A St Philip son of the soil whose name was etched in stone at Three Houses Park is shattered after he was informed that someone ripped his name out and smashed it to the ground.
Trevor Kirton, 63, a musician and community practitioner who wrote the parish song for St Philip, said the vandalism took place last Tuesday evening.
“One of the persons from my church passed and saw it. I was contacted last night and told that someone ripped it from the rock and smashed it to the ground and said that my name did not deserve to be there,” Kirton lamented.
He said someone also told him that they were in possession of photos and videos of the culprit doing the deed and he advised that person to take the evidence to the police.
Other names on the rock included The Most Honourable Stedson Red Plastic Bag Wiltshire, Addington Forde, the late Wynter Crawford and Hilda Skeene. The names were placed on individual stone slabs on the rock as part of a project by the St Philip Parish Independence Committee to honour St Philip stalwarts.
After receiving the news about the vandalism, Kirton said he rushed to the park on Tuesday night and saw that the slab with his name, which was broken in three, was placed on top of the rock.
He said he called Dr Sonia Browne, Member of Parliament for St Philip North. “I called her last night. I thought that was the appropriate thing to do and she informed me that she was made aware of the situation.”
Kirton, who worked for 37 years teaching music at the Government Industrial School and was regarded as one of the community practitioners in St Philip working particularly with young people, said he was extremely honoured when he was contacted
three years ago and informed he was nominated to have his name placed on the rock.
“I was very happy that my children and grandchildren would be able to come here and see my name on the rock.”
Nominated
However, he recalled that when he was nominated, he was also told that someone was staunchly against his name being placed on the rock.
“I was contacted and told that there was going to be an unveiling ceremony, but there was no unveiling because I was told that the person was against my name being there.
“I worked at the Government Industrial School for 37 years, rehabilitating young persons, boys and girls. I worked for the Ministry of Education, rehabilitating boys on the blocks in the Youth Achieving Results programme. I was honoured at the Nazarene Church for the music director for many years, honoured in the St Philip Independence Committee, and all this work that I would have done,” he said, charging that the vandalism was “personal”.
Kirton said he took the broken slab to the supervisor at the Three Houses Park, adding that someone should be charged for the damage.
When contacted, Browne confirmed she had seen the broken slab with Kirton’s name and also expressed the belief that it was vandalism.
She said she had spoken to the person responsible for affixing the names to the rock, who was awaiting the necessary material to re-affix Kirton’s name. (MB)
