(From left) Lady Allen officially opens the Spring Village ‘I Believe’ Medical Clinic in St Catherine on Tuesday. Observing are Lyttleton Shirley, chairman of the South-East Regional Health Authority; Rev Norval Rodney (background), member of the Spring Village Ministers Fraternal; Norace Harris-Bolt, and Jacqui Banton of the Spring Village Development Foundation’s United Kingdom Chapter; and Nicole Marshall-Walker, group public relations and training manager at Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies. (PHOTO: JIS)

 Published by The Jamaica Observer.

 THE Spring Village Development Foundation (SVDF) in St Catherine has been commended for its commitment to the residents in the community, and for its work in establishing a medical facility to serve more than 20,000 persons. Speaking at the official opening of Phase One of the Spring Village 'I Believe' medical clinic on Tuesday, Lady Allen, wife of governor general Sir Patrick Allen, noted that the clinic is the result of the foundation's tireless work and dedication to the community.

"This complex proves what can be achieved when you dare to dream, pursue that dream with determination, and are so enthusiastic about it that others are led to support you for the achievement of that dream," she said.

The clinic aims to provide affordable, preventive, primary health care to residents of Spring Village and neighbouring communities in a centralised location, where the health services most in demand can be accessed.

Residents will be able to get optical screenings, dental care, mental health/counselling, pharmacy and laboratory service, as well as pre-and post-natal services.

Lady Allen informed that her husband declared Spring Village an 'I Believe' village because he was impressed by the way the residents used their initiative to develop solutions to the problems they identified in the community.

The project has been endorsed by the 'I Believe Initiative', which is spearheaded by the governor general, and is focused on projects intended to contribute to the transformation of Jamaica.

She said the I Believe Initiative is pleased to be a partner in the project and expressed gratitude to the stakeholders for agreeing to add 'I Believe' to the name of the clinic.

"This is a testimony to the fact that they all share the conviction of the governor general that there is nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica. They agree that a motivated community working together to achieve a better quality of life is an aspect of what is right with Jamaica," Lady Allen said.

For his part, Chairman of the South-East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) Lyttleton Shirley said the clinic is a major advancement in health care delivery.

Meanwhile, executive director of the SVDF, Randy Finnikin, said the opening of the facility is an expression of the commitment of stakeholders in the community in ensuring that the population of Spring Village is healthy and productive, as "we relentlessly pursue the transformation of this community to meet the challenges of the day and to play its part in contributing to national development."

Support for the clinic has come from several entities, including Jamaica Broilers, which donated the land for the facility; the Jamaica Missions of Minnesota, in the United States, and the SVDF Chapters in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada.

The governor general also donated $200,000 from the 'I Believe Initiative' towards the project.

— JIS

Alburn 'Maas Alban' Whyte (centre) cuts his birthday cake with assistance from his sons, Willard (left) and Garfield, at his 100th birthday party, held at his home in Spring Village, St Catherine, on Saturday, August 3.-Photo by Karen Sudu

Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

THE OCCASION was an outpouring of love and appreciation in song, poetry and speeches, as well as a fine array of food, drinks, liquor and some great music.

The ambience befitted the celebration, and those who attended wished they never had to leave.

They welcomed and relished the moments shared with Alburn George Whyte, affectionately called 'Maas Alban', of Spring Village, St Catherine, at his 100th birthday party held at his home last Saturday.

"I am 100 years and three days today," he shared with Rural Express.

'BRIGHT BOY'

Maas Alban, born July 31, 1913, to a district constable and a dressmaker, attended Spring Gardens Elementary School where he said he was a "bright boy" and later pursued higher education at an institution in Old Harbour.

"My chief aim was to join the police force. I had the qualification, but I wasn't tall enough," he explained.

So, the centenarian, who has an impeccable memory, spent most of his working life at Amity Hall in the parish.

"My chief job was a supervisor. I was a heavy-duty mechanic. I worked with ADC at Amity Hall, at the rice mill, on the farm and at the workshop. I worked there for 42 years, from 1953 to 1995," he stated.

One of his hallmarks was riding his bicycle to and from work.

