Any New information on the 4 Fishermen missing at sea from Treasure Beach. My God I pray it's not another four mothers crying again.

http://www.jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20080721/lead/lead5.html

This is very sad indeed
My heart goes out to all the affected families.
Dola and Bredda parents of Wayne Robinson my prayers are all with you

My heart goes out to the families of those men,I know it must be pretty rough on them, I have felt it years ago, so I do what they are going through. I pray that God will bring them home safely to their families.Who is Kevin James?

My prayers are with the family of the missing four. I hope they are found soon and returned to their homeland.

To all the relatives of the fisher men that has been missing we're praying that ur love one's will be found, also u will be in our paryers from day to day. With the help of God everything will be alright!!

This is unbelievably sad. We are praying.

Rosie Kevin James was the son of Moraley James, who is brother to Charlie James. They live behind Sandy Bank Primary school. I am not too sure what his mother's name is i only know her by face, i think she is from pondside or somewhere down that side. Hope this will help you.

It`s so sad to now we lost another group of fishermen again.My prayers goes out to the family we are praying and hoping that god will guide and protect them and bring them safely back home to their families.
I now Kevin from a baby i watch him grown up to be a fine young man I caunt really get over this I have not get a good night sleep since I heard.
You see lock of communication again I hope they will get the antena fix I have be posting message for months asking what can we do.OH Please will some body do something to help the fishermen out there in the ocean there is nothing for them to hold on to the only thing that can help them is their VHF.
I hope something will be done to help.

Kevin James is the Son of the late Morally James of Sandy Bank ,His Mother is Dassie.

Would any people who knew these four men please tell us something about them and their families.

Thank u Kevin school mate.I know who he is now, I pray that they will soon return home safe

Right Ya, are you related to Kevin James. You seem to know the family very well. I went to school with two Kevin James, but I don't remember neither of them parents. I am wondering if it is any of the Kevin James I went to school with. My heartfelt sympathy to the families.

Very sad. My thoughts and prayers are with the families.

I used to worry a lot when my husband used to go to sea.

Beachgirl....Breds is suppose to have repaired the antenna, perhaps they were busy with the PARK ,so let's hope it will be taken care of soon.

Yankie,this is the dark complexion Kevin James,tall and stout.I hope this may help you.He is 31yrs.

HOW MUCH MONEY IS NEEDED TO REPAIR THE ANTENNA?

To answer your question Marlena, here are some information that you may find useful.

Wayne Robinson (AKA) John Wayne is a classmate of mine. He has a brother name Garry. They call his father Bredda. We all use to fishing on the Pedro Cays in the early 1980s. He is from Little Park District between Beacon and Pedro Plains.

Omar Williams (AKA)Tonto lives in Newcombe Valley where his mom originated from. His grandparents are deloris (AKA) Hermilin and the late deceased Benton Crowe. He has an uncle name Ransford (AKA)Fren-Fren. His Mother is Hyacinth.

Garfield Bennett is the son of Joseph Bennett. His mother is Angela the Daughter of Del and Heneral Crowe from Newcombe Valley. He is the Nephew of Bass and Everal Jah D.
I am not too sure but I think Kevin is the son of the late Morally from Sandy Bank.

Yankie there are 2 Kevin James. One is dark and the other is fare.
The dark one is missing, he is about 31 years old.
PEOPLE PLEASE DON'T TAKE OFFENCE TO THE WAY I EXPLAINED THESE MENS COMPLEXION/COLOUR AS I HAVE SEEN WHAT HAPPENED A FEW WEEKS AGO WHEN A GENTLEMAN TRIED TO SAY CONGRATS TO HIS RELATIVE.

Kevin James sounds very familiar to me.

Kevin is the brother to Eileen James, Doreen James to name a couple.

Do any of these four men have children? If so and it is not too personal, could they be named?

It is indeed sad to know that 4 loving and hard working dedicated fishermen is missing again at sea what makes it even harder is my dear brother in law Kevin is among the missing someone i got to know and love so much ,always looking out for Ilean and my self whenever we are visiting Tb. i will continue to hold on that they will be found and that they are safe .
To the families of the ones i dont know i will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers .

http://www.jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20080723/news/news2.html

Wayne Robinson(AKA)John Wayne is also related to the Genus family,his mother is Dola Genus-Blackwood sister of Peter and Carl Genus.Garfield Bennett is also a related to the Genus family.

