I’m sure if you asked 100 people to give one adjective to describe the year 2009 for them you would get 100 different words. Our answers will naturally depend on what took place in our lives on a personal basis. Someone that lost a loved one may say it was a sad year, the person who lost their job may say it was a rough year while someone who got their dream job may say it was a great year. I took the time to ask around as to what were some of the things that took place on a national level in 2009 that people remembered most. Here are some of the answers.

Politics

First on everyone’s list was the many tax packages and total confusion brought on by the present Government. After paying a quarter of your salary to government for PAYE then turn around and pay General Consumption Tax (GCT) now at 17.5% on almost every thing you buy, you feel as if you are working to just pay taxes. Any way, this topic is too hugh for me to tackle in this article so I will not belabour the point, needless to say many persons did not mention much else.

The other political issue was the many shifts in key positions in government entities. Like the former Governor of Jamaica, Derick Latibeaudiere, many people wonder at his resignation/dismissal after 13 years of proven service. The former Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, was he given a fair chance. Carlton Earl Samuels, CD, was replaced as Managing Director of the National Housing Trust after 11 years at the helm of the housing agency. Many believe that these and others were replaced because they refused to do the biddings of those in high places. Who knows?

Aviation

Aviation is normally not a topic of discussion unless something happens. 2009 was a relatively active year in aviation in Jamaica. We had 2 major incidents involving commercial planes and one involving a private twin engine aircraft.

On April 20, 200, 21 year old Stephen Fray attempted to hijack a Boeing 737 chartered Canjet flight. Flight 918 originated in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was destined to Cuba with a stop at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay where Stephen Fray entered the aircraft, carrying 174 passengers and eight crew members taking them all hostage. After hours of negotiations, security forces stormed the jet and seized the hijacker. Luckily no one was injured and the hijacker was taken into custody.

The second incident occurred in August when a twin-engine aircraft crashed near the St. Ann/ St. Catherine border killing the two persons on board. It is alleged that the aircraft was on a drug mission.

The third incident can only be described as a miracle. On December 22, 2009, American Airlines flight AA331 a Boeing 738 aircraft from Miami carrying 145 passengers aboard overran the runway and crash landed at Norman Manley Intl Airport in Kingston. The aircraft ended up on the Port Royal main road. Based on the condition of the aircraft it is truly a miracle that there was no explosion and that there were no fatalities. Now the big thing is who can get the most money for the passengers. We have lawyers coming from all over to represent them.

Gambling

It seems that as times get harder people start dreaming up ways to get money. As if we didn’t have enough already, 2009 saw the introduction of 2 new avenues for Jamaicans to gamble their hard earn dollar. One was the Super Lotto and the other was the addition of horse racing on a Sunday at Caymanas Park.

Super Lotto is a jackpot game, which is simultaneously sold in the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Antigua, St. Kitts & Nevis and the US Virgin Islands. It promises the opportunity of becoming a Super Millionaire with an initial jackpot of US$ 2 million, which is converted to the local currencies of each participating country (185 million Jamaican dollars). Super Lotto draws two times a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays at 9:30 p.m. Since it’s inception on August 28, 2009 no one has won.

On November 29, 2009 the first ever Sunday race meet was held at Caymanas Park. Before that live horse racing took place in Jamaica on Saturdays, Wednesdays and some public holidays. Many objected to Sunday being a race day, especially the churches however it was still implemented. So far it’s not every Sunday however according to all reports it has been a great success.

Sports

Our sport enthusiasts were mixed, depending on the preferred sport. The athletics and netball fans were happy; the cricketers were mostly upset; the footballers were mixed and the ‘wagoner’s’ didn’t really care. ‘A wagoner’ is someone that basically cheers for whichever sport when they are winning and there is a lot of hype.

2009 was a great year for Jamaica in track and fields. After dominating the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008 our athletes confirmed their position in the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin in 2009. Jamaica retained the 100 meters men and women title with Shelly-Ann Fraser winning the women’s title and Usain Bolt improving on his own time to maintain the fastest man in the world title. In total we had 7 gold medals; 4 silver and 2 bronze and placed 3^rd overall behind the USA who came first and Russia who came second.

Medals won

Gold

Usain Bolt - 100 Metres,

Usain Bolt - 200 Metres,

Shelly-Ann Fraser – 100 Metres

Melaine Walker - 400 Metres Hurdles,

Brigitte Foster-Hylton - 100 Metres Hurdles

Jamaica - 4x100 Metres Relay men

Jamaica - 4x100 Metres Relay women

Silver

Ferron Stewart – 100 Metres

Veronica Campbell-Brown – 200 Metres

Shericka Williams – 400 Metres

Jamaica – 4x400 Metres Relay

Bronze

Delloreen Ennis-London – 100 Metres Hurdles

Asafa Powell – 100 Metres

Over the last couple of years Australia, New Zealand, England and Jamaica in that order have dominated the four top spots in netball, however in 2009 our Sunshine girls finally moved up the ladder in a major league competition. In October they claimed the silver medal in the Fast Net version of the game at the World Fast Net Series in Manchester, England. New Zealand claimed the gold and world champions, Australia the bronze. Then the Sunshine girls drew their two-test series with both Australia and New Zealand at the National Commercial Bank Sunshine Series at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston. Our girls are riding high and seem to be ready for the next major netball competition which will be the Commonwealth games in Delhi in 2010.

Our cricketers are ‘another kettle of fish’. Some say West Indies (WI) cricket gone to the ‘dawgs’, and many more agree. Some say that it’s the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB's) fault. Some believe that both the Board and the cricketers have to take their share of blame. After we were beaten by Bangladesh, yes Bangladesh, in July 2009, Ok, it might not have been our A team but it was a WI team, we knew that we had hit rock bottom. When the A team returned many cricket fans sighed a sigh of relieve. Was it premature, what did they do with the recent Australia tour. Well look at the bright side, we can only go up from here.

Well I must say there were ‘nuff’ other things that individuals mentioned like the St. Georges fans gloating over winning the Manning cup 2009 again and then claiming the Oliver Shield. The extradition request by the United States for Jamaican, Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, an issue which is still unresolved. Thedeath of the legendary Michael Jackson, Ok, so he wasn’t Jamaican, but we all loved him as the greatest entertainer ever. And the list goes on; in fact I have only scraped the surface. Unfortunately I can’t write on every thing, however if you would like to share a 2009 national issue with us, please do.

Nuff Love