THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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SEVEN KILLED IN REPRISAL FOR TRIPLE MURDER—10/06/07
Violet Williams, 48, and Christina Bryan, 18, her daughter, were among seven people murdered in Rockfort, Kingston. The seven included a four-month-old child as well. The killings were revenge for a triple murder that occurred an hour earlier on Norma Crescent. In that incident, Ana-Jay Hurd, four months old, and her parents, Marlon Hurd, 27, and Shaineta Smith, 18, were killed.
2005 REPORT FROM MINISTRY OF HEALTH CITES HUMAN BITE CASES—10/07/07
According to a report from Jamaica’s Ministry of Health in 2005, many children under the age of 19 were victims of violence. The report says that 2,515 children were treated for human bits, while others were the victims of blunt injuries, poisonings, burns, sexual assault, and rape. A considerable number of children younger than 19 were treated at emergency rooms for these injuries.
CHURCH LEADERS CALL FOR MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE FOR MALES—10/08/07
Pastor Glen Samuels, president of the West Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, has called for mandatory military training for the young, particularly males.
JAMAICANS BENEFIT FROM CANADA’S ECONOMIC BOOM—10/09/07
Canada is the eighth largest economy in the world, and it is a major trading partner. Skilled workers from Jamaica are already reaping the benefits of labor shortages in Canada. Canada’s unemployment rate is at its lowest point in history.
FLOOD WATERS DRIVE PEOPLE FROM HOMES IN ST. THOMAS—10/10/07
The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) reports that 31 people, 21 of them children, fled to the Yallahs New Testament Church when rains prompted flooding of their homes in Backlash, Yallahs, St. Thomas. Elderly people were also forced to leave their homes in Rocky Point, Clarendon, due to flooding.
WALKER SHORT-LISTED FOR POLICE COMMISSIONER—10/11/07
Danville Anthony Walker is one of the top candidates to succeed Lucius Thomas as Commissioner of Police at the end of October 2007. The other candidates for the post include Charles Scarlett, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
HEAVY RAINS PLAGUE ISLAND—10/12/07
Many of Jamaica’s roads and fords were blocked by heavy rains that fell on the island for the sixth day in a row. Several individuals were left stranded in the Bog Walk gorge when the Rio Cobre overflowed its banks. People had to be rescued by the Bog Walk police, and the gorge was ultimately closed. This forced motorists to change their routes and travel through Barry and Sligoville.
DENGUE, MALARIA CASES RISE IN JAMAICA—10/12/07
The Ministry of Health and Environment has confirmed a death associated with dengue fever, five deaths associated with dengue hemorrhagic fever, and 100 cases of leptospirosis. One new case of malaria, located in Waterhouse, St. Andrew, has been diagnoses.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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JAMAICAN GIVEN SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR AIRLINE RAGE—10/06/07
Howard Bailey, 30, a Jamaican who lives in the United Kingdom, received a four-month suspended sentence after an airline flight he was on had to land at Shannon Airport after a rage incident. Bailey is a chronic paranoid schizophrenic. He was flying from Gatwick to Montego Bay when he shouted that he would “put the plane into the sea.” Bailey had to be restrained, and the flight was diverted to Shannon. Bailey’s solicitor says his client has no memory of the incident.
JAMAICAN WOMAN TURNED AWAY FROM CAYMAN HOSPITAL—10/07/07
Shellesha Woodstock, 29 weeks pregnant, unexpectedly gave birth to her first baby during a Cayman Airways flight. Woodstock was turned away from a Cayman hospital where she had expected to have her child. After showing her insurance card to a nurse at the Cayman hospital, she was told that it was cheaper for her to have the baby in Jamaica. It was on her return flight to the island that she gave birth with the help of flight attendants.