It is indeed sad to know that 4 loving and hard working dedicated fishermen is missing again at sea what makes it even harder is my dear brother in law Kevin is among the missing someone i got to know and love so much ,always looking out for Ilean and my self whenever we are visiting Tb. i will continue to hold on that they will be found and that they are safe .
To the families of the ones i dont know i will keep you all in my thoughts and prayers .

Someone PLEASE tell me Breds was not supposed to fix the antenna but did not do as they promised. If this is true I do not know how such a loss can be forgiven.

Would a functioning antenna be/have been crucial to finding them ?

I join Disheartened and repeat my previous request, how much to repair the antenna ?

Please VERY Upset, let's understand the situation before BREDS takes heat.

I just heard a minute ago that the guys were found under the boat but are dead...can anyone add anything??? Really would like to know.

does anybody know the cost of the antenna repair i would like to donate a little towards

http://www.jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20080723/lead/lead6.html

I have contacted jason henzell at Breds and he informs me ,he is taking the repeater /antenna to the shop today to get a repair quotation,I have offered to donate what I can afford towards the fixing of it as I feel it is a crucial thing that needs sorting regardless of if it could have/ should have etc helped this time,if that is the only form of communication when out AT SEA they need it,I also would like to say :anybody else who has any spare cash and feels they could help should also contact jason and see what you can do.Also I would not blame Jason for not getting it fixed earlier as without him it would not even be there(probably)
He does a lot of good in the community from what I gather.Don't namecall the ones who wish to help whether they be late or not giving what you expect etc...the fact is they are helping.

I understand a functioning antenna is only useful if someone has a special type of radio, and I think those radios cost maybe about $300 US. Would a functioning antenna be able to transmit cell phonecalls? I think Digicel and CW only operate 17 miles from shore, and we all know the fishermen go out a lot farther than that. Also I know most fishermen do not carry life jackets because they feel it would be better to drown than to be eaten by a shark. I am not technically proficient and would appreciate some words of wisdom from any one who is. Thank-you.

why is nothing on the local news or papers about them being found?what happens when fishermen go missing out there?who goes and looks for them?is there a dedicated rescue team?or search team?

There are several issues here that are quite concerning. The antenna issue. Hopefully this is not one of those "soon come" sayings that we use so playfully. This "soon come" line of thinking and living can have deadly consequences. Like the drowning tourists. It becomes a great discussion topic on what should be done to help prevent these needless deaths. But then after awhile, and after nothing has been done, we wait for the next drowning and it starts all over again. I suggested making maps of the beach areas outlining where the dangerous spots are, and passing them out at the hotels. Others had suggestions as well. It may not work, but at least an attempt was made and we can sleep well, and not think about the 'what ifs'. If nothing is done, we know for sure what the result will be. Even on this web site, under "What we offer" on the main page, it says: "Four public beaches well suited for swimming, snorkling and body surfing." That seems to lull people into a false sense of security in and of itself. Please remember that us tourist trust you! We are ignorant to some issues that you deal with on a daily basis, and need your protection. That is why we feel good about coming back time and time again.
The other concern is the piracy at the high seas. The Gleanor article states that armed men are robbing the fishermen. Cancer spreads, and so is the use of weapons to obtain what one wants illegally. This one makes me madder than a hornet. Robbing hard working fishermen. How low can it get? The article even states how hard it would be to catch these guys. With all due respect to my Jamaican friends, If we can't fix an antenna or pass out maps, catching these thugs IS impossible. Unless we finally say, to all of the above, enough is enough. I understand that I am also guilty of just talking about it. But I live thousands of miles away in Minnesota and do not live in the community.

Hi my name Ryan Genus and Ann , Wayne is our cousin, His mother is my Aunt and my father is my uncle, They are both related which makes them brother and sister. I am so sorry about your lost and I truly hope that your family are copying all right I wish I was there to support you all. I well come and see you when I come over to Jamaica.
love from your cousins xx xx xx xx xx

this is just the continuing result of how disorganised and unprotected these fishermen are
and untill athority step in and do something then
I am afraid these kind of desaster will continue
to happen
and that my friends is very sad

It is common knowledge that pirating goes on from the fishermen. If they are not directly held up by gunmen or someone else threatening their lives, then they often discover someone has theifed their pots. I would not be a fisherman. It is too dangerous. You must pay money up front for gas and ice and do exceedingly hard physical work and are out to sea all night and if you are "lucky" you make a small living. I do not know the solution, but things cannot continue to go on this way. If someone theifed from a store you can bet the police would be involved. What are the fishermen supposed to do? This is a horrible and disgusting situation.

