Ramble residents blast Golding's stance on cemetery

[Lazie]

Ramble residents blast Golding's stance on cemetery

published: Friday | February 29, 2008

The Ramble Community Development Committee (CDC) in Hanover has expressed its disappointment with statements made by Prime Minister Bruce Golding with regards to approval of a burial site in the area.

Golding, on Wednesday night during 'Jamaica House Live' - a monthly radio talk show - said the relevant environmental authorities had conducted investigations and found that the burial site was not a threat to the Great River Water Supply system that serves the western parish.

The residents have publicly stated their disapproval with Delapenha Funeral Home operating a commercial cemetery in the area.

'Unfortunate utterances'

In a statement issued yesterday, the Ramble CDC said Golding's "utterances are very unfortunate when one considers that it is coming from a man who was elected to run the entire country and who once explicitly stated that he was going to be 'new and different'".

Earlier this month, militant residents of the 23 communities surrounding the controversial Delapenha's Funeral Home-owned Royale Rest Cemetery in Burnt Ground, Hanover, said they were willing and ready to put life and limb on the line to prevent burials from taking place at the site.

Ever since Delapenha's Funeral Home got permission from Government to start using the cemetery just under a month ago, residents of communities such as Copse, Haughton Grove, Ramble, Burnt Ground and Shettlewood have used mass demonstrations to thwart attempts to have funerals there. However, a burial took place there last week.

Arsonists, believed to be sympathetic to the disgruntled residents, firebombed a section of the cemetery, causing more than $2 million in damage.

Yesterday's statement said the Ramble CDC is a recognised community development committee comprising various community-based organisations throughout the Chester Castle, Burnt Ground and Ramble communities of eastern Hanover.

"We, the citizen members of the Ramble Community Development Committee, are insisting that the location of a cemetery in our area will have disastrous effects on the women, men and children as formaldehyde used in the burial process will poison our water supply. This is not a political issue; it is a human, community issue," the release said.

[Mosiah]

The residents need fi cool or adopt some mature and intelligent approach to this issue. This lynch mentality where ignorant people are told something and dem just run wid it, without facts to prove yea or nay, gots to stop!

[Exile]

Yeah, right!

[Lazie]

The residents need fi cool or adopt some mature and intelligent approach to this issue. This lynch mentality where ignorant people are told something and dem just run wid it, without facts to prove yea or nay, gots to stop!

Last week there was a segment on NNN about the situation. There was a rep from the funeral home and some geologist (I think). The discussion was going fine and then a "community leader" from the area called in. All he wanted to do was disrupt what the others were saying. When given a chance to explain why they opposed the site being used as a burial ground, he was all over the place. After a while they had to cut him off.

[Mosiah]

It is quite likely that this cemetery would do less harm to water sources in the area than other practices carried out by the villagers themselves, but who gives a damn!

On the other hand, residents should be alert to these big developers trying to pull the wool over their eyes, but let's not defer to the lynch mob.

[Mosiah]

yeah, right, what?

[Karl]

Ramble residents blast Golding's stance on cemetery

published: Friday | February 29, 2008

The Ramble Community Development Committee (CDC) in Hanover has expressed its disappointment with statements made by Prime Minister Bruce Golding with regards to approval of a burial site in the area.

Golding, on Wednesday night during 'Jamaica House Live' - a monthly radio talk show - said the relevant environmental authorities had conducted investigations and found that the burial site was not a threat to the Great River Water Supply system that serves the western parish.

The residents have publicly stated their disapproval with Delapenha Funeral Home operating a commercial cemetery in the area.

'Unfortunate utterances'

In a statement issued yesterday, the Ramble CDC said Golding's "utterances are very unfortunate when one considers that it is coming from a man who was elected to run the entire country and who once explicitly stated that he was going to be 'new and different'".

Earlier this month, militant residents of the 23 communities surrounding the controversial Delapenha's Funeral Home-owned Royale Rest Cemetery in Burnt Ground, Hanover, said they were willing and ready to put life and limb on the line to prevent burials from taking place at the site.

Ever since Delapenha's Funeral Home got permission from Government to start using the cemetery just under a month ago, residents of communities such as Copse, Haughton Grove, Ramble, Burnt Ground and Shettlewood have used mass demonstrations to thwart attempts to have funerals there. However, a burial took place there last week.

