EDITORIAL

TABLE OF CONTENT 1. EDITORIAL 2. THE PRESIDENT’S NOTEPAD 3. NLA CORNER 4. UTECH CORNER   New Equipment September intake at UTECH 5. ALLIED PROFESSIONALS CORNER 6. LEAD STORY CONTINUED 7. NEWS ITEMS a. b. L.S.A.J Dinner and Awards Ceremony 2005 Understanding the relationship between Diet and Prostate Cancer 8. CALENDER OF EVENTS 9. BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 10. BIRTHS/OBITUARIES 11. A BIT OF HUMOUR 1. EDITORIAL As we recognize the devastating effect that the runaway oil prices are having on the overall inflation for the economy. I sincerely hope that Land Surveyors are analyzing the effect this phenomena is having on our business and personal life. Unlike JPS, NWC and the phone companies we are not allowed the full cost recovering and therefore have to identify ways to make our business more efficient to maintain viability, and when unavoidable, make the necessary cost adjustments. We must also recognize the dramatic impact that this unprecedented inflation increase is about one year is having on retirees and reexamine our retirement plan. Let me share with you young surveyors who feel this is no time to think of retirement, that it was also something that was furthest from my mind until two (2) years ago, when I realized that I was only 15 years away from retirement. As we spend so much time upgrading our skills and improving our office technology to improve the plans that we produce for our client, let us take a little time to upgrade our retirement plans, so we will enjoy the fruits of our labour when that time comes. 2. THE PRESIDENT’S NOTEPAD On Friday evening at 1907 hrs, here I am in the conference room of the LSAJ Headquarters pondering what good news do I have to share with my colleagues in this edition of Misclosures, a difficult proposition. This last quarter has been a very sad one for us. In the space of three (3) days we lost two (2) of our senior colleagues. First Mr. Victor Donald Prendergast (November 6, 1917 to July 11, 2005) and Harry George Armstrong O.D., J.P. (January 26, 1927 to the quarter we lost Phillip Ezekiel Rose O.D., J.P. (August 1, 1917 to September 16, 2005). Mr. Prendergast will be remembered for his long, tireless and dedicated service to the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation where he rose to the rank of Chief Surveyor. Harry was always with us, he never left us an inch! This former Director of Surveys was up to the time of his passing our representative on the Construction Industry Council (CIC). Mass Phillip was the quiet unassuming former Director of Surveys, so respected that his colleagues elected him to the office of President of the LSAJ in 1980 after he served two (2) years as Vice President. He was President for three (3) years. Needless to say their colleagues came out in droves to pay due respects. May their souls rest in peace. Courtesy call on Frank Nembhard On Saturday, 20th August, Donald Marks, Everald Scott, Earle Spencer, Roosevelt Thompson and yours truly, journeyed over to Ainsworth Dick Editor, Misclosures 1 Portland and visited with our retired colleague Frank Nembhard. It was a wonderful evening, one well spent especially how it was very obvious that our visit was well appreciated. We dined and was then treated to a video of Mass Frank’s late father’s 100th Birthday party in Belize. We wish him that same milestone. Portmore Municipality I was invited to a meeting of the Portmore Municipality Technical Review Committee meeting on breaches of restrictive covenants in Portmore. Advice was being sought on how to treat with cases of building applications that would breach covenants as well as construction activities that are in breach of restrictive covenants. They were appreciative of the advice they received from both myself and Commissioned Land Surveyor Calvin Thompson, Manager of Topographic and Hydrographic Surveys at the Surveys & Mapping Division, NLA who was also in attendance. GPS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) We may recall the establishment of a GPS CORS station named JAMA at the Norman Manley International Airport in 1998. This station served the GPS Community very well for some time, but has failed to function properly in the last year or so. Now there is a thrust by the Mainstreaming Adaptation for Climate Change (MACC) Project based in Belize, to resuscitate this and another installed at the same time in Barbados. In addition to getting these stations up and running again the MACC Project also plans to install new stations in St. Vincent, Belize, Antigua and Dominica. This would constitute a strategic Caribbean network of CORS that would serve a variety of interest groups ranging from Surveyors, Meteorologists to Sea and Air Navigation. The Surveying and Geographic Information Sciences Division at Utech represented by yours truly