The latest I have heard is there is a chance the missing fishermen got out of the boat before it sank. I've heard the ice box was missing from the boat, so they may have been able to climb into that before the boat went down.

What this means to me is I wiil hold on to this hope and should keep praying that the four men are found and soon. Please join me in your positive thoughts and prayers that they be found soon.

Would someone PLEASE explain exactly what a functioning antenna can do and how it might be of assistance? Please see my two items above. Thank-you for explaining things.

there should be at least one boat out there as sea patrol,linked to the police,somebody in the community a leading figure should contact the police and try to get something done..if that fails ask bruce golding directly why he is letting this happen to some of the countrys hardest workers and what he intends to do about it.

Morning All:

I join the long list of others praying for the safe return of these young men, and ask God's gracious blessings on their families.

Yesterday we received several telephone calls from relatives in Treasure Beach saying that they heard that the men were found in Grand Cayman and one of them died. Indeed three fishermen were rescued at sea by the Cayman Marine Services in June, the fourth man died; these fishermen were from Portland. On Wednesday July 23, another two Jamaican fishermen were rescued in Cayman Brac, these men told authorities that both of them went fishing and developed engine problems. I understand that the names given are none of those of the Treasure Beach guys. So we can put that rumour to rest that they were found in Cayman - for now. Although it is never too late for a miracle as the guys from Portland told me they were drifting for 15 days; they were rescued some 8 hours after their colleague died.

If GPS units were on the boats and on the individuals they should be trackable. Anyone know how to access these and cost?

http://www.iht.com/articles/2000/05/11/gps.2.t_0.php

IF they did get robbed which somebody said was a possibilty ,would the robbers not have taken the ice box to pack anything in?hopefully they did climb in it.

Stillupset the antenna give then signal on their VHF radio which most fishermen has they keep one at home and take one to sea with them.
They make contact back home and they also contact other fishermen out at sea.I hope they will get it fix soon any thing I can do to help I will.Hope those fishermen will return safely to there family in God we trust.

The antenna/repeater system I believe, is an aerial and can tell the exact location of the fishermen should they get in trouble a bit like the gps system we have on phones..in fact I think some work on special radio equipment that you can purchase but it also works as a mobile phone antenna too but as someone mentioned on here earlier phones only work so far out and the fishermen go further so they need this antenna that breds put in place-unfortunately it was damaged,I do not know how but I feel very very bad as somebody mentioned this problem approx 2 months ago and I was at the time fundraising for something I was planning in this area and I read the ask for help and I did not help in any way,I did ask at the time I think how much the repair would cost but do not think I got a response,I am sure many people on this board recall this being mentioned a while back and yet we all ignored it.All I can do is donate some money towards a new antenna or the repair of the old one,Jason Henzell said he was onto it yesterday and I am just waiting for a reply now as to where we can donate,I will post a link when I know should anybody else wish to donate towards this piece of equipment which I feel is vital for that community,the best present the children can have there is their daddys coming home safely after work

I HAVE NOT received a response as yet re:the antenna repair /renewal or details of how to donate,I will keep you updated

Kevin James the brown one, son of Bostin James was murdered by his uncle in Peacon some years
ago.The uncle is in prison.

(Bowl)

Ifeelbad, this may clarify things; the broken antenna served all marine craft on the south coast with ship to shore voice communication on marine international channel 64. It has nothing to do with locating boats - just a means of communication. The local fishermen used to carry VHF battery operated hand held VHF sets but seawater eventually kills them and they are expensive to replace.

GPS on the other hand relies on satelites to provide information to locate position so, any boat with a GPS receiver can locate its own position on a navigation chart.

Check Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) at:

http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/emerbcns.html

And: http://www.sarsat.noaa.gov/new.html

US $ 600-800 each.

I'm not clear if they are licenced for use outside of the USA. I'm sure our northern friends would not keep these from us.