Arsonists, believed to be sympathetic to the disgruntled residents, firebombed a section of the cemetery, causing more than $2 million in damage.

Yesterday's statement said the Ramble CDC is a recognised community development committee comprising various community-based organisations throughout the Chester Castle, Burnt Ground and Ramble communities of eastern Hanover.

"We, the citizen members of the Ramble Community Development Committee, are insisting that the location of a cemetery in our area will have disastrous effects on the women, men and children as formaldehyde used in the burial process will poison our water supply. This is not a political issue; it is a human, community issue," the release said.

Cannot understand why the autorities do not prevent the establishment of the cemetery?

As I mentioned before I spent quite a lot of time at Burnt Ground
and the water table is just a few feet underground.

[Karl]

It is quite likely that this cemetery would do less harm to water sources in the area than other practices carried out by the villagers themselves, but who gives a damn!

On the other hand, residents should be alert to these big developers trying to pull the wool over their eyes, but let's not defer to the lynch mob.

Less harm?
So you are saying there shall be harm!
Why then would anyone want to increase harm? Should it not be helping to minimize harm?

[Mosiah]

And you have scientific evidence of this?

[Karl]

And you have scientific evidence of this?

No!
...but when you dig a hole a little way down it quickly fills with water? ...just have this feeling that means water deh 'close-close' unda di grun!

[Karl]

Dale Prevails
Royale Rest hosts first burial
MARK CUMMINGS, Observer West Senior Reporter
Thursday, February 28, 2008


Dale Delapenha

BURNT GROUND, Hanover
Dale Delapenha's embattled Royale Rest cemetery beat the odds with a mid-day burial last Saturday that escaped the notice of strident protestors who had vowed not to let it happen.

"A burial was done there about mid-day on Saturday and the service lasted for about one hour; and we will do another one in a couple of days," Delapenha, managing director of Delapenha's Funeral Home told the Observer West.

He, however, declined to say exactly when the next burial would take place.

Residents of this deep rural community have been thwarting attempts to conduct burials at the picturesque 17-acre property in which Delepenha has invested some $40-million.

They say their rationale is premised on fears that the cemetery, which they think is too close for comfort to their water table, could pollute their water supply.

Saturday's burial - the first to take place at the controversial 17-acre property - on Monday sparked the latest in a series of rebellions by angry residents who had vowed that no burials will take place at the site.
The protest, which started from about 3:00 am, with angry residents piling huge trees and other debris along the road between the Haughton Grove and Ramble communities, kept a strong contingent of police busy as traffic backed up for miles.

Gunshots reportedly rang out sporadically during the protest and the police reportedly carted off a few of the protesters to jail, for alleged breaches of the Litter Act.

Earlier this month, a scheduled burial at the facility was thwarted, as residents blocked sections of the Anchovy to Ramble main road, preventing the hearse from taking the body to the cemetery.

All this has distressed Delapenha, a qualified mortician who studied the science at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, and completed a number of related courses at several overseas universities.

"The situation is very stressful but I am not giving up," said Delapenha, who is also the Jamaica Labour Party Councillor for the Montego Bay West division. "It (Royale Rest) is the most environmentally-friendly cemetery in Jamaica. if it was a threat to the environment we would have pulled the plug on it a long time ago," he argued.

A number of studies, including an Environment Impact
Assessment (EIA) by the government's National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), have stated that the cemetery does not pose a threat to the water table. However, the residents are disputing their veracity.

Nevertheless, Delapenha, who told the Observer West that he was disappointed at the way the situation has taken on an appearance of "urban warfare," said he would not cower.
"Abandoning the cemetery is not an option at this time. We will continue our lawful business," he maintained.

[OJ]

you know they need to settle this if they are going to market sandals whitehouse as the top destination. Tourist dont want to sit in roadblock

[MdmeX]

And you have scientific evidence of this?

No Mo - he's just annada layman wid utterances!

[Exile]

Lynch mentality - will not stop Mosiah because you say so. Omce you have illiterate people who can't read, think and reason, it will always be easier to get a few rabble-rousers to 'remote control' them.

[Jawge]

Exile, it's sad to see the standoff: It's as if
they are waiting for something major to happen in this case. My gut instincts tells me that the citizens have a case, but I won't see any independent body flying in to do investigation. Someone or persons have to shot and killed first.

Things are moving in the right direction despite the above.