THE MONTHLY GLEANER | JULY 6 - AUGUST 5, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 2 Lester Hinds/Gleaner Writer WORLD RECORD holding sprint legend Usain Bolt is to be honoured by the City of Miramar in Florida on July 15. A STATUE of Bolt will be unveiled as part of the city’s tribute. The statue was done by renowned Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson, out of Atlanta, Georgia. The cost of the statue is US$25,000, and it will be located at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar, which now boasts a world-class track and which has seen a number of international track meets being held at the sports complex. The Vice Mayor of Miramar, Jamaican Alexandra Davis, who commissioned the statue and who has organised the event to honour Bolt, told The Gleaner that it is fitting that the city should recognise Bolt’s achievements. The statue to Bolt will represent the first monument erected in a public space under a new programme in which developers in the city have been asked to commission art pieces in public spaces in their development projects to benefit the city and the people of the city, Davis told The Gleaner. She said the funds for the statue were part of the arts and public spaces fund. Developers who are unable to provide art pieces in public spaces contribute to this fund along with the city itself. Bolt, who will arrive in Florida on July 14, will hold clinics for young prospective athletes as well as oversee a number of races among different groups. On July 15, a banquet will be held in his honour, with part proceeds from that function going to Bolt’s foundation and part going to Do The Right Thing Inc of City of Miramar. People Profile, an organization in South Florida, which honours outstanding people in various fields, headed by former Global Diaspora Council Member Dr Allan Cunningham, will also be presenting an award - The Legendary Iconic Award - to Bolt at the Saturday night function. Cunningham said the tribute to Bolt is also a tribute to the Jamaican community in South Florida and is recognition of the role Jamaicans have played in the development of the city economically, culturally, and otherwise. Jamaica’s Consul General to Miami Oliver Mair also welcomed the unveiling of the statue to Bolt saying that it is not only recognition of his achievement on the track, but a reflection of the high esteem in which Jamaicans are held in Miramar. “Jamaicans have contributed significantly to the city, and this tribute to Bolt is also an honour to the Jamaican community as a whole,” he said. The Ansin Sports Complex, where Bolt’s statue will stand, is a 24-acre state-of-the-art sports complex that features an FTX Mondo running track identical to the 2008 Olympic track in Beijing, along with a 9,000 square-foot community centre, fitness centre, and a 5,000 square-foot covered children’s boundless playground. The IAAF-certified running track is equipped with hurdles, high jump pads and standards, pole vault pads and standards, three long jump pits, one discus and shot cage, a 200mpractice track, which makes the complex a perfect host for local, regional, national, and international competition and meets. Bolt to be honoured with Florida statue The soon-to-be unveiled statue of Usain Bolt. (Photo: Instagram@4alexandradavis) 4ALEXANDRADAVIS Usain Bolt AP JAMAICA-BORN JAEVON Boxhill has been elected as a member of the Mount Vernon city council. Boxhill was successful in the democratic primary elections held on June 27, in his first foray into representational politics. His victory in the primary is tantamount to a win in the November general elections in the heavily democratic city. There will be no republican representative on the new five-member city council when it takes office in January next year. Boxhill was born in Mandeville, Manchester, but lived in May Pen, Clarendon, before moving with his parents to the United States in 1991 at the age of seven, where they settled in the Bronx before moving to Mount Vernon. He is a product of Mount Vernon High School and later studied at the Albany School of Law. He worked as deputy controller of Mount Vernon and later became a senior financial analyst with the Board of Westchester County Legislature. Boxhill said that he was motivated to enter politics because he sees a need to improve the city’s prospects. “I believe that I can help move the city in the right direction,” he told The Gleaner in a telephone interview. The new city councilmember acknowledged that the city has urgent issues that need addressing, if the quality of life is to improve for residents. He acknowledged that with a budget of $140 million the city needs to find ways to increase income. “We need to expand the tax base of the city to bring in more revenue to provide better services to the citizens. We cannot raise taxes so we have to make a concerted effort to reopen businesses that have closed and to bring more properties onto the tax roll that are not currently on the tax roll because they are empty,” he said. “There are several services that are operating the way they should to benefit the city, but there are other services that have fallen off,” he said. Boxhill said that the city’s building department has been the target of several complaints. “We need to sit with them to find out how best the service can be improved,” he said, pointing out that the building department needs to operate at peak efficiency if the city is to attract new businesses and bring back houses on to the tax roll. He also sees a need to bring the various communities of Mount Vernon together to work for the benefit of the city as well as to get more young people involved in the affairs of the city. Boxhill noted that Mount Vernon has a gang and gun violence problem which the city is working hard to overcome. He also pointed out that the police department has lost a number of officers but he is hopeful that when the new police wage contract is completed the city will be able to attract new recruits. “The new city council will see a group of young vibrant professionals taking the rein and hopefully this will turn around the fortunes of the city as we will be able to bring new ideas and fiscal oversight to the city,” he said. -Lester Hinds Jamaica-born candidate wins Mount Vernon city council seat Boxhill CONTRIBUTED 3 the definition for having “lawful presence” in the US. Biden’s Department of Health and CULTURE moya.thomas@gleanerjm.com Moya Thomas Biden says he’s THE MONTHLY GLEANER | APRIL 17 - MAY 23, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS Anthony Smith – Deputy CEO – Print & Digital Services anthony.smith@rjrgleaner.com
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