Archive for March 14th, 2011
Rotaract Blue offers Fred Speirs Vocational Grant
(CNS): Rotaract Blue, a club for young professionals, will be accepting applications for their Fred Speirs Vocational Grant from Wednesday, 16 March. The grant is open to eligible Caymanians from the ages of 16 to 30 wishing to pursue a vocational or technical course either locally or overseas, above and supplemental to high school. This is the third year the club will be offering the grant, which is a part of their Vocational Grant Program and members are encouraging all persons interested in pursuing a vocational/technical career and in need of extra financial support to download their application. (Left: the late Fred Speirs, an active Rotarian)
“Rotaract Blue is very proud of its Vocational Grant program as it is one of the only grants of this nature available locally. By bettering ourselves we better our community, and as a club we are very excited about being able to assist persons pursuing vocational or technical courses again this year," said President Sheraim Mascal.
Application forms for the grant and additional information regarding eligibility can be downloaded from the link below and can also be obtained from the club’s website – www.rotaractblue.org, under “Downloads” – and the deadline to apply is 13 May 2011. Completed applications, including all supplemental documentation, can be submitted via email to rotaractblue@gmail.com or given to any Rotaract Blue club member.
Rotaract Blue is a club for young professionals between the ages of 18 – 30 who are willing to make a positive difference in the community. For additional information or meeting details please contact the club at rotaractblue@gmail.com.
Shetty helps local child in need of heart surgery
(CNS): A four-year-old child who was born with serious heart problems has returned to Cayman safe and well after a successful open heart surgery performed in India. The operation was organized by Dr Devi Shetty, who plans to develop a health city here in Cayman through the Indian Have a Heart programme. The surgery, which was essential to prevent the need for a heart transplant in future, came about after Robert Hamaty, the owner of the Tortuga Rum Company, approached Shetty’s friends to find out if he could help the child, who is the daughter of his head baker. Hamity said the cost for this type of surgery in the US would be approximately US$800,000 to one million.
“As Doctor Shetty is planning to open a hospital here in the Cayman Islands I contacted his friends and they offered to do the heart surgery free and all we had to do was get them there,” Hamaty explained, adding that he started the fund with $1,000 which grew to almost $6,000 following a Bar-B-Que organised by staff at Tortuga. With that money the family had enough to cover the cost of the airfares and general expenses on the trip for both the little girl and her mother.
“Thanks to Gene Thompson, Harry Chandi and Dr Shetty, the operation was free,” Hamaty stated.
Volunteers wanted for annual clean-up event
(CNS): The Chamber of Commerce is looking for teams and individuals to join in the 2011 Earth Day Roadside Clean-Up. The event is now in its 14th year and with some 1,500 people coming out to clean up the country’s roads and beaches in 2010, the Chamber said it wants to beat that number this year. There is no charge to participate and the first 800 people who sign-up receive a free event T-shirt. Everyone gets latex gloves and garbage bags, as well as an invitation to the thank-you brunch after the cleaning is done. A number of sponsors have already come forward to provide everything, from the T-shirts to the water, and staff from public works and environmental health will be collecting the garbage once it’s bagged.
“We are pleased to see this event so well supported,” said Chamber CEO Wil Pineau. “It is fantastic to see volunteers of all ages gathering across the Cayman Islands to keep our islands clean and green. This is a great example of how the business community can give back whilst having an immediate impact on our community’s welfare.”
The event will take place on Saturday 2 April starting between 6-7am and all teams and individuals will be allocated a clean-up area when they sign up. Those wishing to take part are asked to contact Danielle.ebanks@caymanchamber.ky or call 949-8090 ext. 124.
The Chamber is also asking drivers to be extra vigilant on the day of the event as clean-up crews will be on the roads from as early as 6am. The Department of Environmental Health has asked that all full bags are left on the side of a main road for collection, especially those collected from the beach.
