Archive for April 19th, 2010
Nominations sought for next year’s royal gongs
(CNS): The governors office said today that the governor is now inviting members of the public to submit nominations for the Queen’s New Year Honours 2011. Nominations must be received by Friday, 7 May for what will be the first royal gongs awarded during Duncan Taylor’s watch. As is customary the final recommendations for OBEs and MBEs are considered in the United Kingdom but potential Certificate and Badge of Honour awardees are considered locally.
Nominations must be supported by a persuasive account of the outstanding or innovative or self-sacrificing services and achievements of the nominee, whether paid or unpaid, in one field or several, and what has raised them above those of others performing similar services and the public is reminded that long service in itself is not enough.
Honours nomination forms can be requested by e-mail from mandy.heffield@fco.gov.uk. Copies can also be found on the Governor’s Office website (www.ukincayman.fco.gov.uk).
The office is requesting that nominators make every effort to fully complete all the relevant sections. Once completed, the forms should be submitted, under confidential cover, to the Governor’s Office. While all recommendations will be acknowledged, the Governor’s Office cannot enter into correspondence about the action taken on them.
For any further information please contact Mandy Heffield at the Governor’s Office on 244-2401.
Child abuse
As April is internationally recognized as Sexual Assault Awareness month the discussion which the viewpoint on “Cayman’s Children and the Catholic Church” has sparked is certainly timely. Unfortunately the discussion has veered from the topic of sexual assault and rape to that of “which organizations are more/ less blameworthy” when it comes to committing these heinous crimes against the world’s children.
The outrage over sexual assault and rape of children within the Catholic Church goes beyond the mere issues of sexual assault by members of the clergy. It touches on the institutionalized facilitation of this sort of crime by what is perceived to be an ongoing lack of action to both prevent future incidents and to acknowledge/address/rectify (if such thing is even possible) current and past incidents. This, in my view, is the reason why the Catholic Church specifically has stood out globally when speaking of this particular issue.
Unfortunately this institutionalization is not limited to the Catholic Church. Rape, incest, and sexual assault of children in the Cayman Islands are the zebra-stripped parade of elephants in the room. We all say the right things and express the expected disgust when we hear about yet another incident that happened. But what do we actually do? Much like the issue of domestic violence we let sleeping dogs lie.
Where was the vehement outcry following the March 28th (2010) report by Cayman 27 that the Crown had dropped a 2008 case in which two males, ages 52 and 26, were charged with raping a 5 year old child, who was hospitalized at the time? No one should be found guilty without a trial, but the news segment offered little explanation as to why the case was dropped and to my knowledge no discussion ensued to demand further explanations.
Do not be misled: our very own “culture of silence”, to which so many references are made constantly in this forum, is the very thing which fuels and perpetuates this type of predatory behaviour. It is all pervasive and its reach goes much further than merely the church goers, Catholics or otherwise- we are all affected by it, we are all privy to it, and sadly we are all part of it. Every time we fail to stand up for what is right because the perpetrator is a (insert title here: pastor, minister of the legislative assembly, police officer, politician, power-executive, doctor, media personality, “my supervisor”, immigration officer, family member, etc) and somehow thought to be “above” us (or even the law) or have some level of “control” or “influence” over us we are not only condoning their actions but ensuring the continued existence of said behaviour.
To truly protect our children we have to break the silence.
The Family Resource Centre will be having a “7 Steps to Protecting Children from Sexual Abuse” workshop on Saturday, April 24, 9am-12noon at the Department of Counseling (3rd Floor- Flagship Building in GT). Start there.
Cayman begins ananlysis of cancer on community
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Cancer Society and the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority have signed an agreement establishing a Cancer Registry in the Cayman Islands to aid the Society, the HSA and physicians involved with the care of cancer patients. Described by the hospital and the NGO as “a milestone” in the fight against cancer the agreement lays the foundation for the establishment of a Registry which better inform health officials and the wider community about the disease’s prevalence in the Cayman Islands.
Canover Watson, HSA Board Chairman, said at the signing that it was a very important accomplishment. “It is very exciting that we have reached this milestone and are now able to move forward in mitigating and eradicating this terrible disease. The partnership between the HSA and the Cancer Society is extremely important and we look forward to bigger things to come,” he said.
The partnership will see the society and the HSA join resources as the registrar will be housed in a secure environment within the HSA while the registrar’s position and the registry itself will be funded by the Cancer Society. Dr Sook Yin, Medical Director of the Cancer Society, says they have already identified a Caymanian, Milena Conolly, who will be the first Cancer Registrar for the Cayman Islands, and will be taking up her position in the coming weeks.
