability... readers can correct me if I am wrong! Here we so... LOCAL HOTELS 1) Jewels Intl. Resort Ltd - 876-988-6785, 876-998-7357, 876-708-9077 Port Henderson Road JA$1,800 for room with fan, JA$2,000-2,700 for AC room with Breakfast Hotel has pool, hot/cold water, restaurant, etc (rate: Very good) 2) Hotel CasaBlanca - 876-939-6999, 876-998-7927 Port Henderson Road JA$2600-3,000 with Cable, AC, hot/cold water, etc. (rate: Good) 3) Arizon Inn - 876-998-4666, 876-998-5667 Port Henderson Road JA$1300-3,300 with jzzi, no AC. Hotel has good restaurant and entertainment (rate: OK) 4) Inez Bogues Hotel - 876-6804 Port Henderson Road No answer to phone calls (rate: poor) 5) "Sugar Man" Hotel Hellshire Unable to locate name and number of this fair size hotel. It has good rooms but poor service. Rates are mainly hourly, but residents are accepted. ############################################################ 4. Concerned citizen ############################################################ Date: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 10:34AM Subject: Re: Portmore Newsletter number 15 for 2003 - News! Webmaster my suggestion to the lady with four children is recommending some help to learn a skill that she could be of help to her family. Does the 19 year old have a skill or any qualifications if not try to encourage him to go to HEART and get a skill too so that he could be of help to his smaller brothers and sisters even though children should not be burdened with family responsibility. Could somebody even employ the bigger kids on a weekend or after school to assist them with their lunch money and bus fare. We all know that if you are not a highly skilled person these Government jobs don't really have much to offer so it would be difficult to pay rent and support your family with this high cost of living. Im sure when NHT was established it was meant to be helpful to low income earners but we have defeated the purpose and therefore ignore the poor who could get a house without a deposit and seeing that the price of houses are so high the poor will never be able to find shelter unless they decide to capture a piece of land and construct a little board house on it. Furthermore the people in this country have no conscience where rental is concerned and the rent board is of no use, and if you are not politically affiliated you will continue to suffer and life will always be hard so ladies should begin to plan their family. Concerned citizen ::::::::::::::::: Webmaster's Reply ::::::::::::::::: Thanks for the advice dear Concerned citizen... but any CONCRETE help? ############################################################ 5. Extremely concern woman in New York ############################################################ Date: Tue, November 11, 2003 7:51 pm To: rhouse@CYBERVALE.COM Hi Mr. Reid, I would like to make some suggestions regarding the anonymous lady with her four kids: First of all, I do think she should take this up with her boss. Working in a government place and in a couple of months, will be thrown on the street? Secondly, What kind of salary is this government place paying that some poor woman cannot survive on such salary with her four children? She needs to go to her boss or above the boss's head and explain the situation. There must be something they can do to help and not put a single parent with 4 kids out in the street. I agree the older one at 19 can find a job. Lots of stores will employ him/her and this can help situation a bit. But the whole situation is just rediculous. If she's out on the street, she's also going to lose her job eventually. Situations like this is making the country worst than what it already is. These things can simple be avoided if the greedy is not controlling all the monies and making the needy suffer. Come on! be realistic, I'm sure something can be done to help this woman. What is the Kiwanis club all about? I thought they were suppose to help people too. What are the main objectives of the Kiwanis club? Enlighten me. Extremely concern woman in New York, ::::::::::::::::: Webmaster's Reply ::::::::::::::::: Thanks for the advice dear Extremely concern woman in New York... but any CONCRETE help? The Kiwanis Club does very good work all over Jamaica, but "water more than flour!". In other words, we are all stressed out here in Jamaica looking after the needy. I hope a Kiwanian on this mailing list can enlighten all of us. It cost $11,000 for this lady's rent...I called her. ############################################################ 6. Wha Yu a Du - Robert Roach ############################################################ From: "Robert Roache" Date: Wed, November 12, 2003 3:33 pm To: Hi Kennedy Reid, What Up.. from reading your News letter, I am not assured of the following a. that there is an effort to increase your mailing lists. b. that you have a desire to include in your monthly reviews.. updates taken from the Portmore Police, Portmore Mayor's office and other Portmore interest groups. Kennedy you have a very good thing going on with this news letter and I feel it can become the platform to promote positive changes. I am interested in knowing the following:- a. How many persons are on your mailing list. b. could you say how many span i. Portmore ii. Outside of Portmore iii. External To Jamaica c. what is the average new members per month d. what is the average disconnection request per month e. what is your plan for this news letter within 5 year from now. f. do you categorise emails address according to the community schemes The dormitory community of Greater Portmore etc. in most parts stays home just to get a nap. This suggest that information about the scheme, community and concerns/threats within our midst would be in high demand. Can you meet this challange. If there was a vigerous effort on your part to let 1 user