Thanks Uncle Peter.

GPS can be used to locate ones position for oneself.

Is my understanding correct that it is also possible to locate the position of a boat or person equiped with a GPS receiver/transmitter if one has a GPS receiver and the electronic ID of the person at sea?

If this is so; are there reasonably priced seawaterproof/floatable units?

here is a link i found to explain the radios
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_VHF_radio

ok,thanks for claryfying the situation,i thought the antenna had some sort of signal where it could locate you..i am sure somebody was saying it did...they must have got it wrong....so basically they need waterproof vhf radios plus batteries if the antenna is to be fixed and up and operational ...or the boats need to have gps how much is it to have gps on the boat?
if they have gps which tells them where they are ..they still need the radio i am assuming to make contact with land?is this correct?

As with ay introduction of new technology, there are several steps that need to be taken for it to be successful.

1) Getting the technology in the hands of those who will benefit. This means buying and distributing.

2) Training the people to use it. This is more than just saying "Here's how it works". You must get them to see the value in changing the way they've always done things.

3) Maintaining the equipment. Does it need to be oiled once a year or are there complex parts that need to be cleaned weekly, etc. Who will do the work? Pay for the parts? etc.

My 2 cents,
Eric

i believe the fishermen already have the radios otherwise there would be no point in repairing the antenna which recieves/transmits the signal..at the moment the antenna is getting repaired/renewed and jason from breds has informed me they will have a price for that on tuesday.

Actually the fisherman do not have radios. How do I know? Many of my family are fishermen out there and one out of the many has a radio that he had to make himself, and have his wife listening in for news form him.

Turey - I really don't know the answer to your question and, ifeelbad, I do not believe many fishermen are carrying radios. When I am in Jamaica I have my VHF turned on most of the time and, all I can say is that the voice traffic on channel 64 is minimal. As I said previously, electronic equipment on open boats of the type used by fishermen in Ja don't last long because seawater gets to them. Nevertheless, the fact remains that IF the boats carried servicable VHFs and GPSs they could all determine their position and transmit it to other boats and shore services using VHF - not easy in rough and wet weather and when fishermen are not familiar with chart co-ordinates and the like.

The Authorities, who I hope know more than I do, ought to come up and implement a marine safety policy that is not only enforcable but affordable as well.

There are safety devices that can be carried such as EPIRBS but the cost to fishermen may be be prohibitive.

I am deeply shocked to hear about the fishermen losing their lives yet again.

I was in Treasure beach 2 months ago and saw some of the boats coming in and my husband was concerned about the size of boats as often boats that goes out to sea fishing are more adequately resourced, do they carry life jackets on board.

My heart goes out to the family at this sad time.

Time to stop being politically correct on this subject: Our fishermen are among the most difficult people to organise and act in their best interests.

We would have lost far fewer over the years if they had paid a bit of attention to their own safety and security at sea.

And even when well meaning outsiders intervened to assist, their best efforts were ignored, often because of superstitions (like, if you carry a life jacket to sea it will surely result in you having the need to use it so don't bring trouble on yourself by carrying it!) or plain pig-headedness.

I speak as one who has lost many relatives to the sea. I continue to mourn their loss but will not blind myself to the fact that some of them could have done more to help themselves.

Thanks Uncle Peter.

These facts have been brought to the surface here, and I'm sure elsewhere.

This topic should be kept alive to encourage these devices to be put in the hands of those that need them.

I believe the public and fishermen are missing the point here - the point is when there is bad weather meaning a storm etc. fishermen should head for land from the Pedro Bank or remain on land if they are home. A lot of fishermen forget they don't control the seas. They MUST take warning.

Take HEED dont forget sometime we on land leave home to go out on the street in good weather and we get caught up in terrible storm. Well that what happened to most fishermen too we have to give and take.They do take warning.

I agree the fishermen do need to take heed but I can imagine if its going to be a stormy few days and that is the only way they have of feeding their families that some of them take the risk which yes is silly but then we dont know the full circumstances.
Not taking life jackets on board due to superstition etc is just plain stupid.
Basically every boat needs a radio and life jackets,there is no point providing radios for if their boat has capsized and they can't stay afloat because they didn't want to bring the jackets...they need to be as a package radios and lifejackets are basic requirements and the fishermen need to makesure they do take heed and realise that if they have a radio and life jacket on board,they will most likely survive should anything happen

Thanks TOT , it is still worth the effort. At least for the families at home.