"I ride my bicycle to work at Amity Hall. Sometimes, I ride to the seaside to get a sea bath. When I ride the bicycle, I get exercise. I ride my bicycle up to a year ago," he said proudly.

He also got exercise from playing his favourite sport.

"I love to play cricket. I used to play for Spring Village CC (cricket club). I was better in bowling than batting," Maas Alban said.

Willard, 68, his second son, who migrated to the United States of America in 1975, underscored his father's agility.

Maas Alban's third son, Garfield, who also resides in the USA, beamed as he reflected on the times he shared with his father.

"My father always taught me to show gratitude and have respect. I remember he used to take me to the river and he always swam with me on his back,' he reminisced.

Notably, Maas Alban was the first person in the community to buy a car.

"He couldn't drive when he bought the car, but the car was needed, because it was used to take people to the hospital. If there were any emergency, people would come to him for help, and Papa Harris, his close friend, who has died, was the driver at that time," explained Garfield.

The witty centenarian, a Baptist, has won the admiration and respect of many in the community.

"His ability to encourage each and everyone to aspire for great heights is remarkable. He is my church brother, so I visit him regularly and give him a shoulder rub, leg rub and massage and all those things," Christine Lewis, retired teacher, told Rural Xpress.

"Last year, I was in Canada and I missed his 99th birthday party, and this year I decided to postpone my departure, so that I would be here to celebrate his 100th birthday."

The spirited elder has 13 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, 10 great, great grandchildren, three great, great, great grandchildren and two great, great, great, great grandchildren.

2/24/13
SPRING VILLAGE, is proud of Norval (Son of Yonnie Campbell) on his achievements in South Korea as he claimed two silver medals for the USA (and Spring Village) in the 2013 Special Olympics Winter Games.

What are the odds of this happening? Lets see... He is Jamaican, from Spring Village, lives in hot sunny Florida, trains on the beach in Florida..... Truly a stroke of ingenuity and greatness and the guts it takes to dismiss the thought of lack of resources. Norval is truly one for the next Jamaican Bobsled team and an inspiration to us all!

11/17/12

Karen Sudu, Gleaner Writer

SPRING VILLAGE, St Catherine:CONTRACT FARMERS in Clarendon and St Catherine are expected to benefit soon from the Jamaica Broilers Group corn cultivation project.

"We would be encouraging contract farming of corn. There is a ready market, farmers have the farms and in this case they wouldn't have to worry about marketingtheir products, just concentrate on the businessof farming. We would be able to offer a guaranteed price," said Conley Salmon, vice-president, marketing - feeds and agricultural supplies.

On Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke participated in the harvesting of 100 acres of corn grown for local animal feed.

It took approximately 120 days to grow with Jamaica Broilers receiving technical assistance from Belize and the United States.

Salmon pointed out that given the success of the pilot, plans are now being made to replant next January, which should result in an increase of approximately 20 per cent above what was yielded during the pilot.

He said Jamaica Broilers Group sought to explore this option, as it would result in significant foreign exchangesavings.

"We use approximately 11,000 metric tonnes a month of corn in our livestock feed ration, manufacturing our livestock and with a cost of $4 a bushel to $8 a bushel recently out of the United States, we decided that we would look at the economicjustification of growing corn in Jamaica," Salmon stated.

While Salmon was unable to provide a dollarfigure for the production, he said he was pleased with the outcome, which has resulted in savings for Jamaica Broilers and a boost for the local economy.

"We are very happy, it could have been an absolutely disaster. We didn't know what we were doing the first time round, so the fact that we got corn out of the ground ... the fellows from Belize think we have done fairly well, so we are happy we learnt a lot," said Salmon.

rural@gleanerjm.com

August 31st 2012.
Education Award being presented to Humroy Whyte by the Jamaican High Commisioner to the UK, Her Excellency Aloun Ndombet-Assamba at the Jamaica High Commission in London.

Source: Kings House website (Spring Village a model Community)

7/12

Congratulations to Stace Nixon, daughter of Rosemarie Cameron (left) and Garfield Nixon. Stace is a recipent of the 2012 Scholarship award from the National Black Police Association. She loves the field of forensics and always likes to watch showls like CSI and Criminal minds. Stace plans to someday make her mark in this field.

