Church members and residents braved early- morning showers and came out to work on Labour Day projects in Portmore on Monday.

At the Independence City-based sanctuary, Portmore Church of Christ, members led by the Rev Peter Malcolm did a massive clean-up of the church and adjoining building. Rev Malcolm said the clean-up is a collaboration of the men's and women's fellowships.

road renamed

In Portmore Gardens, the popular roadway, Portmore Lane was renamed Portmore Boulevard by the municipal council. Senator Arthur Williams, state minister in the Ministry of Finance and councillor for the Westchester division, Shane Dalling, were busy working along with residents to erect eight new street signs and create a welcome sign at the entrance to the community. "Many persons didn't know the real name of these avenues, even a man that lived here for 20 years," Dalling said.

Colin Fagan, member of parliament for South East St Catherine, toured his constituency and looked at a few projects. Fagan said some projects did not get on the way because of the rain, while others had a late start.

assistance

He said many community groups flooded his office to ask for assistance for Labour Day projects, which came from his $250,000 allocation. Fagan added that though he couldn't aid all the groups, many communities got help. One such organisation was the Portmore Youth Information Centre, based in Edgewater. Their facility was painted.

The Bridgeport Community Complex, which houses the Bridgeport Basic School on Gibson Road, received a facelift. President of Bridgeport Citizens Association, Aneita Lee, said trees were planted to offer shade to the facility. Councillor Maggie Brown and residents of Bridgeport painted kerbs, and a bridge to improve the outlook of the community.

Workers from Flow cable company painted the Naggo Head Primary School and gave the principal, Floretta Plummer, a set of computers.