I know the superstitions and denials etc.

I wonder how much of it is not wanting to fava bway among fellow fishermen.

When my crew faced a 100 mph mistral sweeping down the mediterranean with 50+ foot waves and a giant spinnaker (sail) flapped loose, we were prepared with securing equipment, teamwork and most importantly an old British Navy salt who fought us to calm in N Africa.

I've swam, sailed, surfed, fished, skied and dove the sea. I and my teams prepared ourselves properly on each occasion. If not my 9 lives would done long time. Shark, drown, bends, lost, pirates and the parasites at most ports.

No bada talk 'bout money and how things dear!

Money always can find for other things.

Not one more life should be lost through foolishness and cyan badda!

Fate and weather is another thing.

This is how it goes in TB - talk talk talk. Fisherman die, people down on the beach and there is a lot of talk to help but nothing happens. A man drowned in Calabash Bay two months ago and there still are no signs warning people it is very dangerous when rough. How long has the attenae ben out of service? How many deaths does it take for people in authority to act. 10, 20 or until business begins to be affected. I guess that would do it. Sorry to be cynical but it is painful to watch.

well hopefully it is getting sorted immediately,yes the antenna has been broken for quite a while but it is being repaired as we speak and people who do not want to sit around just chatting and want to help out financially now have the option to do so.
I am sure with all of the creative people down there it would not take much for somebody to make a warning sign for rough dangerous waters.

instead of talking ,please join me in my discussion in the forum call drumming up donations,instead of talking we can now start acting and doing and helping-the donation details are up there.

I just pray that other fishermen will take heed. There need to be strict procedures/laws in place for local fisherman, please dont be ignorant when it comes to your lives.

A lot of the time it's just plain ignorance, sometimes when I sit and chat to some of the fisherman and stories that they tell me I tremble with fear.
It's better to be safe than sorry.

Please help to educate these men about safety.

Uups another drowning,that's bad, but like the postings suggest there are pirates in the sea and pirates on the land,there are risks on the land and risks at sea and then there are consiquences to these risks.RIP.

Hi everyone! Sooo sad,I don't have words.I know Kevin James very well,since the news i can't get my mind off his four children.My prayers and thoughts are with you all at this sorrowful time.I wish someone had pictures to post as I can't figure out the other three young men.God bless and keep one and all.

Cho Fed Up, a to much trouble fi do all dem ting.

Nobady a do not'n, why me hafi badda? Mi nuh wan look fool.

Mi bisi masa. Mek sum a dem rich man dem deal wid tings. CHO!...kiss teeth.

Jamaica No Problems...foolishness!!!

Cyan badda and don't care are enough to keep us in mental and physical slavery without outside assistance.

I have just spoken to a fishing captain from Billy’s Bay. He wholeheartedly agrees that each boat needs to have a functioning radio and life jackets for each man—and the jackets need to be worn when they are out at sea. He believes this combination, assuming the antenna was working, might have given the four a fighting chance. He also has other suggestions, as do several other fishermen. He feels there needs to be an official meeting of the fishermen, perhaps with some authorities present so they can discuss what is both necessary and realistic. This tragedy has hit the community very hard, and this is the time to institute some new procedures. We never want to see another accident like this.

I am sure the familes of the fishermen that have lost their lives and those that are still living do not really mind where the assistance from as long as it is done ASAP.
Yes ,the authorities should do something but as we all know they do not always do what they are supposed to do and in the time frame we want it..in the mean time let us assist each other in which way we can for a positive result.

Kiss teeth* ?????

You'll have to come visit for a live demonstration of kissing teeth, one of our specialities.

If you're nice we may show you how to 'cut eye'.

If you're not nice, indeed very bad, we may 'put science on you'.

i would like to take the time out to thank each and every one for their kind words for my brother kevin james and the rest of guys who have left us so suddenly it is indeed very sad but god knows best and to the rest of family that is in mourning i say to you all be strong and god will take care of you he never give us more than we can bear.

sister ilean {usa}

Are there pictures of the missing fishermen on the internet, not sure if thats what Erick suggested, would love to see them.my sympaties go out to all the families and friends some of whom i personally know i hope and pray that somewhere somehow they might be found,God bless.

