Parliament pays tribute to veteran Gleaner journalists

The Jamaican Parliament has formally paid tribute to Gary Spaulding and Glenroy Sinclair, two Gleaner journalists who died last week, hours apart.

The leaders of both sides of the House of Representatives hailed the veteran former members of the Fourth Estate for their professionalism and efforts in chronicling the life of the country.

"The Government would like to place on record its sympathy to the families," Leader of Government Business in the House Derrick Smith said before sharing personal interactions with Sinclair and Spaulding.

His views were shared by his opposition counterpart, Phillip Paulwell, who commended the former newsmen for their service to journalism.

St Andrew Western Member, Anthony Hylton, said he was shocked at the deaths and added that "the journalistic profession is poorer for having lost both of them".

Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House Pearnel Charles has asked the Clerk to the Houses of Parliament to send a letter to the families of the deceased men "expressing our concern and condolences".

The funeral service for Sinclair will take place on Sunday, June 19 at the New Haven Seventh-Day Adventist Church, 17 Columbus Drive, Kingston 20. It is scheduled to start at 10:00 a.m. Interment follows at Port Royal.

A service will be held for Spaulding on July 2 at the Portmore Gospel Assembly, starting at 10:00 a.m. His body will be cremated.

Sinclair died of a heart attack on June 4 after collapsing at work the day before. Spaulding died hours later, also of a heart attack.