Archive for May, 2010

Petrie and team take on Cayman’s relentless pest

Cayman News | 21/05/2010 | 17 Comments

(CNS): Experts at the Mosquito Research and Control Unit (MRCU) say they are winning the battle in the islands’ early seasonal mosquito emergence. The outbreak of mosquitoes was a result of short heavy rains in early April before the MRCU could cover the islands’ swamp lands with pellets. Although two or three localised areas in Grand Cayman remain, MRCU Director Dr William Petrie said the problem has been brought largely under control. Despite what people may think, Dr Petrie said, this was a natural issue and not a financial one and the outbreak was not down to budget cuts.

The unexpected heavy mid-April rains accelerated the hatching of mosquito larvae in the swamps across Grand Cayman and the Sister Islands.

“This rain flooded all grasslands and swamps, resulting in the mass breeding of mosquitoes. So we went from having no mosquitoes, to having a serious problem on the three islands,” Dr Petrie explained.

In previous years, MRCU treated the swamps with pellets in May, in anticipation of the June rains. This was done in order to significantly reduce the emergence of the pest. Doing the treatment in April would normally be too early. However, there were heavy rains in April this year before the scheduled treatment was done.

“We would not have treated the swamps in April, as that was before the normal heavy rains. We have to apply the pellets at just the right time, for maximum effect, “Dr Petrie added.

In order to get the numbers down, Petrie said, the MRCU has conducted conventional spraying and ground operations on all three islands.

The mosquito plan has been very active, completing seven aerial spray operations in Grand Cayman since April. Also in Grand Cayman, 18 ground-fogging operations have been carried out, and theareas identified as having small mosquito populations are being retreated as necessary.

In Cayman Brac, the MRCU has completed 28 ground operations and 14 in Little Cayman.

“We will continue to work around-the-clock to manage the situation, and we will keep the public abreast of all developments,” Dr Petrie said.

These mosquitoes are not related to the dengue-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito, which breed in standing water in populated areas such as yards and gardens.

New plan for young offenders

Cayman News | 21/05/2010 | 48 Comments

(CNS): Cayman’s juvenile offenders could be held in progressive, modern cottage-like units rather than in a more traditional security institution, the Minister for Community Affairs has revealed. Mike Adam told a meeting of the Young United Democratic Party that his ministry was examining a modern type of young offenders’ centre that had been pioneered in the state of Missouri and had enjoyed some of the highest rates of success in the entire United States when it came to juvenile offenders. Adam said that $2 million had been allocated in the 2010/11 budget to begin the work on the centre which had a target completion date of 2013 and would be located in East End on the site of the former prison farm.

Attending the YUDP monthly meeting on Thursday evening, which was focusing on at risk and vulnerable youth, Adam discussed a number of issues with the members, ranging from the Young Parenting Programme to the renovation of the Francis Bodden Girls’ Home, which is due to re-open within the next few weeks following its closure in January 2009 as a result of a fire set by one of the residents.

Adam also talked about the longer term plan of building a separate young offenders institution as required by the Bill of Rights in the Cayman Islands Constitution 2009, which provides for the separation of young offenders from adult prisoners.

Currently male offenders as young as 14 can be housed alongside adult criminals at Eagle House in HM Prison Northward and young girls in HM Prison Fairbanks. Adam said the goal was to build an institution that used modern and therapeutic techniques to rehabilitate juvenile offenders in a different way, using self motivation and treatments based on reward and development rather than the old fashioned methods of punishment.

He explained that the Missouri Model, as it is known, houses the young offenders in smaller cottage-type homes, which are graded according to the youngster’s rehabilitation and development. Adam said the system had been reviewed by various justice systems and had far better results that othermore traditional punitive institutions in which young people are incarcerated.

Sometimes called the "Missouri Miracle", the system is unique in that the centres don’t look like jails and focus on highly trained and educated staff working in teams with small groups of youths.

According to Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children’s Defence Fund the youngsters are treated with respect and dignity, and instead of traditional correctional approaches, the system uses a “rehabilitative and therapeutic model that works towards teaching the young people to make positive, lasting changes in their behaviour.” Fewer than 8 percent of the youths in the Missouri system return again after their release and fewer than 8 percent go on to adult prisons.

Adam said that his ministry was talking with officials in Missouri to see how the method could be introduced here in Cayman.