The cause has also been given a vital injection of cash from local donors. “We are sincerely grateful to our donors, the Walkers Foundation , who gave the sum of US$50,000 which we have earmarked for the purchase of the software and hardware needed to set up the Cancer Registry. The Breast Cancer Foundation will also be assisting us financially to raise the funds to paythe salary for the registrar post. These donations make a hugely positive impact on the creation of the Register,” Dr Yin confirmed.
The Cancer Society is calling upon anyone in the Cayman Islands who is a resident who has been diagnosed with cancer within the last five years to please contact the Cancer Society. The Society will then be able to ensure that their details are properly recorded in the Registry.
Christine Sanders, Director with the Cancer Society says they want to hear from all cancer patients, “You don’t have to be Caymanian or a long term resident to record your details on the Registry. We want to hear from anyone who has been diagnosed within the last five years. All information will be held in the strictest confidence and will be used to assist the Society and the HSA in fighting cancer” Sanders explained.
Dr Greg Hoeksema, Medical Director with the HSA beleives the registry will reap great benefits in the years to come: “The goals of the development of the Registry are twofold: first, we can measure just how great the burden of cancer is within our society and then better direct our resources to deal with it. Second, we can use the information to ensure that those individuals with cancer get the very best follow up care possible. There is a tremendous benefit for all cancer patients to register with this voluntary program. This is an enormous stride toward our goal of decreasing the cancer burden on the people of these islands,’ the doctor said.
Lizzette Yearwood, the HSA’s Chief Executive Officer praised the individuals at the Cancer Society for their hard work in getting the Registry established which she described as a great passion for the Cancer Society directors “We are working side-by-side as we all have the same goal to try to eradicate cancer,” she added.
DHL Storm knock out the Queensgate Pigs Trotters
(CNS): In the decider to see which team would face the Don Fosters Dive Iguanas in the Waterford Trophy final on 17 April at the South Sound Rugby Ground it was the DHL Storm who came out on top after 80 minutes of tough and fast rugby, according to a release from the Cayman Rugby Football Union. The Queensgate Pigs Trotters were licking their lips at the chance to avenge their 13 March hammering at the hands of the DHL Storm and more importantly in doing so move to the Waterford Trophy final as the only team who have managed to beat the Iguanas so far this season. (Photos by Jayne Woollard)
Instead it is the Storm who will be hoping its 3rd time lucky as they face a very solid and well drilled Iguana side on 17 April.
Whilst the score line was heavily in favour of the Storm, the Pigs Trotters were unlucky to not be more in control of proceedings throughout the 80 minutes of play. The Pigs, playing a very forward driven style of rugby took away the Storm’s attacking options but as the case has been all season, the opportunistic DHL Storm were able to turn any small mistake into points on the board through devastating counter attack by the speedy Storm backline. The Pigs on the other hand were let down by the unusually wayward boot of Michael Wilson who missed a string of kicks in front of the posts which would have kept his team in contention.
The DHL Storm were buoyed by the absence of Doug Anderson, who as the Pigs Trotters lineout specialist would have no doubt provided ample ball for his team mates but instead left the Storm able to compete in a facet of the game which they have struggled all season.
The Pigs Trotters were further let down by the niggling back injury of loose head prop Nick Greaves who became little more than “the walking wounded” as the game progressed. With no support from the Pigs Trotters substitute bench and a worry that the departure of Greaves would leave no option other than to digress to uncontested scrums, Greaves remained on the pitch providing as much help as possible to his team in open play but the continual back pain hampered Greaves from getting around the pitch to provide support to his team mates. The onlookers at the South Sound ground were amazed that Greaves played on for the remainder of the game albeit for his clear discomfort but his spirit towards his team would have no doubt urged his fellow Pigs to push for the win no matter what.
The DHL Storm, fielding an experimental side, saw the return of Captain Keswick Wright for the first time this season but Wright’s triumphant return to the field was overshadowed by the solid performance of Kenrick “Baron” Solomon who managed to score 2 tries on the wing. Solomon was replaced by Hugh “Willo” Williams late in the game having injured his ankle in scoring is 2nd try but Williams was able to fill the shoes of his injured team mate and also score out wide. Try machine Raqtoi was able to hammer the final nail in the coffin for the Pigs Trotters when a good build up in play was intercepted out wide by the Fijian who was able to canter the entire length of the field to score the final try of the day.