at a recent workshop in Trinidad that addressed this topic, pledged its support for the project. Special Provisions Act The Special Provision Act which is to facilitate Cadastral Mapping and Tenure clarification for Registration of Titles was passed into law recently. We hope to engage the Authorities in discussions on this Act. We continue to hold our views against the demarcation of boundaries in Cadastral Mapping, and stand ready to reinforce them, should this practice be contemplated on any future project. In closing, this my pen ultimate column, and oh yes, how time as passed quickly already three (3) years, may I encourage my colleagues to embrace the concept of forming strategic alliances when tendering on large projects. No single entity has all the solutions. No single entity hold a monopoly on knowledge, but if we pool our resources we can all benefit from economies of scale, learn from each other and in so doing foster a healthier relationship among us. May God bless you all. Glendon G. Newsome President 3. NLA CORNER All plans bearing imperial measurements to be used in the title registration process must first be amended to show the equivalent metric area and resubmitted to the Director of Surveys for checking of such amendment. APPLICATIONS TO BRING LAND UNDER THE OPERATION OF THE REGISTRATION OF TITLES ACT BY METES AND BOUNDS 2 Applications otherwise than by Plan must be accompanied by: 1. A clear unambiguous description of the Land. 2. a good quality sketch oriented to the north which shows the following:The means of access to the parcel of land. If access is a right of way, the appropriate grant of the easement must be produced. The distance must be stated in metric units (more or less) along each boundary line and the estimated area of the entire parcel should also be stated in metric units. The names and addresses of the owners of all abutting properties (where these are obtainable). These names are to be written against their property boundaries on the sketch, together with the details of the Volume and Folio of Registered Titles, where applicable. In instances where the names and addresses of the owners of abutting properties are not available, then the names and addresses of the occupiers, if any, of such lands shall be written against the property boundaries on the sketch together with the title details outlined in item (c) above. The Land Valuation numbers of all abutting properties should be stated where this information is obtainable. The nearest point of importance (e.g. town, district, landmark) to and from any abutting or proximate main or parochial road(s). In the case of a reserved road of right of way, state the nearest parochial or main road to which it leads. EFFECTIVE DATE All applications lodged with the Office of Titles ON OR AFTER THE 6TH OCTOBER 2003 must comply with this requirement. 4. UTECH CORNER New Equipment at UTECH The Division has acquired three (3) new sets of GPS Receivers. 1. Three (3) receiver bundle of Ashtec Promark single Frequency receivers. 2. A pair of Trimble frequency GPS Receivers. 4600 single 3. A pair of Trimble Geo XP GIS Data Loggers. September intake at UTECH The number of new students enrolled into the University of Technology’s Surveying Programmes are as follows:Preliminary Course of Study 11 students 3 SGIS1 1st year Degree Programme 13 students, 2 females. SGIS2 2nd year degree Programme 7 students, 2 females and 1 from Dominica SGIS3 3 year Degree Programme 13 students, 3 females, all Jamaican SGIS4 Final year Degree Programme 8 students, 1 female also 1 from Dominica. SGIS PD (Post Diploma) 4 students and 1 from Anguilla LST 1 1st year Technicians Programme Fully subscribed 15 students , 3 females. LST 2 2nd year Technicians Programme 5 students, 2 females 5. ALLIED PROFESSIONALS CORNER The Incorporated Master Association of Jamaica Builders rd 6. LEAD STORY CONTINUED NON-NAVIGABLE NON-TIDAL WATERS Within the Non-navigable Non-Tidal Water bodies are: a) Rivers b) Streams With respect to the above Water bodies, the boundary of adjoining properties is located along the centre line of the particular water body. Therefore, the floors of streams not navigable belong to the owners of the adjacent land on either side of the centre line. ACTIVITIES ASSOCIATED WITH WATER BOUNDARIES Accretion Accretion is the act of growing to a thing, and along waters it is the gradual and imperceptible growth of land by natural causes. In common law the riparian (adjoining) owner has a right to all accretions that attach to his land. Seminar on “Construction Safety, Health & Insurance” The Incorporated Masterbuilders Association of Jamaica in con junction with the West Indies Alumina Co . (WINDALCO), the British Caribbean Insurance Co. (BCIC) and the National Commercial Bank Jamaica Ltd. (NCB) will be presenting a seminar on Construction