PORTMORE WEBSITE e-News Publication Date: October 3, 2007 – 5:10 p.m. TOPICS IN THIS ISSUE: 1) Meaning of the Elections 2) Political Representatives 3) Moving to Portmore 4) Coping with a new Government 5) Website survey 6) PGA Webmaster 7) Need a vacant store 8) History of 6 East 9) Iyalode School for Portmore SPONSORED BY: WhatsWhatJamaica.com http://www.WhatsWhatJamaica.com 'Real Jamaicans, telling you how things really go' Dr. Errol Williamson "Working for St. Catherine Southern." http://www.thejlp.org/candidates/candidatepdfs/ewilliamson.pdf email : errol_williamson@yahoo.com Call him at 817-0592 1) ########## Meaning of the Elections What do the elections mean for Portmore and Jamaica? In a democratic country the will of the people is expressed in a free and fair election. It is the duty of all to accept what the people are saying whether they like it or not. I know personally how difficult it can be to accept the will of the people, but no amount of reasoning can change the fact that you and your ideas have been rejected... the people have spoken. The fact that the PNP won all three seats in Portmore means that the people of Portmore support the establishment of the toll road and appreciate the efforts of the PNP administration to make it work. Like it or not, those persons who oppose the toll road now need to put the matter to rest since... the people have spoken. The same is true for Opposition Leader Mrs. Simpson-Miller. The people have rejected her as the Prime Minister. Indeed, her persona was the main engine of the PNP campaign and it did not work. She should now resign from leadership and allow someone else to lead the PNP back to power... the people have spoken. Now I know there are arguments pro and con, but the fact is... The people have spoken and they have the final say and are unlikely to change their collective minds! 2) ########### Political Representatives Date: Tue, 04 Sep 2007 16:37:18 -0000 From: "enidan73" To: portmoreinfo-owner@yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: Portmore Election Results Kudos on the victories. Might I suggest that each winner/ political representative submit a copy of his/her plans for portmore so that it can be viewed and monitored by residents to ensure that he/she does what has been promised. It's time we had some accountability. Nadine Downer ========== Webmaster's Contribution Dear Nadine, You are far too late! The time for promises was BEFORE election day! All you can do now is trust that we have selected the best representatives who will have the interest of the people at heart; if not then... You also need to be aware that the Portmore community is now represented by members of the opposition and they will have challenging time getting attention for their constituencies. The government would be more inclined towards other areas of Jamaica where they have a better chance of winning in future elections. If anything is to be achieved though our politicians, they will have to 'work like hell' to get it! If our representatives are going to be successful, they will need to clearly identify some objectives, engage the community in these, and then seek the attention of the authorities in no uncertain teems. This is what was done in the 1980s and will need to be done in the future. On the other hand, the JLP might take the attitude that they almost won one Portmore seat and a little more effort might be needed to win it in the future... who knows. I humbly suggest to both JLP and PNP politicians in Portmore that some of their objectives for Portmore should be... 1) Establishing a mini-hospital or emergency center. 2) Broadening the roads leading eastward to the Toll Road. The congestion on these roads starts from 6:00 a.m. each day. 3) Building a top high school in the area. We need to insist that the Min. of Education build or upgrade a school to cater to our top students... and it must not be a hot pre-fab building! 4) Building up the strength of the municipal authority to handle the urban problems we are encountering. 5) Getting more skills into the HEART Academy to prepare the youth for foreign employment. 6) Building a local court house while we become a Parish. 7) Executing a intervention project for the urban ghettos being established in Newlands, Braeton, Portmore land, Lesser Portmore, and Gregory Park. Best Regards, Kennedy 3) ########### Moving to Portmore Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2007 1:45:08 -0700 From: gfmullen@cox.net To: webmaster@portmore.info Subject: lovely city my name is gilbert mullen and i live in las vegas nevada usa and i have been looking in your area to retire in the near future but will be keeping my home here in las vegas, i am also looking into dual citizenship. what got my attention about portmore is that you all are very community minded and you all care about not necessary growing larger but how to grow larger the right way and that tells me a lot about the community of portmore. i will be coming to jamaica in april of 08 to visit and will be staying at the jewel hotel there for a couple of days to look for property to build a residence, hopefully i can find beach front property in your lovely community. if you all have a news letter available could you foward the address so i may sign up. here i work for clark county government going on 19 years in the sewer department, if i can assist you in any way on sewer blockages in your sewer system or of treatment at your ponds please don't hesitate, our treatment facilities is the most advanced waste water treatment plant not just in the united states, but in the world. any thing that i can or you think i can assist you in that, please ask. waste water treatment is very important and if come in contact with the general public can cause hepitites c infection. will be communicating soon again with you all and can't wait to experience portmore. from