Robber numbers unknown
(CNS): As police charged another suspect robber on Monday in connection with a robbery at a West Bay convenience store last weekend, one RCIPS top officer says it is impossible to say how many more robbers are still out there. Despite the increase in the number of people charged with the crime, robberies are still occurring on a frequent basis and DS Marlon Bodden said they continue to be a mix of organised and opportunistic crimes, with evidence of copycat robbers as well. Bodden said the police view all robberies and all victims as equal, be it a bank or a convenience store, and the most important issue at present is that officers are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to catch the criminals.(Photo Dennie WarrenJr)
DS Bodden said that the recent success in arresting some of the suspects comes down to a combination of issues, and the public was taking on board many of the crime prevention tips that the police have been circulating. “Swift positive investigative action, enforcement and businesses maximizing the safety of their establishment, customers and employees” have helped, as has the “greater descriptive information emanating from witnesses,” he said, adding that information still varies depending on the age, gender and experience of the witness.
Although the police have made a significant number of arrests recently, Bodden stated that the police are not letting up as there are still a number of robberies that remain unsolved, including three bank robberies over the last year.
“We continue to place quality, investigative focus on all outstanding robberies,” DS Bodden said. “We don’t view one victim as more important than any other; we care about all victims of robberies or serious crimes. Unfortunately, some crimes take much longer to solve than others, and bank robberies sometimes fall within that framework. The important point is that we are not leaving any stone unturned and we are just as anxious to solve these crimes as the public would like to see.”
Bodden said that the bank robberies were obviously more organised as the criminals have to think hard and long about undertaking such a task, but he said police were profiling the crimes, looking at timelines and methods of operation, and he said and they were seeing evidence of copycats and opportunistic criminals.
“Robbery is a time crime, and the robber will use whatever choice of weapon that will yield quick success," he explained as he spoke about the risks robbers were taking with firearms, in some cases for small amounts of money, adding that a robber just doesn’t want to be caught. “That’s the bottom line,” Bodden said. “It will depend on the need and opportunity if a robber will choose to carry a gun, knife or stick. As it relates to value, the equation is high visibility of customers, equals money, equals worth the risk. That’s the motivation for a robber.”
His advice to small businesses was to use their eyes and be aware of what’s going on. “Awareness is the key, they need to always give the appearance that there’s nothing on premises worth stealing,” the senior officer said. Signs stating ‘no money kept on premises’, sharing information with other businesses and neighbours about tackling crime were important tools in preventing crime, he said, as well as reporting suspicious activity and training staff on how to react before, during and after the commission of a crime. He also said business owners should use proper safes and maintain a proper security policy with the aim of developing a culture in their business that encourages everyone to think about security.
In the latest case coming before the courts today (Monday 14 March) police have charged a 32-year-old man with robbery and possession of an imitation firearm in connection with the hold-up at 3N’s grocery store in Batabano Plaza, West Bay. At around 8.00pm on Saturday 5 March a masked man, armed with what witnesses said appeared to be a firearm, entered the store, threatened staff and demanded cash. The suspect then made off from the scene with a small sum of money. No shots were fired and no-one was injured in the incident. The man was arrested just a short time later following a police operation in the district.
New law fills up Grand Court lists
(CNS): Recent changes to the Criminal Procedure Code have led to a number of serious criminal cases reaching the Grand Court within days of charges being laid by police. Two men accused of mugging tourists at Barefoot Beach in East End and another two defendants charged with the West Bay Tortuga robbery appeared in the Grand Court Friday morning on what was already a long list of first time case mentions. Neither Dennis Jordan Ebanks and John Jason McLaughlin, who are charged with robbing over $2,000 from the Tortuga store, nor Michael McLaughlin and Trent Bodden, who are accusing of taking $20 and an underwater camera from a couple at the beach in East End, entered pleas as no papers were prepared in the cases.
Michael McLaughlin appeared without an attorney and told the court he wanted to represent himself but he was warned by Justice Marva Mcdonald-Bishop that, given the charges against him, he needed legal representation and advised him to find a lawyer as he would be entitled to legal aid. She asked him if he was trained in the law, and when the accused man said he was not she pointed out that he must be given an opportunity to find an attorney so that further down the line, if he was convicted of the crime, he couldn’t claim he was not given an opportunity to be properly represented.
