Wednesday September 25th
2013 will be a day many students at Holmwood
Technical High School in Manchester
will never forget.
This was the day when a Minibus
carrying thirty (30) of their fellow classmates from Mandeville to Christiana collided
with a Trailer in the Chudleigh Area at 8 am killing four (4) Holmwood Technical High Students as
reported in “DAY OF
HORROR - Four students perish in crash”, by Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
According to the article “Holmwood weeps - Four students dead,
several injured in accident”, published Thursday, September 26, 2013
BY ALICIA SUTHERLAND Observer staff reporter, The
Jamaica Observer, the four (4) that died were:
- Kimona Levy
- Shaneka Muschette
- Okeen Gordon
- Tameka Peart
The first three (3) died at the Percy Junior
Hospital in Spalding even as Tamara Peart who was being airlifted to the University
Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew, died in transit.
The students of Holmwood Technical High School were so
distraught that they couldn’t have classes that day, despite the Minister of
Education Ronal Thwaites being on hand to comfort them as noted in “Education Minister Leads Team
to Comfort Grieving Students at Holmwood”, published Thursday, 26 September
2013 18:05 by Douglas McIntosh, Jamaica
Information Service.
JUTC Buses for Holmwood technical – Islandwide Bus service Next
Clearly speeches about what is to
be done cannot do anymore as there can be no backpedaling as this has to be
done with great urgency: implementation of an islandwide JUTC (Jamaican Urban
Transport Company) as well as a complementary JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation)
Passenger Train Service to carry School children in the Country areas safely to
School at a lower cost.
To this end, the Minister of
Education Ronald Thwaites has requested JUTC (Jamaican Urban Transport Company)
Buses to transport the students of Holmwood
Technical High to and from school as state in “Education
Minister asks JUTC to transport Manchester students”, published Wednesday,
September 25, 2013 2:41 PM, The
Jamaica Observer and “Education
Ministry requests JUTC buses for Manchester students”, published Wednesday
September 25, 2013 | 5:18 pm, The Jamaica
Gleaner.
This has caught my eye as it
re-emphasizes the need for JUTC Buses in the Rural Area to transport Children
to School islandwide as a means of increasing Revenues as had been argued in a
previous blog
article entitled “JUTC
SmarterCard Cashless System to be implemented in the Fourth Quarter of 2013 -
Upgrade buses to use LPG Fuel to reduce Maintenance costs”.
This JUTC Rural Bus Service along
with the Revival of JRC (Jamaica Railway Corporation) Trains had been promised
back in December 2012 by the Minister of Transport an Works, Omar Davies as
opined in blog
article entitled “GOJ
to revive the JRC Passenger Train Service - Minister Omar Davies' Cirque Du
Soleil Worlds Away advises Railways and Islandwide JUTC Bus Service Not Fade
Away”.
Increased vigilance by the Traffic
Police on Minibus Operators in Manchester and Clarendon and the implementation
of an Automated Traffic Ticketing System islandwide as was the plan earlier in
April 2013 as described in my blog article entitled “GOJ
to upgrade NWA's CCTV Traffic Monitoring Network to give Police more eyes in
Private Places - The Da Vinci Code for Automated Traffic Ticketing System and
1984” are needed for the long term.
JRC Passenger Trains are the solution – Slow, Safe Boat to China
Trains can carry freight during the
daytime and night time when no Passenger are around to be carried, an idea
originally floated by then Minister of Transport Mike Henry as mentioned in my blog article
entitled “JRC,
Scotts Pass and Senator Mike Henry – Molly Wood Keeping up with the Kardashians”.
No disruption of the JATOO Minibus,
Taxis services or Highway 2000, as the option to travel on a Train doesn’t
affect commuters using these services or
motorists who want to get where they wanna go quickly. Trains are really a slow
and safe boat to China,
once the required safety protocols are in place to prevent a Kendal Crash.
Much as the Ministry of Education
and the Ministry of Science Technology, Energy and Mining have partnered to get
Tablet into schools as stated in my blog article
entitled “Minister
Paulwell gives Parliamentarians and 20,000 Students in 30 Schools Tablets-
Future in Science and Technology now rescued Indiana Jones and the Palace of
Doom”, the Minister of Education can also partner with the Ministry of
Transport to set a RFP (Request For Proposals) for a suitable contractor to
revive the JRC Passenger Train Service to complement the JUTC Buses!
For now this wound in Holmwood Technical High School student body
will take time to heal! You can help in the Healing process by contacting Holmwood Technical High via their website
and making a donation.
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