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1 week ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:Administrators and students at the St James-based Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) on Monday officially launched the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, which will entail a series of activities to acknowledge the institution’s commitment to providing quality education in western Jamaica. The launch was held at the MBCC’s main campus under the theme ‘Celebrating 50 years: Transforming lives and inspiring excellence in education’.
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2 weeks ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:At 100 years old, Austin Wright of Mafoota, St James, is a symbol of discipline, hard work, and perseverance, having endured many trials, including health issues, which spanned from his childhood days to old age. Wright, who was born in Burnt Savanna, St Elizabeth, on June 11, 1925, celebrated his enviable milestone yesterday with family members and close friends at his home in Mafoota. “I feel all right, you know. Until now, I give God thanks that I am not feeling any pain.
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2 weeks ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:Dr Andre Haughton has hailed Monday’s Supreme Court injunction as a “victory for the people”, following a ruling that bars the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) from removing campaign signs belonging to preospective People’s National Party (PNP) candidates in the upcoming general election.
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2 weeks ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:Growing up in the quiet, rural community of Johnson in St James, Jamaica, Tashauna Holmes could never have imagined that one day she would stand as valedictorian of Harvard University’s 2025 graduating class. Her journey – from humble beginnings and early culture shock in the United States to the pinnacle of academic excellence – has been nothing short of inspiring.
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4 weeks ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
Published:Saturday | May 31, 2025 | 12:09 AM WESTERN BUREAU:The three former employees of the Clifton Boys’ Home in Darliston, Westmoreland, who were arrested and charged in 2021 for allegedly abusing eight wards at the facility, have been acquitted of the charges following their latest appearance in the Westmoreland Parish Court.
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1 month ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:Following in the wake of reports earlier this week that a British national had to leave Jamaica to seek medical treatment overseas, after being bitten by a shark in St James, Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator for the Western Regional Health Authority, has sought to assure the public that local health facilities are properly equipped to address medical emergencies.
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1 month ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
Published:Wednesday | May 28, 2025 | 12:06 AM Previous Pause Next WESTERN BUREAU:Clinical psychologist Dr Georgia Rose believes that discussions on interpersonal violence and abuse must seek to erase long-held, gender-based stereotypes on the subject, such as male abuse victims being weak, or women being only victims but not aggressors.
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1 month ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU: It took more than ten years, three police officers, and a change of parish before Mercia Fraser could finally say the words she had waited so long to utter: “Now we can go and deal with our closure and say that it is done.” Fraser, mother of the late Mario Deane, is relieved that justice was finally served after a jury in Westmoreland found Corporal Elaine Stewart and Constables Juliana Clevon and Marlon Grant guilty in connection with her son’s 2014 death – but she cannot...
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1 month ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:More than a decade after her son, Mario Deane, was brutally beaten in a jail cell over a ganja spliff, Mercia Fraser is still haunted by the loss – but now, she is finding purpose in her pain. Just days after a Westmoreland jury convicted three police officers for their roles in Mario’s death, Fraser shared that she plans to launch a foundation in her son’s name – a lasting legacy for a life cut short.
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1 month ago | 
jamaica-gleaner.com | Christopher Thomas
WESTERN BUREAU:More than a decade after Mario Deane succumbed to injuries sustained after being beaten while in police custody, his mother, Mercia Fraser, finally heard the word she had waited years to hear: guilty. On Thursday, after the verdict was read in the Westmoreland Circuit Court, Fraser stood just outside the courtroom, tears running down her face, her body trembling with emotion. The three police officers charged in connection with her son’s death were all found guilty.
