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SLEEPING WITH ONE EYE OPEN WESTERN BUREAU: At 62, Herman Jackson no longer goes to bed expecting a peaceful night’s sleep. When rain begins falling in Westgreen, he reaches for his water boots, checks the weather on his phone, and prepares to run. One year after Hurricane Melissa devastated sections of Montego Bay, St James, Jackson remains gripped by fear, his nights haunted by memories of the floodwaters that swallowed his community on October 28, 2025. “I can’t afford to go and sleep,” he told The Gleaner. “I’m very, very scared.”
Civil service boss hits back at PM’s sabotage claims Accusations by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness that unnamed public sector workers are trying to sabotage government policies and programmes have drawn the ire of the president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association, Techa Clarke-Griffiths. Clarke-Griffiths said such “blanket statements” would only serve to dampen the morale of public sector staff, and she urged the prime minister to present evidence in such cases so the issue can be dealt with according to policy.
Tough going for Flagaman farmers WESTERN BUREAU: A year after Hurricane Melissa devastated their farms, several farmers in Flagaman, St Elizabeth are still struggling to resume pre-storm cultivation levels, hampered by a lack of financing, agricultural inputs, and reliable markets needed to rebuild their livelihoods. St Elizabeth, the island’s breadbasket parish, suffered extensive damage during the Category 5 storm, which destroyed crops and infrastructure, disrupting production even as it damaged homes and other assets.
Black River market vendors in limbo WESTERN BUREAU: As Hurricane Melissa approached the island a year ago, Francis Bartlett and fellow vendors in the Black River Market in St Elizabeth purchased extra stock, in case fields were wiped out and produce became scarce. That gamble yielded no good results, as their stalls were destroyed. Bartlett recalled that the Category 5 system wiped out the business she had spent years building.
Western schools looking ahead with optimism WESTERN BUREAU: A year ago, the educational sector in western Jamaica was paralysed by the force of Hurricane Melissa, which ripped off roofs, sent older buildings crumbling and did irreparable damage to school supplies and equipment. While educators have been finding creative ways to keep many of the institutions functional, the damage requires not only physical repairs but also emotional and psychological recovery, especially for children still taking lessons in less-than-ideal conditions.