las vegas with love: gilbert f. mullen jr ========== Webmaster's Contribution Mr. Mullen jr. Please visit us a couple of times before you make up your mind. Jamaica is a wonderful country, but there are challenges you will have to learn to live with! 4) ########### Coping with a new Government From: "dalton nembhard" To: webmaster@portmore.info Subject: moving forward Date: Wed, 5 Sep 2007 23:09:52 -0400 how do we move from here with a new government , will the projects started by the previous government continue. I am not sure how much is being put into keeping and maintaining standards in our communities. ========== Webmaster's Contribution Dalton, It's the duty and right of every new government to evaluate the activities of the previous administration. Frankly, I think the last administration did its best given the circumstances they faced, but if they did anything clearly illegal, I hope the current administration will send the offenders to prison! 5) ######### Website survey Subject: Portmore.info Survey Results Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 05:57:21 Would you Visit the site again? = Yes, I would visit again How did you Hear About the site? = Link from another site Enter your Name = wilson.raquel@sympatico.ca What are your Comments = i am living in canada i need to find laroose hotel in port henderson.i need more information on portmore so i can be up todate in my country Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:46:38 -0700 (PDT) Would you Visit the site again? = No, I wouldn't visit again How did you Hear About the site? = Via a search engine Enter your Name = counteryman@rogers.com What are your Comments = This site doesn't’t give me all the info I was looking for; I was however, trying to explore the Greater Port more region. Could you publish some news about greater Port more? I can’t seams to find anything and that part of town. 6) ########### PGA Webmaster From: "PGA Webmaster" To: webmaster@portmore.info Subject: Corrections... Date: Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:40:56 -0700 Greetings Kennedy, Thank you for making the adjustments on your site to reflect the correct website link for us. I noticed however, that on the same page you have Rehoboth Gospel Assembly listed there, but it really should be Rehoboth Apostolic Church. Just thought you should know. Webmaster - www.PortmoreGospelAssembly.com 7) ######### Need a vacant store Subject: information on vacant store in the mall Date: Sun, 9 Sep 2007 09:57:12 -0400 From: "Bocaguards" To: webmaster@portmore.info CC: goodeny@bellsouth.net Good Day Sir/Madam, I would like to know if there are any vacant stores in the mall for rent, if so the price and size of available spots. Thank You Yolanda Gooden 954-678-7986 goodeny@bellsouth.net 8) ######### History of 6 East From: "Roy Russell" To: webmaster@portmore.info Subject: Info on Old Braeton Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:20:30 -0500 Hi Mr. Ried, First let me congratulate you on a very informative web site. My son is doing a history project on his community going- which is 6 East - Greater Portmore. The history should go back 50 years. My observations and further research has confirmed that the area of 6 East where I live seems to have been part of Old Braeton (uninhabited). As such his research would have to be on the Old Braeton Community. I have a few questions which would greatly assist and would appreciate if you could assist or direct me where to source the information. Do you have any photographs/maps and additional information on Old Braeton area (before the development of Greater Portmore). for example was it a squatter settlement? etc. 2. Is the Greater Portmore area part of the Old Salt Pond Property/Portmore Pen or part of Hellshire. 9) ######### Iyalode School for Portmore Date: Wed, 19 Sep 2007 20:56:11 -0700 (PDT) From: "Iyalode School" Subject: Portmore To: "Kennedy Reid" From: Enrica Wilder (Riki) Hello Mr. Reid, Apologies for not being able to email you sooner. I have just moved from Philadelphia to Houston. Philadelphia is 1,344 miles (2164 kilometers) away from Houston. I've arrived in a suburb of Houston called Pearland. As you may recall, I was inquiring about Portmore and the educational system as well as some engineering projects. I was planning a grant application to do some research into statistics and things that would benefit both countries in the future. One of the criteria of the project is that I make a preliminary visit on my own dollar, which I did in March, 2007. It was the first time I had been to Jamaica. My grandfather, deceased a long time now, used to tell stories of Jamaica and the mountains and seaside. He was a maroon and was an African. My grandfather was also a doctor and had his own hospital behind the shed in my grandmother's kitchen, where many people were brought to him. My grandmother's mother was an African Haitian and her father was a Scotsman. My great-grandmother had to escape Haiti to the United States. I had to see Jamaica for myself. The weather is great and I would have had a better time if I had been able to bring more money with me. A few of the people I met tried to remind me that Jamaica's people are very different and have a culture that I wasn't accustomed to. Actually, I differ in my perspective, as I didn't see any differences between Jamaican people and black American people. I originally had stayed at a small hostel in the mountains. It was unfortunate that the white man there had such control over the 3 black men. I say unfortunate because one of the men was an excellent cook. I know they thought I was an unknowledgeable stranger, but they didn't consider that I am an African-West Indian-Scottish-American woman. Myself and another woman (a very light-skinned black woman) had to basically escape and it was good that she was originally from Jamaica and knew