Driftwood Gun Club gives Pedro Plain Police Station facelift
Published:Saturday | May 25, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
PEDRO PLAINS, St Elizabeth:
THE DRIFTWOOD Gun Club recently made police officers stationed at the Pedro Plains Police Station smile when members of the club gave the station a facelift.
Led by the club's president, Nari Williams-Singh, the Kingston-based gun club repainted the station and erected a new sign at the front of the station.
The group was assisted by members of the Breds Foundation from the nearby Treasure Beach community, which is served by the Pedro Plains Police Station.
Building the community
It was a move by the Driftwood Gun Club to give back to communities in south St Elizabeth, in particular Treasure Beach, where they make their annual sojourn during the bird season.
Williams-Singh was pleased about the club undertaking the project. "Driftwood is always about the community and building the community," he remarked. "We do things for the kids and community development, and we have been also working very closely with the police."
Added Williams-Singh: "We have done some things for this police station in the past. We donated a copier-fax-scanner machine. What we are trying to do is improve the quality of life for people, improve the efficiency of various services.
"We saw where this police station needed a facelift, so we made arrangements to do it. It's all about the development of the community because when you are in an environment and it looks good, it also encourages you to do better."
Resident of Treasure Beach, Tamesha Dyght Jones, who is a director of Breds Foundation, was also pleased that the police station got a facelift.
"For the last two or three years, we have been working very closely with Driftwood," Dyght Jones said. "We realise that they are not the normal bird shooters who come here for six weeks and leave, but, they actually give back to this community. We feel good to know that they have decided to assist with the police station and, therefore, we decided to join them in this venture."
Jeremy Palmer, councillor for the Pedro Plains division, was also grateful to the Driftwood club. "I am extremely grateful for the work being done here," said Palmer. "The police station was in great need of a facelift to make things more comfortable for the police. The police station plays a vital purpose to communities here. It covers a wide area stretching to almost Southfield, and there is no other station until you get to Black River."
Over the years, Driftwood has been involved in many meaningful projects in Treasure Beach and surrounding communities. The club has assisted several primary and basic schools with equipment such as computers as well as cash. The Driftwood Gun Club has also assisted many households with procuring water tanks to cope with the water problem that affects many communities in south St Elizabeth.
CAPTION - Members of the Driftwood Gun Club stand before a newly erected sign that they erected at the Pedro Plains Police Station in St Elizabeth as part of the facelift they gave the station recently.