UK WOMEN”S RIGHTS GROUPS ANGRY AT JAH CURE—10/07/07
Jah Cure, 29, is the focus of anger from women’s rights groups in the United Kingdom because he has been allowed to resume his career following eight years in prison for raping a woman at gunpoint. Jah Cure, a Rastafarian whose real name is Siccature Alcock, has been compared to Bob Marley, selling out concerts and receiving considerable media attention in the United States.
GUILTY PLEA IN ROBBERY AND GUN CRIME—10/09/07
Jamaican-born Omar Robinson, who currently lives in Florida, may serve the maximum life sentence for the charges of armed robbery and illegal possession of a firearm. Robinson entered a guilty plea to charges of conspiracy to interfered with commerce through intimidation or extortion, armed robber and interference with interstate commerce, and unusually possession and uses of a gun while committing the crime.
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SPORTS
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JAMAICAN SURFERS TO PARTICIPATE IN PAN AM GAMES IN CHILE—10/06/07
Members of the Jamaica Surfing Association (JSA) have confirmed that they will participate in the 2007 Pan American Surfing Association Surfing Games in November in Iquique, Chile. Eugene Miller, the coach, will head a 14-member delegation that will travel to the games in South America.
NICHOLAS WALTERS WINS AT GOLDEN GLOVES IN NEW YORK—10/07/07
Caribbean champion Nicholas Walters received a belt and trophy at the Golden Gloves Tournament in New York. Walters, at 125 pounds, won a second-place trophy and a belt. Walters has work to do if he wants to participate in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, according to the judges at the Golden Gloves.
JAMAICANS WIN 28 MEDALS AT SPECIAL OLYMPICS—10/09/07
A total of 28 medals have been won by Jamaica’s Special Olympics athletes at the 12th Special Olympic World Summer Games in China. The team received nine gold, eight silver, and 11 bronze medals at the competition.
REGGAE BOYZ’ DREAMS OF OLYMPIC COMPETITION FADE—10/12/07
The Reggae Boyz had hoped to make their debut at the 2008 Olympics Games, but they received a difficult blow with a loss to the Bahamas team at Stade Sylvio Cator in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Bahamas all but eliminated the Reggae Boyz from the competition by giving them a 1-0 loss.
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DEVOTIONAL
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Only An Instrument
It’s funny how when some people go out and do things in the name of the Lord, they end up bragging about it. There’s absolutely nothing wrong in reporting victories on the battlefield, but one of the worse things the child of God could do is to draw glory from God unto themselves. We note the response of the seventy disciples when they returned from their commission. Luke reports, “And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (10:17). As Bible Commentator Matthew Henry noted, “They give Christ the glory of this: It is through thy name.” They recognized that nothing they did was possible, but through Christ.
In a recent class on ‘Spiritual Leadership’, one of my professors used a very practical example to make what I thought was a profound point. In the hand of a world class surgeon, a scalpel is simply a surgical instrument. Regardless of the number of surgeries the surgeon would perform with that scalpel, at the end of each one the now sterilized instrument goes back among the other instruments until the next time it is needed. No matter how life saving a particular surgery was, or the accolades that came with a successful outcome, the scalpel does not take a bow, it doesn’t get mentioned. Like the scalpel in the hand of the surgeon, so is the Christian in the hand of God; an instrument that is used to carry out God’s purposes “ we do not come out for an applause, we do not take a bow.
I quite like how Jesus brought the seventy back to what was really important. After expanding their ministry capabilities, He continued, “Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven” (10:20). The theology in this statement is too great to cover in this space, but suffice it to say that Jesus deflected any intent they had of feeling special, or better than everybody else. If we are to rejoice it is not as instruments being used, but rather because by God’s grace, we have a place in the kingdom.
As we fulfill our respective calling, may we be mindful of the words of John, The Revelator: “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Revelation 4:11). He gets ALL the attention and ALL the glory; we simply go back to work when called upon. How are you doing in that area?
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CREDITS/SOURCES
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The weekly news is compilation of new articles from top Caribbean and Jamaican news sources.