the terrain. It was also good that she refused to stay in a basement room that only locked from the outside, but not the inside. She was glad that I have the ability to not ever go to sleep and that I was able to keep waking her up as she asked, so that we didn't miss the taxi on the mountainside. She left money for them (she said she had to live in Jamaica and didn't want them tracking her and harming her), but I didn't because I was escaping because of their trouble, plus I had to pay a new hotel because of them. We then made it to Kingston and parted company. I was met with a few Rastamen and they introduced me to a security guard who took me to a better hotel where I would be safe and then introducted me to a driver who could drive me around Jamaica. I really don't have money to just distribute and send to people for no reason, and when I return to Jamaica, I'm certain that the driver won't be driving me anywhere. I spoke to him on the phone with the expectation of asking him to be my driver again when I returned to Jamaica, and his reaction to me was quite unprovoked and appalling. He spoke of the would-be rapists and murderers as if I had done them wrong by not becoming their victim, and called me a racist because the ring-leader was a white man (obviously of the poorest stratum. He said he was from Germany, but he had a distinctly American accent). Apparently, the driver was distressed that the men at the mountain hostel don't know how far-reaching my report on them could get. I know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm sure none of them understood what I said I was in Jamaica for in the first place. Even in the U.S., lots of times, some men will just look at my physical appearance, get confused and won't think any further, as if I were not a professional, educated, academic woman. So, I was annoyed at the driver, but not exactly surprised. If I'm not wearing a business suit, my level can be sometimes misunderstood here in the U.S. also. I met some really nice people by the seaside in Portmore and spoke with lots of them. Unfortunately, my camera didn't have the right software, so none of my pictures came out. My good camera didn't have batteries. I really should have bought a disposable camera. With the second phase of the grant, I would be either staying on campus at the University of the West Indies, or off-campus where the UWI refers me to. In any event, I will be reporting to the UWI as per the stipulation for the federal grant. I am very interested in the engineering aspect of Portmore. A man that owns a house, store and horse stable by the seaside offered to build a house for me. That is a good idea, I thought, so I contacted a lawyer in Kingston, who told me that the real estate rules are basically the same as in the U.S., requiring permits and such. If I'm actually going to receive the grant funds ($30,000.00 USD or $1,982,200.00 JMD), only then would I start the process of any structure building possibility. The land-owner is also a talented artist, and I would like to see his work distributed in the U.S., particularly in the immediate future with a book cover for a book that will be distributed world-wide, being translated into several languages. The structure of my research is basically ESL, English as a Second Language, and how the Patois (or Jamic) can be acknowledged as a valid first language for many residents of Jamaica. The future projection is that of education and the completion of education, moreover how to retain the patois while graduating with exams in English. In addition, the research will entail the possibility of language interpretation for early education being part of the core educational process. I am aware that some of the people I spoke to in Jamaica had the wrong idea of what this educational research was all about. It's not that I (or anyone else) is "giving" Jamaica's people anything or "looking down" on Jamaica's people. Or the fact that Jamaica doesn't "need help" with matters of education. I assure you, no one is trying to "give" anyone anything. I am more spiritual than religious, and although I attended Catholic schools for 12 years, I am indeed not hardly a Catholic. I own and control my own life. It can be quite difficult for a black person in the U.S. I've risen above a lot of things and constantly stay vigilant so that my life remains mine and also to be aware of any unfair discrepancies that could affect my life. This educational research project has to be approved by the University of the West Indies and Ministry of Youth and Education in Jamaica and is done by the purveyors of the grant proposal. I am not just doing this on a whim of my own. However, the grantors have informed me that it's possible to double the grant funding to $60,000.00 for 2 years. Of course, there are some things that are different regarding culture, in Jamaica. I did notice some things that are slightly different, but that would depend on what part of the U.S. it is. Black people, or people of African descent have similarities everywhere in the world, regardless of culture. This is only very different in Africa itself, and that having to do with the lack of respect a woman can get. I would be happy for you to tell me about Portmore and the opinions you have about a possible educational research project. (My Iyalode School will be an online internet school alternative that anyone anywhere can enrol in, with the future possiblity of physical schools being both in the United States and Jamaica.) Riki iyalodeschool@yahoo.com rikiwilder@yahoo.com P.O. Box 1483 Pearland, TX 77588 Phone: 832-677-2408 THE END) #################################### PORTMORE WEBSITE Editor: Kennedy Reid Phone: 876-878-3754 Subscribers: 331 Reply to: webmaster@portmore.info Web site: http://www.portmore.info TO RECEIVE THIS NEWSLETTER SEND A BLANK E-MAIL TO: portmoreinfo-subscribe@yahoogroups.com