Safety, Health and Insurance on October 22, 2005 at the Jamaica Conference Centre commencing at 8:00 a.m. Please inform your staff about this seminar and ask that all interested person inform the IMAJ of their participation by October 17, 2005. A discount of $300.00 dollars will be given for early registration. Erosion Erosion is the removal of lands by the action of waters. By common law lands eroded away are permanently lost to the riparian owner. If land re-appears by accretions, the land re-appearing is governed by the rules of accretion. Avulsion Avulsion is the sudden and perceptible removal of a considerable quantity of land by water such as a river changing its course. By common law lands detached by avulsion belong to the land from which it was detached. 4 Reliction Reliction is an increase in land caused by the permanent withdrawal of water as in a lake drying up. By common law the land belongs to the riparian owners. Concept of a Water Boundary - Fixed or Movable? The right of the riparian owner to contact with water is of utmost importance. Water boundary, therefore, must be ambulatory, since it is very often subjected to one of the activities mentioned above. The concept of a permanently fixed boundary does not apply to property lines along water bodies. Figure 2 and 3 illustrate two (2) possible scenarios that are likely to be encountered for a property registered before June 1, 1956. In Figure 2, the owner of the registered parcel has gained some land because the water boundary has recedes causing a growth of unregistered land, which belongs to the adjoining owner, in keeping with the doctrine of accretion or reliction. In Figure 3, a part of the registered parcel becomes covered because the water level rises and hence the high water mark moves inland. Because the position of the boundary has been fixed at registration before June 1, 1956, the owner will not loose the portion of land covered by water and the registered boundary for the property remains at the original position of the high water mark. The new position of the High Water Mark may be considered the 'physical boundary'. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate the positions of the boundary when the property is registered after June 1, 1956. Figure 4 illustrates that unregistered lands are gained by the registered owner of the property by the withdrawal of the water and the formation of a new position for the High Water Mark. This is the same as when the property is registered before June 1, 1956. The Surveyor will define the boundary as the new position of the high water mark and depict the position of the registered boundary on the plan prepared. Figure 5 illustrates that the parcel has lost some land due to the change in he position of the high water mark caused by the water moving forward over the land. The Surveyor in re-surveying this parcel will indicate the new position of the high water mark as the boundary in keeping with the provision of the Beach Control Act. The DEFINITION OF SEA BOUNDARY BEFORE and AFTER JUNE 1, 1956 (June 1, 1956 is the date of enactment of the Beach Control Act) According to Section 3 Subsection 2 of the Beach Control Act, all rights in or over the foreshore of the Island or the floor of the sea derived from or acquired under or by virtue of the Registration of Titles Act or any express grant or licence from the Crown subsisting immediately before the commencement of this Act are expressly preserved. The conditions illustrated in the following sketches are likely to be encountered in general practice. Figure 1 illustrates a registered parcel of land adjoining to the sea. 5 survey will reflect that lands have been given up to the sea. Let the discussions continue. 7. NEWS ITEM L.S.A.J. Dinner 2005 Our Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony will be held on Friday, 28th October, 2005 at The Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. This year the Association would like to make a number of bursaries to students studying surveying at Utech. These we propose will be based on needy amounts as well as Academic performance. We ask members to pledge their support for this worthwhile venture. The award may be given in the name of the individual surveyor or company sponsoring the Award. This year we plan to honour two (2) of our Senior colleagues in the persons of Past President Donald Marks and Mr David Plant. Your support is essential for us to continue the success we have enjoyed over the years, as once again we use the occasion to host our allied professions, clients, families and friends. We look forward to seeing you all and wishing for everyone an enjoyable evening. UNIVERSITY CENTRE OF CHICAGO MEDICAL dietary fat and the risk of prostate cancer. Working with one of our outstanding medical students, Chad Ritch, who is from Jamaica, we