FINAL SCORE
Queensgate Pigs Trotters 8-31 DHL Storm
TEAMS:
Queensgate Pigs Trotters:
1.Nick Greaves 2.Stuart Geddes 3.David Terry 4.Connan Hill 5.Jan Golaszewski 6.Graeme Thompson 7.Ed Westin 8.Darren Sandler 9.Ed Hayward 10.Chase Dell 11.Nick Gale 12.Justin Wight 13.Mike Wilson 14.Gwyn Richards 15.Andrew Ibeh
Scorers:
Try: Edward Westin
Penalty: Ed Hayward
DHL Storm:
1.Ian Blackwell 2.Olewethu “Ollie” Bushula 3.Sean “Bling” Ebanks 4.Jim Johnson 5.Jeffrey Robinson 6.Taylor Foster 7.Josh Clarke 8.Raqtoi 9.Scotty Forrest 10.Michael Sumares 11.Keswick Wright 12.Camilio “Chile” Ramirez 13.Phil O’Connor 14.Baron Solomon 15. P.J. Cavanagh 16.Hugh “Willo” Williams 17.Justin Colgan 18.Chris Jackson
Tries: Baron Solomon (x2), Hugh Willo Williams, Raqtoi
Conversions: Michael Sumares (x4)
Penalty: Michael Sumares
Games free to watch and streamed worldwide live on www.caymanrugbytv.com
Flights still grounded as ash drifts towards UK
(BBC): Aviation authorities have now extended restrictions on UK airspace until 0100 BST on Tuesday. According to the UK’s Met Office, the eruption of the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano in Iceland is "weakening", but weather patterns, for the time being, continue to blow volcanic ash towards the UK. "We will continue to offer advice to Nats (the UK’s air traffic control authority) about the spread of any residual ash," the Met Office said on its website. "Assuming the volcanic activity continues to weaken, we can expect ash clearance across the UK and we will be looking for the earliest opportunity that this might happen."
Twister hits Little Cayman
(CNS): Updated 10:45 am — Eyewitnesses on Little Cayman say there is some damage to Lighthouse Point condos on the western tip of Little Cayman after a tornado hit the island yesterday evening. Reports suggest that there is little damage to the exterior of the affected buildings but several ceilings caved in. Hazard Management Cayman Islands has confirmed that a little after 7pm yesterday evening (Sunday 18 April) a tornado came ashore on the west side of Little Cayman close to Lighthouse Point.
Conservationist tells own story of work with “blues”
(CNS): Local naturalist and author, Fred Burton, has penned a new book on the subject for which he is best known. The Little Blue Book – a short history of the Grand Cayman Blue Iguana will become available in the Cayman Islands this week, beginning with a launch party on Wednesday, 21 April, at the CBlu restaurant at Rackams, on the George Town waterfront, from 6 to 8 pm. As the title implies, The Little Blue Book tells the story of Grand Cayman’s unique reptile, from pre-Columbian abundance to the brink of extinction and last minute rescue. Burton weaves the story of his journey to save this desperately endangered species with fascinating insights about the iguanas, illustrated by plenty of rich colourful photography.
The book’s first print run was sponsored by Greenlight Re, a leading reinsurance company based in the Cayman Islands. It is published and designed by the International Reptile Conservation Foundation (IRCF), which has been one of the Blue Iguana Recovery Programme’s longest standing international partners. “It’s a really exciting moment, after all these years helping this inspiring programme realize its goals, to see the story coming out in print,” said IRCF President and CEO, John Binns.
Author Fred Burton noted, “As a conservation worker, I’ve written technical publications and field guides. But this book is a much more personal account. I wanted the story of the Blue Iguana to be told in a way that everyone can enjoy, so this is a bite-sized book full of photographs and true stories, written the way I would talk to the reader in person.”
Burton was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty the Queen of England in 2008, and recently became the first recipient of the UK Government Joint Nature Conservancy Committee’s “Blue Turtle” Award, both in recognition of his work in saving endangered species and habitats in the Cayman Islands. The Blue Iguana Recovery Programme, which he directs, is a programme of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands, with local and international partners.
Greenlight Re is hosting the launch party Wednesday evening. Copies of the book will be available at the launch, which is open to anyone who is interested. Starting this week local stores will be carrying the hardback book, which retails at CI$18. Online mail order, both for international customers and for local delivery in the Cayman Islands, is already available at the publisher’s web site www.ircf.org/lbb