A memorial service will be held on Sunday at 7 p.m. at the Calabash Bay Beach for Kevin James, Wayne Robinson, Gary Bennett and Omar Williams.

If you are unable to attend in person we ask you to join us wherever you are and take a moment to remember those lost at sea and send thoughts and prayers to the families and friends affected by their loss.

The memorial service to remember Gary Bennett, Kevin James, Wayne Robinson, and Omar Williams was held on Sunday night. Over 200 persons showed up to pay their respects and remember.

Thanks to Lucy Moxam and Sabrina Gordon for coordinating this beautiful and respectful event.

Thanks to sponsors of this event:

The Dare to Be Different Band (James Brothers)
My Choice Supermarket
Southern Supplies and Services
Sunset Resort
Treasure Tours
Oral Ebanks
Darin James
Errol Powell

Thanks also goes out to the men who took the time to light so many candles illuminating the evening.

Canai James
Darin James
John Gordon
Brian Taylor

Photos of this memorial service are in the Photo Gallery.

http://treasurebeach.net/guide/pg/gallery/

Rebecca please could you tell me if the 4 men mentioned above who the memorial service was for are the 4 fishermen that recently went missing?
as we only had news coverage of them going missing and never found out if they were ever found?

Thanks for the photos, Miss Rebecca. I am sure the loss of these four men touched many lives. This is very sad.

You are right Lynn. It is very sad indeed.

Yes Sheryl, this was a service to remember Gary Bennett, Kevin James, Omar Williams and Wayne Robinson. I promise you, if they were found, you would have heard about it on TB.Net.

This is yet another avoidable tragedy in my opinion, but a real tragedy none the less. I encourage fishermen to check the weather before going to sea, there are 10 weather buoy's for the south coast, that show realtime weather conditions, wave heights, and knots of wind, the website is www.buoyweather.com, you go on this sight and click on atlantic islands, then click on Jamaica, a map of jamaica comes up, and you can click on the buoy closest to where you will be fishing, and there is your real time weather at that location. This is the one I use. I encourage all fishermen , if they dont have a computer, come to sunset resort and use ours in the lobby , please check the weather before you go out, somedays it looks nice from shore, but it is quite rough out yonder.

I have been in touch with Chris Tufton and Jason Henzel, the problem with the antenna was the cost to repair after the hurricane, I am informed that the company came and put back up the antenna recently, but as to date it is still not tuned properly, i was also informed that the cost was about 43,000.00 JA and i offered to pay for 20,000.00 of it myself upon it being in reliable working order. The Vhf radios are about 80.00 u.s for a good one, and GPS start at 50.00 u.s right up to 1000.00 I have a Garmin gpsmap76, they run about 250.00 now, I paid alot more when they first come out, worth every penny. I dont leave home without it and the radio.

When I heard the fishermen were missing I went on this website that morning, all the flags were red, not yellow, and not green, all were red. That sent a clear message to me the weather must of been really bad, so bad in fact that no boats could go out looking for them.

I too am very sorry for the families, I have visited with some of them, and I just pray that we dont see this again.

I am still trying for OCT,18,2008 to have the Memorial Monument completed unfortunatley this incident will put the totals names to 78, since 1963.

Kory South

Cory thanks for providing this information. The problem here is the word website and click. Most Fishermen don't have access to this, or the ability to do it. Would be nice to have the Group House at Calabash Bay to serve some purpose and this would be a good one. A system where the Fishermen can phone or check this information, if after they are given this information and they choose other wise then we can only pray for them.

Cory are these Garmin gpsmap76 available to be purchased on the Island of Jamaica?.

Frenchman Girl...
Kory offered his computer at Sunset and I'm sure that he would even help them look up the information if they are not familiar with using the internet.

This www.buoyweather.com is a wonderful service. Thank you for telling us about it.

In terms of the antenna being fixed after Dean, was there not enough money collected for this purpose? I contributed, as did so many others. When the results of what had been done with the money were published, I do not recall seeing anything having been allocated for these repairs. I am not saying replacing roofs was not a top priority, but didn't our fishermen dererve the roughly $650 (U.S.) it appears it would have cost for these vital repairs.

Who was in charge of distributing the funds collected or deciding to whom they should have gone?

I am not making accusations, but this may be another matter of PRIORITIES.

