News Briefs

Two more lawyers admitted to Inner Bar

Lawyers John Graham and Symone Mayhew were yesterday elevated to the rank of Queen’s counsel (QC) in a ceremony presided over by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes, along with Justice Leighton Pusey and Justice Stephane Jackson-Haisley.

They were proposed and robed at the Supreme Court and were subsequently invited to take their seats at the Inner Bar.

Patrick Foster, QC, and Valrie Neita-Robinson, QC, as well as other legal luminaries, gave glowing tributes to Graham and Mayhew for their integrity, hard work, and commitment to the law over the years, and they, in turn, told tales of some of the challenges and triumphs in the courtroom over the years.

Mayor pitches dedicated burial ground for councillors

Spanish Town Mayor Norman Scott has proposed the Thetford Cemetery in St Catherine to become the final resting place for former councillors who have served the parish.

“We are aware that there are dedicated spaces for those who have served as member of parliament and such offices. I think it is just appropriate and timely for us to confirm this motion,” Scott told fellow councillors during yesterday’s sitting of the St Catherine Municipal Corporation.

The mayor said that the death last weekend of former Old Harbour North Councillor Audley Campbell emphasised the need for such a space.

He said that the municipal corporation would be looking into how Campbell contracted the deadly virus.

“We have heard that the former councillor went to the Spanish Town Hospital for his bi-weekly visit, where he contracted COVID-19 and died. That is what family members said,” Scott said.

Another farm worker tests positive for COVID-19

An outbreak of the coronavirus among migrant apple pickers at an orchard in Vermont in the United States has grown by one case to 28, Champlain Orchards said yesterday.

The worker tested positive on Wednesday evening and was already in isolation housing, the orchard said in statement.

“We are checking in with the quarantined crew several times a day. Everyone (thankfully!) is doing really well so far,” Champlain Orchards said.

On Wednesday, a representative of the company told The Gleaner that the 27 farm workers who had tested positive since last weekend were Jamaicans and that they had brought the virus there.

The nationality of the latest person to test positive has not been disclosed, but many foreign apple pickers in Vermont are from Jamaica.