In the interim however, Adam said that the ministry was also establishing a new temporary therapeutic unit for boys and girls at the Bonaventure home in order to separate young people with behavioural, disciplinary and criminal issues from children at both Bonaventure and Francis Bodden girl’s home, for care and protection purposes. He said the new unit would cater to the specialist needs of young people at risk.

Adam noted that such care for the community’s young people at risk was expensive for Cayman as the therapeutic needs of the youngsters were diverse. Cayman had bigcity problems and numerous challenges, the minister said, but maybe only a few young people, sometimes only one, suffering from unique and specific behavioural problems or treatment needs. Even if there was only one child or teen with a unique condition, the government had to employ the necessary specialist that could deal with each and every one of the diverse needs of its most vulnerable young people.

Stab victim airlifted to US, suspect remains in jail

Cayman News | 20/05/2010 | 15 Comments

(CNS): The young man, who received a severe stab wound following a major incident in Lawrence Boulevard over the holiday weekend, has been airlifted to Miami for further medical treatment. The man who is in his early twenties was stabbed with a knife through the neck during what witnesses described as a major street fight in the early hours of Monday 17May close to Marquis Plaza. Police were at the scene when the fight erupted and the stabbing occurred and a 24 year old Jamaican man was arrested at the time for attempted murder. Police confirmed today that he remains in custody but has not yet been charged.

See previous article

Police renew appeal for guns

Cayman News | 20/05/2010 | 12 Comments

(CNS): Following an armed robbery in George Town last night the Police have renewed their appeal to the community to bring in firearms and ammunition under the RCIPS gun amnesty. Detective Superintendent Marlon Bodden, the officer co-ordinating the amnesty said that so far seven firearms and 70 rounds of ammunition have been dropped off in the first ten days of the initiative but he appealed to anyone who had possession of an unlicensed firearm for whatever reason to take it to a police station. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)

During last nights armed robbery of the Food 4 Less store the gunman used a flare gun which exploded in the shop. “Luckily no innocent bystander was injured as a result of the robbery last night, but there is the possibility the suspect may have been wounded,” Bodden said. “Flare guns are commonplace on the island, after all the weapon is an essential part of boat safety kits. It’s when they fall into the wrong hands that they cause problems – like the incident we saw last night.’

Bodden said the no question’s asked amnesty was an opportunity for flare guns which are not being used on boats are any other weapon that is not licensed to be taken off the streets.

However, the senior officer said while no questions would be asked by those delivering the guns to the police weapons would be examined for any connection to crime.

“I will say again that this is not a blanket amnesty and that any weapons handed in will be tested to ascertain if they have been involved in a crime. It is an amnesty which covers possession and disposal – that does not mean immunity from prosecution from being involved in violent crime,” he added.

Aside from the seven guns and ammunition a number of detonators and a bow with arrows had also been brought in. “We are still only ten days into the month long amnesty, but already we are seeing significant numbers of guns handed in. The public are supporting the amnesty and we are sure that they will continue to do so. Events like last night only make us even more determined to do all we can to crack down on firearms crime and work with our partners and our communities to make Cayman safer for everyone,” Bodden stated.

Police said that Food 4 Less in McClendon Drive, George Town was robbed at about 9.10 pm last night, Wednesday 19 May 2010 by a man, dressed in black and wearing a black mask. The suspect threatened staff, before aiming the gun at a display cabinet within the store. He fired off a shot, causing the flare gun to explode. He then grabbed a cash drawer and ran off from the scene.No-one within the store was injured, but the display cabinet was damaged.

The robbery suspect is described as being of slim build; about five foot two inches in height, wearing a black hooded long sleeve jacket, black pants, black shoes, and a black mask.

Anyone with information about the robbery last night should contact George Town CID on 949-4222. Information can also be passed to the RCIPS confidential tip line 949-7777 or Crime Stoppers 800-8477 (TIPS).

What Separates Us?

Cayman News | 20/05/2010 | 2 Comments

Often in dictatorial regimes posing as democratic systems, elections are held but often rigged, composed of one choice or any opposition is expelled or intimidated. The defining difference(among lesser ones) between a democracy and dictatorship is the ability to hold elections where citizens are freely allowed to vote for representatives.