Way to go Stace! We are all proud of you....

February 03, 2012

NEW YORK, USA -- A non-profit group run by Jamaican nationals from the St Catherine community of Spring Village, has launched a fund here to assist with the victims of the January 4 accident which claimed the lives of four members of a family with connection to that community.

The fund was launched by the Spring Village Association at a memorial service in The Bronx on Sunday.

Secretary of the association Dorett Bryan said that those killed in the accident "were either from, or had a connection with Spring Village".

She said that it is customary for the association to provide assistance to the community, adding that "doing so at this time of tragedy resonates with our core values".

Marie Myrie-Smith, her son Garino Dixon, his wife Diana, and their son Nickeil, aged two, perished in the accident along the Old Harbour Main Road.

The Dixons and their son were visiting from Canada where the Spring Village Association has a chapter.

The association, which over the years has provided assistance in education and health care for residents of the community, also operates a chapter in the United Kingdom.

-- Harold Bailey

Jamaica Observer

BY AL EDWARDS (Jamaica Observer)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

 Jamaica's largest poultry producer Jamaica Broilers, has purchased 1,700 acres of land in Spring Garden, St Catherine in order to facilitate a number of initiatives it has in the works.

Jamaica Broiler's chicken processing plant has been around for over four decades and this latest acquisition gives it the option to expand the plant and its operations. It also has a co-generation plant which produces electricity for supply to the chicken plant and also to the national grid.

Speaking With Sunday Finance Jamaica Broilers' Vice President of Finance and Energy Ian Parsard said: " We have purchased 1,700 acres of land in Spring Garden, St Catherine which adjoins our chicken processing plant. The purchase price came in at around US$2.5 million ($216 million). Of the 1,700 acres about 1,000 acres are arable lands so there is a lot of potential there. There is a residential community in close proximity to our plant and this purchase creates a buffer around it which is mutually beneficial to the residents and to our operations".

Jamaica Broiler's chicken processing plant has been around for over four decades and this latest acquisition gives it the option to expand the plant and its operations. It also has a co-generation plant which produces electricity for supply to the chicken plant and also to the national grid.

Parsard pointed out that in Jamaica and the Caribbean, chicken is the largest portion of livestock consumption by far. He notes that the region enjoyed a surplus up to 1990 but since then has experienced a deficit and the indications are that it will continue to do so.

The company, headed by Christopher Levy has made a foray into Haiti in an effort to address the shortfall of chicken meat exacerbated by the earthquake that ravished Haiti's capital city Port-au-Prince in 2010. Here it has launched a joint venture with a Haitian partner to provide feed, chicks, pullets, equipment and technical advice to Haitian poultry farmers. The initial investment is reported to be between US$2 and 3 billion and work is underway to establish a distribution network.

Speaking at the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) Investments&C apital Markets Conference held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston last week, Parsard said: " A careful look shows that since 2007 the poultry industry in Jamaica has not grown while the level of imports has increased by 50 per cent. We all have a part to play in securing our food requirements, private individuals, companies and government policy."

He went on to add that an option being considered is extending the plant and by utilising this additional land, Jamaica Broilers will be in a better position to expand the poultry industry and facilitate the needs of not just Jamaica but the wider Caribbean.

Another option, the Jamaica Broilers Vice President, outlined was the possibility of establishing a solar field. The group has gone into the energy business first with its co-generation plant in Spring Village, St Catherine and secondly with a US$20 million ethanol plant located at Port Esquivel in St Catherine. This plant initially had a capacity of 60 million gallons per year of fuel grade ethanol.

For the financial year ended April 2011, Jamaica Broilers saw its profits fall more than 27 per cent to $956 million from $1.3 billion in the prior year. The company said the major contributor to the decline was the reduction in activity at its ethanol plant and the high cost of corn and energy.

"We have been pressing the relevant minister of government and the OUR for years to conclude the arrangements relative to the wheeling of power without success. Wheeling of power involves the production of electricity at one location and using it as an offset for electricity consumed at another location, in our case the feed mill or hatchery, and paying a fee for the use of the distribution lines.