Vandals destroy palm trees at Heroes Circle
KARYL WALKER, Observer staff reporter walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A student of the Wolmer's Boys School touches the top of one of the palm trees which were destroyed by vandals on the weekend at Heroes Circle in Kingston. Yesterday, students, National Solid Waste Management Authority workers and residents of nearby Allman Town, all hit out at the perpetrators of the 'palm tree attack'. The palm trees were planted on the eastern side of Heroes Circle as part of the beautification programme in preparation for last year's Cricket World Cup.(Photo: Lionel Rookwood)
The group of teenage boys had horrid looks on their faces. Tears could be seen in the left eye of one of them.
"What kind of people woulda do something so wicked?" asked one of them, who had a St George's College crest pinned to his shirt.
The teenagers were not staring from behind the yellow tape used by police to keep the public from tainting crime scenes.
They were staring at two of the 24 palm trees which were chopped in half by vandals on the weekend. The palm trees were planted on the eastern side of Heroes Circle as part of the beautification programme in preparation for last year's Cricket World Cup.
Yesterday, as two female employees of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) raked the leaves chopped from the palm trees, one of them lashed out at persons who had vandalised the property.
"Anybody who do this wicked and must face some form of judgment," the woman said. "Me don't know why anybody would even think fi harm the trees."
Executive director of the NSWMA, Joan Gordon-Webley, was also hopping mad and labelled the act as "baseless and senseless".
In a news release yesterday, Gordon-Webley called on members of the public to come forward and give the police any information about the act of vandalism.
Gordon-Webley said the chopping down of the palm trees and the rooting up of other plants would not weaken her resolve to serve the public's interest. She said that she would ensure that parks and verges that are managed by the NSWMA are kept in a manicured and aesthetically pleasing condition.
Some residents of nearby Allman Town were also upset at the act.
"When the park keep up and look good, Allman Town look better, so it really hurt the community when something like this go on. It is a sin," one resident said.
KARYL WALKER, Observer staff reporter walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
A student of the Wolmer's Boys School touches the top of one of the palm trees which were destroyed by vandals on the weekend at Heroes Circle in Kingston. Yesterday, students, National Solid Waste Management Authority workers and residents of nearby Allman Town, all hit out at the perpetrators of the 'palm tree attack'. The palm trees were planted on the eastern side of Heroes Circle as part of the beautification programme in preparation for last year's Cricket World Cup.(Photo: Lionel Rookwood)
The group of teenage boys had horrid looks on their faces. Tears could be seen in the left eye of one of them.
"What kind of people woulda do something so wicked?" asked one of them, who had a St George's College crest pinned to his shirt.
The teenagers were not staring from behind the yellow tape used by police to keep the public from tainting crime scenes.
They were staring at two of the 24 palm trees which were chopped in half by vandals on the weekend. The palm trees were planted on the eastern side of Heroes Circle as part of the beautification programme in preparation for last year's Cricket World Cup.
Yesterday, as two female employees of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) raked the leaves chopped from the palm trees, one of them lashed out at persons who had vandalised the property.
"Anybody who do this wicked and must face some form of judgment," the woman said. "Me don't know why anybody would even think fi harm the trees."
Executive director of the NSWMA, Joan Gordon-Webley, was also hopping mad and labelled the act as "baseless and senseless".
In a news release yesterday, Gordon-Webley called on members of the public to come forward and give the police any information about the act of vandalism.
Gordon-Webley said the chopping down of the palm trees and the rooting up of other plants would not weaken her resolve to serve the public's interest. She said that she would ensure that parks and verges that are managed by the NSWMA are kept in a manicured and aesthetically pleasing condition.
Some residents of nearby Allman Town were also upset at the act.
"When the park keep up and look good, Allman Town look better, so it really hurt the community when something like this go on. It is a sin," one resident said.
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