Tarrant Primary welcomes KSAMC cleanup near school

 

Students and teachers at Tarrant Primary and Tarrant High schools in St. Andrew are expected to feel safer after the Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) on Tuesday cleared overgrown vegetation on a plot of land near the institutions, that was being used as a hiding place for criminals.

 

Principal of Tarrant Primary, Hadajah Freebourne-Raffington, says for some time, criminals have been hiding in the bushes and robbing students and parents. She says as a result, some parents have pulled their children from the school.

 

"Because it is a covering for criminals, parents are afraid to send their children around. Most parents will be sending their children across, and they'll be traversing this area. So if you are going to have an area looking like this, that is a covering for criminals, they are afraid and they seek enrolment in other schools that are close by. It does affect our enrolment. And we are faced with criminal activities from this area from time to time. Persons hid in the bushes, they drive, they ride bikes over, men hiding in the bushes and then they try to attack parents and children. So we are really appreciative of this effort. I'm happy, happy, happy," said the principal following the cleanup. 

 

KSAMC City Inspector Albert Francis explained that the landowner had been written up on several occasions about the state of the lot in Tarrant, but had been uncompliant.

 

He said the Tarrant project is one of several ongoing cleanups being carried out under the Cleanup Kingston Initiative, aimed at making communities cleaner and safer.