THIS DAY IN OUR PAST

The following events took place on August 8 in the years identified:

1993: The roof covering the 10-year-old Jamaica Conference Centre has sprung numerous leaks, adding to the overall deterioration threatening the building, and is set to cost millions of dollars to repair. But repair work has been slow, and the centre is still struggling to maintain itself. According to Churchill Blackwood, maintenance manager at the centre, repairs being done are not progressing “to the extent that we would like to see”. He adds that the waterproofing of the roof “has broken down” in many areas. “We have leaks occurring that are quite serious,” he says. Dripping, he added, often continues for days after rain has fallen. Though the centre still functions, providing a venue for many major conferences in the island, Blackwood describes the effects of the leaks as “unsightly in many instances”.

1995: The University of the West Indies could lose a Caribbean Development Bank loan if it does not decide soon where to put up a campus to serve western Jamaica, according to reports reaching The Gleaner. Two possible sites have already been identified but the university is yet to indicate which is more suited for the campus in the west. The centre has been talked about for at least three, years and about one and a half years ago, Montego Bay’s hopes were lifted when it was rumoured that the Seawind Hotel and property would be used. Earlier this year, the city’s hopes rose again when mention was made of the Cornwall College campus in the heart of Montego Bay, and when the Government announced that it is donating 20 acres of land at Irwin, three miles out of the city, as the campus site.