Funds for Hurricane Dean Relief were collected by three organizations: Treasure Beach Foundation, BREDS, and TB.net. All money collected went for construction materials—the vast majority for homes but also some for the Primary and Basic Schools and some for the Post Office. We were never made aware the antenna needed any repairs, or money would definitely have been set aside for that purpose.

We are very cognizant of the fishermen’s plight. In addition to the “official” wire that was distributed after Hurricane Ivan, a few villa owners paid to have the light at the Billy’s Bay Beach replaced so the fishermen could find their way back into the channel when coming home from sea.

Karen- thanks for trying I guess the Antenna was not a priority - let the mourning continue.

Canada, perhaps I was not clear about why the antenna was not repaired from funds collected after Hurricane Dean.

There were some 15 people on the Relief Committee after Dean. Dean hit on August 19, 2007. Money started to be raised within 48 hours of when it hit -- as soon as initial communications confirmed substantial damage. The first Committee Meeting was held on August 23, and the participants (representing all districts) had already put together a preliminary list of persons who needed assistance. Though I did not arrive on island until September 7, I was in constant communication with several of the Committee members as the list was updated and increased. At no time, including when I attended Meetings, was the question of the antenna ever raised by anyone.

Rest assured it would have been a priority if anyone bothered to mention it to anyone on the Relief Committee.

Karen I hear you I am sure you would have made it a priority."Gone bad a morning can't come good a evening".

Richard Kevin James also known as (Harry) is the son of Morally James also known as (Mule) who derived from Sandy Bank, just above the Sandy Bank Primary School.

Richard Kevin James is brother to Leroy James also known as (Pe-ye) , Doreen James also known as (Catty), Eileen James , Donna James, Murdell James, Peter James also known as (Quitter), Ernest James also known as (Bulla) & Tony James also known as (Harbour).

Richard Kevin James lived in Sandy Bank with his common law wife Dawn Moxam the sister of Delphine Moxam. Richard Kevin James have five children, his baby mothers are Wendy Dennis from Bluntas District , Dawn Moxam from Sandy Bank & Jillian Thompson from North Hampton in Santa Cruz.

His first child is Omeya James followed by Fargo James, Paige James ,Cile James & kimoney James. Omeya James , Fargo James & Paige James attends the Sandy Primary school.

His Nieces & Nephews are as follows, Nordia Campbell, Donovan Campbell also known as (Kate), Damien Campbell also known as (Raunchy), Tracey James, kedish James also known as (White Head) , Carlene Spence, Charlene Spence, Diana Moxam, Brian Moxam also known as (Nutty) Jason Moxam also known as (Tanker) Tyrone Moxam also Know as (Lasco). There are other nieces and Nephews too.

CNN is reporting that four corpes were found floating offshore the Florida Key a week ago.
The authorities believe that the men started out together perhaps on the same boat.
Anyone with information about 4 dead men is asked to call the Monroe County Sheriffs office at 305 289-2410.
I am just concern. Could it be the missing fishermen? I do not have the answer.
Anyone who is interest to read the article can go to cnn.com.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/27/keys.bodies/index.html

A reader sent this email. I'm not sure if they want to be identified or not, so I'll leave the name off.

"I read the posting on TB.net about the CNN story of the 4 bodies found off the Florida Keys (listed under Missing Fisherman). I called the number listed and spoke to a woman at the Sherriff Dept. I had told her that Treasure Beach had lost 4 fisherman about a month ago. She appreciated the tip and said she would pass along the information to the detectives. She said it is a possibilty that it could be the men from Treasure Beach and she would call me back if they find any info. I am just a visitor to Treasure Beach but I hold it very dear to my heart. I just thought I'd let you know that someone called the number so if it is your men, they can come back home to rest. "

Thank you so very much for posting this. I just called the number and got a voice mail. I left a message and do hope someone will return my call. If phone lines are up, I will try again tomorrow.

I just saw the report myself they said the bodies had no ID's on them.as sad as it might be i hope its them so their families can bring them home and lay them to rest.Iam going to give the number a call myself.

Could pictures of these men be faxed off to the Florida Authorities so they could at least hold the bodies untill a representive/famalies from Jamaica could assist with the identifications.

I just call the number given and I spoke to a ditective, he told me that the four men found are white men.