have investigated the relationship between dietary fat in take and the risk of prostate cancer which is higher in Jamaican men than anywhere else I the Western world. The Jamaican people consume a diet which is very high I fat, particularly the ackee fruit, a staple of the Jamaican diet, which is extremely rich in omega-6 (bad) polyunsaturated fatty acids. We have established that, as blood levels of prostatespecific antigen (PSA) increase in Jamaican men, there is a corresponding increase I the blood levels of omega-6 (bad) polyunsaturated fatty acids, and a corresponding decrease in omega-3 (good) polyunsaturated fatty acids. These findings offer further evidence of a relationship between dietary fat in take and prostate cancer risk. Through the continued efforts of Mr. Ritch, we plan to carry out additional studies to evaluate more precisely the factors in the Jamaican diet which may contribute to prostate cancer and to measure fatty acid levels in the prostatic tissue of Jamaica polyunsaturated in men to determine precisely how dietary fat may cause prostate cancer. 8. CALENDER OF EVENTS 3rd OCTOBER – QUARTERLY GENERAL MEETING 26th OCTOBER – COUNCIL MEETING 28th OCTOBER – ANNUAL DINNER 23rd NOVEMBER – COUNCIL MEETING 21st DECEMBER – COUNCIL MEETING 2nd JANUARY – ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Understanding the relationship between Diet and Prostate Cancer and Developing New Treatments for Urologic Cancers Mitchell H. Sokoloff, M.D., Assistant Professor of Urology Co-Director of Urologic Oncology and Director of New Cancer Therapies Diet and Prostate Cancer. Over the past year we have made an exciting discovery about the relationship between 6 9. BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES Birthday July Anthony Prendergast Everald St. A. Scott August Earl Edwards September Rupert Robinson Carla Baxter Cynthia Edwards Phillip Jackson October Damian McFarlane Llewelyn Allen Earle Spencer Anniversaries July Mr. & Mrs. Noel Brown Mr. & Mrs. Mark Lewis August Mr. & Mrs. Glendon G. Newsome The Land Surveyors Association of Jamaica wishes to extend a warm birthday greeting to all our colleagues who shared a Birthday or an Anniversary over the last quarter. We wish for you continued health, peace and prosperity for the coming years. 10. BIRTHS/ OBITUARIES wish to extend heart felt condolences to the families of Messrs Victor Prendergast and Harry Armstrong who also passed away in the last quarter. To any other member who lost loved ones, our condolences are extended. Sorry we are unable to do so personally, since we were not advised; however we share in your grief. 11. A BIT OF HUMOUR Humour #1 Once upon a time, a perfect man and a perfect woman met. After a perfect courtship, they had a perfect wedding. Their life together was, of course, PERFECT. One snowy, stormy Christmas Eve, this perfect couple was driving their perfect car along a winding road, when they noticed someone at the side of the road in distress. Being the perfect couple, they stopped to help. There stood Santa Claus with a huge bundle of toys. Not wanting to disappoint any children on the eve of Christmas, the perfect couple loaded Santa and his toys into their vehicle. Soon they were driving along delivering the toys. Unfortunately, the driving condition deteriorated and the perfect couple; and Santa Claus had an accident. Only one of them survived the accident. Who was the survivor??? The perfect woman survived. She’s the only one who really existed in the first place. Everyone knows there is no Santa Claus and there is no such thing as a perfect man. Women stop reading here, this is the end of the joke. On behalf of the members of the LSAJ, Misclosure wishes to express our condolences to the families of Mr. Douglas L. Palmer and Philip Rose former Presidents of the Land Surveyors Association of Jamaica (LSAJ) who passed away in the last quarter. We also 7 Men continue reading…….. So, if there is no perfect man and no Santa Claus, the woman must have been driving. This explains why there was an accident. By the way, if you are a woman And your still reading, this illustrates another point. WOMEN NEVER LISTEN!!!!!!!!! Humour #2 One night a man was relaxing watching TV when out of the kitchen comes his wife with a pan --BOOF!-- "a who name Sheila?" asked the wife, "I just saw this paper in your pocket with the name Sheila on it, who is she?". The man rubbing his headback said "me and Richie wet to the race track today and that is the name of the horse that we bet on, what happen to you woman?!!". So the wife apologized, kissed his headback, and went back to her chores. 15 minutes later the wife storms out of the kitchen again --BOOF!! BAM!!-- "WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?!!" shouted the husband, and the wife shouts back "YUH HORSE DEH PON DI PHONE!!". 8