Often in these elections, rather than people running for office independently they associate themselves with a political party. The party hierarchy itself then appoints a leader and, if successful in an election, that person will then hold the highest office in the land and over the course of their tenure will proceed to enact policies. These policies will, of course, reflect the ones held by the party which won the majority of the support of the voters. Therefore, they have in some way formed those policies.

Sounds good on paper, doesn’t it? However one question rarely asked in all the excitement of election time is: what information are people basing their votes on? In most cases it’s very scanty. I would say that’s being kind because in the majority of cases it’s non- existent.

Yet for the next four years, all policies and major decisions will be directed and steered by a particular political party and its leader with very little recourse, if any, for the voting public if they should happen to "stray" from these "perceived" policies. On occasion in this situation, especially if many of the policies were not clearly stated or are contrary to previous election banter, people can begin to get the feeling that what they have is closer to a dictatorship. Yet,remembering back, they were allowed to vote. So it becomes confusing and often frustrating, not only for the people, but for those who have assumed positions as their representatives. Then, the blaming begins.

The confused representatives blame the people for not giving them sufficient support for their policies. But, also remembering back in all the excitement, many of these policies weren’t clearly stated or not stated at all. Whose fault is that? Is it the people for not asking or the representatives for forgetting? That is an important question, as crucial as the statement often made when this blaming and complaining begins, that people get the governments they deserve.

That can’t be said, of course, for a dictatorship because people weren’t given a choice, so obviously they don’t deserve what they get. But even after a democratic election, people say they don’t deserve what they’ve got, or that somehow something was lost in translation between the election and what they’ve got now.

Speaking of deserving, no one deserves this – governments intent on moving things forward don’t deserve this and the people certainly don’t.

Where does this problem begin? If an election is based solely on discrediting another party and if that’s all we hear then it should come as no surprise to any political party or any leader when later their policies and their decisions receive the same treatment from people who weren’t given any details of their policies or foreknowledge of their decisions. For want of a better term, I call this "governing by surprise".

It has seemed to me that in order for democracy to work as intended the people we elect need to begin to prove to themselves, and to us, that there is a very definitive difference between the system we are operating under and a dictatorship. Dictatorships are full of surprises, so those differences must be so obvious and so important as to prevent confusion. The most direct way to that and to preventing future confusion and animosity would be to simply state major policy and programs during an election. Put it on the table and state them with as much detail as possible (devoid of rhetoric). Then if the choice is made to follow those policies, they can be guaranteed the support of at least some and hopefully the majority of citizens. No surprises either.

The fragile and wonderful differences between democracy and dictatorships is that all the transactions that take place between our governments and ourselves are recognized as precious and worthy of protection, and until ALL OF US recognize how fragile they are, they have to be watched over carefully by government … and the people. We have equal responsibility.

Relax Mr Premier! When we bloggers act surprised, rattle on sometimes and disagree, we are trying to do that. Nothing separates us and nothing can separate us from our love of our nation – except sometimes ourselves.

UDP done nothing, says PPM

Cayman News | 20/05/2010 | 92 Comments

(CNS): As the United Democratic Party’s first year in office drew to a close, PPM member and former Cabinet minister, Alden McLaughlin, described the last 12 months as ones of “spectacular unachievement and over promise”, saying he could think of no single initiative that had changed anything for the better. He said nothing had been done to tackle the budget crisis, and as far as he could see, the country was still no closer to a real plan for solving it. He conceded that not all of the bigger problems, such as the economic downturn or the rising crime, were the fault of this administration, but little had been done to improve the lives of the people.

“It is a year since the election and on this anniversary there is still no evidence that the government is any closer to a real plan to tackle the budget crisis. Perhaps I am wrong and we will be surprised before the end of May but so far we are all still waiting,” said the People’s Progressive Movement MLA.

McLaughlin also criticised the premier’s recent attack on the press and FOI, and raised concerns over the irony that such outbursts would be far more successful in causing problems overseas for the Cayman Islands than the press itself, as McKeeva Bush had suggested in his criticism of the local media.

The former minister pointed out that those people the premier was trying to attract here to invest and do business wanted more than just the ability to recruit talented people and modern resources. “These are sophisticated people and they take into account issues like press freedom,” McLaughlin said.