As a result of the recent legislative changes that allow serious criminal cases to be delivered up to the Grand Court without the need for a preliminary enquiry, the number of defendants on the list for the mention on Friday morning had grown significantly.
With no indictments prepared by the crown in the new cases, ongoing legal wrangling with older cases and a shortage of attorneys willing to undertake criminal legal aid work, many of the cases were passed over to new dates. However, with a shortage of courtroom space, the judge had to warn the lawyers on both the crown and the defence sides to limit the cases they were setting for the weeks ahead as she said the lists would simply become too long to be handled.
Haven homes lie empty
(CNS): Two residential homes that are supposed to house recovering drug abusers are currently both empty. The halfway house at the government-run Caribbean Haven Residential Centre has not been occupied since December, and the Women’s Centre has still not re-opened following a fire in one of the bedrooms on 2 May 2010. Furthermore, Judith Seymour, director of the Department of Counselling Services, said staff were struggling to meet the demand for services and that there was no room to respond to requests for services outside the current mandate.
Although initially it was expected that repairs to the women’s facility would be completed in early August, the director said they were not completed on time. In completing the repairs to the structural damage caused by the fire, several issues and faults arose within the mechanical and electrical systems of the centre that required attention, and this has delayed the process significantly, Seymour told CNS by email.
She said that Counselling Services also had to await approval for extraordinary funding from Cabinet to replace damaged items within the centre. Additionally, there are currently two clinical staff vacancies within the residential treatment team that need to be filled in order to re-open the facility, Seymour noted. These have been advertised with a view to recruit into these positions as soon as possible, she said.
At the time of the fire there were four female clients living in the 12-bed Women’s Centre. The facility opened in June 2009 and is located on the same complex in Breakers as the 18-bed men’s unit and the halfway house for those recovering from drug abuse, called Serenity House, which can house five men. Seymour noted that there is also one room in the female unit which is reserved for two women who require halfway house services.
The last occupancy at Serenity House was in December 2010, the director said, and just nine clients have made use of the halfway house over the past year. Currently fifteen male clients are being helped in the men’s unit and Seymour said the occupancy fluctuates, but averages about 65% to 75% on an annual basis.
“The current staff complement is struggling to meet the existing demand for services, Seymour said. “In addition to the stress on existing staff to meet current demands, there is no room to respond to external agencies requests for services outside our current mandate, nor are we able to develop relevant programmes in response to new initiatives or legislation.”
According to the director, within the Residential Programme there are currently four counsellor positions and three counsellor trainee positions in addition to the clinical supervisor and programme coordinator. These clinical staff are supported by six night managers, who oversee residents’ care and ensure security throughout the night, and two auxiliary staff, namely the cook and housekeeper. At The Counselling Centre, which provides outpatient services to clients presenting for drug and alcohol issues as well as provides individual, couples and family therapy services, there are currently five counsellors and one counsellor trainee, one programme coordinator, and the deputy director, who is currently providing clinical supervision to the clinical staff.
Seymour said that clients who present for treatment whose primary drug of choice is alcohol require medical monitoring during detoxification, and this service is provided at the George Town hospital in conjunction with the inpatient Mental Health unit. In addition, clients who have a dual diagnosis of both a mental health and substance abuse disorder will be treated concurrently with the assistance of the Mental Health Department staff.
Asked if maximum use is made of the Caribbean Haven facilities, the director said the Men’s Centre was utilized most effectively, but pointed out that the Women’s Centre was only open for eleven months before the fire and claimed it was not possible to determine the effective utilisation based on such a short period of time.
Seymour said the introduction of the non-medical Withdrawal Management Unit at Caribbean Haven had provided immediate access to a safe recovery environment for clients who have made the decision to address their substance misuse. “This unit has therefore facilitated greater access to treatment resources and resulted in increased utilisation of the full continuum of treatment services offered by the Department within both the residential and outpatient programme.” At times, she said, the census at the residential programme is over90%, although there are periods where it may drop as low as 50%.