- FileSuperintendent George Quallo, head of the Manchester police, looks at the burnt shell of a car in Spaldings last weekend.
George Henry, Freelance Writer
THE USUAL buzz of activities which normally highlight Saturday shopping in the rural town of Spaldings in Clarendon was not evident yesterday, one week following disturbances at the police station, more than 250 metres from the square.
When The Sunday Gleaner visited the town yesterday the usual long lines of motor vehicles and the many legal taxis as well as robot taxis that cause congestion in the town were not present.
Checks with a few business establishments there showed few lines with customers as against several long lines which were usually the norm in supermarkets and wholesales.
Paul Lyn, owner of the Samfo Chain of supermarkets and wholesales in the parish told The Sunday Gleaner that business was poor yesterday and had been so for the entire week since last weekend's uprising.
He said the town was suffering from the aftermath of the melee at the police station.
Mr. Lyn pointed out that business was poor as there were persons who feared a recurrence of the mayhem.
"These are persons who we regard as law-abiding and who want to keep away as far as possible from the problem," said the businessman.
He noted that there were a number of persons from Spaldings and adjoining communities who were reluctant to visit the town because they might have been at the police station during the disturbance and were fearful that they might have been caught on video.
Hence, they did not want to be identified by the police and that has also affected business.
Mr. Lyn noted that on Saturdays in the past, there was much hustle and bustle resulting in owners of motor vehicles experiencing difficulty finding parking space.
However, he said some amount of good has emerged out of the disturbance as numerous "back-up" men and robot taxis were absent and that made it easier for persons to find parking space.
The businessman pointed out that since the debacle, there has been a noticeable police presence on the street. A host of other illegal activities including drug-pushing and illegal vending were absent as a result.
However, when The Sunday Gleaner visited Super Plus Food Store in that town the situation was somewhat different from other business places.
That establishment had quite a few customers in long lines. But manager of the supermarket, Sharon Peart, said that business was poor earlier in the week and that things picked up since Thursday.
At Wiltshire's Hardware business appeared poor also and proprietor Thelma Wiltshire was quick to point out that last Saturday's event was the contributing factor. She noted that business was bad prior to the uprising but has been compounded since last Saturday.
"Up to Tuesday hardly anybody came in here to do business, everybody is trying to shy away from Spaldings," said Mrs. Wiltshire.
She called for more police in the town of Spaldings as, according to her, there aren't sufficient lawmen in the area. That was also the view of Mr. Lyn who also wants more patrols in and around that rural town.