Given that the primary goal of the UDP was to attract new business, McLaughlin said that when people see the leader of the Cayman Islands ranting and raving it was not going to be looked upon favourably and help to attract that much needed business.

He said that the recent behaviour and comments by some members of government already had shades of that associated with the previous UDP administration, and the premier’s outburst against transparency was a worrying reminder.

The former minister said that the 2005 election had been fought over allegations of impropriety in government as well as concerns that there was too much emphasis on self interest, bias towards affiliates and patronage, which had in turn led the PPM administration to adopt a culture of transparency to prevent it happening again.

“A big thrust of that campaign was to introduce a new culture and a new style of government,” McLaughlin said, adding that the PPM had achieved that — so much so that by the time of the next election transparency was taken as the norm.

McLaughlin said people had to be allowed to express their views and criticize government and he said Bush’s reaction over the last few days was very worrying. “Anyone in public office should expect to be questioned and criticised,” he added. “You have to grow a thicker skin. It is very, very wrong to launch such a full frontal assault on the media.”

However the media is not sacrosanct, McLaughlin observed, saying there was nothing wrong with criticising imbalance or correcting misinformation when the papers got it wrong. “It is quite another, however, to threaten journalists with jail,” he added.

Following the direct attack on the media and FOI on Thursday, the premier continued his criticisms when he called into the local radio station Rooster 101 during its morning show Crosstalk on Tuesday.

While his attack on Thursday had been aimed at solely at Cayman Net News and Cayman News Service, by then he also widened his criticisms to include the Caymanian Compass following its editorial which had called the premier to task over his criticisms of FOI and the press.

In a letter to the Compass on Wednesday Bush said he had observed how most of the press corps operates, and in his opinion most of them were not here because they loved Cayman. “When this country suffers more and more – you will then leave us in the lurch,” he wrote.

How do you think the UDP has done in its first year in office? Vote in the CNS poll.

Tomorrow’s business leaders cross fingers for prize

Cayman News | 20/05/2010 | 1 Comment

(CNS): A group of young local entrepreneurs will be biting their finger nails this weekend as they wait to find out if their business skills have been enough to take them on their first ‘business’ to represent the Cayman Islands at the Junior Achievement (JA) International Canadian Conference. Pat Randall, the President of the Board of directors for Junior Achievement in Cayman, says the students had to take part in an oral presentation as part of the competition to win the trip.

“The students give a presentation of up to seven minutes on a topic which is pertaining to the economy of the Cayman Islands. They are judged by three independent judges. The top eight will then be awarded the free trip,” he said adding that it was difficult to judge because the standard was so high.”

He explained that they are judged on content and delivery. “The judges ask questions after the presentation and award marks on their ability to answer a question and their true understanding of the subject.”

The Junior Achievement after school program is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Central and the Chamber of Commerce. It teaches high schools students about business by having them form their own company, manufacture a product and sell it.

Kendrick McField, a year 12 John Gray High School student, took part in the competition for the first time this year and said as a shy person he joined JA to break his nervousness. “This has kind of broadened my horizons a little bit more,” he said.

Nikita Durant, a grade 12 student at Wesleyan Christian Academy, would really like to go to the conference in Canada and said JA was a great experience. “It’s one thing to learn about business in school, it’s another thing to experience it. You learn that sometimes things don’t always go right so, you have to be flexible”, she said.

Shemina Barnes, a year 12 student at John Gray High School, says she thought she did pretty well in the competition. “The questions were a bit tricky, but everyone is telling me I did really well,” she said and recommended the JA program to all High School students. “I got the experience of knowing how to run a business, what I should do, what I should be looking for in a business”, she said.

Shemina says she did a lot of research for the presentation. “I went on line, I looked up on all the different sites, especially Cayman News Service, which helped me really well”, she said.

The awards banquette is taking place Saturday night at 6:30 at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach resort. Tickets are 50 dollars and will NOT be available at the door. Contact the JA office for more information, 949-4306, or email jacayman@candw.ky

Archive for May, 2010

Petrie and team take on Cayman’s relentless pest

New plan for young offenders

Stab victim airlifted to US, suspect remains in jail

Police renew appeal for guns

BA strike: Ban lifted by High Court

Texas schoolbook fight heats up

What Separates Us?

UDP done nothing, says PPM

Late-night food store robbed

Tomorrow’s business leaders cross fingers for prize

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