Unsung heroes honoured in Hanover

TWENTY-NINE PEOPLE from Hanover were honoured for their service to the parish on National Heroes Day. They were recognised during the parish’s salute to the Heroes and Awards Presentation civic ceremony, which was jointly staged by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission and the Hanover Municipal Corporation.

Seven persons were awarded for gallantry, 10 for community service, four for public service, three for their contribution to the health sector, two for entrepreneurship, one for sport, one for education and another as a youth ambassador during the event, which was staged at Bustamante Square in Lucea.

Messages were read from Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips, and Governor General Sir Patrick Allen. The country’s heroes were also lauded through citations, which were read in their honour by students from seven schools in the parish.

Among those honoured at the ceremony were superintendent of police in charge of Hanover, Sharon Beeput; former mayor of Lucea, Lloyd Hill; Darien Streete, the parish’s youth ambassador; and seven residents of Lances Bay who were recipients of the awards for gallantry.

According to the citation read for the seven persons – Oneko Trail, Cornel Grant, Roy Frame, Christopher Mulgrave, Alliata Martin, Kemar Peterkin and Timoy Blake – they risked their lives during flooding in their community on May 17, 2018, to save a mother and her 10month-old child who were trapped in their house amid raging flood waters.

Beeput was recognised in the area of public service for exerting some control over crime in the parish through her leadership style, which has also been a morale booster to the men and women she commands.

The Heritage Week activities in Hanover were staged under the theme ‘One Love ... One Family ... One Heritage’.