from you mailing list get 4 others with email addresses then you will I am sure cover all the users with internet access. Kennedy ,if I can be so bold, Your objective for this News Letter Must Include The Following a. to get all users with internet access plugged into your mailing list within the next 2 years. b. to be a source for the most interesting and informative news letter in portmore . c.To accelerate the vision of a united community and the office of the Mayor. Kennedy I have to go now.. but hear dis I anxiously await your response on "Wha Yu a Du". Regards Robert ::::::::::::::::: Webmaster's Reply ::::::::::::::::: Robert, Thanks for questions, but I have not gone into such depth with my research. I just have a list that I edit as the e-mail addresses come and go. Frankly, I long ago gave up on making any money from this INTERNET effort, so I continue to do it for the mere pleasure of using the Internet, the influence I gain, and the joy of interacting with so many persons. Promoting the Portmore website is a major goal (www.portmore.org). If I were to tell you of other loftier objectives, I would be lying.... In short, mi jus extra and nuff. Of course I am aware that I am helping a lot of persons (for free may I add). So, when by resources end, it ends. I have no long-term plans... but to keep on going and see what happens. You want Statistics? Well, at the top of each news letter are some statistics, go to the site and look at the old newsletters and get the pattern. Any significant reductions in the mailing list result only when I "clean' the list of bouncing e-mails (Uner unknow, or Cycber vlae is blocked, etc.). Many of the persons are Jamaicans abroad. Yes there is an effort to increase readers. For example when persons request it, I add them to my mailing list. Also when I see a Jamaican e-mail address, I add it... not asking any questions! Shockingly, only about 20 persons have asked to leave the mailing list over the years! However, about 100 mails bounce each time they are sent. They could be "blocking" me. Mostly, to increase readership I plead, appeal, entreat, and implore my readers to copy this newsletter to others they know. Do you do so? In order to get information I rely on readers. I do ask, beg, and beseech all the persons you mention to send me information, but alas, mi often deh pan mi own. Can you help? ############################################################ 7. The Gays are coming! ############################################################ Last week I took my kids to that real stupid kids movie call "Oh Boy". Of course the kids loved the show. It was about some space dog coming to earth and befriending a lonely kid. I was bored and wanted back my $350. Well, low and behold, in the middle of the movie they flashed a gay couple on the screen. It was just a flash so I said to the lady beside me, "Oh no, why don't they leave that out of the Kids movie". She was surprised because she didn't see it. Well, of course later in the movie the "normal" couple appeared again and this time she was taken aback. What's up with these American movies? Why are they telling the kids that the gay lifestyle is "normal"? i mean, ask any truthful gay man and you will quickly discover the PAINFUL truth they live. Homosexuality is just one of the MANY sexual permutations that society represses in order to keep a lid on the human imagination. It is not an "alternate" lifestyle, its just another sexual direction I mean, sexuality is mostly a mental function. The activities in Prisons show that given the right conditions all sorts of sexual expressions are possible. Homosexual behavior can be learnt; all be it difficult for many. Therefore, as the Americans release the social pressures on their people to conform, they will find an increase in sexual deviations from the norm. Some of which will have grave consequences for the society. So, yes, we should NOT be killing gays, but neither should we make it too accessible and acceptable. Sex acts should be kept private and one should never define one's self by a sex act (but by what God says about you!) One last thing... there is no such thing as Homophobia. A phobia is a RARE debilitating condition. I have never heard of someone twisted in pain by the presence of a gay person. If they do, its rare. The reaction of anger is the normal reaction to the violations of the norms setup by society to protect the values it deems acceptable. For example, Americans will react angrily if a Jamaican visitor to the USA shouts angrily at a gay couple walking in California! Homophobia is a none-scientific term 'invented' to shame society into "accepting" the gay life style. It's working... so here come the gays! I can only pray that as Parents we TRAIN our children in the way they should GO and when they are old they will not depart from it. Hollywood is hell bent on doing the opposite, real hard! Beware! bye! [--------------------------THE END--------------------------------] Legal and other Notes - Please read 1. If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter, address a letter to the webmaster@portmore.org saying "Delete from Newsletter". Your request is executed without question. 2. This newsletter makes NO guarantees of accuracy nor authorship. 3. The contents of this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher and do NOT represent the views of any Political Party or Community Organisation. 4. Please copy this newsletter to as many persons as can However do not alter the contents and give credit to the source(s). 5. Commercial publication or reproduction of this newsletter needs the express consent of the webmaster in writing. 6. Let us know when your e-mail address changes. 7. If a month passes and you have not received a newsletter, please e-mail us about it! 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